scholarly journals Breeding Performances of the European Blackbird (Turdus merula) in Morocco: Habitat Selection, Breeding Phenology, and Breeding Success

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Abderahim El Hassani ◽  
Ismail Mansouri ◽  
Wafae Squalli ◽  
Abdelbari El Agy ◽  
Amine Assouguem ◽  
...  

The European Blackbird (Turdus merula) is a widespread species. In Morocco, available knowledge on this species is limited to a few descriptive pieces of information with no detailed data provided. With climate change and the intensification of agricultural activities, the study of the breeding performances of this species is indispensable for management purposes. This study investigates breeding biology, nesting habitats, breeding chronology, and reproductive success of the European Blackbird in both apple orchards and surrounding woody vegetation at Ait Ayach (Morocco) between March and August 2016. We monitored weekly nest status, nesting sites, breeding dates, and failure factors. Results showed that the European Blackbird nests mainly in apple orchards, on Golden Delicious and Starkrimson Delicious trees. Nest height above the ground was 214.15 ± 0.09 cm. Blackbird nests were cup-shaped with medium size dimensions and built from twigs, including dry leaves, stems, and roots walled by the mud. Breeding activities started firstly by nest construction during the last week of April, secondly by egg laying during the first week of May, and thirdly by hatching during the second week of May. Among the 74 surveyed nests, 100% were active during the nesting phase and 88.38% of eggs have succeeded during the incubation phase. In total, 69.03% of chicks have been emancipated. In short, 15.9% of clutches were attacked by predators, 14.35% of clutches were failed due to nest desertion, and 8.75% of chicks were dead. Our study provides the first and only detailed data on reproductive parameters of the European Blackbird in Moroccan ecosystems. Data collected from this study provide valuable information for long-term monitoring of the Moroccan Blackbird population. Additionally, our data offer a possibility of large-scale comparative studies of the reproductive ecology of the Blackbird species.

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1858) ◽  
pp. 20170722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bjarte Hannisdal ◽  
Kristian Agasøster Haaga ◽  
Trond Reitan ◽  
David Diego ◽  
Lee Hsiang Liow

Common species shape the world around us, and changes in their commonness signify large-scale shifts in ecosystem structure and function. However, our understanding of long-term ecosystem response to environmental forcing in the deep past is centred on species richness, neglecting the disproportional impact of common species. Here, we use common and widespread species of planktonic foraminifera in deep-sea sediments to track changes in observed global occupancy (proportion of sampled sites at which a species is present and observed) through the turbulent climatic history of the last 65 Myr. Our approach is sensitive to relative changes in global abundance of the species set and robust to factors that bias richness estimators. Using three independent methods for detecting causality, we show that the observed global occupancy of planktonic foraminifera has been dynamically coupled to past oceanographic changes captured in deep-ocean temperature reconstructions. The causal inference does not imply a direct mechanism, but is consistent with an indirect, time-delayed causal linkage. Given the strong quantitative evidence that a dynamical coupling exists, we hypothesize that mixotrophy (symbiont hosting) may be an ecological factor linking the global abundance of planktonic foraminifera to long-term climate changes via the relative extent of oligotrophic oceans.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (2.4) ◽  
pp. 136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh N ◽  
Hemamala K ◽  
Ashok N

Purpose-This research examines Small and Medium manufacturing Enterprises (SME’s) awareness, current capability, willingness and ability to identify the challenges involved in implementing Industry 4.0(I 4.0) at their premises.Design/methodology/approach-A set of questionnaire was framed to collect qualitative and quantitative data from five manufacturing SME’s and they were analyzed to gain insight.Findings –3 out of 5 manufacturing SME’s are aware, capable, willing and have ability to identify the challenges for implementing Industry 4.0 at their premises. The study also found that implementation of I 4.0 depends on size of the firm. Medium size manufacturing firms had started investing in Information Technology but small scale industries is still struggling to figure out their long term benefit.Practical implications – The advancement and the integration of the technologies such as Cyber Physical system, Internet Of Things, Artificial intelligence, Big data, Cloud computing and 3D printing provides greater flexibility to the manufacturing firms. In today’s global competition with a huge demand for personalized products at low price with best quality, innovation and capability to full filling batch size of one is becoming important. Hence, to meet the market demand many large-scale industries started investing in advanced technology where SME has yet to pay attention.Originality/value –Paper indicates the Indian manufacturing SME’s preparedness for Industry 4.0. It contains five cases capturing the current manufacturing practices followed in the SME’s and their capability towards implementing Industry I 4.0 in Indian environment.  


