Predicting the occurrence of an endangered reptile based on habitat attributes

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarsha Gorissen ◽  
Ian R. C. Baird ◽  
Matthew Greenlees ◽  
Ahamad N. Sherieff ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Gravid Female ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Dead Vegetation

The endangered Blue Mountains water skink (Eulamprus leuraensis), a habitat specialist known from approximately 60 threatened highland peat swamps, is the sole endemic vertebrate of the Blue Mountains region, Australia. We quantified the species’ habitat associations by surveying 10 such swamps annually for three years. We scored habitat features and trapped skinks, comparing habitat attributes of trap sites where skinks were and were not captured. The distribution of E. leuraensis was non-random: skinks were found at sites with high values for some variables (soil moisture, live vegetation, surface water, understorey density and numbers of burrows) and low values for others (dead vegetation, logs, rocks, bare ground, canopy cover, sunlight penetration and numbers of invertebrates), and were mostly found in sites that were close to surface water and far from trees and logs. Eulamprus leuraensis is widely distributed within swamps, with weak associations between microhabitat variation and skink presence. Skink abundance and mean body size were highest within swamp centres, decreasing towards the margins; larger skinks were found closer to water, gravid female skinks were found at wetter sites and juveniles occupied marginal habitat. Skinks were rarely recaptured >10 m from their original site, with adult males travelling further than adult females and juveniles. We developed a quick field detection method for managers to assess the likely presence of E. leuraensis using two habitat attributes (soil moisture and burrow abundance). We mapped the species’ known and predicted habitat using GIS spatial layers, including locality records, associated vegetation communities and digital elevation models.

scholarly journals Meteorological, soil moisture, surface water, and groundwater data from the St. Denis National Wildlife Area, Saskatchewan, Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 553-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward K. P. Bam ◽  
Rosa Brannen ◽  
Sujata Budhathoki ◽  
Andrew M. Ireson ◽  
Chris Spence ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Surrounding Landscape ◽  
Glacial Tills ◽  
Moisture Profiles

Abstract. The St. Denis National Wildlife Area is located in the seasonally frozen and semi-arid Canadian Prairies, close to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The site has a hummocky terrain and is underlain by clay-rich glacial tills. Though the site is only 4 km2 it contains hundreds of wetlands containing ponds which range in size, in permanence (from ephemeral to permanent), and in their interactions with groundwater (recharge and discharge ponds are present). The site was established as a research area in 1968 and has long-term records of hydrological observations, including meteorological, snow, soil moisture, surface water (ponds) and groundwater data. Some records, notably the pond level and chemistry data, span the period 1968 to present. Other datasets, notably water level observations from networks of piezometers, have been collected sporadically at different locations and times. Some datasets are collected manually on an annual basis, including pond surveys and snow surveys. Meteorological data have been collected by automatic weather stations since 1989 and have been maintained and upgraded over time, with a flux tower added to the site in 2011. Automatically logged soil moisture profiles and collocated piezometers have been running since 2013. A lidar survey from 2005 provides a 1 m resolution digital elevation map (DEM) of the site and surrounding landscape. The compiled data are available at https://doi.org/10.20383/101.0115 (Bam et al., 2018).

scholarly journals A skink out of water: impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on an Endangered reptile in Australian highland swamps

Oryx ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 610-618 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarsha Gorissen ◽  
Matthew Greenlees ◽  
Richard Shine
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Longwall Mining ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Surface Water Chemistry ◽  
Fragmented Habitat ◽  
Blue Mountains ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Dead Vegetation ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe Blue Mountains water skink Eulamprus leuraensis is an Endangered swamp specialist known from < 60 sites and restricted to the rare, threatened and fragmented habitat of Temperate Highland Peat Swamps on Sandstone. Understanding the species’ ecology, notably its vulnerability to threatening processes such as hydrological disturbance, is essential if we are to retain viable populations of this Endangered reptile. We examined the impact of anthropogenic disturbance (longwall mining practices, development (industrial, urban, infrastructural) and damage by recreational vehicles) on this species, other herpetofauna and the swamp by surveying six paired undisturbed and disturbed sites in south-eastern Australia. The abundance of E. leuraensis was severely affected by disturbance. The species was absent from disturbed swamps, where it was replaced by its congener E. heatwolei and other woodland reptile species. Disturbance was associated with a halving of soil moisture content and a loss of surface water; the dense, live understorey was replaced by a sparser, drier habitat with dead vegetation, logs, rocks and bare ground. In effect, disturbance eliminated the distinctive features of the swamp habitat, transforming it into an area that resembled the surrounding habitat in terms of fauna, flora and physical characteristics. Our surveys suggest that hydrological disturbance (groundwater loss or alterations in surface water chemistry) extirpates E. leuraensis. This species' dependence on groundwater renders it sensitive to habitat degradation through hydrological disturbance. The conservation message for management authorities is clear: to protect the skink, protect the habitat.

scholarly journals Field-Scale Soil Moisture Retrieval Using PALSAR-2 Polarimetric Decomposition and Machine Learning

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Xiaodong Huang ◽  
Beth Ziniti ◽  
Michael H. Cosh ◽  
Michele Reba ◽  
Jinfei Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
The United States ◽  
Optical Data ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Key Indicator ◽  
Ground Measurement ◽  
L Band

Soil moisture is a key indicator to assess cropland drought and irrigation status as well as forecast production. Compared with the optical data which are obscured by the crop canopy cover, the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is an efficient tool to detect the surface soil moisture under the vegetation cover due to its strong penetration capability. This paper studies the soil moisture retrieval using the L-band polarimetric Phased Array-type L-band SAR 2 (PALSAR-2) data acquired over the study region in Arkansas in the United States. Both two-component model-based decomposition (SAR data alone) and machine learning (SAR + optical indices) methods are tested and compared in this paper. Validation using independent ground measurement shows that the both methods achieved a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of less than 10 (vol.%), while the machine learning methods outperform the model-based decomposition, achieving an RMSE of 7.70 (vol.%) and R2 of 0.60.

scholarly journals Habitat associations and conservation status of an endemic forest dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion sp.) from South Africa

Oryx ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter J. Reisinger ◽  
Devi M. Stuart-Fox ◽  
Barend F.N. Erasmus
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Area Of Occupancy ◽  
Forest Interior ◽  
Forest Remnants ◽  
Iucn Red List Criteria

We quantified habitat associations and evaluated the conservation status of a recently identified, undescribed species of dwarf chameleon, Bradypodion sp. nov. Dhlinza, endemic to scarp forest remnants in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. At the microhabitat scale the Dhlinza dwarf chameleon was found more often in forest gaps and near paths than highly disturbed edges or forest interior. Chameleon presence was not explained by forest physiognomic variables such as vine cover, shrub and tree density, or canopy cover. Presence near gaps may be better explained by the combined effects of the thermal microenvironment and food availability. The species is moderately common where it occurs, with estimated densities of 4.7, 8.7 and 29.7 individuals per ha within forest interior, edges and gaps respectively. At the landscape scale, the chameleon occurs only in three remnant forests: the Dhlinza, Entumeni and Ongoye Forests. The species' extent of occurrence was estimated to be 88 km2 and its area of occupancy 49 km2. Based on the small area of remaining suitable habitat, this species meets the requirements for categorization as Endangered according to IUCN Red List criteria.

scholarly journals Meteorological, soil moisture, surface water, and groundwater data from the St Denis National Wildlife Area, Saskatchewan, Canada

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward K. P. Bam ◽  
Rosa Brannen ◽  
Sujata Budhathoki ◽  
Andrew M. Ireson ◽  
Chris Spence ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Multiple Scales ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Groundwater Availability ◽  
Surface Water And Groundwater

Abstract. Long-term meteorological, soil moisture, surface water, and groundwater data provide information on past climate change, most notably information that can be used to analyze past changes in precipitation and groundwater availability in a region. These data are also valuable to test, calibrate and validate hydrological and climate models. CCRN (Changing Cold Regions Network) is a collaborative research network that brought together a team of over 40 experts from 8 universities and 4 federal government agencies in Canada for 5 years (2013–18) through the Climate Change and Atmospheric Research (CCAR) Initiative of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The working group aimed to integrate existing and new data with improved predictive and observational tools to understand, diagnose and predict interactions amongst the cryospheric, ecological, hydrological, and climatic components of the changing Earth system at multiple scales, with a geographic focus on the rapidly changing cold interior of Western Canada. The St Denis National Wildlife Area database contains data for the prairie research site, St Denis National Wildlife Research Area, and includes atmosphere, soil, and groundwater. The meteorological measurements are observed every 5 seconds, and half-hourly averages (or totals) are logged. Soil moisture data comprise volumetric water content, soil temperature, electrical conductivity and matric potential for probes installed at depths of 5 cm, 20 cm, 50 cm, 100 cm, 200 cm and 300 cm in all soil profiles. Additional data on snow surveys, pond and groundwater levels, and water isotope isotopes collected on an intermittent basis between 1968 and 2018 are also presented including information on the dates and ground elevations (datum) used to construct hydraulic heads. The metadata table provides location information, information about the full range of measurements carried out on each parameter and GPS locations that are relevant to the interpretation of the records, as well as citations for both publications and archived data. The compiled data are available at https://doi.org/10.20383/101.0115.

