Plumes d'azur

The kingfisher, one of the most "exotic" European birds by its colors, has always aroused the wonder of those who manage to observe it. A predator of small fry, it needs, to complete its life cycle, aquatic environments rich in fish and especially soft banks with a vertical or slightly concave profile where it can dig the burrow in which the eggs are laid. Formerly destroyed by man because of the damage to fish farms of which it was accused, it is now protected by law, but its nesting sites are not sufficiently respected. Many rivers are seriously polluted, their banks reprofiled, rectified, coated, even concreted: so many attacks on the capacity of the environment for the kingfisher. The book tells, in a few chapters, the scientific elements to understand the life of the kingfisher. After the rigorous presentations (etymology, ancient history, zoological classification, morphology), we dive into the intimate life of the bird: reproduction cycle, ecological perspective, but also ethology. Demography (births and deaths) plays a crucial role in understanding fluctuations in numbers, which are closely linked to winter mortality and the production of young. Behavioral plasticity is revealed by particular cases, notably by means of molecular genetics. Finally, movement and migration, diet, social systems and predators are discussed in this book. / Le martin-pêcheur, un des oiseaux européens les plus « exotiques » par ses couleurs, a toujours suscité l’émerveillement de ceux qui parviennent à l’observer. Prédateur de menu fretin, il a besoin, pour boucler son cycle de vie, de milieux aquatiques riches en poissons et surtout de berges meubles au profil vertical ou légèrement concave où il peut creuser le terrier dans lequel les oeufs sont pondus. Jadis détruit par l’homme en raison des dégâts aux piscicultures dont il était accusé, il est maintenant protégé par la loi, mais ses sites de nidification ne sont pas suffisamment respectés. Nombre de rivières sont gravement polluées, leurs berges reprofilées, rectifiées, enrochées, voire bétonnées : autant d’atteintes à la capacité d’accueil des milieux pour le roi-pêcheur. Le livre conte, en quelques chapitres, les éléments scientifiques pour comprendre la vie du martin-pêcheur. Après les présentations de rigueur (étymologie, histoire ancienne, classification zoologique, morphologie), on plonge dans la vie intime de l’oiseau : cycle de reproduction, perspective écologique, mais aussi éthologie. La démographie (naissance et décès) joue un rôle crucial pour comprendre les fluctuations des effectifs, qui dépendent étroitement de la mortalité hivernale et de la production de jeunes. La plasticité comportementale est révélée par des cas particuliers, notamment au moyen de la génétique moléculaire. Finalement, déplacements et migration, régime alimentaire, système social ou encore prédateurs sont autant de thèmes abordés dans cet ouvrage

Migration and movements of the Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis in Europe

peer reviewedPrevious publications on the migration and movements of kingfisher s have been limitid to a few countries; there has not been any previous synthesis of the data from the whole of Europe. The present study,based on the Euring database, related to the movements of 5991 ringed and recaptured birds. The data were classified according to the status of each individual (pulli, juvenile or adult) as noted at ringing, the time of year (autumn and winter; spring; breeding period), and general geographical area. In the first autumn and winter, half of the pulli remained in the nesting area. Those that did move (between 25 and 250 km) dispersed approximately equally in all directions. The tendency to migrate was most marked among birds born in Sweden. The tendency decreases progressively in the sequence North Europe/Central Europe/ North Western Europe, where only 5 % of birds migrate, moving in a southwesterly direction. Juvenile birds are less mobile (approximately 80 %) than the pulli. Those which do move have the same pattern of dispersion as the pulli. The tendency to migrate is especially marked in North Europe, and is almost non existent in Gread Britain and in the Mediterrannean peninsulas. In springtime, most birds are already nesting, but some migrate towards the N or NE, and some are delayed in their overwintering location. During the nesting period, the ex pulli rarely take over the burrow where they were born, while the majority of juveniles tend to remain in the area where they were first captured. Some adults do change area ot the time, this tendeny being more accentuated among females, while male birds appear to be more attached to their home territory. In subsequent autumns the patterns of dispersion, of distance and of direction of ex juveniles and ex pulli are indistinguishable from those of the first automn. In Sweden the adults migrate, whereas elswhere adults have similar behaviour as juvenile birds; but adults are even more sedentary

Découverte récente de Nyctalus leisleri en Corse

peer reviewe

Trophic niche comparison of three mustelids in southwestern France

The European mink, Mustela lutreola, is the most threatened carnivore in the world particulary in France. He lives only in the southwestern departements: Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes, Gironde, Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne, Charente and Charente-Maritime. The causes of the decline in mink populations were addressed in a multidisciplinary manner with food being a key factor. Data on mink prey were scarce, particularly due to confusion between the faeces of the polecat (Mustela putorius) and those of the mink. A few individuals of both species have been equipped with a transmitter collar in three sites: two rivers, one in the Garonne basin (the Ciron, near Langon), anothe leading into the Arcachon basin (the Eyre) and a large pond, north of Bayonne (Orx). The faeces were therefore collected per individual. The objective was to have results on the feeding of Mink and, above all, the possible competition of three mustelids. Overall, mink consumes anurans (31 %), birds (25%), mammals (24 %) and fish (19 %), while polecal it more specialized for anurans (61 %) and mammals (30 %). However, between anurans, the polecat catches mainly toads (90.8 %) while the mink catches frogs (73.4 %). For mammals, we see a separation of prey between polecat and mink respectively: lagomorphs (44 % vs 0.4 %), small rodents (27 % vs 15 %), rats (12 % vs 39 %), water voles (7% vs 32 %). The overlap index of the trophic niche is one third (0.34) considerinq that prey are quite abundant in the three sites, the competition is relatively low. For the otter (Lutra lutra), spraints were collected only along the Eyre River. Therefore, trophic niche comparisons were calculated on two mink (M1E, one female, and M3E, one male) and five polecats, including only one female with only four faeces. The recovery index is minimal of otters, which mainly consume fish, lamprey and aquatic insects, few amphibians. However, the data must be criticized: minks and polecats have a different diet per individual. It cannot be excluded that these are individual preferences. In addition, the samples are not random or independent

Habitat and geographic distribution of the common dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) in Belgium

In view of collecting data on the geographical distribution of the common dormouse in Belgium, a questionary was sent to the forest rangers and bird watchers interested in looking after nestboxes. In addition, a detailed survey of the vegetation was carried out in 76 localities where the common dormouse has recently been recorded. In Belgium, this rodent is known to live in wooded areas characterized by their structure (at least two layers of woody plants) and their species richness. It has never been recorded in monospecific spruce or pine stands: in fact, the common dormouse very scarcely occurs in such regions where spruce stands make up most of the wood cover

The karyotype of the Formentera island garden dormouse, Eliomys quercinus ophiusae

peer reviewe

Is the woodmouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) of sicily a distinct species?

[No abstract available

Genetic diversity and population structure of the Eurosian otte (Lutra lutra) in France

During the last century, the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) suffered a dramatic decline in Europe. In France, the same pattern of sharp decline was observed with local extinctions in many regions. Before the recolonisation process, two main populations still remained along the Atlantic coast and in the Massif Central. To investigate the impact of this decline on the genetic diversity and structure of the French otter population, tissue samples of 144 otter carcasses from road kills that were found during 1992–2011 along the Atlantic coast and in the Massif Central were used. They were analysed using 10 microsatellites loci. Observed (Ho = 0.64) and expected heterozygosity (He = 0.62) were moderate, but consistent with results found in other European populations. The bottleneck test showed an excess of heterozygotes, providing evidence of a recent decline. There was evidence for weak but significant allelic frequencies divergence between otters from the Atlantic coast and those from the Massif Central (Fst=0.040, p<0.05), probably resulting from their isolation prior to the recolonisation process. As the French otter population has been expanding for several years, genetic intermixing is now occurring. Although this expansion has not yet genetically homogenised all populations, this is may be a matter a time

Alimentation du silure glane (Silurus glanus) et approche de l'incidence de la prédation sur l'ichtyofaune ligerienne

The Wels (Catfish) originates from Asia and central European. It was introduced in Europe as early as the Middle Ages and in France the species has released many times since the 19th century. It invaded the Loire river basin at the end of the last century. it is the largest predatory freshwater fish in Europe. Given its geographilcal expansion and recent demographic expansion, there is an urgent need to learn more about the ecology and, above all, the trophic needs. The aim was a diet study based on stomach contents. Professional fishermen participated in the sampling of 104 catfish of all sizes and season in the middle (Gien) and lower (Nantes) sections of the Loire. The prey of the catfish is very varied: fish but also molluscs, crustaceans, insects, birds and mammals: 23 fish and 2 lampreys, 7 invertebrates, 5 birds and mammals.in terms of biomass, however, 70 % are migratory: sea lamprey (23 %), salmon (21 %) thinlip mullet (17 %), allis shad (8 %) and eel (2 %). In terms of biomass downsteam (Saumur), 85 % of catfish prey are migratory : sea lamprey, thinlip mullet and small eel. Upstream, the situation is more diverse, particularly for rheophilic fish, and migratory species are less present (62 %). In spring and summer, catfish consume migratory fish : 80 % in biomass! In winter, more than 50 % are mammals and a few birds and rheophilic fish (35 %). In autumn, the diet is diversified : birds, molluscs, crustaceans, barbel, pikeperch, ruffe, bitterling and mullet. Small carfish (< 40 cm) eat mainly crustaceans, insects and tiny fish (ruffe, gudgeon, bitterling, crucian carp). Catfish between 40 cm and 80 cm eat corbiculas and some fish (mullet, bream, chub, catfish). Above 80 cm, catfish consume 85 % of fish biomass and lamprey. Migratory fish are increasing in biomass: 48 % in the 80 cm-120 cm class, 66 % in the 120 cm - 180 cm class and 82 % beyond. At the very least, a ban on the release of catfish caught by fishing larger than 120 cm. It would be desirable to experiment with the regulation of catfish in certain strategic sectors for the passage of migratory fish and cyclostomes through structures, with associated scientific monitoring