scholarly journals Post-fire movements of Pacific marten (Martes caurina) depend on the severity of landscape change

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Logan A. Volkmann ◽  
Karen E. Hodges
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Change ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Burn Severity ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Directed Movement ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Massive Scale ◽  
Forested Landscapes

Abstract Background Wildfires and forestry activities such as post-fire salvage logging are altering North American forests on a massive scale. Habitat change and fragmentation on forested landscapes may threaten forest specialists, such as Pacific marten (Martes caurina), that require closed, connected, and highly structured habitats. Although marten use burned landscapes, it is unclear how these animals respond to differing burn severities, or how well they tolerate additional landscape change from salvage logging. Methods We used snow tracking and GPS collars to examine marten movements in three large burns in north-central Washington, USA (burned in 2006) and central British Columbia, Canada (burned in 2010 and 2017). We also assessed marten habitat use in relation to areas salvage-logged in the 2010 burn. We evaluated marten path characteristics in relation to post-fire habitat quality, including shifts in behaviour when crossing severely-disturbed habitats. Using GPS locations, we investigated marten home range characteristics and habitat selection in relation to forest cover, burn severity, and salvage logging. Results Marten in the 2006 burn shifted from random to directed movement in areas burned at high severity; in BC, they chose highly straight paths when crossing salvage-blocks and meadows. Collared marten structured their home ranges around forest cover and burn severity, avoiding sparsely-covered habitats and selecting areas burned at low severity. Marten selected areas farther from roads in both Washington and BC, selected areas closer to water in the 2006 burn, and strongly avoided salvage-logged areas of the 2010 burn. Marten home ranges overlapped extensively, including two males tracked concurrently in the 2010 burn. Conclusions Areas burned at low severity provide critical habitat for marten post-fire. Encouragingly, our results indicate that both male and female marten can maintain home ranges in large burns and use a wide range of post-fire conditions. However, salvage-logged areas are not suitable for marten and may represent significant barriers to foraging and dispersal.

Influence of land development on home range use dynamics of female elk

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Webb ◽  
M. R. Dzialak ◽  
S. M. Harju ◽  
L. D. Hayden-Wing ◽  
J. B. Winstead
Keyword(s):  
Cervus Elaphus ◽  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Land Development ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Range Use ◽  
Adaptive Kernel ◽  
Core Areas ◽  
One Year

Context Many ungulate species exhibit strong site fidelity to previously established areas, particularly females. However, development of the landscape may cause animals to shift their distribution to more secure areas. Aims To determine range use dynamics (i.e. size and overlap of core areas and home ranges) of female elk (Cervus elaphus) relative to land development features (e.g. roads, well pads, buildings, developments, towns, etc.) after controlling for environmental features (i.e. forest cover). Methods During the four-year study, we fitted elk (n = 165) with GPS collars annually and programmed collars to attempt one location fix every 3 h (eight locations per day) for one year. Females (n = 18) were subsequently recaptured and refitted with GPS collars to provide range use dynamics of individual elk over two to three years. We calculated sizes of core areas and home ranges using adaptive kernel estimators, overlap between annual ranges, and establishment of ranges relative to land development. Key results Overlap of annual core areas (48.6%) and home ranges (67.9%) was high despite annual increases in land development. Sizes of core areas and home ranges and annual overlap (i.e. site fidelity) were negatively influenced by land development after controlling for forest cover. Conclusions These data reveal that female elk show high levels of site fidelity even in the presence of increasing annual land development. Females did not appear to abandon previously established areas, but used ranges in a manner that minimised interaction with development within these areas based on reductions in range use size and fidelity as land development increased. Implications To help mitigate impacts on elk, land development should be minimised and large areas of forest protected so elk can avoid areas associated with human activity.

scholarly journals Agricultural crops in the diet of bearded capuchin monkeys, Cebus libidinosus Spix (Primates: Cebidae), in forest fragments in southeast Brazil

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Henrique de Freitas ◽  
Eleonore Z. F. Setz ◽  
Alba R. B. Araújo ◽  
Nivar Gobbi
Keyword(s):  
Fruit Production ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Capuchin Monkeys ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Forest Fragments ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Plant Matter ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Cebus Libidinosus

