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19 results for “African Birds”
Data and scripts for Co-phylogeny, narrow host breadth and local conditions drive highly specialized bird-haemosporidian associations in West-Central African sky islands
<p>This document includes the raw datafiles, host and parasite phylogenies and r-code use to conduct analyses for "Co-phylogeny, narrow host breadth and local conditions drive highly specialized bird-haemosporidian associations in West-Central African sky islands". Please see the readme file to get more detailed information about each file.</p>
Data from: Vegetation management shapes arthropod and bird communities in an African savanna
<p>Habitat heterogeneity is a key driver of the diversity and distribution of species. African savannas are experiencing changes to their vegetation structure causing shifts towards increased woody plant cover, which results in vegetation structure homogenization. Given the impact that increasing woody plant cover has on patterns of animal use, resource managers across Africa are implementing habitat management practices that are intended to reduce woody plant cover. To understand the ecological implications of various habitat management practices on arthropod and bird communities, we leveraged large-scale tree clearing and subsequent mowing in an African savanna to understand how changes to both the herbaceous layer and woody plant cover (i.e., structural heterogeneity) may shape arthropod and bird communities at the local scale. We focused on four replicated treatments: 1) annual summer mow, 2) annual winter mow, 3) >5 years since last mow (rest), and 4) an adjacent unmanipulated savanna to act as a control. We found that the mowing treatments significantly influenced vegetation structure both with respect to tree density and herbaceous layer. Both arthropod and bird community composition varied across treatments. Grass biomass was the best predictor of arthropod richness and abundance, with arthropods selecting for areas with high biomass. Insectivorous bird richness and abundance was driven by tree density (i.e., perching locations) and not arthropod abundance. Our results suggest that vegetation management practices contribute to habitat heterogeneity at the landscape scale and increase bird species richness through species turnover. However, we caution that if a single vegetation management practice dominates the landscape, it is plausible that it could lead to the simplification of the avian community.</p>
Data, code, and metadata for: Symbiotic acacia ants drive nesting behavior by birds in an African savanna
<p>Data, code, and metadata that can be used to reproduce the analyses underlying 'Symbiotic acacia ants drive nesting behavior by birds in an African savanna' by Lujan, Nielsen et al. 2023 Biotropica (Preprint: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.03.06.531340).</p><p>Individual data owners are detailed in the data. Data may only be used to reproduce the analyses underlying Lujan, Nielsen, et al. (2023). Any other use requires the written permission of the data owners.</p><p>For more detailed information, please visit the metadata file.</p>
Supplementary data from: Introgression across narrow contact zones shapes the genomic landscape of phylogenetic variation in an African bird clade
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Data for: Plio-Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and divergence with gene flow drive continent-wide diversification in an African bird
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Data from: A tight balance between natural selection and gene flow in a southern African arid-zone endemic bird
Gene flow is traditionally thought to be antagonistic to population differentiation and local adaptation. However, recent studies have demonstrated that local adaptation can proceed provided that selection is greater than the homogenising effects of gene flow. We extend these initial studies by combining ecology (climate), phenotype (body size), physiological genetics (oxidative phosphorylation genes) and neutral loci (nuclear microsatellites and introns) to test whether selection can counter-balance gene flow and hence promote local adaptation in a bird whose distribution spans an aridity gradient. Our results show that the Karoo scrub-robin's climatic niche is spatially structured, providing the potential for local adaptation to develop. We found remarkably discordant patterns of divergence among mtDNA, morphology and neutral loci. For the mitochondrial genes, two amino acid replacements, strong population structure and reduced gene flow were associated with the environmental gradient separating western coastal sites from the interior of southern Africa. In contrast, morphology and the neutral loci exhibited variation independent of environmental variables, and revealed extensive levels of gene flow across the aridity gradient, 50 times larger than the estimates for mitochondrial genes. Together, our results suggest that selective pressures on physiology, mediated by the mitochondrial genome, may well be a common mechanism for facilitating local adaptation to new climatic conditions.
