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708
result(s) for
"Falconiformes"
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Evolutionarily distinct lineages of a migratory bird of prey show divergent responses to climate change
Accurately predicting species’ responses to anthropogenic climate change is hampered by limited knowledge of their spatiotemporal ecological and evolutionary dynamics. We combine landscape genomics, demographic reconstructions, and species distribution models to assess the eco-evolutionary responses to past climate fluctuations and to future climate of an Afro-Palaearctic migratory raptor, the lesser kestrel (
Falco naumanni
). We uncover two evolutionarily and ecologically distinct lineages (European and Asian), whose demographic history, evolutionary divergence, and historical distribution range were profoundly shaped by past climatic fluctuations. Using future climate projections, we find that the Asian lineage is at higher risk of range contraction, increased migration distance, climate maladaptation, and consequently greater extinction risk than the European lineage. Our results emphasise the importance of providing historical context as a baseline for understanding species’ responses to contemporary climate change, and illustrate how incorporating intraspecific genetic variation improves the ecological realism of climate change vulnerability assessments.
Understanding species’ spatiotemporal dynamics is key to predicting their responses to climate change. Here, the authors combine landscape genomics, demographic reconstructions, and species distribution models to assess lineage-specific responses to past and future climate in a migratory raptor.
Journal Article
Direct evidence of poison-driven widespread population decline in a wild vertebrate
Toxicants such as organochlorine insecticides, lead ammunition, and veterinary drugs have caused severe wildlife poisoning, pushing the populations of several apex species to the edge of extinction. These prime cases epitomize the serious threat that wildlife poisoning poses to biodiversity. Much of the evidence on population effects of wildlife poisoning rests on assessments conducted at an individual level, from which population-level effects are inferred. Contrastingly, we demonstrate a straightforward relationship between poison-induced individual mortality and population changes in the threatened red kite (Milvus milvus). By linking field data of 1,075 poisoned red kites to changes in occupancy and abundance across 274 sites (10 × 10-km squares) over a 20-y time frame, we show a clear relationship between red kite poisoning and the decline of its breeding population in Spain, including local extinctions. Our results further support the species listing as endangered, after a breeding population decline of 31% to 43% in two decades of this once-abundant raptor. Given that poisoning threatens the global populations of more than 2,600 animal species worldwide, a greater understanding of its population-level effects may aid biodiversity conservation through increased regulatory control of chemical substances. Our results illustrate the great potential of long-term and large-scale on-ground monitoring to assist in this task.
Journal Article
Peregrine and saker falcon genome sequences provide insights into evolution of a predatory lifestyle
Michael Bruford and colleagues report whole-genome sequencing of the peregrine (
Falco peregrinus
) and saker falcon (
Falco cherrug
). Their comparative analysis with five avian species provides insight into falcon evolution and adaptation to a predatory lifestyle.
As top predators, falcons possess unique morphological, physiological and behavioral adaptations that allow them to be successful hunters: for example, the peregrine is renowned as the world's fastest animal. To examine the evolutionary basis of predatory adaptations, we sequenced the genomes of both the peregrine (
Falco peregrinus
) and saker falcon (
Falco cherrug
), and we present parallel, genome-wide evidence for evolutionary innovation and selection for a predatory lifestyle. The genomes, assembled using Illumina deep sequencing with greater than 100-fold coverage, are both approximately 1.2 Gb in length, with transcriptome-assisted prediction of approximately 16,200 genes for both species. Analysis of 8,424 orthologs in both falcons, chicken, zebra finch and turkey identified consistent evidence for genome-wide rapid evolution in these raptors. SNP-based inference showed contrasting recent demographic trajectories for the two falcons, and gene-based analysis highlighted falcon-specific evolutionary novelties for beak development and olfaction and specifically for homeostasis-related genes in the arid environment–adapted saker.
Journal Article
Climate-driven flyway changes and memory-based long-distance migration
Millions of migratory birds occupy seasonally favourable breeding grounds in the Arctic
1
, but we know little about the formation, maintenance and future of the migration routes of Arctic birds and the genetic determinants of migratory distance. Here we established a continental-scale migration system that used satellite tracking to follow 56 peregrine falcons (
Falco peregrinus
) from 6 populations that breed in the Eurasian Arctic, and resequenced 35 genomes from 4 of these populations. The breeding populations used five migration routes across Eurasia, which were probably formed by longitudinal and latitudinal shifts in their breeding grounds during the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene epoch. Contemporary environmental divergence between the routes appears to maintain their distinctiveness. We found that the gene
ADCY8
is associated with population-level differences in migratory distance. We investigated the regulatory mechanism of this gene, and found that long-term memory was the most likely selective agent for divergence in
ADCY8
among the peregrine populations. Global warming is predicted to influence migration strategies and diminish the breeding ranges of peregrine populations of the Eurasian Arctic. Harnessing ecological interactions and evolutionary processes to study climate-driven changes in migration can facilitate the conservation of migratory birds.
The routes and lengths of migrations of Eurasian Arctic peregrine falcons have probably been shaped by climate change across the Last Glacial Maximum–Holocene transition and by selection for long-term memory acting on
ADCY8
, respectively.
