Does pedestrian traffic affect the composition of ?bush bird? assemblages?

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Megan Price ◽  
Alan Lill
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Assemblage Composition ◽  
Bird Assemblages ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Bird Watching ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Pedestrian Traffic

Outdoor recreational activities (e.g., bushwalking and bird-watching) can increase participants? environmental awareness, but can also cause environmental damage and impact negatively on wildlife if conducted irresponsibly and/or in large numbers. A field experiment with a before-after-control-impact design conducted in Wyperfeld National Park, Victoria determined whether simulated bushwalking by researchers over a 4-week period had an immediate impact on the composition of breeding bird assemblages on ten 1-ha mallee plots. Birds were surveyed with point counts preand post-intrusion. Species richness, diversity and composition of bird assemblages were unaffected by the pedestrian traffic regime imposed. Results suggest that normal pedestrian traffic in spring and summer may not influence ?bush bird? assemblage composition very markedly in the short-term in Victorian parks. However, the birds could have responded to intrusion, but less dramatically than by leaving the plots. That bushwalking and allied activities may have other adverse effects on the behaviour and physiology of Australian ?bush birds? still needs to be investigated.

Die Brutvogelfauna eines Nadelwaldes der nördlichen Voralpen nach dem Sturm Lothar

2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-66
Author(s):  
Pierre Mollet ◽  
René Hardegger ◽  
Res Altwegg ◽  
Pius Korner ◽  
Simon Birrer
Keyword(s):  
Forest Succession ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Mountain Forest ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Point Counts ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Central Switzerland ◽  
Bird Fauna

Breeding bird fauna in a coniferous forest in the northern Prealps after storm Lothar In a 70-hectare large coniferous forest located on the northern edge of the Alps in central Switzerland, Canton of Obwalden, at an altitude of 1260 to 1550 metres above sea level, we surveyed the local breeding bird fauna in 2002 and 2013 by means of point counts as well as additional area searches for rare species. In December 1999, hurricane Lothar caused two large windthrow areas and several smaller areas with scattered throws in the survey range. We found a total of 48 breeding bird species, which is a very diverse species composition for a mountain forest. In the eleven years between surveys, a decline in distribution or abundance was recorded for four species, while seven species showed an increase; a further four species showed no change. For the remaining species, the data sets were too small to reliably estimate changes. A comparison with forest structure data provided by the Swiss Federal Institute of Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL revealed that for five bird species, the changes in distribution or abundance could be explained at least partially by forest succession. In order to obtain realistic distribution and abundance values in this kind of breeding bird survey, it is essential to collect large enough samples and to consider the detection probability of each individual species using appropriate statistical methods.

scholarly journals An update on the distribution of Glossina (tsetse flies) at the wildlife-human-livestock interface of Akagera National Park, Rwanda

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Gashururu ◽  
Samuel M. Githigia ◽  
Methode N. Gasana ◽  
Richard Habimana ◽  
Ndichu Maingi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Glossina Pallidipes ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Tsetse Flies ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
Biconical Traps

