scholarly journals Characteristics of Beaver Ponds and Landforms Induced by Beaver Activity, S Part of the Tuchola Pinewoods, Poland

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3641
Author(s):  
Mirosław Rurek
Keyword(s):  
Castor Canadensis ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Distribution Analysis ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Flat Bottom ◽  
Beaver Ponds ◽  
The North ◽  
Eurasian Beaver ◽  
Beaver Dams

Currently, there are only two species of beavers described—the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) and Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). Their natural habitats are confined to the northern hemisphere but instances of beaver introduction to regions of the world they do not normally inhabit have also been recorded. The activity of beavers leads to changes in the natural environment linked to hydrological and geomorphological and plant cover transformations. Beavers live in natural and artificial water reservoirs and rivers. If the water level in the river is too low, they build dams to create a comfortable living environment. This paper aims to present changes in the relief of the valley inhabited by beavers in which sediments accumulate. During the field study, detailed measurements of dams and of the spatial range of beaver ponds were made, and the thickness and spatial distribution of accumulated sediments were determined. In addition, measurements of geomorphological forms in beaver ponds were also made. The samples of sediments were subject to grain-size distribution analysis, the results of which allowed calculating sediment parameters. Beavers appeared in the Gajdówka valley in the southern part of the Tuchola Forest (Poland) in 2008. In 2008–2011 they built 17 beaver dams that impounded ponds. The beaver ponds and beaver dams were of different sizes. They either flooded the whole flat bottom of the valley or only raised the level of water in the riverbed. A characteristic feature of beaver ponds is that they capture sediments. Different landforms were created in the course of the formation and disappearance of beaver ponds. It was established that these include alluvial fans, levees, sand shadow dunes and microterraces formed by deposition and erosion. They do not occur in all ponds. Points at which mineral sediments are supplied to the watercourse, including beaver burrows and erosion hollows, are presented together with the points at which sediments are transferred from ponds upstream to ponds downstream the watercourse. Beaver activity during valley colonization shows changes in the landscape caused by their presence and in particular their impact on the relief and deposition of sediments. Analysis of contemporary changes in the morphology of the Gajdówka Valley leads to the conclusion that beaver activity has had an intense impact on the terrain relief of the valley inhabited by beavers.

scholarly journals Abundance and Phenotypic Diversity of the Medicinal Sideritis Scardica Griseb. in Relation to Floristic Composition of Its Habitat in Northern Greece

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2542
Author(s):  
Pinelopi K. Papaporfyriou ◽  
Eirini Sarrou ◽  
Eleni Avramidou ◽  
Eleni M. Abraham
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Phenotypic Diversity ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Species Number ◽  
Medicinal Species ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
The North

Sideritis scardica (S. scardica) is an endemic medicinal species of the Central Balkan Peninsula. The aerial parts are traditionally used in folk medicine and, therefore, have been collected extensively from natural habitats. Overexploitation in combination with climate change has resulted in severely fragmented populations. In this context, the purpose of this study was to access the abundance and phenotypic diversity of S. scardica populations in relation to plant community structure and environmental and anthropogenic factors in six mountainous areas of Northern Greece. For this reason, the floristic composition and diversity was determined by accessing the number of plant species, number of individuals per plant species, and plant cover in each study area. In addition, the soil properties of the studied areas were determined and the phenotypic diversity of S. scardica populations was accessed through the imaging of leaf and inflorescence main characteristics. As a result, 141 plant species were identified in all studied areas, while the floristic composition clearly distinguished the North-Central from the North-Eastern studied areas. S. scardica was the predominant species in the habitats where the presence of forbs was favored, while a high presence of graminoid and shrub species in the study areas depressed its presence. A high coefficient of variations was recorded among the six populations, varying from 12.2%–29.2% and 13.3%–43.1% for inflorescence and leaf traits.

