Are artificial agricultural ponds a suitable alternative nesting habitat for the Little Ringed Plover?

Climatic scenarios for the Mediterranean predict an increase in drought and erratic precipitation, which may affect waterbirds breeding in freshwater habitats. Artificial wetlands may provide an alternative for these species when conditions in natural habitats deteriorate. We studied Little Ringed Plovers Charadrius dubius nesting in natural streams and agricultural ponds in southern Portugal. Based on 24 nests and 31 colour-ringed adults, we describe nest-site characteristics, breeding parameters and site fidelity. In streams, nests (n = 17) were in sites with more abundant and coarser gravel, while in ponds there was more vegetation around the nest (n = 7). In both habitats, nests were close and at similar distances to water, but this was unrelated to nest outcome (success of 30.8% across habitats). Nest failure in natural streams was mostly attributable to flooding after heavy rains, while in agricultural ponds cattle trampling was the main cause of failure. Based on their renesting capacity and relatively high breeding site fidelity (25%–36% return rate to same area), we suggest that Little Ringed Plovers may trade-off the overall better conditions of natural streams (i.e. higher availability of nesting substrate, food resources and lower disturbance from cattle) against the stochastic risk of floods. Nevertheless, under current predictions of climate change, agricultural ponds can provide more stable and reliable nesting conditions for this and other species, as unpredictable changes in Mediterranean streams’ flooding regimen may become more frequent. Despite the limitations of our dataset, we provide novel information on the breeding biology of this understudied species and highlight its potential for future research.

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Relationships between gregarine infection in damselflies, wetland type, and landscape characteristics

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/n11-028 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 143 (5) ◽

pp. 460-469 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Julia J. Mlynarek ◽

Daniel G. Bert ◽

G. Haydeé Peralta-Vázquez ◽

Joanna A. James ◽

Mark R. Forbes

Keyword(s):

Forest Cover ◽

Road Density ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Artificial Wetlands ◽

Wetland Type ◽

Landscape Characteristics ◽

Natural Wetlands ◽

Ischnura Verticalis ◽

Host Parasite ◽

Wetland Cover

AbstractAlthough human-modified landscapes are characterized by the loss of natural habitats, new habitats also can be created and exploited by many species. The importance of landscape change to invertebrate associations (particularly host-parasite associations) is understudied. Our objective was to determine whether prevalence and intensity of gregarine parasitism in the damselfly Ischnura verticalis (Say) (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) differed between 17 artificial and 7 natural wetlands in landscapes that varied in amount of forest and wetland cover and road density determined at spatial extents of 500m and 1km from each wetland. Wetlands were located in and around Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. Wetland type did not account for significant variation in principal components based on forest and wetland cover and road density at either spatial extent. Gregarine prevalence was higher in damselflies collected from natural wetlands than in those collected from artificial wetlands and was positively associated with increasing forest cover. In contrast, gregarine intensity was inversely related to road density. Our results suggest that parasitism of damselflies by gregarines is associated with wetland type and landscape characteristics, although the mechanisms producing such relationships are unknown.

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Numerical assessment in the wild: insights from social carnivores

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2016.0508 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 373 (1740) ◽

pp. 20160508 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Sarah Benson-Amram ◽

Geoff Gilfillan ◽

Karen McComb

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Future Research ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Playback Experiments ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Numerical Assessment ◽

Individual Discrimination ◽

In Captivity ◽

Assessment Skills ◽

In The Wild

Playback experiments have proved to be a useful tool to investigate the extent to which wild animals understand numerical concepts and the factors that play into their decisions to respond to different numbers of vocalizing conspecifics. In particular, playback experiments have broadened our understanding of the cognitive abilities of historically understudied species that are challenging to test in the traditional laboratory, such as members of the Order Carnivora. Additionally, playback experiments allow us to assess the importance of numerical information versus other ecologically important variables when animals are making adaptive decisions in their natural habitats. Here, we begin by reviewing what we know about quantity discrimination in carnivores from studies conducted in captivity. We then review a series of playback experiments conducted with wild social carnivores, including African lions, spotted hyenas and wolves, which demonstrate that these animals can assess the number of conspecifics calling and respond based on numerical advantage. We discuss how the wild studies complement those conducted in captivity and allow us to gain insights into why wild animals may not always respond based solely on differences in quantity. We then consider the key roles that individual discrimination and cross-modal recognition play in the ability of animals to assess the number of conspecifics vocalizing nearby. Finally, we explore new directions for future research in this area, highlighting in particular the need for further work on the cognitive basis of numerical assessment skills and experimental paradigms that can be effective in both captive and wild settings. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The origins of numerical abilities’.

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Does Breeding Site Fidelity Drive Phenotypic and Genetic Sub-Structuring of a Population of Arctic Charr?

