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Ian Smalley - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Loess and Bee-Eaters II: The ‘loess’ of North Africa and the nesting behaviour of the Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus Gmelin 1788)
Quaternary International, 2014Co-Authors: Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Ken O’hara-dhand, Petr Heneberg, Ian SmalleyAbstract:Abstract The Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus) lives and breeds in a well demarcated region stretching across Africa close to the 15°N line of latitude. The Bee-Eater zone appears to be associated with a band of loess, defined by Scheidig on his 1934 map as second-order loess. Bee-Eaters are known to favour loess for nesting tunnels and it appears that the 15°N material is sufficiently loess-like. Obvious sources for particulate materials for the 15°N band are the Fonta-Djalon highlands which supply sedimentary material to the River Niger; the Bodele Depression, the deepest part of Lake Megachad, source of dust for the World; the Ethiopian highlands at the eastern end of 15°N which supply silt to the Nile system and particulates to the 15°N region. In soil moisture terms the region is ustic, which is possibly a necessary condition for Bee-Eater nests. The clastic material requires an ustic environment. The River Niger can be seen as a loess river; in some senses a mirror-image of a major loess river like the Danube; but where a restricted range of particle inputs leads to a restricted range of loess deposit outputs. Nevertheless loess river considerations can be applied. The Niger delivers second-order loess and an important loessic admixture to the landscape. Enough loess for selective nesters like the Carmine Bee-Eaters to build their nest tunnels in it. It seems likely that climate change will cause a change in Bee-Eater distribution; it seems unlikely that they will abandon their nesting regions, the living and wintering zones may shift.
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Loess and Bee-Eaters II: The ‘loess’ of North Africa and the nesting behaviour of the Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus Gmelin 1788)
Quaternary International, 2014Co-Authors: Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Petr Heneberg, Ken O'hara-dhand, Ian SmalleyAbstract:The Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus) lives and breeds in a well demarcated region stretching across Africa close to the 15°N line of latitude. The Bee-Eater zone appears to be associated with a band of loess, defined by Scheidig on his 1934 map as second-order loess. Bee-Eaters are known to favour loess for nesting tunnels and it appears that the 15°N material is sufficiently loess-like. Obvious sources for particulate materials for the 15°N band are the Fonta-Djalon highlands which supply sedimentary material to the River Niger; the Bodele Depression, the deepest part of Lake Megachad, source of dust for the World; the Ethiopian highlands at the eastern end of 15°N which supply silt to the Nile system and particulates to the 15°N region. In soil moisture terms the region is ustic, which is possibly a necessary condition for Bee-Eater nests. The clastic material requires an ustic environment. The River Niger can be seen as a loess river; in some senses a mirror-image of a major loess river like the Danube; but where a restricted range of particle inputs leads to a restricted range of loess deposit outputs. Nevertheless loess river considerations can be applied. The Niger delivers second-order loess and an important loessic admixture to the landscape. Enough loess for selective nesters like the Carmine Bee-Eaters to build their nest tunnels in it. It seems likely that climate change will cause a change in Bee-Eater distribution; it seems unlikely that they will abandon their nesting regions, the living and wintering zones may shift.Peer-reviewedPost-prin
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Loess and Bee-Eaters I: Ground properties affecting the nesting of European Bee-Eaters (Merops apiaster L.1758) in loess deposits
Quaternary International, 2013Co-Authors: Ian Smalley, Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Ken O’hara-dhand, Hugh NugentAbstract:Abstract The European Bee-Eater ( Merops apiaster L.1758) nests in tunnels in loess deposits. The properties of loess make it particularly suitable for tunnel nesting birds (a major factor is the metastable nature of the ground). The ‘Heneberg Compromise’ operates whereby the conflicting requirements of tunnel stability and ease of excavation dictate the optimum particle size for usable ground. The open structure of loess deposits, due to particle shape and airfall sedimentation, allows gas movement in nesting tunnels. It also allows local compaction during nest building which strengthens tunnel walls. The short range nature of the interparticle bonds in the ground material provides an almost ideal construction environment, ensuring a low plasticity index, which appears to be critical for tunnel building birds. Bee-Eaters and sand martins dig tunnels in loess as ‘primary nesters’. These loess tunnels are used by many ‘secondary nesters’. The Bee-Eater is an efficient ecosystem engineer. Distribution maps of European Bee-Eater nesting, and of loess deposits, show some coincidence. A concentration of loess and nest regions is observed to the north of the Black Sea where the rivers Dnepr and Don deliver loess material, and to the west of the Black Sea in the Danube basin. The birds nest to the north of the demarcated Meigs arid/semi-arid zones in Africa, but spend winters to the south of these regions. They fly long distances from wintering zones to loess nesting regions, the longest migration of the Bee-Eaters. Even relatively minor loess deposits on the fringes of the breeding range, as in southern Poland, have their Bee-Eater inhabitants.
C. H. Fry - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Competition and coexistence of the European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster and the Blue-cheeked Bee-Eater Merops persicus in Asia
Ibis, 2008Co-Authors: S. M. Kossenko, C. H. FryAbstract:Studies were conducted over a 10-year period on the supposedly similar European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster and Blue-cheeked Bee-Eater Merops persicus breeding in mixed and separate colonies in four Asiatic countries. In spring, M. persicus arrived a few days later and laid up to 2 weeks later than M. apiaster. Spatial distributions of the two species were positively associated. They were sympatric and syntopic: more than half of the local breeding ranges overlapped, and many birds bred within sight and sound of the congener. Intraspecific conflict was frequent, but in mixed colonies interspecific conflict was rare. Most M. apiaster nest burrows were dug into cliffs and most M. persicus ones into level ground, but dense mixed colonies occurred only in cliffs. Burrow architecture differed specifically. Diets were qualitatively similar at insect family level but different at the species level, partly because of local variation in availability and partly because of distinct preferences of M. apiaster for small beetles, ants and termites and of M. persicus for large dragonflies and cicadas. Merops persicus was less specialized than M. apiaster and had an airborne insect prey spectrum nearly twice as broad. Diets were more alike where the two birds foraged together than where they foraged separately. There was a high incidence of egg and nestling loss by predation and starvation. We speculate that each species may prove to breed more successfully in mixed than in monospecific colonies. We propose that the two Bee-Eaters do not compete for nest sites but may compete for food and coexist unaggressively by trading off food competition against improved breeding success in mixed colonies.
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THE RECOGNITION AND TREATMENT OF VENOMOUS AND NON-VENOMOUS INSECTS BY SMALL Bee-EaterS
Ibis, 2008Co-Authors: C. H. FryAbstract:Summary The manner in which Bee-Eaters cope with the stinging honey-bees which comprise their principal food was investigated by aviary studies of Merops bullocki. Worker Apis are de-venomed by an innate sequence of beating the insect and rubbing its abdomen against the perch. Treatment improves with experience. Drone bees are distinguished by the birds from workers but are not instantly recognised as non-venomous; they are subjected to low intensity rubbing combined with non-venomous prey treatment concomitant with their size. Non-Hymenoptera, including some insects which superficially resemble bees, are recognised as non-venomous and are not rubbed, but are beaten until immobilized. Bee-Eaters appear to have partial immunity to venom.
Sue Mclaren - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Loess and Bee-Eaters II: The ‘loess’ of North Africa and the nesting behaviour of the Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus Gmelin 1788)
Quaternary International, 2014Co-Authors: Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Ken O’hara-dhand, Petr Heneberg, Ian SmalleyAbstract:Abstract The Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus) lives and breeds in a well demarcated region stretching across Africa close to the 15°N line of latitude. The Bee-Eater zone appears to be associated with a band of loess, defined by Scheidig on his 1934 map as second-order loess. Bee-Eaters are known to favour loess for nesting tunnels and it appears that the 15°N material is sufficiently loess-like. Obvious sources for particulate materials for the 15°N band are the Fonta-Djalon highlands which supply sedimentary material to the River Niger; the Bodele Depression, the deepest part of Lake Megachad, source of dust for the World; the Ethiopian highlands at the eastern end of 15°N which supply silt to the Nile system and particulates to the 15°N region. In soil moisture terms the region is ustic, which is possibly a necessary condition for Bee-Eater nests. The clastic material requires an ustic environment. The River Niger can be seen as a loess river; in some senses a mirror-image of a major loess river like the Danube; but where a restricted range of particle inputs leads to a restricted range of loess deposit outputs. Nevertheless loess river considerations can be applied. The Niger delivers second-order loess and an important loessic admixture to the landscape. Enough loess for selective nesters like the Carmine Bee-Eaters to build their nest tunnels in it. It seems likely that climate change will cause a change in Bee-Eater distribution; it seems unlikely that they will abandon their nesting regions, the living and wintering zones may shift.
