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How will climate change affect endangered Mediterranean waterbirds

Global warming and direct anthropogenic impacts, such as water extraction, largely affect water budgets in Mediterranean wetlands, thereby increasing wetland salinities and isolation, and...

Dark pigmentation limits thermal niche position in birds

Animal pigmentation has evolved because of several adaptive functions. In the case of pigmentation produced by melanins, the most common pigments in animals, the main function is protection against...

Sexual dichromatism in the Western Palearctic avifauna

Melanins are the most common pigments providing coloration in the plumage and bare skin of birds and other vertebrates. Numerous species are dichromatic in the adult or definitive plumage, but the...

Ecological determinants of avian malaria infections

Vector and host communities, as well as habitat characteristics, may have important but different impacts on the prevalence, richness and evenness of vector-borne parasites. Here, the relative...

Does bird metabolic rate influence mosquito feeding preference?

Host selection by mosquitoes plays a central role in the transmission of vector-borne infectious diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying intraspecific differences in hosts’ attractiveness to...