Habitat structure and proximity to forest edge affect the abundance and distribution of forest-dependent birds in tropical coastal forests of southeastern Madagascar

Author(s):  
J WATSON
2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki L. Stokes

Trapping is an invaluable tool for estimating community composition and population size and structure of mammals. Bias in the relative contribution of species to a community and the age and sex structure of populations can occur where the traps used do not equally trap all species, sexes or cohorts. The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of enclosed Elliott traps and open wire cage traps in trapping the invasive black rat, Rattus rattus, and the native rodent, Rattus fuscipes. Both trap types were suitable for trapping R. fuscipes and there was no apparent bias in capture of sex and age classes. In contrast, black rats were considerably more trappable in cage traps. Juveniles were more readily trapped in Elliott traps than adults, but were still considerably undersampled where only Elliott traps were used. These findings have important implications for sampling invasive rodents in Australian forests where Elliott traps are commonly used to census small mammals. Only using Elliott traps will underestimate density, distribution and impacts of R. rattus in native habitats. Cage traps or a combination of traps are recommended for reliably trapping black rats and obtaining representative data on presence, abundance and distribution.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Сабиров ◽  
Ayrat Sabirov ◽  
Ульданова ◽  
Railya Uldanova

Forest ecosystems of the right bank of Volga. The increase of human activities. The decline of forest ecosystem stability. Typological diversity of the forests of the coastal zone and coastal areas. A complex of environmental protection measures to preserve the diversity and stability of vegetation: cutting of plantings, the regulation of recreational power on the coastal forests, protection of forests against diseases, pests, silvicultural and fire work. Improvement of coastal areas. The drought of the summer of 2010 and withering of birch stands, infection of oak forests by entomologic insects. Projected forest plantations of the Volga region, depending on soil conditions. Deforestation of steep slopes, gullies and ravines systems. Mixed and complex forest stands are effective. The bushy plants improves the soil protection role of forest communities. Conservation of trustworthy undergrowth of oak, linden, pine, larch, birch. Phytocenosis of Siberian larch on brown forest soil. Preparation of soil for planting. Meadow-improving development of erosion lands, hydraulic engineering measures. The type of forest conditions in the study area - fresh oak forest (D2), at least - moist complex subor (C3). Data of ground survey of areas and satellite images. Databases of abundance and distribution of flora, fauna, and information technology.


Diversity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaïna Privet ◽  
Vincent Vedel ◽  
Claire Fortunel ◽  
Jérôme Orivel ◽  
Quentin Martinez ◽  
...  

Assessing spider diversity remains a great challenge, especially in tropical habitats where dozens of species can locally co-occur. Pitfall trapping is one of the most widely used techniques to collect spiders, but it suffers from several biases, and its accuracy likely varies with habitat complexity. In this study, we compared the efficiency of passive pitfall trapping versus active nocturnal hand collecting (NHC) to capture low understory-dwelling spider taxonomical (morpho-species) and functional (hunting guilds) diversity along a structural gradient of habitats in French Guiana. We focused on four habitats describing a structural gradient: garden to the orchard to the forest edge to the undisturbed forest. Overall, estimated morpho-species richness and composition did not vary consistently between habitats, but abundances of ground-hunting spiders decreased significantly with increasing habitat complexity. We found habitat-dependence differences in taxonomic diversity between sampling strategies: NHC revealed higher diversity in the orchard, whereas pitfalls resulted in higher diversity in the forest. Species turnover resulted in high dissimilarity in species composition between habitats using either method. This study shows how pitfall trapping is influenced by habitat structure, rendering this sampling method incomplete for complex, tropical environments. However, pitfall traps remain a valuable component of inventories because they sample distinct assemblage of spiders.


Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-135
Author(s):  
Simon Musila ◽  
Nathan Gichuki ◽  
Ivan Castro-Arellano ◽  
Ana Rainho

AbstractRecognized as a global biodiversity hotspot, coastal forests in eastern Africa are currently reduced to fragments amidst human modified habitats. Managing for biodiversity depends on our understanding of how many and which species can persist in these modified areas. Aiming at clarifying how habitat structure changes affect bat assemblage composition and richness, we used ground-level mist nets at Arabuko-Sokoke Forest (ASF) and adjacent farmlands. Habitat structure was assessed using the point-centered quarter (PCQ) method at 210 points per habitat. We captured a total of 24 bat species (ASF: 19, farmlands: 23) and 5217 individuals (ASF: 19.1%, farmlands: 82.9%). Bat diversity was higher at ASF (H′, ASF: 1.48 ± 0.2, farm: 1.33 ± 0.1), but bat richness and abundance were higher in farmlands [Chao1, ASF: 19 (19–25), farmlands: 24 (24–32) species (95% confidence interval [CI])]. Understory vegetation and canopy cover were highest at ASF and the lower bat richness and abundance observed may be the result of the under-sampling of many clutter tolerant and high flying species. Future surveys should combine different methods of capture and acoustic surveys to comprehensively sample bats at ASF. Nonetheless, the rich bat assemblages observed in farmlands around ASF should be valued and landowners encouraged to maintain orchards on their farms.


Ecography ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian G. Henderson ◽  
Juliet A. Vickery ◽  
Robert J. Fuller

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 599-604
Author(s):  
Michael A. Onoja ◽  
P. H. Bukar ◽  
C. U. Omeje ◽  
A. M. Adamu

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique was used to investigate the abundance and distribution of rare earth elements (REE) in soil around Kaduna Refinery. The aim of the study is to assess the rare elements potential of Nigeria for economic exploitation. Five REEs (La, Dy, Eu, Yb, and Lu) were detected in varying concentrations ranging from a minimum of 0.6 µg/g (Lu) to a maximum of 249.0 µg/g (La). The elements existed with trends consistent with the natural pattern of REEs in soil, showing significant Eu and Dy anomalies which characterize upper plains and flood plains. The levels of REEs in soil in the study area were generally slightly above background levels, with minimal (La, Dy, and Eu), moderate (Yb), and significant (Lu) enrichments and trending: Lu ˃Yb ˃ Eu ˃ Dy ˃ La. The abundance of the REEs investigated cannot establish a potential of Nigeria for economic exploitation of the mineral, hence, rare earth project in the study area is not viable at the moment.


1984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio C. Figueroa ◽  
Luis Totti ◽  
Ariel E. Lugo ◽  
Roy O. Woodbury
Keyword(s):  

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