A global assessment of the conservation status of the nominate subspecies of Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus)

The nominate subspecies of Eurasian Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus is the most abundant of all oystercatchers and the best studied. The main breeding and wintering areas are centered on the North Sea, but the distribution covers the European Atlantic coast to as far south as Ghana in western Africa. Population size increased strongly from the 1960s to 1990s to over one million birds. Although part of this expansion may have been caused by an ongoing successful adaptation to breeding inland, the main driving forces behind this increase are not well understood. Subsequently, the population size decreased substantially by about 200,000 individuals, mainly due to strong decreases in the Dutch-German-Danish Wadden Sea area. The decrease in the Netherlands is attributed largely to overexploitation by mechanical shell-fisheries; additional factors such as agricultural intensification and reduced eutrophication are likely to also have contributed. The causes for the decreases in Germany and Denmark are less well understood and urgently require further study. In other areas numbers are fairly stable or increasing, but good data for the Nordic countries are lacking. The global (and national) conservation status of H. o. ostralegus is classified as of ‘Least Concern’. We discuss other threats, such as habitat loss, climate change, hunting and human disturbance,and make prioritized recommendations for research and management

Highly pathogenic avian influenza causes mass mortality in Sandwich Tern <em>Thalasseus sandvicensis</em> breeding colonies across north-western Europe

\ua9 The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International. In 2022, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b became enzootic and caused mass mortality in Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis and other seabird species across north-western Europe. We present data on the characteristics of the spread of the virus between and within breeding colonies and the number of dead adult Sandwich Terns recorded at breeding sites throughout north-western Europe. Within two months of the first reported mortalities, 20,531 adult Sandwich Terns were found dead, which is &gt;17% of the total north-western European breeding population. This is probably an under-representation of total mortality, as many carcasses are likely to have gone unnoticed and unreported. Within affected colonies, almost all chicks died. After the peak of the outbreak, in a colony established by late breeders, 25.7% of tested adults showed immunity to HPAI subtype H5. Removal of carcasses was associated with lower levels of mortality at affected colonies. More research on the sources and modes of transmission, incubation times, effective containment, and immunity is urgently needed to combat this major threat for colonial seabirds

A putative mutant of a self-compatible yellow passion fruit with the corona color as a phenotypic marker Um provável mutante autocompatível de maracujazeiro amarelo com a cor da corona como marcador fenotípico

Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) is a self-incompatible crop with purple corona flowers (PCF). Plants exhibiting white corona flowers (WCF) were observed in an experimental field located in Campos dos Goytacazes - RJ, Brazil. This study was performed in order to test the fertility of these genotypes through studies of in vivo pollination, meiotic behavior and pollen viability. Using in vivo pollination, the mean fruit set percentage, obtained from self-pollinations at the moment that flowers open, was 70.83% in WCF and 0% in PCF. In terms of cytological analysis, for both kinds of plants, WCF and PCF, the meiotic behavior was considered regular, considering the high meiotic index estimated for both of them, 96.3% and 97.7%, and pollen viability, 98% and 99.5%, respectively. Such results suggest that the genotype WCF is self-compatible and interesting for use in genetic improvement of yellow passion fruit.<br>O maracujazeiro amarelo (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) é autoincompatível e com flores de corona púrpura (PCF). Plantas com flores de corona branca (WCF) foram observadas em um campo experimental localizado em Campos dos Goytacazes (RJ), Brasil. Este estudo foi realizado para testar a fertilidade dos genótipos WCF por meio de estudos de polinização in vivo, comportamento meiótico e viabilidade polínica. Utilizando polinização in vivo, o percentual médio de frutos obtidos das autopolinizações realizadas no momento de abertura da flor foi de 70,83% em WCF and 0% em PCF. Quanto às analises citológicas, para ambos os tipos de plantas, WCF e PCF, o comportamento meiótico foi considerado regular, com alto índice meiótico para ambas, 96,3% e 97,7%, e viabilidade polínica de 98% e 99,5% respectivamente. Tais resultados indicam que o genótipo WCF é autocompatível e de interesse para o uso em programas de melhoramento genético do maracujazeiro amarelo