scholarly journals Ultraviolet (UV) light perception by birds: a review

2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 351-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Rajchard
Keyword(s):  
Uv Light ◽  
Feeding Strategy ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Birds Of Prey ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Light Spectrum ◽  
Near Ultraviolet ◽  
Uv Reflectance

The ability to perceive the near ultraviolet part of the light spectrum (the wavelength 320–400 nm) has been detected in many bird species. This ability is an important bird sense. The ecological importance of UV perception has been studied mainly in the context of intra- and inter-sexual signalling, common species communication and also in foraging. Some birds of prey use UV reflectance in their feeding strategy: e.g., the kestrel (<I>Falco tinnunculus</I>), but also other birds of prey are able to recognize the presence of voles by perceiving the UV reflectance of their scent urine marks. The ability to detect the presence of prey is a common feature of birds with analogous feeding spectra in taxonomically distinct species. UV perception and its use in foraging have also been proved in predominantly herbivorous bird species. This ability is possessed both by bird species living in northern habitats and others living in tropical forests. The signalling and communication role of the UV perception is very important. The plumage of many bird species shows specific colour features – e.g., sexually different regions in plumage coloration unnoticed by the human eye. Also other body parts can have similar features – e.g., supra-orbital combs in the red grouse (<I>Lagopus lagopus scoticus</I>). All these characteristics are important primarily in the mate-choice decision. Birds apparently also use their ability of UV perception for recognition of their own eggs. Some bird species are able to modify plumage UV reflectance by uropygial secretions. The knowledge of all specific aspects of bird physiology can significantly help both breeders of various bird species and facilitate effective veterinary care.

The Detection of Near-Ultraviolet Light by Nonmigratory and Migratory Birds

The Auk ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Parrish ◽  
James A. Ptacek ◽  
Kevin L. Will
Keyword(s):  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Uv Spectrum ◽  
Near Ultraviolet ◽  
Ultraviolet Reflectance ◽  
Uv Reflectance ◽  
Uv Vision ◽  
First Time

Abstract Near-ultraviolet (UV) light reception was demonstrated for the first time in three species of nonmigratory emberizid and passerid birds. Behavioral data also established that eight additional alcedinid and emberizid birds can detect near-UV wavelengths. The finding that these more recently evolved species can see near-UV light implies that near-UV vision is probably an important visual capability in most, if not all, diurnal birds. Although the utility of near-UV reception for birds remains equivocal, the fact that nonmigratory as well as migratory birds can perceive UV suggests that birds may be able to utilize the UV spectrum for homing, orientation, and navigation, as do the UV-sensitive arthropods. It also can be inferred that UV vision may be especially useful to insectivorous birds for the detection of UV reflectance patterns, which many otherwise cryptic arthropods possess for mate recognition. Ultraviolet reflectance patterns also may be useful to frugivorous and nectarivorous birds for the detection of food items.

Highly efficient green-emitting phosphor Sr4Al14O25:Ce,Tb with low thermal quenching and wide color gamut upon UV-light excitation for backlighting display applications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoran Li ◽  
Yujun Liang ◽  
Shiqi Liu ◽  
Weilun Zhang ◽  
Yanying Bi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Performance Enhancement ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Thermal Quenching ◽  
High Response ◽  
Color Gamut ◽  
Ultraviolet Excitation ◽  
Highly Efficient ◽  
Near Ultraviolet ◽  
Wide Color Gamut ◽  
Light Excitation

Highly-efficient and stable inorganic phosphors with high response to near-ultraviolet excitation are essential to the performance enhancement of the phosphor converted backlighting devices. Herein, highly-efficient green-emitting phosphors Sr4Al14O25:Ce,Tb (SAO:Ce3+,Tb3+) with...

scholarly journals Joint Measurements of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and light-absorptive PM in woodsmoke-dominated ambient and plume environments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Max Zhang ◽  
Bo Yang ◽  
Geng Chen ◽  
Jiajun Gu ◽  
James Schwab ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Near Infrared ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Infrared Range ◽  
Wood Combustion ◽  
Near Ultraviolet ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Saranac Lake ◽  
Near Infrared Range ◽  
Strong Linear Relationship

Abstract. DC, also referred to as Delta-C, measures enhanced light absorption of particulate matter (PM) samples at the near-ultraviolet (UV) range relative to the near-infrared range, which has been proposed previously as a woodsmoke marker due to the presence of enhanced UV light absorbing materials from wood combustion. In this paper, we further evaluated the applications and limitations of using DC as both a qualitative and semi-quantitative woodsmoke marker via joint continuous measurements of PM2.5 (by nephelometer pDR-1500) and light-absorptive PM (by 2-wavelength and 7-wavelength Aethalometer®) in three Northeastern U.S. cities/towns including Rutland, VT, Saranac Lake, NY and Ithaca, NY. We compared the pDR-1500 against a FEM PM2.5 sampler (BAM 1020), and identified a close agreement between the two instruments in a woodsmoke-dominated ambient environment. The analysis of seasonal and diurnal trends of DC, BC (880 nm) and PM2.5 concentrations supports the use of DC as an adequate qualitative marker. The strong linear relationships between PM2.5 and DC in both woodsmoke-dominated ambient and plume environments suggest that DC can reasonably serve as a semi-quantitative woodsmoke marker. We proposed a DC-based indicator for woodsmoke emission, which was then shown to exhibit relatively strong linear relationship with heating demand. While we observed reproducible PM2.5-DC relationships in similar woodsmoke-dominated ambient environments, those relationships differ significantly with different environments, and among individual woodsmoke sources. DC correlated much more closely with PM2.5 than EcoChem PAS2000-reported PAH in woodsmoke-dominated ambient environments. Our analysis also indicates the potential for PM2.5-DC relationships to be utilized to distinguish different combustion and operating conditions of woodsmoke sources, and that DC-Heating demand relationships could be adopted to estimate woodsmoke emissions. However, future studies are needed to elucidate those relationships.

scholarly journals Ultraviolet-sensitive vision in long-lived birds

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1702) ◽  
pp. 107-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Livia S. Carvalho ◽  
Ben Knott ◽  
Mathew L. Berg ◽  
Andrew T. D. Bennett ◽  
David M. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Uv Light ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Visual Sensitivity ◽  
Opsin Gene ◽  
Uv Sensitivity ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Lens Transparency ◽  
Avian Order

Long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light generates substantial damage, and in mammals, visual sensitivity to UV is restricted to short-lived diurnal rodents and certain marsupials. In humans, the cornea and lens absorb all UV-A and most of the terrestrial UV-B radiation, preventing the reactive and damaging shorter wavelengths from reaching the retina. This is not the case in certain species of long-lived diurnal birds, which possess UV-sensitive (UVS) visual pigments, maximally sensitive below 400 nm. The Order Psittaciformes contains some of the longest lived bird species, and the two species examined so far have been shown to possess UVS pigments. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of UVS pigments across long-lived parrots, macaws and cockatoos, and therefore assess whether they need to cope with the accumulated effects of exposure to UV-A and UV-B over a long period of time. Sequences from the SWS1 opsin gene revealed that all 14 species investigated possess a key substitution that has been shown to determine a UVS pigment. Furthermore, in vitro regeneration data, and lens transparency, corroborate the molecular findings of UV sensitivity. Our findings thus support the claim that the Psittaciformes are the only avian Order in which UVS pigments are ubiquitous, and indicate that these long-lived birds have UV sensitivity, despite the risks of photodamage.

scholarly journals The relation of Gammarus zaddachi Sexton to some other species of Gammarus occurring in fresh, estuarine and marine waters

1942 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. W. Sexton
Keyword(s):  
Distinct Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Northern Europe ◽  
Low Salinity ◽  
Gammarus Zaddachi ◽  
Estuarine Zone ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Baltic

Gammarus zaddachi is perhaps the most prolific and widespread of all the estuarine amphipods known to occur in northern Europe, and inhabiting, as it does, the low-salinity estuarine zone and adjacent coasts, it has come to be recognized in recent ecological work as a ‘salinity indicator’.Unfortunately, there has been constant confusion with the other common species of Gammarus, G. locusta, pulex, and duebeni, which has been greatly complicated by the difference in the appearance of zaddachi according as it lives in a freshwater or a saline habitat. It is shown that this difference is entirely due to the sensory equipment, the greater production of hairs in freshwater conditions, and that the structure of the two ‘forms’ is identical.The history of the species has been carried back as far as I have been able to trace it (1836) with the actual specimens, described in the different papers, and the more important of these papers are discussed. It will be seen that the material examined was derived from every country of northern Europe; from Russia, the White Sea, Crimea, and the Baltic, the coasts of Scandinavia, Germany, including the Hamburg water-supply, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland, and France as far up the Loire as Nantes.Detailed descriptions and figures of both forms of G. zaddachi are given; and finally, a comparison is made between the species most commonly confused with it, the Arctic species G. wilkitzkii being included because of a suggestion recently made that it might be, not a distinct species, but merely the Arctic form of zaddachi.

scholarly journals A Fixed-radius Point Count Method for Nonbreeding and Breeding Season Use

The Auk ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 593-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Hutto ◽  
Sandra M. Pletschet ◽  
Paul Hendricks
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Bird Abundance ◽  
Point Count ◽  
Bird Density ◽  
Count Method ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Fixed Radius ◽  
Point Count Method ◽  
A Site

Abstract We provide a detailed description of a fixed-radius point count method that carries fewer assumptions than most of the currently popular methods of estimating bird density and that can be used during both the nonbreeding and breeding seasons. The method results in three indices of bird abundance, any of which can be used to test for differences in community composition among sites, or for differences in the abundance of a given bird species among sites. These indices are (1) the mean number of detections within 25 m of the observer, (2) the frequency of detections within 25 m of the observer, and (3) the frequency of detections regardless of distance from the observer. The overall ranking of species abundances from a site is similar among the three indices, but discrepancies occur with either rare species that are highly detectable at great distances or common species that are repulsed by, or inconspicuous when near, the observer. We argue that differences in the behavior among species will preclude an accurate ranking of species by abundance through use of this or any other counting method in current use.

