Utilization of waterholes by globally threatened species in deciduous dipterocarp forest of the Eastern Plains Landscape of Cambodia

AbstractDeciduous dipterocarp forests throughout Asia provide crucial habitat for several globally threatened species. During the dry season water availability in these forests is primarily limited to perennial rivers and waterholes. Such water sources form an essential part of these dry forests and are used by multiple species, including large mammals and birds, but little is known regarding how waterhole characteristics affect wildlife use. We investigated waterhole utilization by six globally threatened dry forest specialists: banteng Bos javanicus, Eld's deer Rucervus eldii, giant ibis Thaumatibis gigantea, green peafowl Pavo muticus, lesser adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus and Asian woolly-necked stork Ciconia episcopus. We camera-trapped 54 waterholes in Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary, eastern Cambodia, during the dry season of December 2015–June 2016. We measured nine waterhole and landscape characteristics, including indicators of human disturbance. Waterhole depth (measured every 2 weeks) and the area of water at the start of the dry season were the main environmental factors influencing waterhole use. Additionally, waterholes further from villages were more frequently used than those nearer. Our study reaffirmed the importance of waterholes in supporting globally threatened species, especially large grazers, which are critical for maintaining these dry forest ecosystems. The results also suggested that artificially enlarging and deepening selected waterholes, particularly those further from human disturbance, could enhance available habitat for a range of species, including grazers. However, this would need to be conducted in coordination with patrolling activities to ensure waterholes are not targets for illegal hunting, which is a problem throughout South-east Asian protected areas.

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Fruiting phenology and consumption by birds in Ficus calyptroceras (Miq.) Miq. (Moraceae)

Brazilian Journal of Biology ◽

10.1590/s1519-69842002000200018 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 62 (2) ◽

pp. 339-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

J. RAGUSA-NETTO

Keyword(s):

Food Resource ◽

Bird Species ◽

Dry Season ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Wet Season ◽

Frugivorous Birds ◽

Fruiting Phenology ◽

Dry Seasons ◽

Seed Dispersers ◽

Wet And Dry Seasons

Figs are a remarkable food resource to frugivores, mainly in periods of general fruit scarcity. Ficus calyptroceras Miq. (Moraceae) is the only fig species in a type of dry forest in western Brazil. In this study I examined the fruiting pattern as well as fig consumption by birds in F. calyptroceras. Although rainfall was highly seasonal, fruiting was aseasonal, since the monthly proportion of fruiting trees ranged from 4% to 14% (N = 50 trees). I recorded 22 bird species feeding on figs. In the wet season 20 bird species ate figs, while in the dry season 13 did. Parrots were the most important consumers. This group removed 72% and 40% of the figs consumed in the wet and dry seasons, respectively. No bird species increases fig consumption from dry to wet season. However, a group of bird species assumed as seed dispersers largely increases fig consumption from wet to dry season, suggesting the importance of this resource in the period of fruit scarcity. The results of this study points out the remarkable role that F. calyptroceras plays to frugivorous birds, in such a dry forest, since its fruits were widely consumed and were available all year round.

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Dynamics of a dry forest fragment after the exclusion of human disturbance in southeastern Brazil

Plant Ecology ◽

10.1023/b:vege.0000049112.06259.4c ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 174 (2) ◽

pp. 339-348 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Márcio de Souza Werneck ◽

Edivani Villaron Franceschinelli

Keyword(s):

Human Disturbance ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Forest Fragment

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Distribution of the community of frugivorous birds along a successional gradient in a tropical dry forest in south-western Mexico

Journal of Tropical Ecology ◽

10.1017/s0266467414000601 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 57-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

R. Carlos Almazán-Núñez ◽

María del Coro Arizmendi ◽

Luis E. Eguiarte ◽

Pablo Corcuera

Keyword(s):

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Season ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Dry Forests ◽

Bird Abundance ◽

Frugivorous Birds ◽

Seed Predators ◽

Western Mexico ◽

Successional Forests

Abstract:Few reports have described the relationship between the distribution of frugivorous birds and vegetation successional changes in dry forests. We assessed the abundance and behaviour of frugivorous birds in early, intermediate and mature dry forests in the Balsas river basin, Guerrero, Mexico. We selected nine dry-forest fragments, three fragments per stage, in these three stages of succession. We analysed the vegetation, estimated bird abundances in 10-min count periods, and recorded the way birds process fruits in circular plots (11–15 plots per fragment, 123 plots in total). Birds were classified as seed predators (15% of all individuals in this study), pulp consumers (15%) or legitimate dispersers (70%). Bird abundance was higher in mature forests in the dry season, while abundance and richness of legitimate dispersers and seed predators were positively related to vegetation complexity. Mature forests have a high vegetation complexity and a high cover ofBurseraspecies that produce fruit during the dry season. During the rains, abundance was higher in early-successional sites when the zoochorous plants produced fruit. Legitimate disperser migrants (i.e.Tyrannus vociferans, Myiarchus cinerascensandM. tyrannulus) were widespread, helping the establishment of zoochorous trees such asBurseraspp. in early-successional forests.

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Diverse Optical and Photosynthetic Properties in a Neotropical Dry Forest during the Dry Season: Implications for Remote Estimation of Photosynthesis1

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/j.1744-7429.2005.00072.x ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 37 (4) ◽

pp. 547-560 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

John A. Gamon ◽

Kaoru Kitajima ◽

Stephen S. Mulkey ◽

Lydia Serrano ◽

S. Joseph Wright

Keyword(s):

Dry Season ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Neotropical Dry Forest ◽

Remote Estimation ◽

Photosynthetic Properties

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Human disturbance promotes herbivory by leaf-cutting ants in the Caatinga dry forest

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12599 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 50 (5) ◽

pp. 779-788 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Felipe F. S. Siqueira ◽

José Domingos Ribeiro-Neto ◽

Marcelo Tabarelli ◽

Alan N. Andersen ◽

Rainer Wirth ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Disturbance ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Leaf Cutting

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Is human disturbance causing differential preference of agricultural landscapes by taruka and feral donkeys in high Andean deserts during the dry season?

Journal of Arid Environments ◽

10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.08.018 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 135 ◽

pp. 115-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nicolás Fuentes-Allende ◽

André Vielma ◽

Katheryne Paulsen ◽

Cristóbal Arredondo ◽

Paulo Corti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Disturbance ◽

Dry Season ◽

Agricultural Landscapes

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Recovery and dynamics of a primary tropical dry forest in Jamaica, 10years after human disturbance

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2011.05.015 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 262 (5) ◽

pp. 817-826 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Mathieu Lévesque ◽

Kurt P. McLaren ◽

Morag A. McDonald

Keyword(s):

Human Disturbance ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forest

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Identification and characterization of floristic groups in dry forests relicts of a West Coast region of New Caledonia

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc080128 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 128 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Tanguy Jaffré ◽

Frédéric Rigault ◽

Jérôme Munzinger

Keyword(s):

Threatened Species ◽

West Coast ◽

Rain Forest ◽

New Caledonia ◽

Floristic Composition ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Multivariate Techniques ◽

Exact Relation ◽

Humid Forest

We describe the floristic composition of dry forest relicts on the west coast of New Caledonia. Using multivariate techniques, four floristic groups were defined from 71 floristic samples. The large proportion of species with rain forest affinities in all floristic groups shows similarities with the ?dry? rainforest of Australia. The two more open and disturbed groups have the highest proportion of species associated with dry areas, the strongest level of endemism and more ?most threatened? species. The two more closed groups have the highest proportion of rain forest species, but are slightly less original and have fewer threatened species. This raises the question of the exact relation of the dry forest still present in the study area to mesic forest, which has not yet been studied separately from dense humid forest in New Caledonia. The influence of the local micro-climatic conditions on the distribution of floristic groups appears critical. A good knowledge of these conditions is necessary for a sound delimitation of new protected areas, and for the implementation of protective and restorative measures appropriate to each vegetation category.

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The Vulnerable fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus and other globally threatened species in Cambodia's coastal mangroves

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605317001491 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (4) ◽

pp. 636-640 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Ret Thaung ◽

Vanessa Herranz Muñoz ◽

Jeremy Holden ◽

Daniel Willcox ◽

Nicholas J. Souter

Keyword(s):

East Asia ◽

Threatened Species ◽

National Park ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Wildlife Trade ◽

South East Asia ◽

Wildlife Sanctuary ◽

Illegal Hunting ◽

Manis Javanica

AbstractThe Vulnerable fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus faces a perilous future in South-east Asia. It was last sighted in Cambodia in 2003. We deployed 16 camera traps at four sites in southern Cambodia during January–May 2015 to determine if the fishing cat was still present in the country. Eight photograph/video captures of fishing cats were recorded from the mangroves in Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary and one from Ream National Park, but there were no records from Botum Sakor National Park or Prey Nup. A number of other globally threatened species were also photographed in Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary: the Sunda pangolin Manis javanica, the hog deer Axis porcinus and the large-spotted civet Viverra megaspila. We learnt of the killing of an alleged fishing cat at the Sanctuary in July 2015 in retaliation for raiding fishing nets. Illegal hunting and capture of fishing cats for the wildlife trade were reported by local informants at all sites. We provide photographic and video evidence of the fishing cats and highlight the importance of Cambodia's mangroves for threatened species conservation.

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Characterization of Dry-Season Phenology in Tropical Forests by Reconstructing Cloud-Free Landsat Time Series

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13234736 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 4736

Author(s):

Xiaolin Zhu ◽

Eileen H. Helmer ◽

David Gwenzi ◽

Melissa Collin ◽

Sean Fleming ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Time Series ◽

Puerto Rico ◽

Tropical Forests ◽

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Season ◽

Dry Forest ◽

High Quality ◽

Forest Zone ◽

Fine Resolution ◽

Field Plots

Fine-resolution satellite imagery is needed for characterizing dry-season phenology in tropical forests since many tropical forests are very spatially heterogeneous due to their diverse species and environmental background. However, fine-resolution satellite imagery, such as Landsat, has a 16-day revisit cycle that makes it hard to obtain a high-quality vegetation index time series due to persistent clouds in tropical regions. To solve this challenge, this study explored the feasibility of employing a series of advanced technologies for reconstructing a high-quality Landsat time series from 2005 to 2009 for detecting dry-season phenology in tropical forests; Puerto Rico was selected as a testbed. We combined bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) correction, cloud and shadow screening, and contaminated pixel interpolation to process the raw Landsat time series and developed a thresholding method to extract 15 phenology metrics. The cloud-masked and gap-filled reconstructed images were tested with simulated clouds. In addition, the derived phenology metrics for grassland and forest in the tropical dry forest zone of Puerto Rico were evaluated with ground observations from PhenoCam data and field plots. Results show that clouds and cloud shadows are more accurately detected than the Landsat cloud quality assessment (QA) band, and that data gaps resulting from those clouds and shadows can be accurately reconstructed (R2 = 0.89). In the tropical dry forest zone, the detected phenology dates (such as greenup, browndown, and dry-season length) generally agree with the PhenoCam observations (R2 = 0.69), and Landsat-based phenology is better than MODIS-based phenology for modeling aboveground biomass and leaf area index collected in field plots (plot size is roughly equivalent to a 3 × 3 Landsat pixels). This study suggests that the Landsat time series can be used to characterize the dry-season phenology of tropical forests after careful processing, which will help to improve our understanding of vegetation–climate interactions at fine scales in tropical forests.

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