Knowledge of habitat preferences applied to habitat management: the case of an endangered tortoise population

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Vilardell-Bartino ◽  
Albert Vilardell-Bartino ◽  
Xavier Capalleras ◽  
Albert Vilardell-Bartino ◽  
Xavier Capalleras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Barren Land

To avoid the possible extinction of the last native population of western Hermann’s tortoise in the Iberian Peninsula it is essential to make sound management decisions. Knowledge of macro and microhabitat use and home range size has considerable practical value for land managers. With this aim we first studied the home range and habitat preferences in western Hermann’s tortoises by radio tracking 15 adults weekly from March 2008 to May 2009 in three localities within the Albera population range (NE Iberian Peninsula). We estimated home ranges with Fixed Kernel estimator (FK) and Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) after checking tortoise site fidelity. We observed that home range size did not differ significantly between males and females (mean FK = 2.01 ha, mean MCP = 3.01 ha). Secondly, we studied macrohabitat selection using a vegetation map. Preferred habitats were open shrubland, open forest and barren land during the activity period, and dense forest, dense shrubland and open shrubland during the hibernation. Next, we assessed microhabitat selection along five periods of the annual cycle: hibernation, emergence from hibernation, spring, summer and autumn. We then located marked tortoises weekly and classified the plant species observed in each location. Principal component analyses showed that tortoises selected shrubs with trees during hibernation, bramble during summer and herbaceous habitat during the breeding season. All these results can provide guidelines for management programs that set aside areas of habitat critical to conserve viable populations, although it is also important to prevent mortality from forestry works. We therefore tested a new brush cutter head accessory to achieve tortoise-safe undergrowth clearing. To this aim we distributed 52 frozen hybrid tortoises among eight plots of 100 m2, cleared six of these plots with the accessory and two without it, and evaluated the scars of the blade on caparaces. We observed no damage in plots that were cleared with the accessory but scars in most carapaces in the plots cleared without it (with potential mortality ranging from 40% in neonates to 100% in adults). These results outline the importance of supporting habitat management decisions with proper field studies.

scholarly journals Home range expansion in response to temperature by evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in an urban environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Hall ◽  
Victoria Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Green Spaces ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Urban Green Spaces

Abstract Background: Despite the negative connotation of urban sprawl for bat populations, fragmented green spaces such as parks, cemeteries, and golf courses have the potential to provide necessary resources for bats. For example, water resources in these areas can include natural or semi-natural lakes, ponds, streams, and drainage ditches. Such water resources, however, are frequently ephemeral when subject to prolonged periods of high temperatures. We, therefore, hypothesize that bats will expand or shift their home ranges from these urban green spaces into the surrounding neighborhoods to access alternative resources, such as residential swimming pools. Methods: To explore whether bats expand their ranges from urban green spaces, we conducted a telemetry study in which we radio-tracked resident evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) in a local park system during their summer activity period from 2017-2019 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. From radio-tracking surveys, we measured home range size using a k-LoCoH method and the percentage of these home ranges that fell within the park system. We compared these variables using linear and non-linear regressions with temperature. Results: We successfully tracked a total of 30 bats over the 3-year period and found a positive correlation between home range size and temperature. Furthermore, we observed that home ranges increased 6 times in size when temperatures exceeded 30ºC. Conclusions: Our study indicates the importance of urban neighborhoods surrounding green spaces in providing alternative resources, such as water, for bats. If managed appropriately, these urban areas have the potential to act as urban oases for bat populations, which in turn can contribute to their conservation.

scholarly journals Coarse- and fine-scale patterns of distribution and habitat selection places an Amazonian floodplain curassow in double jeopardy

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel A. Leite ◽  
Izeni P. Farias ◽  
André L. S. Gonçalves ◽  
Joseph E. Hawes ◽  
Carlos A. Peres
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Extinction Risk ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Conservation Strategy ◽  
Fine Scale

Patterns of habitat selection are influenced by local productivity, resource availability, and predation risk. Species have taken millions of years to hone the macro- and micro-habitats they occupy, but these may now overlap with contemporary human threats within natural species ranges. Wattled Curassow (Crax globulosa), an endemic galliform species of the western Amazon, is threatened by both hunting and habitat loss, and is restricted to white-water floodplain forests of major Amazonian rivers. In this study conducted along the Juruá River, Amazonas, Brazil, we quantified the ranging ecology and fine-scale patterns of habitat selection of the species. We estimated the home range size of C. globulosa using conventional VHF telemetry. To estimate patterns of habitat selection, we used geo-locations of day ranges to examine the extent and intensity of use across the floodplain, which were then compared to a high-resolution flood map of the study area. We captured two females and one male, which we monitored for 13 months between September 2014 and September 2015. Average home range size was 283 ha, based on the 95% aLoCoH estimator. Wattled Curassows selected areas of prolonged flood pulses (six to eight months/year) and had a consistent tendency to be near open water, usually in close proximity to river banks and lakes, especially during the dry season. Amazonian floodplains are densely settled, and the small portions of floodplain habitat used by Wattled Curassows are both the most accessible to hunters and most vulnerable to deforestation. As a result, the geographic and ecological distribution of Wattled Curassows places them at much higher extinction risk at multiple spatial scales, highlighting the need to consider habitat preferences within their conservation strategy.

