scholarly journals Investigating the potential of opportunistic sighting data to inform wildlife conservation strategies

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Tenan ◽  
Paolo Pedrini ◽  
Natalia Bragalanti ◽  
Claudio Groff ◽  
Chris Sutherland
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Information ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Sampling Protocols ◽  
Elusive Species ◽  
Scr Model ◽  
Number Of Individuals

ABSTRACTAbundance and space use are key population-level parameters used to inform management and conservation decisions of rare and elusive species, for which monitoring resources can be limited, potentially affecting quality of model-based inference. Recently-developed methods that integrate multiple data sources arising from the same ecological process have typically been focused on data from well-defined sampling protocols, i.e. structured data sets. Despite a rapid increase in availability of large datasets, the value of unstructured or opportunistic data to improve inference about spatial ecological processes is, however, unclear. Using spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methods, we jointly analyze opportunistic recovery of biological samples, traditional SCR data resulting from systematic sampling of hair traps and rub trees, and satellite telemetry data, collected on a reintroduced brown bear population in the central Alps. We compared the precision of sex-specific estimates of density and space use derived from models using combinations of data sources ranging from traditional SCR to a fully integrated SCR model that includes both telemetry and opportunistic data. Estimates of density and space use were more precise when unstructured data were added compared to estimates from a classical SCR model. Our results demonstrate that citizen science data lend itself naturally to integration with in the SCR framework and highlight the value of opportunistic data for improving inference about space use, and in turn, of abundance and density. When individual identity and location can be obtained from opportunistic observations, such data are informative about space use and thus have the potential to improve estimates of movement and density using SCR methods. This is particularly relevant in studies of rare or elusive species, where the amount of SCR encounters is usually small, but also budget restrictions and the difficulty of collaring animals limit the number of individuals for which telemetry information is available. Spatially-referenced opportunistic data thus potentially increase both the geographic extent of a study and the number of individuals with available spatial information, providing an improved understanding of how individuals are distributed and how they use space – fundamental components for calibrating conservation management actions.

scholarly journals Rapid continental spread of a salt-tolerant plant along the European road network

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Fekete ◽  
Gy. Haszonits ◽  
D. Schmidt ◽  
H. Bak ◽  
O. Vincze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Road Network ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Road Maintenance ◽  
Salt Tolerant ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Germination Experiment ◽  
Plantago Coronopus

AbstractThe spread of alien species with the expansion of road networks and increasing traffic is a well-known phenomenon globally. Besides their corridor effects, road maintenance practices, such as the use of de-icing salts during winter facilitate the spread of halophyte (salt tolerant) species along roads. A good example is Plantago coronopus, a mainly coastal halophyte which has started spreading inland from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastal habitats, recently reaching even Central European countries (e.g. Hungary). Here we studied the spread of this halophyte and tried to identify factors explaining its successful dispersion along roads, while also comparing native and non-native roadside occurrences with regard to altitude of the localities, size of roadside populations and frequency of roadside occurrences. We completed a comprehensive literature review and collected more than 200 reports of occurrence from roadsides spanning a total of 38 years. During systematic sampling the frequency of the species along roads was significantly higher in the Mediterranean (native area), than along Hungarian (non-native area) roads, however the average number of individuals at the sampling localities were very similar, and no significant difference could be detected. Using a germination experiment, we demonstrate that although the species is able to germinate even at high salt concentrations, salt is not required for germination. Indeed salt significantly decreases germination probability of the seeds. The successful spread of the species could most likely be explained by its remarkably high seed production, or some special characteristics (e.g. seed dimorphism) and its ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions. Considering the recent and rapid eastward spread of P. coronopus, occurrences in other countries where it has not been reported yet can be predicted in coming years.

scholarly journals RESPON IKAN KARANG PADA AREA APARTEMEN IKAN DI PERAIRAN TOBOLOLO DAN GAMALAMA KOTA TERNATE

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Aditiyawan Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Coral Fish ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Total Species

Fish apartment is a management actions to maintain the presence of coral fish that serves as a new habitat well as shelter and spawning. The number of fish apartment at each location is 20 units. The present study aimed at assessment the response of coral fish to the fish apartment based on the species and number of individuals coral fish. Total species found in the area of fish apartment as much as 7 families and 9 species with a total of 241 individual coral fish in the Tobololo, while 12 families and 23 species with a total of 567 individual. Moreover, the juvenile of coral fish is not identified with a size of 2-3 cm, the number of individuals in Tobololo 154 and 275 in Gamalama. The response of coral fish positively to the fish apartment evidenced by an increase in abundance and the percentage of the number and types of coral fish. So that management action with fish apartment approach provides a positive impact on the presence of coral fish as a new habitat and supports the corals juvenile.

