| four new species of aulonastus kethley, 1970 (acari: syringophilidae) from north american passerines. | four new species belonging to aulonastus kethley, 1970 (acari: prostigmata: syringophilidae), which are found inside the quills of body feathers of north american passerines (aves: passeriformes), are described and figured: a. emberizicus n. sp. from ammodramus savanarum (gmelin) (emberizidae) (type-host) in texas, zonotrichia atricapilla (gmelin) (emberizidae) in california and passerculus sandwichensis (gmelin) (emberizidae) in texas; a. euphagus n. sp. from euphagus cyanocephalus (wagler) (ic ... | 2010 | 20437219 |
| borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato spirochetes in wild birds in northwestern california: associations with ecological factors, bird behavior and tick infestation. | although borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) are found in a great diversity of vertebrates, most studies in north america have focused on the role of mammals as spirochete reservoir hosts. we investigated the roles of birds as hosts for subadult ixodes pacificus ticks and potential reservoirs of the lyme disease spirochete b. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) in northwestern california. overall, 623 birds representing 53 species yielded 284 i. pacificus larvae and nymphs. we used generalized l ... | 2015 | 25714376 |
| surveillance for ixodes pacificus and the tick-borne pathogens anaplasma phagocytophilum and borrelia burgdorferi in birds from california's inner coast range. | we investigated the involvement of birds in the ecology of the western black-legged tick, ixodes pacificus, and its associated zoonotic bacteria, borrelia burgdorferi and anaplasma phagocytophilum, at two interior coast-range study sites in northern california. anaplasma phagocytophilum, the agent of granulocytic anaplasmosis (ga), and b. burgdorferi s.s., the agent of lyme disease (ld), are tick-borne pathogens that are well established in california. we screened blood and ticks from 349 indivi ... | 2014 | 24690191 |
| a hidden markov model for reconstructing animal paths from solar geolocation loggers using templates for light intensity. | solar archival tags (henceforth called geolocators) are tracking devices deployed on animals to reconstruct their long-distance movements on the basis of locations inferred post hoc with reference to the geographical and seasonal variations in the timing and speeds of sunrise and sunset. the increased use of geolocators has created a need for analytical tools to produce accurate and objective estimates of migration routes that are explicit in their uncertainty about the position estimates. | 2015 | 26473033 |
| social network structure in wintering golden-crowned sparrows is not correlated with kinship. | stable social organization in a wide variety of organisms has been linked to kinship, which can minimize conflict due to the indirect fitness benefits from cooperating with relatives. in birds, kin selection has been mostly studied in the context of reproduction or in species that are social year round. many birds however are migratory, and the role of kinship in the winter societies of these species is virtually unexplored. in a previous study, we discovered striking social complexity and stabi ... | 2015 | 26334186 |
| across-year social stability shapes network structure in wintering migrant sparrows. | migratory birds often form flocks on their wintering grounds, but important details of social structure such as the patterns of association between individuals are virtually unknown. we analysed networks of co-membership in short-term flocks for wintering golden-crowned sparrows (zonotrichia atricapilla) across three years and discovered social complexity unsuspected for migratory songbirds. the population was consistently clustered into distinct social communities within a relatively small area ... | 2014 | 24894316 |
| establishing the breeding provenance of a temperate-wintering north american passerine, the golden-crowned sparrow, using light-level geolocation. | the migratory biology and connectivity of passerines remains poorly known, even for those that move primarily within the temperate zone. we used light-level geolocators to describe the migratory geography of a north american temperate migrant passerine. from february to march of 2010, we attached geolocator tags to 33 golden-crowned sparrows (zonotrichia atricapilla) wintering on the central coast of california, usa, and recovered four tags the following winter (october to december 2010). we use ... | 2012 | 22506055 |
| manipulating badges of status only fools strangers. | conflict is risky, but mechanisms that allow animals to assess dominance status without aggression can reduce such costs. two different mechanisms of competitor assessment are expected to evolve in different contexts: badges of status are expected in larger, anonymous groups, whereas individual recognition is feasible in small, stable groups. however, both mechanisms may be important when social interactions occur both within and across stable social groups. we manipulated plumage in golden-crow ... | 2018 | 30043472 |