Seasonal variations in prey selection by estuarine black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus)     

D.J. Curtis  C.G. Galbraith  J.C. Smyth  D.B.A. Thompson 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》1985,21(1):75-90

The number of black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) in the Clyde Estuary is large. In summer the average density has reached 1350 gulls km^?2 and in winter 180 gulls km^?2. This paper compares prey selection and feeding efficiency in gulls during summer and winter on tidal flats, and considers how seasonal differences may be adaptations to cope with seasonal changes in prey availability.Gross and net rates of energy intake were highest in summer because gulls captured more of the polychaete N. diversicolor than the amphipod C. volutator. In winter, gulls selected for C. volutator and therefore an energetically less profitable diet. Throughout the year gulls selected more C. volutator relative to N. diversicolor than expected on energetic grounds and so apparently did not maximize potential net rate of energy intake.Gulls used three techniques to capture prey and made most intensive use of the ‘crouch’ technique. Crouching gulls attained a much higher net rate of energy intake than ‘upright’ or ‘paddling’ gulls.A log-linear model showed that (a) season, water depth and gull density determined feeding technique and (b) feeding technique and season independently determined foraging success and prey selection. Thus gull density and water depth acted on prey selection through imposed variations in feeding technique.Reasons for gulls selecting energetically unprofitable C. volutator and for the use of several distinct feeding techniques are discussed.  相似文献   

Oceanographic influences on seabirds and cetaceans of the eastern tropical Pacific: A review     

Lisa T. Ballance  Robert L. Pitman  Paul C. Fiedler 《Progress in Oceanography》2006,69(2-4):360

This paper is part of a comprehensive review of the oceanography of the eastern tropical Pacific, the oceanic region centered on the eastern Pacific warm pool, but also including the equatorial cold tongue and equatorial current system, and summarizes what is known about oceanographic influences on seabirds and cetaceans there. The eastern tropical Pacific supports on the order of 50 species of seabirds and 30 species of cetaceans as regular residents; these include four endemic species, the world’s largest populations for several others, three endemic sub-species, and a multi-species community that is relatively unique to this ecosystem. Three of the meso-scale physical features of the region are particularly significant to seabirds and cetaceans: the Costa Rica Dome for blue whales and short-beaked common dolphins, the Equatorial Front for planktivorous seabirds, and the countercurrent thermocline ridge for flocking seabirds that associate with mixed-species schools of spotted and spinner dolphins and yellowfin tuna. A few qualitative studies of meso- to macro-scale distribution patterns have indicated that some seabirds and cetaceans have species-specific preferences for surface currents. More common are associations with distinct water masses; these relationships have been quantified for a number of species using several different analytical methods. The mechanisms underlying tropical species–habitat relationships are not well understood, in contrast to a number of higher-latitude systems. This may be due to the fact that physical variables have been used as proxies for prey abundance and distribution in species–habitat research in the eastern tropical Pacific.Though seasonal and interannual patterns tend to be complex, species–habitat relationships appear to remain relatively stable over time, and distribution patterns co-vary with patterns of preferred habitat for a number of species. The interactions between seasonal and interannual variation in oceanographic conditions with seasonal patterns in the biology of seabirds and cetaceans may account for some of the complexity in species–habitat relationship patterns.Little work has been done to investigate effects of El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycles on cetaceans, and results of the few studies focusing on oceanic seabirds are complex and not easy to interpret. Although much has been made of the detrimental effects of El Niño events on apex predators, more research is needed to understand the magnitude, and even direction, of these effects on seabirds and cetaceans in space and time.  相似文献   

A New Genus and Species of Sapeornithidae from Lower Cretaceous in Western Liaoning, China     

YUAN Chongxi 《《地质学报》英文版》2008,82(1):48-55

Sapeornithidae is a basal pygostylian family of Early Cretaceous primitive birds, in which only one genus and species, Sapeornis chaoyangensis, was reported before. This paper deals with a new genus and species of this family, Didactylornis jii gen. et sp. nov., which was unearthed from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in western Liaoning. According to our phylogenetic analyses, both Didactylornis gen. nov. and Sapeornis form a sister group, which is basal to the clade formed by Confuciusornis and all the more derived birds, and more closely related to the short-tailed pygostylian birds than to the long-tailed avialian birds. The early history of pygostylian birds is poorly documented except for the studies of Confuciusornis and Sapeornis. The discovery ofDidactylornisjii gen. et sp. nov. adds the new material for the study on the early evolution of birds.  相似文献   

Pesticide residues in birds at Lake Nakuru,Kenya     

J. K. Kairu 《International Journal of Salt Lake Research》1994,3(1):31-48

Specimens of three species of birds were collected from Lake Nakuru, Kenya, between September and October 1990. Samples of liver, kidney, muscle, fat and brain tissue were removed and analyzed for organochlorine pesticide residues. Fat was extracted and the content of three lindane (BHC/HCH) isomers (, and ), aldrin, heptachlor, heptachlorepoxide, endrin, dieldrin, DDD, DDE and DDT was determined. The samples contained varying residue levels of 12 organochlorine pesticides. No residues of 0, p'-DDD were detected. The most prevalent compounds were DDE and -BHC, found in 95.5 per cent and 66.4 per cent of the samples, respectively. The highest median residue concentration was 207 mg kg^–1×10^–3 of DDE in pelican fat tissue. White pelicanPelecanus onocrotalus, and the white-necked cormorant,Phalacrocorax carbo, showed greater concentrations of organochlorine residues than the lesser flamingo,Phoenicopterus minor. The mean DDE concentrations in pelican liver samples in 1970 and 1990 were 64 mg kg^–1×10^–3 and 274 mg kg^–1×10^–3, respectively. In cormorant liver samples the mean DDE concentration was 15 mg kg^–1×10^–3 in 1970 and 52 mg kg^–1×10^–3 in 1990. The mean DDE concentration in flamingo liver remained more or less similar at 2 mg kg^–1×10^–3 in 1970 and 1990.  相似文献   

