Robust inference on large-scale species habitat use with interview data: The status of jaguars outside protected areas in Central America

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 723-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisanne S. Petracca ◽  
Jacqueline L. Frair ◽  
Jonathan B. Cohen ◽  
Ana Patricia Calderón ◽  
Javier Carazo-Salazar ◽  
...  
Koedoe ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keoikantse Sianga ◽  
Richard Fynn

This study classified the vegetation of the Savuti-Mababe-Linyanti ecosystem (SMLE), northern Botswana and developed a detailed map that provides a reliable habitat template of the SMLE for future wildlife habitat use studies. The major vegetation units of the SMLE were determined from satellite imagery and field visits and then mapped using Landsat 8 and RapidEye imagery and maximum likelihood classifier. These units were sampled using 40 m x 20 m (800 m²) plots in which the coverage of all plant species was estimated. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS) demonstrated that plant communities were determined by gradients in soil texture or fertility and wetness. NMS 1 represented a gradient of soil texture with seven woodland communities on sandy soils (sandveld communities and Baikiaea forest) dominated by Baikiaea plurijuga in Baikiaea forest and Terminalia sericea and Philenoptera nelsii in sandveld, with various indicator species differentiating the various sandveld community types. Mopane woodland further from and riparian woodland adjacent to permanent water was common on less sandy alluvial soils. Mineral-rich, heavy clay soils in the sump of a large paleolake system support open grassland and mixed Senegalia/Vachellia (Acacia) savanna, with the mineral-rich soils supporting grasses high in minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, sodium and potassium, and thus this region is a critical wet season range for migratory zebra. Taller, high-quality grasses in the mosaic of sandveld and mopane woodland communities provide critical grazing for taller grass grazers such as buffalo, roan and sable antelope, whereas wetland communities provide reliable green forage during the dry season for a variety of herbivores, including elephant. This study has demonstrated how large-scale environmental gradients determine functional habitat heterogeneity for wildlife.Conservation implications: Our study demonstrated that the functionality of protected areas is determined by large-scale environmental gradients. Thus conservation science must aim to ensure that protected areas cover the full range of key environmental gradients in a region (soil texture and wetness in our study). Our habitat map provides a data base for wildlife habitat use studies in the region.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maritza Cárdenas-Calle ◽  
Elba Mora ◽  
Genoveva Torres ◽  
Julián Pérez-Correa ◽  
Gregorio Bigatti ◽  
...  

This study summarises the diversity of living macroinvertebrates and seaweeds from the intertidal and subtidal rocky shores along Ecuadorian continental coast. Benthic macroinvertebrate communities and seaweeds were quantified over quadrants (50 × 50 cm) randomly placed on transects of 50 m length. A checklist of 612 species was generated: 479 species of macroinvertebrates and 133 species of seaweeds. Groups recorded were Mollusca (184 species), Cnidaria (70), Arthropoda (68), Annelida (60), Echinodermata (42), Chordata (18), Bryozoa (13), Porifera (22), Sipuncula (2), Brachiopoda and Platyhelminthes (only identified as morphotypes). The seaweeds were represented by Rhodophyta (78), Chlorophyta (37), Ochrophyta (13), Cyanobacteria (5) and 19 biotic complexes. Furthermore, 22 new taxa and six alien species were recorded from the intertidal zone. This study provides the first large scale report of benthic communities in different marine coastal ecosystems in mainland Ecuador, covering 1,478 km2 of protected areas and 382 km2 of non-protected areas. The highest benthic diversity was registered in the protected areas and rocky shores from the intertidal zone. The biological data, herein reported, are useful for a long-term monitoring programme to evaluate the status of conservation and to detect rapid changes in the benthic biodiversity from coastal areas.


2016 ◽  
Vol 548 ◽  
pp. 263-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
RE Lindsay ◽  
R Constantine ◽  
J Robbins ◽  
DK Mattila ◽  
A Tagarino ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. 227-240
Author(s):  
L Lodi ◽  
R Tardin ◽  
G Maricato

Most studies of cetacean habitat use do not consider the influence of anthropogenic activities. We investigated the influence of environmental and anthropogenic variables on habitat use by humpback Megaptera novaeangliae and Bryde’s whales Balaenoptera brydei off the coast of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. Although there are 2 marine protected areas (MPAs) in this area, few data are available on cetacean habitat use or on the overlap of different cetacean species within these MPAs. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the MPAs and propose a buffer zone to better protect the biodiversity of the study area. We conducted systematic surveys and developed spatial eigenvector generalized linear models to characterize habitat use by the species in the study area. Habitat use by humpback whales was influenced only by depth, whereas for Bryde’s whales there was the additional influence of anthropogenic variables. For Bryde’s whales, which use the area for feeding, sea surface temperature and the distance to anchorages had a major influence on habitat use. We also showed that neither of the MPAs in the study area adequately protects the hotspots of either whale species. Most of the humpback whale grid cells with high sighting predictions were located within 2 km of the MPAs, while areas of high sighting prediction of Bryde’s whales were located up to 5 km from the MPAs, closer to beaches. Our findings provide important insights for the delimitation of protected areas and zoning of the MPAs.


