ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2626-0172
Current Organisation
University of Adelaide
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Global Change Biology | Other Biological Sciences | Invasive Species Ecology | Stochastic Analysis and Modelling | Ecological Impacts of Climate Change | Environmental Management | Forensic biology | Environmental Science and Management | Ecological Applications | Global Change Biology | Genetics | Biological Mathematics | Speciation and Extinction | Climate Change Processes | Developmental Genetics (incl. Sex Determination) | Environmental management | Population And Ecological Genetics | Conservation and Biodiversity | Environmental crime | Conservation and biodiversity |
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Border Biosecurity (incl. Quarantine and Inspection) | Control of Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species at Regional or Larger Scales | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Environments (excl. Social Impacts) | Control of Animal Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species in Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Environments | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Environments | Control of pests and exotic species | Control of pests and exotic species | Pre-Border Biosecurity | Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards not elsewhere classified | Other environmental aspects | Trade and Environment
Related Links
Publications
Eggshell Conspicuousness in Ground Nesting Birds: Do Conspicuous Eggshells Signal Nest Location to Conspecifics?
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 05-2013
DOI: 10.3184/175815513X13617279883973
Abstract: Predators can adversely impact nesting success and therefore the presence of seemingly conspicuous eggshells would appear maladaptive. The ratites, especially the tinamous, exhibit a erse array of eggshell colours that appear to differ strikingly from their nesting substrate, while most ground-nesting species that do not build a nest lay camouflaged eggs. Surprisingly, there is little research on how these nest contents appear to ecologically-relevant viewers, including conspecifics and predators. Here we use visual modelling to compare eggshell conspicuousness in two distinct avian lineages differing in eggshell colour and breeding biology: ratites and galliformes. Ratites generally lay vibrant, unspeckled eggs directly on the ground, while galliformes tend to lay subtler, speckled eggs on nests built on the ground. We test the hypothesis that eggshell colours in ratites are more conspicuous, from the perspective of an avian conspecific, than those of galliformes. We found that the uniform colour covering the surface of the eggshell colour (hereafter, eggshell background colour) differs noticeably from the nesting substrate in both ratites and galliformes. However, the speckling pattern of galliform eggs often masks their conspicuous eggshell background colour, which contributes to a less conspicuous appearance overall. We tested the hypothesis that eggshell conspicuousness in ratites serves an intraspecific signalling function to advertise nest location to females in communally nesting species. We found no support for this hypothesis, suggesting that selection pressure for communal laying did not result in the ersity of conspicuousness found in avian eggs. Overall, we argue that future investigations of egg coloration should consider egg appearance (eggshell background colour and speckling) in the context of the natural nest substrate, all from the perspective of the relevant visual receiver.
An efficient protocol for the global sensitivity analysis of stochastic ecological models
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECS2.1238
Alternative mechanisms of increased eggshell hardness of avian brood parasites relative to host species
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 11-05-2011
Abstract: Obligate brood parasitic birds lay their eggs in nests of other species and parasite eggs typically have evolved greater structural strength relative to host eggs. Increased mechanical strength of the parasite eggshell is an adaptation that can interfere with puncture ejection behaviours of discriminating hosts. We investigated whether hardness of eggshells is related to differences between physical and chemical traits from three different races of the parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus , and their respective hosts. Using tools developed for materials science, we discovered a novel correlate of increased strength of parasite eggs: the common cuckoo's egg exhibits a greater microhardness, especially in the inner region of the shell matrix, relative to its host and sympatric non-host species. We then tested predictions of four potential mechanisms of shell strength: (i) increased relative thickness overall, (ii) greater proportion of the structurally harder shell layers, (iii) higher concentration of inorganic components in the shell matrix, and (iv) elevated deposition of a high density compound, MgCO 3 , in the shell matrix. We confirmed support only for hypothesis (i). Eggshell characteristics did not differ between parasite eggs s led from different host nests in distant geographical sites, suggesting an evolutionarily shared microstructural mechanism of stronger parasite eggshells across erse host-races of brood parasitic cuckoos.
On the island biogeography of aliens: a global analysis of the richness of plant and bird species on oceanic islands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-06-2015
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12339
Life-history theory predicts host behavioural responses to experimental brood parasitism
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 05-11-2014
Shining a LAMP on the applications of isothermal amplification for monitoring environmental biosecurity
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 24-02-2023
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.82.97998
Abstract: Environmental biosecurity risks associated with the transnational wildlife trade include the loss of bio ersity, threats to public health, and the proliferation of invasive alien species. To assist enforcement agencies in identifying species either intentionally (trafficked) or unintentionally (stowaway) entrained in the trade-chain pathway, rapid forensic techniques are needed to enable their detection from DNA s les when physical identification is not possible. Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) is an emerging technique, with recent applications in biosecurity and forensic sciences, which has potential to function as a field-based detection tool. Here we provide an overview of current research that applies LAMP to environmental biosecurity, including identification of ornamental wildlife parts, consumer products, and invasive species monitoring and biosecurity detection. We discuss the current scope of LAMP as applied to various wildlife trade scenarios and biosecurity checkpoint monitoring, highlight the specificity, sensitivity, and robustness for these applications, and review the potential utility of LAMP for rapid field-based detection at biosecurity checkpoints. Based on our assessment of the literature we recommend broader interest, research uptake, and investment in LAMP as an appropriate field-based species detection method for a wide range of environmental biosecurity scenarios.
Assessing programs for monitoring threatened species - a tale of three honeyeaters (Meliphagidae)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2003
DOI: 10.1071/WR02056
Abstract: We critically evaluated population-monitoring programs for three endangered species of Australian honeyeater: the helmeted honeyeater, Lichenostomus melanops cassidix, the black-eared miner, Manorina melanotis, and the regent honeyeater, Xanthomyza phrygia (Meliphagidae). Our results challenge the common assumption that meaningful monitoring is possible in all species within the five-year lifetime of recovery plans. We found that the precision achievable from monitoring programs not only depends on the monitoring technique applied but also on the species' biology. Relevant life-history attributes include a species' pattern of movement, its home-range size and its distribution. How well understood and predictable these attributes are will also influence monitoring precision. Our results highlight the large degree of variability in precision among monitoring programs and the value of applying power analysis before continuing longer-term studies. They also suggest that managers and funding agencies should be mindful that more easily monitored species should not receive preferential treatment over species that prove more difficult to monitor.
A population model for predicting the successful establishment of introduced bird species
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-02-2014
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-014-2902-1
Abstract: One of the strongest generalities in invasion biology is the positive relationship between probability of establishment and the numbers of in iduals introduced. Nevertheless, a number of significant questions remain regarding: (1) the relative importance of different processes during introduction (e.g., demographic, environmental, and genetic stochasticity, and Allee effects) (2) the relative effects of propagule pressure (e.g., number of introductions, size of introductions, and lag between introductions) and (3) different life history characteristics of the species themselves. Here, we adopt an in idual-based simulation modeling approach to explore a range of such details in the relationship between establishment success and numbers of in iduals introduced. Our models are developed for typical exotic bird introductions, for which the relationship between probability of establishment and the numbers of in iduals introduced has been particularly well documented. For both short-lived and long-lived species, probability of establishment decreased across multiple introductions (compared with a single introduction of the same total size), and this decrease was greater when inbreeding depression was included. Sensitivity analyses revealed four predictors that together accounted for >95% of model performance. Of these, R 0 (the average number of daughters produced per female over her lifetime) and propagule pressure were of primary importance, while random environmental effects and inbreeding depression exerted lesser influence. Initial founder size is undoubtedly going to be important for ensuring the persistence of introduced populations. However, we found the demographic traits, which influence how introduced in iduals behave, to have the greatest effect on establishment success.
A survey of publication bias within evolutionary ecology
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-12-2004
Variability in Avian Eggshell Colour: A Comparative Study of Museum Eggshells
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-08-2010
Relationships between nestling condition and variability in coccidian prevalence among three species of wild-nesting birds in New Zealand
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2008
DOI: 10.1071/ZO08001
Abstract: Coccidian protozoa are widespread intestinal parasites of vertebrate species. Currently, our understanding of the dynamics of host–coccidia relationships among birds remains poor beyond domestic poultry and species held in captivity. The various threats that parasites can impose have resulted in demands to monitor and quantify different parasites and incorporate their impacts on hosts into ecological models of risk assessment. Here, we estimate prevalence of coccidian infections from nestlings of three species of exotic, free-living European passerines in New Zealand (Turdus merula, T. philomelos, Sturnus vulgaris). We find that despite high prevalence of infection among clutches (~40%) these infections appear asymptomatic and are not related to indices of nestling condition or fledging success. We encourage additional studies to provide results on variation in parasite prevalence and pathogenicity in order to build our understanding of host dynamics.
Investigating movement in the laboratory: dispersal apparatus designs and the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-03-2017
DOI: 10.1111/EEA.12551
Genetic perspectives on the historical introduction of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) to Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-09-2018
Integrating transport pressure data and species distribution models to estimate invasion risk for alien stowaways
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-06-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ECOG.02841
Variations on a theme: sources of heterogeneity in the form of the interspecific relationship between abundance and distribution
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-10-2006
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2006.01167.X
Abstract: 1. A positive interspecific relationship between abundance and distribution is widely considered to be one of the most general patterns in ecology. However, the relationship appears to vary considerably across assemblages, from significant positive to significant negative correlations and all shades in between. 2. This variation has led to the suggestion that the abundance-distribution relationship has multiple forms, with the corollary that different patterns may inform about, or have different, causes. However, this variation has never been formally quantified, nor has it been determined whether the observed variation is indicative of s ling error in estimating a single effect or of real heterogeneity in such relationships. Here, we use the meta-analytical approach to assess variation in abundance-distribution relationships, and to test different hypotheses for it. 3. Analysis of 279 relationships found a mean effect size of 0.655, which was both highly significantly different from zero and indicative of a strong positive association between abundance and distribution. However, effect sizes were highly heterogeneous, supporting the contention that this relationship does indeed have multiple forms. 4. Most notably, relationships vary significantly in strength across realms, with the strongest in the marine and intertidal, intermediate relationships for terrestrial and parasitic assemblages, and the weakest relationships in freshwater systems. Effect sizes in all of the aquatic realms are homogeneous, suggesting that realm is an important source of the heterogeneity observed across all studies. We posit that this may be because the different spatial structure of the environment in each realm affects the opportunity for the dispersal of in iduals between sites. 5. Some of the remaining heterogeneity in effect sizes for terrestrial assemblages could be explained by partitioning assemblages by habitat, scale, biogeographical region and taxon, but considerable heterogeneity in effect sizes for terrestrial and parasitic assemblages remained unexplained.
Lasting the distance: The survival of alien birds shipped to New Zealand in the 19th century
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-03-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.6143
Abstract: Invasive alien species are a major threat to bio ersity and human activities, providing a strong incentive to understand the processes by which alien invasion occurs. While it is important to understand the determinants of success at each of several invasion stages—transport, introduction, establishment, and spread—few studies have explored the first of these stages. Here, we quantify and analyze variation in the success of in idual animals in surviving the transport stage, based on shipping records of European passerines destined for New Zealand. We mined the original documents of Acclimatisation Societies, established in New Zealand for the purpose of introducing supposedly beneficial alien species, in combination with recently digitized newspaper archives, to produce a unique dataset of 122 ships that carried passerines from Europe to New Zealand between 1850 and 1885. For 37 of these shipments, data on the survival of in idual species were available. Using generalized linear mixed models, we explored how survival was related to characteristics of the shipments and the species. We show that species differed greatly in their survival, but none of the tested traits accounted for these differences. Yet, survival increased over time, which mirrors the switch from early haphazard shipments to larger organized shipments. Our results imply that it was the quality of care received by the birds that most affected success at this stage of the invasion process.
A comparison of egg yolk lipid constituents between parasitic Common Cuckoos and their hosts
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2015
DOI: 10.1642/AUK-15-14.1
Managing the risk of wildlife disease introduction: pathway-level biosecurity for preventing the introduction of alien ranaviruses
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-08-2017
Experience dependence of neural responses to different classes of male songs in the primary auditory forebrain of female songbirds
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2013
The influence of spatial resolution on macroecological patterns of range size variation: a case study using parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) of the world
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2004
Are introduced and re-introduced species comparable? A case study of birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2004
Repeatability of Foreign Egg Rejection: Testing the Assumptions of Co-Evolutionary Theory
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-06-2011
A comparison of indices and measured values of eggshell thickness of different shell regions using museum eggs of 230 European bird species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-06-2012
Development and characterization of 13 new, and cross amplification of 3, polymorphic nuclear microsatellite loci in the common myna (Acridotheres tristis)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-02-2012
The repeatability of metabolic rate declines with time
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.076562
Abstract: The evolutionary causes of variation in metabolic rate within and among species are a topic of enduring interest. Since variation between in iduals is the raw material on which natural selection acts, recent years have seen an increase in the number of studies that examine the consequences of inter-in idual differences in metabolic rate for organismal performance. A minimum requirement for a trait to evolve is that it must differ consistently between in iduals, and these differences must be heritable. The time constancy of a trait is assessed by estimating its repeatability, which represents the ratio of the between-in idual component of phenotypic variance to total phenotypic variance. A previous meta-analysis of repeatability concluded that metabolic rate is, on average, repeatable. Here we expand on this earlier analysis by including extra data published in the intervening years and demonstrate that the repeatability of metabolic rate decreases as the interval between measurements increases.
Causes of exotic bird establishment across oceanic islands
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 17-08-2005
Abstract: The probability that exotic species will successfully establish viable populations varies between regions, for reasons that are currently unknown. Here, we use data for exotic bird introductions to 41 oceanic islands and archipelagos around the globe to test five hypotheses for this variation: the effects of introduction effort, competition, predation, human disturbance and habitat ersity (island biogeography). Our analyses demonstrate the primary importance of introduction effort for avian establishment success across regions, in concordance with previous analyses within regions. However, they also reveal a strong negative interaction across regions between establishment success and predation exotic birds are more likely to fail on islands with species-rich mammalian predator assemblages.
