scholarly journals Eastern Grey Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) Vigilance Behaviour Varies between Human-Modified and Natural Environments

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 494
Author(s):  
Georgina Hume ◽  
Elizabeth Brunton ◽  
Scott Burnett
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Vigilance Behaviour ◽  
Landscape Level ◽  
Behavioural Adaptations

Rapid increases in urban land use extent across the globe are creating challenges for many wildlife species. Urban landscapes present a novel environment for many species, yet our understanding of wildlife behavioural adaptations to urban environments is still poor. This study compared the vigilance behaviour of a large mammal in response to urbanisation at a landscape level. Here, we investigate urban (n = 12) and non-urban (n = 12) populations of kangaroos in two regions of Australia, and the relationship between kangaroo vigilance and urbanisation. We used a linear modelling approach to determine whether anti-predator vigilance and the number of vigilant acts performed were influenced by land use type (i.e., urban or non-urban), human population densities, kangaroo demographics, and environmental factors. Kangaroo behaviour differed between the two study regions; kangaroo vigilance was higher in urban than non-urban sites in the southern region, which also had the highest human population densities, however no effect of land use was found in the northern region. Season and sex influenced the vigilance levels across both regions, with higher levels seen in winter and female kangaroos. This study is the first to compare urban and non-urban vigilance of large mammals at a landscape level and provide novel insights into behavioural adaptations of large mammals to urban environments.

scholarly journals A 30-meter resolution national urban land-cover dataset of China, 2000–2015

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenhui Kuang ◽  
Shu Zhang ◽  
Xiaoyong Li ◽  
Dengsheng Lu
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Urban Land Cover

Abstract. Accurate urban land-cover datasets are essential for mapping urban environments. However, a series of national urban land-cover data covering more than 15 years that characterizes urban environments is relatively rare. Here we propose a hierarchical principle on remotely sensed urban land-use/cover classification for mapping intra-urban structure/component dynamics. China's Land Use/cover Dataset (CLUD) is updated, delineating the imperviousness, green surface, waterbody and bare land conditions in cities. A new data subset called CLUD-Urban is created from 2000 to 2015 at five-year intervals with a medium spatial resolution (30 m). The first step is a prerequisite to extract the vector boundaries covered with urban areas from CLUD. A new method is then proposed using logistic regression between urban impervious surface area (ISA) and the annual maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) value retrieved from Landsat images based on a big-data platform with Google Earth Engine. National ISA and urban green space (UGS) fraction datasets for China are generated at 30-meter resolution with five-year intervals from 2000 to 2015. The overall classification accuracy of national urban areas is 92 %. The root mean square error values of ISA and UGS fractions are 0.10 and 0.14, respectively. The datasets indicate that the total urban area of China was 6.28 × 104 km2 in 2015, with average fractions of 70.70 % and 26.54 % for ISA and UGS, respectively. The ISA and UGS increased between 2000 and 2015 with unprecedented annual rates of 1,311.13 km2/yr and 405.30 km2/yr, respectively. CLUD-Urban can be used to enhance our understanding of urbanization impacts on ecological and regional climatic conditions and urban dwellers' environments. CLUD-Urban can be applied in future researches on urban environmental research and practices in the future. The datasets can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2644932.

scholarly journals Examining Hotspots of Traffic Collisions and their Spatial Relationships with Land Use: A GIS-Based Geographically Weighted Regression Approach for Dammam, Saudi Arabia

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Tauhidur Rahman ◽  
Arshad Jamal ◽  
Hassan M. Al-Ahmadi
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Geographically Weighted Regression ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Weighted Regression ◽  
Spatial Relationships ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Crash Types

Examining the relationships between vehicle crash patterns and urban land use is fundamental to improving crash predictions, creating guidance, and comprehensive policy recommendations to avoid crash occurrences and mitigate their severities. In the existing literature, statistical models are frequently used to quantify the association between crash outcomes and available explanatory variables. However, they are unable to capture the latent spatial heterogeneity accurately. Further, the vast majority of previous studies have focused on detailed spatial analysis of crashes from an aggregated viewpoint without considering the attributes of the built environment and land use. This study first uses geographic information systems (GIS) to examine crash hotspots based on two severity groups, seven prevailing crash causes, and three predominant crash types in the City of Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). GIS-based geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis technique was then utilized to uncover the spatial relationships of traffic collisions with population densities and relate it to the land use of each neighborhood. Results showed that Fatal and Injury (FI) crashes were mostly located in residential neighborhoods and near public facilities having low to medium population densities on highways with relatively higher speed limits. Distribution of hotspots and GWR-based analysis for crash causes showed that crashes due to “sudden lane deviation” accounted for the highest proportion of crashes that were concentrated mainly in the Central Business District (CBD) of the study area. Similarly, hotspots and GWR analysis for crash types revealed that “collisions between motor vehicles” constitute a significant proportion of the total crashes, with epicenters mostly stationed in high-density residential neighborhoods. The outcomes of this study could provide analysts and practitioners with crucial insights to understand the complex inter-relationships between traffic safety and land use. It can provide useful guidance to policymakers for better planning and effective management strategies to enhance safety at zonal levels.

scholarly journals Molecular Detection of Rickettsia in Fleas from Micromammals in Chile with Potential Public Health Implications

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucila Moreno Salas ◽  
Mario Espinoza Carniglia ◽  
Nicol Lizama Schmeisser ◽  
Luis Gonzalo Torres Fuentes ◽  
María Carolina Silva de la Fuente ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Pathogenic Bacteria ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Flea Species ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Polymerase Chain ◽  
Well Differentiated

Abstract BackgroundFleas are important vectors of pathogenic bacteria that pose public health concerns worldwide, including Rickettsia. Micromammals, and especially rodents, are the main flea hosts, therefore they play a fundamental role in the spread of flea-borne diseases and various species of rodent fleas can also parasitize humans. In addition to this, many rodent species are capable of inhabiting wild environments and adapting to rural and urban environments, which could favor a continuous gradient of transmission between domestic and wild species. The aim of this study was to detect, characterize, and compare Rickettsia spp. from the fleas of micromammals in areas with different human population densities in Chile.MethodsTo determine Rickettsia in fleas of micromammals, we analyzed 1,315 fleas obtained from 1,512 micromammals, which were captured in 29 locations with different human population densities in Chile. We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the gltA, rpoB, and ompB genes to detect Rickettsia in fleas.ResultsThe prevalence of Rickettsia among flea species ranged from 0%–35.1%. Fifteen flea species were found to be Rickettsia-positive. Areas of lower human density have the highest prevalence of Rickettsia. The phylogenetic tree shows two well-differentiated clades. Rickettsia belli is positioned as basal in a clade. Another clade is subdivided into two subclades, and are related to Rickettsia of typhus group.ConclusionsConsidering that fleas are generalist parasites, and that they are frequently found and abundant in rodents, which are closely related to humans, the detection of potential emerging zoonotic pathogens in rodent fleas highlights the risk of infection to humans.

scholarly journals 100 Years of Progress in Applied Meteorology. Part II: Applications that Address Growing Populations

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 23.1-23.40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Ellen Haupt ◽  
Steven Hanna ◽  
Mark Askelson ◽  
Marshall Shepherd ◽  
Mariana A. Fragomeni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Weather Information ◽  
Surface Transportation ◽  
Applied Meteorology ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Expanding Population

Abstract The human population on Earth has increased by a factor of 4.6 in the last 100 years and has become more centered in urban environments. This expansion and migration pattern has resulted in stresses on the environment. Meteorological applications have helped to understand and mitigate those stresses. This chapter describes several applications that enable the population to interact with the environment in more sustainable ways. The first topic treated is urbanization itself and the types of stresses exerted by population growth and its attendant growth in urban landscapes—buildings and pavement—and how they modify airflow and create a local climate. We describe environmental impacts of these changes and implications for the future. The growing population uses increasing amounts of energy. Traditional sources of energy have taxed the environment, but the increase in renewable energy has used the atmosphere and hydrosphere as its fuel. Utilizing these variable renewable resources requires meteorological information to operate electric systems efficiently and economically while providing reliable power and minimizing environmental impacts. The growing human population also pollutes the environment. Thus, understanding and modeling the transport and dispersion of atmospheric contaminants are important steps toward regulating the pollution and mitigating impacts. This chapter describes how weather information can help to make surface transportation more safe and efficient. It is explained how these applications naturally require transdisciplinary collaboration to address these challenges caused by the expanding population.