1994 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
P. Ambrož

AbstractThe large-scale coronal structures observed during the sporadically visible solar eclipses were compared with the numerically extrapolated field-line structures of coronal magnetic field. A characteristic relationship between the observed structures of coronal plasma and the magnetic field line configurations was determined. The long-term evolution of large scale coronal structures inferred from photospheric magnetic observations in the course of 11- and 22-year solar cycles is described.Some known parameters, such as the source surface radius, or coronal rotation rate are discussed and actually interpreted. A relation between the large-scale photospheric magnetic field evolution and the coronal structure rearrangement is demonstrated.


1967 ◽  
Vol 06 (01) ◽  
pp. 8-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Collen

The utilization of an automated multitest laboratory as a data acquisition center and of a computer for trie data processing and analysis permits large scale preventive medical research previously not feasible. Normal test values are easily generated for the particular population studied. Long-term epidemiological research on large numbers of persons becomes practical. It is our belief that the advent of automation and computers has introduced a new era of preventive medicine.


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.


2000 ◽  
Vol 151 (3) ◽  
pp. 80-83
Author(s):  
Pascal Schneider ◽  
Jean-Pierre Sorg

In and around the state-owned forest of Farako in the region of Sikasso, Mali, a large-scale study focused on finding a compromise allowing the existential and legitimate needs of the population to be met and at the same time conserving the forest resources in the long term. The first step in research was to sketch out the rural socio-economic context and determine the needs for natural resources for autoconsumption and commercial use as well as the demand for non-material forest services. Simultaneously, the environmental context of the forest and the resources available were evaluated by means of inventories with regard to quality and quantity. According to an in-depth comparison between demand and potential, there is a differentiated view of the suitability of the forest to meet the needs of the people living nearby. Propositions for a multipurpose management of the forest were drawn up. This contribution deals with some basic elements of research methodology as well as with results of the study.


2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-98
Author(s):  
R. Winzenbacher ◽  
R. Schick ◽  
H.-H. Stabel ◽  
M. Jekel

Improved removal of particles during the treatment of natural aquatic suspensions has been achieved by pre-ozonation and the addition of small quantities of iron salts (βFe ≤ 0.1 mg.L-1; “Fe(III)-assisted filtration”) followed by rapid filtration. As shown by investigations on a large-scale installation at Lake Constance Water Supply, this procedure reliably reduces suspended solids by at least 2-3 powers of ten in long-term use. However, the high efficacy of Fe(III)-assisted filtration cannot be explained on the basis of known coagulation mechanisms (like adsorption-charge neutralization, co-precipitation). Instead, the essential step was found to be the conditioning of the filter medium by coating it with colloids containing Fe(OH)3, and this “Fe coating” process occurs only in the presence of alkaline earths (especially Ca2+). According to further experiments, the enhanced solid-liquid separation was ultimately traced to chemical interactions such as the formation of calcium-organic association structures between the iron hydroxides and other solids. For design of Fe(III)-assisted filtration steps, finally, a βCa/DOC ratio above 40 mg.mg-1 and pre-oxidation with ozone dosages not exceeding 2 mg O3/mg DOC was recommended.


Coronaviruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yam Nath Paudel ◽  
Efthalia Angelopoulou ◽  
Bhupendra Raj Giri ◽  
Christina Piperi ◽  
Iekhsan Othman ◽  
...  

: COVID-19 has emerged as a devastating pandemic of the century that the current generations have ever experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 12 million people around the globe and 0.5 million people have succumbed to death. Due to the lack of effective vaccines against the COVID-19, several nations throughout the globe has imposed a lock-down as a preventive measure to lower the spread of COVID-19 infection. As a result of lock-down most of the universities and research institutes has witnessed a long pause in basic science research ever. Much has been talked about the long-term impact of COVID-19 in economy, tourism, public health, small and large-scale business of several kind. However, the long-term implication of these research lab shutdown and its impact in the basic science research has not been much focused. Herein, we provide a perspective that portrays a common problem of all the basic science researchers throughout the globe and its long-term consequences.


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