Project description:Vigilance in animals, crucial for predator detection, impacts survival and reproduction by diverting time from activities like foraging and mating. Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala), a colonially nesting bird, experiences disturbances from avian predators and human presence while nesting in colonies across varied habitats in India. We measured environmental vigilance behaviour at two diverse types of nesting sites in North India, the National Zoological Park and Keoladeo National Park. We studied the study role of several variables viz. sex, nestling age, number of neighbours, number of visitors, and other variables on vigilance, by camera techniques. Our findings revealed significant sex-based differences, with males being more vigilant than females, likely due to their roles in territoriality, mate guarding, and nest protection. Parental vigilance increased as nestlings aged, underscoring its importance as parental investment. Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) indicated that number of visitors, number of neighbours, and other habitat variables significantly affected vigilance behaviour. Painted Storks at the National Zoological Park displayed higher vigilance than Storks in Keoladeo National Park, attributed to site specific variables.
Project description:Although molecular information for the wood stork (Mycteria americana) has been well described, data concerning their karyotypical organization and phylogenetic relationships with other storks are still scarce. Thus, we aimed to analyze the chromosomal organization and diversification of M. americana, and provide evolutionary insights based on phylogenetic data of Ciconiidae. For this, we applied both classical and molecular cytogenetic techniques to define the pattern of distribution of heterochromatic blocks and their chromosomal homology with Gallus gallus (GGA). Maximum likelihood analyses and Bayesian inferences (680 bp COI and 1007 bp Cytb genes) were used to determine their phylogenetic relationship with other storks. The results confirmed 2n = 72, and the heterochromatin distribution pattern was restricted to centromeric regions of the chromosomes. FISH experiments identified fusion and fission events involving chromosomes homologous to GGA macrochromosome pairs, some of which were previously found in other species of Ciconiidae, possibly corresponding to synapomorphies for the group. Phylogenetic analyses resulted in a tree that recovered only Ciconinii as a monophyletic group, while Mycteriini and Leptoptlini tribes were configured as paraphyletic clades. In addition, the association between phylogenetic and cytogenetic data corroborates the hypothesis of a reduction in the diploid number throughout the evolution of Ciconiidae.