Search Results (7)

Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a tick-borne zoonotic viral disease prevalent in Africa. While infection is asymptomatic in animals, it can cause severe illness with hemorrhagic manifestations and high mortality rates in humans. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence and potential risk factors of CCHF in wild (rodents, birds) and domestic (cattle, horses) animals in Benin. A cross-sectional study was carried out from 2022 to 2024 with the assistance of cattle breeders, hunters, farmers and bushmeat sellers in 15 districts found in three agroecological zones in the country. A total of 366 serum samples were analyzed, comprising 254 collected from wild animals and 112 from domestic animals. Among the wild animals tested, 1.18% (95% CI: 0.31–3.70; n = 3) were seropositive for antibodies against CCHF virus (CCHFV). The seroprevalence rates were 3.7% (95% CI: 0.19–20.89) in squirrels, 5.88% (95% CI: 0.31–30.76) in hares and 1.19% (95% CI: 0.06–7.38) in giant rats. In domestic animals, anti-CCHFV antibodies were detected in 38 of the 112 samples, resulting in an overall seroprevalence of 33.93% (95% CI: 25.42–43.56). Specifically, antibodies were identified in 34 out of 81 cattle (41.98%, 95% CI: 31.26–53.46) and 4 out of 24 horses (16.67%, 95% CI: 5.48–38.19). No positive samples were reported in pigeons. This study provides the first seroprevalence data on CCHF in wild and domestic animals in Benin. It highlights the risk and epidemiological dynamics of the disease and underscores the need for further investigations into tick vectors and human populations. Full article

Birds are inherently social creatures that rely on pairing to enhance their well-being. Since many bird species lack obvious physical differences between females and males, sex identification is essential for ensuring their welfare. Additionally, early determination of the sexes of birds is crucial for their breeders, especially considering that most companion birds do not display clear sexual characteristics. Molecular genetic sexing has been demonstrated to be the most reliable method for determining the sexes of monomorphic birds. The objective of the present study was to demonstrate rapid, effective, and precise identification of sex in birds through quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) using samples obtained via a minimally invasive technique (oral swabs). This qPCR method assesses variations in gene copy numbers within conserved Z-specific genes such as CHRNA6, DDX4, VPS13A, LPAR1, and TMEM161B, which are absent from the W chromosome. A total of 34 samples were included in this study from the following 17 bird species: domestic pigeon (Columba livia domestica), domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), domestic goose (Anser anser f domesticus), domestic duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus), Mute swan (Cygnus olor), Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis), Cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus), Red-rumped parrot (Psephotus haematonotus), Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus), domestic Canary (Serinus canaria forma domestica), Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis major), Gouldian Finch (Chloebia gouldiae), Red Siskin (Carduelis cucullata), Australian Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia castanotis), and Common buzzard (Buteo buteo). The results proved that the CHRNA6, DDX4, VPS13A, LPAR1, and TMEM161B genes can reveal the sexes in the Neognath birds tested. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary riboflavin levels on the reproductive performance of pigeon breeders and the growth performance and carcass traits of offspring squabs to estimate the riboflavin requirement of pigeon breeders. The natural riboflavin content in the basic diet of corn–peas–soybean–wheat–sorghum–corn gluten is 1.20 mg/kg. Different doses of riboflavin (0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 mg/kg) were supplemented with the basal diet to produce five dietary treatments with total riboflavin levels of 1.20, 3.70, 6.20, 10.20, and 16.20 mg/kg. A total of 120 pairs of White King pigeons, aged 60 wks, were randomly allocated into five treatment groups, each consisting of 24 pairs. Each pair was individually raised for 8 wks. After the experiment, an assessment was conducted to evaluate the reproductive performance of the pigeon breeders, as well as the growth and carcass traits of offspring squabs at 28 days of age. The results showed that the dietary riboflavin levels had no significant effect on body weight, feed intake, egg weight, egg production, and egg fertility (p > 0.05). However, pigeons fed a diet without riboflavin had the lowest egg hatchability, egg yolk color, carcass trait, and riboflavin status, while exhibiting higher liver weight and liver index (p < 0.05). Moreover, the indices above showed increased or decreased linearly as the level of riboflavin was increased in the diet. Based on the broken-line regression model, pigeon breeders were determined to require a dietary riboflavin content of 11.4, 13.6, 13.4, 6.60, 4.28, 4.47, 4.67, 6.69, and 6.82 mg/kg to optimize hatchability, eviscerated weight, half-eviscerated weight, breast muscle weight, breast muscle percentage, liver weight, liver index, egg yolk riboflavin, and squab plasma riboflavin, respectively. In conclusion, the optimal supplemental dosage of riboflavin in the diets of pigeon breeders is 13.6 mg/kg. Full article

