scholarly journals Detecting and Tracking the Positions of Wild Ungulates Using Sound Recordings

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Salem Ibrahim Salem ◽  
Kazuhiko Fujisao ◽  
Masayasu Maki ◽  
Tadanobu Okumura ◽  
Kazuo Oki
Keyword(s):  
Time Lag ◽  
Internal Clock ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Wild Ungulates ◽  
Sound Recordings ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Gps Satellites ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Time Drift

Monitoring wild ungulates such as deer is a highly challenging issue faced by wildlife managers. Wild ungulates are increasing in number worldwide, causing damage to ecosystems. For effective management, the precise estimation of their population size and habitat is essential. Conventional methods used to estimate the population density of wild ungulates, such as the light census survey, are time-consuming with low accuracy and difficult to implement in harsh environments like muddy wetlands. On the other hand, unmanned aerial vehicles are difficult to use in areas with dense tree cover. Although the passive acoustic monitoring of animal sounds is commonly used to evaluate their diversity, the potential for detecting animal positions from their sound has not been sufficiently investigated. This study introduces a new technique for detecting and tracking deer position in the wild using sound recordings. The technique relies on the time lag among three recorders to estimate the position. A sound recording system was also developed to overcome the time drift problem in the internal clock of recorders, by receiving time information from GPS satellites. Determining deer position enables the elimination of repetitive calls from the same deer, thus providing a promising tool to track deer movement. The validation results revealed that the proposed technique can provide reasonable accuracy for the experimental and natural environment. The identification of deer calls in Oze National Park over a period of two hours emphasizes the great potential of the proposed technique to detect repetitive deer calls, and track deer movement. Hence, the technique is the first step toward designing an automated system for estimating the population of deer or other vocal animals using sound recordings.

Ecology of the Atlantic Forest

Ecology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise Damstra ◽  
Cristina Banks-Leite
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Important Species ◽  
Habitat Transformation ◽  
Golden Lion Tamarin ◽  
Palm Heart ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Unique Domain

Extending along the southern coast of Brazil, into Argentina and Paraguay, the Atlantic Forest is a domain that once covered 150 Mha and includes many distinct forest subtypes and ecosystems. Its large latitudinal (29˚) and altitudinal (0–2,800 m above sea level) range, as well as complex topography in the region, has created microclimates within forest subtypes, which has led to biodiversity specifically adapted to narrow ecological ranges. The region is incredibly species-rich and is home to charismatic or economically important species such as the black and golden lion tamarin, the red-browned Amazon parrot, and the highly prized palm heart from Euterpe edulis. Through widespread human-driven change dating back to the arrival of European settlers in 1500, this realm has been extensively reduced, fragmented, and modified. Nowadays, this region is home to about 130 million people (60 percent of the Brazilian population) and is responsible for producing 70 percent of Brazil’s GDP, putting a strain on natural resources and providing challenges to conservation. Due to its high levels of endemic species coupled with a high threat of habitat loss and fragmentation, the Atlantic Forest has been identified as a “biodiversity hotspot.” Numerous studies have assessed the effects of habitat transformation on biodiversity and the consensus is that the majority of species are negatively affected. It is puzzling however that few species have actually gone extinct in the wild, even if some extinctions might have gone undetected. Extinctions do not immediately follow habitat change, there is often a time lag of many decades between habitat transformation and extinction. This may suggest that many species in the Atlantic Forest are “living deads,” as despite their presence the available habitat no longer supports their requirements. It also suggests that there is a window of opportunity to restoring the domain to avert extinctions before they are realized. Current research and policy actions are geared toward optimizing restoration and increasing the extent of native forest cover, bringing hope to the conservation of this unique domain.

THE WATER RELATIONS AND IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTS OF PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA L.): A REVIEW

2013 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. K. V. CARR
Keyword(s):  
Water Relations ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Crop Coefficient ◽  
Juvenile Period ◽  
Abaxial Leaf Surface ◽  
Tropical America ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
High Yields ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Changing Light

SUMMARYPapaya has never been found in the wild, but is believed to have originated in tropical America from where it has spread throughout the tropics and subtropics. This fruit crop is particularly important in India and Brazil. Most research on the water relations of papaya has been undertaken in Brazil and on the island of Guam (United States of America). Papaya is a short-lived large herb, growing to a height of up to 10 m. Leaves emerge from the upper part of the unbranched stem. After a juvenile period, lasting for about two months, flowers begin to develop in leaf axils. Flowering continues throughout the year as new leaves emerge. The plants, which are dioecious, begin to bear fruit within a year after planting, sustaining high yields for two years before yields decline. The ‘effective’ root depth varies with the method of irrigation, but can reach 0.55 m. The seedlings and the trees are susceptible to wind damage, a topic that has been well researched. Stomata are only found on the abaxial leaf surface. They are sensitive to changes in the saturation deficit of the air. Stomata also respond quickly to changing light conditions. On clear days, midday suppression of photosynthesis occurs as a result of partial closure of the stomata. In the morning, there is a time lag between water loss by transpiration and sap flow, as water is taken from storage in the hollow stem. Few attempts have been made to measure the actual water use of papaya, and there are no reliable published values for the crop coefficient. Limitations to the design of the papaya irrigation experiments reported so far make it difficult to reconcile the results in practical ways. Water productivities equivalent to 1.8 to 2.8 kg (fresh fruit) m−3 (irrigation water) have been obtained. Although papaya is generally considered to be drought sensitive and responsive to irrigation, there is a shortage of good experimental evidence to support this view. There is a need to establish practical irrigation schedules for this remarkable crop. A uniformity of approach to irrigation experimentation and a common, universally agreed nomenclature would facilitate this process.

scholarly journals Automated measurement of long-term bower behaviors in Lake Malawi cichlids using depth sensing and action recognition

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary V Johnson ◽  
Lijiang Long ◽  
Junyu Li ◽  
Manu Tej Sharma Arrojwala ◽  
Vineeth Aljapur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Action Recognition ◽  
Lake Malawi ◽  
Simultaneous Recording ◽  
Video Data ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Depth Sensing ◽  
Sand Surface ◽  
In The Wild

ABSTRACTMeasuring naturalistic behaviors in laboratory settings is difficult, and this hinders progress in understanding decision-making in response to ecologically-relevant stimuli. In the wild, many animals manipulate their environment to create architectural constructions, which represent a type of extended phenotype affecting survival and/or reproduction, and these behaviors are excellent models of goal-directed decision-making. Here, we describe an automated system for measuring bower construction in Lake Malawi cichlid fishes, whereby males construct sand structures to attract mates through the accumulated actions of thousands of individual sand manipulation decisions over the course of many days. The system integrates two orthogonal methods, depth sensing and action recognition, to simultaneously measure the developing bower structure and classify the sand manipulation decisions through which it is constructed. We show that action recognition accurately (>85%) classifies ten sand manipulation behaviors across three different species and distinguishes between scooping and spitting events that occur during bower construction versus feeding. Registration of depth and video data streams enables topographical mapping of these behaviors onto a dynamic 3D sand surface. The hardware required for this setup is inexpensive (<$250 per setup), allowing for the simultaneous recording from many independent aquariums. We further show that bower construction behaviors are non-uniform in time, non-uniform in space, and spatially repeatable across trials. We also quantify a unique behavioral phenotype in interspecies hybrids, wherein males sequentially express both phenotypes of behaviorally-divergent parental species. Our work demonstrates that simultaneously tracking both structure and behavior provides an integrated picture of long-term goal-directed decision-making in a naturalistic, dynamic, and social environment.

scholarly journals Wild ungulates in Jordan: past, present, and forthcoming opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 19338-19351
Author(s):  
Ehab Eid ◽  
David Mallon
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Roe Deer ◽  
Capreolus Capreolus ◽  
Fallow Deer ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Wild Ungulates ◽  
Equus Hemionus ◽  
Wild Ass ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Arabian Oryx

Twelve species of ungulates are reported from the wild in Jordan. Three of these, Addax nasomaculatus (Addax), Bos primigenius (Aurochs), and Cervus elaphus (Red Deer) are known only from archaeological excavations. Dama mesopotamica (Mesopotamian Fallow Deer), Oryx leucoryx (Arabian Oryx) and Equus hemionus hemippus (Syrian Wild Ass) have been regionally extirpated in the wild. A semi-captive population of Persian Onager (E. h. hemionus) is held in Shumari Wildlife Reserve. The Arabian Oryx is also managed in semi-captive conditions in two reserves. Except the commonly occurring Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), other surviving ungulate species continue to be under serious threat. Gazella gazella (Palestinian Mountain Gazelle), Capreolus capreolus (European Roe Deer), Gazella marica (Arabian Sand Gazelle), and Gazella dorcas (Dorcas Gazelle) are Critically Endangered, and Capra nubiana (Nubian Ibex) is Endangered in the region. This paper provides a review of the historical and current status of wild ungulates in Jordan, listing the threats and conservation measures and provides recommendations for management and conservation in the future.

