Journal articles on the topic 'Birds, arctic regions'

The northern wheatear ( Oenanthe oenanthe ) is a small (approx. 25 g), insectivorous migrant with one of the largest ranges of any songbird in the world, breeding from the eastern Canadian Arctic across Greenland, Eurasia and into Alaska (AK). However, there is no evidence that breeding populations in the New World have established overwintering sites in the Western Hemisphere. Using light-level geolocators, we demonstrate that individuals from these New World regions overwinter in northern sub-Sahara Africa, with Alaskan birds travelling approximately 14 500 km each way and an eastern Canadian Arctic bird crossing a wide stretch of the North Atlantic (approx. 3500 km). These remarkable journeys, particularly for a bird of this size, last between one to three months depending on breeding location and season (autumn/spring) and result in mean overall migration speeds of up to 290 km d −1 . Stable-hydrogen isotope analysis of winter-grown feathers sampled from breeding birds generally support the notion that Alaskan birds overwinter primarily in eastern Africa and eastern Canadian Arctic birds overwinter mainly in western Africa. Our results provide the first evidence of a migratory songbird capable of linking African ecosystems of the Old World with Arctic regions of the New World.

Arctic regions are ecologically significant for the environmental persistence and geographic dissemination of influenza A viruses (IAVs) by avian hosts and other wildlife species. Data describing the epidemiology and ecology of IAVs among wildlife in the arctic are less frequently published compared to southern temperate regions, where prevalence and subtype diversity are more routinely documented. Following PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review addresses this gap by describing the prevalence, spatiotemporal distribution, and ecological characteristics of IAVs detected among wildlife and the environment in this understudied region of the globe. The literature search was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar using a set of pre-defined search terms to identify publications reporting on IAVs in Arctic regions between 1978 and February 2022. A total of 2125 articles were initially screened, 267 were assessed for eligibility, and 71 articles met inclusion criteria. IAVs have been detected in multiple wildlife species in all Arctic regions, including seabirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, seals, sea lions, whales, and terrestrial mammals, and in the environment. Isolates from wild birds comprise the majority of documented viruses derived from wildlife; however, among all animals and environmental matrices, 26 unique low and highly pathogenic subtypes have been characterized in the scientific literature from Arctic regions. Pooled prevalence across studies indicates 4.23% for wild birds, 3.42% among tested environmental matrices, and seroprevalences of 9.29% and 1.69% among marine and terrestrial mammals, respectively. Surveillance data are geographically biased, with most data from the Alaskan Arctic and many fewer reports from the Russian, Canadian, North Atlantic, and Western European Arctic. We highlight multiple important aspects of wildlife host, pathogen, and environmental ecology of IAVs in Arctic regions, including the role of avian migration and breeding cycles for the global spread of IAVs, evidence of inter-species and inter-continental reassortment at high latitudes, and how climate change-driven ecosystem shifts, including changes in the seasonal availability and distribution of dietary resources, have the potential to alter host–pathogen–environment dynamics in Arctic regions. We conclude by identifying gaps in knowledge and propose priorities for future research.

Mandt's black guillemot ( Cepphus grylle mandtii ) is one of the few seabirds associated in all seasons with Arctic sea ice, a habitat that is changing rapidly. Recent decreases in summer ice have reduced breeding success and colony size of this species in Arctic Alaska. Little is known about the species' movements and distribution during the nine month non-breeding period (September–May), when changes in sea ice extent and composition are also occurring and predicted to continue. To examine bird movements and the seasonal role of sea ice to non-breeding Mandt's black guillemots, we deployed and recovered ( n = 45) geolocators on individuals at a breeding colony in Arctic Alaska during 2011–2015. Black guillemots moved north to the marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas immediately after breeding, moved south to the Bering Sea during freeze-up in December, and wintered in the Bering Sea January–April. Most birds occupied the MIZ in regions averaging 30–60% sea ice concentration, with little seasonal variation. Birds regularly roosted on ice in all seasons averaging 5 h d −1 , primarily at night. By using the MIZ, with its roosting opportunities and associated prey, black guillemots can remain in the Arctic during winter when littoral waters are completely covered by ice.

Haemosporida, vector-transmitted blood parasites, can have various effects and may also exert selection pressures on their hosts. In this study we analyse the presence of Haemosporida in a previously unstudied migratory seabird species, the red-throated diver Gavia stellata. Red-throated divers were sampled during winter and spring in the eastern German Bight (North Sea). We used molecular methods and data from a related tracking study to reveal (i) if red-throated divers are infected with Haemosporida of the genera Leucocytozoon, Plasmodium and Haemoproteus, and (ii) how infection and prevalence are linked with the breeding regions of infected individuals. Divers in this study were assigned to western Palearctic breeding grounds, namely Greenland, Svalbard, Norway and Arctic Russia. We found a prevalence of Leucocytozoon of 11.0% in all birds sampled (n = 45), of 33.0% in birds breeding in Norway (n = 3) and of 8.3% in birds breeding in Arctic Russia (n = 25). For two birds that were infected no breeding regions could be assigned. We identified two previously unknown lineages, one each of Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon. Haemosporida have not been detected in birds from Greenland (n = 2) and Svalbard (n = 2). In summary, this study presents the first record of Haemosporida in red-throated divers and reports a new lineage of each, Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon GAVSTE01 and GAVSTE02, respectively.

The study of long-distance migration provides insights into the habits and performance of organisms at the limit of their physical abilities. The Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea is the epitome of such behavior; despite its small size (<125 g), banding recoveries and at-sea surveys suggest that its annual migration from boreal and high Arctic breeding grounds to the Southern Ocean may be the longest seasonal movement of any animal. Our tracking of 11 Arctic terns fitted with miniature (1.4-g) geolocators revealed that these birds do indeed travel huge distances (more than 80,000 km annually for some individuals). As well as confirming the location of the main wintering region, we also identified a previously unknown oceanic stopover area in the North Atlantic used by birds from at least two breeding populations (from Greenland and Iceland). Although birds from the same colony took one of two alternative southbound migration routes following the African or South American coast, all returned on a broadly similar, sigmoidal trajectory, crossing from east to west in the Atlantic in the region of the equatorial Intertropical Convergence Zone. Arctic terns clearly target regions of high marine productivity both as stopover and wintering areas, and exploit prevailing global wind systems to reduce flight costs on long-distance commutes.

ABSTRACTOrganisms use changes in photoperiod to anticipate and exploit favourable conditions in a seasonal environment. While species living at temperate latitudes receive day length information as a year-round input, species living in the Arctic may spend as much as two-thirds of the year without experiencing dawn or dusk. This suggests that specialised mechanisms may be required to maintain seasonal synchrony in polar regions. Svalbard ptarmigan (Lagopus muta hyperborea) are resident at 74–81°N latitude. They spend winter in constant darkness (DD) and summer in constant light (LL); extreme photoperiodic conditions under which they do not display overt circadian rhythms. Here, we explored how Arctic adaptation in circadian biology affects photoperiodic time measurement in captive Svalbard ptarmigan. For this purpose, DD-adapted birds, showing no circadian behaviour, either remained in prolonged DD, were transferred into a simulated natural photoperiod (SNP) or were transferred directly into LL. Birds transferred from DD to LL exhibited a strong photoperiodic response in terms of activation of the hypothalamic thyrotropin-mediated photoperiodic response pathway. This was assayed through expression of the Eya3, Tshβ and deiodinase genes, as well as gonadal development. While transfer to SNP established synchronous diurnal activity patterns, activity in birds transferred from DD to LL showed no evidence of circadian rhythmicity. These data show that the Svalbard ptarmigan does not require circadian entrainment to develop a photoperiodic response involving conserved molecular elements found in temperate species. Further studies are required to define how exactly Arctic adaptation modifies seasonal timer mechanisms.

ABSTRACTThe protected nature area system in Russia is well developed in general, although not as well in the Arctic. On 1 January 1994 the total area of all types of Arctic reserves covered about 19.7 million ha, comprising about 10.2% of the area of the Russian Arctic. There are five categories of protected nature areas: strict nature reserwes (zapovedniki), national nature parks (natsional'nyye parki), nature monuments (pamyatniki prirody), special purpose reserves (zakazniki), and nature-ethnic parks (prirodno-etnicheskiye parki). The system of the zapovednik is unique. The oldest strict nature reserve in the Arctic is Kandalakshskiy (1939). Other major nature reserves include Ostrov Vrangelya (created in 1976), Taymyrskiy (1979), Ust-Lenskiy (1985), and Bol'shoy Arkticheskiy (1993). The first nature-ethnic park in the Arctic, Beringiya, was established in 1993. Because of the unstable economic and political situation in Russia, the nature protection system has a difficult time. Furthermore, the legal structure that defines the purpose of and responsibility for these areas is sometimes not completely clear, and a great deal is dependent on presidential decrees that, through time, have limited validity. The cooperation of Russian, western European, and North American scientists who study birds breeding in the Russian Arctic and migration patterns to temperate regions could give major support to the nature re-serves in the Russian Arctic.

Abstract Portugal has some rehabilitation centers for wild animals, which are responsible for the rehabilitation and reintroduction of birds, among other animals, into the wild. Coccidian parasites of these wild birds in rehabilitation centers are especially important because these centers can introduce coccidian species into new environments through the reintroduction of their respective hosts. In this context, the current study aimed to identify intestinal coccidia from wild birds at two rehabilitation centers for wild animals located in two municipalities of Portugal. Eighty-nine wild birds of 9 orders and 11 families were sampled, of which 22 (25%) were positive for Coccidia. Avispora spp. were found in raptors. Sporocysts of Sarcocystinae subfamily were recovered from owls. An Isospora sp. was found in Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758, and an Eimeria sp. was found in Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758. Among the coccidian species, Avispora bubonis (Cawthorn, Stockdale, 1981) can be highlighted. The finding of this species indicates that transmission of coccidians from the New World to the Old World may be occurring, potentially through dispersion by Bubo scandiacus (Linnaeus, 1758) through Arctic regions or by means of anthropic activities, and/or through other unknown mechanisms.

