scholarly journals Does ecophysiology mediate reptile responses to fire regimes? Evidence from Iberian lizards

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina C. Ferreira ◽  
Xavier Santos ◽  
Miguel A. Carretero
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus ◽  
The Mediterranean

Background.Reptiles are sensitive to habitat disturbance induced by wildfires, but some species frequently show opposing responses. The functional causes of such variability have been scarcely explored. In the northernmost limit of the Mediterranean bioregion, a lizard species of Mediterranean affinity (Psammodromus algirusandPodarcis guadarramae) increase in abundance in burnt areas whereas Atlantic species (Lacerta schreiberiandPodarcis bocagei) decrease.Timon lepidus, the largest Mediterranean lizard in the region, shows mixed responses depending on the locality and fire history. We tested whether such interspecific differences are of a functional nature; namely, if ecophysiological traits may determine lizard response to fire. Based on the variation in habitat structure between burnt and unburnt sites, we hypothesise that the Mediterranean species, which increase density in open habitats promoted by frequent fire regimes, should be more thermophile and suffer lower water losses than Atlantic species.Methods.We submitted 6–10 adult males of the five species to standard experiments for assessing preferred body temperatures (Tp) and evaporativewater loss rates (EWL), and examined the variation among species and along time by means of repeated-measures AN(C)OVAs.Results.Results only partially supported our initial expectations, since the medium-sizedP. algirusclearly attained higherTpand lower EWL. The two small wall lizards (P. bocageiandP. guadarramae) displayed lowTpand high EWL while the two large green lizards (T. lepidusandL. schreiberi) displayed intermediate values for both parameters.Discussion.The predicted differences according to the biogeographic affinities within each pair were not fully confirmed. We conclude that ecophysiology may help to understand functional reptile responses to fire but other biological traits are also to be considered.

scholarly journals Does ecophysiology mediate reptile responses to fire regimes? Evidence from Iberian lizards

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina C Ferreira ◽  
Xavier Santos ◽  
Miguel A. Carretero
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus

Background. Reptiles are sensitive to habitat disturbance induced by wildfires but species frequently show opposing responses. Functional causes of such variability have been scarcely explored. In the northernmost limit of the Mediterranean bioregion, lizard species of Mediterranean affinity (Psammodromus algirus and Podarcis guadarramae) increase in abundance in burnt areas whereas Atlantic species (Lacerta schreiberi and Podarcis bocagei) decrease. Timon lepidus, the largest Mediterranean lizard in the region, show mixed responses depending on the locality and fire history. We tested if such interspecific differences are of functional nature, namely, if lizard ecophysiological traits may determine their response to fire. Based on the variation in habitat structure between burnt and unburnt sites, we hypothesise that Mediterranean species increasing density in open habitats promoted by frequent fire regimes should be more thermophile and suffer lower water losses than Atlantic species. Methods. We submitted 6-10 adult males of the five species to standard experiments for assessing preferred body temperatures (Tp) and evaporative water loss rates (EWL), and examined the variation among species and along time by means of repeated-measures AN(C)OVAs. Results. Results only partially supported our initial expectations, since the medium-sized P. algirus clearly attained higher Tp and lower EWL. The two small wall lizards (P. bocagei and P. guadarramae) displayed low Tp and high EWL while the two large green lizards (T. lepidus and L. schreiberi) displayed intermediate values for both parameters. Discussion. The predicted differences according to the biogeographic affinities within each pair were not fully confirmed. We conclude that ecophysiology may help to understand functional reptile responses to fire but other biological traits are also to be considered.

scholarly journals Does ecophysiology mediate reptile responses to fire regimes? Evidence from Iberian lizards

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina C Ferreira ◽  
Xavier Santos ◽  
Miguel A. Carretero
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
Water Losses ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus

Background. Reptiles are sensitive to habitat disturbance induced by wildfires but species frequently show opposing responses. Functional causes of such variability have been scarcely explored. In the northernmost limit of the Mediterranean bioregion, lizard species of Mediterranean affinity (Psammodromus algirus and Podarcis guadarramae) increase in abundance in burnt areas whereas Atlantic species (Lacerta schreiberi and Podarcis bocagei) decrease. Timon lepidus, the largest Mediterranean lizard in the region, show mixed responses depending on the locality and fire history. We tested if such interspecific differences are of functional nature, namely, if lizard ecophysiological traits may determine their response to fire. Based on the variation in habitat structure between burnt and unburnt sites, we hypothesise that Mediterranean species increasing density in open habitats promoted by frequent fire regimes should be more thermophile and suffer lower water losses than Atlantic species. Methods. We submitted 6-10 adult males of the five species to standard experiments for assessing preferred body temperatures (Tp) and evaporative water loss rates (EWL), and examined the variation among species and along time by means of repeated-measures AN(C)OVAs. Results. Results only partially supported our initial expectations, since the medium-sized P. algirus clearly attained higher Tp and lower EWL. The two small wall lizards (P. bocagei and P. guadarramae) displayed low Tp and high EWL while the two large green lizards (T. lepidus and L. schreiberi) displayed intermediate values for both parameters. Discussion. The predicted differences according to the biogeographic affinities within each pair were not fully confirmed. We conclude that ecophysiology may help to understand functional reptile responses to fire but other biological traits are also to be considered.

Autecological Observations of Acanthodactylus erythrurus (Sauria: Lacertidae) in Southern Spain

1982 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Busack ◽  
Fabian M. Jaksic
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Adult Size ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
Male Population ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Psammodromus Algirus ◽  
Human Predation

AbstractAutecological aspects of Acanthodactylus erythrurus were examined at La Algaida, Cádiz Province, Spain. The male population is composed of 60 % adult and 40 % subadult individuals; male hatchlings increase in size at a rate of 0.06 mm/day from hatching ( 31 mm snout-vent length) to sexual maturity (∼61 mm); 50 % do not survive beyond 1.5 years, but those which reach adult size may live 1.9 years. Females grow from hatching (∼ 28 mm) to sexual maturity( 57 mm) at a rate of 0.05 mm/day; less than half survive 1.4 years and the life span of some individuals is 2.1 years. Adult males outnumber adult females 1.4:1, but subadult ratios are 1:1. Adults and subadults associate with different plant species during their activity period, but each age class tends to avoid open sand patches. These 8.4-13 g lizards feed on a wide variety of insects and appreciable quantities of plant material. 49% ofall males and 82% ofall females actively consume Halimium halimifolium. We suspect this lizard species is wide ranging and non-territorial ; only one agonistic encounter was recorded and it was interspecific (with Psammodromus algirus). The frequency of escape from predation is estimated at 26.8 %, based on tail-loss figures, and the incidence of cestode parasitism (Oochoristica cf. tuberculata) is 2.1 %. The population studied was highly resilient to 16 months of intense human predation.

Fire regime shift linked to increased forest density in a piñon–juniper savanna landscape

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Q. Margolis
Keyword(s):  
Regime Shift ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
High Severity ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
In Fire

Piñon–juniper (PJ) fire regimes are generally characterised as infrequent high-severity. However, PJ ecosystems vary across a large geographic and bio-climatic range and little is known about one of the principal PJ functional types, PJ savannas. It is logical that (1) grass in PJ savannas could support frequent, low-severity fire and (2) exclusion of frequent fire could explain increased tree density in PJ savannas. To assess these hypotheses I used dendroecological methods to reconstruct fire history and forest structure in a PJ-dominated savanna. Evidence of high-severity fire was not observed. From 112 fire-scarred trees I reconstructed 87 fire years (1547–1899). Mean fire interval was 7.8 years for fires recorded at ≥2 sites. Tree establishment was negatively correlated with fire frequency (r=–0.74) and peak PJ establishment was synchronous with dry (unfavourable) conditions and a regime shift (decline) in fire frequency in the late 1800s. The collapse of the grass-fuelled, frequent, surface fire regime in this PJ savanna was likely the primary driver of current high tree density (mean=881treesha–1) that is >600% of the historical estimate. Variability in bio-climatic conditions likely drive variability in fire regimes across the wide range of PJ ecosystems.

Spatial and temporal variations of fire regimes in the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Foothills of southern Alberta

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Pierre Rogeau ◽  
Mike D. Flannigan ◽  
Brad C. Hawkes ◽  
Marc-André Parisien ◽  
Rick Arthur
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Fire Season ◽  
Canadian Rocky Mountains ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Fire Exclusion