Capuchin monkeys occupy a wide range of habitats where they feed on fruits, arthropods, and vertebrates. Their large home ranges (80-900 ha) suggest that living in forest fragments may challenge their adaptability. We identified and quantified the main food items of Cebus libidinosus Spix, 1823 in forests fragments (100 ha) in southeastern Brazil. We recorded the feeding activities of two groups using scan sampling over a 13-month period. The diet was composed of fruits, crops, animal prey, seeds, plant matter and undetermined. Fruit was eaten more in the wet season than in the dry season, and maize and sugar cane consumption peaked in the early dry season. The proportion of fruit in the diet was positively correlated with fruiting intensity of zoochorous trees. The plant diet included 54 species, with maize, Rhamnidium elaeocarpus, Acrocomia aculeata, Guazuma ulmifolia and Cariniana, being most important. Although dietary composition and diversity were similar to capuchins in larger forest fragments, feeding on crops attained higher percentages at times when zoochorous fruit production was low in fragments.

Bird research in the ACWERN lab at the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick

2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 548-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antony W Diamond
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Spatial Effects ◽  
Winter Habitat ◽  
Forested Landscapes ◽  
Carry Over ◽  
Species Specific

Research on forest bird ecology in the ACWERN (Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network) lab at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, since 1995 has focused on assessing the relative contributions of habitat quality at large (“landscape”) and small (“local” or “stand”) spatial scales. To do so we had to develop methods for assessing key demographic components of fitness (productivity and survival) at large spatial scales. The large extent of forest cover in the Maritimes contrasts with regions where such work has traditionally been carried out, in which forest is clearly fragmented by agriculture or residential development. Our main findings are that spatial effects in highly forested landscapes can often be detected only by using species-specific habitat models, rather than broader categories such as “mature” or “softwood”, that Blackburnian Warblers (Dendroica fusca) are effective indicators of mixedwood forest but define it differently than forest managers do, and that cavity nesters (e.g., woodpeckers) may require different habitat components for nesting and feeding and so cannot be managed for solely on the basis of providing snags for nesting. Our focus has shifted recently to intensive studies on a species at risk, Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli), which in New Brunswick breeds in man-made regenerating softwood forest stands, and assessing its response both to precommercial thinning of the breeding habitat and to effects carrying over from the winter habitat in the Caribbean. Key words: landscape effects, thresholds, survival, productivity, fitness, carry-over, habitat, fragmentation

scholarly journals Deer movement and resource selection during Hurricane Irma: implications for extreme climatic events and wildlife

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1916) ◽  
pp. 20192230 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. N. Abernathy ◽  
D. A. Crawford ◽  
E. P. Garrison ◽  
R. B. Chandler ◽  
M. L. Conner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Selection ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Behavioural Responses ◽  
Extreme Climatic Events ◽  
Demographic Effect ◽  
Hurricane Irma

Extreme climatic events (ECEs) are increasing in frequency and intensity and this necessitates understanding their influence on organisms. Animal behaviour may mitigate the effects of ECEs, but field studies are rare because ECEs are infrequent and unpredictable. Hurricane Irma made landfall in southwestern Florida where we were monitoring white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus seminolus ) with GPS collars. We report on an opportunistic case study of behavioural responses exhibited by a large mammal during an ECE, mitigation strategies for reducing the severity of the ECE effects, and the demographic effect of the ECE based on known-fate of individual animals. Deer altered resource selection by selecting higher elevation pine and hardwood forests and avoiding marshes. Most deer left their home ranges during Hurricane Irma, and the probability of leaving was inversely related to home range area. Movement rates increased the day of the storm, and no mortality was attributed to Hurricane Irma. We suggest deer mobility and refuge habitat allowed deer to behaviourally mitigate the negative effects of the storm, and ultimately, aid in survival. Our work contributes to the small but growing body of literature linking behavioural responses exhibited during ECEs to survival, which cumulatively will provide insight for predictions of a species resilience to ECEs and improve our understanding of how behavioural traits offset the negative impacts of global climate change.

scholarly journals Tuberculosis Epidemiology and Badger (Meles meles) Spatial Ecology in a Hot-Spot Area in Atlantic Spain

Pathogens ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pelayo Acevedo ◽  
Miguel Prieto ◽  
Pablo Quirós ◽  
Isabel Merediz ◽  
Lucía de Juan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Tuberculin Test ◽  
Meles Meles ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Spot Area ◽  
Preferred Habitat ◽  
Cattle Herds

