scholarly journals Ornithophony in the soundscape of Anaikatty Hills, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 14471-14483
Author(s):  
Chandrasekaran Divyapriya ◽  
Padmanabhan Pramod
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Observation Units ◽  
Bird Call ◽  
Acoustic Space

An attempt has been made to understand the extent of ornithophony (vocalization of birds) in the soundscape of Anaikatty Hills.  The study was limited to 13 hours of daylight from dawn to dusk (06.00–19.00 h) between January 2015 and October 2016.  Six replicates of 5-minute bird call recordings were collected from each hour window in 24 recording spots of the study area.  Each 5-minute recording was divided into 150 ‘2-sec’ observation units for the detailed analysis of the soundscape. A total of 78 recordings amounting to 390 minutes of acoustic data allowed a preliminary analysis of the ornithophony of the area.  A total of 62 bird species were heard vocalizing during the study period and contributed 8,629 units.  A total of 73.75% acoustic space was occupied by birds, among which the eight dominant species alone contributed to 63.65% of ornithophony.  The remaining 26% of acoustic space was occupied by other biophonies (12.60%), geophony (5.57%), indistinct sounds (7.66%), and anthropogenic noise (0.41%).  Passerines dominated the vocalizations with 7,269 (84.24%) and non-passerines with 1,360 (15.76%) units.  Birds vocalized in all 13 observation windows, with a peak in the first three hours of the day (06.00–09.00 h).  Vocalizations of non-passerines were prominent in the dusk hours (18.00–19.00 h).   

Diversity and community structure of Ephemeroptera in freshwater stream of Megamalai hills, Tamil Nadu, India

ENTOMON ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-284
Author(s):  
S. Barathy ◽  
T. Sivaruban ◽  
Srinivasan Pandiarajan ◽  
Isack Rajasekaran ◽  
M. Bernath Rosi
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
Freshwater Stream ◽  
Species Diversity Indices ◽  
High Diversity

In the study on the diversity and community structure of Ephemeroptera in the freshwater stream of Chinnasuruli falls on Megamalai hills, a total of 523 specimens belonging to thirteen genera and five families were collected in six month periods. Of the five families, Teloganodidae and Leptophlebiidae exhibited high diversity and Caenidae showed low diversity. Choroterpes alagarensis (Leptophlebiidae) is the most dominant species. Diversity indices such as Shannon and Simpson indices showed that diversity was maximum in November and December and it was minimum in August and January. Canonical Correspondence Analysis revealed that rainfall, water flow, turbidity, and air temperature were the major stressors in affecting the Ephemeropteran community structure.

Usage of E-Resources among Library Users of Agricultural College and Research Institute, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu: A Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-138
Author(s):  
T. Sundararajan ◽  
P. Balasubramanian
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
Electronic Information ◽  
Digital Resources ◽  
Electronic Information Resources ◽  
Agricultural College ◽  
Library Users ◽  
Structured Questionnaire ◽  
Research Institute

This paper attempts to explore the access and usage of electronic resources among the users of Agricultural College and Research Institute (ACRI), Coimbatore. The present study aims at focusing on the use of various electronic information resources, awareness of users, access and use of digital resources by the Library Users in ACRI, Coimbatore. A well-structured questionnaire was distributed among randomly selected 400 Library Users of ACRI, Coimbatore and the data was obtained from the 350 filled in questionnaires received. The data thus collected have been employed for the present study to provide detailed analysis and interpretation.

scholarly journals Checklist of Mosses (Bryophyta) of Bodamalai Hills in Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Palani ◽  
S Sahaya Sathish ◽  
T Thamizharasi ◽  
P Vijayakanth
Keyword(s):  
Tamil Nadu ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Eastern Ghats ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
First Time

Bodamalai Hills, situated on the Southern Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, were explored for mosses (bryophyta) for the first time. As a result a checklist of mosses has been prepared comprising 52 species belonging to 38 genera and 21 families. The dominant families with the maximum number of species are Pottiaceae, Bryaceae, Stereophyllaceae, Sematophyllaceae and Brachytheciaceae. The dominant genera are Brachymenium and Bryum and the dominant species are Barbula javanica and Bryum capillare.

scholarly journals A protocol to evaluate the potential of protected areas for birdwatching tourism: a study case in the Brazilian Amazon

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Antônio de Andrade Plácido ◽  
Sérgio Henrique Borges ◽  
Edson Guilherme da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
The State ◽  
Southwestern Part ◽  
Simple Protocol ◽  
Study Case ◽  
Health Support

Birdwatching is a growing segment of ecotourism and South America’s protected areas have an enormous potential to contribute to the development of this activity. We present a simple protocol to assess the potential of protected areas to attract and receive birdwatchers. The protocol is based on the application of raw scores using the following criteria: i) potential of local avifauna to attract birdwatchers, ii) logistic facilities of the protected area, and iii) services for accommodation, communication, health support and transport available in the municipality/ies located near the protected area. The protocol was applied in a protected area located in the State of Acre, in the southwestern part of the Brazilian Amazon. Thirty bird species (11% of avifauna) achieved the highest level of attractiveness for birdwatchers. The protected area and its neighboring municipalities show median capacity for hosting birdwatchers. The application of the protocol in other protected areas will be necessary to improve its applicability. The method, however, could be useful for a preliminary analysis of the birdwatching potential of protected areas.

Modeling gradient processes in Polabian vowel chain shifting and blocking

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roslyn Burns
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Slavic Language ◽  
General Direction ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Harmonic Grammar ◽  
Sound Changes ◽  
Acoustic Space ◽  
Gradient Processes ◽  
Current Proposal

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of two interacting sound changes in the extinct West Slavic language Polabian. Polabian is known to have two types of vowel innovations: (i) the incorporation of acoustic properties from consonant secondary co-articulations (either palatalization or velarization) and (ii) a systematic rotation of vowels (Timberlake 1995). This paper argues that the innovation in (ii) is a vowel chain shift similar to those analyzed in Labov (1994). Unlike the other languages surveyed in Labov (1994), Polabian has phonologically predictable exceptions to the general direction of vowel movement through the acoustic space. Unlike previous work on Polabian, this paper proposes that the vowel chain shift operated simultaneously with the innovation in (i) resulting in phonologically predictable exceptions. This paper tests Timberlake’s (1995) proposal and the current proposal in a Harmonic Grammar (Flemming 2001) which uses Purcell’s (1979) acoustic data from Russian as a proxy. The model only captures the correct distribution of vowel reflexes under the assumption that co-articulatory based innovations and vowel chain shifting were active at the same time.

Acoustic sensors

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-78
Author(s):  
Anne-Sophie Crunchant ◽  
Chanakya Dev Nakka ◽  
Jason T. Isaacs ◽  
Alex K. Piel
Keyword(s):  
Species Conservation ◽  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Acoustic Sensors ◽  
Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Habitat Integrity ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Acoustic Space ◽  
Passive Acoustic

Animals share acoustic space to communicate vocally. The employment of passive acoustic monitoring to establish a better understanding of acoustic communities has emerged as an important tool in assessing overall diversity and habitat integrity as well as informing species conservation strategies. This chapter aims to review how traditional and more emerging bioacoustic techniques can address conservation issues. Acoustic data can be used to estimate species occupancy, population abundance, and animal density. More broadly, biodiversity can be assessed via acoustic diversity indices, using the number of acoustically conspicuous species. Finally, changes to the local soundscape provide an early warning of habitat disturbance, including habitat loss and fragmentation. Like other emerging technologies, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) benefits from an interdisciplinary collaboration between biologists, engineers, and bioinformaticians to develop detection algorithms for specific species that reduce time-consuming manual data mining. The chapter also describes different methods to process, visualize, and analyse acoustic data, from open source to commercial software. The technological advances in bioacoustics turning heavy, non-portable, and expensive hardware and labour and time-intensive methods for analysis into new small, movable, affordable, and automated systems, make acoustic sensors increasingly popular among conservation biologists for all taxa.

Natural Noise Can Influence Bird Foraging and Vigilance Behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Antonia Sweet
Keyword(s):  
Antipredator Behavior ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Vigilance Behavior ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Natural Noise ◽  
Acoustic Environments ◽  
High Sound

Natural sounds are an often overlooked, yet important component of an animal's habitat. The acoustic environment may be especially significant during foraging, because a noisy world can limit auditory surveillance. Here, we investigated how natural noise structures the foraging vigilance trade-off to understand how intense acoustic environments may have shaped antipredator behavior across the evolutionary past, and better inform conservation efforts in the present. First, in Chapter 1, I directly compared the foraging and vigilance behaviors of captive song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in anthropogenic and natural noise. We recorded foraging trials in 4 playback conditions (roadway traffic, whitewater rivers, whitewater rivers shifted upwards in spectrum, and amplitude-modulated rivers), along with an ambient control to assess which acoustic characteristics make a foraging habitat risky. We found that sparrows increased vigilance or decreased foraging in 4 of 6 behaviors when foraging in higher sound levels, regardless of playback type, indicating a broad role for noise in antipredator behavior. Next, in Chapter 2, I sought to understand the ecological relevance of these findings by examining wild bird behavior. To do so, we broadcast the same whitewater river noise as used in our lab experiment across a riparian landscape. To understand if the spectra of the acoustic environment affected bird behavior, we also presented spectrally-shifted whitewater noise to produce a gradient of frequencies. Using 18 bird feeders placed across this landscape, we recorded and analyzed behavior of the three most common bird species. Black-headed grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus) and lazuli buntings (Passerina amoena) demonstrated an increase in at least one vigilance behavior in high sound levels, while American goldfinches (Spinus tristis) and grosbeaks altered some behaviors according to background frequency. Clearly, adjusting antipredator behavior in noise is conserved across diverse bird species. Taken together, our findings imply that natural soundscapes have likely shaped behavior long before anthropogenic noise, and that high sound levels negatively affect the foraging vigilance trade-off in both anthropogenic and naturally intense acoustic environments. These results are concerning in light of ever-increasing anthropogenic noise pollution.

