Potential of Inter- and Intra-Species Variability of CHD1 Gene in Birds as a Forensic Tool

Nowadays, illegal trafficking and smuggling of animals are among the greatest threats to many avian species. Most commonly smuggled birds belong to parrots, song birds, raptor species and owls. All of these species are protected by national and international legislations. In order to prevent and reduce wildlife trafficking, DNA methods have become an important forensic tool in species and sex identification. In this study, CHD1R/CHD1F primer pair was used to amplify a part of the CHD1 gene from 65 birds that belong to 43 species. For 36 species this is the first time that the length of CHD1 amplicons was measured for the purpose of species determination. The results were visualized using capillary electrophoresis and enabled simultaneous determination of sex and species. Based on the number of amplicons (two in females, one in males) sex was successfully determined in all species, even in cases where gel electrophoresis failed to give results. Moreover, the species was successfully determined in most bird species based on the species-specific sizes of CHD1 amplicon. The method used in this study is of great importance for veterinary forensic medicine and the prevention of wildlife smuggling. Still, further work is necessary to confirm the effectiveness of the method in all bird species.

Effect of cover crops in olive groves on Cicadomorpha communities

Aim of study: To identify the environmental variables that affect the Cicadomorpha communities and the role played by cover crops in olive groves by comparing olive orchards with cover crop to those with bare ground.Area of study: Córdoba, Spain.Material and methods: Two study plots, one with cover crop and the other with bare ground, were delimited in three areas of olives orchards. Three passive samplings (May, June and July) were performed in each study plot to estimate the abundance and the species richness of potential Cicadomorphas vectors of Xylella fastidiosa. In each sampling, eight yellow sticky traps (22 × 35 cm) were randomly distributed in each study plot (n = 144 traps).Main results: The Cicadomorpha communities were mainly affected by landscape variables (such as the total surface and the distance to remnants of natural vegetation) and environmental variables (such as the temperature, moisture or ETo), whereas cover crops played a secondary role in the abundance of the Cicadomorpha.Research highlights: The results of the study suggest that Cicadomorpha richness and abundance depend on the structural complexity provided by cover crops (positive effect) and live hedges (negative effect), which may be owing to the higher food abundance and shelter when cover crops are present, whereas higher insect predation may occur close to hedges, probably owing to insectivorous song birds.

STATUS PERLINDUNGAN BURUNG LIAR YANG DIPERDAGANGKAN DI KABUPATEN KUBU RAYA

Birds are aves class that have ecological, economic and socio-cultural functions. For the community, birds are used as pets and trading. The trading wild birds in Kubu Raya Regency for the last 3 years has greatly increased, along with the rise of the song birds contest this has made birds become popular pet among the people in Kubu Raya Regency. This study aims to determine the protection status of traded bird species in Kubu Raya Regency. This research used survey and observation methods, the technique of respondent data collecting usedsnowball sampling, which is to determine the key of respondents who are people had extensive knowledge of bird trading activities in Kubu Raya Regency. The results of the study there are 11 respondents that is 3 hunter categories, 1 collecting category and 7 bird shops / traders. The results obtainedthere are 572 traded birds consisting of 39 species belonging to 21families. The originlocation of the traded birds came from different regions that is Kubu Raya, Jungkat, Sambas, Tayan, Pahuman, Ketapang, Sintang, Badau, and Putussibau. There are 10 protected birds species including 4 species according to Indonesian Law, 1 bird species in the CITES Appendix II category (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and 8 bird species listed in the IUCN Red List category (International Union For the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources).Keyword : Bird Species, Trading Of Bird, Protection Of Bird, Kubu Raya

Diurnal variations in serum metabolites of wintering redheaded buntings

ABSTRACTDaily behavioural and physiological changes in bird may reflect in biofluid metabolite composition. Locomotor activity, food intake and body temperature of group (n=7) of male migratory redheaded buntings held under short days (8L:16D, SD) were monitored besides blood sampling at midday (ZT4: 4 hours zeitgeber time starting ZT0 as lights ‘on’) and midnight (ZT16). The birds exhibited higher activity and increased feeding during daytime with negligible activity and feeding at night. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry and chemo-metric analyses of bird serum revealed higher levels of lipid (palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids) and protein (uric acid and proline) catabolites in daytime serum samples as compared to night samples. Higher night-time levels of short chain fatty acids indicated utilization of glucose and lipolysis in night fasted birds. High night-time levels of taurine, a sulphur amino acid has adaptive advantage to night migratory song birds. The diurnal differences in metabolite patterns suggests differential energy expenditure during day and renders survival benefit to buntings as night migrants. We propose a GCMS method that could be useful to unravel different annual life-history stages including migration.

An unexpected twist: Sperm cells coil to the right in land snails and to the left in song birds

In animals, cell polarity may initiate symmetry breaking very early in development, ultimately leading to whole-body asymmetry. Helical sperm cells, which occur in a variety of animal clades, are one class of cells that show clearly visible bilateral asymmetry. We used scanning-electron microscopy to study coiling direction in helical sperm cells in two groups of animals that have figured prominently in the sperm morphology literature, namely land snails, Stylommatophora (514 spermatozoa, from 27 individuals, belonging to 8 species and 4 families) and songbirds, Passeriformes (486 spermatozoa, from 26 individuals, belonging to 18 species and 8 families). We found that the snail sperm cells were consistently dextral (clockwise), whereas the bird sperm cells were consistently sinistral (counterclockwise). We discuss reasons why this apparent evolutionary conservatism of sperm cell chirality may or may not be related to whole-body asymmetry.

Calibrating the Operational Beam Width and Maximum Range of a Ship Radar Used for Bird Observations

In order to analyse quantitative radar observations of bird movements, one needs to know the dimensions of the air space surveyed by the radar. The present study shows how to calibrate the operational beam width and the maximum range of any radar for cross sections for different body sizes of songbirds. The trial used an X-band fan beam ship radar of 25 KW (Furuno Fr-2125) and a captive balloon. Metal spheres of different diameters, fastened to the bottom of the balloon at defined distances, corresponding to the radar cross sections of song birds, were moved in all three dimensions of the air space. Simultaneously to the location by radar, the position of the suspended sphere was measured by theodolites.