Utilization of a species occupancy model for management and conservation

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 432-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany M. McFarland ◽  
Heather A. Mathewson ◽  
Julie E. Groce ◽  
Michael L. Morrison ◽  
J. Cal Newnam ◽  
...  
Ecology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Rota ◽  
Christopher K. Wikle ◽  
Roland W. Kays ◽  
Tavis D. Forrester ◽  
William J. McShea ◽  
...  

Oryx ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Berkunsky ◽  
Rosana E. Cepeda ◽  
Claudia Marinelli ◽  
M. Verónica Simoy ◽  
Gonzalo Daniele ◽  
...  

AbstractMonitoring of wild populations is central to species conservation and can pose a number of challenges. To identify trends in populations of parrots, monitoring programmes that explicitly take detectability into account are needed. We assessed an occupancy model that explicitly accounted for detectability as a tool for monitoring the large macaws of Bolivia's Beni savannahs: the blue-throated Ara glaucogularis, blue-and-yellow Ara ararauna and red-and-green macaws Ara chloropterus. We also evaluated the joint presence of the three macaw species and estimated their abundance in occupied areas. We modelled occupancy and detection for the three macaw species by combining several site and visit covariates and we described their conditional occupancy. Macaws occupied two thirds of the surveyed area and at least two species occurred together in one third of this area. Probability of detection was 0.48–0.86. For each macaw species, occupancy was affected by the abundance of the other two species, the richness of cavity-nesting species, and the distance to the nearest village. We identified key priority areas for the conservation of these macaws. The flexibility of occupancy methods provides an efficient tool for monitoring macaw occupancy at the landscape level, facilitating prediction of the range of macaw species at a large number of sites, with relatively little effort. This technique could be used in other regions in which the monitoring of threatened parrot populations requires innovative approaches.


Author(s):  
Trond Reitan ◽  
Torbjørn Ergon ◽  
Lee Hsiang Liow

The occupancy and relative abundance of species are temporally varying. Estimating these, given incomplete and biased sampling is challenging, not least for fossilized organisms, where preservation is an additional issue. Here, we describe a relative abundance-focused multi-species occupancy model (TRAMPOline) in a hierarchical Bayesian framework. We designed our model on the basis of the need to understand the dynamics of several focal species over 2.3 million years, by drawing on additional information provided by non-focal species observed in the same fossilized community. We expanded our model by adding random effects of species and time intervals (geological formations) and explored potential explanatory factors (paleoenvironmental proxies) and temporal autocorrelation that could provide extra information on unsampled geological time intervals. Our new model, set in an occupancy modeling framework widely used in ecology but little applied in paleoecology, is applicable across a wide range of questions on species-level dynamics in contemporary and palaeoecological community settings.


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Chabi A.M.S. Djagoun ◽  
Etotépé A. Sogbohossou ◽  
Barthélémy Kassa ◽  
Christian B. Ahouandjinou ◽  
Hugues A. Akpona ◽  
...  

Background: The habitat degradation together with fragmentation and illegal hunting represent a major threat for biodiversity conservation in Lama protected areas. Method: We used a combination of questionnaire survey with local communities for ranking the hunted mammal species as bushmeat and track surveys in gridded-cell system of 500x500 m2 (n=268) to assess at what extend the management design, the anthropogenic factors and habitat type affect the occupancy model of those mammal species. Results: Twenty mammal species have been predominantly reported by the local inhabitants to consume bushmeat species and 5 of them have been identified as the most preferable as hunted game mammals. The selection of the preferred habitat among the swampy forest, the dense forest, the tree plantations and cropland for the prioritized game species varies between species but looks similar when grouping in different orders. Some bushmeat species were found to select the more secure habitat (natural forest); suggesting the zoning system in the Lama forest can passively protect those species. However, some species such as T. swinderianus although highly hunted showed preference to anthropogenic habitat, avoiding the well secured core zone in Lama Forest. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the importance of the zoning system with different management objectives in the habitat occupancy model of the highly hunted wildlife species.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Héla Mekki

Abstract The mountain range formed by Jebels Matmata, Demmer and Nefoussa which links the two countries, Tunisia and Libya, is strewn with archaeological remains that are little known today, due in part to the rugged terrain which makes it difficult to see them. This issue has been helped by the use of new technologies, in this case remote sensing and QGIS software. Archaeological evidence has been uncovered and more than 3,900 sites and monuments have been detected on the sides of these mountains. In addition to the inventory of unknown archaeological sites, the main aim of the work was to draw up a management and conservation plan to provide, with an order of priority, a strategy for the safeguard and conservation of the mountain heritage. This management plan was only possible through a correlation of three data: assessment of values, identification of threats, and study of the state of conservation. These components were studied using an indirect evaluation based on satellite imagery and direct evaluation through field visits.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
FRANCISCO GUIL ◽  
M. ÁNGELES SORIA ◽  
VÍCTOR ORTEGA ◽  
RUBÉN GARCÍA-SÁNCHEZ ◽  
SILVIA VILLAVERDE-MORCILLO

Summary Avian species often take advantage of human-made structures, such as perching on power poles, although this can lead to negative effects for both birds and infrastructure. It has been demonstrated that anchor-type pylons, with strain insulators, are amongst the most dangerous of these structures. Our goal was to develop a methodological approach to evaluate the ways in which raptors perch on the six most commonly used strain insulator configurations in Spain, and to build a risk index that can be used to prioritise them. To study the ways raptors perch, we worked with six wildlife rescue centres in central Spain for almost a year assessing these six strain insulator configurations in 83 perch trials with 176 raptors in ample flying pens. We analysed 475 complete survey days, with an approximate number of 258,960 analysed pictures, including 6,766 perchings on strain insulators. We assessed the influential factors for these 6,766 perchings and developed a novel approach to prioritise strain insulator configurations that can be used anywhere. Our results suggest that longer insulator strains (i.e. PECA-1000 and Caon-C3670) are the safest, according to our prioritization criteria, although these results require further assessment in the field. Managers and conservationists should take into account these results to improve management and conservation actions.


Author(s):  
Brandi Ruscher ◽  
Jillian M. Sills ◽  
Beau P. Richter ◽  
Colleen Reichmuth

AbstractThe auditory biology of Monachinae seals is poorly understood. Limited audiometric data and certain anatomical features suggest that these seals may have reduced sensitivity to airborne sounds compared to related species. Here, we describe the in-air hearing abilities of a Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi) trained to participate in a psychophysical paradigm. We report absolute (unmasked) thresholds for narrowband signals measured in quiet conditions across the range of hearing and masked thresholds measured in the presence of octave-band noise at two frequencies. The behavioral audiogram indicates a functional hearing range from 0.1 to 33 kHz and poor sensitivity, with detection thresholds above 40 dB re 20 µPa. Critical ratio measurements are elevated compared to those of other seals. The apparently reduced terrestrial hearing ability of this individual—considered with available auditory data for a northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris)—suggests that hearing in Monachinae seals differs from that of the highly sensitive Phocinae seals. Exploration of phylogenetic relationships and anatomical traits support this claim. This work advances understanding of the evolution of hearing in amphibious marine mammals and provides updated information that can be used for management and conservation of endangered Hawaiian monk seals.


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