CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de NÃvel Superior / O presente trabalho constitui-se em uma investigaÃÃo sobre as vivÃncias de determinado grupo de compradores de aves silvestres, por meio do comÃrcio ilegal, em Fortaleza - CE, e as implicaÃÃes bioÃticas que esta prÃtica fomenta. A indagaÃÃo principal Ã: o que significa, para os sujeitos em questÃo, comprar aves silvestres e mantÃ-las em seu poder? O objetivo da pesquisa à compreender as motivaÃÃes, os sentimentos e as percepÃÃes dos participantes em sua vivÃncia como possuidores de aves silvestres, bem como as diversas relaÃÃes que estabelecem com essas aves no seu cotidiano. O trÃfico de animais silvestres à uma das principais causas da perda de biodiversidade em nosso paÃs, juntamente com a caÃa e a destruiÃÃo dos habitats naturais. Esta problemÃtica tem sido alvo do trabalho de algumas instituiÃÃes brasileiras, tais como a RENCTAS, o IBAMA e a PolÃcia Militar. A coleta de dados foi realizada, em princÃpio, atravÃs de pesquisa bibliogrÃfica, digital e documental. Posteriormente, aplicou-se um questionÃrio e realizaram-se entrevistas com um grupo de compradores em diversos bairros da cidade. O mÃtodo de anÃlise do conteÃdo de tais entrevistas seguiu a proposta de Forghieri (1997). Como resultado da investigaÃÃo, alguns esclarecimentos podem ser apontados em resposta ao questionamento inicial. Os sujeitos entrevistados possuem as aves devido a dois motivos bÃsicos. O primeiro refere-se à afetividade: as aves sÃo, para essas pessoas, animais de estimaÃÃo, que promovem bem-estar no cotidiano solitÃrio, e cuja companhia, em alguns casos, produz efeitos terapÃuticos. O segundo motivo diz respeito a influÃncias culturais, pois a maioria dos sujeitos provÃm de cidades do interior do Estado, onde, desde a infÃncia, tiveram convÃvio com o hÃbito da criaÃÃo de aves silvestres em casa. A reproduÃÃo desse comportamento representa, em seu contexto atual, a continuidade de uma tradiÃÃo que lhes traz boas lembranÃas e prazer, ao ouvir o canto das aves. Esta pesquisa à um estudo fenomenolÃgico empÃrico, pois propÃe uma investigaÃÃo compreensiva sobre a vivÃncia dos sujeitos. AlÃm disso, traz consideraÃÃes acerca do trÃfico de aves silvestres sob o referencial teÃrico da BioÃtica, que permite um diÃlogo entre a ciÃncia e a filosofia. / This survey developed in Fortaleza - Cearà - Brazil is about the experiences of some people who buy wild birds by means of the illegal trade and the bioethical implications of such practice. The main question is: why do the considered group of people purchase and take wild birds in captivity? The objective of this research is to understand the studied peopleâs motivation, feeling and perception as owners of wild birds as well as the relationship between them and their birds. The illegal trade is one of the main responsible for the biodiversity reduction in our country as well as hunting and the natural habitats destruction. Some Brazilian institution such as RENCTAS, IBAMA and PolÃcia Militar are trying to minimise that problem. At the beginning, some data were obtained from the literary, digital and documentary research. Afterwards, questionnaire and interviews were used to have some information about the buyers of wild birds from different areas of the city. The interviews were based on the Forghieriâs (1997) method. 9 According to the initial question, some results could be discussed. The interviewees have wild birds because of two basic reasons. One of them is affection: some people consider wild birds as pets and partners, whose presence could have therapeutic effects. The other is related to the cultural influence on having birds at home, which comes from the countryside. The tradition of listening to the birdsâ twitter contributes for it as well. This study is an empirical phenomenological analysis focused on the considered peopleâs routine. Besides, this research discusses the wild birds traffic according to the Bioethics in the context of science and philosophy.