Arctic-breeding geese are at record high population levels and are causing significant changes to some of their breeding and staging habitats. These changes could influence sympatric wildlife, but the nature and strength of these effects are unknown. Here, we review the interactions between geese and sympatric species and propose future research that could help to fill important knowledge gaps. We suggest that geese may be indirectly affecting other species through changes to nesting habitat, prey availability, and predator–prey interactions. Many ground-nesting Arctic birds prefer vegetated wet tundra habitats that offer concealed nest sites; areas also heavily used by breeding and staging geese. Where goose foraging exceeds the capacity of the plants to regenerate, habitats have shorter graminoids and more exposed substrate, potentially reducing the availability of concealed nest sites for other birds. Studies have documented local reductions in the abundance of these concealed-nesting species, such as shorebirds. Despite the nutrient enrichment contributed by goose feces, habitats heavily altered by geese have also been shown to host a reduced diversity and abundance of some invertebrate groups. In contrast, generalist predators show positive functional and numerical responses to the presence of breeding geese. Therefore, the risk of predation for alternative or incidental prey (e.g., lemmings or small bird nests) is likely elevated within or near breeding colonies. Studies have demonstrated a reduced abundance of small mammals in areas heavily used by geese, but it is unknown whether this is related to shared predators or habitat alteration. Sympatric wildlife could be further affected through higher stress-levels, altered body condition, or other physiological effects, but there is currently no evidence to demonstrate such impacts. Few studies have explored the potential effects of geese at larger spatial scales, but we suggest that hyperabundant geese could result in regional declines in the abundance and diversity of shorebirds and passerines. We recommend coordinated studies across multiple regions to quantify nesting habitat, arthropod communities, and predator–prey interactions in response to nearby goose colonies. To align with current multispecies approaches to conservation, adequate knowledge of the potential effects of hyperabundant goose populations on other wildlife should be a priority.

The warming climate is driving earlier spring snow melt and longer growing seasons in tundra regions of northwestern North America, thereby changing the timing of ecological processes. On Herschel Island, Yukon, Canada, we investigated changes in the migratory bird community, and the potential for phenological mismatch of egg hatching with the pulses in abundance of arthropod prey on which young birds depend for growth. We found an apparent reduction in abundance or loss of some species dependent on freshwater ponds or sparsely vegetated upland tundra. Tracking hatch dates of passerines and shorebirds along with the changes in biomass of mobile life history stages of arthropods (principally Araneae, Tipulidae, Carabidae, Muscidae, Chironomidae, Mycetophilidae, and Ichneumonidae), we found no evidence for phenological mismatch in the 2007–2009 time period. Most nests hatched, and the period of most rapid chick growth occurred, in advance of the highest availability of arthropod biomass. Shorebirds hatched significantly later than passerines, less in advance of the peak abundances of arthropods. They are most at risk of future mismatch, given likely trend to earlier onset of arthropod availability and longer migration routes. Herschel Island is a well-studied site warranting further monitoring to assess changes in the Arctic tundra ecosystem.

ABSTRACT Western Alaska is, to say the least, remote. The area is vast, unforgiving at times, and notorious for offering rugged coastlines, severe weather conditions, and home to numerous species of birds, marine and terrestrial mammals, and fish. To get an understanding of the size of this state, Alaska spans about 20 degrees of latitude (1,200 miles) and more than 45 degrees of longitude (2,700 miles). The coastline area runs from Cape Puget in the Gulf of Alaska to the Alaska Peninsula, to the Aleutian Islands thence north to Barrow including, the Bering and Chukchi Seas, and thence east through the Beaufort Sea to the U.S.-Canada border. Traveling north to south, the region is classified as arctic, subarctic, or marine coastal. This paper will discuss the challenges faced by federal, state, and local agencies, and responders while responding to vessel casualties in the remote regions of Alaska. The geographic area of the state this paper will focus on is known as Western Alaska and is composed of the Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, the islands of Bristol Bay, and Pribilof Islands. The bodies of water surrounding Western Alaska are the Gulf of Alaska, North Pacific Ocean, Bristol Bay, and Bering Sea.

Northern polar regions have warmed more than other parts of the globe potentially amplifying the effects of climate change on biological communities. Ice-free seasons are becoming longer in many areas, which has reduced the time available to polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) to hunt for seals and hampered bears’ ability to meet their energetic demands. In this study, we examined polar bears’ use of an ancillary prey resource, eggs of colonial nesting birds, in relation to diminishing sea ice coverage in a low latitude region of the Canadian Arctic. Long-term monitoring reveals that bear incursions onto common eider ( Somateria mollissima ) and thick-billed murre ( Uria lomvia ) nesting colonies have increased greater than sevenfold since the 1980s and that there is an inverse correlation between ice season length and bear presence. In surveys encompassing more than 1000 km of coastline during years of record low ice coverage (2010–2012), we encountered bears or bear sign on 34% of eider colonies and estimated greater egg loss as a consequence of depredation by bears than by more customary nest predators, such as foxes and gulls. Our findings demonstrate how changes in abiotic conditions caused by climate change have altered predator–prey dynamics and are leading to cascading ecological impacts in Arctic ecosystems.

AbstractParasite distribution patterns in lotic catchments are driven by the combined influences of unidirectional water flow and the mobility of the most mobile host. However, the importance of such drivers in catchments dominated by lentic habitats are poorly understood. We examined parasite populations of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus from a series of linear-connected lakes in northern Norway to assess the generality of lotic-derived catchment-scale parasite assemblage patterns. Our results demonstrated that the abundance of most parasite taxa increased from the upper to lower catchment. Allogenic taxa (piscivorous birds as final host) were present throughout the entire catchment, whereas their autogenic counterparts (charr as final hosts) demonstrated restricted distributions, thus supporting the theory that the mobility of the most mobile host determines taxa-specific parasite distribution patterns. Overall, catchment-wide parasite abundance and distribution patterns in this lentic-dominated system were in accordance with those reported for lotic systems. Additionally, our study highlighted that upper catchment regions may be inadequate reservoirs to facilitate recolonization of parasite communities in the event of downstream environmental perturbations.

Three Goodsir brothers, John, Henry (“Harry”) and Robert, from Fife, Scotland, all shared an early interest in marine zoology in the early 1800s. They all went on to receive medical training, with the eldest brother, John, eventually becoming Professor of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh. John's primary claim to biological fame rests on his contributions to cell-doctrine, in which his eminence was on a par with that of Rudolf Virchow. In his youth, however, John (in concert with younger brother Harry) had become interested in marine zoology, and, as students in Edinburgh, they shared rooms with marine zoologist Edward Forbes. Harry Goodsir, however, was much more of a marine naturalist than John. His life was tragically cut short by his perishing, together with the rest of his shipmates on HMS Erebus, on the third Franklin expedition to the Arctic regions, that one being by ship during a quest for the elusive Northwest Passage. A younger brother, Robert, undertook two later Arctic voyages in search of Harry and his doomed shipmates, making natural history observations on sea birds and marine organisms along the way.

The ongoing decline of sea ice threatens many Arctic taxa, including the ivory gull. Understanding how ice-edges and ice concentrations influence the distribution of the endangered ivory gulls is a prerequisite to the implementation of adequate conservation strategies. From 2007 to 2013, we used satellite transmitters to monitor the movements of 104 ivory gulls originating from Canada, Greenland, Svalbard-Norway and Russia. Although half of the positions were within 41 km of the ice-edge (75% within 100 km), approximately 80% were on relatively highly concentrated sea ice. Ivory gulls used more concentrated sea ice in summer, when close to their high-Arctic breeding ground, than in winter. The best model to explain the distance of the birds from the ice-edge included the ice concentration within approximately 10 km, the month and the distance to the colony. Given the strong links between ivory gull, ice-edge and ice concentration, its conservation status is unlikely to improve in the current context of sea-ice decline which, in turn, will allow anthropogenic activities to develop in regions that are particularly important for the species.

Previous studies suggested that the unusual diversity of Skrjabinoclava spp. in New World charadriiforms is related to differences in the marine wintering and staging areas of the hosts where transmission occurs, foraging behaviour, food preferences, and the distribution of intermediate hosts. It was predicted that shorebirds in other regions of the world would have unique species of Skrjabinoclava, based on different wintering and staging areas. To test this hypothesis, shorebirds migrating to Greenland and the eastern Canadian Arctic from western Europe and Africa were collected in Iceland. Examination of these birds revealed seven species of Skrjabinoclava, six of them new: S. sealyi n.sp. in Charadrius hiaticula hiaticula; S. albae n.sp. and S. vogurensis n.sp. in Calidris alba; S. snorrasoni n.sp. in Numenius phaeopus phaeopus; S. kristjani n.sp. in Arenaria interpres; S. skulasoni n.sp. and S. aculeata in Calidris alpina schinzii. It was possible to trace transmission of some species to coastal staging and wintering areas in the United Kingdom and West Africa.

We used satellite platform transmitting transmitters (PTTs) in 1998–2000 to track spring and fall migratory movements of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus columbianus) captured at Long Point, Ontario. Migration corridors reported here corroborated those identified in previous studies using alphanumerically coded neck collars. However, PTTs provided additional information on duration of spring and fall migrations, duration of stay in different staging regions, time spent on breeding and wintering areas, and migration speed. Birds migrated between the Atlantic coast and northern prairies along a narrow geographic corridor through portions of the southern Great Lakes. From the northern prairies, swans followed 3 corridors to breeding areas on the west coast of Hudson Bay, central High Arctic, and Mackenzie River delta. While swans spent considerable time on Great Lakes (27% of spring migration) and northern prairie (40%) staging areas in spring, the northern boreal forest was an important fall staging area (48% of fall migration). Tundra Swans spent 20% of the annual cycle on wintering areas, 28% on spring staging areas, 29% on breeding areas, and 23% on fall staging areas. The long duration of migration and the fact that birds spend half their lives on staging areas underscore the importance of conserving Tundra Swan migratory habitats. Thirty-gram neck-collar-attached PTTs were more suitable than 95-g Teflon-harness-attached backpack PTTs for tracking Tundra Swans.

Abstract This paper reports geographic variation in wingtip patterns of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) from the circumpolar Arctic. The amount of black in the wingtip increased and the amount of white decreased from Arctic Canada–west Greenland, counterclockwise to the Pacific. Differences were greatest between Pacific and Atlantic, but were also apparent within the Atlantic sample. Patterns of variation were not clinal. Known levels of philopatry in kittiwakes would tend to maintain both phenotypic and genotypic differences between regions, but the similarity of birds from Newfoundland, British Isles, and Barents Sea suggests some degree of dispersal over this wide area. Wingtip pattern data support continued separation of Pacific and Atlantic kittiwakes into two subspecies under the biological species concept. Under the phylogenetic species concept, Pacific and Atlantic Black-legged Kittiwakes may represent two species. Variación Geográfica en los Patrones de Coloración de la Punta del Ala de Rissa tridactyla Resumen. Este trabajo presenta la variación geográfica existente en los patrones de coloración de la punta del ala de Rissa tridactyla en el área circumpolar ártica. La cantidad de negro en la punta del ala incrementó y la cantidad de blanco disminuyó desde el ártico canadiense y el oeste de Groenlandia en sentido contrario a las agujas del reloj hacia el Pacífico. Las mayores diferencias se registraron entre el Pacífico y el Atlántico, pero también fueron evidentes en la muestra del Atlántico. Los patrones de variación no fueron graduales. Los niveles conocidos de filopatría en R. tridactyla tenderían a mantener las diferencias tanto fenotípicas como genotípicas entre regiones, pero la similitud de las aves de Newfoundland, las Islas Británicas y el Mar de Barents sugiere algún grado de dispersión a través de esta extensa área. Considerando el concepto biológico de especie, los datos sobre los patrones de la punta del ala apoyan la separación de las aves del Pacífico y del Atlántico en dos subespecies. Considerando el concepto filogenético de especie, los individuos de R. tridactyla del Pacífico y del Atlántico pueden pertenecer a dos especies diferentes.

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Awareness of the importance of ever-growing environmental problems implies the need to study the relationship of biological, social, anthropogenic systems with nature. The environment of life is a complex multicomponent system and each of the components is a factor determining the state of the others, since all of them are interconnected with each other. Indicators of the state of ecological-geographical systems are organisms that create a biological environment, which requires the acquisition of relevant knowledge, including knowledge related to the field of zoology and zoogeography.</p><p>The authors have developed two new zoogeographic maps with elements of ecology. The first is the “<i>Zoogeographic Map of Russia</i>”(1&amp;thinsp;:&amp;thinsp;25&amp;thinsp;000&amp;thinsp;000) in the forthcoming edition of the Geographical atlas for secondary school teachers. The second is the “<i>Animal world of the Russian Arctic Region (mammals)</i>”(1&amp;thinsp;:&amp;thinsp;12&amp;thinsp;000&amp;thinsp;000) &amp;ndash; a scientific map for the electronic edition of the National Atlas of the Arctic. Further, the principles of design and methods for creating these maps are revealed.</p><p>Approaches to the design of the educational “<i>Zoogeographic Map of Russia</i>” are based on the analysis of work programs that follow the Federal State Educational Standard. According to the requirements of these documents, pupils should know the animal population of Russia, the animal world of the native land, the natural zones of the country, altitudinal zoning, they should be able to give examples of the most indicative representatives of the natural zones, explain the species diversity of the animal world, know its taxonomy, and measures for protection. The guidelines for map design are proposed in accordance with these requirements and implemented in the author's original image (fig. 1).</p><p>The thematic content of the map is based on the scientific systematics of the animal world. It covers the fauna of land, seas and sea coasts, and freshwater reservoirs. The map has a significant novelty and greater informative capacity in comparison with similar publications and a purpose surpassing the educational application. Selection of vertebrate animals includes not only mammals and birds, but also amphibians, cyclostomes, fishes and cetaceans. The image of the continental fauna is linked with the conditions of its habitat—natural zones, their parts, geographic areas with the identification of endemic and animals listed in the Red Book of Russia. The author's original is placed on two pages, of which map legend occupies a separate page in landscape format (fig. 2). It includes almost complete description of animals of all natural zones.</p><p>The concept of the scientific map “<i>Animal world of the Russian Arctic Region (mammals)</i>” means defining the position of mammals in the organic world system, with animals being hierarchically differentiated from kingdom to species &amp;ndash; the basic unit of life forms system and the basic taxonomic element of mapping. Unlike most zoogeographical maps, displaying only land animals, the Arctic marine mammals are also the target of research and mapping. Further, the display of the relation between animals and their habitat landscape types (plain and mountain) is introduced into the map concept. The matrix form of the legend shown in the figure 3 with the map tile is subject to coverage of the variety of land animals. Both land animals and marine animals listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation and regional Red Data Books of Russia highlighted on the map. The total of 85 mammal species of the unique Arctic Regions is listed on the map.</p><p>The results of performed mapping studies are essential for evolution of knowledge about the nature of Russia and its regions and for biodiversity conservation of vertebrate animals.</p>

AbstractIn a sense, this book is an expanded version of an earlier work by this author entitled “The Siphonaptera of Canada”, published in 1949. It is extended beyond the political confines of this country and includes treatment of the fauna of Alaska and Greenland, as well as much new distributional information on the fleas of Canada, especially the Canadian north. This latter was made possible by the Northern Insect Survey (1947-1962), mostly directed by the late Dr. T.N. Freeman, which involved the establishment of about 80 field parties in the Arctic and Subarctic Regions of Canada, Alaska and Greenland.A section on flea anatomy in relation to taxonomy is followed by a key to the genera. Then the six families and 15 sub-families, 60 genera and subgenera, and 183 species and subspecies, of fleas are carefully described and illustrated. Under the description of each species is a detailed listing of all specimens available to the author, West to East. This is followed by a host-flea index providing a taxonomic list of all the species of mammals and birds from which fleas have been taken. Distribution maps have been prepared illustrating all the collection records of flea species. Sometimes the known ranges of mammal hosts are included, where there is evidence of a strong host association.

Abstract We report two new late Pleistocene avifaunas from New Mexico, recovered from Sandia Cave during archaeological excavations by F. Hibben in the 1930s and the nearby Marmot Cave excavated in 2000. The fossil assemblage from Sandia Cave consists of at least 30 taxa, including seven extralimital and two extinct species, Coragyps occidentalis (extinct vulture) and Ectopistes migratorius (Passenger Pigeon). The avifauna from Marmot Cave is limited to eight taxa shared with Sandia Cave. Two new records of Gymnogyps californianus (California Condor) are reported from these sites, as well as new records of Lagopus sp. (ptarmigan), Aegolius funereus (Boreal Owl), and Micrathene whitneyi (Elf Owl) from New Mexico. Two new radiocarbon dates on fossil G. californianus from Sandia and Marmot cave are reported at 10 795 ± 50 and 25 090 ± 220 14C years before present (B.P.), respectively. These collections provide further evidence for mixed avian communities in New Mexico during the late Pleistocene and are similar to other cave avifaunas of comparable age from the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain regions. The birds from Sandia Cave that are shared with other fossil avifaunas include species currently found in arctic tundra, boreal, and steppe habitats, as well as open, xeric communities. This collection provides additional evidence for widespread steppe-tundra, shrub, and subalpine forest environments at lower elevations of western North America during the late Pleistocene.

Abstract The King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) has been delineated into two broadly distributed breeding populations in North America (the western and eastern Arctic) on the basis of banding data and their use of widely separated Pacific and Atlantic wintering areas. Little is known about the level of gene flow between these two populations. Also unknown is whether behavioral patterns common among migratory waterfowl, such as site fidelity to wintering areas and pair formation at these sites, have existed for sufficient time to create a population structure defined by philopatry to wintering rather than to nesting locations. We used six nuclear microsatellite DNA loci and cytochrome b mitochondrial DNA sequence data to estimate the extent of spatial genetic differentiation among nesting and wintering areas of King Eiders across North America and adjacent regions. Estimates of interpopulation variance in microsatellite allele and mtDNA haplotype frequency were both low and nonsignificant based on samples from three wintering and four nesting areas. Results from nested clade analysis, mismatch distributions, and coalescent-based analyses suggest historical population growth and gene flow that collectively may have homogenized gene frequencies. The presence of several unique mtDNA haplotypes among birds wintering near Greenland suggests that gene flow may now be more limited between the western and eastern Arctic, which is consistent with banding data. Ausencia de Estructura Genética Espacial entre Áreas de Nidificación e Invernada en Somateria spectabilis Resumen. Con base en datos de anillamiento y en el uso de áreas de invernada separadas en el Pacífico y el Atlántico, la especie Somateria spectabilis ha sido separada en dos poblaciones reproductivas de amplia distribución en Norte América (las del Ártico este y oeste). Se conoce poco sobre los niveles de flujo génico entre estas dos poblaciones. También se desconoce si patrones de comportamiento comunes entre aves acuáticas migratorias, como la fidelidad a los sitios de invernada y la formación de parejas en dichos sitios, han existido por suficiente tiempo como para crear estructura poblacional definida por la filopatría a las áreas de invernada en lugar de a las áreas de nidificación. Utilizamos seis loci nucleares de ADN microsatelital y secuencias del gen mitocondrial citocromo b para estimar el grado de diferenciación genética espacial entre áreas de nidificación e invernada de S. spectabilis a través de Norte América y regiones adyacentes. Los estimados de la varianza interpoblacional en la frecuencia de alelos de microsatélites y de haplotipos de ADNmt fueron bajos y no significativos con base en muestras de tres áreas de invernada y cuatro de nidificación. Los resultados de un análisis de clados anidados, de las distribuciones “mismatch” y de análisis basados en coalescencia sugieren la existencia de crecimiento poblacional histórico y flujo génico, eventos que colectivamente podrían haber homogeneizado las frecuencias génicas. La presencia de varios haplotipos exclusivos entre aves que invernan cerca de Groenlandia sugiere que el flujo génico podría ser ahora más limitado entre el Ártico oeste y este, lo que es consistente con los datos de anillamiento.

An analysis of the structure of local faunas without an arealogical component will be incomplete, since it does not always reflect well the degree of their connection with the fauna of other regions. The purpose of this work is to identify the species composition and conduct an arealogical analysis of the fauna of shorebirds in the Baikal basin. The typological analysis is based on the principles of classification of insect ranges adapted to birds. The geographical distribution of 61 bird species was analyzed, excluding migrant species. They were differentiated according to four arealogical complexes: cosmopolitan, Eurasian-North American, Afro-Eurasian and Eurasian, within which we identified 27 arealogical groups, including 6 longitude groups and 15 latitudinal latitudinal groups. Out of 61 species, 7 species (11.4%) nesting ranges cover more than three continents (cosmopolites), 14 species (23.0%) have Eurasian-North American ranges, 3 species (4.9%) are AfroEurasian (two of them Palearctic), the remaining 37 species (60.7%) nest on the Eurasian continent, of which 14 species live only in Asia. The share of the latter in the fauna of the Charadriiformes of the Baikal basin is more than one quarter (23.0%). In total, the number of species from the Eurasian and Eurasian-North American complexes (83.6% of the fauna of Charadriiformes) clearly prevails over the cosmopolitan and Afro-Eurasian ones. The analysis demonstrates a very complex arealogical structure of the fauna of Charadriiformes in the basin Baikal and, obviously, in the Asian part of the Palearctic as a whole. Most species of shorebirds are inherent in their original range, and there are practically no two species with the same area of distribution. This picture is connected, first of all, with different requirements for habitat conditions in combination with the history of development and formation of their habitats. Charadriiformes, regularly recorded in the Baikal basin, demonstrate a noticeable diversity in the nature of distribution. The fauna is based on Eurasian, and to a lesser extent, Eurasian-North American species. The proportion of cosmopolitan and Afro-Eurasian species is small. According to the latitudinal component, the charter-like species of the region were distributed over natural zones from the Arctic to subtropical zones, and many species adhere to certain climatic zones. Among the nesting species, the presence of temperant and subboreal species is noticeable, which is due to the ecotone position of the region and the diversity of its landscape and ecological conditions

Most emperor geese (Chen canagica) nest in a narrow coastal region of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska, but their winter distribution extends more than 3000 km from Kodiak Island, Alaska, to the Commander Islands, Russia. We marked 53 adult female emperor geese with satellite transmitters on the YKD in 1999, 2002, and 2003 to examine whether chronology of migration or use of seasonal habitats differed among birds that wintered in different regions. Females that migrated relatively short distances (650–1010 km) between the YKD and winter sites on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula bypassed autumn staging areas on the Bering Sea coast of the Alaska Peninsula or used them for shorter periods (mean = 57 days) than birds that made longer migrations (1600–2640 km) to the western Aleutian Islands (mean = 97 days). Alaska Peninsula migrants spent more days at winter sites (mean = 172 days, 95% CI: 129–214 days) than western Aleutian Island migrants (mean = 91 days, 95% CI: 83–99 days). Birds that migrated 930–1610 km to the eastern Aleutian Islands spent intermediate intervals at fall staging (mean = 77 days) and wintering areas (mean = 108 days, 95% CI: 95–119 days). Return dates to the YKD did not differ among birds that wintered in different regions. Coastal staging areas on the Alaska Peninsula may be especially important in autumn to prepare Aleutian migrants physiologically for long-distance migration to winter sites, and in spring to enable emperor geese that migrate different distances to reach comparable levels of condition before nesting.

The validity of the allocation of the Commander ornithogeographic district on the zoogeographic map of Kam-chatka has been confirmed. This diagnosis is relevant, despite some doubts among taxonomists about the inde-pendence of individual endemic Commander subspecies of birds. The similarity of the nesting and probably nest-ing bird fauna of Kamchatka, the Commander and Aleutian Islands was estimated using the Jacquard formula [Pesenko, 1982] based on the revision results of the avifaunistic lists of these regions. The opinion that the avifau-na of the Commander Islands is related to the Aleutian one was confirmed. The similarity index between the avi-fauna of the Commander and Aleutian Islands is greater (38.1%) than between the Commander Islands and Kam-chatka (24.7%), despite the fact that Kamchatka is much closer to the Commander Islands. The Commander avifauna meets the most important criteria of island faunas, such as impoverishment and subspecific endemism. In addition, the representatives of archaic forms lived on the Commander Islands not so long ago, which disap-peared primarily due to human extermination. The current state of most Commander endemic bird subspecies is quite stable. American mountain finch may show some tendency to decline.

The data about staroverstvo, i.e. about the pre-Christian religion in three regions in Slovenia are reviewed. The most archaic of them is the Poso&scaron;ko staroverstvo - the Old Religion around the upper Soča River valley. For it is characteristic the single, female god, the Great Mother, a number of spirits, importance of triangular features, rocks, caves, stone and wood, way of life in peace, reincarnation of souls. The Kra&scaron;ko staroverstvo - the Old Religion in the Karst region is intermediate between it and the East Slavic pre-Christian religion. The influence of the arrival of agriculture about 7,500 years ago is indicated in it. The Dolenjsko staroverstvo - the Old Religion in Western Lower Carniola reflects the Iron Age situation. Characteristic for it is the revering of waters as well as the neighboring hill-forts and bird-hills. The hill-forts started to be erected on the intrusion from east of the Y chromosome haplogroup R1b people about 6,500 years ago. The bird-hills served the birds, which would carry the soul of the deceased into the other world, possibly onto the other side of the moon. All these Old Religions indicate that the ancestors of Slovenes did not arrive in the 6th Century AD from east of the Carpathian Mountains but were aboriginal in Slovenia.

Abstract We compared seasonal composition, abundance, and biomass of seabirds between the Northeast (ICES region) and Northwest (NAFO region) Atlantic fisheries regions to identify differences in community assemblage and prey consumption. Seabirds were more abundant in the Northwest Atlantic, but biomass was greater in the Northeast. This disparity resulted from enormous numbers of little auks Alle alle breeding in West Greenland and of Leach's storm-petrels Oceanodroma leucorhoa breeding in Newfoundland, plus large numbers of non-breeding shearwaters Puffinus spp. entering southern NAFO areas in summer. The Northeast Atlantic communities were dominated numerically by northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, large auks Uria spp., and the Atlantic puffin Fratercula arctica. Seabirds occupying the North Atlantic consume approximately 11 × 106 t of food annually. Overall consumption rates peak during summer as a result of increased breeding activity and seasonal movements of birds into the North Atlantic. Because of the greater biomass of birds in the northeast, consumption (mainly by piscivores) in ICES areas was approximately 20% higher than that in NAFO areas, where planktivores dominate. NAFO areas had, however, a much greater consumption rate per unit area than ICES areas. Comparative studies such as these could prove informative in assessing large predator responses to the influence of fishing and ocean-scale climate change.

Efficient biodiversity conservation requires that limited resources be allocated in accordance with national responsibilities and priorities. Without appropriate computational tools, the process of determining these national responsibilities and conservation priorities is time intensive when considering many species across geographic scales. Here, we have developed a computational tool as a module for the ArcGIS geographic information system. The ArcGIS National Responsibility Assessment Tool (NRA-Tool) can be used to create hierarchical lists of national responsibilities and priorities for global species conservation. Our tool will allow conservationists to prioritize conservation efforts and to focus limited resources on relevant species and regions. We showcase our tool with data on 258 bird species and various biophysical regions, including Environmental Zones in 58 Asian countries and regions. Our tool provides a decision support system for conservation policy with attractive and easily interpretable visual outputs illustrating national responsibilities and priorities for species conservation. The graphical output allows for smooth integration into assessment reports, such as the European Article 17 report, the Living Planet Index report, or similar regional and global reports.

Though the rock ptarmigan, Lagopus mutus (Montin, 1776), is a relatively common breeding bird in arctic regions worldwide, several Nearctic insular populations have become extinct or threatened in the past 250 years. In this study, we use patterns of DNA sequence variation in the mitochondrial control region and a nuclear intron (GAPDH) to reexamine the evolutionary history of Nearctic rock ptarmigan populations as a basis for conservation and management. The extent of genetic diversity within currently recognized subspecies varies widely, with many nonmigratory insular subspecies genetically invariant and continental subspecies moderately diverse. Our analyses suggest at least six evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) in the Nearctic and Iceland, four of which correspond to recognized subspecies: Lagopus mutus evermanni (Elliot, 1896) on Attu I., Alaska, Lagopus mutus welchi (Brewster, 1885) on Newfoundland, Lagopus mutus rupestris (Gmelin, 1789) in the Canadian Arctic, and Lagopus mutus islandorum (Faber, 1822) on Iceland. A fifth ESU comprises three central Aleutian subspecies. The remaining subspecies of the Aleutian archipelago, along with Lagopus mutus nelsoni (Stejneger, 1884) of mainland Alaska and Lagopus mutus captus (Peters, 1934) of Ellesmere I., Nunavut, constitute a sixth ESU, which we further subdivide into three management units based on patterns of genetic substructuring and geographic barriers to immigration.

Background:Many bird species that breed at high latitudes exhibit irregular southward incursions in response to spatial and temporal variation in winter food availability.Methods:We analyzed Christmas Bird Count records to compare the migratory behavior of the Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea), an Arctic breeder known to invade southern latitudes every other winter, with that of the American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis), a closely related finch species that breeds broadly in temperate latitudes in North America.Results and Discussion:Historic data indicate that east of the Rocky Mountains, both species overwinter in relatively even numbers across latitudes. In contrast, we found few significant positive correlations between the winter records of each species in different areas along the same longitude. We attribute these patterns to the fact that resource levels and environmental conditions tend to be similar across latitudes. While previous studies of historic data have identified a biennial pattern in the migration of the Common Redpoll, we found evidence that populations of American Goldfinches breeding in the northern parts of the species’ range similarly display significant southward movements every other year. Because these two species breed at different latitudes and show large-scale southward movements during the same years, areas across southern Canada and the northern United States alternate between having high winter abundances of Common Redpolls and American Goldfinches. We propose that these alternations are caused by a shared response to cyclical seed crop failure across the northern regions of North America.

A new cognitive model is proposed and applied to the analysis of the anthropomorphic-dominated paleoimagery or rock art of both the Archaic Barrier Canyon Style and the Basketmaker San Juan Style of the Colorado Plateau, including the attributes of headdresses and messengers. Under the cognitive model, the decision to execute rock art is culturally and historically conditioned; the interaction of narrative language and visual imagery takes precedence over hallucinatory and trance mechanisms. The cognitive model examines the interplay between perceptual imagery and stored mental imagery, both of which occur within the human cognitive system. Such an interplay arguably has been as important in the shaping of human cultures as the role of language. These Archaic and Basketmaker ecologies and cultures also may have developed group ritual, an early adoption not requisitely tied to the transition from a mobile hunter-gatherer ecology to an agricultural ecology. Such interpretations redefine the predominant images of the region's Archaic and Basketmaker anthropomorphic figures, bird-headed imagery, messenger spirits, supplication panels, and processional panels. The model reinstates the praejudico role that visual imagery plays in the construction of culture.

