Blood chemistry of wild brazilian coscoroba swans during molt

The Coscoroba Swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) is an unusual member of the Anatidae found in South America, from the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego through Chile and Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay as far north as Mato Grosso do Sul in Brazil. The species is not threatened globally, but some local populations have declined and the status of others is unknown. The objective of this study was to quantify the plasma chemistry of a wild population of Coscoroba Swans in southern Brazil during their molting period. We captured 12 chicks, 14 juveniles, and 31 mature birds. The following blood parameters were measured: glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, uric acid, creatin-kinase, aspartate amino transferase, alanine-aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, amylase, and pancreatic amylase. Significant differences between males and females were not observed for any of the parameters, and only the levels of alkaline phosphatase differed significantly among age groups. © Wildlife Disease Association 2010.Peer Reviewe

Morphometric sex determination of young Ospreys Pandion haliaetus using discriminant analysis

Capsule Discriminant functions based on morphometric variables provide a reliable method for sex identification of free-living and hacked young Ospreys. Aims To describe an easy, accurate and low-cost method for sex determination of fully grown nestling and fledgling Ospreys Pandion haliaetus based on morphometric measurements. Methods Four different measurements were taken in 114 birds (40-73 days old) and a DNA analysis, using PCR amplification, was carried out for sex identification. A forward stepwise discriminant analysis was performed to build the best explanatory discriminant models, which were subsequently validated using statistics and external samples. Results Our best discriminant function retained forearm and tarsus as the best predictor variables and classified 95.1% of the sample correctly, supported also by external cross-validations with both hacked and free-living birds. Moreover, a discriminant function with only forearm as predictor showed a similar high correct classification power (93.4%). Conclusions These discriminant functions can be used as a reliable and immediate method for sex determination of young Ospreys since they showed high discriminant accuracy, close to that of molecular procedures, and were supported by external cross-validations, both for free-living and hacked birds. Thus, these morphometric measurements should be considered as standard tools for future scientific studies and management of Osprey populations. © 2010 British Trust for Ornithology.Peer Reviewe

Swimming with Predators and Pesticides: How Environmental Stressors Affect the Thermal Physiology of Tadpoles

To forecast biological responses to changing environments, we need to understand how a species’s physiology varies through space and time and assess how changes in physiological function due to environmental changes may interact with phenotypic changes caused by other types of environmental variation. Amphibian larvae are well known for expressing environmentally induced phenotypes, but relatively little is known about how these responses might interact with changing temperatures and their thermal physiology. To address this question, we studied the thermal physiology of grey treefrog tadpoles (Hyla versicolor) by determining whether exposures to predator cues and an herbicide (Roundup) can alter their critical maximum temperature (CTmax) and their swimming speed across a range of temperatures, which provides estimates of optimal temperature (Topt) for swimming speed and the shape of the thermal performance curve (TPC). We discovered that predator cues induced a 0.4uC higher CTmax value, whereas the herbicide had no effect. Tadpoles exposed to predator cues or the herbicide swam faster than control tadpoles and the increase in burst speed was higher near Topt. In regard to the shape of the TPC, exposure to predator cues increased Topt by 1.5uC, while exposure to the herbicide marginally lowered Topt by 0.4uC. Combining predator cues and the herbicide produced an intermediate Topt that was 0.5uC higher than the control. To our knowledge this is the first study to demonstrate a predator altering the thermal physiology of amphibian larvae (prey) by increasing CTmax, increasing the optimum temperature, and producing changes in the thermal performance curves. Furthermore, these plastic responses of CTmax and TPC to different inducing environments should be considered when forecasting biological responses to global warming.Peer reviewe

Epidemiological trends of HIV/HCV coinfection in Spain, 2015-2019

Altres ajuts: Spanish AIDS Research Network; European Funding for Regional Development (FEDER).Objectives: We assessed the prevalence of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies and active HCV infection (HCV-RNA-positive) in people living with HIV (PLWH) in Spain in 2019 and compared the results with those of four similar studies performed during 2015-2018. Methods: The study was performed in 41 centres. Sample size was estimated for an accuracy of 1%. Patients were selected by random sampling with proportional allocation. Results: The reference population comprised 41 973 PLWH, and the sample size was 1325. HCV serostatus was known in 1316 PLWH (99.3%), of whom 376 (28.6%) were HCV antibody (Ab)-positive (78.7% were prior injection drug users); 29 were HCV-RNA-positive (2.2%). Of the 29 HCV-RNA-positive PLWH, infection was chronic in 24, it was acute/recent in one, and it was of unknown duration in four. Cirrhosis was present in 71 (5.4%) PLWH overall, three (10.3%) HCV-RNA-positive patients and 68 (23.4%) of those who cleared HCV after anti-HCV therapy (p = 0.04). The prevalence of anti-HCV antibodies decreased steadily from 37.7% in 2015 to 28.6% in 2019 (p < 0.001); the prevalence of active HCV infection decreased from 22.1% in 2015 to 2.2% in 2019 (p < 0.001). Uptake of anti-HCV treatment increased from 53.9% in 2015 to 95.0% in 2019 (p < 0.001). Conclusions: In Spain, the prevalence of active HCV infection among PLWH at the end of 2019 was 2.2%, i.e. 90.0% lower than in 2015. Increased exposure to DAAs was probably the main reason for this sharp reduction. Despite the high coverage of treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents, HCV-related cirrhosis remains significant in this population

First successful breeding of reintroduced ospreys pandion haliaetus in mainland Spain