Habitat selection of an endangered European farmland bird, the Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana, in two contrasting landscapes: implications for management

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN ŠÁLEK ◽  
VÍT ZEMAN ◽  
RADOVAN VÁCLAV
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Farmland Bird ◽  
Emberiza Hortulana ◽  
Ortolan Bunting

SummaryEffective conservation measures for any bird species across their distribution ranges require detailed knowledge of landscape-specific differences in habitat associations. The Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana is a farmland bird species, which experienced massive population declines during the recent decades and has become a conservation priority in many European countries. Thus, identification of the key habitat features is an important prerequisite for the conservation of the species. Here we investigate habitat associations of the Ortolan Bunting for the remaining breeding population of the species in the Czech Republic. This population is remarkable by its distribution in two markedly different environments – farmland and post-mining landscapes. The main objectives of this study were to identify habitat features associated with Ortolan Bunting occurrence within the two contrasting landscapes and at two spatial scales. Our results reveal a high degree of habitat plasticity by Ortolan Buntings in the Czech Republic which was revealed by the landscape- and scale- specific habitat associations. Habitat heterogeneity, in terms of compositional and configurational diversity, and the cover of bare ground were the most important predictors of Ortolan Bunting occurrence in both landscape types. In farmland, the species occurrence was positively associated with shrub and woody vegetation, poppy fields and set-asides, and negatively associated with grasslands, gardens/orchards, seedlings and urban habitats. In the post-mining landscape, the cover of herb vegetation and greater slope steepness and terrain ruggedness were most important habitat features. Ortolan Buntings in the post-mining landscape appear to avoid patches with a higher cover of shrub and woody vegetation, forests, seedlings and urban areas. We propose that conservation measures for Ortolan Buntings should focus on enhancing farmland habitat heterogeneity, but also on regulating the rate of succession in disturbed environments, such as post-mining landscapes.

Remote Sensing of Surface Water and Soil Moisture

2013 ◽  
pp. 119-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alain Pietroniro ◽  
Jessika Töyrö ◽  
Robert Leconte ◽  
Geoff Kite
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Surface Water

scholarly journals Short-Term Effects of Silvicultural Treatments on Microsite Heterogeneity and Plant Diversity in Mature Tennessee Oak-Hickory Forests

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel W. Jackson ◽  
Craig A. Harper ◽  
David S. Buckley ◽  
Bradley F. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
First Year ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Canopy Trees ◽  
Microsite Heterogeneity

Abstract Growing emphasis on sustainability has increased the demand for information on effects of forest management on species diversity. We investigated the hypothesis that plant diversity is a function of microsite heterogeneity by documenting plant diversity and heterogeneity in canopy cover, light, and soil moisture produced by four silvicultural treatments during the first growing season following treatment: prescribed burning, wildlife retention cut with prescribed burning, wildlife retention cut, and shelterwood cutting. Treatments and controls were randomly assigned within four relatively undisturbed, 70–90-year-old oak-hickory stands. Heterogeneity in canopy cover and photosynthetically active radiation was greatest after shelterwood cutting, whereas the wildlife retention cut resulted in less removal of canopy trees and a smaller increase in heterogeneity of these factors. The addition of prescribed burning enhanced the effects of the wildlife retention cut. Prescribed burning alone had the least impact on heterogeneity of these factors. Soil moisture variability appeared to be independent of treatments. Shelterwood cutting increased first-year herbaceous plant diversity, and this increase was likely due, in part, to increased heterogeneity in canopy cover, light, and seedbed condition. These first-year results partially support the hypothesis that plant diversity is a function of microsite diversity in these forests. Long-term monitoring is underway.

Soil Moisture Memory and Its Effect on the Surface Water and Heat Fluxes on Seasonal and Interannual Time Scales

2019 ◽  
Vol 124 (20) ◽  
pp. 10730-10741
Author(s):  
Y. M. Song ◽  
Z. F. Wang ◽  
L. L. Qi ◽  
A. N. Huang
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Heat Fluxes
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