Ivan Literák

• University of Veterinary Sciences Brno

Anthropogenic activities threaten many wildlife populations by increasing mortality rates, making it crucial to identify the locations and causes of mortality to inform conservation actions. Technological advancements, such as GPS satellite tracking, enable precise recording of wildlife movements. High‐resolution data from such devices can facilita...

Most species of migrating birds use a combination of innate vector-based orientation programs and social information to facilitate accurate navigation during their life. A number of various interspecies hybridisations have been reported in birds. The traits of parents are expressed in hybrids in typical ways which are either intermediate, combined...

There are many raptor rehabilitation centers around the world that receive and care for wild raptors. Wildlife rehabilitation is a labor- and cost-intensive part of addressing animal welfare. Apart from the compassionate aspect of taking responsibility for an injured animal, there remains an open question as to whether doing so contributes to anima...

The breeding behaviour of raptors is determined by many characteristics, such as courtship and mating patterns, nest building, foraging, territorial defence activities, clutch incubation, and caring for the young. Here, we study the breeding behaviour of the Red Kite (Milvus milvus), a European native bird of prey. From a period between 2018 and 20...

Wastewaters belong among the most important sources of environmental pollution, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The aim of the study was to evaluate treated wastewaters as a possible transmission pathway for bacterial colonisation of gulls occupying the receiving river. A collection of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli originating both...

Human-induced direct mortality affects huge numbers of birds each year, threatening hundreds of species worldwide. Tracking technologies can be an important tool to investigate temporal and spatial patterns of bird mortality as well as their drivers. We compiled 1704 mortality records from tracking studies across the African-Eurasian flyway for 45...

A total of 1,621 wild birds representing 34 species were examined for chewing lice in reed beds in southwestern Slovakia during the pre-breeding migration 2008–2009 and 2016–2019. A total of 377 (23.3%) birds representing 15 species were parasitized by 26 species of chewing lice of 12 genera. Dominant genera were Penenirmus (with dominance 32.6%) a...

Lice were collected from 579 hummingbirds, representing 49 species, in 19 locations in Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay and Peru, at elevations 0–3000 m above sea level. The following variables were included in an ecological analysis (1) host species' mean body mass, sexual size dimorphism, sexual dichromatism, migratory behaviour and dominan...

Background For soaring birds, the ability to benefit from variable airflow dynamics is crucial, especially while crossing natural barriers such as vast water bodies during migration. Soaring birds also take advantage of warm rising air, so-called thermals, that allow birds to ascend passively to higher altitudes with reduced energy costs. Although...

The range of the Black Kite ( Milvus migrans ) includes vast territories in Eurasia, Africa and Australia. This raptor demonstrates unique ecological plasticity, inhabiting a variety of biotopes and readily taking the advantages of living close to humans. According to various sources, the Black Kite has from five to seven subspecies. Two of them in...

The main goal of the LIFE EUROKITE project is to reduce anthropogenic causes of mortality of the red kite in Europe. The efficient protection of the red kite requires the detailed understanding of overall mortality reasons, especially focusing on those caused by legal and illegal human activities. The LIFE EUROKITE project focuses on a Europe-wide...

Breeding behaviour of raptors is determined by many characteristics such as courtship and mating patterns, nest building, foraging, territory defensive activities, clutch incubation and caring for young. Here, we used European native avian generalist predator, the Red Kite (Milvus milvus), for a study of its breeding behaviour due to the selected b...

The black kite (Milvus migrans) and the red kite (Milvus milvus) are sympatric European raptors, and their interspecific hybrids can be found in this area. The genetic structure of kite populations in Europe and the world has been studied only to a limited extent. Microsatellite markers are often used in population structure studies because of thei...

The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a common raptor in suitable areas of Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia during the nonbreeding season. However, the exact number of birds wintering in these countries remains unknown. Through an integrated approach using satellite telemetry, direct field surveys at nocturnal roosts, and citizen science databas...

Migration and over-wintering strategy of raptors can be influenced by many factors such as sex, age and experience of birds, habitat variability and food availability. Based on the telemetry data of nine Red Kites (Milvus milvus), we observed in situ their wintering grounds in southern Italy during winter 2019/2020. Red Kites originated from Austri...

