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A major study into landscape changes in the Brazilian Amazon sheds new light on the many environmental threats the biome faces—but also offers encouraging opportunities for ecological sustainability in the world's most biodiverse tropical forest.
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Understanding how birds respond to climate change is a critical area of research that Elizabeth Derryberry, associate professor in the UT Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and her colleagues are racing to understand, including the increased prevalence and intensity of heat waves. In a new study published online in Molecular Ecology, the researchers examined how heat impacts the behavior and physiology of Zebra finches.
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Vultures perform important ecosystem functions as they clean the landscape by eating carcasses and thus limit the spread of wildlife diseases. Yet, vulture populations are rapidly declining, mainly owing to intentional and unintentional poisoning. Against this background, an international team of scientists performed the first comprehensive comparative analysis of movement data of three species of threatened Gyps vultures across Africa. They found that individual home ranges can be as large as 75,000 km² and thus significantly exceed existing protected areas.
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Yale ornithologist Richard Prum has spent years studying the molecules and nanostructures that give many bird species their rich colorful plumage, but nothing prepared him for what he found in hummingbirds.
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There are more chickens than any other species of bird on the planet. With three chickens for every human being, they are a food staple for millions of people around the world. But new research shows chickens were domesticated only relatively recently and were once revered.
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West Nile virus may no longer be a death sentence to crows. In a new study from the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, wildlife experts describe successfully treating and releasing five American crows infected with the deadly disease—the first known crows to survive West Nile virus.
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Over the last century, the contributions of citizen scientists have proven a vital source of scientific data, with projects such as the Christmas Bird Count fueling high-impact research programs. However, less data has been accrued about those who actually participate in these important programs. Writing in BioScience, Bradley Allf (North Carolina State University) and colleagues turn the lens of inquiry to citizen science itself, examining the demographics and participation patterns of the volunteers.
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Land managers have invested millions of dollars annually since the 1980s to place large pieces of wood back in streams, owing primarily to its importance for fish habitat. But little is known about how large wood in streams impacts birds and land-based animals.
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A team of researchers from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, working with colleagues from several research facilities in Venezuela, has found evidence of babbling in wild baby parrots. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes the unique vocalizations of the baby birds, similar to human infants, and what they learned about the role of stress hormones in the development of their communication skills.
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Animals—both herbivores and predators—follow their noses for a broad range of food sources. The principle applies to hunters trying to ferret out easy prey or grazers searching for the richest plants.
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A trio of researchers, two with the University of Delhi and a third with the Dhar District, Higher Secondary School, has found the first-ever example of an ovum-in-ovo dinosaur egg. In their paper published in Scientific Reports, Harsha Dhiman, Guntupalli Prasad and Vishal Verma describe the dinosaur egg they found and why they believe it suggests at least one type of dinosaur reproduction was more like modern birds than reptiles.
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Every day for the past 14 years, 72-year-old Masaoki Tsuchiya has set out before sunrise to search for a bird rescued from extinction in Japan.
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New research published in the Journal of Applied Ecology, shows long-lived species may suffer greater impacts from predation than was previously thought.
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The latest floods have drowned out memories of drought in many parts of Australia, but ecosystems and native species are still battling with the effects of drought and bushfire.
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Paleontologists in the U.K. and China have shown that the natural world bounced back vigorously following the End-Permian Extinction.
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A bird flu outbreak in the U.S. that led to the deaths of more than 40 million chickens and turkeys and contributed to a spike in egg and meat prices appears to be waning, but experts caution the virus hasn't disappeared and worry another surge could take hold this fall.
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Grassland songbirds have been steadily decreasing for decades in Canada. In addition to having to endure strenuous migration every year, they are confronted with the symphonies of oil extraction and drilling once they finally reach their prairie breeding grounds.
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Extreme heat waves can cause birds and mammals to die en masse. But it's more common for an animal to experience relatively mild heat stress that doesn't kill it. Our new findings suggest that unfortunately, these individuals can suffer long-term health damage.
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Arizona officials have confirmed the first cases in the Southwest of a bird flu that has led to the deaths of 37 million birds from commercial farms in the central and eastern U.S.
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Using radio transmitters, scientists have gained new insights into the behavior of medium ground finches in the Galapagos Islands. A study led by McGill University researchers reveals daily movement patterns covering an area equivalent to the size of 30 soccer fields.
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A new study, published in Biological Conservation, finds that two conservation strategies provide complementary benefits to native birds found in coffee-growing regions. Setting aside forest conserves more forest specialists and breeding birds, while growing coffee under a shade tree canopy protects more generalists and non-breeding birds.
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Vultures are long-lived birds, and because they are scavengers, they're vulnerable to chronic chemical exposure through the food chain. An article published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry reviews the primary chemical hazards faced by Old World vulture populations, which are undergoing rapid declines in Africa.
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More than forty scientists from the National Audubon Society and other leading bird and wildlife research and conservation groups published a new study modeling a novel approach to mapping seasonal migration pathways for birds. The study, published recently in Ecological Applications, combines some of the best-available forms of migration data for 12 species of migratory birds that represented different families, migratory strategies, breeding ranges, and available dataset sizes. This new method is a powerful advancement for migratory bird conservation at a time when many species are dramatically declining.
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It had always been thought that the Mediterranean population of the European storm petrel —the smallest seabird in the Mediterranean—spent the year in this sea and that only a small part of the population migrated to the Atlantic during the winter season. Now, a study reveals that most of the European storm petrels that nest in the western Mediterranean move to the Atlantic Ocean as their main wintering area. The results, published in the International Journal of Avian Science (IBIS), contrast with the previously known migratory pattern in the central Mediterranean and outline a new migratory map for this small seabird.
Top predators could 'trap' themselves trying to adapt to climate change, study shows
in Bird Research in the Media
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