Outcomes of Conservatively Managed Coracoid Fractures in Wild Birds in the United Kingdom.

Coracoid fractures are a frequent presentation in wild birds, commonly caused by collisions with motor vehicles, windows, or other obstacles such as pylons. Despite this, there are few reports of outcomes, and those published consist of small numbers of birds with conflicting results when comparing conservative management with surgical intervention. To determine outcome success of conservative management in a larger population of wild birds, records of 232 adult wild birds in the United Kingdom (UK) with closed unilateral coracoid fractures confirmed on radiography and surviving more than 48 hours after admission were retrospectively analyzed. Conservative management had a high success rate, with 75% (n = 174/232; 95% confidence limits [CL]: 69%, 80%) of all birds successfully released back to the wild. The proportion of raptors successfully returned to the wild was even higher at 97% (n = 34/35; 95% CL: 85%, 99%). A significant difference of 26% (95% CL: 18%, 34%, Fisher exact test, P < .001) was demonstrated when comparing the outcome success of raptors (97%, n = 34/35) to nonraptors (71%, n = 140/198). The median time in captive care until released back to the wild was 30 days (95% CL: 27, 33). Conservative management of coracoid fractures in wild birds in the UK, and in particular in raptors, appears to result in good outcomes. The approach is low cost and noninvasive, in contrast to surgery, and is recommended as the first-line approach of choice in these cases.

Perception of male-male competition influences Drosophila copulation behaviour even in species where females rarely remate.

Males in many taxa are known to exhibit behavioural plasticity in response to the perceived intensity of sperm competition, reflected in Drosophila melanogaster by increased copulation duration following prior exposure to a rival. We tested the prediction that males do not adjust their copulation effort in response to the presence of a competitor in Drosophila species where there is little or no sperm competition. Contrary to expectations, male plasticity in copulation duration was found in both Drosophila subobscura and Drosophila acanthoptera, species in which females rarely remate. These results are discussed in relation to the adaptive basis of plasticity in these species.