The clutch size,incubation behavior of Reeves’s Pheasant(Syrmaticus reevesii) and their responses to ambient temperature and precipitation

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 egglaying 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 lifehistory features of this endangered species.

COVID-19 lockdown has indirect,non-equivalent effects on activity patterns of Reeves's Pheasant(Syrmaticus reevesii)and sympatric species

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 postlockdown.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 prelockdown 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.

Sex-speciffc selective effect of winter weather on morphological traits in a small passerine bird

Harsh environmental conditions often impose strong selection on the phenotype of natural populations through impacts on their fitness.For overwintering birds,winter is an important period for survival because the weather conditions in winter is usually severer than in other seasons and birds often suffer more thermoregulation costs while food is in short supply.Thus,the selective effect of weather conditions on phenotype in winter is expected to be strong.In this study,we examined the relationship of overwinter survival of Silver-throated Tits(Aegithalos glaucogularis)with their morphological traits under different levels of winter conditions(winters with and without snowstorms)to explore the differential selective effect of winter weather on their morphology.We found that regardless of whether the winter experienced a snowstorm,the female Silver-throated Tits with a smaller bill surface area or smaller bill depth and a smaller surface area:volume ratio were more likely to survive during the winter,which supported the hypothesis of selection for heat retention.Furthermore,the females with a smaller body length survived better than the larger females,indicating that the lesser food requirements for smaller body sizes may confer advantages during the winter when food availability was reduced.In addition,in agreement with the finding in many short-lived birds that survival rate increases with the increase of age,older(≥2-year-old)female Silver-throated Tits had higher overwinter survival than 1-year-old females.However,we did not find any correlation of morphological traits and age with survival in male Silver-throated Tits.These results illustrate differential selective effects of winter weather on female and male Silver-throated Tits and contribute to the knowledge of sex-specific selection on the phenotype of natural populations.

Research advances of Galliformes since 1990 and future prospects

Background: 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.Methods: 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.Results: 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.Conclusions: 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.

Seasonal increase of nest height of the Silver-throated Tit(Aegithalos glaucogularis): can it reduce predation risk?

Background: Nest predation is usually the main cause of bird nest failure. ‘Predation avoidance hypothesis' of nestsite 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.Methods: 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.Results: The overall nesting success rate was 24.1%(n ds and mammals, followed by snakes(9.11%= 623). Among the failed nests(n). The average height of successf= 472), 59.75% were predated by birul 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.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that nest height is an important factor influencing the nesting success of Silverthroated 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.

Performance comparison of different microbial DNA extraction methods on bird feces

Background: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 been systematacially evaluated yet.Methods: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.Results:Bead method was the best on the performance of both DNA yield and DNA integrity regardless of dietary guild.In granivore,microbial relative abundance at both species and phylum levels,alpha diversity and cell lysis capacity were comparable among all methods.In omnivore,Qiagen had the best performance on alpha diversity,fol-lowed 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.Conclusions: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 differ-ent 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.

Research activity does not affect nest predation rates of the Silver-throated Tit,a passerine bird building domed nests

Background:Research activities have often been thought to potentially influence avian nesting success by increasing nest predation rates.Although recent studies of species building open nests and cavity nests suggest that research disturbance does not generally induce nest predation,whether it is also the case in species building domednests remains unknown.In birds,domed-nest species exist in about half of the passerine families,and research disturbance to the domed nests may differ from that to the nests of other types for their different nest structures.Methods:We investigated if research activities affected nest predation rate by analyzing the relationships of the daily nest survival rate with the research activities at the egg and nestling stages of a domed-nest species,the Silverthroated Tit(Aegithalos glaucogularis).Results:Our results showed that nest daily survival rate was significantly affected by the laying date and nest age during the egg stage,and by the hatching date only during the nestling stage.By contrast,there were no significant effects of research activities,in terms of visiting nests and filming nests,on the nest survival of the Silver-throated Tit at both the egg and nestling stages.Conclusions:Our results coincide with the findings in species building other types of nests that research activities do not always have negative effects on avian nesting success.

Functional and phylogenetic structures of pheasants in China

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 multidimensional 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.

Correction to:Performance comparison of different microbial DNA extraction methods on bird feces

Following publication of the original article(Hou et al.2021),the authors identified an error in Fig.1.The cor-rect figure is given below.The original article(Hou et al.2021)has been updated.

