| intercontinental distribution of a new trypanosome species from australian endemic regent honeyeater (anthochaera phrygia). | establishing a health screening protocol is fundamental for successful captive breeding and release of wildlife. the aim of this study was to undertake a parasitological survey focusing on the presence of trypanosomes in a cohort of regent honeyeaters, anthochaera phrygia, syn. xanthomyza phrygia (aves: passeriformes) that are part of the breeding and reintroduction programme carried out in australia. we describe a new blood parasite, trypanosoma thomasbancrofti sp. n. (kinetoplastida: trypanoso ... | 2016 | 27001623 |
| a micro-geography of fear: learning to eavesdrop on alarm calls of neighbouring heterospecifics. | many vertebrates eavesdrop on alarm calls of other species, which is a remarkable ability, given geographical variation in community composition and call diversity within and among species. we used micro-geographical variation in community composition to test whether individuals recognize heterospecific alarm calls by: (i) responding to acoustic features shared among alarm calls; (ii) having innate responses to particular heterospecific calls; or (iii) learning specific alarm calls. we found tha ... | 2012 | 21849313 |
| at the crossroads: does the configuration of roadside vegetation affect woodland bird communities in rural landscapes? | in agricultural regions worldwide, linear networks of vegetation such as hedges, fencerows and live fences provide habitat for plant and animal species in heavily modified landscapes. in australia, networks of remnant native vegetation along roadsides are a distinctive feature of many rural landscapes. here, we investigated the richness and composition of woodland-dependent bird communities in networks of eucalypt woodland vegetation along roadsides, in an agricultural region in which >80% of na ... | 2016 | 27183227 |
| using empirical models of species colonization under multiple threatening processes to identify complementary threat-mitigation strategies. | approaches to prioritize conservation actions are gaining popularity. however, limited empirical evidence exists on which species might benefit most from threat mitigation and on what combination of threats, if mitigated simultaneously, would result in the best outcomes for biodiversity. we devised a way to prioritize threat mitigation at a regional scale with empirical evidence based on predicted changes to population dynamics-information that is lacking in most threat-management prioritization ... | 2016 | 26711716 |
| what determines habitat quality for a declining woodland bird in a fragmented environment: the grey-crowned babbler pomatostomus temporalis in south-eastern australia? | understanding what constitutes high quality habitat is crucial for the conservation of species, especially those threatened with extinction. habitat quality frequently is inferred by comparing the attributes of sites where a species is present with those where it is absent. however, species presence may not always indicate high quality habitat. demographic parameters are likely to provide a more biologically relevant measure of quality, including a species' ability to successfully reproduce. we ... | 2015 | 26098355 |
| the control of rank-abundance distributions by a competitive despotic species. | accounting for differences in abundances among species remains a high priority for community ecology. while there has been more than 80 years of work on trying to explain the characteristic s shape of rank-abundance distributions (rads), there has been recent conjecture that the form may not depend on ecological processes per se but may be a general phenomenon arising in many unrelated disciplines. we show that the rad shape can be influenced by an ecological process, namely, interference compet ... | 2014 | 25185775 |
| variation in abundance of nectarivorous birds: does a competitive despot interfere with flower tracking? | adaptive resource tracking in space and time may be disrupted by the modification of resources and competitors. major global change drivers (e.g. land-use change) have induced declines in many native species, while facilitating only a few. given that many resources are predicted to become increasingly scarce under the joint effects of climate and land-use change, disturbance-tolerant species that are able to defend high-value resources may further limit the persistence of disturbance-sensitive s ... | 2014 | 24810732 |
| despotic, high-impact species and the subcontinental scale control of avian assemblage structure. | some species have disproportionate influence on assemblage structure, given their numbers or biomass. most examples of such "strong interactors" come from small-scale experiments or from observations of the effects of invasive species. there is evidence that entire avian assemblages in open woodlands can be influenced strongly by individual species over very large areas in eastern australia, with small-bodied species (< 50 g) being adversely affected. we used data from repeated surveys in 371 si ... | 2012 | 22624220 |
| cooperative bird differentiates between the calls of different individuals, even when vocalizations were from completely unfamiliar individuals. | hypotheses proposed to explain the evolution of cooperative behaviour typically require differentiation between either groups of conspecifics (e.g. kin/non-kin) or, more typically, individuals (e.g. reciprocal altruism). despite this, the mechanisms that facilitate individual or class recognition have rarely been explored in cooperative species. this study examines the individual differentiation abilities of noisy miners (manorina melanocephala), a species with one of the most complex avian soci ... | 2012 | 22258445 |
| how noisy does a noisy miner have to be? amplitude adjustments of alarm calls in an avian urban 'adapter'. | urban environments generate constant loud noise, which creates a formidable challenge for many animals relying on acoustic communication. some birds make vocal adjustments that reduce auditory masking by altering, for example, the frequency (khz) or timing of vocalizations. another adjustment, well documented for birds under laboratory and natural field conditions, is a noise level-dependent change in sound signal amplitude (the 'lombard effect'). to date, however, field research on amplitude ad ... | 2012 | 22238684 |
