The ecology of insectivorous bats in the Simpson Desert central Australia: habitat use.

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 205 ◽  
Author(s):  
AJ Williams ◽  
CR Dickman

Seven species of insectivorous bats were positively identified within a regional study area in the Simpson Desert in south-western Queensland. This paper describes habitat use by this bat assemblage and the degree to which presence of water, food availability and roosting potential impact on bat activity. Bats predominantly utilised water sources, rock outcrops, dune/swale areas near woodland, dry creek lines and coolibah woodland habitats. However, they rarely used open habitats (open plain and dune/swale), acacia scrub and gidgee woodland. The bats foraged most often over water and on calmer nights, when insects were more active. Although highly active over water in some areas, bats may survive in the Simpson Desert without access to permanent water. Food availability in terms of flying insect abundance and biomass did not appear to significantly determine the use of different habitats. However, activity over the entire study area was concentrated in areas with a higher roosting potential. Consequently both tree and cave roost sites may be a limiting resource, resulting in bat activity being restricted predominantly to oases in the Simpson Desert study area.

Author(s):  
Sandra Ribeiro ◽  
Francisco A. Viddi ◽  
José Luís Cordeiro ◽  
Thales R.O. Freitas

Fine-scale habitat selection of Chilean dolphins was studied between January and April 2002 through shore-based theodolite tracking in order to investigate the environmental and behavioural determinants of habitat use, and to evaluate the interactions between this species and aquaculture activities in Yaldad Bay, southern Chile. During 293.5 h of effort, movement and habitat selection patterns of dolphins exhibited a significantly concentrated use of only 21% of the entire study area. Correspondence analysis showed that shallow waters (5–10 m), proximity to coast and rivers were the most significant environmental parameters determining fine-scale dolphin distribution patterns, with foraging the most frequently observed activity. Aquaculture activities in the area were observed to affect dolphin habitat use patterns by restricting space available for biologically important dolphin behaviours.


2003 ◽  
Vol 154 (8) ◽  
pp. 305-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roman Eyholzer ◽  
Martin Baumann ◽  
Rolf Manser

Faced with the challenging task of balancing forest interests and wildlife, the Swiss Forest Agency initiated the pilot programme«Game and Forest», which is committed to a philosophy of goal-oriented management practice and a redesign of forestry subsidizing. Within this programme the diverse goals of forestry and hunting have been amalgamated to a superimposed goal and set out in a corresponding contract. The Game-Forest-Management-Tool (GFMT) has been divised to simulate the effect of various strategies to deal with the complex problems of forest-wildlife. Optimal contract-fulfilling procedures can be simulated on a PC using this technical tool. The efficiency of the measures suggested by simulations that were carried out are being tested in a study area within the pilot programme, «Game and Forest». Half way through this trial, after two years, we can say that there has been no significant increase of non-browsed areas. In 2004, after the collection of data for the entire study area, we will be able to tell whether applying this computer simulated strategy truly leads to an augmentation of non-browsed area and a decrease in bark-peeled forests in the pilot area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2129
Author(s):  
Fei Zhao ◽  
Lu Song ◽  
Zhiyan Peng ◽  
Jianqin Yang ◽  
Guize Luan ◽  
...  

Using toponym data, population data, and night-time light data, we visualized the development index of the Yi, Wa, Zhuang, Naxi, Hani, and Dai ethnic groups on ArcGIS as well as the distribution of 25 ethnic minorities in the study area. First, we extracted the toponym data of 25 ethnic minorities in the study area, combined with night-time light data and the population proportion data of each ethnic group, then we obtained the development index of each ethnic group in the study area. We compared the development indexes of the Yi, Wa, Zhuang, Naxi, Hani, and Dai ethnic groups with higher development indexes. The results show that the Yi nationality’s development index was the highest, reaching 28.86 (with two decimal places), and the Dai nationality’s development index was the lowest (15.22). The areas with the highest minority development index were concentrated in the core area of the minority development, and the size varied with the minority’s distance. According to the distribution of ethnic minorities, we found that the Yi ethnic group was distributed in almost the entire study area, while other ethnic minorities had obvious geographical distribution characteristics, and there were multiple ethnic minorities living together. This research is of great significance to the cultural protection of ethnic minorities, the development of ethnic minorities, and the remote sensing mapping of lights at night.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 454-468
Author(s):  
Yumeng Song ◽  
Jing Zhang

Abstract We integrated hyperspectral and field-measured chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) data from the Kristalbad constructed wetland in the Netherlands. We developed a best-fit band ratio empirical algorithm to generate a distribution map of Chl-a concentration (C chla) from SPOT 6 imagery. The C chla retrieved from remote sensing was compared with a water quality model established for a wetland pond system. The retrieved satellite results were combined with a water quality model to simulate and predict the changes in phytoplankton levels. The regression model provides good retrievals for Chl-a. The imagery-derived C chla performed well in calibrating the simulation results. For each pond, the modeled C chla showed a range of values similar to the Chl-a data derived from SPOT 6 imagery (10–25 mg m−3). The imagery-derived and prediction model results could be used as the guiding analytical tools to provide information covering an entire study area and to inform policies.