基于TC-YOLO模型的北京珍稀鸟类识别方法

北京地区珍稀鸟类的保护对维护当地生物多样性具有重要意义。随着人工智能技术的发展,利用深度学习技术自动识别鸟类成为鸟类调查保护的重要手段。实际鸟类图像存在背景复杂以及相近科属鸟类具有外观相似等特点,导致模型识别精度不佳。针对以上问题,本文提出一种基于TC-YOLO模型的鸟类识别方法。首先,为解决鸟类识别中复杂背景导致的漏检问题,本文方法结合CARAFE(content-aware reassembly of features)机制,自适应生成不同特征点所对应的上采样核,在更大的感受野内聚合上下文语义信息,有效聚焦鸟类前景区域。其次,为解决鸟类识别中相似外观导致的误检问题,本文方法引入TSCODE(task-specificcontextdecoupling)解耦定位和分类任务,通过获取多层级特征图的信息以回归目标边界,并利用包含底层纹理和高层语义的特征进行物种分类,进而提高模型的鸟类识别精度。最后,本文开展对比实验以验证模型的性能。实验结果表明,TC-YOLO模型的平均精度均值在包含北京地区28种国家一级保护鸟类的自建数据集Beijing-28和鸟类公开数据集CUB200-2011上分别达到78.7%和75.3%,均优于已有方法,而且在公开数据集MS COCO上验证了TC-YOLO模型拥有较强的泛化性。本文提出的TC-YOLO模型对背景复杂或外观相似的鸟类图像都能有效识别,漏检率和误检率较低,能够为鸟类保护提供重要技术支撑。

Dispersal patterns of Reeves's pheasant based on genetic and behavioral evidence

Dispersal is an important life history trait that plays a crucial role in avoiding inbreeding.Uncovering the dispersal pattern of a threatened species facilitates conservation efforts.Most species of Galliformes are forest-dwelling terrestrial birds with a weak dispersal ability and high conservation priorities.However,little is known about the dispersal behavior and dispersal pattern of Galliformes species such as Reeves's pheasant Syrmaticus reevesi,a globally vulnerable species endemic to China.Here,we integrated behavioral and genetic analyses to inves-tigate the dispersal pattern of Reeves's pheasant.Our results revealed that both females and males would disperse,although the overall dispersal pattern was more likely to be male-biased.Reeves's pheasant population had a low level of genetic diversity and a mild level of inbreeding.Speculation low genetic diversity was resulted from fragmented habitat,and male-biased dispersal may reduce the opportunity of inbreeding.Our research indicated that sex-biased dispersal patterns may be a behavioral mechanism adopted by wildlife to avoid inbreeding inafragmented habitat.

基于DNA条形码技术构建王朗国家级自然保护区陆生脊椎动物遗传资源数据库及物种鉴定

DNA条形码(DNA barcode)是基因组中较短的、种内变异相对稳定的基因序列,已经成为生物多样性保护研究中物种鉴定、生物多样性评估的有力手段之一。四川王朗国家级自然保护区地处青藏高原东缘,属于世界生物多样性热点地区,具有丰富的生物资源,在我国珍稀动物保护领域具有重要地位。目前保护区已累积了大量的陆生脊椎动物监测数据,但缺乏遗传资源本底调查和基础的遗传资源数据库。本研究基于DNA条形码技术,以四川王朗国家级自然保护区为主要研究区域,基于样线法和博物馆标本调研,对所采集的314份样品进行DNA条形码分析,共鉴定兽类、鸟类、两栖类18目35科74种,首次获得了王朗齿突蟾(Scutigerwanglangensis)的线粒体基因(COI、12S-16S、16S、Cytb)及核基因(RAG1)的条形码序列信息,并通过比较不同监测方法说明了DNA条形码技术在动物多样性调查中的应用前景。本研究基于DNA条形码技术最终获得了216份DNA条形码数据,初步建立了保护区陆生脊椎动物遗传资源数据库,该数据库将为评估保护区生物多样性提供基础信息,为动物保护和管理工作提供技术支持。

Optimizing protected areas to boost the conservation of key protected wildlife in China

To meet the challenge of biodiversity loss and reach the targets of the proposed Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework,the Chinese government updated the list of national key protected wildlife in 2021 and has been continually expanding the protected areas(PAs).However,the status of protected wildlife in PAs remains unclear.In this study,we conducted a national assessment of the status of protected wildlife and suggested an optimization plan to overcome these shortcomings.From 1988 to 2021,the number of protected species almost doubled,and the area of PAs increased by 2.4 times,covering over 92.8%of the protected species.Nonetheless,some protected species have less than 10%of their habitat included in PAs.Despite the significant addition of amphibians and reptiles to the latest protection list,they are the fewest species and are the least covered by PAs compared with birds and mammals.To fix these gaps,we systematically optimized the current PAs network by adding another 10.0%of China’s land area as PAs,which resulted in 37.6%coverage of protected species’habitats in PAs.In addition,26 priority areas were identified.Our research aimed to identify gaps in current conservation policies and suggest optimization solutions to facilitate wildlife conservation planning in China.In general,updating the list of key protected wildlife species and systematically optimizing PA networks are essential and applicable to other countries facing biodiversity loss.

