Higher Pitches Show Genetic Diversity

A recent study found that higher pitched notes in a male bird's song signal better genetic diversity in at least one species, the Ocellated Antbird (Phaenostictus mcleannani).

DeWoody and former Purdue graduate student Johel Chaves-Campos studied ocellated antbirds in the tropical forests of Central America. The antbirds survive by tracking army ants, which hunt in large swarms and are capable of killing just about anything in their paths. The birds flit ahead of the swarms and collect arthropods that flee for their lives....

The antbirds have several calls, some to let fellow antbirds know where the army ants are heading, others to attract mates and still others that are defensive or aggressive to protect turf. DeWoody's research involved recording those calls and matching them to DNA samples of the birds. The results suggest that genetic diversity in antbirds affects their physical abilities to produce certain sounds.

"Our results are consistent with the idea that some sound frequencies are biomechanically difficult to produce. Males that are genetically diverse, and therefore expected to be in better physical condition, are able to produce sound frequencies that males with less genetic variation are unable to reach," Chaves-Campos said.

DeWoody said females can pick up on the pitch of the males' songs to decide which birds will make the best mates.

You can read the full study online at PLoS ONE.

Book Note: Field Guides to Borneo and Jamaica

Occasionally I receive books for review from publishers. Some of them I have reviewed, and others are still waiting on my shelf to be reviewed. This post describes two books that I received for review recently, both field guides to islands outside the United States: Birds of Borneo: Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak, and Kalimantan by Susan Myers and A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamaica by Ann Haynes-Sutton, Audrey Downer, Robert Sutton, and Yves-Jacques Rey-Millet. I am posting short notices about these books since some readers may be interested, but I do not have a good basis for evaluating them properly.

First will be Birds of Borneo. The island of Borneo lies on the Equator close to Southeast Asia and is divided among three countries, Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Borneo is home to 430 resident bird species, 50 of which are endemic, making this island potentially of interest for ecotourism. (Most of the endemic species are found in the Malaysian portion of the island.) This guide includes those resident and endemic birds, plus some others for a total of 633. The resulting guide is thin and light enough to be carried easily in a coat pocket or backpack.

Birds are depicted with painted illustrations. Where necessary, there are multiple illustrations to show differences in age, sex, or color morphs. Very few species are shown in flight. Illustrations are accompanied by a range map (limited to a bird's range within Borneo) and a short species account, which includes descriptions of the bird's plumage, habitat, behavior, and range. Endemic species are listed in the introduction and noted in the species accounts. My review copy included an insert showing corrected illustrations for two species, Temminck's Babbler (Pellorneum pyrrogenys longstaffi) and the endemic Bornean Barbet (Megalaima eximia).

As an aside, I believe this is the first field guide I have seen that does not illustrate the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) or European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), so I have finally learned of at least one landmass where these species do not occur. The only member of the genus Passer that occurs on the island is European Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus). The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) is present, however.

The taxonomy in Birds of Borneo follows Robson's A Field Guide to the Birds of Southeast Asia, which includes Borneo in its coverage. Perhaps by coincidence, a competing guide, the Phillipps' Field Guide to the Birds of Borneo, is due for release next month.

The second book, A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamica, replaces an older field guide with a similar title. I do not usually see Jamaica listed among prime birding or ecotourism attractions, yet the island has 307 species, 30 of which are endemic. (All of the birds depicted on the cover are endemics.) An additional three species are endemic to the Caribbean. This is the highest total of endemics for any island in the West Indies is impressive for any small island. Despite the high proportion of endemics, only a few of the island's bird species are endangered.

Unlike Birds of Borneo, this guide illustrates all bird species with photographs. Most species are represented by more than one photograph to show additional postures or plumages. While the photographs are of high quality, the selection is not always fully representative of the range of a bird's appearances. Migrant shorebirds, for example, are generally only shown in winter plumage. This may be a reasonable for wintering species but could cause confusion about birds seen out of season. Illustrations for each species are accompanied by a short text explaining how to identify the bird and where to find it, along with a range map showing its range within Jamaica. Taxonomy follows The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World.

Most visitors to the Caribbean will probably prefer Herbert Raffaele's Birds of the West Indies over A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Jamica, as the former covers a broader range (making it useful for more than one island) and uses painted illustrations. The main advantage I can see in using Birds of Jamaica is that it includes notes on where to find birds in Jamaica and what species are endemic on the island. It may also prove attractive for birders who prefer using photographic guides or who want supplemental views of the species depicted by Raffaele. An additional resource for birders visiting the island is Bird Songs in Jamaica by George Reynard and Robert Sutton.

New Spill in Prince William Sound

Photo credit: Marc Lester / Anchorage Daily News

On Wednesday night, there was another oil spill in Prince William Sound in Alaska. This time it was not a tanker like the Exxon Valdez, but a tugboat whose fuel tanks ruptured when it ran aground on Bligh Reef. As a result this spill will be a lot smaller, but the amount of oil spilled is still unknown.

The 136-foot tug had been scouting the Valdez shipping lanes for ice Wednesday when it struck one of the most infamous maritime hazards in the world, 20 years and nine months after the Exxon Valdez came up hard aground on the same charted rock.

The six-member Pathfinder crew reported running aground on Bligh Reef at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, though the Coast Guard didn't make the incident public until about 3:30 a.m. Thursday.

None of the fuel was recovered, but the Coast Guard says that it should disperse quickly.

The Valdez Star with its skimmers was sent out in early afternoon to try to recover the fuel, but the effort came up empty-handed.

"There's no recoverable sheen," said Jim Butler, a spokesman for Crowley. "That was based on overflight and equipment operating in the area."

While diesel fuel is toxic, it gets diluted relatively quickly through dispersion and evaporation, Butler said. Though it doesn't just "go away," it doesn't persist like crude oil, which globs up on beaches and tidal pools and can continue to pollute for years. The Exxon Valdez spilled an estimated 11 million gallons of North Slope crude, and its effects are still being felt in the Sound.

The Coast Guard reported that marine forecasters didn't believe the fuel sheen would touch Glacier Island, at least for the next 24 to 36 hours, and they expected it to dissipate rapidly.

The tanks that ruptured held 33,500 gallons of fuel. The remaining fuel is currently being pumped out of the tugboat, and an estimate of the size of the spill will be available once that is finished. In the meantime, it is not clear why the accident happened. 

In the meantime, the aerial photos of the scene are gorgeous, except for the fuel sheen.

Update (12/28): The IBRRC reports that the fuel has dispersed since the spill.

SkyWatch: Snow Day

This photo is from Sunday, when the last few snowflakes were still drifting down and branches were covered with snow. The tree on the left is a cedar; the ones on the right are maples. No snow is left on the branches now, but we still have plenty on the ground since the temperature has not risen enough to melt all of it. Perhaps that will happen this weekend.

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Loose Feathers #218

Snowy Owl / Photo by mikkime

Bird and birding news

• Insect-eating birds that winter in Africa and breed in the Netherlands have declined in number over the past 25 years. The decline is attributed to climate change, since insects have begun peaking earlier while migratory birds still arrive at the same time as before.
  
• A winter count of Bald Eagles found 84 pairs in New Jersey during the 2009 nesting season, a new state record. The previous high was 69, set last year.
• Meanwhile, Bobwhite have declined enough to spur the state to devise a new management plan to restore quail habitat, which may include a temporary suspension of quail hunting. [Thanks to WildNewJersey.tv for this and the previous link.]
  
• Here is an update on the Navy trainees who shot 21 waterbirds in Florida. Some criminal charges were dropped, but they still may face civil charges under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
• The first Christmas Bird Count in Antarctica, held last winter, recorded 270,885 Adélie penguins, 79 south polar skua, six snow petrel, two Emperor penguins, and one Wilson’s storm-petrel.
• One bird-like dinosaur was probably venomous.
  
• The Bergen Record has a nice article on local birder Rob Fanning, who found 200 bird species in Bergen County, New Jersey, this year.
  
• A MacGillivray's Warbler showed up in Falmouth, Maine.
• A Cooper's hawk flew into a hardware store and spent the night inside.
• Some Florida residents are upset about feral Indian Peafowl and want the birds to be culled.
  

Birds in the blogosphere

• Great Auk or Greatest Auk: In the Midst of Life
• JournOwl: Burrowing Owls: No Homes for the Holidays?
  
• Mary Birds: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron, Hidalgo County Texas!
  
• Picus Blog: Bloggerhead Kingbirds - We're back, baby!
• Green Birding: Becoming a Green Birder
• BES Group: Flight reaction of roosting birds
  

Environment and biodiversity

• A single summer of moth collecting in a Vancouver park yielded 190 species, including 2 species new to North America. The two new species for North America are Dichelia histrionana and Paraswammerdamia lutarea, both native to western Eurasia.
• North Carolina had its highest number of fish kills in thirteen years. Fish kills are usually caused by a lack of oxygen in the water due to excessive nutrient runoff.
• Unfortunately, similar events are likely to happen more often as the climate warms.
• Obama says that we are right to be disappointed with the results of the climate conference in Copenhagen.
  