Spatial-Organization and Movement Patterns of Adult Male Platypus, Ornithorhynchus-Anatinus (Monotremata, Ornithorhynchidae)

1995 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL Gardner ◽  
M Serena
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Activity Period ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Ornithorhynchus Anatinus ◽  
Different Parts

Home-range size and overlap and movement patterns of adult male platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, occupying streams in southern Victoria were investigated near the start of the breeding season using radio-tracking techniques. On the basis of a sample of males monitored for four or more complete activity periods, home-range size varied from 2.9 to 7.0 km, with individuals (n = 4) moving a mean net distance of 2.0 +/- 1.4 km per activity period. Longer-range movements were also observed, with one male travelling at least 15 km from one stream catchment to another via an intervening stretch of river. Some home ranges of males were mutually exclusive whereas others overlapped substantially; in the latter case, males largely avoided each other, spending most of their time in different parts of the shared area. All home ranges of males apparently overlapped those of two or more adult females. Three patterns of travel over complete activity periods were recognised, including unidirectional travel (point A to B), return travel (A to B to A) and multidirectional travel with multiple, relatively short-range backtracking. Males occupying overlapping areas often moved multidirectionally and rarely undertook unidirectional travel, whereas the converse applied to males occupying exclusive areas.

The effect of habitat management on home-range size and survival of rural Norway rat populations

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1753-1761 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Lambert ◽  
R. J. Quy ◽  
R. H. Smith ◽  
D. P. Cowan
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Norway Rat

Use of urban bushland remnants by the western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis): short-term home-range size and habitat use in Albany, Western Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronte E. Van Helden ◽  
Peter C. Speldewinde ◽  
Paul G. Close ◽  
Sarah J. Comer
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Habitat Management ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Eucalyptus Marginata ◽  
Ringtail Possum

Management of wildlife in habitats fragmented by urbanisation requires an understanding of a species’ habitat use. Known populations of the critically endangered western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) are largely restricted to bushland remnants in rapidly urbanising areas of south-western Australia. Habitat use is thought to be driven by nutritional content, structure and connectivity of canopy vegetation. At the southernmost extent of the species’ range, habitat use is largely unknown, although it is expected to be different from previous descriptions due to differences in vegetation characteristics. We used VHF and global positioning system tracking collars to determine short-term home-range size, diurnal refuge use and night-time tree use of western ringtail possums in bushland remnants within Albany City. Possums had small home ranges (0.88 ha) that were negatively correlated with percentage canopy cover; used a variety of daytime refuges (predominantly dreys); and preferentially utilised marri (Corymbia calophylla) and jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) at night. These results confirm that differences in habitat use among populations exist and suggests that the species is reasonably flexible in its use of habitat. Management of western ringtail possums needs to be population specific and will benefit from further examination of habitat use in the variety of occupied habitats.

scholarly journals HOME-RANGE SIZE, RESPONSE TO FIRE, AND HABITAT PREFERENCES OF WINTERING HENSLOW'S SPARROWS

2005 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
CATHERINE L. BECHTOLDT ◽  
PHILIP C. STOUFFER
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size

Foraging Habitat, Home-Range Size and Diet of a Mediterranean Bat Species, Savi's Pipistrelle

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 351
Author(s):  
Marina Kipson ◽  
Martin Šálek ◽  
Radek Lučan ◽  
Marcel Uhrin ◽  
Edita Maxinová ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Foraging Habitat

scholarly journals Green morays (Gymnothorax funebris) have sedentary ways in mangrove bays, but also ontogenetic forays to reef enclaves

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew S. Kendall ◽  
Laughlin Siceloff ◽  
Ashley Ruffo ◽  
Arliss Winship ◽  
Mark E. Monaco
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Caribbean Region ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Site ◽  
Single Night ◽  
Exploratory Movements ◽  
Moray Eel

AbstractSurprisingly, little is known about basic life history of the largest moray eel species in the Caribbean region, the green moray eel (Gymnothorax funebris). Sixteen eels were captured from the mangrove fringe in multiple bays on St. Croix, USVI, implanted with coded acoustic transmitters, and their movements were tracked for up to 11 months using an array of 37 stationary acoustic receivers. They exhibited high site fidelity in the bays during their residence, using the same general parts of individual bays and did not switch bays except for one individual. There was no relationship between eel size (mean TL = 83 cm, range = 54–126 cm) and home range size (mean area of 95% KUD = 5.8 ha ± 0.7 SE). Most individuals were more frequently detected at night than during the day suggesting greater nocturnal activity. Several of the larger eels (mean TL = 93 cm ± 5.9 SE) showed clear and permanent emigration tracks out of the mangrove estuary to coral reef habitats offshore. For some individuals, these habitat shifts were preceded by exploratory movements away from the eel’s typical home range the night before emigration. All final emigration events took place nocturnally, happened during a single night, and occurred during months from December to May. Mean emigration speed was 3.4 km/h. This study is the first documentation of an ontogenetic habitat shift in moray eels, as well as the first determination of home range size for this species and their site fidelity in mangrove habitats.

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