Juvenile salmonid growth, survival, and production in a large river floodplain modified by beavers (Castor canadensis)

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (11) ◽  
pp. 1639-1651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Malison ◽  
Lisa A. Eby ◽  
Jack A. Stanford
Keyword(s):  
Unit Area ◽  
Castor Canadensis ◽  
Oncorhynchus Kisutch ◽  
Large River ◽  
Juvenile Salmon ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
River Floodplain ◽  
Beaver Ponds ◽  
Habitat Variation ◽  
Beaver Dams

Beavers (Castor canadensis) may strongly influence juvenile salmon production by damming spring brooks that are primary rearing habitats on expansive floodplains of large Pacific Rim salmon rivers. We studied three floodplain rearing habitats in the Kwethluk River, Alaska: free-flowing (beaver-free, n = 3) and beaver-influenced (below beaver dams, n = 4) spring brooks and early-successional beaver ponds (n = 4). We analyzed juvenile coho (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytschwa) salmon movement, survival, densities, and growth using a multistate robust capture–mark–recapture design. Survival (46% to 80%) and densities (0.9 fish·m−2) were highest in beaver-free spring brooks. Ponds had lower salmon densities, producing less biomass per unit area than beaver-influenced or beaver-free spring brooks (1.87 ± 0.57 g·m−2 vs. 2.98 ± 1.22 and 3.23 ± 0.73 g·m−2). However, ponds covered 2× greater area than either type of spring brook and therefore produced more salmon biomass at the floodplain scale than either type of spring brook (175 kg vs. 149 kg in beaver-influenced spring brooks and 140 kg in beaver-free spring brooks). We conclude that beaver damming of floodplain spring brooks produces bigger juveniles and more total biomass, but spring brooks produce significantly more, albeit smaller, coho and Chinook juveniles. Thus, the presence of beavers on the floodplain increases habitat variation, which provides a larger range of growth opportunities for juvenile salmon.

scholarly journals Impacts of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Vegetation Dynamics: A Case Study of Wadi Hagul, Eastern Desert, Egypt

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1906
Author(s):  
Ramadan Bedair ◽  
Amira A. Ibrahim ◽  
Amal A. Alyamani ◽  
Salman Aloufi ◽  
Samah Ramadan
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Eastern Desert ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
The North ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Euphorbia Prostrata ◽  
Detrended Canonical Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Plant Families

Irresponsible human interventions, encroachment of natural habitats, and climate change negatively affect wildlife. In this study, the effects of human influence on Wadi Hagul, an unprotected area in the north of the Egyptian Eastern Desert that has recently been subjected to blatant encroachments of vegetation, were studied. The most important of these threats is the construction of the new road Al-Galala–Wadi Hagul–Zafarana. In Wadi Hagul, 80 species are reported in this study; the most represented plant families are Asteraceae (15 species) and Brassicaceae (6 species). Perennial, chamaephyte and Saharo-Arabian species were recorded in the highest percentage. Detrended canonical correspondence analysis showed that latitude, longitude, altitude, silt, sand contents, pH, and CO32− content are the factors that have the highest effect on vegetation distribution in the studied stands. Several invasive and alien species such as Euphorbia prostrata have been listed; these species typically have a negative effect on native species. The Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) indicated a decrease in plant cover during the study period, as compared to previous years. In 2013 and 2020, SAVI ranged from −0.02 to 0.42 and from −0.18 to 0.28, respectively. Recently, the violation and destruction of wildlife have increased, therefore, preserving it along with general biodiversity has become an urgent necessity.

To the syntaxonomy of pounikkos mire complexes in the forest-tundra and tundra in the northern part of the Kola Peninsula

2014 ◽  
pp. 30-44
Author(s):  
N. E. Koroleva
Keyword(s):  
Kola Peninsula ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Dwarf Shrub ◽  
Distribution Area ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Character Species ◽  
Forest Tundra ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Border

