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Deep avian evolutionary relationships have been difficult to resolve as a result of a putative explosive radiation. Our study examined ~32 kilobases of aligned nuclear DNA sequences from 19 independent loci for 169 species, representing all major extant groups, and recovered a robust phylogeny from a genome-wide signal supported by multiple analytical methods. We documented well-supported, previously unrecognized interordinal relationships (such as a sister relationship between passerines and parrots) and corroborated previously contentious groupings (such as flamingos and grebes). Our conclusions challenge current classifications and alter our understanding of trait evolution; for example, some diurnal birds evolved from nocturnal ancestors. Our results provide a valuable resource for phylogenetic and comparative studies in birds.

AbstractAimAnimal movement is an important determinant of individual survival, population dynamics and ecosystem structure and function. Nonetheless, it is still unclear how local movements are related to resource availability and the spatial arrangement of resources. Using resident bird species and migratory bird species outside the migratory period, we examined how the distribution of resources affects the movement patterns of both large terrestrial birds (e.g., raptors, bustards and hornbills) and waterbirds (e.g., cranes, storks, ducks, geese and flamingos).LocationGlobal.Time period2003–2015.Major taxa studiedBirds.MethodsWe compiled GPS tracking data for 386 individuals across 36 bird species. We calculated the straight‐line distance between GPS locations of each individual at the 1‐hr and 10‐day time‐scales. For each individual and time‐scale, we calculated the median and 0.95 quantile of displacement. We used linear mixed‐effects models to examine the effect of the spatial arrangement of resources, measured as enhanced vegetation index homogeneity, on avian movements, while accounting for mean resource availability, body mass, diet, flight type, migratory status and taxonomy and spatial autocorrelation.ResultsWe found a significant effect of resource spatial arrangement at the 1‐hr and 10‐day time‐scales. On average, individual movements were seven times longer in environments with homogeneously distributed resources compared with areas of low resource homogeneity. Contrary to previous work, we found no significant effect of resource availability, diet, flight type, migratory status or body mass on the non‐migratory movements of birds.Main conclusionsWe suggest that longer movements in homogeneous environments might reflect the need for different habitat types associated with foraging and reproduction. This highlights the importance of landscape complementarity, where habitat patches within a landscape include a range of different, yet complementary resources. As habitat homogenization increases, it might force birds to travel increasingly longer distances to meet their diverse needs.

Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae) are a distinctive group of birds associated with wetlands, one of the habitats most threatened by human activities. The abstraction of water, mining, agricultural expansion, and rapid urbanization around wetland areas has direct and indirect effects that cause the deterioration of waterbodies, also impacting the species that depend on them for reproduction and survival. Due to their unique features and high popularity, flamingos can also be an important tool for conserving and protecting their wetland habitats, serving as flagship and umbrella species. Nevertheless, due to limited resources, conservation efforts should be prioritized to mitigate major threats and protect species that are more threatened, which necessitates understanding the pressures that most impact these species and their habitats. This systematic review of the literature aimed to search the available literature on flamingo conservation for information on the most common and intense threats and use the information gathered to indicate the conservation priority of the wetlands cited in the literature. The filtering and selection processes resulted in 349 different articles citing 698 different wetlands used by the six species of flamingos in the world. Among the most common threats described were human disturbance and biological resource use, although more drastic changes could be caused by threats such as mining, abstraction of surface and ground water, and pollution. The data showed that European and North American wetlands, many under some form of protection, are highly cited in the literature, while there is less published information available for South American and African wetlands. Our results also highlight the necessity to integrate scientific research, policies and the needs and aspirations of communities that live and depend on these wetlands into land use plans to reverse and mitigate major threats, recover impacted areas, and avoid further wetland habitat loss for flamingos.

Cryptosporidiosis is an important zoonotic protozoan disease worldwide, but few studies on this disease have been performed in wild birds; thus, our knowledge of this disease is insufficient, even in zoo birds. Animals in zoos are possible zoonotic disease reservoirs, potentially resulting in zoonotic agent spillover to humans; accordingly, our understanding of such phenomena should be improved. A total of 263 fresh fecal samples from 43 avian species were randomly collected from the Beijing Zoo and Harbin North Forest Zoo and screened for the prevalence of by 18S rRNA gene sequencing. species were distinguished based on the combined results of phylogenetic tree and genetic distance analyses conducted with the inclusion of seven avian species and 13 avian genotypes. The genetic diversity of among different hosts, including humans, cattle, dogs, and birds, and the genetic diversity of avian among avian hosts in China, Iraq and Brazil were determined based on 18S rRNA haplotypes. The results of PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene revealed that 1.9% (5/263) of the samples were -positive. Four of the five -positive samples originated from white cranes ( ), and one originated from a flamingo ( ). Avian isolates, including the isolates examined in the present study, showed gene flow with other isolates from different types of hosts, including humans, cattle and dogs, indicating that zoo birds potentially pose zoonotic and pathogenic risks to humans and animals. Additionally, gene flow between avian isolates from China and Brazil was detected. To the best of our knowledge, our results demonstrate infection in a flamingo ( ) and white cranes ( ) for the first time. The results of our study provide an important reference for understanding the host range, biological characteristics, and molecular epidemiology of .

Waterbird aggregations and droughts affect nutrient and microbial dynamics in wetlands. We analysed the effects of high densities of flamingos on nutrients and microbial dynamics in a saline lake during a wet and a dry hydrological year, and explored the effects of guano on prokaryotic growth. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, total phosphorus and total nitrogen in the surface waters were 2–3 fold higher during the drought and were correlated with salinity. Flamingos stimulated prokaryotic heterotrophic production and triggered cascading effects on prokaryotic abundance, viruses and dissolved nitrogen. This stimulus of heterotrophic prokaryotes was associated with soluble phosphorus inputs from guano, and also from sediments. In the experiments, the specific growth rate and the carrying capacity were almost twice as high after guano addition than in the control treatments, and were coupled with soluble phosphorus assimilation. Flamingo guano was also rich in nitrogen. Dissolved N in lake water lagged behind the abundance of flamingos, but the causes of this lag are unclear. This study demonstrates that intense droughts could lead to increases in total nutrients in wetlands; however, microbial activity is likely constrained by the availability of soluble phosphorus, which appears to be more dependent on the abundance of waterbirds.

There are six species of flamingos in the world, all under pressure from human activities in their wetland habitats. Obtaining global population estimates for flamingos is challenging because of their broad geographical range, nomadic movements, capacity for long-distance flight, and the complexity of international monitoring. Two species, the Andean Flamingo Phoenicoparrus andinus and Puna Flamingo P. jamesi, during key parts of their life cycle, use wetlands in the Andes of South America, where they coexist at various sites. We compiled historical information on population estimates and ecology for these two species and integrated data collected on regional simultaneous censuses to describe population trends, current and emerging threats, and provide recommendations for conservation action. Long-term population trends have been difficult to establish given the unreliability of population estimates prior to the late 1990s. Systematic, regional censuses carried out regularly since 1997 have produced robust population estimates for the Andean and Puna flamingos (most recently, 78,000 and 154,000, respectively) and show populations of both species to be stable and increasing. Increasingly rapid changes in wetlands caused by human activities such as industrial-scale mining in breeding and foraging sites in the high Andes wetlands, and agro-industrial activities in their lowland wintering sites, focused on areas of the highest concentrations of flamingos pose threats to their survival and ability to reproduce. In addition, climate change is projected to reduce wetland habitats and some localised effects have already been detected. Continued research on the ecological drivers of flamingo abundance, movements, and population genetics to understand population structure and dynamics are necessary, as well as the identification of response variables to changing environmental conditions. Interdisciplinary and systems-level approaches in the context of international collaboration in monitoring and conservation planning among a diversity of stakeholders will be required to safeguard flamingo populations and wetland habitats.

Predation has been a central theme in marine ecological research. However, little is known about plasticity displayed by predators and its consequences for prey assemblages in marine soft-sediment ecosystems. Here, we test the repercussions of 2 different foraging behaviours exhibited by greater flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus on benthic assemblages in intertidal sandflat ecosystems in South Africa. P. roseus feeds by either (1) creating pits, which involves flamingos stirring up deep sediments with their feet; or (2) creating channels, in which their inverted bills are swept from side to side on the sediment surface. Comparisons of assemblages in newly formed foraging structures (pits and channels) with adjacent non-foraged sediments (controls) indicated that the foraging behaviours generate differential effects on benthic communities. Contrary to our hypothesis, channel foraging elicited a stronger negative impact relative to pit foraging, for which impacts were negligible. Channel foraging had strong negative impacts on macrofaunal abundance and surface-dwelling taxa such as microalgae and the amphipod Urothoe grimaldii. Our results also revealed that variation in the size of the channels constructed by flamingos, which is a more subtle form of foraging plasticity, was inversely related to its impact. In effect, smaller channels had greater impacts on community abundance than larger ones. Overall, the study highlights the contrasting effects foraging plasticity can have on prey assemblages and its key role in driving spatial–temporal heterogeneity in intertidal sandflats. The study also highlights the need to incorporate foraging plasticity into current conceptual models of predation in marine soft sediments.

Lesser Flamingo, the flagship species of saline wetlands of Africa and India, is a specialised feeder subsisting on microscopic cyanobacteria and algae. To establish the relationship between flamingo occurrence and food algal abundance and quality, an extensive microphyte survey in more than 150 sampling trips to seven countries over a 15-years period (2001–2015) was carried out. The 44 habitat sites included the core soda lakes in eastern Africa (Bogoria, Nakuru, Elmentaita, Oloidien), where the highest numbers of flamingos were observed, and five breeding sites in eastern and southern Africa as well as in north-western India. A reference describing the diversity of microphytes was established including members of three orders of cyanobacteria and nine orders of eukaryotic algae that potentially could act as food source for Lesser Flamingos. Preferred food organisms consisted of filamentous cyanobacteria, mainly Arthrospira, as well as benthic diatoms. Further investigation on the suitability of other microphytes as alternative flamingo diet revealed the food potential of chlorophytes and euglenophytes. This paper discusses a phycological perspective in the feeding ecology of Lesser Flamingos. The survey findings can assist scientists and conservationists in evaluating the potential of wetlands to support flocks of this endangered bird.

Debate regarding the monophyly and relationships of the avian order Pelecaniformes represents a classic example of discord between morphological and molecular estimates of phylogeny. This lack of consensus hampers interpretation of the group's fossil record, which has major implications for understanding patterns of character evolution (e.g., the evolution of wing-propelled diving) and temporal diversification (e.g., the origins of modern families). Relationships of the Pelecaniformes were inferred through parsimony analyses of an osteological dataset encompassing 59 taxa and 464 characters. The relationships of the Plotopteridae, an extinct family of wing-propelled divers, and several other fossil pelecaniforms (Limnofregata, Prophaethon, Lithoptila, ?Borvocarbo stoeffelensis) were also assessed. The antiquity of these taxa and their purported status as stem members of extant families makes them valuable for studies of higher-level avian diversification. Pelecaniform monophyly is not recovered, with Phaethontidae recovered as distantly related to all other pelecaniforms, which are supported as a monophyletic Steganopodes. Some anatomical partitions of the dataset possess different phylogenetic signals, and partitioned analyses reveal that these discrepancies are localized outside of Steganopodes, and primarily due to a few labile taxa. The Plotopteridae are recovered as the sister taxon to Phalacrocoracoidea, and the relationships of other fossil pelecaniforms representing key calibration points are well supported, including Limnofregata (sister taxon to Fregatidae), Prophaethon and Lithoptila (successive sister taxa to Phaethontidae), and ?Borvocarbo stoeffelensis (sister taxon to Phalacrocoracidae). These relationships are invariant when 'backbone' constraints based on recent avian phylogenies are imposed. Relationships of extant pelecaniforms inferred from morphology are more congruent with molecular phylogenies than previously assumed, though notable conflicts remain. The phylogenetic position of the Plotopteridae implies that wing-propelled diving evolved independently in plotopterids and penguins, representing a remarkable case of convergent evolution. Despite robust support for the placement of fossil taxa representing key calibration points, the successive outgroup relationships of several \"stem fossil + crown family\" clades are variable and poorly supported across recent studies of avian phylogeny. Thus, the impact these fossils have on inferred patterns of temporal diversification depends heavily on the resolution of deep nodes in avian phylogeny.

The Lagoa do Peixe National Park is one of the most important wetlands in southern Brazil, serving as a contranuptial or breeding site for several species of birds, including the Chilean Flamingo. Despite being the only area where Chilean Flamingo can be seen all year round, the population dynamics of the species in the area is still poorly known. To fill this gap, we reunite populational data from three different sources: literature, fieldwork census, and citizen science data. We use Generalized Additive Models (GAMs) to detect population trends over the years and within the years. The most significant models reveal that the number of Chilean Flamingos in the park decreased from the 1970s until the early 2000s, stabilizing after 2010. During the year, the dynamic of Chilean Flamingo match the dynamics of other contranuptial colonies, with an increase in individuals during winter and early spring and a reduced number from December to May. We discuss how these trends can reflect general populational trends for the species across its distribution, but also changes in the conservation and management administration in the park. We also discuss how the demographic knowledge of Chilean Flamingos in the area can be affected by ongoing activities at Lagoa do Peixe, mainly the artificial opening of the lagoon, shrimp farming, fishing, and tourism, recommending further actions that consider the flamingos in the park and maintain a healthy relationship between human activities and bird conservation.