Journal Article
Causes of admission, length of stay and outcomes for common kestrels in rehabilitation centres in the Czech Republic
Rehabilitation centres help injured animals to recover and return back to the wild. This study aimed to analyse trends in intake and outcomes for the common kestrels (
Falco tinnunculus
) admitted into rehabilitation centres in the Czech Republic. From 2010 to 2019, a total of 12,923 kestrels were admitted to 34 rehabilitation centres with an increasing trend (rSp = 0.7697,
P
< 0.01) being found during the monitored period. Subadult kestrels (34.70%) and kestrels injured by power lines (26.57%) were most often admitted. Most kestrels in the rehabilitation centres died or had to be euthanized (81.66%), only 15.90% of the birds could be released back into the wild. The median length of stay in rehabilitation centres for kestrels that were subsequently released was 35 days. Considering survival rates, the most critical threat to kestrels was poisoning (100% of the cases resulted in death) but mortality of the kestrels admitted for most other reasons also exceeded 80%. Given the low success rate of the care of kestrels in rehabilitation centres and the relatively small proportion returned to the wild, it is essential to eliminate the causes leading to their admission, that is, to protect their natural habitats and to prevent unnecessary capture.
Journal Article
Protective role of the vulture facial skin and gut microbiomes aid adaptation to scavenging
Background
Vultures have adapted the remarkable ability to feed on carcasses that may contain microorganisms that would be pathogenic to most other animals. The holobiont concept suggests that the genetic basis of such adaptation may not only lie within their genomes, but additionally in their associated microbes. To explore this, we generated shotgun DNA sequencing datasets of the facial skin and large intestine microbiomes of the black vulture (
Coragyps atratus
) and the turkey vulture (
Cathartes aura
). We characterized the functional potential and taxonomic diversity of their microbiomes, the potential pathogenic challenges confronted by vultures, and the microbial taxa and genes that could play a protective role on the facial skin and in the gut.
Results
We found microbial taxa and genes involved in diseases, such as dermatitis and pneumonia (more abundant on the facial skin), and gas gangrene and food poisoning (more abundant in the gut). Interestingly, we found taxa and functions with potential for playing beneficial roles, such as antilisterial bacteria in the gut, and genes for the production of antiparasitics and insecticides on the facial skin. Based on the identified phages, we suggest that phages aid in the control and possibly elimination, as in phage therapy, of microbes reported as pathogenic to a variety of species. Interestingly, we identified
Adineta vaga
in the gut, an invertebrate that feeds on dead bacteria and protozoans, suggesting a defensive predatory mechanism. Finally, we suggest a colonization resistance role through biofilm formation played by Fusobacteria and Clostridia in the gut.
Conclusions
Our results highlight the importance of complementing genomic analyses with metagenomics in order to obtain a clearer understanding of the host-microbial alliance and show the importance of microbiome-mediated health protection for adaptation to extreme diets, such as scavenging.
Journal Article
Larger size and older age confer competitive advantage: dominance hierarchy within European vulture guild
Competition for limiting natural resources generates complex networks of relationships between individuals, both at the intra- and interspecific levels, establishing hierarchical scenarios among different population groups. Within obligate scavengers, and especially in vultures, the coevolutionary mechanisms operating during carrion exploitation are highly specialized and determined in part by agonistic behavior resulting in intra-guild hierarchies. This paper revisits the behavioral and hierarchical organization within the guild of European vultures, on the basis of their agonistic activities during carrion exploitation. We used a dataset distilled from high-quality videorecordings of competitive interactions among the four European vulture species during feeding events. We found a despotic dominance gradient from the larger species to smaller ones, and from the adults to subadults and juveniles, following an age and body size-based linear pattern. The four studied species, and to some extent age classes, show despotic dominance and organization of their guild exerting differential selection to different parts of the carrion. The abundance of these parts could ultimately condition the level of agonistic interactions. We discuss the behavioral organization and the relationship of hierarchies according to the feeding behavior and prey selection, by comparing with other scavenger guilds.
Journal Article
The influence of diet-mediated exposure of avian influenza on adult survival, recruitment and territory occupancy in peregrine falcons
The current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is the largest panzootic ever recorded, impacting millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide. Waterbirds including waterfowl, seabirds and shorebirds represent natural reservoirs for the virus and have facilitated its spread throughout major flyways. Peregrine falcons are obligate bird consumers and are considered HPAIV-susceptible. We investigated the influence of waterbird exposure on breeding peregrine falcons within the mid-Atlantic region of North America by comparing inland and coastal subpopulations. We monitored individually marked adults (
N
= 205) and breeding territories (
N
= 79) to estimate spatial and temporal patterns of adult survival, recruitment age and territory occupancy (2016–2025). Adult survival was comparable between inland and coastal locations prior to the arrival (date of first detection) of HPAIV but fell from 0.82 to 0.25 in coastal areas in the two years following arrival. Recruitment of juvenile-plumaged (second calendar year) birds was uncommon in both areas prior to the arrival of HPAIV but increased from 3.5% to 21.0% following arrival, suggesting that the recruitment pool may be diminished by the demand generated by increased adult turnover. Territory occupancy was high and stable prior to the arrival of HPAIV but declined by more than 50% in coastal areas following arrival. Our results document changes in adult survival, territory occupancy and juvenile recruitment that coincide with the appearance of HPAIV on the Atlantic Coast and suggest that impacts may be diet-mediated.
Journal Article