Abstract Background Glossina (tsetse flies) biologically transmit trypanosomes that infect both humans and animals. Knowledge of their distribution patterns is a key element to better understand the transmission dynamics of trypanosomosis. Tsetse distribution in Rwanda has not been well enough documented, and little is known on their current distribution. This study determined the current spatial distribution, abundance, diversity, and seasonal variations of tsetse flies in and around the Akagera National Park. Methods A longitudinal stratified sampling following the seasons was used. Biconical traps were deployed in 55 sites for 6 consecutive days of each study month from May 2018 to June 2019 and emptied every 48 h. Flies were identified using FAO keys, and the number of flies per trap day (FTD) was used to determine the apparent density. Pearson chi-square (χ2) and parametrical tests (t-test and ANOVA) were used to determine the variations between the variables. The significance (p < 0.05) at 95% confidence interval was considered. Logistic regression was used to determine the association between tsetse occurrence and the associated predictors. Results A total of 39,516 tsetse flies were collected, of which 73.4 and 26.6% were from inside Akagera NP and the interface area, respectively. Female flies accounted for 61.3 while 38.7% were males. Two species were identified, i.e. G. pallidipes [n = 29,121, 7.4 flies/trap/day (FTD)] and G. morsitans centralis (n = 10,395; 2.6 FTD). The statistical difference in numbers was significant between the two species (p = 0.000). The flies were more abundant during the wet season (15.8 FTD) than the dry season (4.2 FTD). Large numbers of flies were trapped around the swamp areas (69.1 FTD) inside the park and in Nyagatare District (11.2 FTD) at the interface. Glossina morsitans was 0.218 times less likely to occur outside the park. The chance of co-existing between the two species reduced outside the protected area (0.021 times). Conclusions The occurrence of Glossina seems to be limited to the protected Akagera NP and a narrow band of its surrounding areas. This finding will be crucial to design appropriate control strategies. Glossina pallidipes was found in higher numbers and therefore is conceivably the most important vector of trypanosomosis. Regional coordinated control and regular monitoring of Glossina distribution are recommended. Graphic Abstract

scholarly journals How many gamebirds are released in the UK each year?

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joah Robert Madden
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Effects ◽  
Phasianus Colchicus ◽  
Alectoris Rufa ◽  
Breeding Bird ◽  
Know How ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Official Records

AbstractLarge numbers of gamebirds (pheasants Phasianus colchicus, red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa and mallard Anus platyrhynchos) are released annually in the UK to support recreational shooting. It is important to know how many of these birds are being released because their release and management has ecological effects on the wildlife and habitats of the UK. There is little regulation governing their release, and consequently, an accurate figure for the numbers being released is unknown. I took 12 different approaches, totalling 4329 estimates of the numbers of birds being released annually, based on a series of datasets that described numbers of birds being held for breeding, rearing or release, being released, managed or shot on game shoots, being shot by individual guns or being recorded during breeding bird surveys. These 12 approaches produced estimates ranging from 14.7 to 106.1 million with a mean of 43.2 million (95% CI 29.0–57.3 million). This suggests that 31.5 million pheasants (range 29.8–33.7 million), 9.1 million red-legged partridges (range 5.6–12.5 million) and 2.6 million mallard (range 0.9–6.0 million) are released annually in the UK. These figures differ substantially from both official records of gamebirds and previous published estimates, and I discuss why such differences may occur. I set these figures in the context of the number and behaviour of shoots operating in the UK. Improved estimates of numbers of gamebird being released are critical if we are to better understand the ecological effects occurring in areas where they are released and managed.

scholarly journals Determinants of bird assemblage composition in riparian vegetation on sugarcane farms in the Queensland Wet Tropics

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita F. Keir ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert A. Congdon
Keyword(s):  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Riparian Zone ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Assemblage Composition ◽  
Bird Assemblages ◽  
Wet Tropics

Remnant habitat patches in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to wildlife conservation. Understanding the main habitat variables that influence wildlife is important if these remnants are to be appropriately managed. We investigated relationships between the bird assemblages and characteristics of remnant riparian forest at 27 sites among sugarcane fields in the Queensland Wet Tropics bioregion. Sites within the remnant riparian zone had distinctly different bird assemblages from those of the forest, but provided habitat for many forest and generalist species. Width of the riparian vegetation and distance from source forest were the most important factors in explaining the bird assemblages in these remnant ribbons of vegetation. Gradual changes in assemblage composition occurred with increasing distance from source forest, with species of rainforest and dense vegetation being replaced by species of more open habitats, although increasing distance was confounded by decreasing riparian width. Species richness increased with width of the riparian zone, with high richness at the wide sites due to a mixture of open-habitat species typical of narrower sites and rainforest species typical of sites within intact forest, as a result of the greater similarity in vegetation characteristics between wide sites and the forest proper. The results demonstrate the habitat value for birds of remnant riparian vegetation in an agricultural landscape, supporting edge and open vegetation species with even narrow widths, but requiring substantial width (>90 m) to support specialists of the closed forest, the dominant original vegetation of the area.

