Search results for "bird"

Towards the identification of a new taphonomic agent: An analysis of bone accumulations obtained from modern Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus)…

2014

This paper presents the results of a study of bones recovered in various current Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) nests in a Mediterranean region of the Iberian Peninsula. The Egyptian vulture, a diurnal, scavenging, rupicolous bird of prey, is one of four vulture species that currently inhabit the Iberian Peninsula. An analysis of the remains found in the nests confirms that it has a heterogeneous diet that includes remains from human activities (butchery and food production) and the carcasses of dead animals, although it is possible that they also prey on small-sized taxa. The taphonomic study determines these birds' capability of transporting, accumulating and altering bone remai…

Tracing the origin of vagrant Siberian songbirds with stable isotopes: The case of Yellow-browed Warbler (Abrornis inornatus) in Fennoscandia

2019

Vagrant birds are mesmerizing birdwatchers worldwide, but the nature of vagrancy and the true origin of the vagrants are poorly known. To Western Europe, the massive Siberian land mass delivers most of the vagrant songbirds, e.g. Yellow-browed Warbler (YBW) (Abrornis inornatus, formerly Phylloscopus inornatus). In this study we used stable hydrogen isotope ratios in tail feathers ( 2 Hf ) from two ringing stations in northern Fennoscandia in an attempt to link vagrant YBW to potential regions of origin. We could do this thanks to a collection of samples from nestling and breeding adult YBW in Central Siberia. Compared with the nestling samples, the Fennoscandian 2 Hf data indicated origins …

Monitoring the evolution of coastline in Sicily by aerial photos and high resolution satellite imagery

2009

Italy is one of the country more exposed to coasts erosion: about 1200 km of coasts on about 8350 km are moved back of about 25 m in the last 50 years. Particularly Sicily have about 300 km of coasts moved back. There are various reasons of this phenomenon: natural factor (climatic or physical-oceanographic) with environmental and economic effects. The paper reviews the activity of the Dipartimento di Rappresentazione of University of Palermo in cooperation with the Regional Agency of Environmental Protection (ARPA) about the coastline evolution in Sicily. The research is carried out on selected physiographic units marked out by important erosive phenomena. The coastline trend are reconstru…

Toivon ja tuhon näkymiä : luontosuhde ja ympäristötietoisuus kolmen ekoelokuvan vastaanotossa

2022

The role of maternal effects in host-parasite interactions: examination of the development of the immune defense in a colonial seabird, the black-leg…

2004

One of the main aims of evolutionary biology is to understand the mechanisms responsible for the phenotypic variation on which natural selection can act. Maternal effects occur when a mother's phenotype or her environment influence her offspring's phenotype. Despite the importance of such effects for the ecology of host-parasite interactions, their role has been relatively neglected to date. In this thesis, we examined how mothers influence the immune defense of their young in an environment that varies in space and time. This work has primarily focused on a colonial seabird, the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Using this model, we have first shown that specific maternal antibodi…

Analysis of Prey Composition in Eurasian Reed Warblers' Acrocephalus scirpaceus Droppings at Four Breeding Sites in Italy

2022

Our aim was to investigate the among-populations diversity of prey composition in Eurasian Reed Warblers’ diets via their droppings, both to assess the ecological validity of this sampling method and to test whether the prey species most abundant in fecal samples were also the most present in the Italian study site. We collected fecal samples at four sites throughout Italy, for a total of 144 samples. Within reedbeds, the breeding habitat of the Eurasian Reed Warbler, we also collected arthropods by carrying out entomological sweepings at one of the study sites. Within the fecal samples, we identified dozens of prey species, belonging mainly to Araneae, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera and …

Termomodernizacje budynków, a miejsca lęgowe chronionych gatunków ptaków - zagrożenie czy szansa?

2017

Teoretycznie prace związane z termoizolacją budynków, szczególnie bloków mieszkalnych, powinny zostać poprzedzone ekspertyzą ornitologiczną. Nawet jeśli takowa będzie miała miejsce, montowane budki lęgowe kompensujące utratę miejsc lęgowych dla takich gatunków jak wróbel (Passer domesticus) lub jerzyk (Apus apus) często wieszane są nieprawidłowo lub zasiedlone są w następnym sezonie przez inne dziuplaki - głównie szpaki (Sturnus vulgaris). Wobec tego, z punktu widzenia ochrony lęgowych i zagrożonych gatunków, termoizolacja jest uważana za szkodliwą i przynoszącą straty. Jednak w miarę upływu czasu,paradoksalnie, warstwa izolacyjna stwarza ponownie warunki do gniazdowania głównie dzięki nied…

The first inventory of birds of prey in sicilian museum collections (Italy)

2020

Natural History Museums are places of scientific dissemination and informal education, and have a fundamental role in scientific research and in preserving the historical heritage of a territory and its biodiversity. The island of Sicily, thanks to its geographic position as an inter-continental bridge in the Mediterranean, presents a notable ornithological diversity, with both sedentary species and species that migrate between Africa and Europe. For this reason, and thanks to a strong hunting tradition, Sicilian collections also depict the avifaunal assemblage historically present in the region, particularly for birds of prey, the group we focus on because of its particular ecological char…

Compound climate extreme events threaten migratory birds’ conservation in western U.S.

2022

In a warming world, more intense and frequent compound climate extreme events pose serious challenges to biodiversity and conservation on Earth as one of the 2030 United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs): “Life On Land” (SDG 15). In summer 2020, concurrent swelling wildfires and a sudden cold snap in the western U.S. killed a massive number of migratory birds. In August 2020, the hot and humid weather in response to the wildfire radiation and the oceanic evaporation could result in killing heat stress for migratory birds along the coastal shoreline, particularly in California. The heat and smoke of wildfires forced the migratory birds to abandon such feeding grounds towards inla…

On flora semantics in house names found in Vidzeme: materials contained in the 1826 counting of souls in Vidzeme province

2014

On flora semantics in house names found in Vidzeme: materials contained in the 1826 counting of souls in Vidzeme province The information of the counting of souls containing both house names and names of individuals is an essential aspect of historical onomastics. The first counting of souls in Vidzeme took place in 1782 and coincided with the 4 th analogous census of the provinces of Russia. Subsequently these took place at irregular intervals, the 5 th in 1795, the 6 th in 1811, the 7 th in 1816, the 8 th in 1834, the 9 th in 1850, and the final, 10 th in 1858. The number of house names entered in the 1826 counting of souls in Vidzeme province (guberna) is 14,500, including those of peasa…