M. Ángeles Hernández

Mitochondrial DNA points to Lanius meridionalis as a polyphyletic species

University Institute of Tropical Diseases of Canary Islands, Genetics, University of La Laguna, Avda. Astrofisico Fco. Sanchez S/N, E-38071 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain Department of Zoology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Navarre, E-31080 Pamplona, Spain European University Miguel de Cervantes, Padre Julio Chevalier 2, E-47012 Valladolid, Spain d SEO/BirdLife Conservation Unit, C/Melquiades Biencinto 34, E-28053 Madrid, Spain Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, E-35080 Las Palmas, Spain

Prevalence of haematozoan parasites in the White-throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus in southern Europe

Capsule White-throated Dippers from southern Europe were found to be infected by three haemosporidians. Aims To examine the occurrence of blood parasites in dippers in the Iberian Peninsula and to investigate the relationship between prevalence levels, environmental factors and bird fitness. Methods White-throated Dippers were trapped with mist-nets from five montane areas in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Parasites were detected from blood samples by polymerase chain reaction screening. Results About half (51.3%) of 152 dippers showed some kind of infection. The genus Haemoproteus was recorded in 49.3% of the birds, and the genus Leucocytozoon in 19.1%, while Plasmodium was present only in 0.7%. Among the infected birds, 34.6% carried a double infection (Haemoproteus + Leucocytozoon). Prevalence did not differ between gender or age-classes, but it varied between study sites, being significantly higher in mountains with higher precipitation. There was a reduction in body mass owing to double infection in yearling males only. Conclusion This is the first work assessing parasite prevalence in dippers from southern Europe. Infection of dippers by haemosporidians is likely to be related to a study sites climatic envelope.

Biometrics of the Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis in relation to age and sex

The biometrics of Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis and differences from the closely related Great Grey Shrike L. excubitor are poorly characterised. The aim of this study was to describe sex and age variation in external biometric measurements for the nominate Southern Grey Shrike L. m. meridionalis in a population from northern Spain. In total, 174 Southern Grey Shrikes were ringed, measured, and sexed by molecular techniques. The overall biometry of the shrikes was summarised by Principal Components Analysis (PCA). There were significant differences in size between sex and age classes. We observed a sexual dimorphism in size, with adult males the largest and yearling females the smallest. According to the PCA, only the first principal component showed significant sex and age differences, and these were related to the tail, wing, third primary, white on primaries and white on rectrices. According to these data, and at least in terms of biometry, the Southern Grey Shrike is more similar to the Loggerhead Shrike L. ludovicianus than to the Great Grey Shrike.

Haemosporidians in iberian bluethroats luscinia svecica

Summary Haemosporidian infection (Plasmodium spp., Haemoproteus spp. and Leucocytozoon spp.) was analysed in 101 bluethroats Luscinia svecica captured in the Iberian Central Range during the 2007 and 2008 breeding seasons. Of them, 58.4% were infected with single infections of haemosporidians distributed between Plasmodium. spp. (42.9%), Haemoproteus spp. (30.3%) and Leucocytozoon spp. (14.3%). A smaller percentage harboured double infections (12.5%): in these double infections, three birds were found to be infected with Haemoproteus spp.-Haemoproteus spp., two with Haemoproteus spp.-Plasmodium spp. and two with Leucocytozoon spp.-Plasmodium spp. Twentyseven different mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of malaria parasites were found: a) eight belonging to Plasmodium spp., two of which (P-SGS1 and P-WW3) have previously been recorded in bluethroats in Sweden, and one which has been identified in this study for the first time (P-LSV10); b) thirteen belonging to Haemoproteus spp., four of which (WW2, EMSPO03, RW1 and ARW1) have previously been recorded in birds with migratory habits and nine which are described for the first time in this study (H-LSV01 — H-LSV09); and c) six haplotypes of Leucocytozoon spp., of which one (Leucocytozoon lBT2) has previously been recorded in bluethroats in Sweden and another is described for the first time in this study (L-LSV11). Our results show that body condition did not differ between infected and uninfected birds.

Biometrics of Iberian Dippers Cinclus cinclus: Environmental Sources of Among-Population Variation

Biometry of Iberian Dippers Cinclus cinclus has typically been addressed from a geographic perspective, often considering small local populations. In this work, we explored environmental correlates of among-population phenotypic variation in Dipper morphology throughout Iberia. We tested for effect of river slope, altitude, temperature and precipitation (summarized using Principal Component Analyses, PCA) on absolute and relative (controlling for tarsus length) wing length and tarsus length. We used data of 222 Dippers captured from 35 rivers in eight breeding areas in N and S Iberia. All biometric variables were larger for older birds and males, though tarsus length was not affected by age. Wing length was longer in S Iberia, even when controlling for tarsus length, All biometric variables co-varied negatively with one of the PCA components of abiotic factors, owing to large-scale environment differences between N and S Iberia (zone). The abiotic factors predicted mean tarsus length of birds within zones, with tarsus increasing with increasing river slope and decreasing temperatures and precipitation. Furthermore, Dippers from S Iberia were not larger but had longer absolute and relative wings than those from N Iberia. Altogether, these findings imply that the morphological diversification of Iberian Dippers is affected by the environment and that body size-wing length allometric relationship differs between N and S Iberia.

The White‐throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus subspecies in Spain

Based on variations in breast plumage colour, two subspecies of White‐throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus have been acknowledged to exist in Spain: C. c. cinclus in northwestern and central regions, and C. c. aquaticus in the eastern and southern regions. Within the White‐throated Dippers Spanish range, 37 rivers were sampled between 2000 and 2007. Dippers with a brownish‐red and dark brown breast plumage were both present within the same large areas and rivers. Moreover, because plumage colour changes individually with age, no clear‐cut geographical distribution pattern was found. These observations suggest that breast colour cannot be used to distinguish White‐throated Dipper subspecies in Spain.

