A drowned Mesozoic bird breeding colony from the Late Cretaceous of Transylvania

Despite a rapidly improving fossil record, the reproductive biology of Mesozoic birds remains poorly known: only a handful of undisputed, isolated Cretaceous eggs (some containing embryonic remains) are known. We report here the first fossil evidence for a breeding colony of Mesozoic birds, preserved at the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Oarda de Jos (Od) site in the Sebe? area of Transylvania, Romania. A lens of calcareous mudstone with minimum dimensions of 80?cm length, 50?cm width and 20?cm depth contains thousands of tightly packed, morphologically homogenous eggshell fragments, seven near-complete eggs and neonatal and adult avialan skeletal elements. Eggshell forms 70–80?% of the matrix, and other fossils are entirely absent. The bones exhibit clear characters of the Cretaceous avialan clade Enantiornithes, and the eggshell morphology is also consistent with this identification. Both taphonomy and lithology show that the components of this lens were deposited in a single flood event, and we conclude that it represents the drowned remains of a larger enantiornithine breeding colony, swamped by rising water, washed a short distance and deposited in a shallow, low-energy pond. The same fate often befalls modern bird colonies. Such a large concentration of breeding birds suggests aquatic feeding in this species, augments our understanding of enantiornithine biology and shows that colonial nesting was not unique to crown birds.     

Possible postcranial pneumaticity in the last common ancestor of birds and crocodilians: evidence from Erythrosuchus and other Mesozoic archosaurs

Birds and crocodilians (extant archosaurs) have differing, distinctive morphologies. Birds have respiratory airsacs with diverticula that pneumatize the postcranial skeleton, a feature absent in crocodilians. Bony correlates of pneumatic sinuses are known in the vertebrae of some non-avian dinosaurs and in pterosaurs - taxa more closely related to birds than crocodilians. This and the apparent absence of pneumatic postcranial bones in fossil archosaurs more closely related to crocodilians than to birds, has been interpreted as evidence that postcranial pneumaticity is a derived character of birds and their nearest fossil relatives. The presence of apparent osteological correlates of postcranial pneumaticity is here reported in some non-crown-group archosaurs, and some of the fossil taxa more closely related to crocodilians than to birds. This suggests that the last common ancestor of birds and crocodilians might have had a pneumatized postcranium, and that the absence of this feature in crocodilians might be derived.     

异彩纷呈的巨嘴鸟

<正>巨嘴鸟类最显著的特征便是它们巨大而绚丽的喙。其中喙最大的当属雄巨嘴鸟,体长79厘米,喙长就占了将近23厘米。巨嘴鸟频繁见于人类的各种作品中,俨然成了美洲热带森林的传统象征。在鸟类极丰富的热带雨林,或许只有蜂鸟比它们更能吸引艺术家们的目光了。一巨嘴鸟,对于亚马逊河是有感情的,正是亚马逊河和热带森林造就了它们的奇异身姿。亚马逊河和热     

A Phororhacoid bird from the Eocene of Africa

The bird fossil record is globally scarce in Africa. The early Tertiary evolution of terrestrial birds is virtually unknown in that continent. Here, we report on a femur of a large terrestrial new genus discovered from the early or early middle Eocene (between ～52 and 46?Ma) of south-western Algeria. This femur shows all the morphological features of the Phororhacoidea, the so-called Terror Birds. Most of the phororhacoids were indeed large, or even gigantic, flightless predators or scavengers with no close modern analogs. It is likely that this extinct group originated in South America, where they are known from the late Paleocene to the late Pleistocene (～59 to 0.01?Ma). The presence of a phororhacoid bird in Africa cannot be explained by a vicariant mechanism because these birds first appeared in South America well after the onset of the mid-Cretaceous Gondwana break up (～100?million years old). Here, we propose two hypotheses to account for this occurrence, either an early dispersal of small members of this group, which were still able of a limited flight, or a transoceanic migration of flightless birds from South America to Africa during the Paleocene or earliest Eocene. Paleogeographic reconstructions of the South Atlantic Ocean suggest the existence of several islands of considerable size between South America and Africa during the early Tertiary, which could have helped a transatlantic dispersal of phororhacoids.     

Winter bird use of seed-rich habitats in agri-environment schemes

To assess the effectiveness of over-winter seed provision by agri-environment schemes, bird use of patches of seed-bearing crops was compared with that of other seed-rich habitats on 53 farms in eastern Scotland over three winters. Seed-bearing crops were the most frequently selected habitat, and held 28% of birds of the 10 species recorded. Outside schemes, cereal stubble was the most selected habitat and held 44% of birds. For nine species, seed-bearing crops were used by more birds than expected from the area of crop available in at least one winter, and five species were more likely to occur in first-winter patches, reflecting a greater abundance of cereal grain than in second-winter patches. For cereal grain specialists such as buntings, sowing cereal-based crops annually would ensure that grain is available in each winter, whilst either a 1-year or a 2-year crop would be appropriate for finches that favour oilseeds, and species with a more generalist diet.     

Oxygen isotope fractionation between bird bone phosphate and drinking water

Oxygen isotope compositions of bone phosphate (δ¹⁸O_p) were measured in broiler chickens reared in 21 farms worldwide characterized by contrasted latitudes and local climates. These sedentary birds were raised during an approximately 3 to 4-month period, and local precipitation was the ultimate source of their drinking water. This sampling strategy allowed the relationship to be determined between the bone phosphate δ¹⁸O_p values (from 9.8 to 22.5‰ V-SMOW) and the local rainfall δ¹⁸O_w values estimated from nearby IAEA/WMO stations (from ?16.0 to ?1.0‰ V-SMOW). Linear least square fitting of data provided the following isotopic fractionation equation: δ¹⁸O_w = 1.119 (±0.040) δ¹⁸O_p ? 24.222 (±0.644); R ² = 0.98. The δ¹⁸O_p–δ¹⁸O_w couples of five extant mallard ducks, a common buzzard, a European herring gull, a common ostrich, and a greater rhea fall within the predicted range of the equation, indicating that the relationship established for extant chickens can also be applied to birds of various ecologies and body masses. Applied to published oxygen isotope compositions of Miocene and Pliocene penguins from Peru, this new equation computes estimates of local seawater similar to those previously calculated. Applied to the basal bird Confuciusornis from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern China, our equation gives a slightly higher δ¹⁸O_w value compared to the previously estimated one, possibly as a result of lower body temperature. These data indicate that caution should be exercised when the relationship estimated for modern birds is applied to their basal counterparts that likely had a metabolism intermediate between that of their theropod dinosaur ancestors and that of advanced ornithurines.     

古鄱阳湖中生代盆地充填序列和演化特征

古鄱阳湖中生代盆地的研究表明，该盆地并不是简单的白垩纪盆地，而是历经多次构造旋回的复杂盆地。盆地多次成生、萎缩、上升，均是燕山运动的结果。     

大别山北缘中生代火山侵入杂岩地球化学特征

大别山北缘中生代火山侵入杂岩是一套以中性、中酸性岩为主的岩石.富碱(特别是富钾),低Ti,LREE、LIL相对富集,而HREE、HFS则相对亏损是它们的基本特征.以高钾钙碱性系列、橄榄安粗岩系列为主体,及少量碱性系列.这套火山侵入杂岩的发育明显受磨子潭-晓天断裂等深大断裂所控制,是大别造山带发展演化的一个组成部分.从Ⅰ旋回到Ⅱ旋回,岩石化学成分K2O、SiO2、REE、Rb等不断增高,Ba、Sr、CaO、MgO等不断降低,岩浆成分具有向着富碱、富硅的方向演化趋势.     

Effects of organic and soil conservation management on specialist bird species

Bird abundance was assessed on a total of 58 farms across the Seine-et-Marne department, France (12 organic, 19 conservation-tillage and 27 conventional farms). Local abundance variations among the three farming systems were related to two species traits, i.e. habitat specialisation and diet, considering both farmland and non-farmland species. It was found that organic farming favoured specialist birds, either considering the whole community or non-farmland birds only. On the opposite, specialist farmland species were found to be less abundant in conservation-tillage farms than in conventional ones. Invertebrate-feeders were found to benefit from conservation-tillage practices compared to omnivorous species but not compared to granivorous ones; an interaction between species diet and the species specialisation level was also found. Granivorous species tended to increase with the conservation-tillage duration and in particular specialist birds.     

Earliest zygodactyl bird feet: evidence from Early Cretaceous roadrunner-like tracks

Fossil footprints are important in understanding Cretaceous avian diversity because they constitute evidence of paleodiversity and paleoecology that is not always apparent from skeletal remains. Early Cretaceous bird tracks have demonstrated the existence of wading birds in East Asia, but some pedal morphotypes, such as zygodactyly, common in modern and earlier Cenozoic birds (Neornithes) were unknown in the Cretaceous. We, herein, discuss the implications of a recently reported, Early Cretaceous (120–110 million years old) trackway of a large, zygodactyl bird from China that predates skeletal evidence of this foot morphology by at least 50 million years and includes the only known fossil zygodactyl footprints. The tracks demonstrate the existence of a Cretaceous bird not currently represented in the body fossil record that occupied a roadrunner (Geococcyx)-like niche, indicating a previously unknown degree of Cretaceous avian morphological and behavioral diversity that presaged later Cenozoic patterns. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Effects of bird predation on some pest insect populations in corn