Evolutionary Ecology ◽

10.1007/s10682-005-2489-4 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 11-26 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Colin E. Adams ◽

Deborah J. Hamilton ◽

Ian Mccarthy ◽

Alastair J. Wilson ◽

Alan Grant ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Site Fidelity ◽

Arctic Charr ◽

Breeding Site

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University campuses can contribute to wildlife conservation in urbanizing regions: a case study from Nigeria

Journal of Threatened Taxa ◽

10.11609/jott.6316.12.13.16736-16741 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (13) ◽

pp. 16736-16741

Author(s):

Iliyasu Simon ◽

Jennifer Che ◽

Lynne Baker

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Energy Use ◽

Predictor Variable ◽

Camera Traps ◽

Future Research ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

University Campuses ◽

Disturbed Areas ◽

Cricetomys Gambianus

Globally, colleges and universities are increasingly mandating sustainability and environmental protection into their practices. To date, such institutions have focused their efforts on recycling and energy-use reduction and less on the management and conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitats. However, in an increasingly urbanizing world, well-managed campuses can provide habitat and even refuge for wildlife species. On the campus of a sustainability-minded university in Nigeria, we used camera traps to determine the presence of wildlife and used occupancy modeling to evaluate factors that influenced the detectability and habitat use of two mammals for which we had sufficient detections: White-tailed Mongoose Ichneumia albicauda and Gambian Rat Cricetomys gambianus. Our intent was to gather baseline data on campus wildlife to inform future research and make recommendations for maintaining wildlife populations. We detected wildlife primarily within less-disturbed areas that contained a designated nature area, and the presence of a nature area was the key predictor variable influencing habitat use. No measured variables influenced detectability. This study supports other research that highlights the importance of undisturbed or minimally disturbed natural habitats on university campuses for wildlife, especially in increasingly built-up and developed regions. We recommend that institutions of higher education devote greater resources to making campuses wildlife-friendly and increase opportunities for students to engage in campus-based wildlife research and conservation and other sustainability-related programs.

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Breeding site fidelity, and breeding pair infidelity in the endangered Carnaby’s Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris

Nature Conservation ◽

10.3897/natureconservation.27.27243 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. 59-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Denis A. Saunders ◽

Nicole E. White ◽

Rick Dawson ◽

Peter R. M. Mawson

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

Site Fidelity ◽

Breeding Site ◽

Breeding Population ◽

Breeding Pair ◽

Breeding Attempt ◽

The Stability

The ecology and behaviour of the endangered Carnaby’s Cockatoo Calyptorhynchuslatirostris have been studied in detail at Coomallo Creek in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia from 1969 until the present. Results of research on this breeding population conducted on individually marked birds from 1970 to 1990 were compared with results from analyses of DNA taken from nestlings in the study area from 2003, 2005, and each year from 2009 to 2013. Analyses of DNA confirmed earlier findings about the stability of adult breeding pairs, and that females used the same breeding hollow they used previously, provided the hollow was not occupied when they returned to breed. When moving to another hollow, they chose a hollow in the same vicinity of the previous hollow. Analyses in 22 cases where DNA was obtained from both nestlings of a breeding attempt revealed that in six (27.3%) cases, the second egg was fertilised by a male not paired with the female. These extra-pair copulations were not suspected during the earlier study based on observations of individually marked birds.

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Breeding site fidelity of blue‐winged teal in South Dakota

Journal of Wildlife Management ◽

10.1002/jwmg.21682 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 83 (5) ◽

pp. 1143-1150

Author(s):

Bruce W. Toay ◽

Randell R. Meidinger ◽

Kaylan M. Kemink

Keyword(s):

South Dakota ◽

Site Fidelity ◽

Breeding Site

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Functional Divergence Drives Invasibility of Plant Communities at the Edges of a Resource Availability Gradient

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12040148 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 148 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Enrico Tordoni ◽

Francesco Petruzzellis ◽

Andrea Nardini ◽

Giovanni Bacaro

Keyword(s):

Drought Resistance ◽

Resource Availability ◽

Native Species ◽

Functional Divergence ◽

Environmental Filtering ◽

Functional Space ◽

Future Research ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Niche Divergence ◽

Functional Features

Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are a serious threat to biodiversity, severely affecting natural habitats and species assemblages. However, no consistent empirical evidence emerged on which functional traits or trait combination may foster community invasibility. Novel insights on the functional features promoting community invasibility may arise from the use of mechanistic traits, like those associated with drought resistance, which have been seldom included in trait-based studies. Here, we tested for the functional strategies of native and invasive assemblage (i.e., environmental filtering hypothesis vs. niche divergence), and we assessed how the functional space determined by native species could influence community invasibility at the edges of a resource availability gradient. Our results showed that invasive species pools need to have a certain degree of differentiation in order to persist in highly invaded communities, suggesting that functional niche divergence may foster community invasibility. In addition, resident native communities more susceptible to invasion are those which, on average, have higher resource acquisition capacity, and lower drought resistance coupled with an apparently reduced water-use efficiency. We advocate the use of a mechanistic perspective in future research to comprehensively understand invasion dynamics, providing also new insights on the factors underlying community invasibility in different ecosystems.

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