Given the rapid rise in human population and increasing urbanization,it is important to understand their potential impacts on biodiversity.From March 2007 to August 2007,we conducted bird surveys in 90 strip transects...Given the rapid rise in human population and increasing urbanization,it is important to understand their potential impacts on biodiversity.From March 2007 to August 2007,we conducted bird surveys in 90 strip transects,each 3 km long and 100 m wide,along a gradient of urbanization in Hangzhou,China.This gradient spanned a range of urbanization levels including urban areas,rural-urban continuum areas,farming areas,mixed forest/farming areas and forested areas.We recorded 96 breeding bird species and classified them into nine functional groups based on nesting requirements.The nine functional groups consisted of canopy nesters,shrub nesters,canopy/shrub nesters,natural cavity nesters,building nesters,natural cavity/building nesters,ground nesters,water surface nesters and parasitic nesters.Species and functional diversities were estimated based on the Shannon-Wiener index.Environmental data of each transect as human disturbance,vegetation cover and building index were also measured,and a synthetic urbanization index of each transect was introduced based on these data.We used regression analyses to model the relationship of species abundance,species diversity,functional abundance and functional diversity with this synthetic index.The results show that urbanization significantly reduces species richness,species diversity,functional richness and functional diversity,but the specific patterns differed.The relationship between species abundance/species diversity and urbanization is linear.In contrast,the relationship between functional diversity and urbanization was quadratic.In other words,with increased urbanization,functional diversity declined only slightly at first but then dropped at an accelerating rate.This implies that,although moderate urbanization reduces species diversity of breeding birds,it affects functional diversity of breeding birds only slightly in Hangzhou.The regression analysis of species diversity and functional diversity suggests a quadratic relationship between species diversity and functional diversity,i.e.,a linear relationship between species diversity and functional diversity can only exist at low diversity levels across urbanization gradients and increasing species abundance does not lead to an increase in functional diversity at the highest diversity levels.展开更多
Abstract： The Bogota Savannah was great Lake Humboldt 20,000 years ago. In the early 20th century, there were 50,000 ha of wetlands in Bogotá, but now this area has reduced to around 800 ha, due principally to h...Abstract： The Bogota Savannah was great Lake Humboldt 20,000 years ago. In the early 20th century, there were 50,000 ha of wetlands in Bogotá, but now this area has reduced to around 800 ha, due principally to human activities like industry, city-planning expansion, and agriculture. Actually, there are 13 wetlands and two lakes in Bogotá. SW （Salitre wetland） is an aquatic area that contains migratory and resident bird＇s species. Around this wetland, there are some urbanization and recreational areas that affect this natural habitat. Due to city-planning expansion, the city government wanted to build a great area to perform massive public events on the Salitre area. From June 2009 to June 2010, the researchers have made bird monitoring and recorded the SW as a very important habitat for birds; they demonstrated that this site offered them food and protection. Migratory species like Dendroica striata, Porzana carolina, Porphyrio martinica, Actitis macularia, Piranga rubra, Contopus cooperi and Contopus virens, inhabit this area. Most of the birds in SW use the area primarily for feeding and roosting, and the authors have recorded presence of eggs and chicks. In this way, the authors have demonstrated that this area is very important for migratory and resident birds. Currently, SW is in process to be officially designated as a wetland after many efforts. However, conservation and educational efforts should be taken into consideration for the protection and conservation of this wetland.展开更多
