Effects of vegetation structure and edge habitat on the density and distribution of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in small and large forest patches

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 897-904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine S Anderson ◽  
Alan B Cady ◽  
Douglas B Meikle

We tested the hypothesis that if the quality or quantity of vegetation in small forest patches is greater than in large patches, then vegetation attributes may contribute to greater densities of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in smaller patches. We trapped more mice per hectare in small (range 5–9 ha) than in large (range 110–150 ha) patches, as has been reported by other investigators. The difference appeared to be due primarily to the disproportionately high densities of P. leucopus in the edge habitat of small patches. While the greater edge-to-interior ratio in small patches could contribute to greater overall densities of mice in small patches, we trapped the same relative amount of edge and interior habitats in each of the six study patches. The structural complexity of understory vegetation was much greater in small than in large patches and also in edge than in interior habitats across the six patches. Thus, we trapped the most mice in the most structurally complex vegetation (i.e., edges of small patches). However, while vegetation at the edge of large patches was more complex than in the interior, we did not capture relatively high densities of P. leucopus in edge habitat of large patches. Hence, understory vegetation may differentially influence the distribution of P. leucopus between edge and interior habitats in forest patches of different sizes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-41
Author(s):  
VLADIMIR NIKONOV ◽  
◽  
ANTON ZOBOV ◽  

The construction and selection of a suitable bijective function, that is, substitution, is now becoming an important applied task, particularly for building block encryption systems. Many articles have suggested using different approaches to determining the quality of substitution, but most of them are highly computationally complex. The solution of this problem will significantly expand the range of methods for constructing and analyzing scheme in information protection systems. The purpose of research is to find easily measurable characteristics of substitutions, allowing to evaluate their quality, and also measures of the proximity of a particular substitutions to a random one, or its distance from it. For this purpose, several characteristics were proposed in this work: difference and polynomial, and their mathematical expectation was found, as well as variance for the difference characteristic. This allows us to make a conclusion about its quality by comparing the result of calculating the characteristic for a particular substitution with the calculated mathematical expectation. From a computational point of view, the thesises of the article are of exceptional interest due to the simplicity of the algorithm for quantifying the quality of bijective function substitutions. By its nature, the operation of calculating the difference characteristic carries out a simple summation of integer terms in a fixed and small range. Such an operation, both in the modern and in the prospective element base, is embedded in the logic of a wide range of functional elements, especially when implementing computational actions in the optical range, or on other carriers related to the field of nanotechnology.


Author(s):  
Moses Mulwa ◽  
Mike Teucher ◽  
Werner Ulrich ◽  
Jan Christian Habel

AbstractTropical forests suffer severe habitat destruction. Thus, tropical forests frequently consist today of only a few small remnants that are often embedded within a matrix of agricultural fields and tree plantations. Forest specialist species have experienced severe population declines under these circumstances. We studied bird communities based on census plots set up in a near-natural forest block, as well as degraded forest patches, tree plantations, and agricultural fields, across the Taita Hills in southern Kenya. We classified each bird species according its ecology and behavior. We quantified the land cover and landscape configuration around each census plot. Typical forest species were mainly observed in the near-natural forest block, and to a lower extent in degraded forest patches. Plantations were almost devoid of birds. Bird communities of small forest fragments were more similar to that of agricultural land than the near-natural forest block. Most frugivorous, insectivorous and nectarivorous birds occurred in forest habitats, while granivorous bird species dominated the bird communities of agricultural land. The surrounding landscape had a marginal impact on bird species composition at local sites. Our study showed that the preservation of near-natural cloud forest, including small forest patches, is essential for the conservation of forest-dependent species, and that plantations do not serve as surrogate habitats.


2016 ◽  
Vol 06 (02) ◽  
pp. 142-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chemuku Wekesa ◽  
Nereoh Leley ◽  
Elias Maranga ◽  
Bernard Kirui ◽  
Gabriel Muturi ◽  
...  

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1148
Author(s):  
Andrej Ficko

There are increasingly advanced mobile applications for forest inventories on the market. Small enterprises and nonprofessionals may find it difficult to opt for a more sophisticated application without comparing it to an established standard. In a small private forest holding (19 ha, 4 stands, 61 standing points), we compared TRESTIMA, a computer vision-based mobile application for stand inventories, to MOTI, a smartphone-based relascope, in measuring the number of stems (N) and stand basal area (G). Using a Bayesian approach, we (1) weighted evidence for the hypothesis of no difference in N and G between TRESTIMA and MOTI relative to the hypothesis of difference, and (2) weighted evidence for the hypothesis of overestimating versus underestimating N and G when using TRESTIMA compared to MOTI. The results of the Bayesian tests were then compared to the results of frequentist tests after the p-values of paired sample t-tests were calibrated to make both approaches comparable. TRESTIMA consistently returned higher N and G, with a mean difference of +305.8 stems/ha and +5.8 m2/ha. However, Bayes factors (BF10) suggest there is only moderate evidence for the difference in N (BF10 = 4.061) and anecdotal evidence for the difference in G (BF10 = 1.372). The frequentist tests returned inconclusive results, with p-values ranging from 0.03 to 0.13. After calibration of the p-values, the frequentist tests suggested rather small odds for the differences between the applications. Conversely, the odds of overestimating versus underestimating N and G were extremely high for TRESTIMA compared to MOTI. In a small forest holding, Bayesian evaluation of differences in stand parameters can be more helpful than frequentist analysis, as Bayesian statistics do not rely on asymptotics and can answer more specific hypotheses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 155892501986694
Author(s):  
Benjamin K O Cheung ◽  
Jason P Carey