We provide a temporal overview (from 2012 to 2018) of the outcomes of tuberculosis (TB) in the cattle and badger populations in a hot-spot in Asturias (Atlantic Spain). We also study the badger’s spatial ecology from an epidemiological perspective in order to describe hazardous behavior in relation to TB transmission between cattle and badgers. Culture and single intradermal tuberculin test (SITT) were available for cattle as part of the National Program for the Eradication of TB. A field survey was also carried out in order to determine the paddocks and buildings used by each farm, and the information obtained was stored by using geographic information systems. Moreover, eighty-three badgers were submitted for necropsy and subsequent bacteriological studies. Ten badgers were also tracked, using global positioning system (GPS) collars. The prevalence of TB in cattle herds in the hot-spot increased from 2.2% in 2012 to 20% in 2016; it then declined to 0.0% in 2018. In contrast, the TB prevalence in badgers increased notably (from 5.55% in 2012–2015 to 10.64% in 2016–2018). Both cattle and badgers shared the same strain of Mycobacterium bovis. The collared badgers preferred paddocks used by TB-positive herds in spring and summer (when they were more active). The males occupied larger home ranges than the females (Khr95: males 149.78 ± 25.84 ha and females 73.37 ± 22.91 ha; Kcr50: males 29.83 ± 5.69 ha and females 13.59 ± 5.00 ha), and the home ranges were smaller in autumn and winter than in summer. The averages of the index of daily and maximum distances traveled by badgers were 1.88 ± (SD) 1.20 km and 1.99 ± 0.71 km, respectively. One of them presented a dispersive behavior with a maximum range of 18.3 km. The most preferred habitat was apple orchards in all seasons, with the exception of winter, in which they preferred pastures. Land uses and landscape structure, which have been linked with certain livestock-management practices, provide a scenario of great potential for badger–cattle interactions, thus enhancing the importance of the badgers’ ecology, which could potentially transmit TB back to cattle in the future.

scholarly journals Stand Characteristics and Productivity Potential of Indiana Surface Mines Reclaimed Under SMCRA

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Groninger ◽  
Stephen D. Fillmore ◽  
Ron A. Rathfon
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Robinia Pseudoacacia ◽  
Surface Mining ◽  
Forest Productivity ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Green Ash ◽  
Surface Mines ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Productivity Potential

Abstract The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (SMCRA) addresses a wide range of environmental concerns. However, its impacts on forest stand development and productive potential have only recently been investigated. We surveyed the vegetation and forest productivity on 22 surfacemine sites throughout the coal-bearing region of Indiana that were reclaimed to forest cover under the provisions of SMCRA 7–14 years prior to sampling. Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) were the most widely occurring tree species.Tall fescue and goldenrod were the most widely occurring nonarborescent species. Median site index (base age 50 for black oak) was 30 ft. Although satisfying forest cover stocking requirements for bond release, these reclaimed surface mines almost always displayed a level of productivity farbelow those of native forests typical of this region. Reclamation techniques differing from those used on these study sites are needed to restore forest productivity to surface-mined lands while still complying with SMCRA.

scholarly journals Seed Removal Rates in Forest Remnants Respond to Forest Loss at the Landscape Scale

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1144
Author(s):  
Alain Hambuckers ◽  
Franck Trolliet ◽  
Astrid Simon ◽  
Eliana Cazetta ◽  
Larissa Rocha-Santos
Keyword(s):  
Forest Cover ◽  
Removal Rate ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Fast Method ◽  
Seed Removal ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Forest Remnants ◽  
Forested Landscapes ◽  
Plant Animal Interactions

Seed removal is a key component of seed dispersal and may be influenced by both landscape-scale and local attributes, and it has been used as an indicator of the intensity of interactions between ecosystem components. We examined how the seed removal rates, which integrate the activity of seed dispersers and seed predators, vary with landscape-scale forest cover. We collected data under 34 trees belonging to two zoochoric species (Helicostylis tomentosa (Poepp. and Endl.) J. F. Macbr. and Inga vera Willd.) in 17 remnants in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, with different percentages of forest cover. The seed removal rate was estimated using a fast method based on the abundance of intact fruits and fruit scraps on the ground. The amount of forest cover affected the rate of seed removal in a humpbacked shape, with a maximum seed removal rate at intermediate forest cover. Seed removal rates must be related to the amount of food resources offered and diversity of dispersers and predators in the region. In landscapes with intermediate forest amount, there is a better balance between supply and demand for fruits, leading to a higher seed removal rate than more deforested or forested landscape. