Bidirectional tick transport by migratory birds of the African-Western Palearctic flyway over Turkish Thrace: observation of the current situation and future projection.

This study was carried out at a vital stopover site of migrating birds in the Turkish Thrace, European part of Turkey, on the Mediterranean/Black Sea Flyway. Ticks were collected from the birds captured in the four migration periods, i.e., autumn 2020, spring 2021, autumn 2021, and spring 2022, and identified morphologically. Throughout the study, 10,651 birds from 77 species were examined, and 671 belonging to 34 species were found infested. The infestation prevalence in total birds and the mean number of ticks per infested bird were 6.3% and 3.8 (range: 1-142), respectively. A total of 2573 ticks were collected with the following species distribution and numbers: Ixodes spp. 70 larvae, I. frontalis 1829 larvae, 337 nymphs, and 30 adults, I. acuminatus 16 nymphs and 42 adults, I. ricinus 39 larvae, 141 nymphs, and one adult, Hyalomma spp. seven larvae and 60 nymphs, and Haemaphysalis sp. one larva. Prevalence, intensity, and species distribution of the ticks in birds varied depending on the month, season, year, and species-specific migration phenology of the birds. The results show that precise determination of the tick-borne risk associated with migratory birds for a particular region necessarily requires long-term and comprehensive studies and indicates that anthropogenic climate change and habitat degradation can significantly differentiate the risk by influencing the migration phenology in birds and by making new regions suitable for the establishment of different ticks.

Evaluation on management of wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) population in Bolu-Sazakici hunting ground.

Bolu-sazakiçi sample hunting ground covered 9132 ha divided into 360 sample areas of 25 ha each. 50 of them were sampled by means of the simple random sampling method. In the sample areas "Point Counts" was applied and the population of wild boar density and numbers were determined. As a result, it was estimated that 734 wild boars inhabit the area. Of these individuals, 79 were males, 238 were females and 417 were piglets. The wild boar density in the area was determined as 8.03 individual 100 ha(-1). In this paper, first of all, the density of wild boar population was determined by the point counts method, then it was tried to evaluate its management for Bolu-sazakiçi sample hunting ground.

Observation on ornithofauna of Kocaeli-Yuvacik dam watershed in Turkey.

The objective of this study was to determine the bird species in the Yuvacik Dam watershed in the province of Kocaeli. The total area of the study site was 25800 ha, and was subdivided to 60 plots (the size of each plot, 2x2 km). Observations and inventory for each species were carried out. A total of 130 species belonging to 38 genus of 16 orders were identified. Eighty-seven were classified as Passeriformes. Forty two species breed in the region. A total of 21223 birds were counted. According to IUCN criteria, two species, (Ficedula semitorquata (Von H., 1885) and Sitta krueperi (Pelzeln, 1863), were categorized as near threatened (NT).