{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T03:50:52Z","timestamp":1791431452394,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":108,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789430400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":14,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788220800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ecology and Evolution"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    The Cattle Egret (\n                    <jats:styled-content style=\"fixed-case\">\n                      <jats:italic>Bubulcus ibis<\/jats:italic>\n                    <\/jats:styled-content>\n                    ) is one of Africa's most adaptable yet environmentally sensitive waterbirds, occupying natural wetlands, grazing systems, irrigated agro\u2010mosaics and urban green spaces. We conducted a systematic review of 173 studies published between the 1940s and 2025, incorporating global research where it provided insights relevant to Southern African populations. Using narrative synthesis and quantitative summaries, we evaluated population trends, habitat use, breeding ecology, threats and ecosystem services. Across all studies, habitat and foraging ecology dominated the literature (46.2%), followed by population status and distribution (21.4%), breeding ecology and behaviour (16.8%) and threats and contaminants (15.6%). In Southern Africa, atlas interpretations and site\u2010based surveys from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho indicate generally stable or increasing populations over the past three decades, with SABAP\u2010derived occupancy rising from 0.38 (1987\u20131991) to 0.60 (2007\u2013present). Densities generally peak in irrigated pastures and peri\u2010urban green spaces of eastern South Africa, but remain low in arid Namibia, high\u2010altitude Lesotho and Zambia's under\u2010sampled floodplains. Foraging studies show diets dominated by Orthoptera, enhanced success near livestock and machinery and seasonal shifts in both diet and foraging locations that reflect hydrology\u2010driven changes in prey availability and habitat accessibility. Breeding studies report opportunistic, rainfall\u2010synchronised nesting, mean colony sizes of ~65 nests, clutch sizes of 2.9 eggs and fledging success of ~62%. Key threats include loss of nesting habitat, extreme\u2010weather colony failures, organochlorine contamination and pathogen spillover at poultry interfaces, while ecosystem\u2010service benefits include pest suppression and nutrient redistribution. We recommend three priorities for future research: (1) advanced telemetry and stable\u2010isotope analyses to map movements; (2) routine contaminant and pathogen screening within One Health frameworks; and (3) expanded atlas\u2010based and citizen\u2010science monitoring to address geographic bias. These steps will clarify the species' dual role as a service provider and early\u2010warning indicator of environmental change across Southern Africa.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ece3.74300","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]],"date-time":"2026-09-15T09:30:18Z","timestamp":1789464618000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Population Status, Ecology and Conservation Challenges of Cattle Egrets (\n                    <i>Bubulcus ibis<\/i>\n                    ), Especially in the Southern Africa Subregion: A Systematic Review and Evidence Synthesis"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3131-1349","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bhekinkosi","family":"Sibanda","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation Chinhoyi University of Technology  Chinhoyi Zimbabwe"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7924-3205","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tawanda","family":"Tarakini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation Chinhoyi University of Technology  Chinhoyi Zimbabwe"},{"name":"Research Platform, Production and Conservation in Partnership  Harare Zimbabwe"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2062-3216","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Josphine","family":"Mundava","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management National University of Science and Technology  Bulawayo Zimbabwe"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_14_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chemosphere.2014.06.068"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/aje.70045"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.15666\/aeer\/1403_297308"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/1521007"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/11250003.2012.758784"},{"key":"e_1_2_14_7_1","volume-title":"Cattle Egrets Colour Banded","author":"Beckett T. 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