scholarly journals Landscape Patterns and Building Functions for Urban Land-Use Classification from Remote Sensing Images at the Block Level: A Case Study of Wuchang District, Wuhan, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Zhang ◽  
Kun Qin ◽  
Qi Bi ◽  
Weihong Cui ◽  
Gang Li
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Land Use Classification ◽  
Remote Sensing Images ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Landscape Level

Landscape patterns and building functions are successfully used to provide the social sensing information of urban areas. However, previous studies treated ground objects equally, ignoring their size differences. Considering the different contributions of various types of ground objects in land-use classification, this paper measured nine area-weighted mean landscape-level metrics to describe landscape patterns based on the land-cover map, derived from remote sensing images. Additionally, the same idea was applied for identifying building functions. Impervious surfaces, which occupy the majority of urban areas, have a decisive impact on land-use classes. In terms of this, this paper proposed the impervious surface area-weighted building-based indexes from the building outline data. To better represent the physical structure of urban areas, the entire study was based on the analysis units delineated by the OpenStreetMap road network. Finally, a random forest model combining the landscape-level metrics and building-based indexes was adopted in Wuchang District of Wuhan city, China. The results showed that the proposed method was effective at describing landscape patterns and identifying building functions for accurate urban land-use classification, increasing the precision by 10.67%. In general, the contribution of landscape-level metrics to the urban land-use classification is slightly greater than that of building-based indexes. Moreover, different land-use types of analysis units express different landscape patterns. It is of great significance for improving urban form and guiding future urban design. The paper demonstrates that area-weighted landscape metrics and building-based indexes offer a better understanding of urban land use, which plays a vital role in urban planning, construction, and management.

scholarly journals Terrestrial isopods in urban environments: an overview

ZooKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 801 ◽  
pp. 97-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Szlavecz ◽  
Ferenc Vilisics ◽  
Zsolt Tóth ◽  
Elisabeth Hornung
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Urban Land ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Soil Biodiversity ◽  
Urban Land Use Change

In an increasingly urbanized world scientific research has shifted towards the understanding of cities as unique ecosystems. Urban land use change results in rapid and drastic changes in physical and biological properties, including that of biodiversity and community composition. Soil biodiversity research often lags behind the more charismatic groups such as vertebrates and plants. This paper attempts to fill this gap and provides an overview on urban isopod research. First, a brief overview on urban land use change is given, specifically on the major alterations on surface soils. Historical studies on urban isopods is summarized, followed by the status of current knowledge on diversity, distribution, and function of urban isopod species and communities. A review of more than 100 publications revealed that worldwide 50 cities and towns have some record of terrestrial isopod species, but only a few of those are city-scale explorations of urban fauna. A total of 110 isopod species has been recorded although the majority of them only once. The ten most frequently occurring isopods are widely distributed synanthropic species. Knowledge gaps and future research needs call for a better global dataset, long term monitoring of urban populations, multi-scale analyses of landscape properties as potential drivers of isopod diversity, and molecular studies to detect evolutionary changes.

scholarly journals Japanese Honeybees (Apis Cerana Japonica Radoszkowski, 1877) May Be Resilient to Land Use Change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Donkersley ◽  
Lucy Covell ◽  
Takahiro Ota
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Human Population ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Apis Cerana ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Urban Gradient ◽  
Apis Cerana Japonica

Pollinators are being threatened globally by urbanisation and agricultural intensification, driv-en by a growing human population. Understanding these impacts on landscapes and pollinators is critical to ensuring a robust pollination system. Remote sensing data on land use attributes have previously linked honeybee nutrition to land use in the Western Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.). Here, we instead focus on the less commonly studied Apis cerana japonica – the Japanese Honeybee. Our study presents preliminary data comparing forage (honey and pollen) with land use across a rural-urban gradient from 22 sites in Kyushu, southern Japan. Honey samples were collected from hives between June 2018 and August 2019. Pollen were collected and biotyped from hives in urban and rural locations (n = 4). Previous studies of honey show substantial vari-ation in monosaccharide content. Our analysis of A. cerana japonica honey found very little varia-tion in glucose and fructose (which accounted for 97% of monosaccharides), despite substantial differences in surrounding forage composition. As expected, we observed temporal variation in pollen foraged by A. cerana japonica, likely dependent on flowering phenology. These prelimi-nary results suggest that the forage and nutrition of A. cerana japonica may not be negatively af-fected by urban land use. This highlights the need for further comparative studies between A. cerana japonica and A. mellifera as it could suggest a resilience in pollinators foraging in their na-tive range.

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