Processes of adaptation to urban environments are well described for relatively few avian taxa, mainly passerines, but selective forces responsible for urban colonization in ecologically different groups of birds rema...Processes of adaptation to urban environments are well described for relatively few avian taxa, mainly passerines, but selective forces responsible for urban colonization in ecologically different groups of birds remain mostly unrecognized. The aim of this article is to identify drivers of recent urban colonization （Lodz, central Poland） by a reed-nesting waterbird, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. Urban colonizers were found to adopt a distinct reproductive strategy by maximizing the number of offspring （carryover effects of higher clutch size）, whereas suburban individuals invested more in the quality of the progeny （higher egg volume）, which could reflect differences in predatory pressure between 2 habitats. In fact, reduced predation rate was strongly suggested by elevated hatching success in highly urbanized areas, where probability of hatching at least 1 chick was higher by 30% than in suburban natural-like habitats. Coots nesting in highly urbanized landscape had considerably higher annual reproductive success in comparison to suburban pairs, and the difference was 4-fold between the most and least urbanized areas. There was also a constant increase in size- adjusted body mass and hemoglobin concentration of breeding coots from the suburbs to the city centre. Urban colonization yielded no survival benefits for adult birds and urban individuals showed higher site fidelity than suburban conspecifics. The results suggest that the recent urban colonization by Eurasian coots was primary driven by considerable reproductive benefits which may be primarily attributed to： （1） reduced predation resulting from an exclusion of most native predators from highly urbanized zones; （2） increased condition of urban-dwelling birds resulting from enhanced food availability.展开更多
Dear Editor,Avian influenza viruses （AIVs） have posed a serious threat to poultry production and public health. To date, more than fourteen AIV subtypes that are able to infect human beings have been documented. Als...Dear Editor,Avian influenza viruses （AIVs） have posed a serious threat to poultry production and public health. To date, more than fourteen AIV subtypes that are able to infect human beings have been documented. Also, it is suggested that new subtypes may be reported in the future, owing to the migration of wild birds and live poultry transportation （Gao, 2018）.Poultry may act as a potential incubator for novel subtypes of avian influenza virus （Bi et al., 2016a; Bi et al., 2016b; Liu et al., 2014a; Su et al., 2017）. Up to date.展开更多
Human infections with influenza H7 subtypes, such as H7Ng, have raised concerns worldwide. Here, we report a human infection with a novel influenza A（HTN4） virus. A 68 years-old woman with cardiovascular and cholecy...Human infections with influenza H7 subtypes, such as H7Ng, have raised concerns worldwide. Here, we report a human infection with a novel influenza A（HTN4） virus. A 68 years-old woman with cardiovascular and cholecystic comorbidities developed rapidly progressed pneumonia with influenza-like-illness as initial symptom, recovered after 23 days-hospitalization including 8 days in ICLI. Laboratory indicators for liver and blood coagulation dysfunction were observed. Oseltamivir phosphate, glucocorticoids and antibiotics were jointly implemented, with nasal catheterization of oxygen inhalation for this patient. We obtained the medical records and collected serial respiratory and blood specimens from her. We col- lected throat, cloacal and/or feces samples of poultry and wild birds from the patient＇s backyard, neigh- borhood, local live poultry markets （LPMs） and the nearest lake. All close contacts of the patient were followed up and sampled with throat swabs and sera. Influenza viruses and other respiratory pathogens were tested by real-time RT-PCR, viral culturing and/or sequencing for human respiratory and bird sam- ples. Micro-neutralizing assay was performed for sera. A novel reassortant wild bird-origin H7N4 virus is identified from the patient and her backyard poultry （chickens and ducks） by sequencing, which is dis- tinct from previously-reported avian H7N4 and H7N9 viruses. At least four folds increase of neutralizing antibodies to H7N4 was detected in her convalescent sera. No samples from close contacts, wild birds or other poultry were tested positive for H7N4 by real-time RT-PCR.展开更多
The Indian subcontinent is amongst the biologically better known parts of the tropics and its bird fauna has been well documented. However, avian community composition and diversity along elevational gradients and amo...The Indian subcontinent is amongst the biologically better known parts of the tropics and its bird fauna has been well documented. However, avian community composition and diversity along elevational gradients and amongst habitat types remains unclear in India. We attempted to estimate bird assemblages in terms of diversity, species composition, status and abun- dance in urban and forest habitats of Nainital district of Uttarakhand （350-2450 m asl; 29N）, Western Himalayas. We sampled different elevational gradients and to understand the effect of urbanization and season on avian community composition. Field studies were conducted during January 2005 to January 