基于植被信息遥感反演的东亚飞蝗监测研究     

吴彤  倪绍祥  李云梅  蒋建军  陈健 《地理与地理信息科学》2006,22(2):25-29

植被是东亚飞蝗发生和成灾的重要指示因子。运用遥感技术对植被生长进行监测,对东亚飞蝗的预测和防治具有重要意义。以河北省黄骅市为研究区,利用实地获取的植被冠层孔隙度数据反算的LAI数据以及Landsat-5 TM影像提取的各种VI数据,进行了LAI(LAI-2000改进型算法的反算结果)与TM影像上反演的VI之间的相关分析。结果表明,RDVI最适合反映研究区植被生长状况。分析RDVI与飞蝗发生面积的关系,发现两者呈负线性相关,即随着RDVI减小,飞蝗的发生面积呈线性增大。  相似文献   

中国热带东,西部地区冬季气候的差异与橡胶树的引种   总被引：8，自引：0，他引：8  

江爱良 《地理学报》1997,52(1):45-53

由于青藏高原的动力影响，使得西部地区冬季出现下沉气流，多日照，利于橡胶树的越冬，而东部则出现上升气流，少日照，不利越冬，又由于青藏高原大山体，冬季明显地阻挡低层空气平流，导致高原南侧的西部地区冬季降温和缓，有利橡胶树越冬，而东部地区因无高大山体阻挡，寒潮初期降温剧烈，后期低温阴雨天气持续甚久，易导致橡胶树的严重寒害。  相似文献   

A Comparison of Public Lands and Farmlands for Grassland Bird Conservation     

Mary Ann Cunningham 《The Professional geographer》2005,57(1):51-65

Midwestern states have invested extensively in grasslands for wildlife conservation, yet these public lands make up a minority of grassland habitat. How effective are public grasslands, relative to private lands, for conserving native songbird populations? I compare private and public lands in southern Minnesota using bird survey data from Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields and public lands and assessing fragmentation in a GIS. Bird abundance and diversity were greater on CRP lands. Vegetation composition, field isolation, and field size appear to explain differences in bird counts. Land cover data show that grassland habitat on public lands is scarce and widely scattered. The CRP provides more, and here better, habitat for grassland birds. Funding partly explains this disparity. Trends in farm set‐aside program rules and distribution, which can be vary greatly over time, will strongly influence the success or failure of biodiversity conservation in this region.  相似文献   

广州市大学城湾咀头湿地公园“引鸟入城”方案浅析     

历军  张大达  丁晓龙 《湿地科学与管理》2016,(4):13-16

广州市大学城湾咀头湿地公园"引鸟入城"项目是引鸟设计的一次探索与实践。项目通过鸟类栖息环境的改造、鸟类人工饲养与自然招引、鸟类监测与保护等方法的研究与实践,成功达到了引鸟效果,同时提出了规划和管理等方面的一些建议,希望对鸟类招引项目提供参考。  相似文献   

宁德市东湖湿地鸟类资源调查与保护     

陈文杰 《湿地科学与管理》2007,3(1):58-59

2003年3月-2004年4月,在宁德三都湾东湖湿地及其周边地区进行了10次湿地鸟类资源连续调查。调查表明:宁德东湖湿地生物多样性丰富,特别是湿地水禽种类繁多,数量巨大,发现鸟类12目26科80种,计20119只。宁德东湖湿地是福建省鸟类资源的重要分布区,是各类水禽的理想栖息地、越冬地和迁徙地,但存在因开发建设湖面缩小、市区大量生活污水污染水质、湖体淤积、陆地化过快等问题。为此,保护和恢复东湖湿地、建立湿地公园已是势在必行。  相似文献   

迁入性亚洲飞蝗与气象因子关系的研究   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

王磊  徐光青  刘大锋  韩晓玲 《沙漠与绿洲气象(新疆气象)》2006,29(5):25-27

通过对吉木乃1994—2004年7、8月份02、08、14、20时地面风向、风速的分析,以及对下列气象资料的分析,如(1)飞蝗迁飞时段的风向、风速;(2)1971—2004年吉木乃站冬季、春季、夏季的月平均气温、月降水量;(3)后冬≤3cm积雪深度初日日期;(4)近10a4—8月的月平均相对湿度等,初步探讨了对亚洲飞蝗迁飞、蝗卵安全越冬、孵化繁衍监测有指导意义的气象因子,结果表明:进入90年代以来,吉木乃的气候变化适于亚洲飞蝗的孵化繁衍。  相似文献