Scalability of genetic biocontrols for eradicating invasive alien mammals
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 07-07-2022
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.74.82394
Abstract: CRISPR-based gene drives offer novel solutions for controlling invasive alien species, which could ultimately extend eradication efforts to continental scales. Gene drives for suppressing invasive alien vertebrates are now under development. Using a landscape-scale in idual-based model, we present the first estimates of times to eradication for long-lived alien mammals. We show that demography and life-history traits interact to determine the scalability of gene drives for vertebrate pest eradication. Notably, optimism around eradicating smaller-bodied pests (rodents and rabbits) with gene-drive technologies does not easily translate into eradication of larger-bodied alien species (cats and foxes).
Where did all the pangolins go? International CITES trade in pangolin species
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2016
Weed wide web: characterising illegal online trade of invasive plants in Australia
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 11-08-2023
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.87.104472
Abstract: Invasive plants seriously impact our environmental, agricultural and forestry assets, and the ornamental plant trade is a major introduction pathway. The variety and extent of the ornamental plant trade is growing in reach and is increasingly facilitated by the internet (i.e., through e-commerce). A lack of surveillance and regulation of e-commerce has resulted in invasive species being widely traded on these platforms. Here, we investigated the extent of illegal trade in invasive plant species in Australia by collecting advertisements found on a popular public e-commerce website. Across a 12-month period we collected a total of 235,162 plant advertisements. From 10,000 of these advertisements (4.25% of total advertisements) we found 155 plant taxa advertised online that were prohibited to trade in at least one Australian State or Territory (12.5% of Australia’s total prohibited plant taxa). We detected 1,415 instances of invasive plants advertised, of which 411 breached local jurisdictional (i.e., State or Territory) laws. Opuntia cacti and invasive aquatic plants were traded in the greatest quantities. A variety of uses for plants prohibited to trade were reported by the sellers, with aquatic uses being the most popular (i.e., water filtering and habitat for aquatic animals). We used generalised linear mixed-effects models to test the effect of prohibiting the sale of invasive plants on the quantity and price of online advertisements. Despite Australia’s strict internal biosecurity regulations, we found that trade prohibitions had no influence on the quantity and price of trade in illegal invasive plants. Given this, and the extent of illegal invasive plants traded, we believe increased monitoring and regulation of online plant trade is warranted. We demonstrate that targeted searches using string matching is an effective tool for detecting e-commerce trade of invasive species. However, to obtain the most optimal outcomes, regulations should be coupled with increased cooperation from e-commerce platforms and public awareness c aigns. Future weed risk assessments should consider online trade as a key factor in the long-distance dispersal and propagule pressure of a plant. Jurisdictions would also benefit from greater alignment on plant trade prohibitions and revision of associated compliance policies.
Indications of phenotypic plasticity in moulting birds: captive geese reveal adaptive changes in mineralisation of their long bones during wing moult
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-05-2011
Patterns of selectivity in introductions of mammal species worldwide
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 27-01-2017
Patterns of transport and introduction of exotic amphibians in Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-02-2014
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12176
Prescribed burning impacts avian diversity and disadvantages woodland-specialist birds unless long-unburnt habitat is retained
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2017
Australia's wish list of exotic pets: Biosecurity and conservation implications of desired alien and illegal pet species
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 18-08-2020
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.60.51431
Abstract: Globalisation of the live pet trade facilitates major pathways for the transport and introduction of invasive alien species across longer distances and at higher frequencies than previously possible. Moreover, the unsustainable trade of species is a major driver for the over-exploitation of wild populations. Australia minimises the biosecurity and conservation risk of the international pet trade by implementing highly stringent regulations on the live import and keeping of alien pets beyond its international CITES obligations. However, the public desire to possess prohibited alien pets has never been quantified and represents a number of species that could be acquired illegally or legally under different future legislative conditions. As such, highly desirable species represent an ongoing conservation threat and biosecurity risk via the pet-release invasion pathway. We aimed to characterise the Australian desire for illegal alien pets and investigate potential sources of external information that can be utilised to predict future desire. Using public live import enquiry records from the Australian Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment as a proxy for alien pet desire, we tested for differences in the proportion of species with threatened listings and records of invasions, after accounting for taxonomy. Additionally, we used a United States of America (U.S.) live imports dataset to infer pet demand in another Western market with less stringent regulations and determined whether species highly desired in Australia had higher U.S. trade demand than would be expected by chance. The Australian public desire for alien pets is heavily and significantly biased towards species threatened with extinction, species popular in the U.S. trade and species with a history of successful invasions. Not only does this indicate the potential impacts of pet desire on invasion risk and the conservation of threatened species, but we also highlight the potential role of the U.S. trade as an effective predictor for Australian desire. Our research emphasises the value of novel datasets in building predictive capacity for improved biosecurity awareness.
An introduction to women in STEM careers: International perspectives on increasing workforce participation, advancement and leadership
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Date: 31-10-2014
Predictors of contraction and expansion of area of occupancy for British birds
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-07-2014
Abstract: Geographical range dynamics are driven by the joint effects of abiotic factors, human ecosystem modifications, biotic interactions and the intrinsic organismal responses to these. However, the relative contribution of each component remains largely unknown. Here, we compare the contribution of life-history attributes, broad-scale gradients in climate and geographical context of species’ historical ranges, as predictors of recent changes in area of occupancy for 116 terrestrial British breeding birds (74 contractors, 42 expanders) between the early 1970s and late 1990s. Regional threat classifications demonstrated that the species of highest conservation concern showed both the largest contractions and the smallest expansions. Species responded differently to climate depending on geographical distribution—northern species changed their area of occupancy (expansion or contraction) more in warmer and drier regions, whereas southern species changed more in colder and wetter environments. Species with slow life history (larger body size) tended to have a lower probability of changing their area of occupancy than species with faster life history, whereas species with greater natal dispersal capacity resisted contraction and, counterintuitively, expansion. Higher geographical fragmentation of species' range also increased expansion probability, possibly indicating a release from a previously limiting condition, for ex le through agricultural abandonment since the 1970s. After accounting statistically for the complexity and nonlinearity of the data, our results demonstrate two key aspects of changing area of occupancy for British birds: (i) climate is the dominant driver of change, but direction of effect depends on geographical context, and (ii) all of our predictors generally had a similar effect regardless of the direction of the change (contraction versus expansion). Although we caution applying results from Britain's highly modified and well-studied bird community to other biogeographic regions, our results do indicate that a species' propensity to change area of occupancy over decadal scales can be explained partially by a combination of simple allometric predictors of life-history pace, average climate conditions and geographical context.
Transcript- and annotation-guided genome assembly of the European starling
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 08-04-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.04.07.438753
Abstract: The European starling, Sturnus vulgaris , is an ecologically significant, globally invasive avian species that is also suffering from a major decline in its native range. Here, we present the genome assembly and long-read transcriptome of an Australian-sourced European starling ( S. vulgaris vAU), and a second North American genome ( S. vulgaris vNA), as complementary reference genomes for population genetic and evolutionary characterisation. S. vulgaris vAU combined 10x Genomics linked-reads, low-coverage Nanopore sequencing, and PacBio Iso-Seq full-length transcript scaffolding to generate a 1050 Mb assembly on 1,628 scaffolds (72.5 Mb scaffold N50). Species-specific transcript mapping and gene annotation revealed high structural and functional completeness (94.6% BUSCO completeness). Further scaffolding against the high-quality zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) genome assigned 98.6% of the assembly to 32 putative nuclear chromosome scaffolds. Rapid, recent advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics software have highlighted the need for evidence-based assessment of assembly decisions on a case-by-case basis. Using S. vulgaris vAU, we demonstrate how the multifunctional use of PacBio Iso-Seq transcript data and complementary homology-based annotation of sequential assembly steps (assessed using a new tool, SAAGA) can be used to assess, inform, and validate assembly workflow decisions. We also highlight some counter-intuitive behaviour in traditional BUSCO metrics, and present B uscomp , a complementary tool for assembly comparison designed to be robust to differences in assembly size and base-calling quality. Finally, we present a second starling assembly, S. vulgaris vNA, to facilitate comparative analysis and global genomic research on this ecologically important species.
Reproducibility and Repeatability in Ecology
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2006
Diversity, biogeography and the global flows of alien amphibians and reptiles
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12617
The Illegal Wildlife Trade Is a Likely Source of Alien Species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-10-2016
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12301
Detecting pigments from colourful eggshells of extinct birds
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-12-2009
Biological invasions and natural colonisations are different – the need for invasion science
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 14-09-2016
Egg Eviction Imposes a Recoverable Cost of Virulence in Chicks of a Brood Parasite
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-11-2009
A nondestructive method for extracting maternally derived egg yolk carotenoids
Publisher: Resilience Alliance, Inc.
Date: 09-2007
Going Cheap: Determinants of Bird Price in the Taiwanese Pet Market
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-05-2015
Leveraging a natural murine meiotic drive to suppress invasive populations
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 31-05-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.05.31.494104
Abstract: Invasive rodents, including house mice, are a major cause of environmental damage and bio ersity loss, particularly in island ecosystems. Eradication can be achieved through the distribution of rodenticide, but this approach is expensive to apply at scale, can have negative impacts (e.g. on non-target species, or through contamination), has animal ethics concerns, and has restrictions on where it can be used. Gene drives, which exhibit biased inheritance, have been proposed as a next generation strategy to control invasive alien pests and disease vectors. However, synthetic gene drives including CRISPR homing drives have proven to be technically challenging to develop in mice. The t haplotype is a naturally-occurring segregation distortion locus with highly biased transmission from heterozygous males. Here we propose a novel gene drive strategy for population suppression, t CRISPR , that leverages t haplotype bias and an embedded SpCas9/gRNA transgene to spread inactivating mutations in a haplosufficient female fertility gene. Using spatially explicit in idual-based in silico modelling, we show that polyandry, sperm competition, dispersal, and transmission bias are critical factors for t CRISPR -mediated population suppression. Modelling of realistic parameter values indicates that t CRISPR can eradicate an island population of 200,000 mice while the unmodified t haplotype fails under the same conditions. We also demonstrate feasibility of this approach by engineering t CRISPR mice in a safe split drive format. t CRISPR mice exhibit high transmission of the modified t haplotype, and efficient generation and transmission of inactivating mutations in a recessive female fertility gene, crucially, at levels for which the modelling predicts that population eradication can occur. This is the first ex le of a feasible gene drive system for invasive alien rodent population control.
The evolutionary causes of egg rejection in European thrushes (Turdusspp.): a reply to M. Soler
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 04-10-2014
Functional traits in red flour beetles: the dispersal phenotype is associated with leg length but not body size nor metabolic rate
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-10-2017
Sexual plumage dichromatism in a size monomorphic seabird
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Date: 09-2014
DOI: 10.1676/13-203.1
Quantum computing: a new paradigm for ecology
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2023
Physical attractiveness, constraints to the trade and handling requirements drive the variation in species availability in the Australian cagebird trade
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2017
A shared chemical basis of avian host–parasite egg colour mimicry
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 14-09-2011
Abstract: Avian brood parasites lay their eggs in other birds' nests and impose considerable fitness costs on their hosts. Historically and scientifically, the best studied ex le of circumventing host defences is the mimicry of host eggshell colour by the common cuckoo ( Cuculus canorus ). Yet the chemical basis of eggshell colour similarity, which impacts hosts' tolerance towards parasitic eggs, remains unknown. We tested the alternative scenarios that (i) cuckoos replicate host egg pigment chemistry, or (ii) cuckoos use alternative mechanisms to produce a similar perceptual effect to mimic host egg appearance. In parallel with patterns of similarity in avian-perceived colour mimicry, the concentrations of the two key eggshell pigments, biliverdin and protoporphyrin, were most similar between the cuckoo host-races and their respective hosts. Thus, the chemical basis of avian host–parasite egg colour mimicry is evolutionarily conserved, but also intraspecifically flexible. These analyses of pigment composition reveal a novel proximate dimension of coevolutionary interactions between avian brood parasites and hosts, and imply that alternative phenotypes may arise by the modifications of already existing biochemical and physiological mechanisms and pathways.
Disentangling synergistic disease dynamics: Implications for the viral biocontrol of rabbits
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-07-2018
Abstract: European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) have been exposed to rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) and myxoma virus (MYXV) in their native and invasive ranges for decades. Yet, the long-term effects of these viruses on rabbit population dynamics remain poorly understood. In this context, we analysed 17 years of detailed capture-mark-recapture data (2000-2016) from Turretfield, South Australia, using a probabilistic state-space hierarchical modelling framework to estimate rabbit survival and epidemiological dynamics. While RHDV infection and disease-induced death were most prominent during annual epidemics in winter and spring, we found evidence for continuous infection of susceptible in iduals with RHDV throughout the year. RHDV-susceptible rabbits had, on average, 25% lower monthly survival rates compared to immune in iduals, while the average monthly force of infection in winter and spring was ~38%. These combined to result in an average infection-induced mortality rate of 69% in winter and spring. In iduals susceptible to MYXV and immune to RHDV had similar survival probabilities to those having survived infections from both viruses, whereas in iduals susceptible to both RHDV and MYXV had higher survival probabilities than those susceptible to RHDV and immune to MYXV. This suggests that MYXV may reduce the future survival rates of in iduals that endure initial MYXV infection. There was no evidence for long-term changes in disease-induced mortality and infection rates for either RHDV or MYXV. We conclude that continuous, year-round virus perpetuation (and perhaps heterogeneity in modes of transmission and infectious doses during and after epidemics) acts to reduce the efficiency of RHDV and MYXV as biocontrol agents of rabbits in their invasive range. However, if virulence can be maintained as relatively constant through time, RHDV and MYXV will likely continue realizing strong benefits as biocontrol agents.
Egg arrangement in avian clutches covaries with the rejection of foreign eggs
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-02-2013
DOI: 10.1007/S10071-013-0615-1
Abstract: In birds, the colour, maculation, shape, and size of their eggs play critical roles in discrimination of foreign eggs in the clutch. So far, however, no study has examined the role of egg arrangement within a clutch on host rejection responses. We predicted that in idual females which maintain consistent egg arrangements within their clutch would be better able to detect and reject foreign eggs than females without a consistent egg arrangement (i.e. whose eggs change positions more often across incubation). We tested this "egg arrangement hypothesis" in blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrush (T. philomelos). Both species are suitable candidates for research on egg rejection, because they show high inter-in idual variation and in idual repeatability in egg rejection responses. As predicted, using our custom-defined metrics of egg arrangement, rejecter females' clutches showed significantly more consistent patterns in egg arrangement than acceptor females' clutches. Only parameters related to blunt pole showed consistent differences between rejecters and acceptors. This finding makes biological sense because it is already known that song thrush use blunt pole cues to reject foreign eggs. We propose that a disturbance of the original egg arrangement pattern by the laying parasite may alert host females that maintain a consistent egg arrangement to the risk of having been parasitized. Once alerted, these hosts may shift their discrimination thresholds to be more restrictive so as to reject a foreign egg with higher probability. Future studies will benefit from experimentally testing whether these two and other parasitized rejecter host species may rely on the use of consistent egg arrangements as a component of their anti-parasitic defence mechanisms.
Targeting season and age for optimizing control of invasive rabbits
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-05-2016
DOI: 10.1002/JWMG.21093
A global analysis of the determinants of alien geographical range size in birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-08-2016
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12496
Functional response: rigorous estimation and sensitivity to genetic variation in prey
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-11-2005
Broad conservation: Protect the unknowns
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 08-12-2017
Shining a LAMP on the applications of isothermal amplification to monitoring illegal wildlife trade
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 29-06-0006
DOI: 10.3897/ARPHAPREPRINTS.E89465
Abstract: Environmental biosecurity risks associated with the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) include the loss of bio ersity, threats to public health, and the proliferation of invasive alien species. To assist enforcement agencies in identifying trafficked species, rapid forensic techniques enable the detection of trace Environmental DNA (eDNA) where physical identification is not possible. Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) is an emerging technique with recent applications in biosecurity and forensic sciences, and with potential to function as a field-based detection tool. Here we provide an overview of current research that applies LAMP to human and wildlife forensic science, including identification of ornamental wildlife parts, consumer products, and invasive species monitoring and biosecurity detection. We discuss the current scope of LAMP as applied to various wildlife crime scenarios and biosecurity checkpoint monitoring, highlight the specificity, sensitivity, and robustness for these applications, and review the potential utility of LAMP for rapid field-based detection within the IWT. Based on our assessment of the literature we recommend broader interest, research, and investment in LAMP as an appropriate field-based species detection method for a wide range of environmental biosecurity scenarios.
Correction to ‘Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates’
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 10-10-2018
A sum of its individual parts? Relative contributions of different eggshell regions to intraclutch variation in birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-2011
Nesting behaviour influences species-specific gas exchange across avian eggshells
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 15-09-2014
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.103291
Abstract: Carefully controlled gas exchange across the eggshell is essential for the development of the avian embryo. Water vapour conductance (GH2O) across the shell, typically measured as mass loss during incubation, has been demonstrated to optimally ensure the healthy development of the embryo while avoiding desiccation. Accordingly, eggs exposed to sub-optimal gas exchange have reduced hatching success. We tested the association between eggshell GH2O and putative life-history correlates of adult birds, ecological nest parameters and physical characteristics of the egg itself to investigate how variation in GH2O has evolved to maintain optimal water loss across a erse set of nest environments. We measured gas exchange through eggshell fragments in 151 British breeding bird species and fitted phylogenetically controlled, general linear models to test the relationship between GH2O and potential predictor parameters of each species. Of our 17 life-history traits, only two were retained in the final model: wet-incubating parent and nest type. Eggs of species where the parent habitually returned to the nest with wet plumage had significantly higher GH2O than those of parents that returned to the nest with dry plumage. Eggs of species nesting in ground burrows, cliffs and arboreal cups had significantly higher GH2O than those of species nesting on the ground in open nests or cups, in tree cavities and in shallow arboreal nests. Phylogenetic signal (measured as Pagel's λ) was intermediate in magnitude, suggesting that differences observed in the GH2O are dependent upon a combination of shared ancestry and species-specific life history and ecological traits. Although these data are correlational by nature, they are consistent with the hypothesis that parents constrained to return to the nest with wet plumage will increase the humidity of the nest environment, and the eggs of these species have evolved a higher GH2O to overcome this constraint and still achieve optimal water loss during incubation. We also suggest that eggs laid in cup nests and burrows may require a higher GH2O to overcome the increased humidity as a result from the confined nest microclimate lacking air movements through the nest. Taken together, these comparative data imply that species-specific levels of gas exchange across avian eggshells are variable and evolve in response to ecological and physical variation resulting from parental and nesting behaviours.
Experimentally Constrained Virulence is Costly for Common Cuckoo Chicks
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-12-2008
Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Mohoua, endemic hosts of New Zealand’s obligate brood parasitic Long-tailed Cuckoo (Eudynamys taitensis)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-06-2013
The dark web trades wildlife, but mostly for use as drugs
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-05-2023
DOI: 10.1002/PAN3.10469
Abstract: Contemporary wildlife trade is massively facilitated by the Internet. By design, the dark web is one layer of the Internet that is difficult to monitor and continues to lack thorough investigation. Here, we accessed a comprehensive database of dark web marketplaces to search across c . 2 million dark web advertisements over 5 years using c . 7 k wildlife trade‐related search terms. We found 153 species traded in 3332 advertisements ( c . 600 advertisements per year). We characterized a highly specialized wildlife trade market, where c . 90% of dark‐web wildlife advertisements were for recreational drugs. We verified that 68 species contained chemicals with drug properties. Species advertised as drugs mostly comprised of plant species, however, fungi and animals were also traded as drugs. Most species with drug properties were psychedelics (45 species), including one genera of fungi, Psilocybe , with 19 species traded on the dark web. The native distribution of plants with drug properties were clustered in Central and South America. A smaller proportion of trade was for purported medicinal properties of wildlife, clothing, decoration, and as pets. Synthesis and applications . Our results greatly expand on what wildlife species are currently traded on the dark web and provide a baseline to track future changes. Given the low number of advertisements, we assume current conservation and biosecurity risks of the dark web are low. While wildlife trade is r ant on other layers of the Internet, particularly on e‐commerce and social media sites, trade on the dark web may still increase if these popular platforms are rendered less accessible to traders (e.g., via an increase in enforcement). We recommend focussing on surveillance of e‐commerce and social media sites, but we encourage continued monitoring of the dark web periodically to evaluate potential shifts in wildlife trade across this more occluded layer of the Internet. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
Dissecting the null model for biological invasions: A meta-analysis of the propagule pressure effect
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 23-04-2018
Patterns of non-randomness in the composition and characteristics of the Taiwanese bird trade
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-04-2014
Patterns of non‐randomness in the exotic avifauna of Florida
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-05-2007
DOI: 10.1111/J.1472-4642.2007.00358.X
Abstract: It is now generally recognized that human‐mediated biological invasion is a multistage process, successively comprising transport, introduction, establishment, and spread, and that a complete understanding of the causes of invasion requires studies of all stages. However, while many studies address the characteristics that influence establishment, relatively few address the characteristics that influence whether or not a species transits the earlier stages of transport and introduction. Here, we use data on the rich exotic avifauna of Florida to assess non‐randomness in the identities of species that have passed through the transport and introduction stages. Bird species transported and introduced to Florida are non‐random with respect to their taxonomic affiliations, body mass, native geographical range size, and region of origin: introductions are more likely for widespread, large‐bodied species from the Neotropics and belonging to the Anatidae, Psittacidae, Ciconiidae, and Passeridae. Data on the identities of species that have attempted to breed but failed, and on the breeding population size for most established species, also allowed us to assess the extent to which the same variables influenced various aspects of post‐introduction establishment. Only native geographical range size and latitudinal range mid‐point distinguish between these different classes of exotic species. Geographical range size is the most general correlate of different classes of invaders in our analyses.
Alien species as a driver of recent extinctions
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 02-2016
Abstract: We assessed the prevalence of alien species as a driver of recent extinctions in five major taxa (plants, hibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), using data from the IUCN Red List. Our results show that alien species are the second most common threat associated with species that have gone completely extinct from these taxa since AD 1500. Aliens are the most common threat associated with extinctions in three of the five taxa analysed, and for vertebrate extinctions overall.
Blood flow for bone remodelling correlates with locomotion in living and extinct birds
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.102889
Abstract: Nutrient arteries enter limb bones through discrete foramina on the shafts. They are required for bone remodelling in response to mechanical loading and dynamic forces imposed by locomotion. The cross-sectional area of the nutrient foramen of the femur represents an index of blood flow rate to the shaft and thus provides insight into the animal’s level of activity. Morphometric data on femoral length, mass and foramen size from 100 extant bird species and eight extinct moa species were analysed allometrically and phylogenetically. The nutrient foramen blood flow index (Qi) and femur mass (Mf) increase with body mass (Mb). At 1 kg body mass, cursorial species have approximately 2.1 times higher Qi and 1.9 times heavier Mf than volant species. The scaling of Qi on Mf is independent of the primary mode of locomotion, but the ratio Qi/Mf decreases significantly in larger birds, although absolute Qi increases. The overall avian equation for Qi on Mb is not significantly different from previous data from mammals, but when differences in blood pressure are accounted for, estimated blood flow to the femur is about 1.9 times higher in cursorial birds than in mammals, possibly in relation to bipedalism and quadrupedalism, respectively. Femoral bone blood flow in both endothermic groups is estimated to be 50-100 times higher than in ectothermic reptiles.
On the Use of Commercial Quails as Study Organisms: Lessons about Food Intake from Individual Variation in Body Mass
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 08-2012
DOI: 10.3184/175815512X13443333441381
Abstract: We analysed inter-in idual body mass variation of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) in an examination of the effectiveness of regulations governing daily food requirements. We measured the daily food intake of 26 adult female quail during a feeding trial over four consecutive days. Non-ingested food was weighed every morning and 70 g of food was provided to each bird for every day of the trial. This represented more than three times the theoretical recommended daily amount of food required by Japanese quail, as described in the literature. We then calculated a female-specific mean daily food requirement and found highly significant variation among in iduals. Daily food intake was significantly repeatable within-female over the trial and mean food intake was highly correlated with female body mass. We suggest that using daily requirements for in iduals based upon ‘population’ means, whilst ignoring differences in body mass among in iduals might have severe consequences for the welfare of birds. Furthermore, these results have significant implications for studies where the aim is to perform identical experimental manipulations (as some studies intend and suggest), resulting in the drawing of unsubstantiated conclusions.
Escaping captivity: The biological invasion risk from vertebrate species in zoos
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2015
The biogeography of avian extinctions on oceanic islands revisited
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-07-2009
Improved surveillance for early detection of a potential invasive species: the alien Rose-ringed parakeet Psittacula krameri in Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-11-2017
Publication and Rejection among Successful Ecologists
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2004
How avian incubation behaviour influences egg surface temperatures: relationships with egg position, development and clutch size
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-06-2012
Avian embryonic development does not change the stable isotope composition of the calcite eggshell
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/RD10138
Abstract: The avian embryo resorbs most of the calcium for bone formation from the calcite eggshell but the exact mechanisms of the resorption are unknown. The present study tested whether this process results in variable fractionation of the oxygen and carbon isotopes in shell calcium carbonate, which could provide a detailed insight into the temporal and spatial use of the eggshell by the developing embryo. Despite the uncertainty regarding changes in stable isotope composition of the eggshell across developmental stages or regions of the shell, eggshells are a popular resource for the analysis of historic and extant trophic relationships. To clarify how the stable isotope composition varies with embryonic development, the δ13C and δ18O content of the carbonate fraction in shells of black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) eggs were s led at four different stages of embryonic development and at five eggshell regions. No consistent relationship between the stable isotope composition of the eggshell and embryonic development, shell region or maculation was observed, although shell thickness decreased with development in all shell regions. By contrast, in idual eggs differed significantly in isotope composition. These results establish that eggshells can be used to investigate a species’ carbon and oxygen sources, regardless of the egg’s developmental stage.
The Selenium Levels of Mothers and Their Neonates Using Hair, Breast Milk, Meconium, and Maternal and Umbilical Cord Blood in Van Basin
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-02-2008
DOI: 10.1007/S12011-008-8088-9
Abstract: The objective of the present study is to calculate linear regressions between a mother and her child with respect to their selenium concentration (ng/g) in the following traits: maternal blood and umbilical cord blood, maternal and child hair, maternal milk and child umbilical cord blood, maternal milk and meconium, maternal blood plasma, and child meconium. The data were collected at Research Hospital of the University of Yüzüncü Yil from 30 pairs of mothers and their newborn baby. The mean maternal serum Se level in 30 mothers was 68.52 +/- 3.57 ng/g and cord plasma level was 119.90 +/- 18.08 ng/g. The Se concentration in maternal and neonatal hair was 330.84 +/- 39.03 and 1,124.76 +/- 186.84 ng/g, respectively. The Se concentration of maternal milk at day 14 after delivery was determined as 68.63 +/- 7.78 ng/g (n = 13) and the concentration of Se was 418.90 +/- 45.49 ng/g (n = 22) for meconium of neonatal. There was no significant difference between maternal blood and milk Se levels. However, hair Se concentration was significantly higher than milk and maternal blood Se level. For each trait comparison, the average absolute difference in log(10)-transformed Se concentration was calculated between a mother and her child. The observed average absolute difference was compared with a test distribution of 1,000 res led bootstrap averages where the number of s les was maintained but the relationship between a mother and her child was randomized among s les (alpha = 0.05).
