Song mimicry of Black-bellied Firefinch Lagonosticta rara and other finches by the brood-parasitic Cameroon Indigobird Vidua camerunensis in West Africa

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72368/1/j.1474-919x.2004.00378.x.pd

Evolutionary Associations Of Brood Parasitic Finches (Vidua) And Their Host Species: Analyses Of Mitochondrial Dna Restriction Sites

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137614/1/evo01655.pd

Further additions to the avifauna of the Isunkaviola Plateau, Ruaha National Park, south-central Tanzania, emphasize its ornithological importance

Isunkaviola Plateau is located in the western part of Ruaha National Park, south-central Tanzania, and is a remote and infrequently visited area. Previous ornithological work there has revealed some notable range extensions, and in this paper, we detail the results of surveys conducted in October 2019, to supplement species inventories provided by Glen et al. (2005) and Glen (2011). We provide detection probabilities for 114 species encountered during 55 census point counts, and document two species that are new for Ruaha NP; the Scaly Francolin Pternistis squamatus and Green Twinspot Mandingoa nitidula. Five additional species were also added to this list from mist netting. We categorize forest dependence for all species recorded on the plateau and indicate those with strong preference for higher altitudes. To date, a total of 148 bird species have been recorded within the Isunkaviola area, further illustrating the critical value of a small elevated and forested area within a broad savanna ecosystem. Given its unique avifauna, the Isunkaviola  Plateau remains as an important birding site within Ruaha National Park, and therefore, improving accessibility and awareness will not only open the area for avitourism, but also encourage further biodiversity research. Keywords: Avitourism, forest-dependent bird species, high altitude miombo woodland, Ruaha National Par

An indigobird Vidua sp. puzzle in Uganda

No Abstrac

Behavioural and genetic evidence of a recent population switch to a novel host species in brood-parasitic indigobirds Vidua chalybeata

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73593/1/j.1474-919X.2002.00065.x.pd

Importing and keeping introduced mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians in Western Australia

Many animals and birds cause severe damage to agriculture and the environment. They can:carry diseases or parasites, damage agricultural crops, displace native animals and plants, damage property, cause land degradation and have a negative impact on pets. These primarily introduced species (species that have originated in another country) have been declared by the Minister for Agriculture and Food as either prohibited organisms or permitted organisms under the Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (BAMA). This bulletin lists those animals which can be kept under a permit in aviculture and as pets or companion animals, or are stock animals. Species that are exempt don’t require a permit to keep and are listed in the tables in keeping category K5.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/bulletins/1208/thumbnail.jp

Understorey Bird Communities 8 and 18 Years after River Diversion in Kihansi Gorge, Udzungwa Mountains in the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania

On the most south-western slopes of the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania lies Kihansi River. The river was diverted underground in 2000 to run electric turbines for electricity generation. Using mist netting, pre-diversion (in 1998 and 1999) and short term post-diversion (in 2001) effects of the river diversion on understorey birds were undertaken before and year after river diversion, respectively. Intermediate and long-term effects of river diversion on understorey birds at the same transects are non-existent. In September 2008 and August and September 2018, using mist nets, birds were surveyed at the same transects  to assess whether or not there have been changes in avian community structure, abundance and diversity eight and 18 years after the river was diverted. Results suggest that there have been no significant changes in pre- diversion and eight and 18Keywords:     Avian community composition; Kihansi River; Mist netting; River diversion; Species diversity; Understorey forest bird

Understorey bird abundance and diversity before and after a forest fire in Mangala Forest Reserve on the eastern slopes of the Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania

In July 2010 an assessment of abundance and diversity of understorey birds was undertaken in Mangala Forest using mist netting. However, in October 2010 a non-intentional fire burned the entire forest and this event provided a good opportunity to assess the extent to which birds were affected. Assessment, using mist netting, was carried out one week, three months and eight months after the fire, and comparisons made with data obtained before the forest was burned. In total, 28 species were recorded. Of these, the number recorded before the fire, one week post-fire, three months post-fire and eight months post-fire was 22, 3, 3 and 11 species respectively. The understorey bird species diversity before the forest was burned was substantially higher than diversities found afterwards. The results confirm that forest burning can have a severe negative impact on bird abundance and species richness and should be halted. Because fires start from the surrounding farmland, there is a need to construct and maintain fire breaks around entire forests

Robust Asymmetric Localization of Planar Polarity Proteins Is Associated with Organization into Signalosome-like Domains of Variable Stoichiometry.

In developing epithelia, the core planar polarity proteins physically interact with each other and localize asymmetrically at opposite cell ends, forming intercellular complexes that link the polarity of neighboring cells. Using quantitative imaging to examine the composition of the core protein complex in vivo, we find that complex composition is unexpectedly plastic. The transmembrane proteins Frizzled and Flamingo form a stoichiometric nucleus in the complex, while the relative levels of the other four core proteins can vary independently. Exploring the functional consequences of this, we show that robust cell polarization is achieved over a range of complex stoichiometries but is dependent on maintaining appropriate levels of the components Frizzled and Strabismus. We propose that the core proteins assemble into signalosome-like structures, where stable association is not dependent on one-to-one interactions with binding partners, and signaling functions can act over a wide range of complex compositions

Drosophila Histone Deacetylase-3 Controls Imaginal Disc Size through Suppression of Apoptosis

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) execute biological regulation through post-translational modification of chromatin and other cellular substrates. In humans, there are eleven HDACs, organized into three distinct subfamilies. This large number of HDACs raises questions about functional overlap and division of labor among paralogs. In vivo roles are simpler to address in Drosophila, where there are only five HDAC family members and only two are implicated in transcriptional control. Of these two, HDAC1 has been characterized genetically, but its most closely related paralog, HDAC3, has not. Here we describe the isolation and phenotypic characterization of hdac3 mutations. We find that both hdac3 and hdac1 mutations are dominant suppressors of position effect variegation, suggesting functional overlap in heterochromatin regulation. However, all five hdac3 loss-of-function alleles are recessive lethal during larval/pupal stages, indicating that HDAC3 is essential on its own for Drosophila development. The mutant larvae display small imaginal discs, which result from abnormally elevated levels of apoptosis. This cell death occurs as a cell-autonomous response to HDAC3 loss and is accompanied by increased expression of the pro-apoptotic gene, hid. In contrast, although HDAC1 mutants also display small imaginal discs, this appears to result from reduced proliferation rather than from elevated apoptosis. The connection between HDAC loss and apoptosis is important since HDAC inhibitors show anticancer activities in animal models through mechanisms involving apoptotic induction. However, the specific HDACs implicated in tumor cell killing have not been identified. Our results indicate that protein deacetylation by HDAC3 plays a key role in suppression of apoptosis in Drosophila imaginal tissue