scholarly journals Potential of High-Resolution Pléiades Imagery to Monitor Salt Marsh Evolution After Spartina Invasion

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bárbara Proença ◽  
Frédéric Frappart ◽  
Bertrand Lubac ◽  
Vincent Marieu ◽  
Bertrand Ygorra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Multispectral Images ◽  
Spartina Anglica ◽  
Early Assessment ◽  
Ground Truth Data ◽  
Spartina Species

An early assessment of biological invasions is important for initiating conservation strategies. Instrumental progress in high spatial resolution (HSR) multispectral satellite sensors greatly facilitates ecosystems’ monitoring capability at an increasingly smaller scale. However, species detection is still challenging in environments characterized by a high variability of vegetation mixing along with other elements, such as water, sediment, and biofilm. In this study, we explore the potential of Pléiades HSR multispectral images to detect and monitor changes in the salt marshes of the Bay of Arcachon (SW France), after the invasion of Spartina anglica. Due to the small size of Spartina patches, the spatial and temporal monitoring of Spartina species focuses on the analysis of five multispectral images at a spatial resolution of 2 m, acquired at the study site between 2013 and 2017. To distinguish between the different types of vegetation, various techniques for land use classification were evaluated. A description and interpretation of the results are based on a set of ground truth data, including field reflectance, a drone flight, historical aerial photographs, GNSS and photographic surveys. A preliminary qualitative analysis of NDVI maps showed that a multi-temporal approach, taking into account a delayed development of species, could be successfully used to discriminate Spartina species (sp.). Then, supervised and unsupervised classifications, used for the identification of Spartina sp., were evaluated. The performance of the species identification was highly dependent on the degree of environmental noise present in the image, which is season-dependent. The accurate identification of the native Spartina was higher than 75%, a result strongly affected by intra-patch variability and, specifically, by the presence of areas with a low vegetation density. Further, for the invasive Spartina anglica, when using a supervised classifier, rather than an unsupervised one, the accuracy of the classification increases from 10% to 90%. However, both algorithms highly overestimate the areas assigned to this species. Finally, the results highlight that the identification of the invasive species is highly dependent both on the seasonal presence of itinerant biological features and the size of vegetation patches. Further, we believe that the results could be strongly improved by a coupled approach, which combines spectral and spatial information, i.e., pattern-recognition techniques.

scholarly journals Marine reserve benefits and recreational fishing yields: The winners and the losers

PLoS ONE ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. e0237685
Author(s):  
Mohsen Kayal ◽  
Marine Cigala ◽  
Eléonore Cambra ◽  
Nelly Soulat ◽  
Manon Mercader ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Recreational Fishing ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Fish Stocks ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Unit Effort ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Social ◽  
Decadal Scale

Marine reserves constitute effective tools for preserving fish stocks and associated human benefits. However, not all reserves perform equally, and predicting the response of marine communities to management actions in the long run is challenging. Our decadal-scale survey of recreational fishing yields at France’s 45-year old Cerbère-Banyuls marine reserve indicated significant protection benefits, with 40–50% higher fishing yields per unit effort in the partial-protection zone of the reserve (where fishing is permitted but at a lower level) than in surrounding non-reserve areas. Over the period 2005–2014, catch per unit effort (CPUE) declined both inside and outside the reserve, while weight per unit effort (WPUE) increased by 131% inside and decreased by 60% outside. Different CPUE and WPUE trajectories among fish families indicated changing catch assemblages, with yields increasing for the family most valued by fisheries, Sparidae (the ecological winners). However, reserve benefits were restricted to off-shore fishermen (the social winners), as on-shore yields were ~4 times lower and declining, even inside the reserve. Our study illustrates how surveys of recreational fishing yields can help evaluate the effectiveness of marine protected areas for key social and ecological protagonists. We show that, more than four decades after its establishment, fishing efficiencies at the historical Cerbère-Banyuls marine reserve are still changing, but benefits in terms of catch abundance, weight, and composition remain predominantly restricted to off-shore fishermen. Further regulations appear necessary to guarantee that conservation strategies equitably benefit societal groups.

scholarly journals Home Range Characteristics and Diel Patterns in Space Use of Mutton Snapper, Lutjanus Analis, in St. Thomas, Us Virgin Islands

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Heidmann ◽  
Jonathan Jossart ◽  
Richard S. Nemeth
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Movement Ecology ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Diel Patterns ◽  
Management Actions

Abstract Background: The movement ecology of mutton snapper Lutjanus analis is poorly understood despite their ecological and economic importance in the Caribbean. Passive acoustic telemetry was used to determine home ranges of six adult L. analis, including diel patterns, in Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Understanding long-term space use, including site fidelity and habitat usage, is necessary to implement effective and appropriate management actions for a species with extensive space and resource needs.Results: Individual L. analis were tracked over an average period of 316 days (range 125 - 509 days) and showed high site fidelity to relatively small home ranges (mean ± SD: 0.103 ± 0.028 km2, range 0.019 - 0.190 km2) and core use areas with low overlap among individuals. Most home ranges had a habitat composition dominated by seagrass and to a lesser degree, coral reef and/or pavement. Nighttime activity spaces were distinct from but contained within daytime areas.Conclusions: Mutton snapper showed strong site fidelity to home ranges in Brewers Bay. Two individuals that were absent from the array for more than a few hours were detected at separate arrays at spawning aggregation sites. This study expands upon knowledge of mutton snapper home range characteristics, highlights the importance of maintaining adjacent high-quality habitat types in any spatial management plan, and encourages the adoption of other types of management strategies, particularly for transient-aggregating species.

scholarly journals Every hill has its leopard: patterns of space use by leopards (Panthera pardus) in a mixed use landscape in India

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Gubbi ◽  
Koustubh Sharma ◽  
Vijaya Kumara
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Panthera Pardus ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Site Use ◽  
Elusive Species

Understanding abundance and distribution of species is often necessary for wildlife conservation. However, elusive species such as the leopard (Panthera pardus) that have wide geographical distribution and typically low abundance pose a constant challenge to conservationists due to logistical and methodological constraints. Although leopard abundance has been estimated at the scale of protected areas or other smaller regions, reliable information describing leopard distribution over large spatial scales remains largely unavailable. Knowledge about space use by leopards within landscapes could help improve conservation management, reduce human-wildlife conflict, and also facilitate population status monitoring. We carried out occupancy surveys across c. 24,000 km2 in southern India in a landscape that consisted a mosaic of leopards’ natural habitats and highly human-dominated areas. We investigated the effects of key ecological and anthropogenic variables in determining leopard space use patterns. We addressed imperfect detections obtained using sign surveys conducted on spatially replicated transects within sampling units by modeling detection as a function of spatial auto-correlation and covariates. Our results show that the probability of site-use by leopards across the landscape varied between 0.02 (95% CI [0.01–0.09]) and 0.99 (95% CI [0.99–1.0]) across the study area. The best model (AIC weight = 0.97) showed that the probability of leopard space use was affected by the proportion of natural habitats and the presence of large wild prey in the sampling unit. Given that India is undergoing rapid modifications due to economic changes and demand for natural resources, we emphasize the need for landscape-based approach for conserving and monitoring leopards. We argue that leopards are an indicator of functional ecosystems represented by scrub, deciduous forest and rocky outcrops that do not always get prioritized for conservation, unlike densely forested habitats. Similarly, conservation of natural large wild prey, especially outside the protected area system, should assume greater importance, which could also have a positive impact on reducing human-leopard conflict.

VegPáramo, a flora and vegetation database for the Andean páramo

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 195-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gwendolyn Peyre ◽  
Henrik Balslev ◽  
David Martí ◽  
Petr Sklenář ◽  
Paul Ramsay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Biological Data ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Northern Andes ◽  
Vegetation Database ◽  
Scientific Significance

The páramo region in the northern Andes is very biodiverse, presents high endemism and provides many ecosystem services. Unfortunately, the páramo is critically threatened by anthropogenic activities and climate change. Further research and development of efficient conservation strategies are therefore needed for the region, but they are often limited by the lack of consistent biological data-sources. Here we present VegPáramo (GIVD ID: SA-00-002, http://www.givd.info/ID/SA-00-002), a flora and vegetation database for the páramo based on phytosociological vegetation plots. VegPáramo contains data from 3,000 georeferenced vegetation plots with updated nomenclature. The database is accessible through the webportal http://www.vegparamo.com, from which floristic and vegetation data can be freely consulted and downloaded. This new tool should make future botanical and ecological páramo studies easier. VegPáramo is already geographically and floristically representative for the páramo region, but we hope it will continue to grow in scientific significance via new data addition and revision.

scholarly journals Home range characteristics and diel patterns in space use of mutton snapper, Lutjanus analis, in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Heidmann ◽  
Jonathan Jossart ◽  
Melissa Kimble ◽  
Richard S. Nemeth
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Movement Ecology ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Virgin Islands ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Us Virgin Islands ◽  
Diel Patterns ◽  
Management Actions

