Body condition of American Black Ducks (<i>Anas rubripes</i>) wintering in Atlantic Canada using carcass composition and a scaled mass index

English, Matthew D.; Robertson, Gregory J.; Peck, Liam E.; Pirie-Hay, Donald; Roul, Sheena

doi:10.1139/cjz-2017-0329

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(62 reference statements)

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“…Various nondestructive approaches are based on these body mass and body size measurements, for example the scaled mass index (SMI) developed by Peig and Green (2009), which is based on a standardized major axis (SMA) regression or, alternatively, on an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. SMI has proven to be a reliable and powerful tool in various species when determining size‐independent body mass (English et al., 2018; Peig & Green, 2010). However, using a SMA regression has been criticized as it, for example relies on the ratio of error variances being unity, which is mostly incorrect (Revell, 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The avian lightweights: Trans‐Saharan migrants show lower lean body mass than short‐/medium‐distance migrants

Kelsey

Schmaljohann

Bairlein

2021

J of Evolutionary Biology

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Avian trans‐Saharan migrants travelling long distances and crossing ecological barriers experience different constraints in terms of time, energy and safety than short‐/medium‐distance migrants without barrier‐crossings. As such, natural selection shapes the aerodynamic properties of these groups differently. Yet, to the best of our knowledge, we lack information on whether natural selection has contributed to reducing energetic flight costs through generally lower body mass in trans‐Saharan migrants. To fill parts of this gap, we investigated this eco‐morphological pattern in 5,410 individuals of 22 Palearctic songbird species ranging from short‐/medium‐distance to trans‐Saharan migrants. We used individual size‐independent scaled lean body mass values based on wing length as a measure of body size and, for the first time, precisely determined lean body mass values by direct measurements via quantitative magnetic resonance technology. Scaled lean body mass for a given body size was significantly higher in short‐/medium‐distance migrants than in trans‐Saharan migrants. Although scaled lean body mass significantly decreased with increasing migration distance in short‐/medium‐distance migrants, no such effect was found in trans‐Saharan migrants. Our results thus show an eco‐morphological pattern relating species’ lean body mass not only to migration distance but also to migration group. This suggests that selective effects of the presence/absence of ecological barriers and/or of a threshold level for migration distance on migrant birds may be more important than the linear continuum of migration distance per se.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The avian lightweights: Trans‐Saharan migrants show lower lean body mass than short‐/medium‐distance migrants

Kelsey

Schmaljohann

Bairlein

2021

J of Evolutionary Biology

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“…Morphological measurements of weight, tarsus length, flattened wing length, tail length, skull length, bill length, and fat score (the amount of visible fat under the skin in the clavicle and abdomen as in [42]) were recorded. Such data was used to estimate the scaled mass index (SMI), which has become the primary method for quantifying energetic conditions within and among bird populations [43][44][45]. Then, grackles were either immediately released or temporarily brought into aviaries for behavioral testing (as part of other investigations [46][47][48][49]) and then released back to the wild.…”

Section: Study Area and Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) as a tolerant host of avian malaria parasites

et al. 2022

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Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) are a social, polygamous bird species whose populations have rapidly expanded their geographic range across North America over the past century. Before 1865, Great-tailed Grackles were only documented in Central America, Mexico, and southern Texas in the USA. Given the rapid northern expansion of this species, it is relevant to study its role in the dynamics of avian blood parasites. Here, 87 Great-tailed grackles in Arizona (a population in the new center of the range) were screened for haemosporidian parasites using microscopy and PCR targeting the parasite mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Individuals were caught in the wild from January 2018 until February 2020. Haemosporidian parasite prevalence was 62.1% (54/87). A high Plasmodium prevalence was found (60.9%, 53/87), and one grackle was infected with Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) sp. (lineage SIAMEX01). Twenty-one grackles were infected with P. cathemerium, sixteen with P. homopolare, four with P. relictum (strain GRW04), and eleven with three different genetic lineages of Plasmodium spp. that have not been characterized to species level (MOLATE01, PHPAT01, and ZEMAC01). Gametocytes were observed in birds infected with three different Plasmodium lineages, revealing that grackles are competent hosts for some parasite species. This study also suggests that grackles are highly susceptible and develop chronic infections consistent with parasite tolerance, making them competent to transmit some generalist haemosporidian lineages. It can be hypothesized that, as the Great-tailed Grackle expands its geographic range, it may affect local bird communities by increasing the transmission of local parasites but not introducing new species into the parasite species pool.

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Section: Study Area and Samplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) as a tolerant host of avian malaria parasites

Pacheco

Ferreira

Logan

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) are a social, polygamous bird species whose populations have rapidly expanded their geographic range across North America over the past century. Before 1865, Great-tailed Grackles were only documented in Central America, Mexico, and southern Texas in the USA. Given the rapid northern expansion of this species, it is relevant to study its role in the dynamics of avian blood parasites. Here, 87 Great-tailed grackles in Arizona (a population in the new center of the range) were screened for haemosporidian parasites using microscopy and PCR targeting the parasite mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Individuals were caught in the wild from January 2018 until February 2020. Haemosporidian parasite prevalence was 60.9% (53/87). A high Plasmodium prevalence was found (59.8%, 52/87), and one grackle was infected with Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) sp. (lineage SIAMEX01). Twenty-one grackles were infected with P. cathemerium, sixteen with P. homopolare, four with P. relictum (strain GRW04), and eleven with three different genetic lineages of Plasmodium spp. that have not been characterized to species level (MOLATE01, PHPAT01, and ZEMAC01). Gametocytes were observed in birds infected with three different Plasmodium lineages, revealing that grackles are competent hosts for some parasite species. This study also suggests that grackles are highly susceptible and develop chronic infections consistent with parasite tolerance, making them competent to transmit some generalist haemosporidian lineages. It can be hypothesized that, as the Great-tailed Grackle expands its geographic range, it may affect local bird communities by increasing the transmission of local parasites but not introducing new species into the parasite species pool.

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Body condition of American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes) wintering in Atlantic Canada using carcass composition and a scaled mass index

Cited by 12 publications

References 33 publications

The avian lightweights: Trans‐Saharan migrants show lower lean body mass than short‐/medium‐distance migrants

The avian lightweights: Trans‐Saharan migrants show lower lean body mass than short‐/medium‐distance migrants

Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) as a tolerant host of avian malaria parasites

Great-tailed Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) as a tolerant host of avian malaria parasites

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