Mesostigmatic mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) in nests of the Eurasian griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus) in Croatia

Biologia ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerzy Błoszyk ◽  
Tvrtko Dražina ◽  
Dariusz Gwiazdowicz ◽  
Bruce Halliday ◽  
Bartłomiej Gołdyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Birds Of Prey ◽  
Griffon Vulture ◽  
Gyps Fulvus

AbstractWe examined the species composition and community structure of mites of the order Mesostigmata (Acari) in nests of the Eurasian griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus Hablizl, 1783) in Croatia. Material collected from 18 nests included 565 mites belonging to seven species. The most abundant species were Leiodinychus orbicularis (C.L. Koch, 1839) (Trematuridae) and Androlaelaps casalis (Berlese, 1887) (Laelapidae). The results were compared with the community structure and frequency of dominant species of Mesostigmata in nests of 32 other bird species. Leiodinychus orbicularis occurred in the nests of 13 species of birds. It is a typical nidicolous species which occurs most frequently in the perennial nests of birds of prey. In contrast, A. casalis rarely occurs in the nests of birds of prey.

scholarly journals Combining machine learning and a universal acoustic feature-set yields efficient automated monitoring of ecosystems

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarab S. Sethi ◽  
Nick S. Jones ◽  
Ben D. Fulcher ◽  
Lorenzo Picinali ◽  
Dena J. Clink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Automatic Identification ◽  
Acoustic Feature ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Ecosystem Monitoring ◽  
Environmental Behaviour ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
Ecosystem Level ◽  
The Common ◽  
Acoustic Space

Natural habitats are being impacted by human pressures at an alarming rate. Monitoring these ecosystem-level changes often requires labour-intensive surveys that are unable to detect rapid or unanticipated environmental changes. Here we developed a generalisable, data-driven solution to this challenge using eco-acoustic data. We exploited a convolutional neural network to embed ecosystem soundscapes from a wide variety of biomes into a common acoustic space. In both supervised and unsupervised modes, this allowed us to accurately quantify variation in habitat quality across space and in biodiversity through time. On the scale of seconds, we learned a typical soundscape model that allowed automatic identification of anomalous sounds in playback experiments, paving the way for real-time detection of irregular environmental behaviour including illegal activity. Our highly generalisable approach, and the common set of features, will enable scientists to unlock previously hidden insights from eco-acoustic data and offers promise as a backbone technology for global collaborative autonomous ecosystem monitoring efforts.

scholarly journals The Next Wave of Passive Acoustic Data Management: How Centralized Access Can Enhance Science

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carrie C. Wall ◽  
Samara M. Haver ◽  
Leila T. Hatch ◽  
Jennifer Miksis-Olds ◽  
Rob Bochenek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Anthropogenic Noise ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
First Order ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Passive Acoustic

Passive acoustic data collection has grown exponentially over the past decade resulting in petabytes of data that document our ocean soundscapes. This effort has resulted in two big data challenges: (1) the curation, management, and global dissemination of passive acoustic datasets and (2) efficiently extracting critical information and comparing it to other datasets in the context of ecosystem-based research and management. To address the former, the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information recently established an archive for passive acoustic data. This fast-growing archive currently contains over 100 TB of passive acoustic audio files mainly collected from stationary recorders throughout waters in the United States. These datasets are documented with standards-based metadata and are freely available to the public. To begin to address the latter, through standardized processing and centralized stewardship and access, we provide a previously unattainable comparison of first order sound level-patterns from archived data collected across three distinctly separate long-term passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) efforts conducted at regional and national scales: NOAA/National Park Service Ocean Noise Reference Station Network, the Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network, and the Sanctuary Soundscape Monitoring Project. Nine sites were selected from these projects covering the Alaskan Arctic, Northeast and Central Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Mid and Northwest Atlantic. Sites could generally be categorized into those strongly influenced by anthropogenic noise (e.g., vessel traffic) and those that were not. Higher sound levels, specifically for lower frequencies (<125 Hz), and proximity to densely populated coastal zones were common characteristics of sites influenced by anthropogenic noise. Conversely, sites with lower overall sound levels and away from dense populations resulted in soundscape patterns influenced by biological sources. Seasonal variability in sound levels across selected decidecade bands was apparent for most sites and often represented changes in the presence or behavior of sound-producing species. This first order examination of levels across projects highlights the utility of these initial metrics to identify patterns that can then be examined in more detail. Finally, to help the PAM community collectively and collaboratively move forward, we propose the next frontier for scalable data stewardship, access, and processing flow.

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