Like many fire-adapted ecosystems, decades of fire exclusion policy in the Rocky Mountains and Foothills natural regions of southern Alberta, Canada are raising concern over the loss of ecological integrity. Departure from historical conditions is evaluated using median fire return intervals (MdFRI) based on fire history data from the Subalpine (SUB), Montane (MT) and Upper Foothills (UF) natural subregions. Fire severity, seasonality and cause are also documented. Pre-1948 MdFRI ranged between 65 and 85 years in SUB, between 26 and 35 years in MT and was 39 years in UF. The fire exclusion era resulted in a critical departure of 197–223% in MT (MdFRI = 84–104 years). The departure in UF was 170% (MdFRI = 104 years), while regions of continuous fuels in SUB were departed by 129% (MdFRI = 149 years). The most rugged region of SUB is within its historical range of variation with a departure of 42% (MdFRI = 121 years). More mixed-severity burning took place in MT and UF. SUB and MT are in a lightning shadow pointing to a predominance of anthropogenic burning. A summer fire season prevails in SUB, but occurs from spring to fall elsewhere. These findings will assist in developing fire and forest management policies and adaptive strategies in the future.

Fire Management of Rangelands in the Kimberley Low-Rainfall Zone: a Review.

1999 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
AB Craig
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Environmental Research ◽  
Fire Behaviour ◽  
General Management ◽  
Noaa Avhrr ◽  
Local Experience ◽  
Definition Of

This paper examines a range of environmental, research and practical issues affecting fire management of pastoral lands in the southern part of the Kimberley region in Western Australia. Although spinifex grasslands dominate most leases, smaller areas of more productive pastures are crucially important to many enterprises. There is a lack of local documentation of burning practices during traditional Aboriginal occupation; general features of the fire regime at that time can be suggested on the basis of information from other inland areas. Definition of current tire regimes is improving through interpretation of NOAA-AVHRR satellite imagery. Irregular extensive wildfires appear to dominate, although this should be confirmed by further accumulation, validation and analysis of fire history data. While these fires cause ma,jor difficulties. controlled burn~ng is a necessary part of station management. Although general management guidelines have been published. local research into tire-grazing effects has been very limited. For spinifex pastures, reconimendations are generally consistent with those applying elsewhere in northern Australia. They favour periodic burning of mature spinifex late in the year, before or shortly after the arrival of the first rains, with deferment of grazing. At that time. days of high fire danger may still be expected and prediction of fire behaviour is critical to burning decisions. Early dry-season burning is also required for creating protective tire breaks and to prepare for burning later in the year. Further development of tools for predicting fire behaviour, suited to the discontinuous fuels characteristic of the area, would be warranted. A range of questions concerning the timing and spatial pattern of burning, control of post-fire grazing, and the economics of fire management, should be addressed as resources permit. This can be done through a combination of opportunistic studies, modelling and documentation of local experience. The development of an expert system should be considered to assist in planning and conducting burning activities. Key words: Kimberley, fire regimes, fire management, pastoralism, spinifex

scholarly journals The influence of prescribed fire on the extent of wildfire in savanna landscapes of western Arnhem Land, Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen F. Price ◽  
Jeremy Russell-Smith ◽  
Felicity Watt
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Arnhem Land

Fire regimes in many north Australian savanna regions are today characterised by frequent wildfires occurring in the latter part of the 7-month dry season. A fire management program instigated from 2005 over 24 000 km2 of biodiversity-rich Western Arnhem Land aims to reduce the area and severity of late dry-season fires, and associated greenhouse gas emissions, through targeted early dry-season prescribed burning. This study used fire history mapping derived mostly from Landsat imagery over the period 1990–2009 and statistical modelling to quantify the mitigation of late dry-season wildfire through prescribed burning. From 2005, there has been a reduction in mean annual total proportion burnt (from 38 to 30%), and particularly of late dry-season fires (from 29 to 12.5%). The slope of the relationship between the proportion of early-season prescribed fire and subsequent late dry-season wildfire was ~–1. This means that imposing prescribed early dry-season burning can substantially reduce late dry-season fire area, by direct one-to-one replacement. There is some evidence that the spatially strategic program has achieved even better mitigation than this. The observed reduction in late dry-season fire without concomitant increase in overall area burnt has important ecological and greenhouse gas emissions implications. This efficient mitigation of wildfire contrasts markedly with observations reported from temperate fire-prone forested systems.

scholarly journals Some factors influencing milk somatic cell count of Holstein Friesian and Brown Swiss cows under the Mediterranean climatic conditions

2009 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Koç ◽  
K. Kizilkaya
Keyword(s):  
Somatic Cell ◽  
Cell Count ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Somatic Cell Count ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Brown Swiss ◽  
Holstein Friesian ◽  
The Mediterranean