Prevalence and consequences of ants and other arthropods in active nests of Midwestern birds

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (8) ◽  
pp. 696-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Gibson ◽  
A.V. Suarez ◽  
D. Qazi ◽  
T.J. Benson ◽  
S.J. Chiavacci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Nest Material ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Tapinoma Sessile ◽  
Odorous House Ant ◽  
Ephemeral Resources

Many organisms build nests which create unique microhabitats that are exploited by other animals. In turn, these nest colonizers may positively or negatively influence nest owners. Bird nests are known to harbor communities that include both harmful and possibly beneficial species. We quantified the nest arthropod communities of 10 bird species in Illinois, USA, along a land-use gradient, focusing on ant prevalence. We found eight ant species in nests, and for three species, at least part of their colonies inhabited nests. The odorous house ant (Tapinoma sessile (Say, 1836)) was the most common species and maintained the largest colonies in nest material. Forest-cover percentage surrounding bird nests best predicted ant-colony presence. There was little evidence that ant presence influenced abundance or prevalence of other arthropods within nests with the exception of Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum (Linnaeus, 1758)) nests, where a negative association between T. sessile presence and abundance of fly larvae was found. Breeding success did not differ between nests with and without ant colonies for any bird species. Ant species that exhibit polydomy and nomadism may be more likely to occupy ephemeral resources like bird nests than other ants. How widespread this phenomenon is and the degree of commensalism that both parties experience is unclear and warrants further investigation.

scholarly journals Modelling community structure and species co-occurrence using fishery observer data

2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
pp. 1750-1763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Robert Pulver ◽  
Hui Liu ◽  
Elizabeth Scott-Denton
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Reef Fish ◽  
Efficient Method ◽  
Probabilistic Models ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Species Relationships ◽  
Correlation Measure

Abstract In this study, we modelled fishery observer data to compare methods of identifying community structure using cluster analyses to determine stratifications and probabilistic models for examining species co-occurrence in the Gulf of Mexico deepwater reef fish fishery. Comparing cluster analysis methods, the correlation measure of dissimilarity in combination with average agglomerative linkage was the most efficient method for determining species relationships using simulated random species as a comparison tool. Cluster analysis revealed distinct species stratifications and in combination with multiscale bootstrapping generated probabilities indicating the strength of stratifications in the fishery. A more parsimonious approach with probabilistic models was also developed to quantify pairwise species co-occurrence as random, positive, or negative based on the observed vs. expected fishing sets with co-occurrence. For the most common species captured, the probabilistic models predicted positive or negative co-occurrence between 84.2% of the pairwise combinations examined. These methods provide fishery managers tools for determining multispecies quota allocations and offer insights into other bycatch species of interest.

Changes in the status and distribution of four species of parrot in the south of Western Australia during 1970-90

1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R. Mawson ◽  
John L. Long
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Winter Rainfall ◽  
Mail Surveys ◽  
Dietary Preferences ◽  
Ecological Requirements ◽  
South West ◽  
The Status

Mail surveys were sent to field staff of the Agriculture Protection Board of Western Australia to assess the distribution and status of four species of parrot in the agricultural region of south-west Western Australia in 1970, 1980 and 1990. The surveys indicated that the populations of the Regent Parrot (Polytelis anthopeplus) and the Western Rosella (Platycercus icterotis) have declined in range considerably since 1970. The populations of the Red-capped Parrot (Purpureicephalus spurius) and the Port Lincoln Ringneck (Barnardius zonarius) have suffered little or not at all during the same period. Factors which appear to have contributed to the observed changes in distribution and status include clearing for agriculture, dietary preferences, physiology, habitat requirements, altered fire regimes, grazing by exotic herbivores and reduced winter rainfall. These surveys have shown that species which were formerly considered common and widespread have declined with little comment having been made of these changes. The implications of this are serious, both for these formerly common species and for rarer bird species which have similar ecological requirements. The technique of mail surveys has considerable merit for quickly assessing the status of some species of birds, but will be limited by the expertise of the respondents and the degree to which the species in question can be observed.

Sightability as a Factor in Aerial Survey of Bird Species and Communities

1985 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
LS Broome
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Water Body ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Aerial Survey ◽  
Flying Height ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Bodies Of Water

Experimental aerial and ground censuses of waterbirds were conducted on three small, isolated bodies of water on the New England tablelands of New South Wales. The flying height at which sightability was optimized for the most common species was 30 m. Aerial and ground counts were significantly correlated for most species on the three watar bodies. Black swan, swamphen, coots, musk ducks and maned ducks were counted in equivalent or greater numbers from the air than from the ground on at least one water body. Other species were counted in lower numbers from the air than from the ground. A fairly high precision in the aerial-ground relationship for the most abundant species indicates that aerial survey can be a useful procedure for obtaining indices or estimates of the population sizes of these species. However, differences in sightability between species and between types of water body indicate that indices should be used and interpreted with caution. Other bird species from a variety of habitat types which are also amenable to aerial survey are discussed, and some recommendations for aerial surveys of birds are provided.

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