Hunting for a Larger Diversity of Urban Trees in Western Europe—A Case Study from the Southern Caucasus

2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Sjöman ◽  
Simon Hannus ◽  
Patrick Bellan ◽  
Tinatin Barblishvili ◽  
Tamaz Darchidze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Climate Scenario ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Trees ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Forest Reserves ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Southern Caucasus

The primary aim of this study was to communicate a method for locating natural habitats where trees grows under conditions that are comparable to those in urban environments in terms of water stress. This is presented by analyzing five different forest reserves in the southern Caucasus (Republic of Georgia) where calculation of net water balance over the period of a year was conducted. This provided an insight into the drought at the sites during the growing season. The data were thereafter compared with similar calculations for five different cities in Western Europe in order to see if there were any matches in drought stress between the cities and the forest reserves. To extend the analysis, conditions in the five cities were assessed for high density and low density areas, and for the current climate and a future climate scenario. The comparisons revealed some matches between conditions in the forest reserves and those in different scenarios/areas in the cities. A secondary aim was to identify specific ecotypes in the wild demonstrating great potential to handle growing conditions similar to those in urban environments based on inventories of woody plants in the forest reserves. A total of 44 woody species were found in the forest reserve systems with a random distribution throughout the five study sites. Based on the commitments presented above a preliminary screening can be done where future tree selection focus can be directed towards highly promising species and ecotypes, which would undoubtedly limit the time lag before proper plant material can be released.

Smartphone-Based Tapping Frequency as a Surrogate for Perceived Fatigue

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Liliana Barrios ◽  
Pietro Oldrati ◽  
Marc Hilty ◽  
David Lindlbauer ◽  
Christian Holz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Common Symptom ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
Clinical Scales ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Medical Need ◽  
Routine Medical Care ◽  
Fatigue Monitoring ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Fatigue Severity ◽  
Reliable Methods

Fatigue is a common symptom in various diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). The current standard method to assess fatigue is through questionnaires, which has several shortcomings; questionnaires are subjective, prone to recall bias, and potentially confounded by other symptoms like stress and depression. Thus, there is an unmet medical need to develop objective and reliable methods to evaluate fatigue. Our study seeks to develop an objective and ubiquitous monitoring tool for assessing fatigue. Leveraging a smartphone-based rapid tapping task, we conducted a two-week in-the-wild study with 35 MS patients. We explore the association between tapping derived metrics and perceived fatigue assessed with two standard clinical scales: fatigue severity scale (FSS) and fatigue scale for motor and cognitive function (FSMC). Our novel smartphone-based fatigue metric, mean tapping frequency, objectively ranks perceived fatigue with a mean AUCROC = .76, CI = [.71, .81] according to the FSMC, and a mean AUCROC = .81, CI = [.76, .86] according to the FSS. These results demonstrate that our approach is feasible and valid in uncontrolled environments. In this work, we provide a promising tool for objective fatigue monitoring to be used in clinical trials and routine medical care.

An Automated System for Detection of Through-Wall Cracks in Racks in Steam Generator Tubes

2005 ◽  
Vol 297-300 ◽  
pp. 2071-2076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung Jin Song ◽  
Chang Hwan Kim ◽  
Deok Hyun Lee ◽  
Myung Sik Choi ◽  
Do Haeng Hur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Steam Generator ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Pressurized Water ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Primary Water ◽  
Water Reactors ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
Shape Curve ◽  
Steam Generator Tubes

Through-wall axial cracks occurred by primary water stress corrosion are one of the serious defects in steam generator (SG) tubes (made of alloy 600) in pressurized water reactors. Therefore, it is necessary to detect and size them by eddy current testing (ECT) conducted during in-service inspection of SG tubes. To address this issue, it has been recently proposed an effective method, namely „M-shape profile“ approach, which relies on the difference in the amplitude between the pancake and plus point coils in a MRPC probe. Even though the M-shape curve approach is straightforward in principle, it requires time-consuming data processing if performed by human operators. In order to get rid of this tedious task, an automated system is developed in the present work. This paper addresses the principle of the M-shape approach together with the automated system and its performances for the detection of natural axial cracks in SG tubes. The results observed in the present work demonstrate the high potential of the developed system as a very promising tool for detecting through-wall cracks in many practical field applications.

scholarly journals Developing an Automated Monitoring System for Cable Yarding Systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raimondo Gallo ◽  
Rien Visser ◽  
Fabrizio Mazzetto
Keyword(s):  
Monitoring System ◽  
Cycle Time ◽  
Automated System ◽  
System Level ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Analysis Program ◽  
Automated Monitoring ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Cable Yarding ◽  
Automated Monitoring System

Cable yarders are often the preferred harvesting system when extracting trees on steep terrain. While the practice of cable logging is well established, productivity is dependent on many stand and terrain variables. Being able to continuously monitor a cable yarder operation would provide the opportunity not only to manage and improve the system, but also to study the effect on operations in different conditions.This paper presents the results of an automated monitoring system that was developed and tested on a series of cable yarder operations. The system is based on the installation of a Geographical Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) onto the carriage, coupled with a data-logging unit and a data analysis program. The analysis program includes a set of algorithms able to transform the raw carriage movement data into detailed timing elements. Outputs include basic aspects such average extraction distance, average inhaul and outhaul carriage speed, but is also able to distinguish number of cycles, cycle time, as well as break the cycles into its distinct elements of outhaul, hook, inhaul and unhook.The system was tested in eight locations; four in thinning operations in Italy and four clear-cut operations in New Zealand, using three different rigging configuration of motorized slack-pulling, motorized grapple and North Bend. At all locations, a manual time and motion study was completed for comparison to the data produced by the newly developed automated system. Results showed that the system was able to identify 98% of the 369 cycles measured. The 8 cycles not detected were directly attributed to the loss of GNSS signal at two Italian sites with tree cover. For the remaining 361 cycles, the difference in gross cycle time was less than 1% and the overall accuracy for the separate elements of the cycle was less than 3% when considered at the rigging system level. The study showed that the data analyses system developed can readily convert GNSS data of the carriage movement into information useful for monitoring and studying cable yarding operations.

scholarly journals Behavioural and life-history responses of mosquitofish to biologically inspired and interactive robotic predators

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (158) ◽  
pp. 20190359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Polverino ◽  
Mert Karakaya ◽  
Chiara Spinello ◽  
Vrishin R. Soman ◽  
Maurizio Porfiri
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Causal Link ◽  
The Body ◽  
Energy Reserves ◽  
Biologically Inspired ◽  
Information Theoretic ◽  
Antipredator Response ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Open Question

Invasive alien species threaten biodiversity worldwide and contribute to biotic homogenization, especially in freshwaters, where the ability of native animals to disperse is limited. Robotics may offer a promising tool to address this compelling problem, but whether and how invasive species can be negatively affected by robotic stimuli is an open question. Here, we explore the possibility of modulating behavioural and life-history responses of mosquitofish by varying the degree of biomimicry of a robotic predator, whose appearance and locomotion are inspired by natural mosquitofish predators. Our results support the prediction that real-time interactions at varying swimming speeds evoke a more robust antipredator response in mosquitofish than simpler movement patterns by the robot, especially in individuals with better body conditions that are less prone to take risks. Through an information-theoretic analysis of animal–robot interactions, we offer evidence in favour of a causal link between the motion of the robotic predator and a fish antipredator response. Remarkably, we observe that even a brief exposure to the robotic predator of 15 min per week is sufficient to erode energy reserves and compromise the body condition of mosquitofish, opening the door for future endeavours to control mosquitofish in the wild.

scholarly journals Proximity sensors reveal social information transfer in maternity colonies of Common noctule bats

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Ripperger ◽  
Linus Günther ◽  
Hanna Wieser ◽  
Niklas Duda ◽  
Martin Hierold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Transfer ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
List Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Ideal Tool ◽  
First Time

SummaryBats are a highly gregarious taxon suggesting that social information should be readily available for making decision. Social information transfer in maternity colonies might be a particularly efficient mechanism for naïve pups to acquire information on resources from informed adults. However, such behaviour is difficult to study in the wild, in particular in elusive and small-bodied animals such as bats.The goal of this study was to investigate the role of social information in acquiring access to two types of resources, which are crucial in the life of a juvenile bat: suitable roosting sites and fruitful feeding grounds. We hypothesized that fledging offspring will make use of social information by following informed members of the social groups to unknown roosts or foraging sites.In the present study we applied for the first time the newly developed miniaturized proximity sensor system ‘BATS’, a fully automated system for documenting associations among individual bats both while roosting and while on the wing. We quantified associations among juveniles and other group member while switching roosts and during foraging.We found clear evidence for information transfer while switching roosts, mainly among juveniles and their genetically identified mothers. Anecdotal observations suggest intentional guidance behaviour by mothers, indicated by repeated commuting flights among the pup and the target roost. Infrequent, short meetings with colony members other than the mother indicate local enhancement at foraging sites, but no intentional information transfer.Our study illustrates how advances in technology enable researchers to solve long-standing puzzles. Miniaturized proximity sensors facilitate the automated collection of continuous data sets and represent an ideal tool to gain novel insights into the sociobiology of elusive and small-bodied species.

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