Understanding the biological invasion risk posed by the global wildlife trade: Propagule pressure drives the introduction and establishment of Nearctic turtles
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-12-2015
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.12790
Abstract: Biological invasions are a key component of human‐induced global change. The continuing increase in global wildlife trade has raised concerns about the parallel increase in the number of new invasive species. However, the factors that link the wildlife trade to the biological invasion process are still poorly understood. Moreover, there are analytical challenges in researching the role of global wildlife trade in biological invasions, particularly issues related to the under‐reporting of introduced and established populations in areas with reduced s ling effort. In this work, we use high‐quality data on the international trade in Nearctic turtles (1999–2009) coupled with a statistical modelling framework, which explicitly accounts for detection, to investigate the factors that influence the introduction (release, or escape into the wild) of globally traded Nearctic turtles and the establishment success (self‐sustaining exotic populations) of slider turtles ( Trachemys scripta ), the most frequently traded turtle species. We found that the introduction of a species was influenced by the total number of turtles exported to a jurisdiction and the age at maturity of the species, while the establishment success of slider turtles was best associated with the propagule number (number of release events), and the number of native turtles in the jurisdiction of introduction. These results indicate both a direct and indirect association between the wildlife trade and the introduction of turtles and establishment success of slider turtles, respectively. Our results highlight the existence of gaps in the number of globally recorded introduction events and established populations of slider turtles, although the expected bias is low. We emphasize the importance of researching independently the factors that affect the different stages of the invasion pathway. Critically, we observe that the number of traded in iduals might not always be an adequate proxy for propagule pressure and establishment success.
Global hotspots and correlates of alien species richness across taxonomic groups
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-06-2017
Ecological and economic benefits to cattle rangelands of restoring an apex predator
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-12-2015
Transport pathways shape the biogeography of alien freshwater fishes in Australia
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-05-2018
DOI: 10.1111/DDI.12777
Allometric exponents do not support a universal metabolic allometry
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2007
DOI: 10.1890/05-1883
Abstract: The debate about the value of the allometric scaling exponent (b) relating metabolic rate to body mass (metabolic rate = a x mass(b)) is ongoing, with published evidence both for and against a 3/4-power scaling law continuing to accumulate. However, this debate often revolves around a dichotomous distinction between the 3/4-power exponent predicted by recent models of nutrient distribution networks and a 2/3 exponent predicted by Euclidean surface-area-to-volume considerations. Such an approach does not allow for the possibility that there is no single "true" exponent. In the present study, we conduct a meta-analysis of 127 interspecific allometric exponents to determine whether there is a universal metabolic allometry or if there are systematic differences between taxa or between metabolic states. This analysis shows that the effect size of mass on metabolic rate is significantly heterogeneous and that, on average, the effect of mass on metabolic rate is stronger for endotherms than for ectotherms. Significant differences between scaling exponents were also identified between ectotherms and endotherms, as well as between metabolic states (e.g., rest, field, and exercise), a result that applies to b values estimated by ordinary least squares, reduced major axis, and phylogenetically correct regression models. The lack of support for a single exponent model suggests that there is no universal metabolic allometry and represents a significant challenge to any model that predicts only a single value of b.
Implantation reduces the negative effects of bio-logging devices on birds
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.076554
Abstract: Animal-borne logging or telemetry devices are widely used for the measurements of physiological and movement data from free-living animals. For such measurements to be relevant, however, it is essential that the devices themselves do not affect the data of interest. A recent meta-analysis (Barron et al. 2010 Methods Ecol Evol. 1:180-187) reported an overall negative effect of these devices on the birds that bear them, i.e. on nesting productivity, clutch size, nest initiation date, offspring quality, body condition, flying ability, foraging behaviours, energy expenditure or survival rate. Method of attachment (Harness, Collar, Glue, Anchor, Implant, Breast-mounted, Tailmount) had no influence on the strength of these effects but anchored and implanted transmitters had the highest reported rates of device-induced mortality. Furthermore, external devices, but not internal devices, caused an increase in 'device-induced behaviour' (comfort behaviours such as preening, fluffing and stretching, and unrest activities including unquantifiable 'active' behaviours). These findings suggest that, with the exception of device-induced behaviour, external attachment is preferable to implantation. In the present study we undertake a meta-analysis of 183 estimates of device impact from 39 studies of 36 species of bird designed to explicitly compare the effects of externally-attached and surgically-implanted devices on a range of traits, including condition, energy expenditure, and reproduction. In contrast to Barron et al., we demonstrate that externally-attached devices have a consistent detrimental effect (i.e., negative influences on body condition, reproduction, metabolism, and survival), whereas implanted devices have no consistent effect. We also show that the magnitude of the negative effect of externally attached devices decreases with time. We therefore conclude that device implantation is preferable to external attachment, providing that the risk of mortality associated with the anaesthesia and surgery required for implantation can be mitigated. We recommend that studies employing external devices use devices that can be borne for long periods, and, wherever possible, deploy devices in advance of the time period of interest.
Repeatability of laboratory measurements for maternally derived yolk carotenoid concentrations in bird eggs
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1071/ZO06045
Abstract: We describe a source of variability in maternally derived yolk carotenoids that is not routinely calculated in published studies. We quantify the measurement error in yolk carotenoid concentrations that may accrue during the analysis of yolk contents from repeat extractions and repeat high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) runs of the same egg yolk s le from free range clutches of four farm bird species in New Zealand. We show that the variability between different eggs is substantially greater than the variability between replicate yolk extractions and HPLC analyses. Importantly, our results provide confidence to researchers that technical repeatability is a lesser concern when studying the biological differences between yolk s les.
Timing and severity of immunizing diseases in rabbits is controlled by seasonal matching of host and pathogen dynamics
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 02-2015
Abstract: Infectious diseases can exert a strong influence on the dynamics of host populations, but it remains unclear why such disease-mediated control only occurs under particular environmental conditions. We used 16 years of detailed field data on invasive European rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) in Australia, linked to in idual-based stochastic models and Bayesian approximations, to test whether (i) mortality associated with rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) is driven primarily by seasonal matches/mismatches between demographic rates and epidemiological dynamics and (ii) delayed infection (arising from insusceptibility and maternal antibodies in juveniles) are important factors in determining disease severity and local population persistence of rabbits. We found that both the timing of reproduction and exposure to viruses drove recurrent seasonal epidemics of RHD. Protection conferred by insusceptibility and maternal antibodies controlled seasonal disease outbreaks by delaying infection this could have also allowed escape from disease. The persistence of local populations was a stochastic outcome of recovery rates from both RHD and myxomatosis. If susceptibility to RHD is delayed, myxomatosis will have a pronounced effect on population extirpation when the two viruses coexist. This has important implications for wildlife management, because it is likely that such seasonal interplay and disease dynamics has a strong effect on long-term population viability for many species.
Extinction in island endemic birds reconsidered
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2004
Impact of time since collection on avian eggshell color: a comparison of museum and fresh egg specimens
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-08-2010
Estimating the effect of inbreeding on survival
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 24-10-2007
Why are birds' eggs colourful? Eggshell pigments co-vary with life-history and nesting ecology among British breeding non-passerine birds
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-05-2012
Bearing all Down Under: the role of Australasian countries in the illegal bear trade
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 04-11-2021
DOI: 10.1071/PC21057
Abstract: Context Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) is a leading concern for conservation and biosecurity agencies globally, and involves multiple source, transit, and destination countries smuggling species on a transnational scale. The contribution of non-range countries for driving demand in IWT is often overlooked. Aims We analysed the dynamics (source, type and quantity) of bear seizures in Australia and New Zealand to gain a deeper understanding of the IWT, and to raise awareness among enforcement agencies for mitigating the international smuggling of bear parts and derivatives, and reducing the global threat to bears from illegal exploitation. Methods We collated biosecurity and conservation enforcement agency records of CITES seizures from Australia and New Zealand. All of the seizures were declared for ‘personal use’. Key results We report on 781 seizures of bear parts and derivatives in Australia and New Zealand from 33 countries over the past decade. The majority of seizures were medicinal (gall bladder and bile) products, but also included a range of body parts, hunting trophies and meat. China was the source of the greatest number of seizures, however, 32 additional source and transit countries/territories (from Asia, Europe, Americas, Middle East and Africa) were also involved in the seizures of bear parts and their derivatives. Conclusions The widespread trade of bears is an ex le of the far-reaching consequences commercial use can have on threatened species. Australia and New Zealand have no native bear species, and yet are frequently involved in wildlife seizures, and illegal bear trade continues to be an enforcement issue. Implications IWT has a detrimental impact on the conservation of bears. Conservation research in non-range countries needs to be conducted to determine the demand and threats from IWT, and to increase collaborative strategies to counter transnational smuggling.
Publication rejection among ecologists
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2003
High adaptive variability and virus-driven selection on major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in invasive wild rabbits in Australia
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 14-11-2017
Detailed assessment of the reported economic costs of invasive species in Australia
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 29-07-2021
DOI: 10.3897/NEOBIOTA.67.58834
Abstract: The legacy of deliberate and accidental introductions of invasive alien species to Australia has had a hefty economic toll, yet quantifying the magnitude of the costs associated with direct loss and damage, as well as for management interventions, remains elusive. This is because the reliability of cost estimates and under-s ling have not been determined. We provide the first detailed analysis of the reported costs associated with invasive species to the Australian economy since the 1960s, based on the recently published InvaCost database and supplementary information, for a total of 2078 unique cost entries. Since the 1960s, Australia has spent or incurred losses totalling at least US$298.58 billion (2017 value) or AU$389.59 billion (2017 average exchange rate) from invasive species. However, this is an underestimate given that costs rise as the number of estimates increases following a power law. There was an average 1.8–6.3-fold increase in the total costs per decade since the 1970s to the present, producing estimated costs of US$6.09–57.91 billion year -1 (all costs combined) or US$225.31 million–6.84 billion year -1 (observed, highly reliable costs only). Costs arising from plant species were the highest among kingdoms (US$151.68 billion), although most of the costs were not attributable to single species. Of the identified weedy species, the costliest were annual ryegrass ( Lolium rigidum ), parthenium ( Parthenium hysterophorus ) and ragwort ( Senecio jacobaea ). The four costliest classes were mammals (US$48.63 billion), insects (US$11.95 billion), eudicots (US$4.10 billion) and monocots (US$1.92 billion). The three costliest species were all animals – cats ( Felis catus ), rabbits ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ) and red imported fire ants ( Solenopsis invicta ). Each State/Territory had a different suite of major costs by species, but with most (3–62%) costs derived from one to three species per political unit. Most (61%) of the reported costs applied to multiple environments and 73% of the total pertained to direct damage or loss compared to management costs only, with both of these findings reflecting the availability of data. Rising incursions of invasive species will continue to have substantial costs for the Australian economy, but with better investment, standardised assessments and reporting and coordinated interventions (including eradications), some of these costs could be substantially reduced.
Remoteness promotes biological invasions on islands worldwide
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 29-08-2018
Abstract: Islands are hotspots of alien species invasions, and their distinct bio ersity is particularly vulnerable to invading species. While isolation has shaped natural colonization of islands for millions of years, globalization in trade and transport has led to a breakdown of biogeographical barriers and subsequent colonization of islands by alien species. Using a large dataset of 257 subtropical and tropical islands, we show that alien richness increases with increasing isolation of islands. This pattern is consistent for plants, ants, mammals, and reptiles, and it cannot simply be explained by island economics and trade alone. Geographical isolation does not protect islands from alien species, and island species richness may reach a new dynamic equilibrium at some point, likely at the expense of many endemic species.
Spatial climate patterns explain negligible variation in strength of compensatory density feedbacks in birds and mammals
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 11-03-2014
Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 09-08-2017
Abstract: Self-replicating gene drives that can spread deleterious alleles through animal populations have been promoted as a much needed but controversial ‘silver bullet’ for controlling invasive alien species. Homing-based drives comprise an endonuclease and a guide RNA (gRNA) that are replicated during meiosis via homologous recombination. However, their efficacy for controlling wild populations is threatened by inherent polymorphic resistance and the creation of resistance alleles via non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ)-mediated DNA repair. We used stochastic in idual-based models to identify realistic gene-drive strategies capable of eradicating vertebrate pest populations (mice, rats and rabbits) on islands. One popular strategy, a sex-reversing drive that converts heterozygous females into sterile males, failed to spread and required the ongoing deployment of gene-drive carriers to achieve eradication. Under alternative strategies, multiplexed gRNAs could overcome inherent polymorphic resistance and were required for eradication success even when the probability of NHEJ was low. Strategies causing homozygotic embryonic non-viability or homozygotic female sterility produced high probabilities of eradication and were robust to NHEJ-mediated deletion of the DNA sequence between multiplexed endonuclease recognition sites. The latter two strategies also purged the gene drive when eradication failed, therefore posing lower long-term risk should animals escape beyond target islands. Multiplexing gRNAs will be necessary if this technology is to be useful for insular extirpation attempts however, precise knowledge of homing rates will be required to design low-risk gene drives with high probabilities of eradication success.
Revised evidence for facultative sex ratio adjustment in birds: a correction
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 27-06-2006
Abstract: We provide a revision to the calculation of effect sizes and heterogeneity statistics in our original article, ‘Facultative primary sex ratio variation: a lack of evidence in birds’ ( Ewen et al . 2004 ). Our revision shows that significant heterogeneity in sex ratio study effect sizes does indeed exist and that for a series of key traits the average effect sizes (while still weak) are in fact significantly different from zero.
