scholarly journals Exclusions for resolving urban badger damage problems: outcomes and consequences

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alastair I. Ward ◽  
Jason K. Finney ◽  
Sarah E. Beatham ◽  
Richard J. Delahay ◽  
Peter A. Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Meles Meles ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Wild Animal ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wildlife Control ◽  
Variable Success ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Variable Success Rate

Increasing urbanisation and growth of many wild animal populations can result in a greater frequency of human-wildlife conflicts. However, traditional lethal methods of wildlife control are becoming less favoured than non-lethal approaches, particularly when problems involve charismatic species in urban areas. Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) excavate subterranean burrow systems (setts), which can become large and complex. Larger setts within which breeding takes place and that are in constant use are known as main setts. Smaller, less frequently occupied setts may also exist within the social group’s range. When setts are excavated in urban environments they can undermine built structures and can limit or prevent safe use of the area by people. The most common approach to resolving these problems in the UK is to exclude badgers from the problem sett, but exclusions suffer a variable success rate. We studied 32 lawful cases of badger exclusions using one-way gates throughout England to evaluate conditions under which attempts to exclude badgers from their setts in urban environments were successful. We aimed to identify ways of modifying practices to improve the chances of success. Twenty of the 32 exclusion attempts were successful, but success was significantly less likely if a main sett was to be excluded in comparison with another type of sett and if vegetation was not completely removed from the sett surface prior to exclusion attempts. We recommend that during exclusions all vegetation is removed from the site, regardless of what type of sett is involved, and that successful exclusion of badgers from a main sett might require substantially more effort than other types of sett.

scholarly journals Consistent signatures of urban adaptation in a native, urban invader ant Tapinoma sessile

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Joseph Blumenfeld ◽  
Pierre Andre Eyer ◽  
Anjel M Helms ◽  
Grzegorz Buczkowski ◽  
Edward L Vargo
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Urban Habitats ◽  
Tapinoma Sessile ◽  
The Social ◽  
Odorous House Ant ◽  
Single Nest

Biological invasions are becoming more prevalent due to the rise of global trade and expansion of urban areas. Ants are among the most prolific invaders, with many exhibiting a multi-queen colony structure, dispersal through budding and a lack of inter-nest aggression. Although these characteristics are generally associated with the invasions of exotic ants, they may also facilitate the spread of native ants into novel habitats (e.g., urban areas). Native to North American forests, the odorous house ant Tapinoma sessile has become abundant in urban environments throughout the United States. Forest-dwelling colonies typically have a small workforce, inhabit a single nest, and are headed by a single queen, whereas urban colonies tend to be several orders of magnitude larger, inhabit multiple nests and are headed by multiple queens. Here, we explore and compare the population genetic and breeding structure of T. sessile within and between urban and natural environments in several localities across its distribution range. We found the social structure of a colony to be a plastic trait in both habitats, although extreme polygyny (i.e., nests with multiple queens) was confined to urban habitats. Additionally, polydomous colonies (i.e., nests lacking genetic differentiation and behavioral antagonism) were only present in urban habitats, suggesting T. sessile can only achieve unicoloniality within urbanized areas. Finally, we identified strong differentiation between urban and natural populations in each locality and continent-wide, indicating cities may restrict gene flow and exert intense selection pressure. Overall, our study highlights urbanization's influence in charting the evolutionary course for species.

Urban Sexual Selection

2020 ◽  
pp. 234-252
Author(s):  
Tuul Sepp ◽  
Kevin J. McGraw ◽  
Mathieu Giraudeau
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Wild Animal ◽  
Selection Pressures ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Chemical Signalling ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Microevolutionary Change ◽  
Selected Traits

Human-modified habitats can present both challenges and opportunities for wild animals. Changes in the environment caused by urbanization can affect who survives and reproduces in wild animal populations. Accordingly, we can expect that changes in sexual selection pressures may occur in response to urbanization. Changes in sexually selected traits like bird song and colouration have been one of the main thrusts of urban ecology in recent decades. However, studies to date have focused on describing changes in sexual phenotypes in response to urban environmental change, and knowledge about genetic/microevolutionary change is lacking. Also, while some signalling modalities have been well studied and linked to human activities (e.g., changes in auditory signals in response to anthropogenic noise), others have received comparatively less attention in this context (e.g., effects of air pollution on chemical signalling). In addition, the focus has been mainly on the signal sender, instead of the signal receiver, thereby missing an important side of sexual selection. This chapter reviews the evidence that sexual selection pressures and sexually selected traits have been impacted by urban environments, with attention to the potential for rapid adaptive and plastic shifts in traits of signallers and receivers. It explores the possibilities that urbanization causes evolutionary change and speciation in wild animal populations through sexual selection. Finally, it provides new ideas for future studies to explore these questions and especially the evolution of female preferences in urban environments.

