- Leibniz Istitute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Dept. Wildlife Diseases, P.O. Box 700430, 10324 Berlin., Germany
This chapter summarizes the main results of the study and recommends measures to avoid collisions of birds of prey at wind turbines.
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Research Interests: Zoology, Biology, City, Population, Arizona, and 6 moreDisease, Pigeons, Ljubljana, Health Status, Dove, and North Rhine-Westphalia
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Poxvirus infections are common in domestic birds in Germany, but they are rare in birds of prey. Only species of falconidae imported from Arabian or Asian countries have so far tested positive for poxvirus, and, among these, only raptors... more
Poxvirus infections are common in domestic birds in Germany, but they are rare in birds of prey. Only species of falconidae imported from Arabian or Asian countries have so far tested positive for poxvirus, and, among these, only raptors kept for falconry. As part of a reintroduction programme in the northern county of Mecklenburg‐Western Pomerania, which is adjacent to the Baltic Sea, 21 young peregrine falcons were released into the wild; six of them died and one was examined postmortem, its tissues being examined by light and electron microscopy. In addition, an ELISA for fowipox, pigeonpox and canarypox was applied. No virus could be isolated and propagation in culture failed, but virus particles were detected by electron microscopy in lesions from its skin and tongue.
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SummaryA recent review of the management of hyperabundant macropods in Australia proposed that expanded professional shooting is likely to lead to better biodiversity and animal welfare outcomes. While the tenets of this general argument... more
SummaryA recent review of the management of hyperabundant macropods in Australia proposed that expanded professional shooting is likely to lead to better biodiversity and animal welfare outcomes. While the tenets of this general argument are sound, it overlooks one important issue for biodiversity and animal health and welfare: reliance on toxic lead‐based ammunition. Lead poisoning poses a major threat to Australia's wildlife scavengers. Current proposals to expand professional macropod shooting would see tonnes of an extremely toxic and persistent heavy metal continue to be introduced into Australian environments. This contrasts with trends in many other countries, where lead ammunition is, through legislation or voluntary programs, being phased out. Fortunately, there are alternatives to lead ammunition that could be investigated and adopted for improved macropod management. A transition to lead‐free ammunition would allow the broad environmental and animal welfare goals desi...
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The COST Action 'European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility' (ERBFacility) aims to develop pan-European raptor biomonitoring in support of better chemicals management in Europe, using raptors as sentinel species. This presents a... more
The COST Action 'European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility' (ERBFacility) aims to develop pan-European raptor biomonitoring in support of better chemicals management in Europe, using raptors as sentinel species. This presents a significant challenge involving a range of constraints that must be identified and addressed. The aims of this study were to: (1) carry out a comprehensive review of the constraints that may limit the gathering in the field of raptor samples and contextual data, and assess their relative importance across Europe; and (2) identify and discuss possible solutions to the key constraints that were identified. We applied a participatory approach to identify constraints and to discuss feasible solutions. Thirty-one constraints were identified, which were divided into four categories: legal, methodological, spatial coverage, and skills constraints. To assess the importance of the constraints and their possible solutions, we collected information through scientific workshops and by distributing a questionnaire to stakeholders in all the countries involved in ERBFacility. We obtained 74 answers to the questionnaire, from 24 of the 39 COST participating countries. The most important constraints identified were related to the collection of complex contextual data about sources of contamination, and the low number of existing raptor population national/regional monitoring schemes and ecological studies that could provide raptor samples. Legal constraints, such as permits to allow the collection of invasive samples, and skills constraints, such as the lack of expertise to practice necropsies, were also highlighted. Here, we present solutions for all the constraints identified, thus suggesting the feasibility of establishing a long-term European Raptor Sampling Programme as a key element of the planned European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility.
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The increasing use of chemicals in the European Union (EU) has resulted in environmental emissions and wildlife exposures. For approving a chemical within the EU, producers need to conduct an environmental risk assessment, which typically... more
The increasing use of chemicals in the European Union (EU) has resulted in environmental emissions and wildlife exposures. For approving a chemical within the EU, producers need to conduct an environmental risk assessment, which typically relies on data generated under laboratory conditions without considering the ecological and landscape context. To address this gap and add information on emerging contaminants and chemical mixtures, we analysed 30 livers of white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) from northern Germany with high resolution-mass spectrometry coupled to liquid and gas chromatography for the identification of >2400 contaminants. We then modelled the influence of trophic position (δ15N), habitat (δ13C) and landscape on chemical residues and screened for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) properties using an in silico model to unravel mismatches between predicted PBT properties and observed exposures. Despite having generally low PBT scores, most detected contaminants were medicinal products with oxfendazole and salicylamide being most frequent. Chemicals of the Stockholm Convention such as 4,4'-DDE and PCBs were present in all samples below toxicity thresholds. Among PFAS, especially PFOS showed elevated concentrations compared to other studies. In contrast, PFCA levels were low and increased with δ15N, which indicated an increase with preying on piscivorous species. Among plant protection products, spiroxamine and simazine were frequently detected with increasing concentrations in agricultural landscapes. The in silico model has proven to be reliable for predicting PBT properties for most chemicals. However, chemical exposures in apex predators are complex and do not solely rely on intrinsic chemical properties but also on other factors such as ecology and landscape. We therefore recommend that ecological contexts, mixture toxicities, and chemical monitoring data should be more frequently considered in regulatory risk assessments, e.g. in a weight of evidence approach, to trigger risk management measures before adverse effects in individuals or populations start to manifest.