Intensive agriculture has led to a decrease in biodiversity in many areas of the world. Poisoning birds directly or eliminating habitats suitable for birds within an agricultural landscape, may remove potential control agents of insect pests. The main objective of this project was to investigate the effects of excluding avian species from portions of cornfields through the use of bird-proof netting. Although pest levels were low and exclusion nets failed to affect corn yield, some differences were seen in insect pest population levels, supporting the view that insectivorous birds play a beneficial role in corn fields. Cutworms (Agrotis spp.) and weevils (Sphenophorus spp.) were found at higher density in plots where birds were excluded, especially those situated near the field edge. Data on aphids (Rhopalosiphum maidis) and European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) were more variable but tended in the same direction. Only the adult Northern corn rootworm (Diabrotica longicornis) population was clearly not reduced by birds but infestation levels were extremely low.     

河北沽源-多伦地区中生代含铀火山岩地球化学

沽源和多伦地区是燕辽多金属成矿带的重要组成部分,中生界主要发育上侏罗统白旗组、张家口组,下白垩统大北沟组和花吉营组。张家口组火山岩分布广、厚度大,是铀(钼)矿床的主要含矿主岩。中生代火山岩属于钙碱性系列,化学成分富硅、偏碱,δ值1.17~7.60。稀土元素特征反映火山岩有壳幔混合和壳源改造两种成因。火山岩形成于弱造山环境,其年龄与库拉—太平洋板块向亚洲板块俯冲的时间吻合。张家口组酸性火山岩具有我国相山产铀火山杂岩富硅、富钾,铕极亏损的地球化学特征。     

安徽石台中生代花岗岩类地球化学特征

安徽石台地区出露的牯牛降(东库)、谭山岩体可划分为4个侵入期次,从早到晚岩性变化趋势为中粒似斑状(二长)花岗岩→中(中粗)粒正长花岗岩→中细粒似斑状(正长)花岗岩→细(微)粒似斑状钾长花岗岩。岩石化学特征显示均为高钾钙碱性系列;微量元素地球化学特征表明,牯牛降(东库)、谭山岩体微量元素总体具相似特征,都富集大部分亲石元素,K/Rb比值低而Rb/Sr比值高;微量元素原始地幔标准化蛛网图总体略显右倾,均具有高Rb低Ba、Sr、Ti的特征。牯牛降(东库)和谭山岩体稀土元素球粒陨石标准化配分模式图均为右倾海鸥型,均具有较强的Eu亏损。研究认为牯牛降(东库)岩体和谭山岩体成岩物质主要来源于上地壳的部分熔融,成岩的地球动力学背景为碰撞造山后挤压收缩向拉张伸展的转变,与中国东部此时发生构造大转折、岩浆活动和成矿作用大爆发基本一致。     

东南沿海中生代安山岩的地质意义

在中国东部大陆边缘中生代火山岩带中 ,东南沿海火山岩岩性岩相出露最全 ,火山地质调查研究程度较高。以往的研究主要集中于大面积酸性火山岩和与之共生的玄武岩 ,而对安山岩注意不够。作为过渡性岩类 ,安山岩的成因研究对于探讨中生代火山岩带物质来源、岩浆分异演化、大地构造背景等具有不可替代的作用。近年来在东南沿海新生代玄武岩中陆续发现了一些基性麻粒岩包体 ,为研究底侵作用与壳幔作用过程提供了珍贵的实物材料。结合基性麻粒岩包体的研究 ,进行系统的安山岩成因研究 ,对于研究中生代火山岩带成因、进而探讨东部大陆边缘形成演化动力学过程 ,具有重要意义     

Patterns of bird abundance along the agricultural gradient of the Pampean region

Bird and land-use surveys were conducted along the agricultural gradient covering from pure croplands through mixed-farming to pure pastoral-farming scenario in the Pampean region of Argentina. Simple regression analyses were performed to analyse the responses of bird abundance to the percentage of land devoted to crop-production. The specific variables associated to bird abundance within both the crop and pastoral-farming landscapes were identified by running redundancy analyses (RDA). The abundance of 20 out of 43 species (47%) was significantly related to the percentage of cropland, finding negative (65%), positive (25%) unimodal (5%) and bimodal (5%) responses of birds to increasing intensity of crop production. The results showed three types of negative and two types of positive responses of bird abundance to the agricultural gradient. RDA revealed the importance of crop-field types in the crop-production scenario and of cattle presence and grass height in the pastoral-farming scenario for the structuring of the grassland bird community. As most species were negatively affected by crop production, the current land-use homogenisation towards high-intensity croplands will most likely result in population decline of many birds in the region.