Mires of the Kola Peninsula were investigated mainly in its southern part (Botch, 1989; Payanskaya-Gvozdeva, 1990; Smagin, 1999а, 1999b). The published relevés of tundra mires of the Peninsula are poor (Kalliola, 1939; Koroleva, 2001, 2006), and this paper surveys pounikkos mire complexes in its northern part, represents their classification according to the Braun-Blanquet approach accompanied by syntaxonomical tables. The investigated area is situated in the north of the Kola Peninsula within the forest tundra and in southern arctic tundra, with the mean annual air temperature between –0.5 °C and –2.0 °C and annual precipitation 600–700 mm. The geological basis is Archean and Proterozoic crystalline rocks, covered by coarse gravelly moraine and sandy fluvial-glacial deposits, and peat deposits in wetlands. Plant cover represents the combination of subarctic birch forests, tundra and mires. The mire complexes occur in river valleys, in lake and between moraine hill depressions, alternating with shrub and dwarf-shrub lichen tundra and forest-tundra on hill tops and slopes. Peat hummock (pounikkos) height is 0.3–0.5 (up to 1.0) м, their diameter is 0.3–0.7 (up to 1.5) м. In July the ice core is kept at 20–30 cm below the surface. Water-logged narrow ditches separate hummocks from each other. Inundated sedges- and water-cotton-dominated lawns, willow thickets along the water currents and small lakes are common within the mire complex. In the 2012 field season mounds and hummocks were densely inhabited by rodents, in particular by Lemmus lemmus. Oligotrophic and ombrogenous mosses lichens dwarf-shrub dominated communities of mounds, small turf hummocks (pounus, pounikkos) and on the margin of mire massifs belong to the alliance Oxycocco−Empetrion hermaphroditi Nordh. 1936 ex Neuhäusl 1969 (diagnostic taxa (DT): Eriophorum vaginatum, Oxycoccus microcarpus, Rubus chamaemorus, Mylia anomala, Sphagnum fuscum) with the ass. Empetro−Sphagnetum fusci subass. typicum Dierssen (1982) 1996 (DT Ledum palustre and Orthocaulis kunzeanus) and Empetro−Sphagnetum fusci subass. dicranetosum elongati (Regel 1923) stat. nov. (DT Dicranum elongatum). Species poor sedges- and cottongrass dominated oligo-, oligomesotrophic fens of flark and lawns belong to the alliance Caricion rotundatae (Kalliola 1939) stat. nov. (DT Carex concolor, C. rariflora, C. rotundata, Baeothryon cespitosum, Eriophorum polystachion, Sphagnum lindbergii, S. compactum, Warnstorfia exannulata, Sarmentypnum sarmentosum, Calliergon stramineum) with three associations: ass. Gymnocoleo inflatae−Caricetum rariflorae ass. nov. (DT Nardus stricta, Sphagnum compactum, Gymnocolea inflata, Anthelia juratzkana), ass. Warnstorfio sarmentosi−Caricetum concoloris ass. nov. (DT the same as for the alliance), ass. Eriophoro polystachii−Sphagnetum lindbergii (Kalliola 1939) stat. nov. (DT Sphagnum lindbergii). Low willows and sedges dominated communities along mire springs or in percolated areas are described as ass. Salici lapponi−Caricetum concoloris ass. nov. (DT Betula nana, Salix lapponum, S. phylicifolia, Calamagrostis strictа, Carex rostrata, Comarum palustre, Molinia caerulea, Viola palustris, Lophozia longiflora) with no affiliation to any alliance. Proposed new alliance Caricion rotundatae occurs in tundra and forest-tundra zone to the north of main areal of alliances Rhynchosporion albae Koch 1926 and Caricion lasiocarpae Vanden Berghen ap. Lebrun et al. 1949, which comprise oligotrophic and mesotrophic flark communities of boreal mires. Among diagnostic taxa of Caricion rotundatae are low sedges and brown mosses and in opposite to the alliance Rhynchosporion albae it doesn’t include the character species of Rhynchosporion albae (Carex livida, Scheuchzeria palustris, Rhynchospora alba). The studied mire complexes are very characteristic for the entire subarctic Fennoscandia, being located in the north of the Kola Peninsula close to the east-northern border of their European distribution area. They are considered to include more fast-growing permafrost hummocks comparing with palsa mires (Grab, 2003). Based upon their high alpha diversity and important ecological and scientific role, the discussed pounus mire massifs are perspective to be examined as possible value natural habitats.