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Exposure to lead (Pb) from ammunition in scavenging and raptorial birds has achieved worldwide recognition based on incidences of lethal poisoning, but exposure implies also sublethal levels with potential harmful effects. Background and... more
Exposure to lead (Pb) from ammunition in scavenging and raptorial birds has achieved worldwide recognition based on incidences of lethal poisoning, but exposure implies also sublethal levels with potential harmful effects. Background and elevated Pb levels in liver from 116 golden eagles (GE, Aquila chrysaetos) and 200 white-tailed sea eagles (WTSE, Haliaeetus albicilla) from Sweden 2003-2011 are here examined, with supporting data from a previous WTSE report and eagle owl (EO, Bubu bubo) report. GE and WTSE display seasonal patterns, with no Pb level exceeding a generally accepted threshold for subclinical effects during summer but strongly elevated levels from October. Fledged juveniles show significantly lower levels than all other age classes, but reach levels found in older birds in autumn after the start of hunting seasons. Pb levels in EO (non-scavenger) show no seasonal changes and indicate no influence from ammunition, and are close to levels observed in juvenile eagles before October. In all, 15% WTSE and 7% GE were lethally poisoned. In areas with high-exposure to hunting ammunition, 24% of WTSE showed lethal Pb levels, compared to 7% in both eagle species from low-exposure areas. Lethal poisoning of WTSE remained as frequent after (15%) as before (13%) a partial ban on use of Pb-based shotgun ammunition over shallow waters (2002). Pb levels increased significantly in WTSE 1981-2011, in contrast to other biota from the same period. A significant decrease of Pb in WTSE liver occurred below a threshold at 0.25 μg/g (dry weight), exceeded by 81% of the birds. Trend patterns in Pb isotope ratios lend further support to this estimated cut-off level for environmental background concentrations. Pb from spent ammunition affects a range of scavenging and predatory species. A shift to Pb-free ammunition to save wildlife from unnecessary harm is an important environmental and ethical issue.
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Infections in birds of prey by Caryospora spp. are a com-mon and often serious problem in captive breeding sta-nons (Heidenreich 1996). In British breeding centers, nestlings of Merlins (Falco columbarius) f • tll ill due to in-fections... more
Infections in birds of prey by Caryospora spp. are a com-mon and often serious problem in captive breeding sta-nons (Heidenreich 1996). In British breeding centers, nestlings of Merlins (Falco columbarius) f • tll ill due to in-fections with C. neoJ • Iconis (Forbes and Simpson 1997). Typically, symptoms are displayed at an age of 28 to 55 d and may include regurgitation, hemorrhagic feces, de-pression, and reduced appetite. Peracute or acute death w • th or without clinical signs may occur also. The possible explanation tbr this disease in young birds at this partic-ular age is waned maternal immunity and incomplete de-velopment of their own active immunity. In experimen-tally-infected adult Eurasian Kestrels (E tinnunculus) the prepatency of C. neoJaIconis was 8-10 d and the patency 10-93 d, and for C. kutzeri 8-13 d and 4-34 d, respectively (Bter 1982). The developmental cycle can be either di-rect or indirect. In captivity caryosporans apparently uti-lize the direct life cycle, ...
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Research Interests: Biology, Medicine, Raptors, Biological Sciences, Germany, and 15 moreInsecticides, Environmental Sciences, Pesticide, Female, Animals, Male, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Polychlorinated Biphenyl, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Captive Wild Animals, Environmental Pollutants, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Environmental Exposure, Hexachlorobenzene, and Tissue distribution
Research Interests: Zoology, Veterinary Medicine, Biology, Cats, European, and 5 moreSpectrum, Capillaria, Feral cat, Felis Catus, and Felis
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The chemical industry is the leading sector in the EU in terms of added value. However, contaminants pose a major threat and significant costs to the environment and human health. While EU legislation and international conventions aim to... more
The chemical industry is the leading sector in the EU in terms of added value. However, contaminants pose a major threat and significant costs to the environment and human health. While EU legislation and international conventions aim to reduce this threat, regulators struggle to assess and manage chemical risks, given the vast number of substances involved and the lack of data on exposure and hazards. The European Green Deal sets a ‘zero pollution ambition for a toxic free environment’ by 2050 and the EU Chemicals Strategy calls for increased monitoring of chemicals in the environment. Monitoring of contaminants in biota can, inter alia: provide regulators with early warning of bioaccumulation problems with chemicals of emerging concern; trigger risk assessment of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances; enable risk assessment of chemical mixtures in biota; enable risk assessment of mixtures; and enable assessment of the effectiveness of risk management measures and of che...
