scholarly journals The African golden cat Caracal aurata in Tanzania: first record and vulnerability assessment

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Ilaria Greco ◽  
Francesco Rovero
Keyword(s):  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Detection Probability ◽  
First Record ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Regular Grid ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
North West ◽  
Trigger Time ◽  
Important Site

Abstract We report on the first population found in Tanzania of the Vulnerable African golden cat Caracal aurata, extending its documented range c. 200 km to the south and south-east. This is one of the least-known and truly forest-dependent felines in Africa, ranging across the Guinea–Congolian forest block. We recorded the new population in Minziro Nature Forest Reserve, north-west Tanzania, during a 3-month survey in 2018. We deployed 70 camera traps on a regular grid and obtained 33 detection events of the golden cat at 26% of sites, with a minimum of 10 individuals across 257 km2. We estimated occupancy and detection probability and modelled these in relation to the distance of sampling sites to the forest edge, which coincides with both the Reserve boundary and proximity to human settlements surrounding the Reserve. Mean estimated occupancy was 0.41 ± SE 0.12 (mean detectability = 0.13 ± SE 0.05), with occupancy increasing significantly with distance from the forest edge. Detectability did not vary significantly with distance from the forest edge, but was higher for camera models that had a shorter trigger time. Our findings add to the scant data available for this species. It appears threatened by human activity, which we recorded both outside and within the Reserve, and the presence of the species indicates Minziro Forest is an important site for its conservation.

More haste, less speed: pilot study suggests camera trap detection zone could be more important than trigger speed to maximise species detections

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwyn A. Fancourt ◽  
Mark Sweaney ◽  
Don B. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Wildlife Management ◽  
Detection Probability ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Detection Zone ◽  
Trigger Time ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Context Specific

Camera traps are being used increasingly for wildlife management and research. When choosing camera models, practitioners often consider camera trigger speed to be one of the most important factors to maximise species detections. However, factors such as detection zone will also influence detection probability. As part of a rabbit eradication program, we performed a pilot study to compare rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) detections using the Reconyx PC900 (faster trigger speed, narrower detection zone) and the Ltl Acorn Ltl-5310A (slower trigger speed, wider detection zone). Contrary to our predictions, the slower-trigger-speed cameras detected rabbits more than twice as often as the faster-trigger-speed cameras, suggesting that the wider detection zone more than compensated for the relatively slower trigger time. We recommend context-specific field trials to ensure cameras are appropriate for the required purpose. Missed detections could lead to incorrect inferences and potentially misdirected management actions.

What was the vegetation in northwest Australia during the Paleogene, 66–23million years ago?

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (7) ◽  
pp. 556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael K. Macphail ◽  
Robert S. Hill
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pacific Islands ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
First Record ◽  
South East Asia ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Dry Conditions

Fossil pollen and spores preserved in drillcore from both the upper South Alligator River (SARV) in the Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory and the North-West Shelf, Western Australia provide the first record of plants and plant communities occupying the coast and adjacent hinterland in north-west Australia during the Paleogene 66 to 23million years ago. The palynologically-dominant woody taxon is Casuarinaceae, a family now comprising four genera of evergreen scleromorphic shrubs and trees native to Australia, New Guinea, South-east Asia and Pacific Islands. Rare taxa include genera now mostly restricted to temperate rainforest in New Guinea, New Caledonia, New Zealand, South-East Asia and/or Tasmania, e.g. Dacrydium, Phyllocladus and the Nothofagus subgenera Brassospora and Fuscospora. These appear to have existed in moist gorges on the Arnhem Land Plateau, Kakadu National Park. No evidence for Laurasian rainforest elements was found. The few taxa that have modern tropical affinities occur in Eocene or older sediments in Australia, e.g. Lygodium, Anacolosa, Elaeagnus, Malpighiaceae and Strasburgeriaceae. We conclude the wind-pollinated Oligocene to possibly Early Miocene vegetation in the upper SARV was Casuarinaceae sclerophyll forest or woodland growing under seasonally dry conditions and related to modern Allocasuarina/Casuarina formations. There are, however, strong floristic links to coastal communities growing under warm to hot, and seasonally to uniformly wet climates in north-west Australia during the Paleocene-Eocene.

New host-plants records of Afrotropical Gelechiidae (Lepidoptera), with description of three new species

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4952 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-522
Author(s):  
OLEKSIY BIDZILYA
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
First Record ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Larval Biology ◽  
New Host ◽  
North West ◽  
Annotated List ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
First Time

First and additional host-plant records for 38 species of Gelechiidae from South Africa and Kenya are presented. An annotated list with brief descriptions of larval biology and known geographical distributions is presented. Three species are described as new: Mesophleps kruegeri sp. nov. (Namibia: Kavango Region and South Africa: Limpopo Province), Istrianis inquilinus sp. nov. (South Africa: North West Province), and Teleiopsis sharporum sp. nov. (South Africa: Limpopo Province). The new combination Istrianis epacria (Bradley, 1965) comb. nov. is proposed. The male genitalia of Hypatima melanecta (Meyrick, 1914) is described for the first time. It is noticed that male hitherto associated with T. commaculata (Meyrick, 1918) in fact refers to T. pundamilia Bidzilya & Mey, 2018. Hypatima stasimodes (Meyrick, 1931), Dichomeris coenulenta (Meyrick, 1927), Dichomeris eustacta Meyrick, 1921, Neotelphusa similella Janse, 1958 and Argophara epaxia Janse, 1963 are recorded for the first time from South Africa, and Istrianis epacria is new for Kenya. The adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated for some species mentioned in paper. The first record of the genus Teleiopsis Sattler, 1960 from South Africa is briefly discussed. 

scholarly journals A Spatially Explicit Capture–Recapture Model for Partially Identified Individuals When Trap Detection Rate Is Less than One

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumen Dey ◽  
Mohan Delampady ◽  
K. Ullas Karanth ◽  
Arjun M. Gopalaswamy
Keyword(s):  
Detection Probability ◽  
Credible Interval ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Panthera Tigris ◽  
Partial Identity ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Estimation Problems ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Future Work

Spatially explicit capture–recapture (SECR) models have gained enormous popularity to solve abundance estimation problems in ecology. In this study, we develop a novel Bayesian SECR model that disentangles two processes: one is the process of animal arrival within a detection region, and the other is the process of recording this arrival by a given set of detectors. We integrate this complexity into an advanced version of a recent SECR model involving partially identified individuals (Royle JA. Spatial capture-recapture with partial identity. arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.06873, 2015). We assess the performance of our model over a range of realistic simulation scenarios and demonstrate that estimates of population size N improve when we utilize the proposed model relative to the model that does not explicitly estimate trap detection probability (Royle JA. Spatial capture-recapture with partial identity. arXiv preprint arXiv:1503.06873, 2015). We confront and investigate the proposed model with a spatial capture–recapture dataset from a camera trapping survey of tigers (Panthera tigris) in Nagarahole study area of southern India. Detection probability is estimated at 0.489 (with 95% credible interval (CI) [0.430, 0.543]) which implies that the camera traps are performing imperfectly and thus justifying the use of our model in real world applications. We discuss possible extensions, future work and relevance of our model to other statistical applications beyond ecology. AMS classification codes: 62F15, 92D40

scholarly journals The occurrence of Megastigmus pictus (Förster) (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) and Resseliella skuhravyorum Skrzypcz. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in the Chełmowa Góra forest reserve of theŚwiętokrzyskiNational Park (Poland)

2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 249-254
Author(s):  
J. Bąk
Keyword(s):  
Mass Rearing ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
Larix Decidua ◽  
Forest Reserve ◽  
Insect Rearing ◽  
Percent Increase

A study conducted in 1999&ndash;2000 in 6 compartments of the Chełmowa G&oacute;ra forest reserve, situated in the ŚwiętokrzyskieMountains, was aimed at harmful insects infesting cones and seeds of Larix decidua Mill. subsp. polonica (Racib.) Domin. Insect rearing and seed and cone cutting yielded 1,045 specimens of insects belonging to <br />8 species. Resseliella skuhravyorum Skrzypcz. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) and Megastigmus pictus (F&ouml;rster) (Hymeno-ptera: Torymidae) were the most abundantly represented species. They were present in cone samples of all investigated trees. The index of infestation of cones by insects (WZS) was higher in the case of trees growing at the forest edge. The analysis by cutting showed an insignificant percent increase &ndash; 6.7% of sound seeds while 88.9% of seeds were blind. M. pictus damaged 2.6% of larch seeds, while R. skuhravyorum 1.7%. The parasitoid Mesopolobus zetterstedtii (Dalla Tore) was received from the mass rearing where its host is M. pictus.

Pisanite from Parys Mountain, Anglesey

1950 ◽  
Vol 29 (208) ◽  
pp. 63-67
Author(s):  
Leslie Bor
Keyword(s):  
First Record ◽  
First World War ◽  
Geological Structure ◽  
East Side ◽  
World War ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The First World War ◽  
First World ◽  
Geological Research

During the Manchester University's 1946 geological excursion to Anglesey, a visit was made to Parys Mountain. At this locality small quantities of an attractive light blue mineral were found capping pyrite veins and in clefts in the rock. Larger finds were obtained in an artificial cavern which extended for fifty or sixty feet into the south-east side of the excavated pit. A specimen weighing 2½ pounds and consisting of silicified shale veneered with the pale blue mineral was collected by the author and examined in the geological research laboratory at Manchester University during the session 1948–1949. The blue mineral was identified as pisanite, and this is the first record of pisanite as a British mineral.Parys Mountain is situated in the north-west of Anglesey close to Amlwch. Copper and to a smaller extent lead were mined throughout a period exceeding one hundred and fifty years, but operations have completely ceased since the first world war. The geological structure of the district need only be briefly outlined for the purpose of this study.

A 3-tier tsunami vulnerability assessment technique for the north-west coast of Peninsular Malaysia

2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 549-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Ismail ◽  
A. K. Abd Wahab ◽  
M. F. Mohd Amin ◽  
M. Z. Mohd Yunus ◽  
F. Jaffar Sidek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Coast ◽  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Assessment Technique ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment

First record of Polyneura bonnemaisonii (Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta) from the Atlantic Ocean of Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustapha Hassoun ◽  
Hanaa Moussa ◽  
Hanaa Zbakh ◽  
Hassane Riadi ◽  
Mohamed Kazzaz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Algal Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
North West ◽  
Red Algal ◽  
First Time

A red algal species,Polyneura bonnemaisonii(Delesseriaceae, Rhodophyta), is described for the first time in the Atlantic Ocean of Morocco. This is also the first reference of the occurrence of this species in Africa. This species was collected in the lower intertidal to subtidal zones, from Hyayda (north-west of Morocco). The Moroccan specimen is studied in detail and compared with other closely related species. Habitat, geographic distribution, description and illustration of the macroscopic and microscopic characters are presented and discussed in this work.

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