MOSAICITY OF THE VEGETATION COVER OF THE KOCHUBEY BIOSPHERE STATION PASTURES

1970 ◽  
pp. 40-42
Author(s):  
М. А. Babaeva ◽  
S. V. Osipova
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Cynodon Dactylon ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Avena Fatua ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Indigenous Species ◽  
Fodder Plants ◽  
Falcaria Vulgaris

The regularities of changes in the resistance of different groups of fodder plants to adverse conditions were studied. This is due to the physiological properties that allow them to overcome the harmful effects of the environment. As a result of research species - plant groups with great adaptive potential to the harsh continental semi-desert conditions were identified. Monitoring observation and experimental studies showed too thin vegetation cover as a mosaic, consisting of perennial xerophytic herbs and semishrubs, sod grasses, saltwort and wormwood, as well as ephemera and ephemeroids under the same environmental conditions, depending on various climatic and anthropogenic factors. This is due to the inability or instability of plant species to aggressive living environment. It results in horizontal heterogeneity of the grass stand, division into smaller structures, and mosaic in the vegetation cover of the Kochubey biosphere station. The relative resistance to moderate stress was identified in the following species from fodder plants Agropyron cristatum, A. desertorum, Festuca valesiaca, Cynodon dactylon, Avena fatua; as for strong increasing their abundance these are poorly eaten plant species Artemisia taurica, Atriplex tatarica, Falcaria vulgaris, Veronica arvensis, Arabidopsis thaliana and other. On the site with an increasing pressure in the herbage of phytocenoses the number of xerophytes of ruderal species increases and the spatial structure of the vegetation cover is simplified. In plant communities indigenous species are replaced by adventive plant species. The mosaic of the plant cover of phytocenoses arises due to the uneven distribution in the space of environmental formation, i.e. an edificatory: Salsola orientalis, S. dendroides, Avena fatua, Cynodon dactylon, Artemisia taurica, A. lercheanum, Xanthium spinosum, Carex pachystyli, under which the remaining components of the community adapt. Based on the phytocenotic indicators of pasture phytocenoses it can be concluded that the vegetation cover is in the stage of ecological stress and a decrease in the share of fodder crops and an increase in the number of herbs indicates this fact.

In memory of Vera Antonovna Martynenko (1936-2018)

2018 ◽  
pp. 149-154
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Ussr Academy ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Komi Republic ◽  
Great Contribution ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Natural Flora

Vera Antonovna Martynenko (17.02.1936–06.01.2018) — famous specialist in the field of studying vascular plant flora and vegetation of the Far North, the Honored worker of the Komi Republic (2006), The Komi Republic State Scientific Award winner (2000). She was born in the town Likhoslavl of the Kali­nin (Tver) region. In 1959, Vera Antonovna graduated from the faculty of soil and biology of the Leningrad State University and then moved to the Komi Branch of USSR Academy of Science (Syktyvkar). From 1969 to 1973 she passed correspondence postgraduate courses of the Komi Branch of USSR Academy of ­Science. In 1974, she received the degree of candidate of biology (PhD) by the theme «Comparative analysis of the boreal flora at the Northeast European USSR» in the Botanical Institute (St. Petersburg). In 1996, Vera Antonovna received the degree of doctor of biology in the Institute of plant and animal ecology (Ekaterinburg) «Flora of the northern and mid subzones of the taiga of the European North-East». The study and conservation of species and coenotical diversity of the plant world, namely the vascular plants flora of the Komi Republic and revealing its transformation under the anthropogenic influence, was in the field of V. A. Martynenko’ scientific interests. She made great contribution to the study of the Komi Republic meadow flora and the pool of medi­cinal plants. She performed inventorying and mapping the meadows of several agricultural enterprises of the Republic, revealed the species composition and places for harvesting medicinal plants and studied their productivity in the natural flora of the boreal zone. The results of her long-term studies were used for making the NPA system and the Red Book of the Komi Republic (1998 and 2009). Vera Antonovna participated in the research of the influence of placer gold mining and oil development on the natural ecosystems of the North, and developed the method of long-term monitoring of plant cover. Results of these works are of high practical value. V. A. Martynenko is an author and coauthor of more than 130 scientific publications. The most important jnes are «Flora of Northeast European USSR» (1974, 1976, and 1977), «Floristic composition of fodder lands of the Northeast Europe» (1989), «The forests of the Komi Republic» (1999), «Forestry of forest resources of the Komi Republic» (2000), «The list of flora of the Yugyd va national park» (2003), «The guide for vascular plants of the Syktyvkar and its vicinities» (2005), «Vascular plants of the Komi Republic» (2008), and «Resources of the natural flora of the Komi Republic» (2014). She also was an author of «Encyclopedia of the Komi Republic» (1997, 1999, and 2000), «Historical and cultural atlas of the Komi Republic» (1997), «Atlas of the Komi Republic» (2001, 2011). V. A. Martynenko made a great contribution to the development of the botanical investigations in the North. Since 1982, during more than 10 years, she was the head of the Department of the Institute of Biology. Three Ph. D. theses have been completed under her leadership. Many years, she worked actively in the Dissertation Council of the Institute of biology Komi Scientific Centre UrB RAS.  The death of Vera Antonovna Martynenko is a heavy and irretrievable loss for the staff of the Institute of Biology. The memory of Vera Antonovna will live in her numerous scientific works, the hearts of students and colleagues.