Twist in yarns can be used for handling or testing purposes, but it is not necessary when using continuous multifilament yarns as compared to the spinning required for a short fiber yarn. Small amounts of twist have shown to increase the strength of the yarn while decreasing the longitudinal stiffness. Previous models, including Gegauff’s cos2 θ model and Rao and Farris’ model, are compared and discussed. A para-aramid (Kevlar 49) and a regenerated cellulose (BioMid) yarn are tested at various levels of twist to compare with these models. Twist is manually applied, and the samples are tested under continuous rate of extension to determine chord modulus, breaking tenacity, and elongation and break. The results are then fit to existing prediction models using a minimization of the standard error of the regression. Finally, a linear regression is also applied to the data to contrast the fit compared to traditional models. It was found that while the Gegauff model and the Rao and Farris model may capture the overall trend and decrease in longitudinal stiffness over a large range of twist, the small range over which twist can practically be used is not well represented by these models and is better represented by a simple linear relationship.


1986 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. D. Hatcher ◽  
O. D. Srb

This study presents the comparison of two different noninvasive techniques for the estimation of cardiac output (Q). The two techniques used were transthoracic impedance plethysmography (Z) and the indirect Fick CO2 rebreathing (RB) method. Paired estimates of Q were made on 60 different male subjects at rest and during graded increments of work on a cycle ergometer. The mean resting Q as measured by the Z technique (COZ) was 7.46 +/- 0.35 and 5.96 +/- 0.43 l/min using the RB (CORB) technique. At 200 W the mean COZ was 18.67 +/- 0.72 l/min and the CORB was 23.73 +/- 0.84 l/min. Both the techniques were linearly correlated (R) with O2 consumption; i.e., RZ = 0.752, RRB = 0.855. The difference between these two R values is statistically significant (P less than 0.001). A linear relationship was found between the Z and RB techniques at all work loads (R = 0.75). This study suggests that both techniques are equally as reliable over a large range of work loads, with the Z technique being the simplest and most efficient to implement. It was also found that lung volume had no effect on the calculated COZ.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Jie Lai ◽  
Xiaodan Wang ◽  
Rui Li ◽  
Yafei Song ◽  
Lei Lei

In order to prevent the overfitting and improve the generalization performance of Extreme Learning Machine (ELM), a new regularization method, Biased DropConnect, and a new regularized ELM using the Biased DropConnect and Biased Dropout (BD-ELM) are both proposed in this paper. Like the Biased Dropout to hidden nodes, the Biased DropConnect can utilize the difference of connection weights to keep more information of network after dropping. The regular Dropout and DropConnect set the connection weights and output of the hidden layer to 0 with a single fixed probability. But the Biased DropConnect and Biased Dropout divide the connection weights and hidden nodes into high and low groups by threshold, and set different groups to 0 with different probabilities. Connection weights with high value and hidden nodes with a high-activated value, which make more contribution to network performance, will be kept by a lower drop probability, while the weights and hidden nodes with a low value will be given a higher drop probability to keep the drop probability of the whole network to a fixed constant. Using Biased DropConnect and Biased Dropout regularization, in BD-ELM, the sparsity of parameters is enhanced and the structural complexity is reduced. Experiments on various benchmark datasets show that Biased DropConnect and Biased Dropout can effectively address the overfitting, and BD-ELM can provide higher classification accuracy than ELM, R-ELM, and Drop-ELM.


2012 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-726
Author(s):  
Cássius R. Santana ◽  
Gabriela M. Bochio ◽  
Luiz dos Anjos

We evaluated the distribution of abundance of three species of warblers in the southern portion of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF): Tropical Parula (Parula pitiayumi), the Golden-Crowned Warbler (Basileuterus culicivorus) and the White-Rimmed Warbler (Basileuterus leucoblepharus). Three types of forests comprise this region of the Atlantic Forest: seasonal semi-deciduous forest (SF), mixed rain forest (MF) and dense rain forest (DF). These forest types occur at different elevations: SF ranging from 200 to 800 m, MF ranging from 800 to 1,200 m and DF ranging from sea level up to 2,000 m. We used point counts in fifteen study areas distributed in the three forest types. The White-Rimmed Warbler and the Tropical Parula had higher abundances in MF, and their abundance was positively correlated with the elevation. The Golden-Crowned Warbler did not present a significant difference in abundance among the forest types, and no correlation between abundance and elevation was found. We suggest that the difference in the occupancy of the forest strata by the Golden-Crowned Warbler is because this species is more generalist and thus less sensitive to variations in the vegetation structure among the forests types when compared to the other two warbler species.


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