Flying pigeons (Columbia livia) are extensively studied for their physical endurance and superior sense of orientation. The extreme physical endurance of which these birds are capable creates a unique opportunity to investigate the possible impact of long-distance flying on the taxonomy and metabolic function of the gut microbiota. This project was enabled by access to two groups of pigeons raised by the same breeder in the same conditions, except that one group was trained in long-distance flying and participated in multiple races covering a total distance of over 2600 km over a 9-week period. In contrast, the second group did not fly. The fecal microbiota was analyzed using 16S amplicon sequencing, and the taxonomy and metabolic function were inferred from this sequence data. Based on phylogenetic distance and metabolic function, flying and non-flying pigeons were found to harbor distinct bacterial microbiota. The microbiota taxonomy varied extensively between the birds, whereas the inferred metabolic potential was relatively stable. Age was not a significant determinant of the fecal microbiota profile. In flying birds, the metabolic pathways annotated with biosynthesis were enriched, representing 60% of the 20 metabolic pathways that were most closely associated with flying. Full article

The Optimal Foraging Theory predicts that, to maximize fitness, animals adapt their foraging strategy that provides the most benefit for the lowest cost, maximizing the net energy gained. While the diet of many breeding raptor populations is well known, studies on the foraging patterns of non-territorial birds of prey (floaters) are scarce. In this study, we examined the foraging pattern of non-territorial Eastern Imperial Eagle, scrutinizing different aspects of its feeding ecology and behavior. We built a simple model of the optimal foraging strategy of floater eagles including the success of foraging as a currency as well as environmental factors such as seasons, type of prey, habitat, foraging techniques, and eagle age as a limitation affecting the foraging efficiency of birds. We found that floaters focused their diet exclusively on European Souslik, accounting for almost half (44.2%) of the eagle’s prey. Diet differences between floaters and breeders were due to higher Souslik and carrion consumption and lower Hedgehog predation by floater eagles. The diet diversity of breeding eagles (H = 3.297) was much higher than that of floaters (H = 1.748). Our model suggested that the foraging mode, habitat type, and season best explained the feeding success of non-territorial eagles (_ΔAIC = 0.00, w = 0.42). Of all explanatory factors, “Kleptoparasitism” (β² = −4.35), “Rodents” (β² = −4.52), “Pasture” (β² = 2.96), “Wheat” (β² = 4.41), “In the air” (β² = 4.16), and “Other habitats” (β² = 4.17) had a pronounced effect. The factors “Spring–summer season” (β² = −0.67) and “European Souslik” (β² = −2.76) had a marginal effect in our models. Generally, the mean success rate of attack modes used by non-territorial eagles was 0.54 ± 0.50. Floaters successfully obtained food through: kleptoparasitism (43.10%), carrion feeding (24.14%), and high soar with vertical stoop (14.66%). Several important issues for the conservation of non-territorial Eastern Imperial Eagles arose from our research. The strong relation of floaters with the European Souslik calls for specific conservation measures aimed at the conservation of this type of prey and the restoration and appropriate management of its grassland habitats. The importance of the scavenging behavior of juvenile birds requires increased control of the use of poison baits and subsequent prosecution by state institutions. Protecting the most important temporary areas, improving institutional control against the use of poison baits, and intensifying awareness-raising campaigns among pigeon-fanciers and hunters are also of crucial importance for effective species conservation. Full article

Pigeons played a major role in communication before the invention of the telephone and the telegraph, as well as in wars, where they were used to carry information and orders over long distances. Currently, numerous sports competitions and races are held with their participation, and their breeding is demanding not only for breeders, but also for the birds themselves. Therefore, an analysis of the genetic structure of racing pigeons kept in Poland was undertaken on the basis of 16 microsatellite markers, as well as the evaluation of the microsatellite panel recommended by ISAG. For this purpose, Bayesian clustering, a dendrogram, and Principal Coordinate Analysis were conducted. In addition, statistical analysis was performed. Based on this research, it was observed that racing pigeons are genetically mixed, regardless of their place of origin. Moreover, genetic diversity was estimated at a relatively satisfactory level (Ho = 0.623, He = 0.684), and no alarmingly high inbreeding coefficient was observed (F = 0.088). Moreover, it was found that the panel recommended by ISAG can be successfully used in Poland for individual identification and parentage testing (PIC = 0.639, CE-1P = 0.9987233, CE-2P = 0.9999872, CE-PP = 0.99999999). Full article

In this study, we focused on a goshawk population in central Poland (study area 105 km², forests 24 km², seven small forest complexes) which was monitored long-term (with high densities recorded in the 1980s of 16.3 pairs/100 km² despite persecution by farmers) to analyse how environmental factors (prey availability and changes in the forest structure) influenced population abundance, breeding parameters, and diet composition. The study was undertaken from 2011–2018, and the results were compared with published data from two previous study periods (1982–1992 and 2001–2003). The number of breeding pairs dropped from 17.1 to 8.0; the breeding success was around 75% in all study periods. The selection of nesting trees followed the changes in stand species and age structure. More nesting attempts per one nest were recorded in the current time period (1.7 vs. 1.1), which probably reflected lower anthropopressure (i.e., no cases of persecution were recorded in this study). Diet composition seemed to follow changes in the prey availability: The share of domestic pigeons and poultry (the main prey in the 1980s) as well as small game dropped, while the share of Eurasian jay and wood pigeon increased. Our studies suggested that anthropogenic food (poultry and domestic pigeons) played a key role for the goshawk population in the transformed habitats of the field and forest mosaic. Full article