Consistent feeding positions of great tit parents
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2006
Rapid development of brood‐parasitic cuckoo embryos cannot be explained by increased gas exchange through the eggshell
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-05-2014
DOI: 10.1111/JZO.12144
Eggshell Permeability: A Standard Technique for Determining Interspecific Rates of Water Vapor Conductance
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 11-2010
DOI: 10.1086/656287
Abstract: Typically, eggshell water vapor conductance is measured on whole eggs, freshly collected at the commencement of a study. At times, however, it may not be possible to obtain whole fresh eggs but rather egg fragments or previously blown eggs. Here we evaluate and describe in detail a technique for modern laboratory analysis of eggshell conductance that uses fragments from fresh and museum eggs to determine eggshell water vapor conductance. We used fresh unincubated eggs of domesticated chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus), and guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) to investigate the reliability, validity, and repeatability of the technique. To assess the suitability of museum s les, museum and freshly collected black-headed gull eggs (Larus ridibundus) were used. Fragments were cut out of the eggshell from the blunt end (B), equator (E), and pointy end (P). Eggshell fragments were glued to the top of a 0.25-mL micro test tube (Eppendorf) filled with 200 μL of distilled water and placed in a desiccator at 25°C. Eppendorfs were weighed three times at 24-h intervals, and mass loss was assumed to be a result of water evaporation. We report the following results: (1) mass loss between weighing sessions was highly repeatable and consistent in all species (2) the majority of intraspecific variability in eggshell water vapor conductance between different eggs of the same species was explained through the differences in water vapor conductance between the three eggshell parts of the same egg (B, E, and P) (3) the technique was sensitive enough to detect significant differences between the three domestic species (4) there was no overall significant difference between water vapor conductance of museum and fresh black-headed gull eggs (5) there was no significant difference in water vapor conductance for egg fragments taken from the same egg both between different trials and within the same trial. We conclude, therefore, that this technique is an effective way of measuring interspecific water vapor conductance from eggshell fragments and that museum eggs are a suitable resource for such work.
The cost of virulence: an experimental study of egg eviction by brood parasitic chicks
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2009
Tests of ecogeographical relationships in a non-native species: what rules avian morphology?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-03-2016
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-016-3590-9
Abstract: The capacity of non-native species to undergo rapid adaptive change provides opportunities to research contemporary evolution through natural experiments. This capacity is particularly true when considering ecogeographical rules, to which non-native species have been shown to conform within relatively short periods of time. Ecogeographical rules explain predictable spatial patterns of morphology, physiology, life history and behaviour. We tested whether Australian populations of non-native starling, Sturnus vulgaris, introduced to the country approximately 150 years ago, exhibited predicted environmental clines in body size, appendage size and heart size (Bergmann's, Allen's and Hesse's rules, respectively). Adult starlings (n = 411) were collected from 28 localities from across eastern Australia from 2011 to 2012. Linear models were constructed to examine the relationships between morphology and local environment. Patterns of variation in body mass and bill surface area were consistent with Bergmann's and Allen's rules, respectively (small body size and larger bill size in warmer climates), with maximum summer temperature being a strongly weighted predictor of both variables. In the only intraspecific test of Hesse's rule in birds to date, we found no evidence to support the idea that relative heart size will be larger in in iduals which live in colder climates. Our study does provide evidence that maximum temperature is a strong driver of morphological adaptation for starlings in Australia. The changes in morphology presented here demonstrate the potential for avian species to make rapid adaptive changes in relation to a changing climate to ameliorate the effects of heat stress.
The U.S. market for imported wildlife not listed in the CITES multilateral treaty
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-10-2022
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13978
Abstract: The international wildlife trade presents severe conservation and environmental security risks, yet no international regulatory framework exists to monitor the trade of species not listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). We explored the composition and dynamics of internationally regulated versus nonregulated trade, with a focus on importations of wild‐caught terrestrial vertebrates entering the United States from 2009 to 2018. We used 10 years of species‐level trade records of the numbers of live, wild‐caught animals imported to the United States and data on International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates of extinction risk to determine whether there were differences in the ersity, abundance, and risk to extinction among imports of CITES‐listed versus unlisted species. We found 3.6 times the number of unlisted species in U.S. imports compared with CITES‐listed species (1366 vs. 378 species). The CITES‐listed species were more likely to face reported conservation threats relative to unlisted species (71.7% vs. 27.5%). However, 376 unlisted species faced conversation threats, 297 species had unknown population trends, and 139 species were without an evaluation by the IUCN. Unlisted species appearing for the first time in records were imported 5.5 times more often relative to CITES‐listed species. Unlisted reptiles had the largest rate of entry, averaging 53 unique species appearing in imports for the first time per year. Overall trade quantities were approximately 11 times larger for imports of unlisted species relative to imports of CITES‐listed species. Countries that were top exporters of CITES‐listed species were mostly different from exporters of unlisted species. Because of the vulnerabilities of unlisted, traded species entering the United States and increasing global demand, we strongly recommend governments adapt their policies to monitor and report on the trade of all wildlife.
European rabbit survival and recruitment are linked to epidemiological and environmental conditions in their exotic range
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-02-2012
Concerning invasive species: Reply to Brown and Sax
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2005
Visual scoring of eggshell patterns has poor repeatability
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2014
Predicting the Risk of Biological Invasions Using Environmental Similarity and Transport Network Connectedness
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-08-2019
DOI: 10.1111/RISA.12870
Abstract: Understanding the risk of biological invasions associated with particular transport pathways and source regions is critical for implementing effective biosecurity management. This may require both a model for physical connectedness between regions, and a measure of environmental similarity, so as to quantify the potential for a species to be transported from a given region and to survive at a destination region. We present an analysis of integrated biosecurity risk into Australia, based on flights and shipping data from each global geopolitical region, and an adaptation of the "range bagging" method to determine environmental matching between regions. Here, we describe global patterns of environmental matching and highlight those regions with many physical connections. We classify patterns of global invasion risk (high to low) into Australian states and territories. We validate our analysis by comparison with global presence data for 844 phytophagous insect pest species, and produce a list of high-risk species not previously known to be present in Australia. We determined that, of the insect pest species used for validation, the species most likely to be present in Australia were those also present in geopolitical regions with high transport connectivity to Australia, and those regions that were geographically close, and had similar environments.
Predicting the rate of oxygen consumption from heart rate in barnacle geeseBranta leucopsis: effects of captivity and annual changes in body condition
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 15-09-2009
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.034546
Abstract: Quantifying a relationship between heart rate (fH) and rate of oxygen consumption(V̇O2) allows the estimation of V̇O2from fH recordings in free-ranging birds. It has been proposed that this relationship may vary throughout an animal's annual cycle,due to changes in physiological status. Barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis, provide an ideal model to test this hypothesis, as they exhibit significant intra-annual variability in body mass, body composition and abdominal temperature, even in captivity. Heart rate data loggers were implanted in 14 captive barnacle geese, and at six points in the year the relationship between fH and V̇O2 was determined. The fH/V̇O2relationship was also determined in seven moulting wild barnacle geese to examine whether relationships from captive animals might be applicable to wild animals. In captive barnacle geese, the fH/V̇O2relationship was significantly different only between two out of the six periods when the relationship was determined (late September–early October and November). Accounting for changes in physiological parameters such as body mass, body composition and abdominal temperature did not eliminate this difference. The relationship between fH and V̇O2 obtained from wild geese was significantly different from all of the relationships derived from the captive geese, suggesting that it is not possible to apply calibrations from captive birds to wild geese. However, the similarity of the fH and V̇O2 relationship derived during moult in the captive geese to those during the remainder of the annual cycle implies it is not unreasonable to assume that the relationship between fH/V̇O2during moult in the wild geese is indicative of the relationship throughout the remainder of the annual cycle.
Early life stress shapes female reproductive strategy through eggshell pigmentation in Japanese quail
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.YGCEN.2014.08.013
Abstract: Physiological constraints on colouration have been widely reported especially in birds, which trade-off antioxidant responses against colourful costly signals. One female extended phenotypic trait, which might also highlight important physiological trade-offs, is the pigmentation of their eggshells. In ground-nesting species, producing eggs that are visually undetectable by predators is the best camouflage strategy. However, the condition-dependence of eggshell pigmentation, and the pigments role in oxidative stress, may constrain females to trade-off between their antioxidant capacity and maximising the camouflage of their eggs when they deposit eggshell pigments. Developmental stress is one factor that influences female antioxidant capacity, and could lead to variations in eggshell pigmentation that might have crucial consequences on in idual fitness if egg crypsis is compromised especially under stressful conditions. We investigated the interaction between developmental and breeding conditions with respect to eggshell pigmentation in Japanese quail. We studied 30 females that bred under both control and stressful conditions, and were exposed to pre- and/or post-natal stress, or neither. Pre- and post-natal stress independently influenced eggshell pigmentation strategies under stressful breeding conditions. Under stressful reproduction, eggshell protoporphyrin concentration and maculation were affected by pre-natal stress, whereas eggshell reflectance and biliverdin concentration were influenced by post-natal stress. These changes may reflect potential adaptive strategies shaped by developmental stress, but additional data on the benefit of egg crypsis in quail, combined with studies on the role of both pigments on chick survival, will help to clarify whether early life stress can enhance fitness through eggshell pigmentation when developmental and reproductive environments match.
High accuracy at low frequency: Detailed behavioural classification from accelerometer data
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2018
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.184085
Abstract: Accelerometers are a valuable tool for studying animal behaviour and physiology where direct observation is unfeasible. However, giving biological meaning to multivariate acceleration data is challenging. Here, we describe a method that reliably classifies a large number of behaviours using tri-axial accelerometer data collected at the low s ling frequency of 1 Hz, using the dingo (Canis dingo) as an ex le. We used out-of-s le validation to compare the predictive performance of four commonly used classification models (Random Forest, k-Nearest Neighbour, Support Vector Machine, and Naïve Bayes). We tested the importance of predictor variable selection and moving window size for the classification of each behaviour and overall model performance. Random Forests produced the highest out-of-s le classification accuracy, with our best performing model predicting 14 behaviours with a mean accuracy of 87%. We also investigated the relationship between overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) and the activity level of each behaviour given its increasing use in ecophysiology as a proxy for energy expenditure. ODBA values for our four ‘high activity’ behaviours were significantly greater than all other behaviours, with an overall positive trend between ODBA and intensity of movement. We show that a Random Forest model of relatively low complexity can mitigate some major challenges associated with establishing meaningful ecological conclusions from acceleration data. Our approach has broad applicability to free-ranging terrestrial quadrupeds of comparable size. Our use of a low s ling frequency shows potential for deploying accelerometers over extended time periods, enabling capture of invaluable behavioural and physiological data across different ontogenies.
A concise guide to developing and using quantitative models in conservation management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1111/CSP2.11
Meta-analysis reveals that resting metabolic rate is not consistently related to fitness and performance in animals
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-03-2021
DOI: 10.1007/S00360-021-01358-W
Abstract: Explaining variation in the fitness of organisms is a fundamental goal in evolutionary ecology. Maintenance energy metabolism is the minimum energy required to sustain biological processes at rest (resting metabolic rate: RMR) and is proposed to drive or constrain fitness of animals however, this remains debated. Hypotheses have been proposed as to why fitness might increase with RMR (the 'increased intake' or 'performance' hypothesis), decrease with RMR (the 'compensation' or 'allocation' hypothesis), or vary among species and environmental contexts (the 'context dependent' hypothesis). Here, we conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature, finding 114 studies with 355 relationships between RMR and traits that may be related to fitness. We show that in iduals with relatively high RMR generally have high fitness overall, which might be supported by an increased energy intake. However, fitness proxies are not interchangeable: the nature of the RMR-fitness relationship varied substantially depending on the specific trait in question, and we found no consistent relationship between RMR and those traits most closely linked with actual fitness (i.e., lifetime reproductive success). We hypothesise that maintaining high RMR is not costly when resources are unlimited, and we propose ideas for future studies to identify mechanisms underlying RMR-fitness relationships.
Taking a stand against illegal wildlife trade: the Zimbabwean approach to pangolin conservation
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 27-04-2016
DOI: 10.1017/S0030605316000119
Abstract: Pangolins are increasingly threatened by demand for their scales, which are used in traditional medicines, and for their meat, which is consumed as a luxury. As populations of Asian pangolins decline, the demand is shifting to the four species in Africa, where local cultural use may already pose some level of threat. During 2010−2015 a total of 65 pangolin-related seizures (surrendered and confiscated) were reported in Zimbabwe, with the annual number of confiscations increasing significantly over this period. Zimbabwean authorities have toughened their stance against this trade, and during January−June 2015 three-quarters of confiscations of pangolins (n = 12) resulted in the maximum jail sentence for at least one of the offenders in each case. At present there is no evidence that pangolins are being traded from Zimbabwe to China, and the increased enforcement may be key to ensuring Zimbabwe's pangolins are not threatened by the large-scale illegal trade witnessed in Asia.
A concise guide to developing and using quantitative models in conservation management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.1002/CSP2.11
Egg carotenoids in passerine birds introduced to New Zealand: relations to ecological factors, integument coloration and phylogeny
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-2005
Rapid realist review of opioid tapering in the context of long term opioid use for non-cancer pain in rural areas
Publisher: AMPCo
Date: 12-2020
DOI: 10.5694/MJA2.50881
How to incorporate information on propagule pressure in the analysis of alien establishment success
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-11-2017
Pest demography critically determines the viability of synthetic gene drives for population control
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.MBS.2018.09.005
Abstract: Synthetic gene drives offer a novel solution for the control of invasive alien species. CRISPR-based gene drives can positively bias their own inheritance, and comprise a DNA sequence that is replicated by homologous recombination. Since gene drives can be positioned to silence fertility or developmental genes, they could be used for population suppression. However, the production of resistant alleles following self-replication errors threatens the technology's viability for pest eradication in real-world applications. Further, a robust assessment of how pest demography impacts the expected progression of gene drives through populations is currently lacking. We used a deterministic, two-sex, birth-death model to investigate how demographic assumptions affect the efficiency of suppression drives for controlling invasive rodents on islands, for two different gene-drive strategies. We show that mass-action reproduction results in overly optimistic eradication outcomes when compared to the more realistic assumption of polygynous breeding. When polygyny was assumed, both gene-strategies failed due to the evolution of resistance unless a reproductive Allee effect (reduced reproductive rates at low population density) was also included although model outcomes were highly sensitive to the strength of this effect. Increasing the size of the initial gene-drive introduction (up to 10% of carrying capacity) had little impact on population outcomes. Understanding the demography of a population targeted for eradication is critical before the viability of gene-drive suppression can be adequately assessed.