Abstract. The aim of this study was to determine the influencing factors on somatic cell count (SCC) in the milk of Holstein Friesian (HF) and Brown Swiss (BS) cows raised on three dairy farms under the Mediterranean climatic conditions in Turkey. For a two-year period, farms were visited monthly to measure daily milk yield (DMY) and collect milk samples from each cow during the morning and evening milking. Total of 1 429 SCC readings from 67 HF and 16 BS cows were analyzed by using repeated measures. Breed (P<0.01), lactation number (LN) (P<0.01), milking time (MT) (P<0.05), lactation month (LM) (P<0.01) and the interactions of breed-LM (P<0.05), herd-LM (P<0.01) and LN-LM (P<0.01) effects on SCC were statistically significant as did the co-variable DMY effect (P<0.01). The effect of herd and herd-MT interactions on SCC were statistically insignificant (P>0.05). The SCC means for BS and HF cows were 5.464±0.060 (291 072 cells/ml) and 5.654±0.029 (450 817 cells/ml), respectively. The SCC mean for morning milking (338 065 cells/ml) was 25 850 cells/ml lower than that of evening milking. The LN4 had the highest SCC mean (490 908 cells/ml) and was statistically different from those of LN1 (P<0.01) and LN2 (P<0.05). The SCC level was the highest in the first LM (601 174 cells/ml) and this level then decreased in the later months. Possible reasons for the difference in SCC means between the breeds are different resistance mechanisms against mastitis, different morphological conformations of udders and different milk yields between these two breeds. The insignificant differences found among herds show the similarities of management, milking hygiene and barn conditions. In order to decrease SCC in milk and increase udder health, some precautions need to be taken like improving milking management, hygiene and barn conditions, milking the cow at uniform intervals, feeding the cows after the milking and applying a mastitis control program.

scholarly journals Fire and the Vegetative Mosaic at Devil's Tower National Monument

1984 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
Richard Fisher ◽  
Michael Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Fire History ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Biogenic Opal ◽  
Opal Phytoliths ◽  
National Monument

The primary objective of the research underway is to determine the effects of past and present fire regimes on the vegetative mosaic at Devil's Tower. Secondary objectives are to develop a fire history, to assess the use of biogenic opal (phytoliths) as an indicator of vegetative boundaries, and to develop a burning plan to be used in vegetation management.

scholarly journals BIOLOGICAL TRAITS OF BEAN FLOWER THRIPS, Megalurothrips usitatus (THYSANOPTERA: THRIPIDAE) REARED ON MUNG BEAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-33
Author(s):  
Sabera Yasmin ◽  
Mohammed Ali ◽  
Md. Mizanur Rahman ◽  
Mst. Salma Akter ◽  
Md. Abdul Latif
Keyword(s):  
Mung Bean ◽  
Instar Larva ◽  
Adult Mortality ◽  
Developmental Period ◽  
Growth Stages ◽  
Biological Traits ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Climate Control ◽  
Flower Thrips ◽  
First Instar

The bean flower thrips, Megalurothrips usitatus is a major pest of mung bean that causes flower dropping and significant yield loss of the crop. M. usitatus demonstrated to have variable lifespan when reared on different leguminous hosts but on mung bean, an important pulse crop in Bangladesh, is unknown. The experiment was conducted to determine the biological attributes of M. usitatus on mung bean in a climate control chamber at 26 ± 1°C, 75 ± 3% RH, and 16:8 hours L:D in the laboratory. The results revealed that the incubation period, first instar larva, second instar larva, prepupa, and pupal period of M. usitatus were 3.13 ± 0.06, 1.48 ± 0.05, 2.30 ± 0.08, 1.30 ± 0.07, and 2.26 ± 0.13 days, respectively. The combined developmental period from egg to adult was 10.54 ± 0.15 (mean ± SE) days. The larvae of M. usitatus were similar in appearance to the adults, but they lacked wings and were smaller and different in color. The first instar was pale yellow, while the second instar was darker and larger, ranging from deep yellow to orange-red. The wing pads of the prepupae were shorter than that of the pupae. The antennae of the prepupa were straight, but they were bent in the pupa. In the case of pre-adult mortality of M. usitatus, the mortality of the first instar larva was 14.41%, second instar larva 22.77%, prepupa 14.10%, and pupa 65.67%. The pre-adult mortality was 80.51% overall. Adult males had lower longevity (6.42 ± 0.44 days) than females (12.07± 1.56 days). The developmental period of M. usitatus on mung bean indicated the suitability of the leguminous crop as a potential host, as well as the need for information on the pest’s various growth stages in order to design effective management strategies.

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