O rápido declínio da vida silvícola do planeta tem levado inúmeros pesquisadores a discutirem diferentes estratégias de conservação, tanto com a manutenção dos animais em seus próprios habitats naturais, como pela propagação em cativeiro. A reprodução de aves em cativeiro é dificultada quando esses animais não apresentam dimorfismo sexual (ausente em muitas espécies, especialmente em psitacídeos), requerendo a realização de métodos de sexagem para a formação de casais. Dessa forma, foi estudado o uso da tomografia por ressonância magnética nuclear (TRMN) para a sexagem de aves silvestres sem dimorfismo sexual, por meio da visualização de seus órgãos reprodutivos. Dez animais da espécie Aratinga leucophthalmus foram anestesiados e submetidos a exames tomográficos. Nas imagens tomográficas adquiridas, pôde-se visualizar os testículos determinando o sexo masculino em aves sexualmente maduras. Entretanto, nas fêmeas, o formato anatômico do ovário esquerdo (provavelmente imaturo) não permitiu que ele fosse caracterizado com precisão por esse método. Para a confirmação dos resultados dos exames tomográficos, foram realizadas análises de polimorfismo de DNA. / The fast decline of wild life on the planet has led innumerable researchers to discuss different conservation strategies by both maintaining animals in their own natural habitat and reproducing in captivity. Reproduction in captivity becomes difficult when these animals do not present sexual dimorphism (absent in many species, specially in psittacines), requiring the use of methods for sex identification to form couples. Thus the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify the sex of birds without sexual dimorphism through the visualization of their reproductive organs has been studied. Ten animals of the Aratinga leucophthalmus species were anaesthetized and subject to tomographic exams. In the tomographic images obtained it was possible to visualize the testicles identifying the male sex in sexually mature birds. However, in the females, the left ovary (possible immaturity) could not be precisely characterized by this method, due to its anatomical shape. To confirm the results of the tomographic exams, analyses of DNA polimorphism were performed.

A criação de aves em cativeiro pode ser uma ferramenta importante de auxílio à conservação de espécies ameaçadas de extinção. No entanto, a reprodução natural em cativeiro nem sempre é viável, e os animais que se encontram pareados muitas vezes não oferecem descendentes geneticamente interessantes para a manutenção da espécie em longo prazo. Na tentativa de contornar tais problemas, biotécnicas como a colheita de sêmen, inseminação artificial e criopreservação de gametas podem ser ferramentas interessantes no manejo genético de populações ex situ e in situ. Nesse sentido, a padronização de uma técnica de colheita de sêmen, bem como o conhecimento sobre parâmetros seminais das diferentes espécies são de extremo valor para programas de reprodução assistida. Por se tratar de espécies silvestres, a colheita por eletroestimulação encaixa-se bem às necessidades devido ao fato de não exigir treinamento prévio dos animais e ser de rápida execução. Neste trabalho verificamos a importância deste método na colheita de sêmen de animais não condicionados, visto que a pré-estimulação resultou em amostras seminais apenas em Anseriformes, e, já a eletroestimulação, possibilitou a obtenção de sêmen em todas as ordens em que foi testada, em pelo menos uma espécie de cada ordem. Observou-se uma tendência a sazonalidade da produção espermática para a maioria das espécies em que foi possível obter amostras de sêmen, sendo que apenas urubu rei, cisne do pescoço preto e pato coscoroba tiveram amostras em três ou quatro estações do ano. Por fim, oferecemos alguns dados a respeito das características seminais encontradas nessas espécies. Acreditamos que os resultados dessa pesquisa servirão como base não apenas para o estabelecimento de programas de inseminação artificial, como também para a formação de bancos de germoplasma para espécies raras ou ameaçadas no Brasil. / Breeding birds in captivity can be an important tool to aid conservation of endangered species. However, the natural reproduction in captive is not always viable, and animals that are matched often do not offer genetically interesting offspring to maintain the species in the long term. In the attempt to overcome these problems, biotechniques such as semen collection, artificial insemination and gamete cryopreservation can be interesting tools for the genetic maintenance of ex situ and in situ populations. In this regard, the standardization of a semen collection technique and the knowledge of seminal parameters for different species are extremely valuable for assisted reproduction programs. Since those are wild species, semen collection by electro stimulation fits well into the needs due to the fact that it does not require prior training of animals and the execution is fast. In this work we verified the importance of this method in the collection of semen from unconditioned animals, since pre-stimulation resulted in seminal samples only in Anseriformes, and the electrical stimulation enables obtaining semen of all orders that were tested in at least one species of each order. Seasonality of sperm production was observed for most of the species from which it was possible to obtain semen samples. Only vulture king, black neck swan and coscoroba duck had samples at three or four seasons of the year. Finally, we offer some data about the seminal characteristics found in these species. We believe that the results of this research will serve as a basis not only for the establishment of artificial insemination programs, but also for the formation of germplasm banks for rare or endangered species in Brazil..

In this thesis, I investigated the relationship between host and pathogen in multi-host and multi-pathogen systems at the interface between wildlife and domestic species. The term “epidemiological interaction” was central to my thesis, and was defined as “any ecological interaction between two host populations resulting in the transmission of one or more pathogen”. Epidemiological interactions are related to the processes of transmission between hosts and I investigated how these epidemiological interactions between different host populations could be investigated in a given ecosystem. I developed two research frameworks to estimate these epidemiological interactions: 1) an a priori approach based on the host data and assuming that the mobility of hosts and the resulting contacts between host populations would be crucial factors influencing the epidemiological interactions; 2) an a posteriori approach based on the pathogen data, assuming that epidemiological pathways previously used by some pathogen species can be used in the future by other pathogens. The animalpathogen model used to test the first approach was the bird-avian influenza viruses’ model. Longitudinal counting and sampling protocols of domestic and wild birds over two years were used to analyse community composition and abundance of hosts to compare with the prevalence of avian influenza viruses. I could, for the first time, show a persistence of low pathogenic avian influenza strains in an African ecosystem, and investigate the relationships with both the potential maintenance hosts (Afro-tropical ducks and resident species) and hosts that introduced the virus into the system from Europe or Asia (paleartic migrants). With the estimation of epidemiological interaction using host community data, I estimated the contact rate between wild and domestic avian compartments (intensive poultry, backyard and farmed ostrich compartments) and assigned a risk to this interaction based on dynamic and non dynamic factors for each bird species. This approach highlights the species or seasons at risk for the domestic compartments (or for the wild bird compartments depending on the perspective) in order to orientate surveillance or control options. This type of data and framework can also be used in mechanistic modelling to predict the spread of a pathogen after its introduction in one compartment. I tested the host approach in a broader dataset at the Southern African region level with similar counting and sampling database in multiple study sites, showing that the variability of host communities across the region could explain the variability of pathogen detection (however, finding a causal relationship was impossible). Finally, I theoretically developed the pathogen approach by combining tools used in parasite community ecology, molecular epidemiology and social network analysis and gave a theoretical example using a rodent and human macro and microparasite dataset. This thesis has explored the field of transmission ecology and offered ways to quantify the processes of transmission between host populations. Theoretically, I have developed a fundamental reflexion around epidemiological interactions and formulated hypotheses on their potential for being independent of the parasite species. Practically, I have developed tools to provide information for decision-making in order to improve efficiency of surveillance and control programmes at the wildlife/domestic interface particularly adapted to detect emerging infectious disease spill-over process. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Naturalists for many years have known that birds sing most at dawn and at dusk, but to which of many physical variables they are responding has not been completely determined. This problem has taken on importance in the field of wildlife management because calling rate has been used as an index of abundance for numerous game birds, namely the Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus( Kimball, 1949); the Mourning Dove, Zenaidura macroura (McClure, 1939); the Bobwhite Quail, Colinus virginianus (Bennitt, 1951; Rosene, 1957): and the Woodcock, Philohela minor (Pitelka, 1943). Of the possible variables which can influence calling in birds, light intensity has received the most attention. Haecker (1916), using a crude optical light meter, found a definite and high correlation between time of beginning morning song and light intensity. In 1924 he published findings with the same conclusion after measuring light intensity photometrically. Dorno (1924), in repeating part of Haecker's work, came to the conclusion that light was significant, but that the variation in the time of beginning morning