Ecological predictors of reduced avian reproductive investment in the southern hemisphere
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-02-2013
Big brains, enhanced cognition, and response of birds to novel environments
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 22-03-2005
Abstract: The widely held hypothesis that enlarged brains have evolved as an adaptation to cope with novel or altered environmental conditions lacks firm empirical support. Here, we test this hypothesis for a major animal group (birds) by examining whether large-brained species show higher survival than small-brained species when introduced to nonnative locations. Using a global database documenting the outcome of introduction events, we confirm that avian species with larger brains, relative to their body mass, tend to be more successful at establishing themselves in novel environments. Moreover, we provide evidence that larger brains help birds respond to novel conditions by enhancing their innovation propensity rather than indirectly through noncognitive mechanisms. These findings provide strong evidence for the hypothesis that enlarged brains function, and hence may have evolved, to deal with changes in the environment.
Maturity matters for movement and metabolic rate: Trait dynamics across the early adult life of red flour beetles
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
The Global Distribution and Drivers of Alien Bird Species Richness
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 12-01-2017
Condition-dependent strategies of eggshell pigmentation: an experimental study of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2012
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.077370
Abstract: A relationship has been suggested between eggshell colour and female body condition based on the opposing antioxidant properties of the two main eggshell pigments: the antioxidant biliverdin (blue-green) and the pro-oxidant protoporphyrin (brown). We hypothesised that experimentally food-restricted females with low antioxidant capacity would deposit more protoporphyrin and less biliverdin in their eggshells, resulting in eggshells of reduced brightness but increased colour intensity. Two eggs were collected at the beginning and two at the end of a 2-week period from each of 24 female Japanese quails that were either food-restricted or receiving ad libitum food (i.e. controls) during that time. Reflectance spectra were recorded and analysed using spectral shape descriptors, chromatic and achromatic contrasts were computed accounting for avian visual sensitivities, and eggshell pigments were quantified. We examined both spot and background pigmentation and found no significant effect of food restriction on eggshell reflectance. However, food-restricted females in lower body condition increased the deposition of protoporphyrin and decreased the amount of biliverdin invested into their eggshells. We hypothesise that in species laying brown-spotted eggshells, females modulate eggshell pigment investment in response to their body condition. According to this hypothesis, we predict that females maintain eggshell colour to limit visible changes that could be detected by predators and thereby conceal their eggs, although this work has yet to be conducted. We suggest that further experimental work on egg camouflage under different environmental conditions will elaborate the process of pigment deposition and the physiological costs to females of laying heavily pigmented eggshells.
Review: an embryo's eye view of avian eggshell pigmentation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-09-2011
Avian eggshell pigments are not consistently correlated with colour measurements or egg constituents in two Turdus thrushes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 14-08-2012
Is sexual selection blurring the functional significance of eggshell coloration hypotheses?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2009
Evidence for Rapoport’s rule and latitudinal patterns in the global distribution and diversity of alien bird species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 03-03-2020
DOI: 10.1111/JBI.13825
Avian Extinction and Mammalian Introductions on Oceanic Islands
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 24-09-2004
Abstract: The arrival of humans on oceanic islands has precipitated a wave of extinctions among the islands' native birds. Nevertheless, the magnitude of this extinction event varies markedly between avifaunas. We show that the probability that a bird species has been extirpated from each of 220 oceanic islands is positively correlated with the number of exotic predatory mammal species established on those islands after European colonization and that the effect of these predators is greater on island endemic species. In contrast, the proportions of currently threatened species are independent of the numbers of exotic mammalian predator species, suggesting that the principal threat to island birds has changed through time as species susceptible to exotic predators have been driven extinct.
Transcript‐ and annotation‐guided genome assembly of the European starling
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-07-2022
Abstract: The European starling, Sturnus vulgaris , is an ecologically significant, globally invasive avian species that is also suffering from a major decline in its native range. Here, we present the genome assembly and long‐read transcriptome of an Australian‐sourced European starling ( S. vulgaris vAU), and a second, North American, short‐read genome assembly ( S. vulgaris vNA), as complementary reference genomes for population genetic and evolutionary characterization. S. vulgaris vAU combined 10× genomics linked‐reads, low‐coverage Nanopore sequencing, and PacBio Iso‐Seq full‐length transcript scaffolding to generate a 1050 Mb assembly on 6222 scaffolds (7.6 Mb scaffold N50, 94.6% busco completeness). Further scaffolding against the high‐quality zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata ) genome assigned 98.6% of the assembly to 32 putative nuclear chromosome scaffolds. Species‐specific transcript mapping and gene annotation revealed good gene‐level assembly and high functional completeness. Using S. vulgaris vAU, we demonstrate how the multifunctional use of PacBio Iso‐Seq transcript data and complementary homology‐based annotation of sequential assembly steps (assessed using a new tool, saaga ) can be used to assess, inform, and validate assembly workflow decisions. We also highlight some counterintuitive behaviour in traditional busco metrics, and present buscomp, a complementary tool for assembly comparison designed to be robust to differences in assembly size and base‐calling quality. This work expands our knowledge of avian genomes and the available toolkit for assessing and improving genome quality. The new genomic resources presented will facilitate further global genomic and transcriptomic analysis on this ecologically important species.
Integrative Analysis of the Physical Transport Network into Australia
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 16-02-2016
Home range, habitat suitability and population modelling of feral Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1071/ZO15045
Abstract: The Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) is a declared alien pest species on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, where it is implicated in a range of social problems and potential ecological impacts. To inform the management of feral peafowl, we aimed to (1) provide an estimate of peafowl distribution and abundance (2) measure peafowl home ranges (3) calculate the area of suitable peafowl habitat and (4) estimate how the population could change under various culling scenarios. Using expert and landholder surveys, we estimated that ~380 in iduals (range 330–428) were distributed among 21 separate groups on Kangaroo Island. Habitat suitability modelling identified native vegetation near agriculture as the preferred peafowl habitat and indicated that substantial unoccupied suitable habitat is available. The mean home range of eight peafowl was 52 ha and one dispersal event of 4.5 km demonstrated that unoccupied suitable habitat could feasibly be colonised. Demographic models indicated that, if unmanaged, the peafowl population could exceed 2000 in iduals after 10 years, but that culling ~85 in iduals annually could maintain the current population size. We therefore suggest that control of the Kangaroo Island peafowl population is warranted while the current distribution of peafowl is well understood.
Postcopulatory mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance in the island endemic hihi (Notiomystis cincta)
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-11-2011
Signatures of selection in a recent invasion reveal adaptive divergence in a highly vagile invasive species
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-09-2021
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.15601
Abstract: A detailed understanding of population genetics in invasive populations helps us to identify drivers of successful alien introductions. Here, we investigate putative signals of selection in Australian populations of invasive common starlings, Sturnus vulgaris , and seek to understand how these have been influenced by introduction history. We used reduced representation sequencing to determine population structure, and identify Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that are putatively under selection. We found that since their introduction into Australia, starling populations have become genetically differentiated despite the potential for high levels of dispersal, and that starlings have responded to selective pressures imposed by a wide range of environmental conditions across their geographic range. Isolation by distance appears to have played a strong role in determining genetic substructure across the starling's Australian range. Analyses of candidate SNPs that are putatively under selection indicated that aridity, precipitation and temperature may be important factors driving adaptive variation across the starling's invasive range in Australia. However, we also noted that the historic introduction regime may leave footprints on sites flagged as being under adaptive selection, and encourage critical interpretation of selection analyses in non‐native populations.
Threats to Avifauna on Oceanic Islands Revisited
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2008
Speckles of cryptic black‐headed gull eggs show no mechanical or conductance structural function
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-06-2011
INVASIVESNET towards an International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species
Publisher: Regional Euro-Asian Biological Invasions Centre Oy (REABIC)
Date: 2016
Concurrent invasions by European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) suggest selection on shared genomic regions even after genetic bottlenecks
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 19-05-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.19.442026
Abstract: A species’ success during the invasion of new areas hinges on an interplay between demographic processes and the outcome of localized selection. Invasive European Starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ) established populations in Australia and North America in the 19 th century. Here, we compare whole-genome sequences among native and independently introduced European Starling populations from three continents to determine how demographic processes interact with rapid adaptive evolution to generate similar genetic patterns in these recent and replicated invasions. Our results confirm that a post-bottleneck expansion may in fact support local adaptation. We find that specific genomic regions have differentiated even on this short evolutionary timescale, and suggest that selection best explains differentiation in at least two of these regions. This infamous and highly mobile invader adapted to novel selection (e.g., extrinsic factors), perhaps in part due to the demographic boom intrinsic to many invasions.
Eggshell colour does not predict measures of maternal investment in eggs of Turdus thrushes
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-04-2008
DOI: 10.1007/S00114-008-0376-X
Abstract: The striking ersity of avian eggshell colour has long fascinated biologists. Recently, it has been proposed that the blue-green colour of some eggs may function as a post-mating sexually selected signal of female phenotypic quality to their mates to induce higher allocation of paternal care. It has been suggested that maternally deposited yolk carotenoids may be the specific aspect of reproductive quality that the female is signalling via eggshell colour. We use the known properties of the thrush visual system (Turdus sp.) to calculate photon capture for the four single cone photoreceptors, and the principal member of the double cone class for eggs in clutches of two introduced European thrush species (Turdus merula and Turdus philomelos) in New Zealand. We show that differences in the avian-perceived colours of in idual eggs are not consistently correlated with different measures of maternal investment in the egg. Given the growing extent of the knowledge between maternal quality, parental investment and eggshell pigmentation across avian taxa, we encourage the use of avian perceptual modelling for testing alternative non-signalling explanations for the structural and physiological basis of these relationships.
Weed wide web: characterising illegal online trade of invasive plants in Australia
Publisher: Pensoft Publishers
Date: 13-04-2023
DOI: 10.3897/ARPHAPREPRINTS.E104872
Abstract: Invasive plants seriously impact our environmental, agricultural and forestry assets, and the ornamental plant trade is a major introduction pathway. The variety and extent of ornamental plant trade is growing in reach and is increasingly facilitated by the internet (i.e., through e-commerce). A lack of surveillance and regulation of e-commerce has resulted in invasive species being widely traded on these platforms. Here, we investigated the illegal trade in invasive plant species occurring in Australia by collecting advertisements found on a popular e-commerce website. Across a 12-month period we found 155 plant taxa advertised online that were prohibited to trade in Australian. From 10,000 advertisements (4.25% of total advertisements found), we found 1,415 instances of these invasive plants advertised, of which 411 breached local jurisdictional (i.e., State or Territory) laws. Opuntia cacti and invasive aquatic plants were traded in the greatest quantities. A variety of uses for plants prohibited to trade were purported by sellers, where aquatic uses were the most popular (i.e., water filtering and habitat for aquatic animals). Despite Australia& rsquo s strict internal biosecurity regulations, we found that trade prohibitions had no influence on the quantity and price of illegal invasive plants traded. Given this, and the extent of illegal invasive plants traded, we believe increased monitoring and regulation of online plant trade is warranted. However, to obtain the most optimal outcomes, regulations should be coupled with increased cooperation from e-commerce platforms and public awareness c aigns. Future weed risk assessments should consider online trade as a key factor in the long-distance dispersal and propagule pressure of a plant. Jurisdictions would also benefit from greater alignment on plant trade prohibitions and revision of associated compliance policies.
Nest site selection by yellow‐faced honeyeaters Lichenostomus chrysops
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-08-2003
DAMA: the global Distribution of Alien Mammals database
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-10-2021
DOI: 10.1002/ECY.3474
Abstract: We developed the DAMA (Distribution of Alien Mammals) database, a comprehensive source reporting the global distribution of the 230 species of mammals that have established self‐sustaining and free‐ranging populations outside their native range due to direct or indirect human action. Every alien range is accompanied by information on its invasion stage, pathway, method of introduction, and date of introduction. We collected information from 827 different sources (scientific literature, books, risk assessments, reports, online bio ersity databases and websites), and used it to draw alien range maps for these species following the IUCN mapping framework. DAMA comprises 2,726 range polygons, covering 199 countries, 2,190 level 1 administrative areas, and 11 zoogeographic realms for the period 21500 BC–AD 2017. The most represented orders among introduced mammal species are Rodentia ( n = 58, 25.22%), Cetartiodactyla ( n = 49 species, 21.30%), Carnivora ( n = 30 species, 13.04%), Diprotodontia ( n = 28, 12.17%), and Primates ( n = 26, 11.30%). Mammal species have been frequently introduced for hunting ( n = 100), pet trade ( n = 57), conservation ( n = 51), and fauna improvement ( n = 42). The majority of range polygons are placed on islands ( n = 2,196, 80.56%), encompass populations that have moved beyond establishment and into the invasion stage ( n = 1,655, 60.71%), and originated from 1500 AD to the present ( n = 1,496, 54.88%). Despite inheriting literature biases towards more studied regions (e.g., developed countries), DAMA is the most up‐to‐date picture of alien mammal global distribution and can be used to investigate their invasion ecology across different biogeographical regions. There are no copyright or proprietary restrictions IUCN range maps were modified into a derivative work according to the IUCN’s terms of service.
