Birds of the Western Palearctic
TL;DR: Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palearctic as discussed by the authors, Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks.
Abstract: Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Edited By S. Cramp, K. E. L. Simmons, I. J. Ferguson-Lees, E. M. Nicholson, M. A. Ogilvie, P. J. S. Olney, K. H. Voous and J. Wattel. Pp. 722. (Oxford University: Oxford, London and New York, 1977.) £25.
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01 Jan 1999
TL;DR: PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY as discussed by the authors is a member of the TEXAS-A&M University System and is ACCREDITED by the COMMISSION on COLLEGES of the SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION of COLLEGE and Schools.
Abstract: PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY IS A MEMBER OF THE TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY SYSTEM AND IS ACCREDITED BY THE COMMISSION ON COLLEGES OF THE SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS TO AWARD BACHELOR’S, MASTER’S AND DOCTORAL DEGREES. CONTACT THE COMMISSION ON COLLEGES AT 1866 SOUTHERN LANE, DECATUR, GEORGIA 30033-4097 OR CALL 404-679-4500 FOR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ACCREDITATION OF PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY.
823 citations
TL;DR: The hypothesis that the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, has a negative impact on insectivorous bird populations is investigated and it is shown that, in the Netherlands, local population trends were significantly more negative in areas with higher surface-water concentrations of imidcloprid.
Abstract: Recent studies have shown that neonicotinoid insecticides have adverse effects on non-target invertebrate species. Invertebrates constitute a substantial part of the diet of many bird species during the breeding season and are indispensable for raising offspring. We investigated the hypothesis that the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, has a negative impact on insectivorous bird populations. Here we show that, in the Netherlands, local population trends were significantly more negative in areas with higher surface-water concentrations of imidacloprid. At imidacloprid concentrations of more than 20 nanograms per litre, bird populations tended to decline by 3.5 per cent on average annually. Additional analyses revealed that this spatial pattern of decline appeared only after the introduction of imidacloprid to the Netherlands, in the mid-1990s. We further show that the recent negative relationship remains after correcting for spatial differences in land-use changes that are known to affect bird populations in farmland. Our results suggest that the impact of neonicotinoids on the natural environment is even more substantial than has recently been reported and is reminiscent of the effects of persistent insecticides in the past. Future legislation should take into account the potential cascading effects of neonicotinoids on ecosystems.
766 citations
TL;DR: The findings imply that ecological factors affecting population trends can change over time and suggest that ongoing climatic changes will increasingly threaten vulnerable migratory bird species, augmenting their extinction risk.
Abstract: Recent rapid climatic changes are associated with dramatic changes in phenology of plants and animals, with optimal timing of reproduction advancing considerably in the northern hemisphere. However, some species may not have advanced their timing of breeding sufficiently to continue reproducing optimally relative to the occurrence of peak food availability, thus becoming mismatched compared with their food sources. The degree of mismatch may differ among species, and species with greater mismatch may be characterized by declining populations. Here we relate changes in spring migration timing by 100 European bird species since 1960, considered as an index of the phenological response of bird species to recent climate change, to their population trends. Species that declined in the period 1990–2000 did not advance their spring migration, whereas those with stable or increasing populations advanced their migration considerably. On the other hand, population trends during 1970–1990 were predicted by breeding habitat type, northernmost breeding latitude, and winter range (with species of agricultural habitat, breeding at northern latitudes, and wintering in Africa showing an unfavorable conservation status), but not by change in migration timing. The association between population trend in 1990–2000 and change in migration phenology was not confounded by any of the previously identified predictors of population trends in birds, or by similarity in phenotype among taxa due to common descent. Our findings imply that ecological factors affecting population trends can change over time and suggest that ongoing climatic changes will increasingly threaten vulnerable migratory bird species, augmenting their extinction risk.
691 citations
TL;DR: Overall, intensification and specialisation of arable and grassland systems is likely to have reduced the availability of key invertebrate and seed foods for birds, however, there is also evidence that reversal of intensification, especially in arable systems can result in rapid recovery of these resources.
609 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: This book presents a meta-anatomy of sexual selection in birds and mammals, focusing on the role of courtship and courtship strategies in the courtship of birds and mammal species.
Abstract: Introduction Walter D Koenig and Janis L Dickinson 1 Evolutionary origins J David Ligon and D Brent Burt 2 Delayed dispersal Jan Ekman, Janis L Dickinson, Ben J Hatchwell and Michael Griesser 3 Fitness consequences of helping Janis L Dickinson and Ben J Hatchwell 4 Parental care, load-lightening and costs Robert G Heinsohn 5 Matings systems and sexual conflict Andrew Cockburn 6 Sex-ratio manipulation Jan Komdeur 7 Physiological ecology Morne Du Plessis 8 Endocrinology Steven J Schoech, S James Reynolds and Raoul K Boughton 9 Incest and incest avoidance Walter D Koenig and Joseph Haydock 10 Reproductive skew Robert D Magrath, Rufus A Johnstone and Robert G Heinsohn 11 Joint-laying systems Sandra L Vehrencamp and James S Quinn 12 Conservation biology Jeffrey R Walters, Caren B Cooper, Susan J Daniels, Gilberto Pasinelli and Karen Schiegg 13 Mammalian contrasts and comparisons Andrew F Russell Summary Steven J Pruett-Jones Names of bird and mammal species mentioned in the text References Index
579 citations