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Loess and Bee-Eaters II: The ‘loess’ of North Africa and the nesting behaviour of the Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus Gmelin 1788)
Quaternary International, 2014Co-Authors: Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Petr Heneberg, Ken O'hara-dhand, Ian SmalleyAbstract:The Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus) lives and breeds in a well demarcated region stretching across Africa close to the 15°N line of latitude. The Bee-Eater zone appears to be associated with a band of loess, defined by Scheidig on his 1934 map as second-order loess. Bee-Eaters are known to favour loess for nesting tunnels and it appears that the 15°N material is sufficiently loess-like. Obvious sources for particulate materials for the 15°N band are the Fonta-Djalon highlands which supply sedimentary material to the River Niger; the Bodele Depression, the deepest part of Lake Megachad, source of dust for the World; the Ethiopian highlands at the eastern end of 15°N which supply silt to the Nile system and particulates to the 15°N region. In soil moisture terms the region is ustic, which is possibly a necessary condition for Bee-Eater nests. The clastic material requires an ustic environment. The River Niger can be seen as a loess river; in some senses a mirror-image of a major loess river like the Danube; but where a restricted range of particle inputs leads to a restricted range of loess deposit outputs. Nevertheless loess river considerations can be applied. The Niger delivers second-order loess and an important loessic admixture to the landscape. Enough loess for selective nesters like the Carmine Bee-Eaters to build their nest tunnels in it. It seems likely that climate change will cause a change in Bee-Eater distribution; it seems unlikely that they will abandon their nesting regions, the living and wintering zones may shift.Peer-reviewedPost-prin
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Loess and Bee-Eaters I: Ground properties affecting the nesting of European Bee-Eaters (Merops apiaster L.1758) in loess deposits
Quaternary International, 2013Co-Authors: Ian Smalley, Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Ken O’hara-dhand, Hugh NugentAbstract:Abstract The European Bee-Eater ( Merops apiaster L.1758) nests in tunnels in loess deposits. The properties of loess make it particularly suitable for tunnel nesting birds (a major factor is the metastable nature of the ground). The ‘Heneberg Compromise’ operates whereby the conflicting requirements of tunnel stability and ease of excavation dictate the optimum particle size for usable ground. The open structure of loess deposits, due to particle shape and airfall sedimentation, allows gas movement in nesting tunnels. It also allows local compaction during nest building which strengthens tunnel walls. The short range nature of the interparticle bonds in the ground material provides an almost ideal construction environment, ensuring a low plasticity index, which appears to be critical for tunnel building birds. Bee-Eaters and sand martins dig tunnels in loess as ‘primary nesters’. These loess tunnels are used by many ‘secondary nesters’. The Bee-Eater is an efficient ecosystem engineer. Distribution maps of European Bee-Eater nesting, and of loess deposits, show some coincidence. A concentration of loess and nest regions is observed to the north of the Black Sea where the rivers Dnepr and Don deliver loess material, and to the west of the Black Sea in the Danube basin. The birds nest to the north of the demarcated Meigs arid/semi-arid zones in Africa, but spend winters to the south of these regions. They fly long distances from wintering zones to loess nesting regions, the longest migration of the Bee-Eaters. Even relatively minor loess deposits on the fringes of the breeding range, as in southern Poland, have their Bee-Eater inhabitants.
Petr Heneberg - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Loess and Bee-Eaters II: The ‘loess’ of North Africa and the nesting behaviour of the Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus Gmelin 1788)
Quaternary International, 2014Co-Authors: Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Ken O’hara-dhand, Petr Heneberg, Ian SmalleyAbstract:Abstract The Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus) lives and breeds in a well demarcated region stretching across Africa close to the 15°N line of latitude. The Bee-Eater zone appears to be associated with a band of loess, defined by Scheidig on his 1934 map as second-order loess. Bee-Eaters are known to favour loess for nesting tunnels and it appears that the 15°N material is sufficiently loess-like. Obvious sources for particulate materials for the 15°N band are the Fonta-Djalon highlands which supply sedimentary material to the River Niger; the Bodele Depression, the deepest part of Lake Megachad, source of dust for the World; the Ethiopian highlands at the eastern end of 15°N which supply silt to the Nile system and particulates to the 15°N region. In soil moisture terms the region is ustic, which is possibly a necessary condition for Bee-Eater nests. The clastic material requires an ustic environment. The River Niger can be seen as a loess river; in some senses a mirror-image of a major loess river like the Danube; but where a restricted range of particle inputs leads to a restricted range of loess deposit outputs. Nevertheless loess river considerations can be applied. The Niger delivers second-order loess and an important loessic admixture to the landscape. Enough loess for selective nesters like the Carmine Bee-Eaters to build their nest tunnels in it. It seems likely that climate change will cause a change in Bee-Eater distribution; it seems unlikely that they will abandon their nesting regions, the living and wintering zones may shift.