song; and sunrise was due to differences in dispersal of light rays rather than actual light intensity. This dispersal was due, in his opinion, to latitude and season of the year. Since that time many workers have been concerned with the problem . The first American to deal with light intensity as the factor that governs time of morning calling was Craig (1926). He found a close correlation between early morning song of the Eastern Wood Pewee ( Contopus virens) and the curve of civil twilight. Walker (1928) found that the length of time before sunrise a bird sings is probably dependent on the total amount of light present, but that weather factors influence song to a great extent. In agreement with these findings were those of Lutz (1931) studying singing in the House Wren (Troglodytes musculus). He found that one individual began to sing at almost the same time on each of 24 mornings. If the morning was bright, song came earlier; if couldy, it came later, but time never varies more than 15 minutes. Wiens (1960) stated that the song of the Cardinal (Richmondena cardinalis) was closely associated with sunrise during April. He recorded calls beginning 10 minutes )plus or minus 3 minutes) before sunrise during this month. Eynon (1960), in compiling field notes of the late Aldo Leopold, showed that the first morning songs of several passerine and game birds are closely associated with very low light intensities that occur during the twilight before sunrise. Studies showing effect of light intensity on animal activity are not limited to birds. Alexander and Moore (1958), studying singing in two species of Cicada (insects), found that both are sensitive to changes in light intensity. Singing increased as the sun came up and decreased as the sun passed behind a cloud. They attempted to stimulate singing with taped song under cloudy conditions, but only one species responded.Steven (1959) showed that schools of fish occurring during daylight hours break up as light falls below 0.1 foot-candle. He stated that there was no sudden change from day to night behavior patters at an level of light; the change was progressive. Other factors which have been shown to affect time and rate of bird calling are temperature, wind, and rain. Groebbels (1925) believed that early morning singing was a direct response to prevailing low temperatures. This study measure the composite and individual effects of time of day, season, light intensity, wind, rain, and temperature on calling. An attempt was made to apply correction factors to make possible more standardized calling counts. Observations were made on penned Chukars to relate sex and social organization to rally calling.

Im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden die in der Fachliteratur am häufigsten beschriebenen Formen der aviären Frakturtherapie anhand von 147 Wildvogelpatienten mit 237 gebrochenen Knochen im Hinblick auf ihre Einsatzmöglichkeiten, den Stellenwert, sowie auf Vorteile und Risiken der jeweiligen Methoden überprüft und die in der Literatur getroffenen Aussagen den Ergebnissen der eigenen Untersuchungen gegenübergestellt. Weiterhin wurden die publizierten Informationen bezüglich therapiebegleitender Maßnahmen einer kritischen Prüfung unterzogen und um die eigenen Erkenntnisse ergänzt. Rund 55 % der therapierten Wildvögel konnten nach Abschluß der klinischen Versorgung ausgewildert werden, wobei die therapeutische Erfolgsquote von Patienten mit frischen Frakturen und denjenigen, deren Frakturereignis wenige Tage zurücklag nur unwesentlich differierte. Demgegenüber wiesen Tiere mit älteren oder bereits in Heilung befindlichen Knochenbrüchen eine schlechte Prognose auf. Fast 27 % der Vögel verstarben während der Behandlung an den Folgen ihres Traumas oder einer Begleiterkrankung, etwas mehr als 13 % wurden aufgrund eines unbefriedigenden Heilungsverlaufs oder Therapieversagens euthanasiert und in etwa 5 % der Fälle reichte das erzielte Ergebnis zur Wiedereingliederung in die freie Wildbahn nicht aus. Von den untersuchten Therapiemethoden erwies sich lediglich die intramedulläre Versorgung mittels kurzer Polyacrylstäbe nach der „Shuttle-Pin“-Methode sowie die Kombination dieser Implantate mit Knochenzement bei Patienten unter 300 g Körpergewicht als problematisch. Bei einem der auf diese Weise behandelten Patienten wurde zudem eine therapieresistente Osteomyelitis als Folge einer Fremdkörperreaktion auf das eingebrachte Material dokumentiert. Positive Erfahrung konnte in zwei Fällen mit der Verwendung eines die Markhöhle weitestgehend ausfüllenden Polyacrylstabes bei ausgedehnten Splitterfrakturen gesammelt werden – eine bislang nicht beschriebene Variante bei der Versorgung mit