Abstract Background The movement ecology of mutton snapper Lutjanus analis is poorly understood despite their ecological and economic importance in the Caribbean. Passive acoustic telemetry was used to determine home ranges of six adult L. analis, including diel patterns, in Brewers Bay, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Understanding long-term space use, including site fidelity and habitat usage, is necessary to implement effective and appropriate management actions for a species with extensive space and resource needs. Results Individual L. analis were tracked over an average period of 316 days (range 125–509 days) and showed high site fidelity to relatively small home ranges (mean ± SD: 0.103 ± 0.028 km2, range 0.019–0.190 km2) and core use areas with low overlap among individuals. Most home ranges had a habitat composition dominated by seagrass and to a lesser degree, coral reef and/or pavement. Nighttime activity spaces were distinct from but contained within daytime areas. Conclusions Mutton snapper showed strong site fidelity to home ranges in Brewers Bay. Two individuals that were absent from the array for more than a few hours were detected at separate arrays at spawning aggregation sites. This study expands upon knowledge of mutton snapper home range characteristics, highlights the importance of maintaining adjacent high-quality habitat types in any spatial management plan, and encourages the adoption of other types of management strategies, particularly for transient-aggregating species.

scholarly journals Estimates of abundance and apparent survival of coastal dolphins in Port Essington harbour, Northern Territory, Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Palmer ◽  
Lyndon Brooks ◽  
Guido J. Parra ◽  
Tracey Rogers ◽  
Debra Glasgow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Systematic Sampling ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
Apparent Survival ◽  
Photo Identification ◽  
Population Size Estimates ◽  
Sampling Protocols

Context Three dolphin species occur in coastal waters of monsoonal northern Australia: the Australian snubfin (Orcaella heinsohni), humpback (Sousa sp.) and the bottlenose (Tursiops sp.). Their overall population size and trends are poorly known, and their conservation status has been difficult to resolve, but can be expected to deteriorate with likely increased development pressures. Aims We sought to provide an estimate of abundance, and apparent survival, of the three dolphin species at the largely undeveloped harbour of Port Essington (325 km2), Northern Territory, with repeated sampling over a 2.9-year period. Given increasing obligations to undertake population assessments for impact studies at proposed development sites, we assess the strengths and limitations of a systematic sampling program. Methods We used photo-identification data collected during systematic boat-based transect surveys undertaken from 2008 to 2010 and Pollock’s robust capture–recapture design model. Key results Total abundance estimates for the three species were variable across different sampling periods. The estimated number of individuals in the sampled area varied per sampling episode from 136 (s.e. 62) to 222 (s.e. 48) for snubfin, from 48 (s.e. 7) to 207 (s.e. 14) for humpbacks and from 34 (s.e. 6) to 75 (s.e. 9) for bottlenose dolphins. Apparent survival was estimated for snubfin at 0.81 (s.e. 0.11), humpbacks at 0.59 (s.e. 0.12) and bottlenose at 0.51 (s.e. 0.17) per annum. Key conclusions (1) The values derived here provide some of the only estimates of local population size for these species across monsoonal northern Australia; (2) population-size estimates varied considerably among seasons or sampling episodes; (3) the low apparent survival probabilities indicated that many individuals may move at scales larger than the study area; (4) density of snubfin and humpback dolphins in the present study area exceeded the few other estimates available for these species elsewhere in Australia. Implications The present study provided the first baseline estimates of abundance and apparent survival for three coastal dolphin species in monsoonal northern Australia. Such information is becoming increasingly important as development pressures intensify in coastal areas. Sampling protocols for future monitoring and impact assessment need an enhanced consideration of seasonality and scale issues.

scholarly journals GDIS, a global dataset of geocoded disaster locations

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisabeth L. Rosvold ◽  
Halvard Buhaug
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Geographic Data ◽  
Spatial Geometry ◽  
Emergency Events ◽  
Geocoded Data ◽  
First Time ◽  
Empirical Analyses

AbstractThis article presents a new open source extension to the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) that allows researchers, for the first time, to explore and make use of subnational, geocoded data on major disasters triggered by natural hazards. The Geocoded Disasters (GDIS) dataset provides spatial geometry in the form of GIS polygons and centroid latitude and longitude coordinates for each administrative entity listed as a disaster location in the EM-DAT database. In total, GDIS contains spatial information on 39,953 locations for 9,924 unique disasters occurring worldwide between 1960 and 2018. The dataset facilitates connecting the EM-DAT database to other geographic data sources on the subnational level to enable rigorous empirical analyses of disaster determinants and impacts.

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