加入《迁徙物种公约》,促进全球迁徙动物保护

自然界中,一些野生动物为了觅食或繁殖,会随着季节沿固定或非固定路线从一处栖息地转换到另一处栖息地。这些野生动物常常跨越国界进行长距离的迁徙或洄游,其生存容易受到迁徙或洄游路线阻断、过度捕猎/捕捞、气候变化以及觅食或繁殖栖息地丧失和退化的威胁(Wilcove&Wikelski,2008)。

Co_(78)Si_(8)B_(14)metallic glass:A highly efficient and ultra-sustainable Fenton-like catalyst in degrading wastewater under universal pH conditions

Overcoming the pH limitation and increasing the catalyst reusability remain pressing demands for metal-lic glass(MG)in wastewater remediation.Herein,Co_(78)Si_(8)B_(14)MG ribbons are used to degrade dye wastew-ater by activating hydrogen peroxide(H_(2)O_(2))as Fenton-like catalysts.The Co-based MG catalysts exhibit high degradation efficiency under both acidic and alkaline conditions,and the kinetic reaction rate at pH 10(0.176 min^(−1)) and pH 4(0.089 min^(−1)) is 5.9 and 1.2 times higher than that of the extensively studied Fe-based MG catalysts,respectively.Impressively,the Co-based MG catalysts can be reused up to 20-60 times at universal pH conditions,demonstrating fairly good reusability.The newly discovered Co-based MG catalysts do not follow the classical Fenton reactions with H_(2)O^(2) the way Fe-based MGs do.In an acid environment,hydroxyl radicals play a dominant role in the degradation,while in an alkaline environ-ment,the effect of hydroxyl radicals is weakened,and Co^(3+) ions exert a relatively major function on the degradation.The excellent performance in catalytic activity and reusability at universal pH conditions of the Co-based MGs will inspire the development of MGs in wastewater treatment.

Integrated tool for microsatellite isolation and validation from the reference genome and their application in the study of breeding turnover in an endangered avian population

Accurate individual identification is required to estimate survival rates in avian populations.For endangered species,non-invasive methods of obtaining individual identification,such as using molted feathers as a source of DNA for microsatellite markers,are preferred because of less disturbance,easy sample preparation and high efficiency.With the availability of many avian genomes,a few pipelines isolating genome-wide microsatellites have been published,but it is still a challenge to isolate microsatellites from the reference genome efficiently.Here,we have developed an integrated tool comprising a bioinformatic pipeline and experimental procedures for microsatellite isolation and validation based on the reference genome.We have identified over 95000 microsatellite loci and established a system comprising 10 highly polymorphic markers(PIC value:0.49–0.93,mean:0.79)for an endangered species,saker falcon(Falco cherrug).These markers(except 1)were successfully amplified in 126 molted feathers,exhibiting high amplification success rates(83.9–99.7%),high quality index(0.90–0.97)and low allelic dropout rates(1–9.5%).To further assess the efficiency of this marker system in a population study,we identified individual sakers using these molted feathers(adult)and 146 plucked feathers(offspring).The use of parent and offspring samples enabled us to infer the genotype of missing samples(N=28),and all adult genotypes were used to ascertain that breeding turnover is a useful proxy for survival estimation in sakers.Our study presents a cost-effective tool for microsatellite isolation based on publicly available reference genomes and demonstrates the power of this tool in estimating key parameters of avian population dynamics.

Habitat use of urban Tree Sparrows in the process of urbanization:Beijing as a case study

The Tree Sparrow(Passer montanus)is a dom-inant species in urban bird communities.With the devel-opment of urbanization,the habitats and sources of food for Tree Sparrows are decreasing.Can the urban Tree Sparrow adapt to changes in the urban environment?To answer this question,we studied the habitat use of Tree Sparrows in eight types of urban areas in Beijing.The results show that the number of both breeding and winter-ing Tree Sparrows decreased with increasing urbanization.The habitat use of Tree Sparrows,analyzed using stepwise discriminant analysis,was positively correlated with the number of brick bungalows,coniferous and broad-leaved trees and air conditioners.It was negatively correlated with the area of high buildings and hardened roads,pedestrian and automobile flux.This indicates that the Tree Sparrow had not adapted to rapid urbanization even though it is a generally adaptable species.Urban planning should take birds such as the Tree Sparrow into consideration.