Menu

Volume 47, No. 2

Search by author or title:

Bill malformation in Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea chicks


Authors

VITTORIA ROATTI1, BRUNO MASSA2 & GIACOMO DELL'OMO3
1Ornis italica, Piazza Crati 15, 00199 Rome, IT (vittoria.roatti@gmail.com)
2University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 13, 90128 Palermo, IT
3Berta maris, 92031 Linosa, Agrigento, IT

Citation

ROATTI, V., MASSA, B. & DELL'OMO, G. 2019. Bill malformation in Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea chicks. Marine Ornithology 47: 175 - 178
http://doi.org/10.5038/2074-1235.47.2.1313

Received 18 March 2019, accepted 01 April 2019

Date Published: 2019/10/15
Date Online: 2019/06/20
Key words: bill malformation, Scopoli’s Shearwater, Calonectris diomedea, Procellariiformes, chicks, seabirds

Abstract

We report three cases of bill malformation in Scopoli's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea on Linosa Island (Sicily, Italy) that were found during monitoring of the colony over a 13-year period. The cases were observed in pre-fledging chicks; two of the birds were also in poorer body condition compared with chicks of the same age. No adults in the colony have been found with similar bill malformations despite a much larger sample of recorded adults. We suggest that the observed malformations impair survival and that the chicks we encountered would likely starve after fledging. The frequency of bill malformation found on Linosa is less than one percent, which is consistent with cases reported in the literature for other species.

References


BUCKLE, K.N., YOUNG, M.J. & ALLEY, M.R. 2014. Investigation of an outbreak of craniofacial deformity in Yellow-eyed Penguin (Megadyptes antipodes) chicks. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 62: 250-257. doi:10.1080/00480169.2014.906332

CASAUX, R. 2004. Beak deformation in an Antarctic Cormorant Phalacrocorax [atriceps] bransfieldensis chick. Marine Ornithology 32: 109-110.

CORBEAU, A. & BOST, C.-A. 2017. A healthy, premoult adult King Penguin (Aptenodytes patagonicus) with a markedly twisted beak. Polar Record 53: 631-632. doi:10.1017/S0032247417000559

GALLIGAN, T.H. & KLEINDORFER, S. 2009. Naris and beak malformation caused by the parasitic fly, Philornis downsi (Diptera: Muscidae), in Darwin's small ground finch, Geospiza fuliginosa (Passeriformes: Emberizidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 98: 577-585. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.2009.01309.x

GARTRELL, B.D., ALLEY, M.R. & KELLY, T. 2003. Bacterial sinusitis as a cause of beak deformity in an Antipodes Island Parakeet (Cyanoramphus unicolor). New Zealand Veterinary Journal 51: 196-198. doi:10.1080/00480169.2003.36365

GOCHFELD, M. 1975. Developmental defects in Common Terns of western Long Island, New York. The Auk 92: 58-65.

GREENACRE, C. 2017. Avian and exotic animal dermatology. In: HNILICA, K.A. & PATTERSON, A.P. (Eds.) Small Animal Dermatology: A Color Atlas and Therapeutic Guide, 4th Edition. Amsterdam: Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/C2014-0-01191-4

HANDEL, C.M. & VAN HEMERT, C. 2015. Environmental contaminants and chromosomal damage associated with beak deformities in a resident North American passerine. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 34: 314-327. doi:10.1002/etc.2799

HANDEL, C.M., PAJOT, L.M., MATSUOKA, S.M. ET AL. 2010. Epizootic of beak deformities among wild birds in Alaska: An emerging disease in North America? The Auk 127: 882-898. doi:10.1525/auk.2010.10111

JONES, C.W., RISI, M.M., KUNTZ, W., RYAN, P.G., STEINFURTH, A. & BOND, A.L. 2015. Bill deformities in penguins (Spheniscidae): A global review. Marine Ornithology 43: 207-209.

KEYMER, I.F. 2008. Fungal diseases—Dermatophytosis, favus or ringworm infection. In: SAMOUR, J. (Ed.) Avian Medicine, 2nd Edition. New York: Elsevier.