2007. Results indicated that the forest had more complex bird community structure in terms of higher species richness （14.35 vs 8.69）, higher species diversity （Shannon＇s index 4.00 vs 3.54）, higher evenness （0.838 vs 0.811） and more rare species （17 vs 5） as compared to urban habitat. However, the abundance of 11 species was higher in urban habitats. Bird Species Richness （BSR） varied considerably among study areas （91 to 113 species）, was high- est （113 species） at mid elevation （1450-1700 m asl） and decreased （22 species） at high elevation （1900-2450 m asl）. It seems that high BSR at mid altitudes is not caused by the presence of a group of mid altitude specialists but rather that there is an over- lap in the distribution of low land and high elevation specialists at this altitude. BSR and Bird Species Diversity fluctuated across seasons but not habitat type [Current Zoology 57 （3）： 318-329,2011].展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30670344)the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Forestry and Water Resources
文摘Given the rapid rise in human population and increasing urbanization,it is important to understand their potential impacts on biodiversity.From March 2007 to August 2007,we conducted bird surveys in 90 strip transects,each 3 km long and 100 m wide,along a gradient of urbanization in Hangzhou,China.This gradient spanned a range of urbanization levels including urban areas,rural-urban continuum areas,farming areas,mixed forest/farming areas and forested areas.We recorded 96 breeding bird species and classified them into nine functional groups based on nesting requirements.The nine functional groups consisted of canopy nesters,shrub nesters,canopy/shrub nesters,natural cavity nesters,building nesters,natural cavity/building nesters,ground nesters,water surface nesters and parasitic nesters.Species and functional diversities were estimated based on the Shannon-Wiener index.Environmental data of each transect as human disturbance,vegetation cover and building index were also measured,and a synthetic urbanization index of each transect was introduced based on these data.We used regression analyses to model the relationship of species abundance,species diversity,functional abundance and functional diversity with this synthetic index.The results show that urbanization significantly reduces species richness,species diversity,functional richness and functional diversity,but the specific patterns differed.The relationship between species abundance/species diversity and urbanization is linear.In contrast,the relationship between functional diversity and urbanization was quadratic.In other words,with increased urbanization,functional diversity declined only slightly at first but then dropped at an accelerating rate.This implies that,although moderate urbanization reduces species diversity of breeding birds,it affects functional diversity of breeding birds only slightly in Hangzhou.The regression analysis of species diversity and functional diversity suggests a quadratic relationship between species diversity and functional diversity,i.e.,a linear relationship between species diversity and functional diversity can only exist at low diversity levels across urbanization gradients and increasing species abundance does not lead to an increase in functional diversity at the highest diversity levels.
文摘Abstract： The Bogota Savannah was great Lake Humboldt 20,000 years ago. In the early 20th century, there were 50,000 ha of wetlands in Bogotá, but now this area has reduced to around 800 ha, due principally to human activities like industry, city-planning expansion, and agriculture. Actually, there are 13 wetlands and two lakes in Bogotá. SW （Salitre wetland） is an aquatic area that contains migratory and resident bird＇s species. Around this wetland, there are some urbanization and recreational areas that affect this natural habitat. Due to city-planning expansion, the city government wanted to build a great area to perform massive public events on the Salitre area. From June 2009 to June 2010, the researchers have made bird monitoring and recorded the SW as a very important habitat for birds; they demonstrated that this site offered them food and protection. Migratory species like Dendroica striata, Porzana carolina, Porphyrio martinica, Actitis macularia, Piranga rubra, Contopus cooperi and Contopus virens, inhabit this area. Most of the birds in SW use the area primarily for feeding and roosting, and the authors have recorded presence of eggs and chicks. In this way, the authors have demonstrated that this area is very important for migratory and resident birds. Currently, SW is in process to be officially designated as a wetland after many efforts. However, conservation and educational efforts should be taken into consideration for the protection and conservation of this wetland.
文摘Processes of adaptation to urban environments are well described for relatively few avian taxa, mainly passerines, but selective forces responsible for urban colonization in ecologically different groups of birds remain mostly unrecognized. The aim of this article is to identify drivers of recent urban colonization （Lodz, central Poland） by a reed-nesting waterbird, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. Urban colonizers were found to adopt a distinct reproductive strategy by maximizing the number of offspring （carryover effects of higher clutch size）, whereas suburban individuals invested more in the quality of the progeny （higher egg volume）, which could reflect differences in predatory pressure between 2 habitats. In fact, reduced predation rate was strongly suggested by elevated hatching success in highly urbanized areas, where probability of hatching at least 1 chick was higher by 30% than in suburban natural-like habitats. Coots nesting in highly urbanized landscape had considerably higher annual reproductive success in comparison to suburban pairs, and the difference was 4-fold between the most and least urbanized areas. There was also a constant increase in size- adjusted body mass and hemoglobin concentration of breeding coots from the suburbs to the city centre. Urban colonization yielded no survival benefits for adult birds and urban individuals showed higher site fidelity than suburban conspecifics. The results suggest that the recent urban colonization by Eurasian coots was primary driven by considerable reproductive benefits which may be primarily attributed to： （1） reduced predation resulting from an exclusion of most native predators from highly urbanized zones; （2） increased condition of urban-dwelling birds resulting from enhanced food availability.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81401312, 81373141, 81502857)National Grand Project on Prevention and Control of Major Infectious Diseases (2016ZX10004222-003)+3 种基金the intramural special grant for influenza virus research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJZD-EW-L15)George F. Gao is a leading principal investigator of the National Natural Science Foundation of China Innovative Research Group (81621091)Weifeng Shi is supported by the Taishan Scholars program of Shandong Province (ts201511056)Yuhai Bi is supported by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (2017122)
文摘Dear Editor,Avian influenza viruses （AIVs） have posed a serious threat to poultry production and public health. To date, more than fourteen AIV subtypes that are able to infect human beings have been documented. Also, it is suggested that new subtypes may be reported in the future, owing to the migration of wild birds and live poultry transportation （Gao, 2018）.Poultry may act as a potential incubator for novel subtypes of avian influenza virus （Bi et al., 2016a; Bi et al., 2016b; Liu et al., 2014a; Su et al., 2017）. Up to date.
基金supported by National Science and Technology Major Project of China (2015ZX09101044)Science & Technology Demonstration Project for Emerging Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention of Jiangsu Province, China (BE2015714 & BE2017749)Key Medical Discipline of Jiangsu Science & Technology Project of China (epidemiology,ZDXKA2016008)
文摘Human infections with influenza H7 subtypes, such as H7Ng, have raised concerns worldwide. Here, we report a human infection with a novel influenza A（HTN4） virus. A 68 years-old woman with cardiovascular and cholecystic comorbidities developed rapidly progressed pneumonia with influenza-like-illness as initial symptom, recovered after 23 days-hospitalization including 8 days in ICLI. Laboratory indicators for liver and blood coagulation dysfunction were observed. Oseltamivir phosphate, glucocorticoids and antibiotics were jointly implemented, with nasal catheterization of oxygen inhalation for this patient. We obtained the medical records and collected serial respiratory and blood specimens from her. We col- lected throat, cloacal and/or feces samples of poultry and wild birds from the patient＇s backyard, neigh- borhood, local live poultry markets （LPMs） and the nearest lake. All close contacts of the patient were followed up and sampled with throat swabs and sera. Influenza viruses and other respiratory pathogens were tested by real-time RT-PCR, viral culturing and/or sequencing for human respiratory and bird sam- ples. Micro-neutralizing assay was performed for sera. A novel reassortant wild bird-origin H7N4 virus is identified from the patient and her backyard poultry （chickens and ducks） by sequencing, which is dis- tinct from previously-reported avian H7N4 and H7N9 viruses. At least four folds increase of neutralizing antibodies to H7N4 was detected in her convalescent sera. No samples from close contacts, wild birds or other poultry were tested positive for H7N4 by real-time RT-PCR.
文摘The Indian subcontinent is amongst the biologically better known parts of the tropics and its bird fauna has been well documented. However, avian community composition and diversity along elevational gradients and amongst habitat types remains unclear in India. We attempted to estimate bird assemblages in terms of diversity, species composition, status and abun- dance in urban and forest habitats of Nainital district of Uttarakhand （350-2450 m asl; 29N）, Western Himalayas. We sampled different elevational gradients and to understand the effect of urbanization and season on avian community composition. Field studies were conducted during January 2005 to January 2007. Results indicated that the forest had more complex bird community structure in terms of higher species richness （14.35 vs 8.69）, higher species diversity （Shannon＇s index 4.00 vs 3.54）, higher evenness （0.838 vs 0.811） and more rare species （17 vs 5） as compared to urban habitat. However, the abundance of 11 species was higher in urban habitats. Bird Species Richness （BSR） varied considerably among study areas （91 to 113 species）, was high- est （113 species） at mid elevation （1450-1700 m asl） and decreased （22 species） at high elevation （1900-2450 m asl）. It seems that high BSR at mid altitudes is not caused by the presence of a group of mid altitude specialists but rather that there is an over- lap in the distribution of low land and high elevation specialists at this altitude. BSR and Bird Species Diversity fluctuated across seasons but not habitat type [Current Zoology 57 （3）： 318-329,2011].