scholarly journals Carbon Source Preference in Chemosynthetic Hot Spring Communities

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (11) ◽  
pp. 3834-3847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Urschel ◽  
Michael D. Kubo ◽  
Tori M. Hoehler ◽  
John W. Peters ◽  
Eric S. Boyd
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
National Park ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Hot Spring ◽  
Affinity Constant ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Organic Substrates ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Acetate Assimilation

ABSTRACTRates of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), formate, and acetate mineralization and/or assimilation were determined in 13 high-temperature (>73°C) hot springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming, in order to evaluate the relative importance of these substrates in supporting microbial metabolism. While 9 of the hot spring communities exhibited rates of DIC assimilation that were greater than those of formate and acetate assimilation, 2 exhibited rates of formate and/or acetate assimilation that exceeded those of DIC assimilation. Overall rates of DIC, formate, and acetate mineralization and assimilation were positively correlated with spring pH but showed little correlation with temperature. Communities sampled from hot springs with similar geochemistries generally exhibited similar rates of substrate transformation, as well as similar community compositions, as revealed by 16S rRNA gene-tagged sequencing. Amendment of microcosms with small (micromolar) amounts of formate suppressed DIC assimilation in short-term (<45-min) incubations, despite the presence of native DIC concentrations that exceeded those of added formate by 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. The concentration of added formate required to suppress DIC assimilation was similar to the affinity constant (Km) for formate transformation, as determined by community kinetic assays. These results suggest that dominant chemoautotrophs in high-temperature communities are facultatively autotrophic or mixotrophic, are adapted to fluctuating nutrient availabilities, and are capable of taking advantage of energy-rich organic substrates when they become available.

Autumn Migration of Diurnal Raptors Across Kenting National Park, Taiwan, Along the East-Asian Oceanic Flyway

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Chieh Chen ◽  
Jing-Guo Lin ◽  
Yu-Jung Cheng ◽  
Ta-Chih Chen ◽  
Jo-Szu Tsai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
East Asian ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Early Afternoon ◽  
Southern Taiwan ◽  
Migratory Strategies ◽  
Kenting National Park ◽  
Paired T Test ◽  
Southward Migration ◽  
Observation Period

ABSTRACT Diurnal raptors were counted during their southward migration in autumn of 2019 at Kenting National Park, southern Taiwan, an important hawkwatch site along the East-Asian Oceanic Flyway. Observations were conducted from 1 September to 31 October 2019 in the morning hours, but the observation period was extended to 1400 H whenever large numbers of raptors passed the site before noon. A total of 329,559 individuals of 14 migratory raptor species was recorded. The Chinese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter soloensis) and Gray-faced Buzzard (Butastur indicus) made up 78.3% (257,971 birds) and 21.6% (71,045 birds) of the total, respectively. The number of Chinese Sparrowhawks increased significantly when we extended the survey duration from 1200 H to 1400 H (paired t-test, t = 2.44, P = 0.04), but the number of Gray-faced Buzzards did not (t = 1.94, P = 0.09). Thus, Chinese Sparrowhawks may continue passing the site en route to the Philippine Islands in the afternoon hours, whereas Gray-faced Buzzards usually stop migrating in early afternoon, at least under certain conditions. How prevailing wind conditions along the East-Asian Oceanic Flyway in autumn shape the different migratory strategies of these two hawk species requires further study.

scholarly journals Fish and other faunal remains from a Late Iron Age site on the Letaba River, Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Plug ◽  
Paul Skelton
Keyword(s):  
Iron Age ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fish Population ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
Hunting Strategies ◽  
The People ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Fish Remains ◽  
Insight Into

Fish remains from Late Iron Age sites in the Transvaal are relatively scarce. It seems as if the people did not utilize the riverine resources extensively. Therefore the unique assemblage of large numbers of fish bones on a Late Iron Age site, provides some insight into the fish population of a section of the Letaba River a few hundred years ago. The presence of other faunal remains provides some information on prehistoric utilization of the environment in general. Hunting strategies and aspects of herding can also be deduced from the faunal remains.

scholarly journals Effect of burning on the numbers of questing ticks collected by dragging

2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
I.G. Horak ◽  
G.J. Gallivan ◽  
A.M. Spickett ◽  
A.L.F. Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
Tick Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Host Preference ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Ixodid Ticks ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Experimental Burn ◽  
Major Species ◽  
Questing Ticks

Sixteen experimental burn plot replicates, in groups of four, in four landscape zones of the Kruger National Park, South Africa, and from which wildlife are not excluded, have been subjected to fixed, regular burning regimens since 1954. In 1999, a study to determine the effect of burning on ixodid ticks questing for hosts from the vegetation of the plots was initiated, and six sub-plots, with identical histories, within each of two of the burn plot replicates in Combretum collinum / Combretum zeyheyri woodland on granite, were selected. With few exceptions these 12 sub-plots, as well as unburned vegetation adjacent to each of the replicates, were sampled for ticks at monthly intervals for a period of 39 months by dragging with flannel strips. The existing regimen of burning during August or during October on individual sub-plots was continued during this time. A total of 14 tick species was recovered from the plots of which nine could be considered major species. Sufficient numbers for statistical analysis of only eight species were, however, collected. Burning appeared to have little short-term effect on the number of ticks recovered. In the longer term, the response varied from no change, an increase, or a decrease in the numbers of ticks collected each year after burning. Tick species, life cycle, seasonality, questing strategy, host preference and host utilization of the habitat were important determinants of the effect of burning.

scholarly journals Prediksi Kunjungan Wisatawan Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu dengan Time Series Forecasting dan LSTM

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Josua Manullang ◽  
Albertus Joko Santoso ◽  
Andi Wahju Rahardjo Emanuel
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
National Park ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Lag Time ◽  
Time Series Forecasting ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Long Short Term Memory

Abstract. Prediction of tourist visits of Mount Merbabu National Park (TNGMb) needs to be done to control the number of visitors and to preserve the national park. The combination of time series forecasting (TSF) and deep learning methods has become a new alternative for prediction. This case study was conducted to implement several methods combination of TSF and Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) to predict the visits. In this case study, there are 18 modelling scenarios as research objects to determine the best model by utilizing tourist visits data from 2013 to 2018. The results show that the model applying the lag time method can improve the model's ability to capture patterns on time series data. The error value is measured using the root mean square error (RMSE), with the smallest value of 3.7 in the LSTM architecture, using seven lags as a feature and one lag as a label.Keywords: Tourist Visit, Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu, Prediction, Recurrent Neural Network, Long-Short Term MemoryAbstrak. Prediksi kunjungan wisatawan Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu (TNGMb) perlu dilakukan untul pengendalian jumlah pengunjung dan menjaga kelestarian taman nasional. Gabungan metode antara time series forecasting (TSF) dan deep learning telah menjadi alternatif baru untuk melakukan prediksi. Studi kasus ini dilakukan untuk mengimplementasi gabungan dari beberapa macam metode antara TSF dan Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) untuk memprediksi kunjungan pada TNGMb. Pada studi kasus ini, terdapat 18 skenario pemodelan sebagai objek penelitian untuk menentukan model terbaik, dengan memanfaatkan data jumlah kunjungan wisatawan di TNGMb mulai dari tahun 2013 sampai dengan tahun 2018. Hasil prediksi menunjukkan pemodelan dengan menerapkan metode lag time dapat meningkatakan kemampuan model untuk menangkap pola pada data deret waktu. Besar nilai kesalahan diukur menggunakan root mean square error (RMSE), dengan nilai terkecil sebesar 3,7 pada arsitektur LSTM, menggunakan tujuh lag sebagai feature dan satu lag sebagai label. Kata Kunci: Kunjungan Wisatawan, Taman Nasional Gunung Merbabu, Prediksi, Recurrent Neural Network, Long-Short Term Memory

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