La Cicogna bianca (Ciconia ciconia) è un grande uccello migratore, facilmente riconoscibile per il suo piumaggio prevalentemente bianco, con ali nere che contrastano nettamente. Ha un lungo collo e gambe slanciate rosse, ideali per camminare in zone paludose. Il suo becco, lungo e appuntito, è anch'esso di colore rosso vivo, ed è utilizzato per catturare una vasta gamma di prede, tra cui insetti, rane, pesci e piccoli mammiferi. La cicogna bianca è conosciuta anche per la leggenda che la associa come simbolo di fertilità e di buon augurio. Durante il volo, tiene il collo disteso in avanti e le gambe distese dietro.
Classificazione scientifica:
- Regno: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Classe: Aves
- Ordine: Ciconiiformes
- Famiglia: Ciconiidae
- Genere: Ciconia
- Specie: Ciconia ciconia
Dimensioni e peso: La cicogna bianca ha una lunghezza compresa tra 100 e 115 cm, con un'apertura alare che può variare tra i 155 e i 215 cm. Il peso medio di un adulto è di circa 2,5-4,5 kg. Le dimensioni notevoli e le lunghe ali consentono a questa specie di compiere migrazioni su lunghe distanze con un volo planato efficiente.
Habitat: Le cicogne bianche preferiscono vivere in zone aperte, come praterie, pascoli, zone umide e terreni agricoli, dove trovano abbondante cibo. Evitano generalmente le foreste fitte. Durante la stagione riproduttiva, costruiscono nidi di grandi dimensioni su alberi, edifici o pali, utilizzando rami, fango e vegetazione. Le cicogne bianche sono migratori a lungo raggio, trascorrendo l'estate in Europa e migrando verso l'Africa subsahariana per l'inverno.
Comportamento e abitudini: Le cicogne bianche sono monogame e spesso tornano nello stesso nido ogni anno, che possono migliorare e riutilizzare per molti anni. Questi nidi possono diventare molto grandi e pesanti nel tempo. La cicogna è nota per il suo comportamento sociale durante le migrazioni, quando forma grandi stormi che seguono le correnti termiche per planare su lunghe distanze senza battere continuamente le ali. Durante la stagione riproduttiva, la femmina depone da 3 a 5 uova, che vengono covate da entrambi i genitori per circa un mese. Dopo la schiusa, i pulcini rimangono nel nido per circa due mesi prima di essere pronti a volare.
Pericoli, nemici e minacce: Le cicogne bianche hanno pochi predatori naturali quando sono adulte, ma le uova e i pulcini possono essere attaccati da rapaci, mammiferi carnivori o serpenti. Tuttavia, le principali minacce per questa specie derivano dalle attività umane. La perdita di habitat, l'uso di pesticidi e l'elettrificazione rurale (attraverso cavi e pali) rappresentano le principali minacce per le popolazioni di cicogne. Inoltre, i cambiamenti climatici potrebbero influenzare i loro schemi migratori e la disponibilità di cibo.
Specie protetta o minacciata: La cicogna bianca è una specie protetta in molti paesi, soprattutto in Europa, dove gli sforzi di conservazione hanno aiutato a stabilizzare e aumentare le sue popolazioni. Grazie a progetti di protezione degli habitat e all'installazione di piattaforme per la nidificazione, la cicogna bianca ha recuperato gran parte delle sue popolazioni storiche in regioni come Germania, Polonia e Spagna. In alcuni paesi è considerata un simbolo culturale, associato alla fortuna e alla prosperità.
Bibliografia__________________________________________________________________________
Schleper S. Victims and diplomats: European white stork conservation efforts, animal representations, and images of expertise in postwar ornithology. Sci Context. 2022 Sep;35(3):294-313. doi: 10.1017/S0269889724000024.
Abstract. This article discusses two approaches to save the European white stork populations from extinction that emerged after 1980. Despite the shared objective to devise transnational, science-based conservation measures, the two approaches' geographical focus was radically different. Projects by the World Wildlife Fund and the International Council for Bird Preservation focused firmly on the stork's wintering areas on the African continent. Interventions by a second group of ornithologists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell concentrated on the Middle East as a migration bottleneck. Based on archival research, interviews and correspondence with involved ornithologists, the article examines stork representations as an important lens for investigating the professional politics of ecology and conservation. It shows that representations of white storks, the birds' ecology, and derived conservation hotspots became part of the boundary work used by European ornithologists in the creation of changing scientific and institutional identities.
Kamiński P, Grochowska E, Mroczkowski S, Jerzak L, Kasprzak M, Koim-Puchowska B, Woźniak A, Ciebiera O, Markulak D. Sex ratio of White Stork Ciconia ciconia in different environments of Poland. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2015 Sep;22(17):13194-203. doi: 10.1007/s11356-015-4250-z.
