NOTES ON THE DIET OF THE STRAIGHT-BILLED EARTHCREEPER (OCHETORHYNCHUS RUFICAUDUS) AND THE USE OF CITIZEN SCIENCE IMAGE REPOSITORIES

Here we report on novel information regarding the diet for the Straight-billed Earthcreeper (Ochetorynchus ruficaudus), an uncommon furnarid of arid environments of the Andes. We describe an event of food consumption in northern Chile, and complement our finding by searching freely-available citizen science repositories for photographic evidence of food items. Novel food items belonging to Coleoptera and Lepidoptera were identified. These findings contribute to our understanding of the natural history of an uncommon species, making use of opportunistic photography and freely-available and ever-increasing citizen science data

Insular nestling growth and its relationship to parental care effort in Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis

The rate at which avian offspring grow can have consequences for survival and reproductive output as an adult and is known to vary widely among and within species. This variation is thought to be an adaptive response to cope with environmental variation. The principal environmental factors affecting growth are food availability and predation risk, predominantly acting as constraints on parental care. Islands pose an interesting system to explore growth rate dynamics, because the characteristic insular features of high population densities and depauperate predator diversity translate into a potentially food limited environment with low predation risk. Insular environments typically produce populations with slower life history strategies and larger body size in small-bodied species, features that are likely to be mediated by growth rate. We describe the nestling growth of an insular population of Silvereyes and how it relates to parental size and parental care. Neither parental size nor parental care explained insular nestling growth rate, even though food acquisition is thought to underpin avian growth rates. This could be due to a mismatch between acquisition and allocation of resources by nestlings. Compared to a small number of mainland nestlings, the island growth curve asymptotes were significantly larger and inflection points much later, but insular growth rates were only marginally slower. This is in line with proposed insular adaptations required to produce larger body size on islands, however understanding the mechanism underlying this pattern will require data on the relationship between food quality and acquisition, and physiological allocation of resources within individuals

The extreme rainfall gradient of the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve and its impact on forest bird richness

Article studying the effects of extreme rainfall variations on forest bird communities by monitoring the bird species richness in the different forest types present in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (CHBR)

Survival rates in the world's southernmost forest bird community

Article asserts that the Magellanic sub-Antarctic Forest is home to the world's southernmost avian community and is the only Southern Hemisphere analogue to Northern Hemisphere temperate forests at this latitude. Authors describe annual survival patterns and their association with climate variables using a 20-year mark–recapture data set of five forest bird species in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve

A Review and Analysis of the National Dog Population Management Program in Chile

Free-roaming dogs are a worldwide problem, with Chile having some of the highest human-to-dog ratios in the world. In 2017, Law 21.020 was promulgated and the federal government developed a national responsible pet ownership program. The objectives of this article are to describe and discuss the dog-related components of the program, to design a tool for determining human-to-dog ratios in Chile, and to make recommendations to managers to improve the program outcomes. The overarching goal of the program was to mitigate the conflict between humans and dogs, but many of the interventions were animal-focused and the indicators did not consider the perception of the Chilean public. Using human density data and known dog populations, we found that as the human density increased, there were fewer dogs per person. Veterinary services and sterilizations were the mainstay of the program and were offered for free to citizens. Education was offered to all ages through public events, as well as municipality and organization activities. The identification of dogs was obligatory for dog owners. Enforcement was not included in the program. The recommendations are to conduct preintervention baseline data collections and to tailor interventions and indicators appropriately; to use dog population size estimates determined at the local level rather than a country-wide estimate; to replace free veterinary services with low-cost sterilization campaigns; to create sustainable plans for education; and to create enforcement teams in communities

Interaction plot between standardized density and SR in the best-fit model of juvenile and adult survival.

<p>The color scale represents survival probabilities, high values in the color scale (yellows) represent high survival probabilities and low values in the color scale (reds) represent low survival probabilities. At lower densities and mean rainfall, survival estimates are higher (light yellow), high density results in lower survival estimates (dark red) and survival decreases slightly as rainfall increases at mid and high densities.</p

Parameter estimates for the best-fit model of nestling survival with standard error.

<p>Parameter estimates for the best-fit model of nestling survival with standard error.</p

Survival estimates from best-fit model (Season x Age + N + N x Age + SOI + SR + N x SR) for juveniles (dotted lines) and adults (black lines) across seasons.

<p>Survival estimates from best-fit model (Season x Age + N + N x Age + SOI + SR + N x SR) for juveniles (dotted lines) and adults (black lines) across seasons.</p