scholarly journals Late Glacial and Holocene plant cover in Węgliny, Lubsza Plain, south-west Poland, based on pollen analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Jurochnik ◽  
Dorota Nalepka
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Anaerobic Sediments ◽  
The North ◽  
South West ◽  
Pollen Diagrams ◽  
Laacher See Tephra ◽  
Late Glacial And Holocene

ABSTRACT Late Glacial (since Oldest Dryas) and Holocene (to Subatlantic) changes of vegetation at the Węgliny site (south-west Poland) are reconstructed based mainly on pollen analysis of five cores from the palaeobasin (anaerobic sediments). The chronology of the described events is based on palynological comparison with the Lubsza Plain environs, based on LPAZs from several published pollen diagrams on 14C data, and multiple cryptotephra levels determined in the Węgliny profiles. The Węgliny record integrates well into the north European Holocene and Late Glacial biostratigraphic framework. The Węgliny site is the next (fourth) locality in Poland where the Laacher See Tephra (LST) horizon within the Allerød chronozone was identified.

Features of the course of birth in northern domestic deer in the conditions of the North-East of Russia (Yakutia)

2021 ◽  
pp. 23-28
Author(s):  
V. Fedorov ◽  
T. Ippolitova ◽  
E. Sleptsov ◽  
K. Plemyashov
Keyword(s):  
Living Environment ◽  
Behavioral Reactions ◽  
Climatic Zones ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The Republic ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Harsh Conditions ◽  
Generic Process

Purpose: Determination of the peculiarities of the behavior and the flow of childbirth in females (wrenches) of the northern home deer of the Even Breed of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), depending on the natural climatic zone of breeding.Material and research methods. Research of the reservation of the hotel's reservoir of the northern home deer was held from April to June in the reindeer herds of the mountain-taiga (FSUE «Yuchjuyuskoye») and the Tundrov zones (SHPZK «Taba-Yana») of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in the conditions of nomadic home reindeer herding since 2013 2018 In the study, the method of observation is used with the registration of motor activity of animals and the activities of individual bodies in a certain living environment.Results. To fix some patterns and species features of the generic process, 8 main elementary behavioral reactions spent venizables of northern domestic deer per day before childbirth: walking, feeding feed, chewing, leisure standing, rest lying, sleep, urination (how many times / total time), defecation (how many times / total time). Also marked 4 behavioral reactions on the hotel day: the exploitation time of the fetus, the licking of the calf, the time of the calf on his feet after delivery, the first reception of the mosper calf after birth. For each parameter, data reflected in tabular format is obtained.Conclusion. It has been established that the degree of adaptation of the northern domestic deer to the harsh conditions of existence in various natural-climatic zones of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is very high, which is manifested in a minor difference in the duration of the generic process and behavioral reactions at the vainer of the mountain and tundra and tundra dilution zones.

scholarly journals Do beaver dams reduce habitat connectivity and salmon productivity in expansive river floodplains?