Data from: Large mammal declines and the incipient loss of mammal-bird mutualisms in an African savanna ecosystem
Over the past half-century, large mammal populations have declined substantially throughout East Africa, mainly due to habitat loss and unsustainable direct exploitation. While it has been acknowledged that the loss of large mammals can have direct and cascading effects on community composition and ecosystem characteristics, limited quantitative work has been done on how declines of large herbivore populations impacts the abundance of mutualistic symbionts. Using a space-for-time observational approach, we quantified the large mammal community alongside the densities, host preferences and behaviors of mutualistic red-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorhynchus), and yellow-billed oxpeckers (Buphagus africanus) in northern Tanzania. At the landscape scale, mammal community composition was substantially less diverse in highly human-dominated areas when compared with more protected areas, with an observed complete loss of large wild mammal species in two study areas. Mirroring this trend, oxpecker densities were lowest in the least protected areas, and highest in fully protected areas. Using resource selection functions implemented via generalized linear models at different scales, we found that oxpeckers (1) were predominantly (67% of red-billed oxpeckers; 70% of yellow-billed oxpeckers) feeding on larger (between 500kg and 1500kg) ungulate host species within the mammal community, (2) usually preferred feeding on larger individuals (adults and males) within a specific host species population, and (3) preferred hosts that were more tolerant of their presence. In particular, cattle were especially intolerant of oxpecker presence and were relatively effective in displacing oxpeckers. We found little evidence that oxpecker feeding was parasitic across all host species; wound feeding was only observed on giraffe, comprising 6% and 4% of feeding behavior in red-billed and yellow-billed oxpeckers respectively. Thus, a loss of large-bodied and oxpecker tolerant host species is a likely explanation for declines of oxpecker populations in human dominated landscapes, which may have further cascading effects.
Data from: Elevational distribution of birds in an Eastern African montane environment as governed by temperature, precipitation, and habitat availability
<p>We conducted annual point counts of birds between 2013 and 2018 at 297 plots across habitats and elevations (2,416-4,303 m) in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. These data were subsequently used to determine elevational and habitat preferences via indicator analyses, and to model abundance distributions as a function of temperature, precipitation, habitat availability, and congeneric competition. Of 35 focal species, we found 20 species to be particularly associated with narrow elevational range (<300 m) and 24 species to have a strong associated with one to three habitat types. Abiotic conditions, estimated for each plot location, significantly correlated with the abundance distributions of 33 species (temperature 33, precipitation 17), and biotic factors with distributions of 31 species (habitat 30, competition 7). Temperature and habitat availability were particularly associated with upper elevational limits (31 and 26 species respectively vs. 10 and 6 at lower limits), whereas precipitation affected both limits similarly (17 lower, 16 upper), and competition had a limited role at either limit (4 lower, 3 upper). That the elevational distribution of Afromontane birds results from a species-specific combination of biotic and abiotic factors is crucial information in our effort to predict climate change effects in this region.</p>
Data for: Southern Europe is becoming climatically favourable for African birds: anticipating the establishment of a new species
<p><span><strong>Background</strong>:</span><span> The current modification of species distribution ranges, as a response to a warmer climate, constitutes an interesting line of work and a recent challenge for biogeography. This study aimed to determine if the climatic conditions of southern Europe are adequate to host a typical African species, the House Bunting, which is registered regularly during the last years, still in low numbers. To this end, the distribution of the species in its native range was modelled, both in the present and in future climate scenarios, using its current breeding distribution areas and a set of environmental variables. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Results</strong>:</span><span> The results showed that the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula exhibits high values of favourability to host this African species for the current climatic conditions. Furthermore, future forecasts indicated an increase in favourability for this area. The highly favourable areas we detected in the south of the Iberian Peninsula are already regularly receiving individuals of the species. These observations are very likely vagrant birds dispersing from recently colonised breeding areas in northern Morocco, which may indicate a continuous process of colonisation towards the north, as has occurred during the last decades in Northern Africa. </span></p> <p><span><strong>Conclusions</strong>:</span><span> We cannot anticipate when the House Bunting will establish on the European continent because colonisation processes are usually slow but, according to our results, we predict its establishment in the near future. We have also identified those areas hosting favourable conditions for the species in Europe. These areas are a potential focal point for the colonisation of this and other African birds if the climate continues to warm.</span></p>
Data from: A tight balance between natural selection and gene flow in a southern African arid-zone endemic bird
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Data from: No down-regulation of immune function during breeding in two year-round breeding bird species in an equatorial East African environment
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Data from: Large mammal declines and the incipient loss of mammal-bird mutualisms in an African savanna ecosystem
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Data for: Southern Europe is becoming climatically favourable for African birds: anticipating the establishment of a new species
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Data from: The response of bird feeding guilds to forest fragmentation reveals conservation strategies for a critically endangered African eco-region
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Data from: Deception by flexible alarm mimicry in an African bird
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Data from: Elevational distribution of birds in an Eastern African montane environment as governed by temperature, precipitation, and habitat availability
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FIGURES 12 in Quill mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) from African passeriform birds
FIGURES 12. Aulobia cisticolae sp. n. Female. 1 – Dorsal view; 2 – Ventral view.
FIGURES 56 in Quill mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) from African passeriform birds
FIGURES 56. Syringophilopsis corvinae sp. n. Female. 5 – Dorsal view; 6 – Ventral view.
FIGURES 24 in Quill mites (Acari: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) from African passeriform birds
FIGURES 24. Aulobia cisticolae sp. n. Male. 3 – Dorsal view; 4 – Ventral view.
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Allen Brain Atlas
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
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International Brain Laboratory public data
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OpenNeuro
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