Weather conditions play a pivotal role in embryo development and parental incubation costs, potentially impacting the clutch size and incubation behavior of birds. Understanding these effects is crucial for bird conservation. Reeves's Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) is a threatened species endemic to China, which is characterized by female-only incubation. However, there is a lack of information regarding the impact of weather conditions on clutch size and incubation behavior in this species. Using satellite tracking, we tracked 27 wild female Reeves's Pheasants from 2020 to 2023 in Hubei Province, China. We explored their clutch size and incubation behavior, as well as their responses to ambient temperature and precipitation. Clutch size averaged 7.75 ± 1.36, had an association with average ambient temperature and average daily precipitation during the egg-laying period, and was potentially linked to female breeding attempts. Throughout the incubation period, females took an average of 0.73 ± 0.46 recesses every 24 h, with an average recess duration of 100.80 ± 73.37 min and an average nest attendance of 92.98 ± 5.27%. They showed a unimodal recess pattern in which nest departures peaked primarily between 13:00 and 16:00. Furthermore, females rarely left nests when daily precipitation was high. Recess duration and nest attendance were influenced by the interaction between daily mean ambient temperature and daily precipitation, as well as day of incubation. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between clutch size and recess duration. These results contribute valuable insights into the life-history features of this endangered species.
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Open Access
Research Article
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Open Access
Research Article
Issue
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive shifts in human activities through a global blockade, directly affecting wildlife survival. However, the indirect impacts of changes in human activities are often easily overlooked. We conducted surveys of Reeves’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) and its sympatric species by camera traps in forest-type nature reserves in three different scenarios: pre-lockdown, lockdown and post-lockdown. An increase in livestock activities observed during the lockdown and post-lockdown period in our study area provided us an opportunity to investigate the indirect impact of the lockdown on wildlife. The pre-lockdown period was used as a baseline to compare any changes in trends of relative abundance index, activity patterns and temporal spacing of targeted species and livestock. During the lockdown period, the relative abundance index of livestock increased by 50% and there was an increase in daytime activity. Reeves's Pheasant showed avoidance responses to almost all sympatric species and livestock in three different periods, and the livestock avoidance level of Reeves's Pheasant during the lockdown period was significantly and positively correlated with the relative abundance index of livestock. Species-specific changes in activity patterns of study species were observed, with reduced daytime activities of Hog Badger and Raccoon Dog during and after the confinement periods. This study highlights the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the responses of wildlife by considering the changes in their temporal and spatial use before, during and after lockdown. The knowledge gained on wildlife during reduced human mobility because of the pandemic aids in understanding the effect of human disturbances and developing future conservation strategies in the shared space, to manage both wildlife and livestock.
Open Access
Research Article
Issue
Biodiversity has been subjected to increasing anthropogenic pressures. It is critical to understand the different processes that govern community assembly and species coexistence under biogeographic processes and anthropogenic events. Pheasants (Aves: Phasianidae) are highly threatened birds and China supports the richest pheasant species worldwide. Unravelling the spatial patterns and underlying factors associated with multi-dimensional biodiversity of species richness (SR), functional diversity (FD), and phylogenetic diversity (PD) of pheasants in China is helpful to understand not only the processes that govern pheasant community assembly and species coexistence, but also pheasant biodiversity conservation. We used a total of 45 pheasant species in China and analyzed the SR, FD, PD, and functional and phylogenetic structures by integrating species distribution maps, functional traits and phylogenies based on 50 km × 50 km grid cells. We further used simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models to explore the factors that determined these patterns. The southern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), Hengduan Mountains, southwestern Mountains, the east of the Qilian Mountains, the Qinling, southern China displayed higher SR, FD, and PD, which were determined by elevation, habitat heterogeneity, temperature seasonality, and vegetation cover. Elevation primarily determined the functional and phylogenetic structures of the pheasant communities. Assemblages in the highlands were marked by functional and phylogenetic clustering, particularly in the QTP, whereas the lowlands in eastern China comprised community overdispersion. Clustered pheasant assemblages were composed of young lineages. Patterns of functional and phylogenetic structures and richness-controlled functional and phylogenetic diversity differed between regions, suggesting that phylogenetic structures are not a good proxy for identifying functional structures. We revealed the significant role of elevation in pheasant community assemblages in China. Highlands interacted with community clustering, whereas lowlands interacted with overdispersion, supporting the environmental filtering hypothesis. Biogeographical drivers other than anthropogenic factor determined biodiversity of pheasants at the present scale of China. This study provides complementary background resources for multi-dimensional pheasant biodiversity and provides insights into avian biodiversity patterns in China.
Open Access
Correction
Issue
Open Access
Methodology
Issue
As an important player during food digestion, gut microbiota has attracted much attention in diet adaptation studies in birds. Microbiota extracted from feces has been widely used as a proxy for gut microbiota. Although several methods have been developed for microbial DNA extraction, their performances in the bird feces have not beensystematacially evaluated yet.
In this study, we applied three DNA extraction methods (Qiagen, MoBio and Bead) to extract DNA from feces of three avian dietary guilds (granivore, omnivore and carnivore), sequenced V4 region of 16S rRNA gene for each extract and evaluated the performances of DNA yield, DNA integrity, microbial composition, cell lysis capacity and alpha diversity for the three methods on each dietary guild.
Bead method was thebest onthe performance of both DNA yield and DNA integrity regardless of dietary guild. In granivore, microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels, alpha diversityand cell lysis capacity were comparable among all methods. In omnivore, Qiagen had the best performance on alpha diversity, followed by Bead and MoBio. There were small variations on microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels among different extraction methods. MoBio exhibited the best performance on cell lysis capacity. In carnivore, considerable variations were found on microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels. Qiagen had the best performance on alpha diversity, followed by MoBio and Bead. MoBio had the highest cell lysis capacity.
DNA yield and integrity have no obvious impact on microbial composition, alpha diversity or cell lysis capacity. The microbiota results (e.g., microbial composition, cell lysis capacity, alpha diversity) obtained from different methods are comparable in granivorous avian species but not in omnivorous or carnivorous birds. Either method could be used in granivore microbiota studies. For omnivores and carnivores, we recommend Qiagen method when the research purpose is microbial diversity and MoBio when gram-positive bacteria is the research target.
Open Access
Research
Issue
Nest predation is usually the main cause of bird nest failure. 'Predation avoidance hypothesis' of nest-site selection predicts that birds should prefer nest-sites with higher nesting success. We investigated the relationship between nest height and nest fate in Silver-throated Tits (Aegithalos glaucogularis) and asked whether the seasonal change of nest height was adaptive by simultaneously analyzing the seasonal variation of predation rates of the nests.
We monitored nests of the Silver-throated Tit across seven breeding seasons in the Dongzhai National Nature Reserve in Henan Province of China. We compared the difference of nesting success among nests of different heights and analyzed the effect of nesting date on nest height and nest predation rates.
The overall nesting success rate was 24.1% (n = 623). Among the failed nests (n = 472), 59.75% were predated by birds and mammals, followed by snakes (9.11%). The average height of successful nests was significantly lower than that of predated nests. As the season progresses, the height of the nests increased significantly, companied by the decrease in nesting success. Daily survival rate of the nests also decreased with the progression of the season, regardless of breeding stages.
Our findings suggest that nest height is an important factor influencing the nesting success of Silver-throated Tits. However, the seasonal increase of nest height appears inconsistent to the 'predation avoidance hypothesis', because it is associated with higher predation rates. The reason for this maladaptive behavior remains to be explored in future studies.
Open Access
Review
Issue
Galliformes are widely distributed throughout the world and economically important to humans as domesticated animals or gamebirds. They are at a unique position for advancing knowledge and techniques of wildlife conservation as the barometer of the status of applied ecology. Populations of many galliform species have declined mainly due to habitat loss and over-hunting. An assessment of knowledge of Galliformes could help to provide guidelines for future research and conservation strategies.
Using the Web of Science search engine, we conducted a literature review of galliform-related articles published from 1990 to 2016. We used the "research area" option to filter articles focused on the zoology, environmental sciences ecology, biodiversity conservation, forestry, behavioral sciences, reproductive biology, biochemistry and molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and heredity, evolutionary biology, physiology and developmental biology. We then checked duplication based on the title, abstract and full text. In addition, we examined the reference lists of selected studies to include the publications that were missed by above searching.
We retained 1874 articles related to the Galliformes from the initial 243, 128 publications that were found. About 91.4% focused on one or two species, and 85.0% were conducted within a short duration, typically 1-2 years. The majority of the articles concentrated on macroscopic ecology (55.5%), mainly focusing on habitat selection or habitat use. With recent advances of molecular biology, the studies of taxonomy and phylogenetics rose quickly in last two decades. The study of physiology and biochemistry was no longer limited to simple description but expanded to the mechanisms of phenotype and micro-evolutionary potential. An additional area receiving increasing attention is the conservation of Galliformes, with the assessment of the conservation status and conservation management effectiveness of Galliformes (e.g. species diversity and genetic diversity) becoming the focus.
The studies on Galliformes have made great achievements since 1990, but there are still gaps, particularly in macroscopic ecology, molecular genetics, and conservation. There is an urgent need to enhance long-term monitoring and analysis of population dynamics, and applying different disciplines to galliform conservation. Moreover, life history information of many galliform species is still lacking, which has hindered conservation efforts and effectiveness. In addition, multidiscipline studies and new technologies are not common for galliform studies, and should be encouraged.
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