Carnivals and newsletters

• Scientia Pro Publica #18

Finally, Merry Christmas to everyone!

Twisting Genitals and Forced Copulation: The Strange Sex Lives of Ducks

A few years ago, a study explored the strange genitals of waterfowl and found that females typically had complex vaginas if males of the same species had complex phalluses. Waterbirds are among the few bird species that have phalluses at all. Duck species in the Anas, Clangula, and Oxytura genera take this to an extreme, with very long, twisting genitals, sometimes equipped with spines. Phalluses twist counterclockwise, and vaginas twist clockwise. (You can see some examples at the post linked above.) Other duck species have shorter and simpler reproductive organs.

Adding such complexity into the reproductive tract seems odd at first glance, since it would seem to impede fertilization. The research team, led by Patricia Brennan, hypothesized that female ducks evolved complex vaginas to counteract forced copulation, a behavior that is well-documented in waterfowl. (See here and this infamous case.) A twisting vagina could give females more control over which males fertilized their eggs.

The same research team is back with more evidence that female ducks evolved vaginas to deter forced insemination. To test their hypothesis, the researchers studied domesticated muscovy ducks at a farm in California. They placed male ducks in a cage to mate with a female but made the males ejaculate into a glass tube instead. A total of 56 males were videotaped in the process of erection and ejaculation. The male ducks at the farm had been trained to provide semen for commercial breeding and were thus amenable to the testing procedure.

Duck genitalia and mechanical barriers. (a) Male and female genitalia in a Pekin duck (Anas sp.). The male phallus (right) spirals in a counterclockwise direction and the female oviduct (left) spirals in a clockwise direction. The female vagina has blind pouches (b.p.) proximal to the cloacal entrance, followed by a series of spirals (sp.). s.s., sulcus spermaticus; a. ph., tip of the penis; cl, cloaca. Scale bar, 2 cm. (b) Diameter glass tubes (10 mm) of different shapes used to test male penis eversion; from left to right, straight, anticlockwise (male-like), clockwise and 135° bend (female-like).

Male ducks are unusual not only in having phalluses but also in erecting them very quickly only after mounting a female. (The authors refer to this as "explosive eversion.") A phallus then curves as it erects to match the shape of the receiving vagina or, in the case of this study, the glass tubes. The researchers tested three different types of tubes. The first type, as a control, was a straight glass tube; the second type had a counterclockwise twist, just like a phallus. Neither of these presented an obstacle to erection. The third type imitated the shapes of vaginas, with either a clockwise twist or a 135° bend. The latter tubes either blocked phalluses at the entrance or caused them to erect in the wrong direction. You can see video of erections into the various tube shapes as a data supplement to the paper.

Males encountering a clockwise or bent tube shape could still ejaculate. However, if they were copulating with an unreceptive female duck, their sperm would be left near the entrance of the reproductive tract where they would be less likely to cause fertilization. Willing females, on the other hand, may increase the chances of fertilization by adopting a receptive posture and contracting and relaxing their cloacal muscles to allow easier erection. In that way, a female duck could still produce offspring with the male of her choice, not just whichever male happened to be the most aggressive.

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New study:
Brennan, P., Clark, C., & Prum, R. (2009). Explosive eversion and functional morphology of the duck penis supports sexual conflict in waterfowl genitalia Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.2139

Older study:
Brennan, P., Prum, R., McCracken, K., Sorenson, M., Wilson, R., & Birkhead, T. (2007). Coevolution of Male and Female Genital Morphology in Waterfowl PLoS ONE, 2 (5) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0000418

Review: National Geographic Illustrated Birds of North America Folio Edition

Since 1983, National Geographic's Birds of North America has offered a compelling alternative for birders who want to use an illustrated field guide. This fall, National Geographic published a new version of its popular guide. Unlike previous editions, this one is not designed to be carried in the field (except perhaps by very strong birders with unusually large pockets). Instead, this is a folio edition designed as a home or library reference.

The National Geographic Illustrated Birds of North America Folio Edition presents illustrations and descriptions for 967 North American bird species. The main text includes both native and accidental species, with some extremely rare (or extinct) species in an appendix. Illustrations are largely the same as in previous editions of the guide but are enlarged to show more detail. I cannot compare these illustrations to the 5th edition of the field guide, but they appear very similar to those in my 1st edition. Range maps have been revised and enlarged.

This edition updates the taxonomy to reflect recent changes made by the American Ornithologists' Union. Thus the Saltmarsh Sparrow and Nelson's Sparrow have "Sharp-tailed" deleted from their names. Cackling Goose is presented as a separate species. Tanagers are not grouped together with cardinals and grosbeaks, but the introduction makes note of their reclassification. Scientific names, such as the genera of gulls and terns, are also updated.

National Geographic's Birds of North America stands with the Sibley Guide to Birds and the Peterson Field Guide to the Birds of North America as one of the best choices for birders who prefer that their field guide have painted illustrations rather than photographs. Unlike the Sibley and Peterson guides, the National Geographic guide eschews static illustrations that show all related birds in the same pose for more naturalistic illustrations. Birds are shown in a variety of poses, often with hints of their native habitats or food sources. National Geographic's illustrations show more detail than Peterson's and have more subtle colors than Sibley's.

When I am using a guide in the field, I much prefer that the illustrations show consistent poses. This makes it much easier to find points of comparison quickly. However, National Geographic's naturalistic illustrations come into their own in this folio edition. The larger size makes it easier to appreciate Dunn and Alderfer's work to put the birds into context. The implied action in many of the poses and inclusion of habitat details recall the work of John James Audubon, even though Dunn and Alderfer's work is technically superior (and more scientifically accurate). In the case of the Peregrine Falcon, the illustration in the National Geographic guide seems like a direct reference to one of Audubon's engravings, as each book shows a falcon clutching a dead Green-winged Teal.

The National Geographic Illustrated Birds of North America Folio Edition is a high-quality book with excellent illustrations. I will leave it to readers to decide if the correspondingly high price is worth paying; my guess is that for owners of the field guide's 5th edition, the answer is probably no. However, it could be a complementary reference for owners of other field guides.

Legislation to Create New National Monuments

Yesterday Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced a bill that would change the protected status of millions of acres of federal land. Some areas would become more protected while others would lose some protections. You can see a rundown of the changes and involved sites at Coyote Crossing.

The act seems to be at least partly directed at the solar and wind industries, as it would block controversial energy developments in some parts of the Mojave Desert.

The debate over the monument encapsulates a rising tension between two goals held by environmental groups: preservation of wild lands and ambitious efforts to combat global warming.

Not only is the desert land some of the sunniest in the country, and thus suitable for large-scale power production, it is also some of the most scenic territory in the West. The Mojave lands have sweeping vistas of an ancient landscape that is home to desert tortoises, bighorn sheep, fringe-toed lizards and other rare animals and plants.

Feinstein wants to push the solar and wind projects off sensitive wilderness areas and into already disturbed land.

On Thursday, Mrs. Feinstein introduced legislation to provide a 30 percent tax credit to developers that consolidate degraded private land for solar projects. She followed that on Monday with the legislation to create the 941,00-acre Mojave Trails National Monument and the 134,00-acre Sand to Snow National Monument.

“I strongly believe that conservation, renewable energy development and recreation can and must co-exist in the California desert,” Mrs. Feinstein said in a statement. “This legislation strikes a careful balance between these sometimes competing concerns.”

Developers and environmentalists say Mrs. Feinstein has modified the monument legislation to address some of their issues. The 2.5 million acres set aside in a draft version of the monument act has been shrunk to around one million acres, allowing at least two projects to proceed. The bill also includes provisions designed to accelerate approval of renewable energy projects on federal land.

You can read more about the problems with placing solar developments in wild areas of the Mojave at the Clade, here and here.

Update: Here is more detail on the two proposed new national monuments, including a map with their locations.

The biggest component is the 941,000-acre Mojave Trails National Monument encompassing dry lakes, mountain ranges and other terrain on both sides of Interstate 40 south of Mojave National Preserve.

It also would create the 134,000-acre Sand to Snow National Monument from the desert north of Palm Springs to San Gorgonio Peak. It would include Big Morongo and Whitewater canyons and nature preserves in Pipes Canyon and along Mission Creek on the eastern flanks of the San Bernardino Mountains.

Also:

The Sand to Snow monument would help to fill in gaps between existing wildlife areas in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, providing a path for animals to move between the San Jacinto and San Bernardino mountain ranges. It would include existing wilderness around 11,499-foot San Gorgonio, Southern California's highest peak.

The area is important for reptiles, bighorn sheep and migratory birds that rely on habitats where desert transitions into forest.

The bill would expand Death Valley National Park by 41,000 acres, Joshua Tree National Park by 2,900 acres, and the Mojave National Preserve by 30,000 acres. It would protect 76 miles of waterways, including the Whitewater River and Deep Creek in the San Bernardino Mountains, and the Amargosa River and Surprise Canyon, in the Death Valley area.

The bill seems to emphasize expanding and connecting existing protected areas. However, the bill also makes significant concessions to off-road vehicle users and withdraws protections from some areas, so see the full list of changes here.