Persistence of Low Pathogenic Influenza A Virus in Water: A Systematic Review and Quantitative Meta-Analysis
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-10-2016
A Comparison of Antiserum and Protein A as Secondary Reagents to AssessToxoplasma gondiiAntibody Titers in Cats and Spotted Hyenas
Publisher: American Society of Parasitologists
Date: 06-2015
DOI: 10.1645/14-705.1
Abstract: Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoal parasite with worldwide distribution that is able to infect a wide variety of mammals and birds. Our main goal was to screen for T. gondii antibody titers in a previously untested species, the spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta) however, this goal first required us to investigate serological procedures that could be suitable for hyenas. Cats are the closest domestic relations of hyenas, so T. gondii antibody titers were first compared in 26 feral cats with specific or nonspecific fluorophore-labeled secondary reagents, i.e., anti-cat IgG or protein A. Substitution of anti-cat IgG with protein A caused a statistically significant drop in titer measurements in cats (P = 0.01) with a reduction of the geometric mean titer equivalent to 1 doubling-dilution. The same procedures were then applied to captive spotted hyenas. Titers measured in 9 of 10 hyenas were identical whether anti-cat IgG or protein A was used as the secondary reagent: 5 had titers <1:16, 2 had titers of 1:16, and 2 had titers of 1:32. One hyena had maximum titers of 1:64 or 1:32 when anti-cat IgG or protein A was used, respectively. The use of protein A as the secondary reagent in serologic assays can be applied to a range of mammalian species and seems unlikely to affect test specificity however, the use of protein A may reduce test sensitivity, as suggested in the present study using cats. Despite a control program, some exposure to T. gondii had occurred in the Zoo's spotted hyenas.
Not so colourful after all: eggshell pigments constrain avian eggshell colour space
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 05-2015
Abstract: Birds' eggshells are renowned for their striking colours and varied patterns. Although often considered exceptionally erse, we report that avian eggshell coloration, s led here across the full phylogenetic ersity of birds, occupies only 0.08–0.10% of the avian perceivable colour space. The concentrations of the two known tetrapyrrole eggshell pigments (protoporphyrin and biliverdin) are generally poor predictors of colour, both intra- and interspecifically. Here, we show that the constrained ersity of eggshell coloration can be accurately predicted by colour mixing models based on the relative contribution of both pigments and we demonstrate that the models' predictions can be improved by accounting for the reflectance of the eggshell's calcium carbonate matrix. The establishment of these proximate links between pigmentation and colour will enable future tests of hypotheses on the functions of perceived avian eggshell colours that depend on eggshell chemistry. More generally, colour mixing models are not limited to avian eggshell colours but apply to any natural colour. Our approach illustrates how modelling can aid the understanding of constraints on phenotypic ersity.
Capturing expert uncertainty in spatial cumulative impact assessments /631/158 /631/158/2445 article
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-01-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-19354-6
Abstract: Understanding the spatial distribution of human impacts on marine environments is necessary for maintaining healthy ecosystems and supporting ‘blue economies’. Realistic assessments of impact must consider the cumulative impacts of multiple, coincident threats and the differing vulnerabilities of ecosystems to these threats. Expert knowledge is often used to assess impact in marine ecosystems because empirical data are lacking however, this introduces uncertainty into the results. As part of a spatial cumulative impact assessment for Spencer Gulf, South Australia, we asked experts to estimate score ranges (best-case, most-likely and worst-case), which accounted for their uncertainty about the effect of 32 threats on eight ecosystems. Expert scores were combined with data on the spatial pattern and intensity of threats to generate cumulative impact maps based on each of the three scoring scenarios, as well as simulations and maps of uncertainty. We compared our method, which explicitly accounts for the experts’ knowledge-based uncertainty, with other approaches and found that it provides smaller uncertainty bounds, leading to more constrained assessment results. Collecting these additional data on experts’ knowledge-based uncertainty provides transparency and simplifies interpretation of the outputs from spatial cumulative impact assessments, facilitating their application for sustainable resource management and conservation.
Managing the risk of exotic vertebrate incursions in Australia
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2011
DOI: 10.1071/WR11089
Abstract: Context Biological invasions are a profound contribution to human-induced environmental change. Although intentional introductions of vertebrate species have largely declined, global transport and communication networks continue to increase. As a consequence, more goods are being traded and the type of species being transported has changed, as well as the associated risks. Aims To analyse the frequency, and provide risk assessments, for exotic vertebrate species detected by border and post-border Australian biosecurity agencies in the past decade (1999–2010). Methods We collated detection records by emailing or telephoning representatives from agencies responsible for implementing Australian biosecurity. We calculated the risk of successful establishment (low, moderate, serious, extreme) for 137 identified vertebrate species not currently established in Australia. Generalised linear models were constructed to test whether the frequency of increasing risk of establishment was associated with either differences between vertebrate classes and/or different detection categories. Key results The majority of species detected were reported from illegal keeping. In idual species risk assessments revealed that reptiles were more likely to be of greater risk for future establishment than were birds, mammals or hibians. Controlling for taxonomy, high-risk species were not involved in larger (i.e. number of in iduals) incidents than were lower-risk species. Across years, the number of novel exotic vertebrate species detected ‘at large’ in Australia has significantly increased. Conclusions Several of the species detected by biosecurity agencies have attributes that give them the potential to become pests in Australia. Preventing incursions is by far the most cost-effective way to prevent future pest damage. Implications It is clear that a nationally coordinated framework for data collection and data sharing among agencies is urgently required. We present a minimum framework for the future collection of inter-agency data, necessary to assess and monitor the ongoing risk of vertebrate pest incursions in Australia.
The demand for wildlife not protected by the CITES multilateral treaty
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 04-03-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.03.03.482781
Abstract: The international wildlife trade presents severe conservation and environmental security risks. However, no international regulatory framework exists to monitor the trade of species not listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). We explored the composition and dynamics of internationally regulated versus non-regulated trade, focussing on importations of wild-caught terrestrial vertebrates entering the United States of America (US) from 2009-2018. The prominence of the US in global wildlife imports and its detailed data collection conventions allows a unique opportunity to formally assess this substantial but often overlooked and understudied component of the legal wildlife trade. We found 3.6 times the number of unlisted species in US imports compared with CITES-listed species (1,366 versus 378). CITES-listed species were more likely to face reported conservation threats relative to the unlisted species (71.7% vs 27.5%). Yet, we found 376 unlisted species facing conversation threats, 297 species with unknown population trends and 139 species without an evaluation by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Unlisted species appeared novelly in imports at 5.5 times higher rates relative to CITES-listed species, where unlisted reptiles saw the largest rate of entry, averaging 53 unique species appearing in imports for the first time per year. Overall trade volumes were substantially larger for unlisted imports with approximately 11 times the number of animals relative to CITES-listed imports, however, import volumes were similar when compared at a species-by-species level. We found that the countries that were top exporters for CITES-listed shipments were mostly different from exporters of unlisted species. In highlighting the vulnerabilities of the wild-caught unlisted vertebrate trade entering the US and in the face of increasing global demand, we recommend governments adapt policies to monitor the trade of all wildlife.
Host responses to interspecific brood parasitism: a by-product of adaptations to conspecific parasitism?
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-04-2014
Geographical range expansion of alien birds and environmental matching
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-11-2016
DOI: 10.1111/IBI.12418
Abstract: The international wildlife trade is a significant source of introduced alien species, some of which proceed to become invasive and cause negative environmental and economic effects. However, not all introduced aliens establish viable populations, and it is important to identify the factors that determine establishment success. We explore the role of environmental suitability (including anthropogenic influences, climate and habitat types) in the establishment success of alien bird species introduced to Taiwan. Using maximum entropy modelling, we employed a recursive feature elimination and Akaike information criterion ( AIC )‐based stepwise model selection approach to assess whether the environmental suitability, native range size, body size, residence time and the numbers of birds for sale in the shops affect variation in the extent of alien bird range size in Taiwan. We show that species with larger native range sizes and larger body sizes tend to have larger alien range sizes in Taiwan. There was no effect of environmental suitability on alien range size in Taiwan, but environmental suitability influenced the establishment success of bird species there.
Parents, predators, parasites, and the evolution of eggshell colour in open nesting birds
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-11-2012
Spatial scale and evolutionary history determine the degree of taxonomic homogenization across island bird assemblages
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2007
DOI: 10.1111/J.1472-4642.2007.00366.X
Abstract: It is widely documented that human activities have elevated the extirpation of natural populations as well as the successful introduction to new areas of non‐native species. These dual processes of introduction and extirpation can change the similarity of communities, but the direction and magnitude these changes take are likely to depend on the manner in which introductions and extirpations occur, the spatial scale at which the changes are measured, and the initial similarity of the communities before the human‐induced drivers occurred. Here, we explore patterns of extirpation and introduction and their influence on the similarity of global oceanic island bird assemblages from four different Oceans (Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian, Pacific). We show that different historical patterns of introduction and extirpation have produced varying trends in compositional similarity both between islands within archipelagos and between islands across different archipelagos within the same ocean. Patterns of bird assemblage convergence (i.e. taxonomic homogenization) or ergence (i.e. taxonomic differentiation) among islands depended on the scale of examination, the evolutionary associations among species of the region, and the cultural history of human colonization. These factors are all likely to be leading to a series of multiple interacting processes that are shaping the complex compositional changes observed among global island bird faunas over time.
A Potential Metric of the Attractiveness of Bird Song to Humans
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-02-2014
DOI: 10.1111/ETH.12211
Establishment of exotic parasites: the origins and characteristics of an avian malaria community in an isolated island avifauna
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-07-2012
DOI: 10.1111/J.1461-0248.2012.01833.X
Abstract: Knowledge of the processes favouring the establishment of exotic parasites is poor. Herein, we test the characteristics of successful exotic parasites that have co-established in the remote island archipelago of New Zealand, due to the introduction of numerous avian host species. Our results show that avian malaria parasites (AM parasites of the genus Plasmodium) that successfully invaded are more globally generalist (both geographically widespread and with a broad taxonomic range of hosts) than AM parasites not co-introduced to New Zealand. Furthermore, the successful AM parasites are presently more prevalent in their native range than AM parasites found in the same native range but not co-introduced to New Zealand. This has resulted in an increased number and greater taxonomic ersity of AM parasites now in New Zealand.
Eggshell spot scoring methods cannot be used as a reliable proxy to determine pigment quantity
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-12-2013
The wildlife pet trade as a driver of introduction and establishment in alien birds in Taiwan
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 27-10-2015
Scaling of cerebral blood perfusion in primates and marsupials
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2015
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.124826
Abstract: The evolution of primates involved increasing body size, brain size and presumably cognitive ability. Cognition is related to neural activity, metabolic rate and blood flow rate to the cerebral cortex. These parameters are difficult to quantify in living animals. This study shows that it is possible to determine the rate of cortical brain perfusion from the size of the internal carotid artery foramina in skulls of certain mammals, including haplorrhine primates and diprotodont marsupials. We quantify combined blood flow rate in both internal carotid arteries as a proxy of brain metabolism in 34 species of haplorrhine primates (0.116–145 kg body mass) and compare it to the same analysis for 19 species of diprotodont marsupials (0.014–46 kg). Brain volume is related to body mass by essentially the same exponent of 0.71 in both groups. Flow rate increases with haplorrhine brain volume to the 0.95 power, which is significantly higher than the exponent (0.75) expected for most organs according to “Kleiber's Law”. By comparison, the exponent is 0.73 in marsupials. Thus the brain perfusion rate increases with body size and brain size much faster in primates than in marsupials. The trajectory of cerebral perfusion in primates is set by the phylogenetically older groups (New and Old World monkeys, lesser apes), and the phylogenetically younger groups (great apes, including humans) fall near the line, with the highest perfusion. This may be associated with disproportionate increases in cortical surface area and mental capacity in the highly social, larger primates.
Interspecies variation in yolk selenium concentrations among eggs of free-living birds: The effect of phylogeny
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2006
DOI: 10.1016/J.JTEMB.2006.03.001
Abstract: Birds deposit the trace element selenium (Se) into their eggs because an adequate supply of this micronutrient is essential for embryonic development. Although there is considerable interest in egg Se with regard to topics as erse as poultry nutrition and environmental pollution, data on the natural levels of Se in eggs of free-living avian species are currently very limited. To address this lack of information, we measured the yolk Se concentrations in eggs of 14 avian species collected in the wild. The concentrations (ng/g wet yolk) varied from 394 to 2238, with a mean value of 1040. Values (means+/-SD) for eggs from the UK, Canada and New Zealand were, respectively, 522+/-192 (3 species), 1194+/-584 (8 species) and 1147+/-200 (3 species). However, analysis by appropriate statistical models indicates that the effect of phylogenetic relatedness among these species is so significant that it removes any effect of geographical location. In particular, species belonging to the order Passeriformes displayed significantly higher yolk Se levels than Non-Passeriforme species. In marked contrast to the free-living species, our previously published data indicate that the Se concentration in egg yolk of the domestic chicken is only about 100 ng/g wet yolk when the birds are maintained on a basal commercial diet without supplementary Se. The results reveal an extensive interspecies variation in yolk Se (across a 6-fold range) for eggs collected from the wild. Nevertheless, the Se concentrations in the yolks of all the free-living species were far higher (4-21-fold) than that achieved in the yolk of the domestic chicken consuming a standard basal diet.
Facultative primary sex ratio variation: a lack of evidence in birds?