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Wildlife exposures to pest controlling substances have resulted in population declines of many predatory species during the past decades. Many pesticides were subsequently classified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) and... more
Wildlife exposures to pest controlling substances have resulted in population declines of many predatory species during the past decades. Many pesticides were subsequently classified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) and banned on national or global scales. However, despite their risks for non-target vertebrate wildlife, PBT substances such as anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are still permitted for use in Europe and have shown to threaten raptors. Whereas risks of ARs are known, much less information is available on emerging agrochemicals such as currently used PPPs and medicinal products (MPs) in higher trophic level species. We expect that currently used PPPs are relatively mobile (vs. lipophilic) as a consequence of the PBT criteria and thus more likely to be present in aqueous matrices. We therefore analyzed blood of 204 raptor nestlings of three terrestrial (red kite, common buzzard, Montagu’s harrier) and two aquatic species (white-tailed sea eagle, osprey) from...
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At a site in the Bolivian Chiquitano region composed by a mosaic of pastureland and primary Chiquitano Dry Forest (CDF) we conducted a camera-trapping study to (1) survey the mammals, and (2) compare individual Jaguar numbers with other... more
At a site in the Bolivian Chiquitano region composed by a mosaic of pastureland and primary Chiquitano Dry Forest (CDF) we conducted a camera-trapping study to (1) survey the mammals, and (2) compare individual Jaguar numbers with other Chiquitano sites. Therefore, we installed 13 camera stations (450 ha polygon) over a period of six months. On 1,762 camera-days and in 1,654 independent capture events, we recorded 24 mammalian species that represent the native fauna of large and medium-sized mammals including apex-predators (Puma, Jaguar), meso-carnivores (Ocelot, Jaguarundi, Margay), and large herbivores (Tapir, Collared and White lipped Peccary). We identified six adult Jaguars and found indications of successful reproductive activity. Captures of Jaguars were higher in CDF than in altered habitats. In summary, we believe that (1) the mammal species richness, (2) the high capture numbers of indicator species, and (3) the high capture numbers of Jaguar indicate that our study area ...
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A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03473-8.
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Aim of the project was to investigate to what extent white-tailed sea eagles fly near wind turbines, to estimate the collision risks and to make proposals on how to reduce collisions.
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Biomonitoring using birds of prey as sentinel species has been mooted as a way to evaluate the success of European Union directives that are designed to protect people and the environment across Europe from industrial contaminants and... more
Biomonitoring using birds of prey as sentinel species has been mooted as a way to evaluate the success of European Union directives that are designed to protect people and the environment across Europe from industrial contaminants and pesticides. No such pan-European evaluation currently exists. Coordination of such large scale monitoring would require harmonisation across multiple countries of the types of samples collected and analysed-matrices vary in the ease with which they can be collected and the information they provide. We report the first ever pan-European assessment of which raptor samples are collected across Europe and review their suitability for biomonitoring. Currently, some 182 monitoring programmes across 33 European countries collect a variety of raptor samples, and we discuss the relative merits of each for monitoring current priority and emerging compounds. Of the matrices collected, blood and liver are used most extensively for quantifying trends in recent and ...
Research Interests: Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Biology, European Union, Environmental Monitoring, and 15 moreEnvironmental Pollution, Medicine, Raptors, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Europe, Animals, Biomonitoring, Monitoring, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Matrix, Feathers, Contaminación, Environmental Pollutants, and contaminant
Research Interests: Geography, Ornithology, Territoriality, Habitat, Fishery, and 3 moreHome Range, Waterfowl, and Accipitridae
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In contrast to previous incursions of highly pathogenic H5 viruses, H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4b caused numerous lethal infections in white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Germany during the winter 2016/2017. Until April 2017, 17 HPAIV... more
In contrast to previous incursions of highly pathogenic H5 viruses, H5N8 clade 2.3.4.4b caused numerous lethal infections in white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Germany during the winter 2016/2017. Until April 2017, 17 HPAIV H5N8-positive white-tailed sea eagles had been detected (three alive and 14 dead). Mainly young eagles died (before reaching the adult plumage at 5 years), often with severe neurological symptoms, where histopathology revealed mild to moderate, oligo- to multifocal necrotizing polioencephalitis. Lethal lead (Pb) concentrations, proven as main mortality factor of the sea eagles could be ruled out since values measured in liver or kidney tissue were all within background levels (< 1 ppm). Since the fall of 2016, the epizootic of HPAIV H5 clade 2.3.4.4b reportedly induced, for the first time, fatal disease in European white-tailed see eagles. The virus strain may become a new threat to a highly protected species across its distribution range in Eur...
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Imperviousness of the studied rural and urban goshawk territories.
The increase of wind power plants as a German strategy to develop green, renewable energy in order to overcome energy produced by nuclear power and fossil energy sources leads to a substantial collision risk for the white-tailed sea... more
The increase of wind power plants as a German strategy to develop green, renewable energy in order to overcome energy produced by nuclear power and fossil energy sources leads to a substantial collision risk for the white-tailed sea eagle. The aim of our study was to understand how frequently and under which circumstances eagles approach wind turbines in order to assess and minimize the collision risk in the future by means of satellite telemetry and behavioural observations. One territorial adult, two sub-adults and one immature bird have been fitted with satellite transmitters between 2007 and 2010. Additionally telemetry data of three adult birds and another 13 young eagles, which have been tagged for other projects between 2003 and 2010, has been evaluated for the first time in the present research project. In the evaluation no avoidance behaviour of the adult bird towards wind turbines could be identified for the different calculated home ranges by comparing average distances t...
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Trichomonosis caused by the flagellate Trichomonas gallinae is one of the most important avian diseases worldwide. The parasite is localised in the oesophageal area of its host and mainly infects pigeon and dove species. During the last... more
Trichomonosis caused by the flagellate Trichomonas gallinae is one of the most important avian diseases worldwide. The parasite is localised in the oesophageal area of its host and mainly infects pigeon and dove species. During the last decade, a host expansion to passerine birds occurred, making the disease a potential threat for passerine predators as naïve host species. Here, we investigated the effect of the parasite on two Accipiter species in Germany which show a comparable lifestyle but differ in prey choice, the Northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) mainly hunting pigeons and the Eurasian sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) mainly feeding on passerines. We genetically identified the parasite strains using the Fe-Hydrogenase gene as marker locus and compared the incidence of parasite presence and clinical signs of trichomonosis between nestlings of the two Accipiter species. In total, we identified 14 strains, with nine strains unknown so far. There was a higher strain diversity an...
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The family Falconidae has contrasting behaviors on its flight within the subfamilies. Falcons are primarily aerial predators requiring accuracy, high speed and controlled movements during flight. Caracaras are generalists that seek food... more
The family Falconidae has contrasting behaviors on its flight within the subfamilies. Falcons are primarily aerial predators requiring accuracy, high speed and controlled movements during flight. Caracaras are generalists that seek food while walking and their flight is characterized as slow and erratic. We aimed to explore the muscle mass of the primary wing muscles in several species of Falconinae and to identify possible differences related to the role that these muscles perform during flight. We studied 34 wing muscles in 11 specimens of five species of falcons. The percentage of each muscle with respect to body mass was calculated as well as the total wing muscle mass. The search for differences between muscles of falcons and caracaras were analyzed using Bayesian statistical inference. Published data from Polyborinae were used for comparison. Five muscles were significantly different between both subfamilies mm. latissimus dorsi pars caudalis, biceps brachii, extensor carpi radialis, flexor digitorum superficialis and extensor digitorum communis. The first two muscles were larger in Polyborinae, which could be useful to achieve more strength and stabilization. In falcons the last three muscles listed were larger, which might be associated with their fast and acrobatic flight.Variations in certain muscles generate, in turn, differences infunction, which is reflected in their type of flight and its use.These findings reinforce the modular character of the locomotor system of birds whereby the regions involved in locomotion can have morphological peculiarities according to their lifestyle.
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By 2040, roughly two-thirds of humanity are expected to live in urban areas. As cities expand, humans irreversibly transform natural ecosystems, creating both opportunities and challenges for wildlife. Here, we investigate how the... more
By 2040, roughly two-thirds of humanity are expected to live in urban areas. As cities expand, humans irreversibly transform natural ecosystems, creating both opportunities and challenges for wildlife. Here, we investigate how the Northern Goshawk ( Accipiter gentilis ) is adjusting to urban environments. We measured a variety of behavioural and ecological parameters in three urban and four rural study sites. City life appeared related to all parameters we measured. Urban female goshawks were overall 21.7 (CI 95% 5.13–130) times more likely to defend their nestlings from humans than rural females. Urban goshawks were 3.64 (CI 95% 2.05–6.66) times more likely to feed on pigeons and had diets exhibiting lower overall species richness and diversity. Urban females laid eggs 12.5 (CI 95% 7.12–17.4) days earlier than rural individuals and were 2.22 (CI 95% 0.984–4.73) times more likely to produce a brood of more than three nestlings. Nonetheless, urban goshawks suffered more from infectio...