PhysOrg

Many species of birds and mammals reproduce better in the wild than in captivity. When wild populations are threatened, it is of utmost importance to conservation that captive populations are healthy and sustainable. In a new paper, wildlife biologists Werner Kaumanns (LTM-Research and Conservation), Nilofer Begum (Freie Universität Berlin) and Heribert Hofer (Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research) evaluate decades of scientific literature on the reproduction of captive populations and compared two well-known population management paradigms.

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Watching the wildlife outside your window can boost your mental well-being, and it's something lots of people have been doing a lot more of lately.

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Home confinement rules have upset some people in Albania, but humans getting their wings clipped during the coronavirus pandemic has allowed flamingos and other birds to flourish in a coastal lagoon by the Adriatic Sea.

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World Migratory Bird Day on May 9th was created to raise awareness about this alarming trend and to highlight the need for urgent action to conserve the wetlands that are the essential stepping stones along the world's great migratory routes—and provide vital ecosystem services for millions of people.

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Feathers are amazing evolutionary innovations that allowed birds to conquer the sky. A study led by Matthew Towers (University of Sheffield, UK) and Marian Ros (University of Cantabria, Spain) and published in the journal Development now reveals that flight feather identity is established thanks to Sonic hedgehog—a signalling molecule well-known for giving the digits of the limb their different identities (so that your thumb is different from your pinky, for example). These findings suggest the pre-existing digit identity mechanism was co-opted during the evolution of flight feathers, allowing birds take to the air.

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Researchers from Murdoch University have revealed that even small stray and feral cats take on large and difficult-to-handle prey. And it's posing a risk to native wildlife populations.

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Researchers have found that plastic debris is incorporated in up to 80% of seabird nests.

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Alien plants often spell trouble for birds whose habitats are under siege. They can alter food abundance, nest site availability and other critical resources. However, a new study published this week in the journal Conservation Physiology shows that the relationships between exotic, invasive plants and native birds are not always that simple, and not always negative.

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Save for an absence of gawping crowds, life for the penguins of Hong Kong's Ocean Park has been much the same during the coronavirus pandemic—but their carers have worked long shifts to keep the monochrome troupe healthy.

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