Physiology: Woodpecker skulls are not shock absorbers.

Curr Biol

Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Concord Field Station, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address:

Published: July 2022

Woodpeckers are well-known for their audible percussive wood drilling. A new study shows that these birds benefit from their small size and key skull features to safely hammer at wood for insect food and nesting excavations.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.06.037DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

physiology woodpecker
4
woodpecker skulls
4
skulls shock
4
shock absorbers
4
absorbers woodpeckers
4
woodpeckers well-known
4
well-known audible
4
audible percussive
4
percussive wood
4
wood drilling
4

Similar Publications

Re-emergence of Bagaza virus in wild birds from southern Spain.

Vet Microbiol

November 2024

Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Zoonosis (GISAZ), UIC Zoonosis y Enfermedades Emergentes ENZOEM, Universidad de Córdoba, 14014 Córdoba , Spain; CIBERINFEC, ISCIII - CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.

Bagaza virus (BAGV; Orthoflavivirus bagazaense) is an emerging vector-borne flavivirus affecting avian species with severe implications for animal health, and whose zoonotic potential has also been suggested. The aim of the present study was to monitor the epidemic outbreak of BAGV in wild birds from Spain in 2021. BAGV cases were confirmed in game bird species, including red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa) and common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) from 24 hunting areas.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) is the most destructive insect to invade North American forests. Identifying habitat features that support EAB natural enemies is necessary to enhance EAB biological control. In many forest ecosystems, tree species diversity has been linked with reduced pest abundance and increases in natural enemy abundance.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bory Tucholskie National Park, founded in 1996, is one of the most recently established national parks in Poland, and therefore, has not been thoroughly examined yet. The authors of the current study present results of their research concerning communities of mites from the suborder Uropodina (Acari: Mesostigmata), inhabiting bird nesting boxes within the area of Bory Tucholskie National Park. The mite community comprises two nidicolous species, i.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The genome organization of woodpeckers has several distinctive features e.g., an uncommon accumulation of repetitive sequences, enlarged Z chromosomes, and atypical diploid numbers.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Chromosome-level genome assembly of the European green woodpecker Picus viridis.

G3 (Bethesda)

May 2024

Institut de Systématique Evolution Biodiversité, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle CNRS SU EPHE UA, CP 51, 75005 Paris, France.

Article Synopsis
  • - The European green woodpecker (Picus viridis) has a newly assembled genome that is 1.28 billion base pairs long, created using advanced sequencing techniques.
  • - This genome assembly captures 89.4% of known bird genes, containing 15,805 genes and around 30.1% repetitive elements, offering a detailed genetic profile of the species.
  • - Comparisons with the chicken genome reveal the fragmented structure of the woodpecker's genome, and additional resequencing of historical and contemporary samples aims to enhance understanding of the species' population history.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!