Breeding Success of Southern Grey Shrikes Lanius meridionalis in Agricultural Areas: The Influence of Nest Site Characteristics

Abstract. Three hundred and thirty nests of Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis were located during 1998–2010 in two highly fragmented Mediterranean agricultural areas of Spain (Olite in Northern and Toro in Western part of the country). Most nests (ca. 85%) were built in thorny shrubs (mainly Dog Rose Rosa sp. and Blackberry Rubus ulmifolius) and thornless shrubs (mainly Holm Oak Quercus rotundifolia and Kermes Oak Quercus coccifera). Based on a logistic regression, three factors had an influence on breeding success: study area, breeding phenology, and plant cover type. Location of the nest inside the shrub, as well as luminosity inside a shrub varied between studied shrub species, but did not significantly affect breeding success. The percentage of successful nests was significantly higher in Olite than in Toro (64.5% and 37.9% respectively). In Olite, but not in Toro, clutches laid early (first egg laid prior to 1st May) were more successful than clutches laid late. The highest breeding success was recorded in nests located in thorny shrubs and, especially, in those found in Blackberry bushes. Conservation of Blackberry shrubs appears to be an appropriate measure to increase breeding success of the Southern Grey Shrike.

The Iberian Peninsula is an Area of Infection by Haemoproteus payevskyi and Haemoproteus nucleocondensus for the White-Throated Dipper Cinclus cinclus

Summary. Investigating the spatial distribution of avian blood parasites can shed light on the occurrence of host switching and expansion in new territories, two key factors for which to account when addressing future parasite impacts on vertebrates. We examined the mitochondrial cytochrome b lineages of haemosporidians infecting the white-throated dipper Cinclus cinclus in order to assess their distribution across five mountains in the Central Iberian Peninsula and the possible implications of lineage transmission in that geographical context. Of 71 host individuals, 79.6% were infected with Haemoproteus spp., 0.9% with Plasmodium spp. and 19.5% with Leucocytozoon spp. We identified seven lineages from genus Haemoproteus spp. (four were novel), one lineage of Plasmodium spp. and nine of Leucocytozoon spp. (five previously undescribed). Only two of the Haemoproteus lineages (RW1 and MW1) showed widespread distribution across the study sites whereas the novel lineages each corresponded to a single area. Given the non-migratory behaviour of the host species in the region, our results provide the first proof of LeucocytozoonWW6 lineage transmission within Europe. Furthermore, this study is the first to reveal the transmission in Europe of Haemoproteus payevskyi and Haemoproteus nucleocondensus, corresponding to the identified RW1 and GRW01 lineages respectively. Both findings support the idea that these lineages could be transmitted year-round transcontinentally.

Usefulness of Biometrics to Analyse Some Ecological Features of Birds

Morphometric measurements of birds are the first data to be really considered as biometric in this discipline. Baldwin et al. (1931) depicted and explained in detail the external measurements used in ornithology. Currently, many of these measurements have been forgotten or are rarely used both in books dedicated to bird taxonomy (Cramp & Simmons, 1977) and in field guides on different geographical areas or on large bird groups such as shorebirds, raptors, passerines, etc. (Svensson, 1992; Baker, 1993). Old biometric analyses used measurements performed on birds preserved in natural history museums. An appropriate representation of specimens is generally found in these museums, both in numbers (which allows for a large sample size) and in geographic origin (which enables the establishment of comparisons between birds of different areas) (Jenni & Winkler, 1989; Winker, 1993, 1996). Body mass was another one of the data used in the initial biometric analyses. Its objective was to determine the presence of daily or seasonal variations, or variations linked to other specific periods: breeding, rearing and migration. The next step was the establishment of a link between metric differences and the sex of birds. In some species, these differences were very visible and therefore statistical analyses were not required to support the distinction between males and females as in some raptors such as the Merlin Falco columbarius (Newton, 1979; Wiklund, 1990), owls and skuas (Andersson & Norberg, 1981). Similarly, marked biometric differences between bird populations of the same species found in different geographical areas were recorded (Svensson, 1992). This resulted in the identification of subspecies when these populations were geographically isolated, not sharing potential hybridization areas. Thus, for example, 10 subspecies of the Bluethroat Luscinia svecica have been identified throughout Europe, Asia and Alaska (Collar, 2005), a further 10 subspecies of Southern grey shrike Lanius meridionalis have been identified (Lefranc & Worfolk, 1997; Klassert et al., 2007), etc. Substantial databases were created as a result of the routine collection of a minimum number of measurements when a bird was captured, this information being used for specific purposes. Possibly, the existence of these data and the ability of observation lead researchers

Seasonal Variation in the Body Size-Body Mass Relationship in the Southern Grey Shrike Lanius meridionalis

Abstract. The variation of male (n = 105) and female (n = 107) Southern Grey Shrike body mass has been analyzed in northern Spain during 2000–2002. The annual cycle was divided into autumn (October and November), winter (December to February) and breeding season (March to July), the latter subdivided into egg incubation, small nestlings and large nestlings periods. In order to analyze body mass, the residual index (RI) was used because it corrects body mass related to body size. The mean RI value for males was negative during the whole breeding season and positive during autumn and winter and it did not vary greatly between the periods. In females, the mean RI was definitely greater during egg incubation compared to other periods. The RI value of females was higher than that of males during the egg incubation and large nestlings periods, showing no significant differences in other periods. Female Southern Grey Shrikes (but not males) fitted to the programmed anorexia hypothesis during the breeding season whereas in winter they did not increase their body mass, in clear contrast to what has been put forward in some theoretical models.