Wild birds including raptors can act as vectors of clinically relevant bacteria with antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli in black kites (Milvus migrans) inhabiting localities in proximity to human-influenced environments in southwestern Siberia and investigate their...

The first successful breeding of eastern imperial eagles (Aquila heliaca) in the Czech Republic, which lies at the north-western edge of its world breeding range, was confirmed in 1998. Here we summarise the dispersal, overwintering and expansion of the Czech population based on observational, ringing and telemetry data. The Czech breeding populati...

The Red Kite Milvus milvus is endemic to the western Palearctic. While the largest breeding population is in Germany, the population density decreases substantially from central to eastern Europe. In 2015, we tagged two young Red Kite females with telemetry loggers in an area with very low kite density in the northeastern part of Slovakia. One of t...

A total of 1185 passerine birds representing five species were examined for chewing lice in reed beds in southwestern Slovakia in spring (April) 2008, 2009 and 2016. Additional collecting focused only on chewing lice from Panurus biarmicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Passeriformes: Panuridae) was carried out in spring (April), summer (July) and autumn (Octob...

The feather mite genus Lamellodectes Hernandes and Valim, 2014 (Proctophyllodidae) was originally referred to the subfamily Pterodectinae based on the crucial diagnostic feature of this subfamily—the fusion of the epigynum with epimerites IIIa in females. Detailed investigation of two Lamellodectes species collected from ovenbirds (Passeriformes: F...

Black kites of the nominal subspecies Milvus migrans migrans breed in Europe and winter regularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. As a new phenomenon, black kites with morphological characteristics of the subspecies Milvus migrans lineatus are observed in Europe. Based on observations of black kites in winter 2020/2021 summarized in this...

To effectively protect European species such as the Red Kite, a detailed understanding of anthropogenic and non-anthropogenic influences, especially the causes of mortality and spatial context, is required. Modern telemetry techniques are increasingly used to obtain high-resolution information on spatial use. However, collecting such data can be di...

The aim of this study was to investigate the spread of antibiotic-resistant E. coli between three populations (P1-P3, n=55) of black kites (Milvus migrans) inhabiting localities with different anthropogenic influence in southwestern Siberia. This included populations P1 (n=16) and P3 (n=33) residing in environments with significant human footprint...

Capsule Some birds of the central European population of Red Kite Milvus milvus are non-migratory and winter within their natal area, whereas others migrate to southern Europe or even to northern Africa. Aims To determine what factors affect the area use and communal roost use by Red Kites wintering in their natal area. Methods We studied spatiot...

Admission records from wildlife rescue centres can help identify causes of morbidity for species of conservation concern, and to assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation. This study documents the causes of admission and outcomes of treatment in 68 white-tailed eagles admitted to rescue centres in the Czech Republic. We determine the factors that...

Migration and over-wintering strategy of raptors can be influenced by many factors such as sex, age and experience of birds, habitat variability and food availability. Based on the telemetry data of nine Red Kites (Milvus milvus), we observed in situ their wintering grounds in southern Italy during winter 2019/2020. Red Kites originated from Austri...

The study focuses on chigger mites parasitizing bird hosts in three countries of Latin America, Costa Rica, Paraguay, and Peru. In total, 785 chiggers collected from 145 birds of 67 species have been identified. Three new species have been described: Eutrombicula talamancensis sp. nov., from ten bird species in Costa Rica, Eutrombicula cathari sp....

By compiling various genomic and phenotypic data sets, we have provided one of the most comprehensive genomic studies of Escherichia coli isolates from the Australian silver gull, on media containing clinically relevant antibiotics. The analysis of genetic structures capturing antimicrobial resistance genes across three gull breeding colonies in Ne...

The Black Kite ( Milvus migrans ) is one of the most widespread raptors in the world. The Palaearctic is populated by two migrating subspecies, Milvus migrans migrans and Milvus migrans lineatus , in the western and eastern part of this realm, respectively. There is a large intergradation zone of M. m. migrans/M. m. lineatus in-between. Although th...

Understanding the year-round movement behaviour is fundamental for the effective conservation management of an ecologically important species. In the heavily human-modified landscape of Central Europe, Saker Falcons Falco cherrug have adapted to intensively managed agricultural habitats, often nesting and roosting on electrical pylons. We studied t...

Understanding intrinsic and extrinsic influences of movement behavior in migratory species, with the potential to recommend management actions for species of conservation concern, requires data from across the species' range. For some raptor species, such as the red kite (Milvus milvus; kite), existing data focus on breeding populations or movement...

The Caspian gull (Larus cachinnans) has recently spread from Ukraine (northern coast of the Black Sea, River Dnipro) to Poland, Germany and other European countries. The first breeding birds in the Czech Republic were recorded in 1990 at the Nové Mlýny Reservoir (NMR), since when the number of breeding pairs has increased to 248 (2020). As there is...

Predator behaviour and population numbers can be determined by many factors such as prey availability, individual and habitat characteristics, and intraspecific or interspecific factors. Using satellite telemetry, we measured home range size in 3 individuals of Red Kites (Milvus milvus) in three consecutive winters to document the pattern of spatia...

The black kite Milvus migrans, one of the most common raptor species, shows great flexibility as regards food resources and breeding sites. While black kite subspecies are found all over Eurasia, Africa and Australia, it has been poorly studied outside of Europe, with virtually nothing known about the phylogeny of populations in Asia, India, Africa...

Ten species of the louse genus Myrsidea belonging to the “ serini -species-group” have been reviewed. A redescription of Myrsidea quadrifasciata (Piaget, 1880), the earliest described and valid species of this species complex, is given and a neotype for this species is designated. Nine new junior synonymies of M. quadrifasciata are proposed and dis...

Background The Black Kite (Milvus migrans) is one of the most widespread raptors in the World. The Palaearctic is populated by two migrating subspecies, Milvus migrans migrans and Milvus migrans lineatus, in the western and eastern part of this realm, respectively. The intergradation zone of M. m. migrans/M. m. lineatus covers large areas in-betwee...

Carbapenem resistance gene blaOXA-244 is widely spread in the Middle East and North Africa and has emerged recently in clinical samples from various European countries. However, no animal source of blaOXA-244 has been identified in Europe. The rarely detected quinolone resistance gene qnrE1 is mainly identified in Klebsiella pneumoniae from clinica...

This study documents the causes of admission and final outcomes of treatment of 68 white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla; WTE) admitted to 20 rescue centres in the Czech Republic (CZ). The outcomes were expressed as the mortality rate (Mr = 35%), release rate (Rr = 38%) and permanent captivity rate (Cr = 27%). Mr was the highest in the trauma c...

The Red Kite (Milvus milvus) is a common raptor in the tripoint border area of Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia during the non-breeding season; however, the exact number of birds wintering in this area remains unknown. Using satellite telemetry, direct field censuses at nocturnal roosts and online avian platforms, we estimated the wintering...

Recently, an increasing number of reports have implied raptors in the carriage of ARB and ARGs encoding resistance to different classes of antibiotics as carbapenems, fluoroquinolone and cephalosporins. Raptors of various species inhabiting areas with close proximity to human and agricultural activities can acquire ARB through feeding on human food...

Dispersal is a key process affecting the dynamic and genetic structure of populations. To increase our knowledge on first-year dispersal in the white-tailed eagle (WTE), 35 nestlings in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria were equipped with GPS/GSM loggers while on the nest between 2016 and 2019. Twenty-nine individuals surviving until March 3...

Europe is commonly occupied by Black Kites of the nominal subspecies Milvus migrans migrans. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of sightings of Black Kites with morphological features of Milvus migrans lineatus suggesting the spreading of M. m. lineatus and a subsequent hybridization zone between M. m. migrans and M. m. linea...

Poultry represents a common source of bacteria with resistance to antibiotics including the critically important ones. Selective cultivation using colistin, cefotaxime and meropenem was performed for 66 chicken samples coming from 12 farms in Paraguay while two breeding companies supplied the farms. A total of 62 Escherichia coli and 22 Klebsiella...

In the 19th century, Red kite (Milvus milvus) was very common and widespread in Sardinia, but in the mid-900 an important decline occurred. Since the 1970s the species has been studied more continuously, but in recent years the published data seem contradictory. In 2018-2020, authors carried out specific research to collect data on the population o...

Dos especies de ácaros del género Neharpyrhynchus (Acariformes: Harpirhynchidae) fueron registrados en aves silvestres del Perú: Neharpyrhynchus trochilinus ex Amazilia lactea y A. chionogaster (ambos Apodiformes: Trochilidae) y Neharpyrhynchus tangara ex Thraupis episcopus (Passeriformes: Thraupidae). Los registros en A. chionogaster y T. episcopu...

Current bird populations in southern temperate latitudes often represent relicts of glacial refugia from which northern populations expanded as the climate became suitable following the last glacial maximum, 18 000 years before present. Alternatively, these southern populations could be the result of the fragmentation of large distributions and oth...

Dos especies de ácaros del género Neharpyrhynchus (Acariformes: Harpirhynchidae) fueron registrados en aves silvestres del Paraguay: Neharpyrhynchus trochilinus ex Chlorostilbon lucidus (=aureoventris) (Apodiformes: Trochilidae), Neharpyrhynchus tangara ex Paroaria capitatay P. coronata (Passeriformers: Thraupidae) y Neharpyrhynchus aff. spinus ex...

Silver gulls carry phylogenetically diverse Escherichia coli including globally dominant ExPEC sequence types and pandemic ExPEC-ST131 clades, however our large-scale study (504 samples) on silver gulls nesting off the coast of New South Wales identified E. coli ST457 as the most prevalent. A phylogenetic analysis of whole-genome sequences (WGS) of...

Wild corvids were examined for presence of carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacteria in the USA. A total of thirteen isolates were detected among 590 faecal samples of American crow; eleven Providencia rettgeri isolates harbouring blaIMP-27 on the chromosome as a class 2 integron gene cassette within Tn7 transposon, one isolate of Klebsiella p...

From 2014 to 2020, 32 black kites from various European countries were tagged with telemetry devices and tracked to study their spatiotemporal behaviour. Eleven birds which crossed the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea directly over large water bodies out of traditional migration routes over the Strait of Gibraltar, the Dardanelles/the Bosporus a...

Existing parentage analyses of large raptors have mostly used naturally shed feathers as a source of DNA. There is evidence that eagle nests are sometimes visited by conspecifics. Are these visitors involved in extra pair-paternity? More than 400 feather samples of nestlings and full-grown White-tailed Eagles were obtained in May at 13 nest sites i...

The winter months are an important part of the year for raptors as survival throughout this period is critical for the succeeding year's population recruitment. We reveal novel insights into the wintering of kites (Milvus spp.) on the Mediterranean island of Crete, Greece. We use a combination of 1) direct field observations, 2) online photograph s...

The study presents phylogeny and genomics of E. coli ST457 coming from wildlife and food-producing animals in comparison to its global cohort recovered from publicly available databases.

Predator behaviour can be determined by many factors such as prey availability, individual and habitat characteristics, and intraspecific or interspecific factors. Using satellite telemetry, we document the pattern of spatial responses of the Red Kites (Milvus milvus) to increasing availability of its dominant prey, the Common Vole (Microtus arvali...

Habitat preferences were studied in one juvenile and five adult Saker Falcons Falco cherrug equipped with GPS/GSM loggers (KITE-L, Ecotone, Poland). Adult birds were tagged from 2014 until 2017 in Austria. Juvenile was tagged before release from a rescue centre in the Czech Republic. We defined their temporary settlement areas (TSAs, sites where th...

The European population of Black Kites of the nominate subspecies Milvus migrans migrans (Boddaert, 1783) is estimated at 81,200–109,000 pairs. The birds winter in Africa but their natal dispersal remains largely unstudied. Here, we analyze the behavior of 25 GPS-tracked Black Kites tagged from 2014 until 2018 using GPS/GSM telemetry devices from 1...