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Malison ◽  
Kirill V. Kuzishchin ◽  
Jack A. Stanford
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Fish Passage ◽  
Main Channel ◽  
Habitat Connectivity ◽  
Juvenile Salmon ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Alluvial Rivers ◽  
Beaver Ponds ◽  
Beaver Dams

Beaver have expanded in their native habitats throughout the northern hemisphere in recent decades following reductions in trapping and reintroduction efforts. Beaver have the potential to strongly influence salmon populations in the side channels of large alluvial rivers by building dams that create pond complexes. Pond habitat may improve salmon productivity or the presence of dams may reduce productivity if dams limit habitat connectivity and inhibit fish passage. Our intent in this paper is to contrast the habitat use and production of juvenile salmon on expansive floodplains of two geomorphically similar salmon rivers: the Kol River in Kamchatka, Russia (no beavers) and the Kwethluk River in Alaska (abundant beavers), and thereby provide a case study on how beavers may influence salmonids in large floodplain rivers. We examined important rearing habitats in each floodplain, including springbrooks, beaver ponds, beaver-influenced springbrooks, and shallow shorelines of the river channel. Juvenile coho salmon dominated fish assemblages in all habitats in both rivers but other species were present. Salmon density was similar in all habitat types in the Kol, but in the Kwethluk coho and Chinook densities were 3–12× lower in mid- and late-successional beaver ponds than in springbrook and main channel habitats. In the Kol, coho condition (length: weight ratios) was similar among habitats, but Chinook condition was highest in orthofluvial springbrooks. In the Kwethluk, Chinook condition was similar among habitats, but coho condition was lowest in main channel versus other habitats (0.89 vs. 0.99–1.10). Densities of juvenile salmon were extremely low in beaver ponds located behind numerous dams in the orthofluvial zone of the Kwethluk River floodplain, whereas juvenile salmon were abundant in habitats throughout the entire floodplain in the Kol River. If beavers were not present on the Kwethluk, floodplain habitats would be fully interconnected and theoretically could produce 2× the biomass (between June–August, 1,174 vs. 667 kg) and rear 3× the number of salmon (370,000 vs. 140,000) compared to the existing condition with dams present. The highly productive Kol river produces an order of magnitude more salmon biomass and rears 40× the individuals compared to the Kwethluk. If beavers were introduced to the Kol River, we estimate that off-channel habitats would produce half as much biomass (2,705 vs. 5,404 kg) and 3× fewer individuals (1,482,346 vs. 4,856,956) owing to conversion of inter-connected, productive springbrooks into inaccessible pond complexes. We concluded that beaver dams may limit the total amount of floodplain habitat available for salmon rearing in the Kwethluk river and that the introduction of beavers to the Kol river could be detrimental to salmon populations. The introduction of beavers to other large alluvial rivers like those found in Kamchatka could have negative consequences for salmon production.

The ghost bat in the Pilbara: 100 years on.

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
KN Armstrong ◽  
SD Anstee
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
New Records ◽  
Iron Formation ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
The Third ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Preferred Habitat

This paper summarises the roost habitat and distribution of the ghost bat, Macroderma gigas (Dobson, 1880), in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with particular emphasis on natural habitats. The preferred habitat of M. gigas in the Hamersley Ranges appears to be caves beneath bluffs of low rounded hills composed of Marra Mamba geology. Habitats were also found in the larger hills of Brockman Iron Formation in the Hamersley Range, and other formations beneath bluffs composed of Gorge Creek Group geology to the north east. Granite rockpiles are also used in the eastern Pilbara. A summary of Pilbara records from numerous sources is presented, including anecdotal accounts and other new records. This includes a newly discovered maternity site from the Hamersley Ranges, only the third reported from natural cave formations in the region. Threats to M. gigas in the region are highlighted and include disturbances associated with mining and entanglement in barbed wire fences.

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