This paper is meant to study the apocalyptic scenario of the at the perspectives of the Great Acceleration. the apocalyptic scenario is not a pure imagination of the literature works. Instead, scientific evidences are in favour of dramatic change in the climatic conditions related to the climax of Man actions. the modelling of the future climate leads to horrible situations including intolerable temperatures, dryness, tornadoes, and noticeable sear level rise evading coastal regions. Going far from these scientific claims, Homo Sapiens Sapiens extended his imagination through the Climate-Fiction (cli-fi) to propose a dramatic end. Climate Fiction is developed into a recording machine containing every kind of fictions that depict environmental condition events and has consequently lost its true significance. Introduction The Great Acceleration may be considered as the Late Anthropocene in which Man actions reached their climax to lead to dramatic climatic changes paving the way for a possible apocalyptic scenario threatening the existence of the humanity. So, the apocalyptic scenario is not a pure imagination of the literature works. Instead, many scientific arguments especially related to climate change are in favour of the apocalypse1. As a matter of fact, the modelling of the future climate leads to horrible situations including intolerable temperatures (In 06/07/2021, Kuwait recorded the highest temperature of 53.2 °C), dryness, tornadoes, and noticeable sear level rise evading coastal regions. These conditions taking place during the Great Acceleration would have direct repercussions on the human species. Considering that the apocalyptic extinction had really caused the disappearance of many stronger species including dinosaurs, Homo Sapiens Sapiens extended his imagination though the Climate-Fiction (cli-fi) to propose a dramatic end due to severe climate conditions intolerable by the humankind. The mass extinction of animal species has occurred several times over the geological ages. Researchers have a poor understanding of the causes and processes of these major crises1. Nonetheless, whatever the cause of extinction, the apocalyptic scenario has always been present in the geological history. For example, dinosaurs extinction either by asteroids impact or climate changes could by no means denies the apocalyptic aspect2.At the same time as them, many animal and plant species became extinct, from marine or flying reptiles to marine plankton. This biological crisis of sixty-five million years ago is not the only one that the biosphere has suffered. It was preceded and followed by other crises which caused the extinction or the rarefaction of animal species. So, it is undeniable that many animal groups have disappeared. It is even on the changes of fauna that the geologists of the last century have based themselves to establish the scale of geological times, scale which is still used. But it is no less certain that the extinction processes, extremely complex, are far from being understood. We must first agree on the meaning of the word "extinction", namely on the apocalyptic aspect of the concept. It is quite understood that, without disappearances, the evolution of species could not have followed its course. Being aware that the apocalyptic extinction had massacred stronger species that had dominated the planet, Homo Sapiens Sapiens has been aware that the possibility of apocalyptic end at the perspective of the Anthropocene (i.e., Great Acceleration) could not be excluded. This conviction is motivated by the progressive defaunation in some regions3and the appearance of alien species in others related to change of mineralogy and geochemistry4 leading to a climate change during the Anthropocene. These scientific claims fed the vast imagination about climate change to set the so-called cli-fi. The concept of the Anthropocene is the new geological era which begins when the Man actions have reached a sufficient power to modify the geological processes and climatic cycles of the planet5. The Anthropocene by no means excludes the possibility of an apocalyptic horizon, namely in the perspectives of the Great Acceleration. On the contrary, two scenarios do indeed seem to dispute the future of the Anthropocene, with a dramatic cross-charge. The stories of the end of the world are as old as it is, as the world is the origin of these stories. However, these stories of the apocalypse have evolved over time and, since the beginning of the 19th century, they have been nourished particularly by science and its advances. These fictions have sometimes tried to pass themselves off as science. This is the current vogue, called collapsology6. This end is more than likely cli-fi driven7and it may cause the extinction of the many species including the Homo Sapiens Sapiens. In this vein, Anthropocene defaunation has become an ultimate reality8. More than one in eight birds, more than one in five mammals, more than one in four coniferous species, one in three amphibians are threatened. The hypothesis of a hierarchy within the living is induced by the error of believing that evolution goes from the simplest to the most sophisticated, from the inevitably stupid inferior to the superior endowed with an intelligence giving prerogative to all powers. Evolution goes in all directions and pursues no goal except the extension of life on Earth. Evolution certainly does not lead from bacteria to humans, preferably male and white. Our species is only a carrier of the DNA that precedes us and that will survive us. Until we show a deep respect for the biosphere particularly, and our planet in general, we will not become much, we will remain a predator among other predators, the fiercest of predators, the almighty craftsman of the Anthropocene. To be in the depths of our humanity, somehow giving back to the biosphere what we have taken from it seems obvious. To stop the sixth extinction of species, we must condemn our anthropocentrism and the anthropization of the territories that goes with it. The other forms of life also need to keep their ecological niches. According to the first, humanity seems at first to withdraw from the limits of the planet and ultimately succumb to them, with a loss of dramatic meaning. According to the second, from collapse to collapse, it is perhaps another humanity, having overcome its demons, that could come. Climate fiction is a literary sub-genre dealing with the theme of climate change, including global warming. The term appears to have been first used in 2008 by blogger and writer Dan Bloom. In October 2013, Angela Evancie, in a review of the novel Odds against Tomorrow, by Nathaniel Rich, wonders if climate change has created a new literary genre. Scientific basis of the apocalyptic scenario in the perspective of the Anthropocene Global warming All temperature indices are in favour of a global warming (Fig.1). According to the different scenarios of the IPCC9, the temperatures of the globe could increase by 2 °C to 5 °C by 2100. But some scientists warn about a possible runaway of the warming which can reach more than 3 °C. Thus, the average temperature on the surface of the globe has already increased by more than 1.1 °C since the pre-industrial era. The rise in average temperatures at the surface of the globe is the first expected and observed consequence of massive greenhouse gas emissions. However, meteorological surveys record positive temperature anomalies which are confirmed from year to year compared to the temperatures recorded since the middle of the 19th century. Climatologists point out that the past 30 years have seen the highest temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere for over 1,400 years. Several climatic centres around the world record, synthesize and follow the evolution of temperatures on Earth. Since the beginning of the 20th century (1906-2005), the average temperature at the surface of the globe has increased by 0.74 °C, but this progression has not been continuous since 1976, the increase has clearly accelerated, reaching 0.19 °C per decade according to model predictions. Despite the decline in solar activity, the period 1997-2006 is marked by an average positive anomaly of 0.53 °C in the northern hemisphere and 0.27 °C in the southern hemisphere, still compared to the normal calculated for 1961-1990. The ten hottest years on record are all after 1997. Worse, 14 of the 15 hottest years are in the 21st century, which has barely started. Thus, 2016 is the hottest year, followed closely by 2015, 2014 and 2010. The temperature of tropical waters increased by 1.2 °C during the 20th century (compared to 0.5 °C on average for the oceans), causing coral reefs to bleach in 1997. In 1998, the period of Fort El Niño, the prolonged warming of the water has destroyed half of the coral reefs of the Indian Ocean. In addition, the temperature in the tropics of the five ocean basins, where cyclones form, increased by 0.5 °C from 1970 to 2004, and powerful cyclones appeared in the North Atlantic in 2005, while they were more numerous in other parts of the world. Recently, mountains of studies focused on the possible scenario of climate change and the potential worldwide repercussions including hell temperatures and apocalyptic extreme events10 , 11, 12. Melting of continental glaciers As a direct result of the global warming, melting of continental glaciers has been recently noticed13. There are approximately 198,000 mountain glaciers in the world; they cover an area of approximately 726,000 km2. If they all melted, the sea level would rise by about 40 cm. Since the late 1960s, global snow cover has declined by around 10 to 15%. Winter cold spells in much of the northern half of the northern hemisphere are two weeks shorter than 100 years ago. Glaciers of mountains have been declining all over the world by an average of 50 m per decade for 150 years. However, they are also subject to strong multi-temporal variations which make forecasts on this point difficult according to some specialists. In the Alps, glaciers have been losing 1 meter per year for 30 years. Polar glaciers like those of Spitsbergen (about a hundred km from the North Pole) have been retreating since 1880, releasing large quantities of water. The Arctic has lost about 10% of its permanent ice cover every ten years since 1980. In this region, average temperatures have increased at twice the rate of elsewhere in the world in recent decades. The melting of the Arctic Sea ice has resulted in a loss of 15% of its surface area and 40% of its thickness since 1979. The record for melting arctic sea ice was set in 2017. All models predict the disappearance of the Arctic Sea ice in summer within a few decades, which will not be without consequences for the climate in Europe. The summer melting of arctic sea ice accelerated far beyond climate model predictions. Added to its direct repercussions of coastal regions flooding, melting of continental ice leads to radical climatic modifications in favour of the apocalyptic scenario. Fig.1 Evolution of temperature anomaly from 1880 to 2020: the apocalyptic scenario Sea level rise As a direct result of the melting of continental glaciers, sea level rise has been worldwide recorded14 ,15. The average level of the oceans has risen by 22 cm since 1880 and 2 cm since the year 2000 because of the melting of the glaciers but also with the thermal expansion of the water. In the 20th century, the sea level rose by around 2 mm per year. From 1990 to 2017, it reached the relatively constant rate of just over 3mm per year. Several sources contributed to sea level increase including thermal expansion of water (42%), melting of continental glaciers (21%), melting Greenland glaciers (15%) and melting Antarctic glaciers (8%). Since 2003, there has always been a rapid rise (around 3.3 mm / year) in sea level, but the contribution of thermal expansion has decreased (0.4 mm / year) while the melting of the polar caps and continental glaciers accelerates. Since most of the world’s population is living on coastal regions, sea level rise represents a real threat for the humanity, not excluding the apocalyptic scenario. Multiplication of extreme phenomena and climatic anomalies On a human scale, an average of 200 million people is affected by natural disasters each year and approximately 70,000 perish from them. Indeed, as evidenced by the annual reviews of disasters and climatic anomalies, we are witnessing significant warning signs. It is worth noting that these observations are dependent on meteorological survey systems that exist only in a limited number of countries with statistics that rarely go back beyond a century or a century and a half. In addition, scientists are struggling to represent the climatic variations of the last two thousand years which could serve as a reference in