2014 ◽  
pp. 124-129
Author(s):  
Z. V. Karamysheva

The review contains detailed description of the «Atlas of especially protected natural areas of Saint Petersburg» published in 2013. This publication presents the results of long-term studies of 12 natural protected areas made by a large research team in the years from 2002 to 2013 (see References). The Atlas contains a large number of the historical maps, new satellite images, the original illustrations, detailed texts on the nature of protected areas, summary tables of rare species of vascular plants, fungi and vertebrates recorded in these areas. Special attention is paid to the principles of thematic large-scale mapping. The landscape maps, the vegetation maps as well as the maps of natural processes in landscapes are included. Reviewed Atlas deserves the highest praise.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 384
Author(s):  
Javier Martínez-López ◽  
Bastian Bertzky ◽  
Simon Willcock ◽  
Marine Robuchon ◽  
María Almagro ◽  
...  

Protected areas (PAs) are a key strategy to reverse global biodiversity declines, but they are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic activities and concomitant effects. Thus, the heterogeneous landscapes within PAs, containing a number of different habitats and ecosystem types, are in various degrees of disturbance. Characterizing habitats and ecosystems within the global protected area network requires large-scale monitoring over long time scales. This study reviews methods for the biophysical characterization of terrestrial PAs at a global scale by means of remote sensing (RS) and provides further recommendations. To this end, we first discuss the importance of taking into account the structural and functional attributes, as well as integrating a broad spectrum of variables, to account for the different ecosystem and habitat types within PAs, considering examples at local and regional scales. We then discuss potential variables, challenges and limitations of existing global environmental stratifications, as well as the biophysical characterization of PAs, and finally offer some recommendations. Computational and interoperability issues are also discussed, as well as the potential of cloud-based platforms linked to earth observations to support large-scale characterization of PAs. Using RS to characterize PAs globally is a crucial approach to help ensure sustainable development, but it requires further work before such studies are able to inform large-scale conservation actions. This study proposes 14 recommendations in order to improve existing initiatives to biophysically characterize PAs at a global scale.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia F Versiani ◽  
Larissa L Bailey ◽  
Nielson Pasqualotto ◽  
Thiago F Rodrigues ◽  
Roberta M Paolino ◽  
...  

Abstract The drastic reduction of the Brazilian Cerrado has transformed this savanna hotspot into vast swaths of commodity-based agriculture fields, mainly soybean, sugarcane, and beef-production pasturelands. The resulting habitat loss and fragmentation are the principal factors underlying population decline of native species inhabiting the Cerrado, particularly those with a high demand for space, low population density, and specialized diet, such as the endangered giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla). Although the species has been studied in protected areas, we know much less about its ability to endure in disturbed landscapes. Here, we analyzed camera-trapping data to estimate a proxy of habitat use (ψ^; occupancy) and detection probabilities of the giant anteater, identifying environmental covariates influencing these parameters in landscapes with intensive agriculture and commercial forestry. We found this species using about half of the study area (model average ψ^ = 0.51, CI = 0.40–0.62), with two predictors strongly influencing habitat use: protected areas and unpaved roads. In turn, detection probability correlates positively with area of open Cerrado and negatively with area of settlements. The species is more likely to use unpaved roads inside protected areas (ψ^ = 0.90, CI = 0.47–0.75), compared to off road sites in the surrounding areas (ψ^ = 0.19, CI = 0.10–0.34). Our findings indicate that giant anteaters are dependent on nature reserves and native vegetation areas existing on private properties, whose protection is regulated by the Brazilian Native Vegetation Protection Law. Given the relative paucity of state-owned protected areas in the Brazilian Cerrado, increasing the adherence of rural owners to this law is, therefore, key for the conservation of the giant anteater. The intense use of unpaved roads might reflect travelling and/or foraging optimization, a behavioral response that, nevertheless, may compound this species’ susceptibility to suffer mortality from roadkill.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 681-706 ◽  
Author(s):  
PASQUALE BLASI ◽  
STEFANO GABICI ◽  
GIANFRANCO BRUNETTI

Clusters of galaxies and the large scale filaments that connect neighboring clusters are expected to be sites of acceleration of charged particles and sources of non-thermal radiation from radio frequencies to gamma rays. Gamma rays are particularly interesting targets of investigation, since they may provide precious information on the nature and efficiency of the processes of acceleration and magnetic confinement of hadrons within clusters of galaxies. Here we review the status of viable scenarios that lead to the production of gamma rays from large scale structures and are compatible with the multifrequency observations that are already available. We also discuss the possibility of detection of gamma rays with space-borne telescopes such as GLAST and ground based Cherenkov telescopes, and the physical information that may be gathered from such observations.


2005 ◽  
Vol 70 (5) ◽  
pp. 823-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Stewart

Despite a fair amount of conjecture regarding the circumstances that lead to the generation of status orders, most of the previous literature in this area typically has studied the effects of social cues within a laboratory setting. This article analyzes the evolution of the status hierarchy within a large-scale, natural setting. The results of empirical analyses assessing a large online community of software developers show that in the process of status attainment, community members tend to evaluate a focal actor's reputation according to publicly available social references. Ironically, these same social references also work to constrain an actor's status mobility.


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