In 2003 a reintroduction program of osprey started in the region of Andalusia, SW Spain, in order to recover the former breeding population in mainland Spain and to improve the situation of the species in the Mediterranean basin. From 2003 to 2009, 129 young ospreys were released by means of hacking. In 2009, the first breeding pair reared successfully three chicks in the Odiel Marshes for the first time in mainland Spain since 1981, when the species become extinct. The first breeding pair constitutes a significant indicator for the evaluation of the project and the beginning of a future population.Peer Reviewe

Plasma alkaline phosphatase as a sensitive indicator of age and skeletal development in wild coscoroba swans

Context. Recent studies have suggested that plasma alkaline phosphatase (ALP) can be used to assess skeletal development as well as health status in wild animals. Aims. However, the information about age-related dynamics of ALP in birds, especially in precocial species, is very scarce. Therefore, before ALP measurements can be effectively interpreted, it is necessary to determine its normal variation for each species, age group and sex. Methods. Here, we report total-ALP levels of free-living coscoroba swans (Coscoroba coscoroba) from the most important breeding and moulting population in Brazil. Data were gathered during the moulting period and categorised according to sex and the following three different age classes: chick (n=11), young (n=14) and mature (n=29). Key results. ALP levels were related to the longitudinal measure of the bones, gradually diminishing with age and showing significant differences among birds of different age classes. In all age groups, no effect of sex on T-ALP concentration was detected. Conclusions. We conclude that measuring ALP facilitates the discrimination among different-aged individuals with similar plumage characteristics and body size. © CSIRO 2010.Peer Reviewe

Los huevos falsos (SAGs) facilitan el comportamiento social de emergencia en las crías de la tortuga laúd Dermochelys coriacea (Testudines: Dermochelyidae

False eggs (SAGs) facilitate social post-hatching emergence behaviour in Leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea (Testudines: Dermochelyidae) nests. Hatchling emergence to the beach surface from deep sand nests occurs without parental care. Social behaviour among siblings is crucial to overcome this first challenge in sea turtles life. This study, carried out at the Caribbean coast of Colombia, describes the emergence social behaviour of hatchlings from eight nests, and assess the nests translocation effects on temporal patterns of emergence. For the first time, we propose that space released by dehydration of shelled albumen globes (SAGs) at the top of the clutch, might be a reproductive advantage, while facilitating neonates to group together in a very limited space, and favouring the synchrony of emergence. The mean time of groups emergence was of 3.3 days, varying between 1 and 6 days. We found that relocation of the nests did not significantly affect the temporal pattern of emergence, which was mainly nocturnal (77.7% of natural nests and 81.7% of translocated ones). The maximum number of emergences to the surface occurred at the lowest air temperatures (22:00h-06:00h). The selective advantage of this pattern is probably related to the greater rate of predation and mortality by hyper- thermia observed during the dayPeer reviewe

Efficacy of different types of “bird flight diverter” in reducing bird mortality due to collision with transmission power lines

their risk of collision. However, differences in efficacy between types of devices, and in some cases conflicting results, place in question the ability of these devices to reduce collision risk to birds. Here, we investigated the efficacy of three types of flight diverters in reducing avian collision with power lines: yellow spiral, orange spiral, and flapper, additionally we used unmarked spans as a control. We recorded bird collisions and estimated removal rates of bird casualties by scavengers in three different 400 kV transmission lines comprising 133 spans in southern Spain. A total of 131 dead birds from 32 species were found. The power line and the type of marker significantly affected avian mortality. The flapper flight diverter was responsible for a 70.2% lower mean avian mortality rate (95% Confidence Interval: 50e90%), followed by the orange spiral (mean ¼ 43.7%, CI ¼ 15.8 e71.6%) and the yellow spiral (mean ¼ 40.4%, CI ¼ 2.8e78%), compared to control spans. Flappers were the only marker that showed greatest reduction in relation to non-marked spans. The flapper flight diverter showed the highest reduction in mortality and the narrowest confidence interval when tested in different environmental conditions, and thus may serve as a better alternative to the more commonly used spiral flight divertersPeer reviewe

Los huevos falsos (SAGs) facilitan el comportamiento social de emergencia en las crías de la tortuga laúd Dermochelys coriacea (Testudines: Dermochelyidae)

Los huevos falsos (SAG) facilitar el comportamiento social de post-emergencia para incubar en las tortugas laúd Dermochelys coriacea (Testudines: Dermochelyidae) nidos. Cría emergencia a la superficie de la playa de los nidos de arena profunda se produce sin cuidados parentales. El comportamiento social entre los hermanos es fundamental para superar este desafío por primera vez en la vida marina tortugas. Este estudio, llevado a cabo en la costa caribeña de Colombia, describe el comportamiento de la emergencia social de las crías de ocho nidos, y evaluar los efectos de la translocación nidos en los patrones temporales de emergencia. Por primera vez, se propone que el espacio liberado por la deshidratación de caracoles sin concha globos albúmina (SAG) en la parte superior del embrague, podría ser una ventaja reproductiva, al tiempo que facilita los recién nacidos para agrupar en un espacio muy limitado, y favoreciendo la sincronía de la emergencia . día El tiempo promedio de los grupos de emergencia fue de 3,3 días, variando entre 1 y 6. Encontramos que la reubicación de los nidos no afectó significativamente el patrón temporal de emergencia, que fue principalmente nocturnos (77,7% de los nidos naturales y un 81,7% de los translocados). El número máximo de las emergencias a la superficie se produjo a las temperaturas más bajas del aire (22:00 h-06: 00h). La ventaja selectiva de este patrón puede estar relacionada con la mayor tasa de depredación y de la mortalidad por hipertermia observada durante el día. Rev. Biol.. Trop. 58 (3): 943-954. Epub 2010 01 de septiembre