Publications by authors named "Sara Capelli"
Article Synopsis
- A study tested 1442 live and 73 dead birds from multiple European countries for avian bornavirus (ABV) infection, primarily focusing on psittacines, and found a 22.8% positivity rate across tests.
- Testing methods combined swabs and serum for better accuracy revealed that only 20% of positive birds showed both virus shedding and antibody production, highlighting the need for multiple sample types in diagnosis.
- Statistical analysis linked ABV infection to proventricular dilatation disease (PDD) in affected birds, but it was also found in some psittacines without visible symptoms, indicating varied clinical presentations of the virus.
The question of when modern birds (Neornithes) first diversified has generated much debate among avian systematists. Fossil evidence generally supports a Tertiary diversification, whereas estimates based on molecular dating favor an earlier diversification in the Cretaceous period. In this study, we used an alternate approach, the inference of historical biogeographic patterns, to test the hypothesis that the initial radiation of the Order Psittaciformes (the parrots and cockatoos) originated on the Gondwana supercontinent during the Cretaceous.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF