Publications by authors named "W A Montevecchi"

Density-dependent competition for food influences the foraging behaviour and demography of colonial animals, but how this influence varies across a species' latitudinal range is poorly understood. Here we used satellite tracking from 21 Northern Gannet colonies (39% of colonies worldwide, supporting 73% of the global population) during chick-rearing to test how foraging trip characteristics (distance and duration) covary with colony size (138-60 953 breeding pairs) and latitude across 89% of their latitudinal range (46.81-71.

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Article Synopsis
  • Following the detection of a novel highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 in Newfoundland in late 2021, Canada ramped up surveillance efforts of wild birds to track the spread of the virus nationwide.* -
  • During the first year of surveillance (November 2021-November 2022), over 6,000 sick and dead birds were tested, revealing that 27.4% were positive for HPAIV across various species and regions, particularly in the Atlantic and Central Flyways.* -
  • The findings highlighted the need for ongoing monitoring and collaboration, as wild birds serve as both victims and reservoirs of the virus, with a notable prevalence of Eurasian-origin strains identified throughout
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Artificial light at night (ALAN) is negatively impacting numerous species of nocturnally active birds. Nocturnal positive phototaxis, the movement towards ALAN, is exhibited by many marine birds and can result in stranding on land. Seabird species facing major population declines may be most at risk.

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Mercury (Hg) is a metallic trace element toxic for humans and wildlife that can originate from natural and anthropic sources. Hg spatial gradients have been found in seabirds from the Arctic and other oceans, suggesting contrasting toxicity risks across regions. Selenium (Se) plays a protective role against Hg toxicity, but its spatial distribution has been much less investigated than that of Hg.

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