Markraumimplantaten. Sowohl die Therapie der geschädigten Knochen mit einem modifizierten Fixateur externe bei geeigneter Frakturcharakteristik, als auch die Markraumnagelung mit Kirschner-Drähten erbrachten zumeist die angestrebten Ergebnisse. Der in der Literatur häufig betonte Vorteil kurzer intramedullärer Implantate, wie auch des Fixateur externe gegenüber einer Markraumnagelung mit Stahlstiften aufgrund einer früheren Beübungsfähigkeit der verletzten Gliedmaße konnte anhand der eigenen Ergebnisse nicht bestätigt werden. Klinische Vorteile infolge einer ungehinderten endostalen Kallusbildung bei Verwendung des Fixateur externe im Vergleich zu intramedullären Implantaten waren nicht zu ermitteln. Die Zeitdauer bis zur Auswilderung der Patienten war in der überwiegenden Zahl der Fälle weniger von der Therapieform, als vielmehr von Frakturausmaß und -lokalisation bestimmt. Die Ergebnisse der konservativen Behandlung waren – eine entsprechende Eignung der Fraktur für das Verfahren vorausgesetzt – bei vergleichsweise geringem Risiko den operativen Methoden zumindest ebenbürtig. Für eine chirurgische Versorgung von Schultergürtelfrakturen ergab sich keine zwingende Indikation; selbst hochgradig dislozierte Coracoidfrakturen konnten mittels konservativer Behandlung funktionell wieder hergestellt werden. Die röntgenologische Kontrolluntersuchung in siebentägigen Intervallen während der ersten 3 Behandlungswochen bewährte sich dabei im Hinblick auf das zeitnahe Befunden von Therapiezwischenfällen, ausbleibenden Therapieerfolgen und insbesondere zur frühzeitigen Diagnose entzündlicher Knochenveränderungen. / This study examined the methods of avian fracture therapy most commonly described in scientific literature in regard to their usability, their significance/value as well as their advantages and risks. For this purpose 147 wild birds with 237 fractured bones were treated with different methods, depending on the type of fracture. The results were compared to relevant statements found in specialist literature. In addition, published information about supportive treatment was analysed and supplemented with specific additional findings. It was possible to release about 55% of the treated wild birds back into the wild after therapy. The rate of success in therapy showed little difference between patients with fresh fractures and those with fractures that had occurred a few days previously. In contrast to this, animals with older fractures or fractures that were already in an advanced stage of untreated healing process showed a poor prognosis. Almost 27% of the birds died during therapy as a consequence of the initial trauma or accompanying diseases, a little more than 13% had to be euthanized because of an unsatisfactory healing process or failure of fracture repair and in about 5% of the cases the results were not sufficient for rehabilitation into the wild. Among the examined methods of therapy only intramedullary application of short polyacryl rods with the shuttle pin technique and the combination of these implants with bone cement in patients with a body-weight below 300g showed unsatisfactory results. One patient treated by this method developed a therapy-resistant osteomyelitis as a consequence of a foreign-body reaction. Positive results were achieved in two cases with the use of a polyacryl rod filling most of the bone cavity in extended comminuted fractures – a variation of internal fixation not previously described. Treatment with a modified external fixator as well as intramedullary fixation with Kirschner wires resulted in the required outcome in most cases whereas unimpaired endosteal callus formation, often associated with the use of an external fixator, did not result in clinical advantages. Trials did not confirm an earlier return to function by the use of short intramedullary implants or of the external fixator compared to internal fixation with intramedullary pins, which is often emphasised in scientific literature. In most cases duration of hospitlisation and of captivity depended on the extent and site of bone injury rather than on method of therapy. Results of conservative treatment and surgery were similar in terms of low risk – as long as the method of therapy matched the type of fracture. There was no requirement for surgical therapy of fractures of the shoulder girdle. Even severely dislocated fractures of the coracoid returned to normal function through conservative treatment. Weekly radiological examination at intervals of seven days during the first three weeks of therapy proved essential to identify early complications in the healing of the fracture, failure in the healing process, or, in particular, early diagnosis of osteomyelitis.

No description available.

Wild birds are the natural reservoirs of Influenza A viruses (IAVs) which cause occasional pandemics and seasonal epidemics. Avian IAVs can be transmitted from wild birds to domestic poultry, low mammals, and humans. It is well accepted that avian IAVs prefer to sialic acids (Sia) α2,3-linked galactose (SAα2,3-Gal), whereas human IAVs to α2,6-linked galactose (SAα2,6-Gal). However, SAα2,3-Gal in wild bird tissues is widely distributed with little variation while some subtypes of avian IAVs have species preference. The different isolation rates among wild bird species cannot be explained by avian IAVs binding to SAα2,3-Gal alone. Specifically, this dissertation had the following aims: Firstly, to determine distribution of glycan receptors across respiratory and gastrointestinal tissues of wild birds and domestic poultry; Secondly, to determine the viral-receptor binding specificity of avian IAVs; Thirdly, to understand the role of glycan motifs in shaping virus evolution during the natural history of IAVs, especially from wild bird to poultry transmission. We found that avian H7 and H10 viruses acquired the binding ability to SAα2,6-Gal without adaptation, furthermore, we evaluated one of these H10 virus that possess the ability of binding to SAα2,6-Gal in ferret model and found it could cause aerosol and contact transmissions. On the other hand, H7 viruses have strong binding avidity to SLex which are present widely in epithelial cells of chicken trachea, which could facilitate the transmission of avian H7 viruses from waterfowl to poultry. Lastly, we found that H7 viruses from waterfowl bound both Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc while chicken isolates from China only prefer to Neu5Ac. Of interest, we found Neu5Gc was found in mallards but not in chickens, which indicated that viruses reduce or lost binding ability to Neu5Gc by adapting in chicken. In summary, this dissertation focused on certain subtypes of avian IAVs, which have caused threats to domestic poultry and public health, and primary avian species for influenza risk. The glycan substructures may play an important role in avian IAVs transmission and adaptation. The knowledge derived from this dissertation will help identify species for influenza surveillance in wild birds and facilitate risk assessment of avian IAVs.

No description available.

This thesis explores the evolution of avian influenza A viruses (IAV), as well as host-pathogen interactions between these viruses and their main reservoir host, the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). IAV is a genetically diverse, multi-host virus and wild birds, particularly dabbling ducks, are the natural reservoir. At our study site, up to 30% of migratory Mallards are infected with IAV during an autumn season, and host a large number of virus subtypes. IAV diversity is driven by two main mechanisms: mutation, driving genetic drift; and reassortment following co-infection, resulting in genetic shift.   Reassortment is pervasive within an autumn season, both across multiple subtypes and within a single subtype. It is a key genetic feature in long-term maintenance of common subtypes, as it allows for independent lineage turn-over, generating novel genetic constellations. I hypothesize that the decoupling of successful constellations and generation of novel annual constellations enables viruses to escape herd immunity; these genetic changes must confer antigenic change for the process to be favourable. Indeed, in an experiment utilizing vaccines, circulating viruses escaped homosubtypic immunity, resulting in the proliferation of infections with the same subtype as the vaccine. While the host plays an important role in shaping IAV evolutionary genetics, one must consider that Mallards are infected with a multitude of other microorganisms. Here, Mallards were infected with IAV, gamma coronaviruses, and avian paramyxovirus type 1 simultaneously, and we found a putative synergistic interaction between IAV and gamma coronaviruses.   Mallards occupy the interface between humans, poultry, and wild birds, and are the reservoir of IAV diversity. New incursions of highly pathogenic H5 viruses to both Europe and North America reaffirms the role of wild birds, particularly waterfowl, in diffusion of viruses spatially. Using European low pathogenic viruses and Mallard model, this thesis contributes to aspects of epidemiology, ecology, and evolutionary dynamics of waterfowl viruses, particularly IAV