KUIKEN, T., FOX, G.A. & DANESIK, K.L. 1999. Bill malformations in Double-crested Cormorants with low exposure to organochlorines. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 18: 2908-2913. doi:10.1002/etc.5620181236

KYLIN, H. 2005. Juvenile Black-legged Kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla with deformed bills and clubfeet in the Barents Sea. Ornis Svecica 15: 149-152.

MANS, C. & GUZMAN, D.S.-M. 2007. What is your diagnosis? Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery 21: 235-238. doi:10.1647/1082-6742(2007)21[235:WIYD]2.0.CO;2

MARTI, L.J., BELLAGAMBA, P.J. & CORIA, N.R. 2008. Beak deformation in a Southern Giant Petrel Macronectes giganteus chick. Marine Ornithology 36: 195-196.

MASSA, B. & LO VALVO, M. 1986. Biometrical and biological considerations on the Cory's Shearwater Calonectris diomedea. In: MEDMARAVIS & MONBAILLIU, X. (Eds.) Mediterranean Marine Avifauna: Population Studies and Conservation. NATO ASI Series, volume G12. New York: Springer-Verlag. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-70895-4

NOGALES, M., MARTÍN, A. & ZINO, F.J.A. 1990. Bill malformation of juvenile Cory's Shearwaters Calonectris diomedea borealis on Selvagem Grande. Bocagiana 139: 1-5.

POMEROY, D.E. 1962. Birds with abnormal bills. British Birds 55: 48-72.

RABOUAM, C., THIBAULT, J.-C. & BRETAGNOLLE, V. 1998. Natal philopatry and close inbreeding in Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea). The Auk 115: 483-486.

ROCKWELL, R.F., PEZZANITE, B.M. & MATULONIS, P. 2003. Developmental abnormalities in wild populations of birds: Examples from Lesser Snow Geese (Chen caerulescens caerulescens). American Museum Novitates 2003: 1-14. doi:10.1206/0003‑0082(2003)400<0001:DAIWPO>2.0.CO;2

ROMANOFF, A.L. 1972. Pathogenesis of the Avian Embryo: An Analysis of Causes of Malformations and Prenatal Death. New York: Wiley-Interscience.

STETTENHEIM, P.R. 2000. The integumentary morphology of modern birds—An overview. Integrative and Comparative Biology 40: 461-477. doi:10.1093/icb/40.4.461

STEVENS, V.I., BLAIR, R., SALMON, R.E. & STEVENS, J.P. 1984. Effect of varying levels of dietary vitamin D3 on turkey hen egg production, fertility and hatchability, embryo mortality and incidence of embryo beak malformations. Poultry Science 63: 760-764. doi:10.3382/ps.0630760

TANGREDI, B.P. 2007. Environmental factors associated with nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism in wild birds. Avian and Poultry Biology Reviews 18: 47-56. doi:10.3184/147020607X251212

THIBAULT, J.-C. 1993. Natal philopatry in the Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris d. diomedea) on Lavezzi Island, Corsica. Colonial Waterbirds 16: 77-82.

VAN HEMERT, C., HANDEL, C.M. & O'BRIEN, D.M. 2012. Stable isotopes identify dietary changes associated with beak deformities in Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus). The Auk 129: 460-466. doi:10.1525/auk.2012.12037

ZYLBERBERG, M., VAN HEMERT, C., DUMBACHER, J.P., HANDEL, C.M., TIHAN, T. & DERISI, J.L. 2016. Novel picornavirus associated with avian keratin disorder in Alaskan birds. mBio 7: e00874-16. doi:10.1128/mBio.00874-16

ZYLBERBERG, M., VAN HEMERT, C., HANDEL, C.M. & DERISI, J.L. 2018. Avian keratin disorder of Alaska Black-capped Chickadees is associated with Poecivirus infection. Virology Journal 15: 1-9. doi:10.1186/s12985-018-1008-5

Search by author or title:

Browse previous volumes: