Responses of free-ranging brownsnakes (Pseudonaja textilis : Elapidae) to encounters with humans

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 689 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. B. Whitaker ◽  
R. Shine
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Human Observer ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Free Ranging

Eastern brownsnakes (Pseudonaja textilis) are large (to 2 m), slender, dangerously venomous elapid snakes that cause significant human mortality. We recorded the responses of free-ranging brownsnakes to 455 close encounters with a human observer, using 40 snakes implanted with miniature radio-transmitters, plus encounters with non-telemetered animals. Our study area (near Leeton in south-eastern Australia) is typical of many of the agricultural landscapes occupied by P. textilis. Contrary to public opinion, the snakes were rarely aggressive. About half of the encounters resulted in the snake retreating, and on most other occasions they relied on crypsis. Snakes advanced towards the observer on only 12 occasions (<3% of encounters) during initial approach, and only three of these advances were offensive. The snakes’ responses to an approach depended on the observer’s appearance (e.g. snakes were more likely to ignore an observer wearing light rather than dark shades of clothing) and behaviour (e.g. snakes were more likely to advance if approached rapidly, and touched immediately). Snakes were more likely to retreat if they were sub-adult rather than adult, if they were warm, or if they had been moving prior to an encounter. Weather conditions (air temperature, wind velocity and cloud cover) also influenced the snakes’ responses, as did season and time of day. The snakes’ response was relatively predictable from information on these factors, enabling us to suggest ways in which people can reduce the incidence of potentially fatal encounters with brownsnakes. ‘Snakes are first cowards, next bluffers, and last of all warriors’ (Pope 1958)

When, where and why do people encounter Australian brownsnakes (Pseudonaja textilis : Elapidae)?

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 675 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. B. Whitaker ◽  
R. Shine
Keyword(s):  
Air Temperature ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
New South ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Experienced Observer ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Species Ecology

Encounters between humans and dangerously venomous snakes put both participants at serious risk, so the determinants of such encounters warrant attention. Pseudonaja textilis is a large fast-moving elapid snake responsible for most snakebite fatalities in Australia. As part of a broad ecological study of this species in agricultural land near Leeton, New South Wales, we set out to identify factors influencing the probability that a human walking in farmland would come into close proximity to a brownsnake. Over a three-year period, we walked regular transects to quantify the number and rate of snake encounters, and the proportion of snakes above ground that could be seen. The rate of encounters depended upon a series of factors, including season, time of day, habitat type, weather conditions (wind and air temperature) and shade (light v. dark) of the observers’ clothing. Interactions between factors were also important: for example, the effect of air temperature on encounter probability differed with season and snake gender, and the effect of the observers’ shade of clothing differed with cloud cover. Remarkably, even a highly-experienced observer actually saw <25% of the telemetrically monitored snakes that were known to be active (i.e. above ground) nearby. This result reflects the snakes’ ability to evade people and to escape detection, even in the flat and sparsely vegetated study area. The proportion of snakes that were visible was influenced by the same kinds of factors as described above. Most of the factors biasing encounter rates are readily interpretable from information on other facets of the species’ ecology, and knowledge of these factors may facilitate safer coexistence between snakes and people.

Variability and drivers of extreme fire weather in fire-prone areas of south-eastern Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Harris ◽  
Graham Mills ◽  
Timothy Brown
Keyword(s):  
Fire Risk ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Fire Weather ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Extreme Fire ◽  
South Eastern Australia

Most of the life and property losses due to bushfires in south-eastern Australia occur under extreme fire weather conditions – strong winds, high temperatures, low relative humidity (RH) and extended drought. However, what constitutes extreme, and the values of the weather ingredients and their variability, differs regionally. Using a gridded dataset to identify the highest 10 fire weather days from 1972 to 2012, as defined by McArthur’s Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI), for 24 sites across Victoria and nearby, we analyse the extent and variability of these highest 10 FFDI days, and of the contributing temperature, RH, wind speed, wind direction and drought indices. We document the occurrence of these events by time of day, month of occurrence and inter-annual variability. We find there is considerable variability among regions in the highest FFDI days and also the contributing weather and drought parameters, with some regional groupings apparent. Many major fire events occurred on these highest 10 fire weather days; however there are also days in which extreme fire weather occurred yet no known major fires are recorded. The results from this study will be an additional valuable resource to fire agencies in fire risk planning by basing fire management decisions on site-specific extreme fire weather conditions.

The Diurnal and Seasonal Patterns of Grazing of the Red Kangaroo, Macropus-Rufus, and the Western Gray-Kangaroo, Macropus-Fuliginosus

1986 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Priddel
Keyword(s):  
Pulse Rate ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Red Kangaroo ◽  
Macropus Rufus ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Free Ranging

Free-ranging red and western grey kangaroos were fitted with radio transmitters which, when the kangaroo grazed, emitted a pulse rate different to that emitted during other activities. Red kangaroos grazed for between 7.1 and 10.5 h day-1; western grey kangaroos grazed for between 5.9 and 9.8 h day-1 . Red kangaroos grazed for the same amount of time each season despite fourfold changes in pasture biomass. The grazing time of western grey kangaroos was similar in autumn, winter and spring, but decreased by 22% in summer when pasture was most abundant. Males of both species grazed for about an hour longer than females each day. Most grazing (78% for red kangaroos; 86% for western grey kangaroos) took place between sunset and sunrise. The distribution of grazing activity with respect to time of day was bimodal; kangaroos grazed for extensive periods during the 6 h immediately after sunset and again during the few hours before and after sunrise. The time of grazing changed seasonally and these changes were associated with differences in daylength.

scholarly journals A Study on Zero Offset Uncertainty on CMP 6 Pyranometer

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Krishna Raj Adhikari
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Cloud Cover ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Early Morning ◽  
Day Length ◽  
Zero Offset ◽  
Negative Output

<p class="Default">This paper presents the zero offset in CPM6 pyranometer installed in Pokhara. In a pyranometer, a negative output called zero offset is observed when inner dome has a different temperature from the sensor and there is a net loss of energy by the pyranometer dome to the colder atmosphere which in turn is compensated by the sensor. This offset occurs due to thermal exchanges and temperature gradient within the instrument is often referred to as a zero offset, one of the uncertainties, because it becomes apparent at times when the signal should be zero. In this study, it is found that the variation of the uncertainty is independent of the day length but varies specially with climatic/weather conditions (cloud cover, wind speed, air temperature, etc) of that particular day, month, season and location. Commonly, two negative maxima were found every day; one associated with early morning hour (before sunrise) and another with evening/night before 24 hours (after sunset).</p><p><strong>Journal of Nepal Physical Society</strong><em><br /></em>Volume 4, Issue 1, February 2017, Page: 111-118</p>

scholarly journals Patterns of activity and inactivity in echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) free-ranging in a hot dry climate: correlates with ambient temperature, time of day and season

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 461 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. H. Brice ◽  
G. C. Grigg ◽  
L. A. Beard ◽  
J. A. Donovan
Keyword(s):  
Ambient Temperature ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Stevenson Screen ◽  
Hot Weather ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Temperature Time

Echidnas occur throughout Australia. They exhibit daily fluctuations in body temperature (Tb) and use torpor to various degrees throughout much of their range. Echidnas elsewhere are commonly diurnal except during hot weather. This study used temperature-sensitive radio-transmitters to investigate the activity patterns and temperature relations of echidnas in the relatively hot, dry climate of south-west Queensland with respect to temperature and photoperiod. During activity, echidnas were characterised by rising, but not necessarily high, Tbs. Activity was seen only within an ambient temperature range (as measured in a nearby Stevenson Screen: Tss) of 9–33�C so that activity was seen during the day and at night during the cool weather but only at night in summer. Echidnas used caves, burrows and logs when inactive. Tbs of inactive echidnas declined except when affected by rising ambient temperatures, as determined within these shelters (Ta). In summer, Tbs of echidnas in these shelters changed little or rose with increasing Ta to levels even higher than in active echidnas.Torpor was used by echidnas for periods up to nine days during winter and occasionally for up to one day during summer. Due to the difficulty of identifying the occurrence of torpor from Tb alone in warm conditions, the possibility that echidnas utilise torpor for less than one day remains inconclusive. Nevertheless, at least five bouts of torpor were identified in four (of eight) echidnas during winter/spring and two bouts of torpor from two echidnas in summer.

REAL CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE RADAR STATIONS OF THE COUNTER BATTERY FIGHTINGV

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 30-40
Author(s):  
V. Нolovan ◽  
V. Gerasimov ◽  
А. Нolovan ◽  
N. Maslich
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Current Position ◽  
Real Condition ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Artillery Shell

Fighting in the Donbas, which has been going on for more than five years, shows that a skillful counter-battery fight is an important factor in achieving success in wars of this kind. Especially in conditions where for the known reasons the use of combat aviation is minimized. With the development of technical warfare, the task of servicing the counter-battery fight began to rely on radar stations (radar) to reconnaissance the positions of artillery, which in modern terms are called counter-battery radar. The principle of counter-battery radar is based on the detection of a target (artillery shell, mortar mine or rocket) in flight at an earlier stage and making several measurements of the coordinates of the current position of the ammunition. According to these data, the trajectory of the projectile's flight is calculated and, on the basis of its prolongation and extrapolation of measurements, the probable coordinates of the artillery, as well as the places of ammunition falling, are determined. In addition, the technical capabilities of radars of this class allow you to recognize the types and caliber of artillery systems, as well as to adjust the fire of your artillery. The main advantages of these radars are:  mobility (transportability);  inspection of large tracts of terrain over long distances;  the ability to obtain target's data in near real-time;  independence from time of day and weather conditions;  relatively high fighting efficiency. The purpose of the article is to determine the leading role and place of the counter-battery radar among other artillery instrumental reconnaissance tools, to compare the combat capabilities of modern counter-battery radars, armed with Ukrainian troops and some leading countries (USA, China, Russia), and are being developed and tested in Ukraine. The method of achieving this goal is a comparative analysis of the features of construction and combat capabilities of modern models of counter-battery radar in Ukraine and in other countries. As a result of the conducted analysis, the directions of further improvement of the radar armament, increasing the capabilities of existing and promising counter-battery radar samples were determined.

scholarly journals Evaluating human–coyote encounters in an urban landscape using citizen science

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Drake ◽  
Shelli Dubay ◽  
Maximilian L Allen
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Human Observer ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Paved Road ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

Abstract Coyotes are ubiquitous in habitats across North America, including in urban areas. Reviews of human–coyote encounters are limited in scope and analysis and predominantly document encounters that tend to be negative, such as human–wildlife conflict, rather than benign experiences. The objective of our study was to use citizen science reports of human–coyote interactions entered into iNaturalist to better understand the range of first person accounts of human–coyote encounters in Madison, WI. We report 398 citizen science accounts of human–coyote encounters in the Madison area between October 2015 and March 2018. Most human–coyote encounters occurred during coyote breeding season and half of all encounters occurred in moderate development land cover. Estimated level of coyote aggressiveness varied significantly, with 90% of citizen scientists scoring estimated coyote aggression as a 0 and 7% scoring estimated aggression as a 1 on a 0–5 scale (with 0 being calm and 5 being aggressive). Our best performing model explaining the estimated distance between the human observer and a coyote (our proxy for a human–coyote encounter) included the variables distance to nearest paved road, biological season of the year relative to coyote life history, and time of day/night. We demonstrate that human–coyote interactions are regularly more benign than negative, with almost all first-hand reported human–coyote encounters being benign. We encourage public outreach focusing on practices that can foster benign encounters when educating the public to facilitate human–coyote coexistence.

scholarly journals The influence of weather conditions on body temperature, milk composition and yields of the free-ranging dromedary camels in Southeastern rangelands of Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1930932
Author(s):  
Matiwos Habte ◽  
Mitiku Eshetu ◽  
Melesse Maryo ◽  
Dereje Andualem ◽  
Abiyot Legesse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Milk Composition ◽  
Dromedary Camels ◽  
Free Ranging

Weather effects on intrahabitat movements of the western green lizard, Lacerta bilineata (Daudin, 1802), at its northern distribution range border: a radio-tracking study

2000 ◽  
Vol 78 (10) ◽  
pp. 1831-1839 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Sound ◽  
M Veith
Keyword(s):  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Strong Dependence ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Distribution Range ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Northern Distribution ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Movement Parameters ◽  
Bad Weather

Daily activity patterns of male western green lizards, Lacerta bilineata (Daudin, 1802), at the edge of their northern distribution range in western Germany after the breeding season from June to October were recorded using implanted radio transmitters. Different activity indices discriminating between stimulation, duration, and length of movement were correlated with actual weather conditions (d0) and with weather conditions on the 2 previous days (d-1 and d-2). The lizards' dependence on weather showed two different phases throughout the study period. During the first period and in the period preceding a drastic change of weather in midsummer, weather had no significant influence on movement parameters. After that event, temperatures dropped and a strong dependence on weather of all movement parameters except those indicating displacements became apparent. Thresholds for 50% activity during this second phase were a maximum temperature of 17°C and a minimum humidity of 35%. Two days after periods of bad weather, the influence of weather conditions increased again. This can be explained by physiological deficits that require compensation during the period of marginal weather conditions prior to hibernation. Displacement movements were significantly longer than home-range movements and were neither triggered nor modulated by the weather. They must therefore represent activities such as patrolling territory boundaries.

What's hot and what's not: defining torpor in free-ranging birds and mammals

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 1885-1890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert MR Barclay ◽  
Cori L Lausen ◽  
Lydia Hollis
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
The Body ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
The Past ◽  
Data Loggers ◽  
Temperature Thresholds ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Lowered Body

With the development of small implantable data loggers and externally attached temperature-sensitive radio transmitters, increasing attention is being paid to determining the thermoregulatory strategies of free-ranging birds and mammals. One of the constraints of such studies is that without a direct measure of metabolic rate, it is difficult to determine the significance of lowered body temperatures. We surveyed the literature and found that many different definitions have been used to discriminate torpor from normothermy. Many studies use arbitrary temperature thresholds without regard for the normothermic body temperature of the individuals or species involved. This variation makes comparison among studies difficult and means that ecologically and energetically significant small reductions in body temperature may be overlooked. We suggest that normothermic body temperature for each individual animal should be determined and that torpor be defined as occurring when the body temperature drops below that level. When individuals' active temperatures are not available, a species-specific value should be used. Of greater value, however, are the depth and duration of torpor bouts. We suggest several advantages of this definition over those used in the past.

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