Observations from shallow geothermal modelling case studies in Canada and the UK

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Abesser ◽  
Robert Schincariol ◽  
Jasmin Raymond ◽  
Alejandro Garcia Gil ◽  
Jonathan Busby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Thermal Regime ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Geothermal Systems ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Geothermal Heat ◽  
Economic Point ◽  
Functional Efficiency ◽  
The Uk

<p>Global demands for energy efficient heating and cooling systems coupled with rising commitments toward net zero emissions building infrastructure have resulted in wide deployment of shallow geothermal systems and in the continued growth in the global geothermal heat pump (GHP) market. With increasing deployment of these systems in urban areas, there is growing potential and risk for these systems to impact the subsurface thermal regime and to interact with each other or with nearby heat-sensitive subsurface infrastructures.</p><p>GHP systems have been studied in urban environments with respect to their effects on the subsurface thermal regime, and various modelling studies have investigated the sensitivity of their performance to key (hydro)geological and operational parameters. The focus of these studies has been on isolated systems, where flow conditions and background subsurface temperatures are assumed to be constant, impacted only by the modelled system itself during its operation. However, less attention has been paid to the effects on GHPs functional efficiency from perturbations in the wider hydrogeological and thermal regime, e.g. due to urbanization, multiple BHEs within tight (residential) clusters or competing subsurface uses requiring pumping of groundwater.</p><p>In this paper, we present three numerical modelling case studies, from the UK and Canada, which examine GHP systems response to perturbation of the wider hydrogeological and thermal regime. We investigate the influence of key parameters and different model realisations, e.g. relating to system design, unbalanced thermal ground loads and environmental conditions, on the modelled GHP system efficiencies and thermal interference. We highlight findings that are relevant from an economic point of view but also for regulations. Findings are discussed within the context of the contrasting design and operational pattern typical for the UK / Europe and Canada/ North America.</p>

scholarly journals Higher frequency of extra-pair offspring in urban than forest broods of great tits (Parus major)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivett Pipoly ◽  
Krisztián Szabó ◽  
Veronika Bókony ◽  
Bálint Preiszner ◽  
Gábor Seress ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parus Major ◽  
Anthropogenic Pollution ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Habitats ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
Bird Populations ◽  
Quality Signals ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
The Social

AbstractUrbanization increasingly changes the ecological conditions for wild animal populations, influencing their demography, reproduction, and behaviour. While studies on the ecological consequences of urbanization frequently document a reduced number and poorer body condition of offspring in urban than in non-urban bird populations, consequences for other components of reproduction are rarely investigated. Mating with partners outside the social pair-bond is widespread in birds, and although theory predicts that the occurrence of extra-pair fertilizations (EPF) may be sensitive to the altered ecological conditions of cities, the effect of urbanization on EPF is poorly known. Here we used data from two urban and two forest populations collected over three years to test whether the frequency of extra-pair offspring (EPO) in great tit broods differed between the habitats. We found that significantly more broods contained EPO in urban habitats (48.9 %) than in forests (24.4 %). In broods with EPO, the number and proportion of EPO was similar in urban and forest broods. These results suggest that females that live in urban habitats are more likely to engage in EPF than those living in forests. Urban environments may either 1) provide more spatiotemporal opportunities to EPF because of higher breeding density and lower or more constant caterpillar supply in cities compared to natural habitats, or 2) enhance the benefits of EPF via increased fertility or due to disrupted quality signals caused by anthropogenic pollution. In addition, 3) females with higher propensity to engage in EPF may more likely settle in urban habitats.

scholarly journals Life in the fast lane: roadkill risk along an urban–rural gradient

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleri Kent ◽  
Amy L W Schwartz ◽  
Sarah E Perkins
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
Road Density ◽  
A Value ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Urban Rural

Abstract Wildlife-vehicle collisions are a major cause of mortality in animal populations and can cause significant population-level effects. Urban areas are typically associated with higher road densities and unique wildlife communities in comparison to rural areas, and therefore have the potential to be associated with high numbers of collisions, and roadkill risk. Here, we use a citizen science database of wildlife roadkill and species distribution models to assess how roadkill risk (probability of roadkill observation per km2) varied along an urban–rural gradient for British wildlife. Roadkill risk was positively associated with road density, until around 5000 m/km2, a value representing villages or the outskirts of towns and cities. Beyond 5000 m/km2, risk remained high for some species (hedgehog, fox, pigeons and gulls) but reduced for other species (badger, rabbit, pheasant). Roadkill risk was a function of live species distribution for badger, hedgehog and rabbit, with significant overlap between spatial patterns of roadkill risk and the species’ live distribution. This was not the case for fox, pheasant, pigeons and gulls. Fox roadkill risk was underrepresented in rural areas, possibly due to low road density, while pheasant risk was overrepresented. For pigeons and gulls—well-known urban exploiters—roadkill risk was overrepresented in urban areas given their live distributions, possibly due to risks associated with foraging, particularly roadkill scavenging by gulls. Our results highlight the dangers of the UK’s dense road networks to wildlife, even to species considered adapted to urban environments and human disturbance.

scholarly journals Manifold cities: social variables of urban areas in the UK

2019 ◽  
Vol 475 (2221) ◽  
pp. 20180615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund Barter ◽  
Thilo Gross
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
University Student ◽  
First Century ◽  
Social Variables ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The City ◽  
Abundant Data

In the twenty-first century, ongoing rapid urbanization highlights the need to gain deeper insights into the social structure of cities. While work on this challenge can profit from abundant data sources, the complexity of this data itself proves to be a challenge. In this paper, we use diffusion maps, a manifold learning method, to discover hidden manifolds in the UK 2011 census dataset. The census key statistics and quick statistics report 1450 different statistical features for each census output area. Here, we focus primarily on the city of Bristol and the surrounding countryside, comprising 3490 of these output areas. Our analysis finds the main variables that span the census responses, highlighting that university student density and poverty are the most important explanatory variables of variation in census responses.

scholarly journals Social Interaction in Public Spaces and Well-Being among Elderly Women: Towards Age-Friendly Urban Environments

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 746
Author(s):  
Yingyi Zhang ◽  
Ge Chen ◽  
Yue He ◽  
Xinyue Jiang ◽  
Caiying Xue
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Elderly Women ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
The Social

The world’s population is aging and becoming more urbanized. Public space in urban areas is vital for improving the health of the elderly by stimulating social interaction. Many urban design projects are advertised as age-friendly but ignore the real needs of the elderly, especially elderly women, for social interaction in urban public spaces. Insufficient attention is paid to the physical and psychological characteristics of elderly women when shaping public space. This analysis addresses the question: What are the qualities of urban spaces which facilitate health-improving social interaction for elderly women? Methods include a case study in Beijing, field investigation, mapping, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. The survey was carried out in April 2021, and concerned 240 women aged 55–75 years. Results indicate that the social interactions of older women relate to both their physical and psychological situations. Public spaces can positively impact the psychological well-being and social participation of elderly women. Conclusions include insights regarding the relationship between social interaction and well-being among elderly women, as well as proposing a series of principles for shaping public spaces for an age-friendly urban environment.

Coyotes living near cities are bolder: implications for dog evolution and human-wildlife conflict

Behaviour ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 289-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Brooks ◽  
Roland Kays ◽  
Brian Hare
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Wildlife Conflict ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Physical Traits ◽  
Dog Domestication ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

Abstract How animal populations adapt to human modified landscapes is central to understanding modern behavioural evolution and improving wildlife management. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have adapted to human activities and thrive in both rural and urban areas. Bolder coyotes showing reduced fear of humans and their artefacts may have an advantage in urban environments. We analysed the reactions of 636 coyotes to novel human artefacts (camera traps) at 575 sites across the state of North Carolina. Likelihood of a coyote approaching the camera increased with human housing density suggesting that urban coyotes are experiencing selection for boldness and becoming more attracted to human artefacts. This has implications for both human-wildlife conflict and theories of dog domestication. We also note physical traits in coyotes that could be the result of domestication-related selection pressures, or dog hybridization.

scholarly journals Lorry Park Selection Criteria and Drivers’ Preferences: A Study from the UK

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5214
Author(s):  
José Manuel García-Gallego ◽  
Taeun Kang ◽  
Sergio Rubio Lacoba ◽  
Andrea Genovese
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Freight Transport ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Urban Freight ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
Urban Freight Transport ◽  
The Uk

Increasing urbanization and economic activities has intensified the need for logistical processes in cities. This leads to higher levels of urban freight transport, which is associated with negative social and environmental impacts. Advances in urban logistics can help to alleviate these problems; the recent literature suggests that the creation of appropriate lorry park facilities can represent one of the possible solutions to the social and environmental issues connected to freight transport in urban areas. However, in order to be effective, such facilities need to be properly designed; studies which identify critical success factors for lorry park operations are currently lacking. As such, the purpose of this research is to identify the main criteria which lorry drivers consider when selecting a lorry park facility. In order to achieve these aims, a questionnaire survey was designed; responses from 99 lorry drivers operating in the United Kingdom were collected. Through descriptive statistics, followed by the usage of a conjoint analysis, the main results show that attributes related to food, price, and security are the most important to lorry drivers and are likely to determine the success of such initiatives. These results can provide information to policy and decision-makers related to the design of lorry park facilities in order to achieve the desired results in urban areas.

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