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      New Zealand's extinct giant raptor ( Hieraaetus moorei ) killed like an eagle, ate like a condor

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          Abstract

          The extinct Haast's eagle or harpagornis ( Hieraaetus moorei ) is the largest known eagle. Historically, it was first considered a predator, then a scavenger, but most recent authors have favoured an active hunting ecology. However, the veracity of proposed similarities to carrion feeders has not been thoroughly tested. To infer feeding capability and behaviour in harpagornis, we used geometric morphometric and finite-element analyses to assess the shape and biomechanical strength of its neurocranium, beak and talons in comparison to five extant scavenging and predatory birds. The neurocranium of harpagornis is vulture-like in shape whereas its beak is eagle-like. The mechanical performance of harpagornis is closer to extant eagles under biting loads but is closest to the Andean condor ( Vultur gryphus ) under extrinsic loads simulating prey capture and killing. The talons, however, are eagle-like and even for a bird of its size, able to withstand extremely high loads. Results are consistent with the proposition that, unlike living eagles, harpagornis habitually killed prey larger than itself, then applied feeding methods typical of vultures to feed on the large carcasses. Decoupling of the relationship between neurocranium and beak shape may have been linked to rapid evolution.

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          The microbiome of New World vultures.

          Vultures are scavengers that fill a key ecosystem niche, in which they have evolved a remarkable tolerance to bacterial toxins in decaying meat. Here we report the first deep metagenomic analysis of the vulture microbiome. Through face and gut comparisons of 50 vultures representing two species, we demonstrate a remarkably conserved low diversity of gut microbial flora. The gut samples contained an average of 76 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per specimen, compared with 528 OTUs on the facial skin. Clostridia and Fusobacteria, widely pathogenic to other vertebrates, dominate the vulture's gut microbiota. We reveal a likely faecal-oral-gut route for their origin. DNA of prey species detectable on facial swabs was completely degraded in the gut samples from most vultures, suggesting that the gastrointestinal tracts of vultures are extremely selective. Our findings show a strong adaption of vultures and their bacteria to their food source, exemplifying a specialized host-microbial alliance.
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            Morpho and Rvcg – Shape Analysis in R

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              Exploring the avian gut microbiota: current trends and future directions

              Birds represent a diverse and evolutionarily successful lineage, occupying a wide range of niches throughout the world. Like all vertebrates, avians harbor diverse communities of microorganisms within their guts, which collectively fulfill crucial roles in providing the host with nutrition and protection from pathogens. Across the field of avian microbiology knowledge is extremely uneven, with several species accounting for an overwhelming majority of all microbiological investigations. These include agriculturally important birds, such as chickens and turkeys, as well as birds of evolutionary or conservation interest. In our previous study we attempted the first meta-analysis of the avian gut microbiota, using 16S rRNA gene sequences obtained from a range of publicly available data sets. We have now extended our analysis to explore the microbiology of several key species in detail, to consider the avian microbiota within the context of what is known about other vertebrates, and to identify key areas of interest in avian microbiology for future study.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Journal
                Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
                Proc. R. Soc. B.
                The Royal Society
                0962-8452
                1471-2954
                December 08 2021
                December 2021
                December 08 2021
                : 288
                : 1964
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Sektion Mammalogie, Zoologische Staatssammlung München - Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, Münchhausenstraße 21, 81247 Munich, Germany
                [2 ]GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, 80333 Munich, Germany
                [3 ]Department Biologie II, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Straße 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
                [4 ]School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Earth Sciences Building, NSW 2351 Armidale, Australia
                [5 ]Ornithology Collection, Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 William Street, Sydney, Australia
                [6 ]College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, SA 5042 Adelaide, Australia
                [7 ]School of Engineering, University of Newcastle, NSW 2308 Newcastle, Australia
                [8 ]Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27798, USA
                [9 ]School of Engineering and Innovation, Open University: Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, UK
                [10 ]Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
                [11 ]Department of Biological Sciences, California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos, CA 92096, USA
                [12 ]Natural History, Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue, 8013 Christchurch, New Zealand
                Article
                10.1098/rspb.2021.1913
                34847767
                11a26d91-cb51-4a27-9c5b-3c8f55490ee9
                © 2021

                https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/

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