| food-specific spatial memory biases in an omnivorous bird. | the tendency of nectarivorous birds to perform better on tasks requiring them to avoid previously rewarding locations (to win-shift) than to return to them (win-stay) has been explained as an adaptation to the depleting nature of nectar. this interpretation relies on the previously untested assumption that the win-shift tendency is not associated with food types possessing a different distribution. to test this assumption, we examined the specificity of this bias to different food types in an om ... | 2007 | 17426005 |
| behavioural correlates of monogamy in the noisy miner, manorina melanocephala | mating behaviour of female cooperatively breeding noisy miners was examined. dow & whitmore (1990, cooperative breeding in birds (ed. by p. b. stacey & w. d. koenig), pp. 559-592, cambridge: cambridge university press) suggested that female noisy miners mate promiscuously to recruit males as helpers to their nests, and that the benefit of doing so might be (1) increased genetic variability of their broods or (2) increased survival of their offspring as a direct result of multi-male care. multilo ... | 1997 | 9299042 |
| displays of the honeyeater manorina melanocephala. | investigated displays of noisy miners, manorina melanocephala, in australia. this unusual bird lives in colonies and many male male care for the offspring of each female. 3 flight displays, 11 non-flight displays, and several components of facial displays (including a variable eye patch) are discribed. the eye patch provides a large yellow and black augmented eye, important in intimidation. no stereotyped sequence of courtship behaviour precedes copulation. displays are used to advertise nest lo ... | 1975 | 1237204 |
| establishing normal fecal flora in wild australian passerine birds by use of the fecal gram stain. | the purpose of this study was to determine the normal fecal bacterial and fungal flora and parasite prevalence in wild passerine birds found at the australian botanic garden (mount annan, new south wales). wild passerine birds (n = 186) from 28 species were captured with mist nets. fecal gram stains (n = 155) were made from 26 species and analyzed for bacterial density, gram stain morphology, and the presence of yeast. fecal wet preparations (n = 139) were made from 24 passerine species and were ... | 2017 | 28920776 |
| nestlings reduce their predation risk by attending to predator-information encoded within conspecific alarm calls. | predation is one of the main threats to altricial nestlings, with predators often locating nests via eavesdropping on begging signals. nestlings may be able to adjust their begging based on the current level of risk by monitoring both intra- and interspecific alarm calls near the nest. we show that noisy miner (manorina melanocephala) nestlings can differentiate between terrestrial and aerial alarm calls of their own species, as they suppressed begging behaviour for longer in response to terrest ... | 2017 | 28916776 |
| changing bird communities of an agricultural landscape: declines in arboreal foragers, increases in large species. | birds are declining in agricultural landscapes around the world. the causes of these declines can be better understood by analysing change in groups of species that share life-history traits. we investigated how land-use change has affected birds of the tasmanian midlands, one of australia's oldest agricultural landscapes and a focus of habitat restoration. we surveyed birds at 72 sites, some of which were previously surveyed in 1996-1998, and tested relationships of current patterns of abundanc ... | 2020 | 32269823 |
| frequent nocturnal torpor in a free-ranging australian honeyeater, the noisy miner. | torpor in birds is considered to be far less common than in mammals. this is particularly true for passerine birds for which knowledge of torpor expression is scarce, although almost all are small, have high energy expenditure and could profit energetically from using torpor. to assess whether the extent and diversity of avian and especially passerine torpor expression and heterothermy may be currently underestimated because of limited long-term data on free-ranging birds, core body temperature ... | 2019 | 31134403 |
| do the calls of a bird, the noisy miner (manorina melanocephala), need adjustment for efficient communication in urban anthropogenic noise? | urban environments are characteristically noisy and this can pose a challenge for animals that communicate acoustically. although evidence suggests that some birds can make acoustic adjustments that preclude masking of their signals in high-disturbance environments such as cities, studies to date have tended to focus on acoustic signals important in mate attraction (e.g., songs). far less attention has been given to the impact of urban noise on other kinds of calls. to redress this, we compared ... | 2019 | 30917544 |
| patch-scale culls of an overabundant bird defeated by immediate recolonization. | overabundant native animals cause a variety of human-wildlife conflicts that can require management to reduce their social, environmental, or economic impacts. culling is an intuitively attractive management response to overabundance, but poor monitoring of results and costs means that evidence for successful outcomes is often lacking. furthermore, many culls worldwide have been ineffective or counterproductive due to ecological release mechanisms or compensatory responses by the overabundant sp ... | 2019 | 30835909 |
| short-term response of a declining woodland bird assemblage to the removal of a despotic competitor. | interspecific aggression by the noisy miner (manorina melanocephala), a highly despotic species, is homogenizing woodland avifaunas across eastern australia. although a native species, the noisy miner's aggressive exclusion of small birds is a key threatening process under national law. large-scale removal of noisy miners has been proposed as a management response to this threat following increases in miner presence due to anthropogenic land use practices. we tested this proposal by experimental ... | 2018 | 29876056 |