One species of the louse genus Philopterus Nitzsch, 1818 is redescribed and illustrated: Philopterus acrocephalus Carriker, 1949 ex Acrocephalus luscinius (Quoy & Gaimard, 1830), A. melanopogon (Temminck, 1823), A. scirpaceus (Hermann, 1804), A. schoenobaenus (Linnaeus, 1758), Iduna aedon rufescens Stegmann, 1929, I. rama (Sykes, 1832), Locustella...

Birds are hosts for several zoonotic pathogens. Because of their high mobility, especially of long‐distance migrants, birds can disperse these pathogens, affecting their distribution and phylogeography. We focused on Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, which includes the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis, as an example for tick‐borne pathogens, to...

A total of 266 wild passerine birds (Passeriformes) representing eight species and nine subspecies from three islands of the Archipelago of the Azores were examined for ectoparasites. Two species of louse-flies Ornithomya avicularia and Ornithoica turdi (Diptera: Hippoboscidae), three species of fleas Ceratophyllus gallinae , Ceratophyllus sp. and...

Four red kites (Milvus milvus), (siblings, RK1, RK2, RK3 and RK4) from the same nest in north-eastern Austria were tagged with telemetry (GPS/GSM/UHF) loggers on 23 June 2018 during the pulli growth stage and tracked until 5 April 2019. RK1 (female), RK2 (male), RK3 (female) and RK4 (female) occupied post-fledging areas until 1 August 2018 when the...

An immature male marsh harrier (Circus aeuginosus) was trapped in late January, 2019 in the vicinity of the Evros Delta and fitted with GPS/GSM transmitter. Its home range encompassed an area of 146.2 km2 (95% MCP), and 50% 5.6 km2. MCP estimates showed a high monthly contraction of the home range (for 95% February=153.1 km2, March=44.7km2, April=2...

Three black kite (Milvus migrans migrans) pulli (siblings, BK1, BK2, and BK3) from the same nest in eastern Slovakia were tagged with telemetry (GPS/GSM) loggers on 1 July 2016. BK1 (female), BK2 (male) and BK3 (female) occupied post-fledging areas until 12 August 2016 when they began to migrate southeast. BK1 wintered in Libya, returned to Turkey...

The gene mcr-1 conferring resistance to last-line antibiotic colistin has been reported globally. Here we describe the first detection of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in Russian wildlife, an isolate of Escherichia coli sequence type 2280 from a black kite ( Milvus migrans ), scavenging raptor. Whole genome sequencing and plasmid transferabi...

The gene mcr-1 conferring resistance to last-line antibiotic colistin has been reported globally. Here, we describe the first detection of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance in Russian wildlife, an isolate of Escherichia coli sequence type 2280 from a black kite (Milvus migrans) scavenging raptor. Whole-genome sequenc-ing and plasmid transferabil...

Wild animals foraging in the human-influenced environment are colonised by bacteria with clinically important antibiotic resistance. The occurrence of such bacteria in wildlife is influenced by various biological, ecological and geographical factors which have not yet been fully understood. More research focusing on human-animal-environmental inter...

The pathogenic ESBL-producing E. coli lineage ST648 is increasingly reported from multiple origins. Our study of a large and global ST648 collection from multiple hosts (87 whole-genome sequences) combining core and accessory genomics with functional analyses and in vivo experiments suggests that ST648 is a nascent and generalist lineage, lacking c...

Red kite (Milvus milvus) is a European raptor. Kites of the nominal subspecies Milvus migrans migrans (hereafter called black kites) breed in the Western Palearctic and in Central Asia. Due to the extremely short period since their divergence, black and red kites can successfully hybridize. A mixed pair of black kite female and red kite male was ob...

Background: Peritoneal larval cestodiasis induced by Mesocestoides Vaillant, 1863 (Cyclophyllidea: Mesocestoididae) is a common cause of severe infections in domestic dogs and cats, reported also from other mammals and less frequently from birds. However, there is a limited knowledge on the taxonomy of causative agents of this disease. Results: I...