Abstract. The aim of this study was to analyze the variation in sex ratio of White Stork Ciconia ciconia chicks from differentiated Poland environments. We took under a consideration the impact of Cd and Pb for establish differences among sex ratio in chicks. We also study multiplex PCR employment for establish gender considerations. We collected blood samples via venipuncture of brachial vein of chicks during 2006-2008 breeding seasons at the Odra meadows (SW-Poland; control), which were compared with those from suburbs (SW-Poland), and from copper smelter (S-Poland; polluted) and from swamps near Baltic Sea. We found differences among sex ratio in White Stork chicks from types of environment. Male participation in sex structure is importantly higher in each type of environment excluded suburban areas. Differences in White Stork sex ratio according to the degree of environmental degradation expressed by Cd and Pb and sex-environment-metal interactions testify about the impact of these metals upon sex ratios in storks. Simultaneously, as a result of multiplex PCR, 18S ribosome gene, which served as internal control of PCR, was amplified in male and female storks. It means that it is possible to use primers designed for chicken in order to replicate this fragment of genome in White Stork. Moreover, the use of Oriental White Stork Ciconia boyciana W- chromosome specific primers makes it possible to determine the sex of C. ciconia chicks. Many factors make sex ratio of White Stork changes in subsequent breeding seasons, which depend significantly on specific environmental parameters that shape individual detailed defense mechanisms.
Graczyk R, Indykiewicz P, Olszewski A, Tobółka M. Mites Living in the Nests of the White Stork and Black Stork in Microhabitats of the Forest Environment and Agrocenoses. Animals (Basel). 2023 Oct 12;13(20):3189. doi: 10.3390/ani13203189.
Abstract. The White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) and the Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) are well-known model organisms for the study of bird migration, as well as the selectivity of nesting sites and the choice of living environment. The former breeds mainly in open areas, while the latter inhabits forest areas. The acarofauna, and in particular Oribatida, inhabiting the nests of these species, has not been thoroughly explored so far. Therefore, we analyzed the material collected from 70 White Stork nests and 34 Black Stork nests in Poland, between Poznań and Rawicz, and in Kampinos National Park. Our research has increased the faunal and ecological knowledge of the mite fauna inhabiting the nests of large migratory bird species. Oribatida constituted 5-12% of the total mites identified in the nests of White and Black Storks. Their average number was several times higher in the Black Stork nests (80.2 individuals in 500 cm3). Also, the species diversity of moss mites was greater in the Black Stork nests (47 species). In total, the nests of the two stork species were inhabited by 62 moss mite species, with only 22 recorded in both the White and the Black Storks' nests. The most numerous species included Ramusella clavipectinata, R. fasciata, Oppiella subpectinata, Acrogalumna longipluma, and Scheloribates laevigatus. In addition, we found that juvenile oribatid mites accounted for 0.6% of all the mites in the White Stork nests, with tritonymphs having the largest share, while juveniles in the Black Stork nests comprised 1.4%, of which larvae and protonymphs had the largest share. Our research shows that the nests of large migratory birds provide living space for many mite species. In addition, we noted the potential importance of White and Black Stork nests for mite dispersion and the evolution of interspecies interactions.
Bouaziz A, Loucif L, Ayachi A, Guehaz K, Bendjama E, Rolain JM. Migratory White Stork (Ciconia ciconia): A Potential Vector of the OXA-48-Producing Escherichia coli ST38 Clone in Algeria. Microb Drug Resist. 2018 May;24(4):461-468. doi: 10.1089/mdr.2017.0174.
Abstract. The emergence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae is of great concern to public health worldwide. The aim of this study was to screen for the presence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in white stork (Ciconia ciconia) migratory bird stools, and to investigate their molecular support on β-lactamase production. In March 2015, 32 fecal samples of white stork were collected in the Commune of El Madher Wilaya de Batna, in eastern Algeria. Samples were subjected to selective isolation of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Representative colonies were screened phenotypically for carbapenemase production. Carbapenemase-producing isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) coproduction. β-Lactamase determinants were searched for by PCR and sequencing. Three carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli were obtained. Only one strain was positive for ESBL production. The OXA-48-type carbapenemase-encoding gene was detected in all isolates. Screening for other β-lactamase-encoding genes showed that all isolates coexpress the blaTEM gene, whereas one of them additionally harbored the blaCTX-M-15 ESBL gene. Multilocus sequence typing results showed that two strains belonged to the sequence type 38. This work demonstrated for the first time that the migratory white stork can play an important role in the dissemination of OXA-48-producing E. coli as a potential reservoir and vector.