Biotropica ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Fenton ◽  
N. G. H. Boyle ◽  
T. M. Harrison ◽  
D. J. Oxley

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke S. K. Frank ◽  
Chris R. Dickman ◽  
Glenda M. Wardle

The activities of livestock in arid environments typically centre on watering points, with grazing impacts often predicted to decrease uniformly, as radial piospheres, with distance from water. In patchy desert environments, however, the spatial distribution of grazing impacts is more difficult to predict. In this study sightings and dung transects are used to identify preferred cattle habitats in the heterogeneous dune system of the Simpson Desert, central Australia. The importance of watering points as foci for cattle activity was confirmed and it was shown that patchily distributed gidgee woodland, which comprises only 16% of the desert environment, is the most heavily used habitat for cattle away from water and provides critical forage and shade resources. By contrast, dune swales and sides, which are dominated by shade- and forage-deficient spinifex grassland and comprise >70% of the available habitat, were less utilised. These results suggest that habitat use by cattle is influenced jointly by water point location and by the dispersion of woodland patches in a resource-poor matrix. The findings were used to build a modified conceptual model of cattle habitat use which was compared with an original piosphere model, and the consequences for wildlife in environments where the model applies are discussed.


2004 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-407 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph F. J. Meyer ◽  
Christian J. Schwarz ◽  
Jakob Fahr

We studied activity patterns and habitat use by insectivorous bats in Comoé National Park, Ivory Coast. Bat foraging activity was quantified along five transects representing three different habitat types using acoustic monitoring and captures with mist nets and harp traps. Aerial insect abundance was assessed using a light trap; in addition shrub and tree arthropods were sampled. Bat activity was significantly and positively related to insect availability and ambient temperature, whereas increased visibility of the moon had a negative influence on flight activity. Together, these factors best explained both total bat activity and activity of bats hunting in open space and edge habitats. The interaction between temperature and light intensity was the best predictor of activity by species foraging in obstacle-rich forest habitats, however, the regression model had a low predictive value. Overall, a large proportion (c. 50%) of the variation in bat activity appeared to be a consequence of transect- and/or habitat-specific influences. We found a significant non-linear relationship between the activity of QCF (quasi-constant frequency) and FM–QCF (frequency modulated – quasi-constant frequency) bats and the phase of the moon, with lowest levels of activity occurring near full moon. We interpret this lunar-phobic behaviour as a reflection of a higher predation risk during moonlit periods. For FM (steep frequency modulated) and CF (constant frequency) bats, no significant correlation was found, although there was a trend suggesting that these bats at least were not negatively affected by bright moonlight. Foraging activity of bats was positively correlated with the abundance of atympanate moths; however, no such correlation was found for tympanate moths.


1985 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 1117-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald M. Weseloh

AbstractThe impact of predation by Calosoma sycophanta L. on an increasing prey population was assessed by recapturing marked adult beetles, periodically observing tagged gypsy moth pupae, and examining gypsy moth pupal remains in different microhabitats. Adult beetles dispersed in random directions but many tended to remain near the trap at which they were originally caught, suggesting a low dispersal potential. About 75% of the adult beetles present in the plot on one day were still present the next day. Capture–recapture estimates suggested that there were at most about 250 male beetles and half as many females/ha in the plot. Calosoma larvae destroyed 70% of tagged gypsy moth pupae under burlap bands on tree trunks near ground level, which was much more than any other mortality factor. Although this percentage was the same when mortality was assessed by looking at pupal remains within 5 m of the ground on tree trunks, pupae higher in trees and on leaves were not attacked as frequently. On average, about 40% of the pupae present in the entire study area were destroyed by Calosoma larvae. Each female beetle in the site would have had to produce about 30 progeny to have this effect. These data suggest that a relatively low number of adult beetles can have a substantial impact on gypsy moth populations.


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