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Loess and Bee-Eaters II: The ‘loess’ of North Africa and the nesting behaviour of the Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus Gmelin 1788)
Quaternary International, 2014Co-Authors: Sue Mclaren, Zorica Svirčev, Petr Heneberg, Ken O'hara-dhand, Ian SmalleyAbstract:The Northern Carmine Bee-Eater (Merops nubicus) lives and breeds in a well demarcated region stretching across Africa close to the 15°N line of latitude. The Bee-Eater zone appears to be associated with a band of loess, defined by Scheidig on his 1934 map as second-order loess. Bee-Eaters are known to favour loess for nesting tunnels and it appears that the 15°N material is sufficiently loess-like. Obvious sources for particulate materials for the 15°N band are the Fonta-Djalon highlands which supply sedimentary material to the River Niger; the Bodele Depression, the deepest part of Lake Megachad, source of dust for the World; the Ethiopian highlands at the eastern end of 15°N which supply silt to the Nile system and particulates to the 15°N region. In soil moisture terms the region is ustic, which is possibly a necessary condition for Bee-Eater nests. The clastic material requires an ustic environment. The River Niger can be seen as a loess river; in some senses a mirror-image of a major loess river like the Danube; but where a restricted range of particle inputs leads to a restricted range of loess deposit outputs. Nevertheless loess river considerations can be applied. The Niger delivers second-order loess and an important loessic admixture to the landscape. Enough loess for selective nesters like the Carmine Bee-Eaters to build their nest tunnels in it. It seems likely that climate change will cause a change in Bee-Eater distribution; it seems unlikely that they will abandon their nesting regions, the living and wintering zones may shift.Peer-reviewedPost-prin
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Decision making in burrowing birds: Sediment properties in conflict with biological variables
Quaternary International, 2013Co-Authors: Petr HenebergAbstract:Abstract Distribution and properties of loess deposits were recently suggested to drive the presence of burrowing birds: sand martins Riparia riparia , European Bee-Eaters Merops apiaster , and kingfishers Alcedo spp. Packing density with very low CN (such as those of loess) was suggested to be the most suitable for sand martins and Bee-Eaters. Correlating the distribution range of particular sediments with nesting areas of the particular burrowing bird species is a great argument in a recent discussion on whether the availability of nest sites is limiting or not. However, biological variables should be also taken into account. Each of the particular species tends to occupy its own ecological niche, avoiding direct competition for space, food, or other resources. Tight adherence to loessic slopes would severely limit two of the three Central European burrowing bird species in their distribution range, even though they are physiologically adapted to utilize a broader range of nest bank substrates. While the European Bee-Eaters (and perhaps most of the other Bee-Eater species) are limited to the fine-grained loess and silt, the other two species utilize broader textural range requiring either sufficiently high penetration resistance (Eurasian kingfisher Alcedo atthis ) or digging nest holes of limited cross-sectional area (sand martins).
Hsiao-wei Yuan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Any role for the dissemination of Nosema spores by the blue-tailed Bee-Eater Merops philippinus?
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2017Co-Authors: Francisco Valera, Hsiao-wei Yuan, Raquel Martín-hernández, Tamara Gómez-moracho, Irene Muñoz, Pilar De La Rúa, Ying-lan Chen, Mariano HigesAbstract:Pathogens are major suspects for the current massive losses of honey bee colonies worldwide. Information about circulation and modes of transmission of Nosema ceranae, an emergent microsporidium parasite of Apis mellifera, is currently lacking. Here we examine the dispersion of N. ceranae and N. apis by the blue-tailed Bee-Eater Merops philippinus, a migratory bird whose distribution along Southeast Asia overlaps with the original distribution of N. ceranae. We investigate the presence of Nosema spp. spores in Bee-Eater pellets, feces and nest material collected on the isolated Kinmen island (Taiwan). We found N. ceranae in all types of samples, whilst N. apis was not detected. We describe for the first time the occurrence of N. ceranae spores in birds’ feces, which increases the potential of this bird species as a dispersive agent of the parasite. We molecularly assessed the occurrence of A. cerana and A. mellifera remains in infected and non-infected samples. We discuss the low prevalence of N. ceranae ...
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Nest site restoration increases the breeding density of blue-tailed Bee-Eaters
Biological Conservation, 2009Co-Authors: Yi-ping Wang, Chyi-rong Chiou, Lynn Siefferman, Yuan-jyun Wang, Tzung-su Ding, Bao-sen Shieh, Fu-shung Hsu, Hsiao-wei YuanAbstract:For birds that excavate their own nest burrows, the availability of suitable nest sites and substrates may influence the number and density of breeding birds. However, few studies of burrow-nesting birds have experimentally manipulated nest site or substrate availability. The blue-tailed Bee-Eater (Merops philippinus) is a colony breeding, summer migrant that excavates nest burrows in sandy banks on Kinmen Island, 5 km east of mainland China. To test whether substrate availability influenced the density or reproductive success of breeding pairs of Bee-Eaters, we removed all vegetation and old nest holes on treated slopes and left control slopes unmanipulated in 2003 and 2004. Plant cover on control slopes was 37.7% (11.9–67.7%). Slope gradient, soil penetration resistance and vegetation height in front of slopes did not differ between treated and control slopes in either year. Combining data from both years, the density of active nests was significantly higher (3.1-fold) on treated slopes than on control slopes. However, the reproductive performance of Bee-Eaters nesting on treated and control slopes did not differ in either year. Thus, removing vegetation and old nest holes from slopes with sandy loam soil improved the breeding habitat and increased the number of breeding blue-tailed Bee-Eaters. This technique could be used to support and manage populations of this species and other burrow-nestling species with similar habitat requirements.
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Colony site choice of blue-tailed Bee-Eaters: influences of soil, vegetation, and water quality
Journal of Natural History, 2006Co-Authors: Hsiao-wei Yuan, D. Brent Burt, Ming-kuang Wang, Wen-lian Chang, Lee-ping Wang, Chyi-rong Chiou, Tzung-su DingAbstract:All bee‐eaters (Family Meropidae) are cavity nesters, excavating terrestrial burrows in sites ranging from flat ground, to small mounds of soil, steep earthen banks seen in road clearings, eroded cliff faces, and river gorges. However, very little is known concerning the environmental factors that influence nest site selection in bee‐eaters. We addressed abiotic and biotic issues associated with colony site choice in blue‐tailed bee‐eaters (Merops philippinus) nesting on Kinmen Island, off mainland China, from 2000 to 2002. About 89% of the colonies were located on slopes with soils of sandy loam and the other 11% on sandy clay loam. No colony was found on clay loam, which covered 20% of the island. The sandy loam and sandy clay loam had lower soil pressure, density and moisture, which, presumably, were easier for bee‐eaters to excavate and provided better drainage and ventilation for nest cavities. Bee‐eaters avoided placing nest cavities in areas with dense vegetation and abandoned colony sites when the...
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Soil composition affects the nesting behavior of blue-tailed Bee-Eaters (Merops philippinus) on Kinmen Island
Ecological Research, 2006Co-Authors: Hsiao-wei Yuan, Ming-kuang Wang, Wen-lian Chang, Lee-ping Wang, Yue-min Chen, Chyi-rong ChiouAbstract:The blue-tailed Bee-Eater (Merops philippinus) is a summer migrant that breeds on Kinmen Island, located off the west coast of Taiwan, about 5 km from the southern coast of mainland China. The aim of this study was to investigate why blue-tailed Bee-Eaters build their nests in sandy loam and sandy clay loam, but not in clay loam. Soil chemical and physical properties, and mineralogical composition were measured for the different soil types. Clay loam had a significantly lower pH, Na, and base saturation than did sandy loam or sandy clay loam. Clay loam had a significantly higher N, cation-exchange capacity (CEC), K, and free iron (Fed) and aluminum oxide (Ald) contents than the other soil types. Clay loam had significantly lower sand and higher clay content, and higher bulk density and penetration resistance than the other soil types. The correlation coefficients (r 2) between penetration resistance and Fed, Ald, and clay contents were 0.997, 0.848, and 0.779, respectively. Soil strength and compaction are important criteria for Bee-Eaters’ nesting-site selection. The lower pH of clay loam would enhance the exchangeable Al and acidity, further increasing the soil aggregation. Thus, it might prevent the Bee-Eaters from excavating nesting burrows.