Bridging the Local Persistence and Long-Range Dispersal of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIv): A Case Study of HPAIv-Infected Sedentary and Migratory Wildfowls Inhabiting Infected Premises

The past two decades have seen the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infections that are characterized as extremely contagious, with a high fatality rate in chickens, and humans; this has sparked considerable concerns for global health. Generally, the new variant of the HPAI virus crossed into various countries through wild bird migration, and persisted in the local environment through the interactions between wild and farmed birds. Nevertheless, no studies have found informative cases associated with connecting local persistence and long-range dispersal. During the 2016–2017 HPAI H5N6 epidemic in South Korea, we observed several waterfowls with avian influenza infection under telemetric monitoring. Based on the telemetry records and surveillance data, we conducted a case study to test hypotheses related to the transmission pathway between wild birds and poultry. One sedentary wildfowl naturally infected with HPAI H5N6, which overlapped with the home range of one migratory bird with H5-specific antibody-positive, showed itself to be phylogenetically close to the isolates from a chicken farm located within its habitat. Our study is the first observational study that provides scientific evidence supporting the hypothesis that the HPAI spillover into poultry farms is caused by local persistence in sedentary birds, in addition to its long-range dispersal by sympatric migratory birds.

Social migratory connectivity: do birds that socialize in winter breed together?

Researching the complete life cycles of migratory animals is essential for understanding conservation and population dynamics. Many studies focus on the breeding season, but surviving winter is equally important. Living in groups during winter can play a vital role as social connections within groups can provide many benefits such as protection from predators and increased access to resources. However, it is often unknown how social connections change across seasons in migratory animals. We focus on social connections in a migratory bird and ask whether social connections in winter continue during breeding. Golden-crowned sparrows have distinct, stable winter communities which include both site and group fidelity across years: birds almost always rejoin the same social community each year. If these birds have social connectivity across migration, we would expect individuals that associate in winter would also associate together on their breeding grounds. Our small-scale GPS tagging study combined with intensive social behavior data revealed that sparrows in the same tightly-knit winter community migrated to highly disparate locations during summer, showing that social connections in winter do not continue in summer. This suggests that golden-crowned sparrows have entirely separate social structures across seasons and that long-term social memories allow them to reform stable groups each winter.

Collaborative research as boundary work: learning between rice growers and conservation professionals to support habitat conservation on private lands

Multi-stakeholder initiatives for biodiversity conservation on working landscapes often necessitate strategies to facilitate learning in order to foster successful collaboration. To investigate the learning processes that both undergird and result from collaborative efforts, this case study employs the concept of boundary work as a lens to examine learning between rice growers and conservation professionals in California’s Central Valley, who were engaged in a collaborative research project focused on migratory bird conservation. Through analysis of workshop observations, project documents, and interviews with rice growers and conservation professionals, we identified five distinct factors of the collaborative research process that influenced learning amongst these two groups: having mutually beneficial goals, sharing ownership of the collaborative research process, building trust, integrating knowledge, and institutional alignment. We also examined and identified learning outcomes for both rice growers and conservation professionals, which included new knowledge of the social-ecological system, new practices around farming and collaboration, and shifting identities. Our findings suggest that applying these factors and outcomes for learning when structuring collaborative research, and other multi-stakeholder initiatives, can foster learning amongst diverse stakeholder groups to support new approaches for balancing resource use and adaptive management.

Spatial and temporal differences in migration strategies among endangered European Greater Spotted Eagles Clanga clanga

Summary Understanding connectivity between migratory bird breeding and wintering grounds is essential for range-wide planning of conservation activities. We used GPS tracking to explore the migration of 28 ‘Endangered’ Greater Spotted Eagles, Clanga clanga from three remaining European breeding populations towards their wintering range, and to identify population and sex-specific patterns in selection of wintering sites. The tracked eagles wintered in three continents, 46% in Africa (mostly Eastern Sahel), 43% across southern Europe (mostly Greece) and 11% in Asia (the Middle East). Migratory connectivity was weak (rM = 0.16), and the population spread across the wintering range was large (1,917 km). The three studied populations differed in their migration strategy, with northerly, Estonian breeders all wintering in Southern Europe, and Polish and Belarusian breeders divided between Southern Europe and Africa. Migration strategy was different between Belarusian males and females, with males more likely to winter in Africa than Europe, and on average, migrating 2,500 km further south than females. Migration to Africa took longer, but was partly compensated by higher migration speeds. Greater Spotted Eagles wintered in wetland sites throughout their wintering range, with 15 of 29 birds wintering in internationally or nationally protected sites (including 12 Ramsar sites). Nearly a third of European winterers stayed in the same Greek national park, perhaps indicating a limitation of suitable sites in Europe due to wetland loss or degradation. This highlights the importance of protected wetlands to this species, but also shows their vulnerability to future wetland degradation. Only two of 14 wintering sites in Africa were under protection, showing a potential mismatch between protection of females and males in their wintering grounds.

Obstacles and Obligations: Wind Energy and Migratory Bird Protection in New Zealand

<p>Wind farms create unique risks to birds because of the danger of the turbine blades, which can be up to 150 meters tall. Placement of wind farms in the wrong areas can have a detrimental impact on bird species. New Zealand’s commitment to renewable energy is shared with its obligations to protect biodiversity, which are reflected in the ratification of international conventions such as the Convention on Migratory Species and the Biodiversity Convention. Domestic legislation, such as the Resource Management Act 1991, seeks to enhance the development of alternative sources of energy with the intention of reducing the effects of climate change on the environment and conserving indigenous biodiversity. Migratory bird protection in the wind farm context in New Zealand relies upon environmental impact assessment under Schedule 4 of the Resource Management Act 1991. International obligations include protecting or endeavouring to protect 37 migratory bird species along their complete flight paths. The Resource Management Act 1991 does not meet international obligations to protect migratory birds in the wind farm consent process because (1) the assessment of environmental effects process fails to adequately identify effects on migratory birds; and (2) even if the assessment of environmental effects process adequately identifies effects on migratory birds, the RMA fails to give priority weight to effects on birds when it balances those effects with other factors in deciding to approve the wind farm application. Other countries provide guidance on the next steps for New Zealand to take to comply with its international obligations to migratory birds.</p>

Obstacles and Obligations: Wind Energy and Migratory Bird Protection in New Zealand

<p>Wind farms create unique risks to birds because of the danger of the turbine blades, which can be up to 150 meters tall. Placement of wind farms in the wrong areas can have a detrimental impact on bird species. New Zealand’s commitment to renewable energy is shared with its obligations to protect biodiversity, which are reflected in the ratification of international conventions such as the Convention on Migratory Species and the Biodiversity Convention. Domestic legislation, such as the Resource Management Act 1991, seeks to enhance the development of alternative sources of energy with the intention of reducing the effects of climate change on the environment and conserving indigenous biodiversity. Migratory bird protection in the wind farm context in New Zealand relies upon environmental impact assessment under Schedule 4 of the Resource Management Act 1991. International obligations include protecting or endeavouring to protect 37 migratory bird species along their complete flight paths. The Resource Management Act 1991 does not meet international obligations to protect migratory birds in the wind farm consent process because (1) the assessment of environmental effects process fails to adequately identify effects on migratory birds; and (2) even if the assessment of environmental effects process adequately identifies effects on migratory birds, the RMA fails to give priority weight to effects on birds when it balances those effects with other factors in deciding to approve the wind farm application. Other countries provide guidance on the next steps for New Zealand to take to comply with its international obligations to migratory birds.</p>