the projections. Therefore, the exceptional nature of this information must be qualified a little. Indeed, it is still difficult to know the return periods of climatic disasters in each region. But over the last century, the climate system has gone wild. Indeed, everything suggests that the climate is racing. Indeed, extreme events and disasters have become more frequent. For instance, less than 50 significant events were recorded per year over the period 1970-1985, while there have been around 120 events recorded since 1995. Drought has long been one of the most worrying environmental issues. But while African countries have been the main affected so far, the whole world is now facing increasingly frequent and prolonged droughts. Chile, India, Australia, United States, France and even Russia are all regions of the world suffering from the acceleration of the global drought. Droughts are slowly evolving natural hazards that can last from a few months to several decades and affect larger or smaller areas, whether they are small watersheds or areas of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres. In addition to their direct effects on water resources, agriculture and ecosystems, droughts can cause fires or heat waves. They also promote the proliferation of invasive species, creating environments with multiple risks, worsening the consequences on ecosystems and societies, and increasing their vulnerability. Although these are natural phenomena, there is a growing understanding of how humans have amplified the severity and impacts of droughts, both on the environment and on people. We influence meteorological droughts through our action on climate change, and we influence hydrological droughts through our management of water circulation and water processes at the local scale, for example by diverting rivers or modifying land use. During the Anthropocene (the present period when humans exert a dominant influence on climate and environment), droughts are closely linked to human activities, cultures, and responses. From this scientific overview, it may be concluded apocalyptic scenario is not only a literature genre inspired from the pure imagination. Instead, many scientific arguments are in favour of this dramatic destiny of Homo Sapiens Sapiens. Fig.2. Sea level rise from 1880 to 2020: a possible apocalyptic scenario (www.globalchange.gov, 2021) Apocalyptic genre in recent writing As the original landmark of apocalyptic writing, we must place the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem in 587 BC and the Exile in Babylon. Occasion of a religious and cultural crossing with imprescriptible effects, the Exile brought about a true rebirth, characterized by the maintenance of the essential ethical, even cultural, of a national religion, that of Moses, kept as pure as possible on a foreign land and by the reinterpretation of this fundamental heritage by the archaic return of what was very old, both national traditions and neighbouring cultures. More precisely, it was the place and time for the rehabilitation of cultures and the melting pot for recasting ancient myths. This vast infatuation with Antiquity, remarkable even in the vocabulary used, was not limited to Israel: it even largely reflected a general trend. The long period that preceded throughout the 7th century BC and until 587, like that prior to the edict of Cyrus in 538 BC, was that of restorations and rebirths, of returns to distant sources and cultural crossings. In the biblical literature of this period, one is struck by the almost systematic link between, on the one hand, a very sustained mythical reinvestment even in form and, on the other, the frequent use of biblical archaisms. The example of Shadday, a word firmly rooted in the Semites of the Northwest and epithet of El in the oldest layers of the books of Genesis and Exodus, is most eloquent. This term reappears precisely at the time of the Exile as a designation of the divinity of the Patriarchs and of the God of Israel; Daily, ecological catastrophes now describe the normal state of societies exposed to "risks", in the sense that Ulrich Beck gives to this term: "the risk society is a society of catastrophe. The state of emergency threatens to become a normal state there1”. Now, the "threat" has become clearer, and catastrophic "exceptions" are proliferating as quickly as species are disappearing and climate change is accelerating. The relationship that we have with this worrying reality, to say the least, is twofold: on the one hand, we know very well what is happening to us; on the other hand, we fail to draw the appropriate theoretical and political consequences. This ecological duplicity is at the heart of what has come to be called the “Anthropocene”, a term coined at the dawn of the 21st century by Eugene Stoermer (an environmentalist) and Paul Crutzen (a specialist in the chemistry of the atmosphere) in order to describe an age when humanity would have become a "major geological force" capable of disrupting the climate and changing the terrestrial landscape from top to bottom. If the term “Anthropocene” takes note of human responsibility for climate change, this responsibility is immediately attributed to overpowering: strong as we are, we have “involuntarily” changed the climate for at least two hundred and fifty years. Therefore, let us deliberately change the face of the Earth, if necessary, install a solar shield in space. Recognition and denial fuel the signifying machine of the Anthropocene. And it is precisely what structures eco-apocalyptic cinema that this article aims to study. By "eco-apocalyptic cinema", we first mean a cinematographic sub-genre: eco-apocalyptic and post-eco-apocalyptic films base the possibility (or reality) of the end of the world on environmental grounds and not, for example, on damage caused by the possible collision of planet Earth with a comet. Post-apocalyptic science fiction (sometimes abbreviated as "post-apo" or "post-nuke") is a sub-genre of science fiction that depicts life after a disaster that destroyed civilization: nuclear war, collision with a meteorite, epidemic, economic or energy crisis, pandemic, alien invasion. Conclusion Climate and politics have been linked together since Aristotle. With Montesquieu, Ibn Khaldûn or Watsuji, a certain climatic determinism is attributed to the character of a nation. The break with modernity made the climate an object of scientific knowledge which, in the twentieth century, made it possible to document, despite the controversies, the climatic changes linked to industrialization. Both endanger the survival of human beings and ecosystems. Climate ethics are therefore looking for a new relationship with the biosphere or Gaia. For some, with the absence of political agreements, it is the beginning of inevitable catastrophes. For others, the Anthropocene, which henceforth merges human history with natural history, opens onto technical action. The debate between climate determinism and human freedom is revived. The reference to the biblical Apocalypse was present in the thinking of thinkers like Günther Anders, Karl Jaspers or Hans Jonas: the era of the atomic bomb would mark an entry into the time of the end, a time marked by the unprecedented human possibility of 'total war and annihilation of mankind. The Apocalypse will be very relevant in describing the chaos to come if our societies continue their mad race described as extra-activist, productivist and consumerist. In dialogue with different theologians and philosophers (such as Jacques Ellul), it is possible to unveil some spiritual, ethical, and political resources that the Apocalypse offers for thinking about History and human engagement in the Anthropocene. What can a theology of collapse mean at a time when negative signs and dead ends in the human situation multiply? What then is the place of man and of the cosmos in the Apocalypse according to Saint John? Could the end of history be a collapse? How can we live in the time we have left before the disaster? Answers to such questions remain unknown and no scientist can predict the trajectory of this Great Acceleration taking place at the Late Anthropocene. When science cannot give answers, Man tries to infer his destiny for the legend, religion and the fiction. Climate Fiction is developed into a recording machine containing every kind of fictions that depict environmental condition events and has consequently lost its true significance. Aware of the prospect of ecological collapse additionally as our apparent inability to avert it, we tend to face geology changes of forceful proportions that severely challenge our ability to imagine the implications. Climate fiction ought to be considered an important supplement to climate science, as a result, climate fiction makes visible and conceivable future modes of existence inside worlds not solely deemed seemingly by science, however that area unit scientifically anticipated. Hence, this chapter, as part of the book itself, aims to contribute to studies of ecocriticism, the environmental humanities, and literary and culture studies. References David P.G. Bondand Stephen E. Grasby. "Late Ordovician mass extinction caused by volcanism, warming, and anoxia, not cooling and glaciation: REPLY." Geology 48, no. 8 (Geological Society of America2020): 510. Cyril Langlois.’Vestiges de l'apocalypse: ‘le site de Tanis, Dakota du Nord 2019’. Accessed June, 6, 2021, https://planet-terre.ens-lyon.fr/pdf/Tanis-extinction-K-Pg.pdf NajouaGharsalli,ElhoucineEssefi, Rana Baydoun, and ChokriYaich. ‘The Anthropocene and Great Acceleration as controversial epoch of human-induced activities: case study of the Halk El Menjel wetland, eastern Tunisia’. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 18(3) (Corvinus University of Budapest 2020): 4137-4166 Elhoucine Essefi, ‘On the Geochemistry and Mineralogy of the Anthropocene’. International Journal of Water and Wastewater Treatment, 6(2). 1-14, (Sci Forschen2020): doi.org/10.16966/2381-5299.168 Elhoucine Essefi. ‘Record of the Anthropocene-Great Acceleration along a core from the coast of Sfax, southeastern Tunisia’. Turkish journal of earth science, (TÜBİTAK,2021). 1-16. Chiara Xausa. ‘Climate Fiction and the Crisis of Imagination: Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria and The Swan Book’. Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal 8(2), (WARWICK 2021): 99-119. Akyol, Özlem. "Climate Change: An Apocalypse for Urban Space? An Ecocritical Reading of “Venice Drowned” and “The Tamarisk Hunter”." Folklor/Edebiyat 26, no. 101 (UluslararasıKıbrısÜniversitesi 2020): 115-126. Boswell, Suzanne F. "The Four Tourists of the Apocalypse: Figures of the Anthropocene in Caribbean Climate Fiction.". Paradoxa 31, (Academia 2020): 359-378. Ayt Ougougdal, Houssam, Mohamed YacoubiKhebiza, Mohammed Messouli, and Asia Lachir. "Assessment of future water demand and supply under IPCC climate change and socio-economic scenarios, using a combination of models in Ourika Watershed, High Atlas, Morocco." Water 12, no. 6 (MPDI 2020): 1751.DOI:10.3390/w12061751. Wu, Jia, Zhenyu Han, Ying Xu, Botao Zhou, and Xuejie Gao. "Changes in extreme climate events in China under 1.5 C–4 C global warming targets: Projections using an ensemble of regional climate model simulations." Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 125, no. 2 (Wiley2020): e2019JD031057.https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031057 Khan, Md Jamal Uddin, A. K. M. Islam, Sujit Kumar Bala, and G. M. Islam. "Changes in climateextremes over Bangladesh at 1.5° C, 2° C, and 4° C of global warmingwith high-resolutionregionalclimate modeling." Theoretical&AppliedClimatology 140 (EBSCO2020). Gudoshava, Masilin, Herbert O. Misiani, Zewdu T. Segele, Suman Jain, Jully O. Ouma, George Otieno, Richard Anyah et al. "Projected effects of 1.5 C and 2 C global warming levels on the intra-seasonal rainfall characteristics over the Greater Horn of Africa." Environmental Research Letters 15, no. 3 (IOPscience2020): 34-37. Wang, Lawrence K., Mu-Hao Sung Wang, Nai-Yi Wang, and Josephine O. Wong. "Effect of Global Warming and Climate Change on Glaciers and Salmons." In Integrated Natural Resources Management, ed.Lawrence K. Wang, Mu-Hao Sung Wang, Yung-Tse Hung, Nazih K. Shammas(Springer 2021), 1-36. Merschroth, Simon, Alessio Miatto, Steffi Weyand, Hiroki Tanikawa, and Liselotte Schebek. "Lost Material Stock in Buildings due to Sea Level Rise from Global Warming: The Case of Fiji Islands." Sustainability 12, no. 3 (MDPI 2020): 834.doi:10.3390/su12030834 Hofer, Stefan, Charlotte Lang, Charles Amory, Christoph Kittel, Alison Delhasse, Andrew Tedstone, and Xavier Fettweis. "Greater Greenland Ice Sheet contribution to global sea level rise in CMIP6." Nature communications 11, no. 1 (Nature Publishing Group 2020): 1-11.

