During winter, cave cricket larvae undergo dormancy in subterranean habitats; this dormancy is termed diapause in second year Troglophilus cavicola larvae because they mature during this time, and termed quiescence in T. neglectus, because they mature after dormancy. Here we used electron microscopy to analyze ultrastructural changes in the epithelial cells in the Malpighian tubules (MTs) of T....

Our understanding of when natural populations are regulated during their annual cycle is limited, particularly for migratory species. This information is needed for parametrizing models that can inform management and conservation. Here, we use 14 years of data on colour-marked birds to investigate how conspecific density and habitat quality during the tropical non-breeding period interact to af...

background and objectives: to determine the potential circulation of avian influenza viruses among different captive bird species, molecular surveillance was conducted at tehran zoo, saiee park and pardisan park of tehran, iran. these places are at risk for spread and transmission of influenza virus because of bird species diversity and close contact of birds with humans. materials & methods: d...

Although assessments of winter carryover effects on fitness-related breeding parameters are vital for determining the links between environmental variation and fitness, direct methods of determining overwintering distributions (e.g., electronic tracking) can be expensive, limiting the number of individuals studied. Alternatively, stable isotope analysis in specific tissues can be used as an ind...

Many species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles use coarse woody debris (i.e., standing and downed dead wood) for nesting, roosting, foraging, and shelter. Woodpeckers depend on decayed wood to excavate nest and roost cavities in standing trees. Secondary cavity nesters then claim the abandoned cavities for their nesting or roosting. Many of the woodpeckers and secondary cavity nesters...

background : rooks are distributed all over iran and no information is available in the literature on their parasitic infec­tions. methods : one hundred twenty five rooks were examined at post-mortem for parasitic infections. results : two species of cestodes, 5 species of nematodes and 4 species of protozoa were found of which all were new host and distribution record. conclusion : rooks have ...