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 22-06-2004
Extraction and analysis of colourful eggshell pigments using HPLC and HPLC/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2009
DOI: 10.1002/BMC.1158
Abstract: The literature on the pigments of avian eggshells is critically reviewed. Methods using methanolic sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid to extract eggshell pigments are unsuitable to detect the occurrence of zinc protoporphyrin or zinc biliverdin because they demetallate these compounds. Extraction methods are described here using EDTA and acetonitrile-acetic acid or acetonitrile-dimethyl sulfoxide, which do not demetallate zinc protoporphyrin. Such extracts were prepared from eggshell of the common nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, and from another six bird species. Protoporphyrin and biliverdin were identified and fully characterized by HPLC/electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS/MS) in all s les, but none contained zinc protoporphyrin. The zinc complex of biliverdin, claimed to be an additional pigment responsible for eggshell background colours, was labile to EDTA and acid pH and if occurring naturally could not be extracted intact by the published or the modified protocols. An explanation is advanced for the exceptional report that all porphyrins from uroporphyrin to protoporphyrin were found in eggshells of the fowl Gallus domesticus.
First light for avian embryos: eggshell thickness and pigmentation mediate variation in development and UV exposure in wild bird eggs
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-07-2014
Neurophysiological response selectivity for conspecific songs over synthetic sounds in the auditory forebrain of non-singing female songbirds
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-05-2007
DOI: 10.1007/S00359-007-0231-0
Abstract: Female choice plays a critical role in the evolution of male acoustic displays. Yet there is limited information on the neurophysiological basis of female songbirds' auditory recognition systems. To understand the neural mechanisms of how non-singing female songbirds perceive behaviorally relevant vocalizations, we recorded responses of single neurons to acoustic stimuli in two auditory forebrain regions, the caudal lateral mesopallium (CLM) and Field L, in anesthetized adult female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). Using various metrics of response selectivity, we found consistently higher response strengths for unfamiliar conspecific songs compared to tone pips and white noise in Field L but not in CLM. We also found that neurons in the left auditory forebrain had lower response strengths to synthetics sounds, leading to overall higher neural selectivity for song in neurons of the left hemisphere. This laterality effect is consistent with previously published behavioral data in zebra finches. Overall, our results from Field L are in parallel and from CLM are in contrast with the patterns of response selectivity reported for conspecific songs over synthetic sounds in male zebra finches, suggesting some degree of sexual dimorphism of auditory perception mechanisms in songbirds.
Maternally invested carotenoids compensate costly ectoparasitism in the hihi
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 04-08-2009
Abstract: Dietary ingested carotenoid biomolecules have been linked to both improved health and immunity in nestling birds. Here, we test whether maternally invested egg carotenoids can offset the cost of parasitism in developing nestling hihi ( Notiomystis cincta ) from the bloodsucking mite ( Ornithonyssus bursa ). Our results reveal clear negative effects of parasitism on nestlings, and that maternally derived carotenoids compensate this cost, resulting in growth parameters and ultimate mass achieved being similar to nonparasitized young. Our results offer an unique ex le of a direct positive relationship between enhanced maternal investment of carotenoids and an ability to cope with a specific and costly parasite in young birds. As O. bursa infestations reduce population viability in hihi, our findings also highlight the importance of key nutritional resources for endangered bird populations to better cope with common parasite infestations.
The modelling of avian visual perception predicts behavioural rejection responses to foreign egg colours
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-2008
Abstract: How do birds tell the colours of their own and foreign eggs apart? We demonstrate that perceptual modelling of avian visual discrimination can predict behavioural rejection responses to foreign eggs in the nest of wild birds. We use a photoreceptor noise-limited colour opponent model of visual perception to evaluate its accuracy as a predictor of behavioural rates of experimental egg discrimination in the song thrush Turdus philomelos . The visual modelling of experimental and natural eggshell colours suggests that photon capture from the ultraviolet and short wavelength-sensitive cones elicits egg rejection decisions in song thrushes, while inter-clutch variation of egg coloration provides sufficient contrasts for detecting conspecific parasitism in this species. Biologically realistic sensory models provide an important tool for relating variability of behavioural responses to perceived phenotypic variation.
Evolution of extreme-mating behaviour: patterns of extrapair paternity in a species with forced extrapair copulation
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 28-03-2013
Species invasions and the phylogenetic signal in geographical range size
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/GEB.12768
Evaluation of a glossmeter for studying the surface appearance of avian eggs
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-11-2010
Capsaicin as a Deterrent Against Introduced Mammalian Nest Predators
Publisher: Wilson Ornithological Society
Date: 09-2012
DOI: 10.1676/11-116.1
Condition dependence of nestling mouth colour and the effect of supplementing carotenoids on parental behaviour in the hihi (Notiomystis cincta)
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-06-2008
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-008-1073-3
Abstract: Carotenoids are integument pigments that often reflect foraging efficiency, disease resistance and body condition. In contrast to the widespread attention this relationship has received in adult birds, the condition dependence of nestling colouration remains an understudied component of animal communication. Here we assess the condition dependence of carotenoid pigmentation in nestling hihi (Notiomystis cincta, an endangered New Zealand bird) and examine the influence of carotenoid supplementation on nestling quality and parental visitation rates. Our results show that carotenoids provided to breeding adult hihi were transferred to their offspring and resulted in an intensified orange-yellow flange colour. After accounting for carotenoid supplementation the parameter that most consistently explained variation in nestling flange colour was nestling tarsus length at 23 days, indicating condition dependence of this trait. We did not, however, detect direct effects of carotenoid supplementation on nestling mass or immune response (or any other fitness parameter measured). Carotenoid supplementation did, however, result in an increased paternal provisioning rate.
The impact of land use on non-native species incidence and number in local assemblages worldwide
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-04-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-023-37571-0
Abstract: While the regional distribution of non-native species is increasingly well documented for some taxa, global analyses of non-native species in local assemblages are still missing. Here, we use a worldwide collection of assemblages from five taxa - ants, birds, mammals, spiders and vascular plants - to assess whether the incidence, frequency and proportions of naturalised non-native species depend on type and intensity of land use. In plants, assemblages of primary vegetation are least invaded. In the other taxa, primary vegetation is among the least invaded land-use types, but one or several other types have equally low levels of occurrence, frequency and proportions of non-native species. High land use intensity is associated with higher non-native incidence and frequency in primary vegetation, while intensity effects are inconsistent for other land-use types. These findings highlight the potential dual role of unused primary vegetation in preserving native bio ersity and in conferring resistance against biological invasions.
Developing Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assays for rapid, presumptive DNA detection of an invasive reptile (Boa constrictor)
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1071/WR23053
Comparison of micrometer- and scanning electron microscope-based measurements of avian eggshell thickness
Publisher: Resilience Alliance, Inc.
Date: 30-11-2010
Eggshell pigment composition covaries with phylogeny but not with life history or with nesting ecology traits of British passerines
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-02-2016
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.1960
Reconstructing past species assemblages reveals the changing patterns and drivers of extinction through time
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 08-2012
Abstract: Predicting future species extinctions from patterns of past extinctions or current threat status relies on the assumption that the taxonomic and biological selectivity of extinction is consistent through time. If the driving forces of extinction change through time, this assumption may be unrealistic. Testing the consistency of extinction patterns between the past and the present has been difficult, because the phylogenetically explicit methods used to model present-day extinction risk typically cannot be applied to the data from the fossil record. However, the detailed historical and fossil records of the New Zealand avifauna provide a unique opportunity to reconstruct a complete, large faunal assemblage for different periods in the past. Using the first complete phylogeny of all known native New Zealand bird species, both extant and extinct, we show how the taxonomic and phylogenetic selectivity of extinction, and biological correlates of extinction, change from the pre-human period through Polynesian and European occupation, to the present. These changes can be explained both by changes in primary threatening processes, and by the operation of extinction filter effects. The variable patterns of extinction through time may confound attempts to identify risk factors that apply across time periods, and to infer future species declines from past extinction patterns and current threat status.
Do climate envelope models transfer? A manipulative test using dung beetle introductions
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 25-02-2009
Abstract: Climate envelope models (CEMs) are widely used to forecast future shifts in species ranges under climate change, but these models are rarely validated against independent data, and their fundamental assumption that climate limits species distributions is rarely tested. Here, we use the data on the introduction of five South African dung beetle species to Australia to test whether CEMs developed in the native range can predict distribution in the introduced range, where the confounding effects of dispersal limitation, resource limitation and the impact of natural enemies have been removed, leaving climate as the dominant constraint. For two of the five species, models developed in the native range predict distribution in the introduced range about as well as models developed in the introduced range where we know climate limits distribution. For the remaining three species, models developed in the native range perform poorly, implying that non-climatic factors limit the native distribution of these species and need to be accounted for in species distribution models. Quantifying relevant non-climatic factors and their likely interactions with climatic variables for forecasting range shifts under climate change remains a challenging task.
‘Do you come from a land down under?’ Characteristics of the international trade in Australian endemic parrots
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2017
2. The Biogeography of Avian Invasions: History, Accident and Market Trade
Publisher: De Gruyter Open
Date: 31-12-2015
Effects of sampling effort on biodiversity patterns estimated from environmental DNA metabarcoding surveys
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-06-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-27048-2
Abstract: Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can greatly enhance our understanding of global bio ersity and our ability to detect rare or cryptic species. However, s ling effort must be considered when interpreting results from these surveys. We explored how s ling effort influenced bio ersity patterns and nonindigenous species (NIS) detection in an eDNA metabarcoding survey of four commercial ports. Overall, we captured sequences from 18 metazoan phyla with minimal differences in taxonomic coverage between 18 S and COI primer sets. While community dissimilarity patterns were consistent across primers and s ling effort, richness patterns were not, suggesting that richness estimates are extremely sensitive to primer choice and s ling effort. The survey detected 64 potential NIS, with COI identifying more known NIS from port checklists but 18 S identifying more operational taxonomic units shared between three or more ports that represent un-recorded potential NIS. Overall, we conclude that eDNA metabarcoding surveys can reveal global similarity patterns among ports across a broad array of taxa and can also detect potential NIS in these key habitats. However, richness estimates and species assignments require caution. Based on results of this study, we make several recommendations for port eDNA s ling design and suggest several areas for future research.
Modeling and Analysis of Method Comparison Data with Skewness and Heavy Tails
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2015
Sources of variation in reflectance spectrophotometric data: a quantitative analysis using avian eggshell colours
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-09-2011
FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY OF MAMMALIAN PREDATORS AND EXTINCTION IN ISLAND BIRDS
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2005
DOI: 10.1890/04-1847
Non-natives: 141 scientists object
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-2011
DOI: 10.1038/475036A
Eggshell Appearance Does Not Signal Maternal Corticosterone Exposure in Japanese Quail: An Experimental Study with Brown-Spotted Eggs
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 03-12-2013
A general skew-t mixed model that allows different degrees of freedom for random effects and error distributions
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2014
Reduced clutch-size is correlated with increased nest predation in exotic Turdus thrushes
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-2009
DOI: 10.1071/MU09017
Body size trends in a Holocene island bird assemblage
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2004
Indirect estimates of breeding and natal philopatry in an obligate avian brood parasite
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-10-2011
Conspicuous Eggs and Colourful Hypotheses: Testing the Role of Multiple Influences on Avian Eggshell Appearance
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 12-2011
DOI: 10.3184/175815511X13207699868421
Abstract: The ersity of eggshell colours and patterning across different birds is a fascinating ex le of the extended avian phenotype. The avian egg's background colours range from light green/yellow to brilliant blue and intense maroon, and with the scrawling patterns comparable to the assortment of eggs found in an Easter Bunny's basket. Here we briefly introduce the ersity of eggshell appearance, its perplexingly narrow chemical basis, and clarify how the a priori assessment of assumptions and potential hypotheses can shape new eggshell research. In addition, we highlight some of the recent hypotheses developed outside the visual paradigm that has dictated the most influential hypotheses of eggshell appearance to date. Finally, we indicate priority areas for future comprehensive research on eggshells based on adaptations to ongoing changes in environmental conditions.
Biological Optics: Seeing Colours in the Dark
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2009
DOI: 10.1016/J.CUB.2009.10.014
Abstract: The intensity threshold of colour vision has been behaviourally tested in birds the results show that parrots lose colour vision in brighter light than humans.
Are avian eggshell colours effective intraspecific communication signals in the Muscicapoidea? A perceptual modelling approach
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-09-2009
Temporal modelling of ballast water discharge and ship-mediated invasion risk to Australia
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 04-2015
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.150039
Abstract: Biological invasions have the potential to cause extensive ecological and economic damage. Maritime trade facilitates biological invasions by transferring species in ballast water, and on ships' hulls. With volumes of maritime trade increasing globally, efforts to prevent these biological invasions are of significant importance. Both the International Maritime Organization and the Australian government have developed policy seeking to reduce the risk of these invasions. In this study, we constructed models for the transfer of ballast water into Australian waters, based on historic ballast survey data. We used these models to hindcast ballast water discharge over all vessels that arrived in Australian waters between 1999 and 2012. We used models for propagule survival to compare the risk of ballast-mediated propagule transport between ecoregions. We found that total annual ballast discharge volume into Australia more than doubled over the study period, with the vast majority of ballast water discharge and propagule pressure associated with bulk carrier traffic. As such, the ecoregions suffering the greatest risk are those associated with the export of mining commodities. As global marine trade continues to increase, effective monitoring and biosecurity policy will remain necessary to combat the risk of future marine invasion events.
Clarifying marine invasions with molecular markers: an illustration based on mtDNA from mistaken calyptraeid gastropod identifications
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-03-2007
Leaky doors: Private captivity as a prominent source of bird introductions in Australia
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 24-02-2017
On the relationship between T‐cell mediated immunity in bird species and the establishment success of introduced populations
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 29-10-2004
Interpreting the Lists and Equations of Egg Dimensions in Schönwetter'sHandbuch Der Oologie
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-2010
Contemporary divergence of island bird plumage
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-03-2014
DOI: 10.1111/JAV.00300
Trastuzumab-associated cardiac events in the Persephone trial
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 22-11-2016
DOI: 10.1038/BJC.2016.357
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