Abstract Many birds nest in association with aggressive birds of other species to benefit from their protection against predators. We hypothesized that the protective effect also could extend to foraging resources, whereby the resultant resource-enriched habitats near a nest of aggressive raptors could be an alternative cause of associations between nesting bird species with non-overlapping foraging niches. In the Arctic, the Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) and the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) are 2 raptor species with non-overlapping food resources that have been reported to nest sometimes in close proximity. Since nesting Peregrine Falcons are very aggressive, they may protect the small rodent prey near their nests from predation, and Rough-legged Hawks could use these hot spots as a nesting territory. In 2 regions in low Arctic Russia we found that (1) the nesting territories of Peregrine Falcons were indeed enriched with small rodents as compared to control areas, (2) the probability of nest association between the 2 raptors increased when rodent abundance was generally low in the region where hawks did not use alternative prey, and (3) hawk reproductive success increased when nesting close to Peregrine Falcons. These results suggest that implications of aggressive nest site defense in birds in certain cases may involve more mechanisms than previously explored. A key ecological process in tundra, rodent population cycles, may explain the occurrence and adaptive significance of a specific behavior pattern, the nesting association between 2 raptor species.

Organisms use circadian rhythms to anticipate and exploit daily environmental oscillations. While circadian rhythms are of clear importance for inhabitants of tropic and temperate latitudes, its role for permanent residents of the polar regions is less well understood. The high Arctic Svalbard ptarmigan shows behavioral rhythmicity in presence of light-dark cycles but is arrhythmic during the polar day and polar night. This has been suggested to be an adaptation to the unique light environment of the Arctic. In this study, we examined regulatory aspects of the circadian control system in the Svalbard ptarmigan by recording core body temperature (Tb) alongside locomotor activity in captive birds under different photoperiods. We show that Tb and activity are rhythmic with a 24-h period under short (SP; L:D 6:18) and long photoperiod (LP; L:D 16:8). Under constant light and constant darkness, rhythmicity in Tb attenuates and activity shows signs of ultradian rhythmicity. Birds under SP also showed a rise in Tb preceding the light-on signal and any rise in activity, which proves that the light-on signal can be anticipated, most likely by a circadian system.

Abstract Background Age at maturity and the timing of first breeding are important life history traits. Most small shorebird species mature and breed as ‘yearlings’, but have lower reproductive success than adults. In some species, yearlings may defer northward migration and remain in non-breeding regions (‘oversummering’) until they reach 2 years of age. Some adults also oversummer. Oversummering would be favoured by natural selection if survival were as a result raised sufficiently to compensate for the missed breeding opportunity. Several thousand Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) spend the non-breeding period at Paracas, Perú, including individuals with long bills (likely from eastern Arctic breeding populations ~ 8000 km distant) and short bills (likely from western Arctic breeding populations, up to 11,000 km distant), with short-billed birds more likely to oversummer. We tested the prediction that oversummering birds have higher survival than migrants, and that the magnitude of this higher survival for oversummering birds is enough to compensate for their lost breeding season. Methods We used a Multi-State Mark-Recapture model based on 5 years of encounter data (n = 1963 marked birds, and 3229 resightings) obtained year-round at Paracas, Perú, to estimate seasonal (i.e. breeding and non-breeding) survivorship for migrant and oversummering birds. We calculated the magnitude of the oversummering survival advantage required to compensate, for both yearlings and adults, based on published measures of annual survival and reproductive success. Using bill length as a proxy for migration distance, we investigated whether migratory survival is distance-dependent. Results We estimate that 28% of yearlings and 19% of adults oversummer. Survival is higher for oversummering birds than for migrants, and the oversummering survival advantage is greater for adults (0.215) than for yearlings (0.140). The theoretical thresholds predicted by the size of the missed reproductive opportunity are 0.240 for adults and 0.134 for yearlings. Migratory survival decreases and the oversummering rate increases with migration distance, as assessed by culmen length. Conclusions Our results support the life history hypothesis that oversummering raises survival enough to compensate for the loss of a breeding opportunity. Greater migration distance lowers survival and increases the probability of oversummering.

ABSTRACT Sleep loss impairs cognitive function, immunological responses and general well-being in humans. However, sleep requirements in mammals and birds vary dramatically. In circumpolar regions with continuous summer light, daily sleep duration is reduced, particularly in breeding birds. The effect of an anti-narcolepsy drug (modafinil) to putatively extend wakefulness was examined in two species of closely related arctic-breeding passerine birds: Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) and snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis). Free-living adult males were implanted during the nestling phase on day 4 (D4; 4 days post-hatching) with osmotic pumps containing either vehicle or modafinil to extend the active period for 72 h. Nestlings were weighed on D2 and D7 to measure growth rates. Additionally, focal observations were conducted on D6. Male longspurs receiving modafinil made fewer feeding visits and spent less time at the nest but tended to spend more time near the nest than controls. We observed no change in longspur nestling growth rates, but fledging occurred significantly later when males received modafinil, suggesting a fitness cost. In contrast, modafinil had no measurable impact on male or female snow bunting behavior, nestling growth rates or time to fledging. We suggest male longspurs compromise and maintain vigilance at their nests in lieu of sleeping because of the increased predation risk that is characteristic of their tundra nesting habitat. Snow buntings are cavity nesters, and their nests do not require the same vigilance, allowing males to presumably rest following provisioning. These life-history differences between species highlight the role of predation risk in mediating behavioral modifications to prolonged wakefulness in arctic-breeding songbirds.

A rigorous synthesis of the sea-ice ecosystem and linked ecosystem services highlights that the sea-ice ecosystem supports all 4 ecosystem service categories, that sea-ice ecosystems meet the criteria for ecologically or biologically significant marine areas, that global emissions driving climate change are directly linked to the demise of sea-ice ecosystems and its ecosystem services, and that the sea-ice ecosystem deserves specific attention in the evaluation of marine protected area planning. The synthesis outlines (1) supporting services, provided in form of habitat, including feeding grounds and nurseries for microbes, meiofauna, fish, birds and mammals (particularly the key species Arctic cod, Boreogadus saida, and Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, which are tightly linked to the sea-ice ecosystem and transfer carbon from sea-ice primary producers to higher trophic level fish, mammal species and humans); (2) provisioning services through harvesting and medicinal and genetic resources; (3) cultural services through Indigenous and local knowledge systems, cultural identity and spirituality, and via cultural activities, tourism and research; (4) (climate) regulating services through light regulation, the production of biogenic aerosols, halogen oxidation and the release or uptake of greenhouse gases, for example, carbon dioxide. The ongoing changes in the polar regions have strong impacts on sea-ice ecosystems and associated ecosystem services. While the response of sea-ice–associated primary production to environmental change is regionally variable, the effect on ice-associated mammals and birds is predominantly negative, subsequently impacting human harvesting and cultural services in both polar regions. Conservation can help protect some species and functions. However, the key mitigation measure that can slow the transition to a strictly seasonal ice cover in the Arctic Ocean, reduce the overall loss of sea-ice habitats from the ocean, and thus preserve the unique ecosystem services provided by sea ice and their contributions to human well-being is a reduction in carbon emissions.

The impacts of environmental change on Arctic terrestrial ecosystems are complex and difficult to predict because of the many interactions which exist within ecosystems and between several concurrently changing environmental variables. However, some general predictions can be made. (i) In the sub-Arctic, subtle shifts in plant community composition with occasional losses of plant species are more likely than immigration of exotic species. In the high Arctic, colonization of bare ground can proceed and there are likely to be shifts in ecotypes. Major shifts in vegetation zones, such as the advance of the boreal forest, are likely to be slow and species specific responses will result in different assemblages of species in plant communities in the longer term. All changes in community structure, apart from species removal by direct extreme weather conditions (e.g. drought) will be slow because of the slow growth, low levels of fecundity and slow migration rates of plant species over large latitudinal ranges. (ii) Mobile mammals and birds can probably adjust to changes in the distribution of their food plants or prey in the Arctic, but vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores may face problems with changes in the quality of their food plants. Non-migratory animals could be severely affected by altered winter snow conditions which affect availability of food and shelter. (iii) Increases in primary production are uncertain and depend mainly upon the responses of soil microbial decomposer activity to changes in soil temperature, moisture and plant litter quality. Assumptions that climate warming will lead to warmer soils and increased nutrient availability to sustain higher productivity are uncertain as greater biomass may lead to reduced soil temperatures through insulation effects and increased nutrients released may be immobilized by soil microorganisms. (iv) Changes in environmental conditions are themselves often uncertain. There is particular doubt about changes in precipitation, growing season length, cloudiness and UV-B radiation levels while such environmental changes are likely to vary in magnitude and direction between different regions of the Arctic. (v) The large populations and circumpolar distributions typical of Arctic biota lead to a strong buffering of changes in biodiversity. Perhaps the greatest threats to Arctic biota will be imposed by the degradation of permafrost which may lead to either waterlogging or drought depending upon precipitation regimes.

Abstract The phenology of migrating birds is shifting with climate change. For instance, short-distance migrants wintering in temperate regions tend to delay their migration in fall during spells of warmer temperature. However, some species do not show strong shifts, and the factors determining which species will react to temperature changes by delaying their migration are poorly known. In addition, it is not known whether a slower migration or a postponed departure creates the observed delays in fall migration because most studies occur far south of the boreal breeding areas making it difficult to separate those 2 mechanisms. We used 22 yr of data at a northern observatory in eastern North America, at the southern edge of the boreal forest, to examine how 21 short-distance migrants responded to changing temperatures. We investigated if those species responding to temperature share life-history features (i.e. diet, size, total migration distance, breeding habitat, timing of migration). The period of migration in each species was, by far, the most important factor predicting the response of a species to temperature. Eight of the 13 species migrating in October changed their migration onset with temperature (usually by delaying migration by 1–2 days/°C), while the migration timing of none of the 8 species migrating in September was dependent on temperature. Furthermore, the absence of a greater migration delay by birds breeding farther from the study site (i.e. Arctic-breeding birds) suggests the mechanism is a postponed departure rather than a slower migration. We conclude that temperature variations in late fall influence the conditions on the breeding grounds, so that birds still present at that time benefit more from postponing their departure in warm weather.

Abstract Background The extent to which pairs remain together during the annual cycle is a key question in the behavioural ecology of migratory birds. While a few species migrate and winter as family units, for most the extent to which breeding partners associate in the non-breeding season is unknown. The Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) has one of the longest migrations of any species, and the aim of this study was to establish whether or not partners remain together after breeding. Methods Leg-mounted geolocators were fitted to breeding pairs of Arctic Terns nesting on the Farne Islands, Northumberland, UK. The devices were recovered for analysis the following year. Results Analysis of data for the six pairs which returned the following year showed that partners departed from the colony at different times after breeding and migrated independently to different Antarctic regions. Partners also departed from the Antarctic and turned to the breeding colony independently. One third of the pairs divorced on return. Conclusions For long-distance migrants reliant on unpredictable foraging opportunities, it may not be viable to remain as pairs away from the breeding colony. Synchrony in arrival times at the breeding colony may maximise the chance of retaining a familiar partner, but could be affected by environmental factors in wintering areas or along migration routes.

It is known that wild animals and birds can be reservoirs and carriers of many infectious diseases of animals and humans. A cadastre of disadvantaged anthrax settlements was developed based on the study of epizootology, which will help optimize epizootological and epidemiological measures for the prevention of anthrax in animals (wild and domestic) and the population. We first identified yersinia (Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis) from the material for shooting moose and roe deer living in the Central zone of Yakutia. Antibodies to the serogroups Leptospira Pomona, Grippotyphosa, and Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroups were detected in forest bisons exported from Canada to Yakutia for acclimatization. We developed a method for sampling frozen urine with snow at low temperatures (minus 10-50 ?С) to diagnose leptospirosis of wild animals and dogs, in places of natural habitat of wild mammals (without seizure and capture). The bactericidal effect of the probiotic strains of bacteria Bacillus subtilis TNP-3 and TNP-5 on the causative agent of leptospirosis of various serological groups has been established. The methods are protected by the Russian Federation patents for the invention. There was marked disease and mortality of roe deer from salmonellosis caused by Sal. abortus equi. There has been established the circulation of viruses of infectious rhinotracheitis, diarrhea in the deer population of the Arctic regions, the causative agents of which may be migratory birds and animals of the disadvantaged settlements. In the period of intensive exploration of Actica, climate warming and changes in the fauna, the migration routes of wild animals and birds, growing threat of zoonoses it is necessary to conduct large-scale monitoring of infections, especially viral diseases.

