Studying individual-level interactions can transform our understanding of avian mixed-species flocks

Assembly of avian mixed-species flocks in Amazonia.

Diamond's "assembly rules" model posits that competitive interactions among species govern the composition of avifaunas. Although originally applied to islands in archipelagoes, this controversial set of hypotheses is difficult to test because islands differ in habitat and resource availability, colonization history, and stochastic effects. Permanent mixed-species flocks of Amazonian birds are ...

Mixed-species flocks: an example of niche construction?

Mixed-species flocks result from co-evolved relationships between participants: interspecific gregariousness that varies in strength in different species pairs or groups. Such inter-specific associations of birds are a characteristic of most avian communities, observed in diverse habitats from forests to grasslands, estuaries to the open ocean, worldwide in both high latitudes and in the tropic...

Molecular characterization of avian adenoviruses in Iranian broiler flocks

This study was conducted to molecularly detect avian adenoviruses in broiler flocks showing liver lesions and respiratory syndrome in northeast Iran. In total, 60 tissue samples were collected from broiler farms with liver lesions, respiratory syndrome and also from clinically healthy flocks. Six samples were positive; however, three samples were selected for molecular studies. PCR products wer...

Understanding avian responses to forest boundaries: a case study with chickadee winter flocks

Avian species diversity and territory location are often associated with sharp forest edges, or boundaries. However, our understanding of behaviours underlying avian distribution near forest boundaries, especially species with large home ranges, remains poor. In a two-year study, we measured chickadee flock movements in forests at 0–300 m from boundaries in an agricultural landscape near Edmont...

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