Abstract Conservation status and management priorities are often informed by population trends. Trend estimates can be derived from population surveys or models, but both methods are associated with sources of uncertainty. Many Arctic-breeding shorebirds are thought to be declining based on migration and/or overwintering population surveys, but data are lacking to estimate the trends of some shorebird species. In addition, for most species, little is known about the stage(s) at which population bottlenecks occur, such as breeding vs. nonbreeding periods. We used previously published and unpublished estimates of vital rates to develop the first large-scale population models for 6 species of Arctic-breeding shorebirds in North America, including separate estimates for 3 subspecies of Dunlin. We used the models to estimate population trends and identify life stages at which population growth may be limited. Our model for the arcticola subspecies of Dunlin agreed with previously published information that the subspecies is severely declining. Our results also linked the decline to the subspecies’ low annual adult survival rate, thus potentially implicating factors during the nonbreeding period in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. However, our trend estimates for all species showed high uncertainty, highlighting the need for more accurate and precise estimates of vital rates. Of the vital rates, annual adult survival had the strongest influence on population trend in all taxa. Improving the accuracy, precision, and spatial and temporal coverage of estimates of vital rates, especially annual adult survival, would improve demographic model-based estimates of population trends and help direct management to regions or seasons where birds are subject to higher mortality.

Natural habitats are increasingly affected by anthropogenically driven environmental changes resulting from habitat destruction, chemical and light pollution, and climate change. Organisms inhabiting such habitats are faced with novel disturbances that can alter their modes of signaling. Coloration is one such sensory modality whose production, perception and function is being affected by human-induced disturbances. Animals that acquire pigment derivatives through diet are adversely impacted by the introduction of chemical pollutants into their environments as well as by general loss of natural habitat due to urbanization or logging leading to declines in pigment sources. Those species that do manage to produce color-based signals and displays may face disruptions to their signaling medium in the form of light pollution and turbidity. Furthermore, forest fragmentation and the resulting breaks in canopy cover can expose animals to predation due to the influx of light into previously dark environments. Global climate warming has been decreasing snow cover in arctic regions, causing birds and mammals that undergo seasonal molts to appear conspicuous against a snowless background. Ectotherms that rely on color for thermoregulation are under pressure to change their appearances. Rapid changes in habitat type through severe fire events or coral bleaching also challenge animals to match their backgrounds. Through this review, we aim to describe the wide-ranging impacts of anthropogenic environmental changes on visual ecology and suggest directions for the use of coloration both as an indicator of ecological change and as a tool for conservation.

The West Siberian/North European population of Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), which breeds in the Russian Arctic and northern Fennoscandia and winters in the Baltic Sea, has declined rapidly since the 1990s. To identify the causes of the decline and initiate effective conservation measures information on basic demographic parameters is needed. A photo survey method was used to estimate female age ratios and the proportion of males among adults in wintering Long-tailed Ducks at coastal and off-shore areas in the Baltic Sea. Female age ratios were defined as the number of first winter males, assumed equal to the number of first winter females, per adult female. Several thousand individuals were sampled each winter from 2008 to 2021. Female age ratios fluctuated between years and were consistently lower in the southern than in the central Baltic Sea. The proportion of males among wintering adults birds was male-biased, more so in the southern Baltic Sea than in other regions. A population model was used to analyse if low female age ratios between 2008 and 2021 has constrained population growth. Given that the estimated weighted mean female age ratio of 0.153 was representative at the population scale, an extremely high adult female mean annual survival rate of 0.872 would have been needed to maintain a stable population. Considering known sources of anthropogenic mortality in the Baltic Sea, and instead assuming a more realistic survival rate of ca. 0.80, a population decline of ca. 7.7% per year should have occurred during the study period.

Abstract There is growing evidence that microplastic pollution (<5 mm in size) is now present in virtually all marine ecosystems, even in remote areas, such as the Arctic and the Antarctic. Microplastics have been found in water and sediments of the Antarctic but little is known of their ingestion by higher predators and mechanisms of their entry into Antarctic marine food webs. The goal of this study was to assess the occurrence of microplastics in a top predator, the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua from the Antarctic region (Bird Island, South Georgia and Signy Island, South Orkney Islands) and hence assess the potential for microplastic transfer through Antarctic marine food webs. To achieve this, the presence of microplastics in scats (as a proof of ingestion) was investigated to assess the viability of a non-invasive approach for microplastic analyses in Antarctic penguins. A total of 80 penguin scats were collected and any microplastics they contained were extracted. A total of 20% of penguin scats from both islands contained microplastics, consisting mainly of fibers and fragments with different sizes and polymer composition (mean abundance of microplastics: 0.23 ± 0.53 items individual−1 scat, comprising seven different polymers), which were lower values than those found for seabirds in other regions worldwide. No significant differences in microplastic numbers in penguin scats between the two regions were detected. These data highlight the need for further assessment of the levels of microplastics in this sensitive region of the planet, specifically studies on temporal trends and potential effects on penguins and other organisms in the Antarctic marine food web.

Abstract Background Homeothermic marine animals in Polar Regions face an energetic bottleneck in winter. The challenges of short days and cold temperatures are exacerbated for flying seabirds with small body size and limited fat stores. We use biologging approaches to examine how habitat, weather, and moon illumination influence behaviour and energetics of a marine bird species, thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia). Methods We used temperature-depth-light recorders to examine strategies murres use to survive winter in the Northwest Atlantic, where contrasting currents create two distinct marine habitats: cold (−0.1 ± 1.2 °C), shallower water along the Labrador Shelf and warmer (3.1 ± 0.3 °C), deep water in the Labrador Basin. Results In the cold shelf water, murres used a high-energy strategy, with more flying and less diving each day, resulting in high daily energy expenditure and also high apparent energy intake; this strategy was most evident in early winter when day lengths were shortest. By contrast, murres in warmer basin water employed a low-energy strategy, with less time flying and more time diving under low light conditions (nautical twilight and night). In warmer basin water, murres increased diving at night when the moon was more illuminated, likely taking advantage of diel vertically migrating prey. In warmer basin water, murres dove more at night and foraging efficiency increased under negative North Atlantic Oscillation (calmer ocean conditions). Conclusions The proximity of two distinct marine habitats in this region allows individuals from a single species to use dual (low-energy/high-energy) strategies to overcome winter energy bottlenecks.

ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to characterize the spatial distribution and temporal patterns of laboratory confirmed H5N1 outbreaks from January 2007 to December 2017 in Ghana.IntroductionHighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5N1 virus causes a highly contagious disease in poultry with up to 100% mortality and occasionally causes sporadic human infection. The first outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in Africa was reported in Nigeria in 2006 and has since been reported in seven other African countries with confirmed human cases and outbreaks in poultry. Since the emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), virus subtype H5N1 in Ghana in 2007, outbreaks in poultry have led to dire economic consequences for the poultry sector, resulting from mass destruction of affected flocks. An economy heavily dependent on agriculture, the persistence of outbreaks threaten the livelihood of farmers who depend on poultry production for survival.Despite significant efforts made in HPAI-H5N1 control and prevention in Ghana, outbreaks persist and continue to spread to new areas. It is uncertain to what extent different pathways contribute to the introduction and the dissemination of the virus in Ghana. There is a need to understand the complex nature of the interactions between local and migratory fowl, the risk of transmission due to human endeavor and trade mechanisms that increase the likelihood of HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks in Ghana.MethodsData for the study was sourced from national outbreak records at the Veterinary Services Directorate.The study analyzed outbreak data for the years 2007-2017. Data retrieved from outbreak reports included the date of onset of outbreak, location and geographic coordinates, type and number of poultry species affected, natural deaths of birds and type of farming system on outbreak farms. We calculated frequency distributions for the types of poultry species affected, the type of farming system and mortality rates on affected premises.We described the distribution of HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks using coordinate maps in ArcGIS and displayed relevant sites of waterfowl and wild bird habitation. To describe the temporal pattern of HPAI-H5N1 outbreaks in Ghana for the period, we created an epidemic curve by plotting the monthly number of outbreaks for the period January 2007 to December 2017 in Excel. We used space-time scan statistics to determine significant local clusters.ResultsA total of sixty-six (66) outbreaks of HPAI-H5N1 occurred in Ghana from January 2007 to December 2017. The outbreak sites were distributed in seven (7) out of ten (10) regions in Ghana. The affected regions are located in the southern and middle belt of Ghana. Most of the outbreaks (74.2%) occurred in densely populated areas of the Greater Accra region. Overall, layer flocks were mostly affected with 56% of affected premises constituting layer farms. Commercial farms and backyard farms made up the majority of affected farms (50% and 42.4%). Free ranging birds were the least affected farm type (7.6%). Two epidemic waves were identified for H5N1 in Ghana; the first wave with 6 outbreaks, lasted a period of four (4) months from April to July 2007, and the second with 60 outbreaks, spanned a period of 2 years from April 2015 to November 2016. Temporal distribution of the outbreaks showed that the outbreak peaked in May 2007 for the first wave and in July 2017 for the second wave with minor peaks observed in April and July 2016. The decrease in the number of the outbreaks after July in both waves is attributed to the onset of slaughter and trade restrictions for poultry in affected areas. Space-time scan statistics identified significant primary clusters of H5N1 outbreaks in the coastal belt of the Greater Accra region, characterized by major commercial activities and the presence of wetlands of relevance to wild birds and migratory waterfowl.ConclusionsTwo (2) major waves of H5N1 outbreaks occurred in Ghana between 2007 and 2017. The distribution of outbreaks and poultry species in both waves, show that the epidemiology of H5N1 virus in Ghana is changing. The findings highlight the importance of reviewing existing control and preventive measures as well as strengthening avian influenza surveillance in proposed high- risk areas.ReferencesForeign Animal Diseases. Revised 2008 Seventh Edition. Committee on foreign and emerging diseases of the United States Animal Health Association.Avian Influenza, OIE terrestrial manual 2015To K.K.W.et al. Avian influenza A H5N1 virus: a continuous threat to humans. Emerging Microbes Infections (2012) 1, e25.Watanabe Y. et al. The changing nature of avian influenza A virus (H5N1). Trends Microbiol. 2012 Jan; 20 (1):11-20. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2011.10.003. Epub 2011 Dec 5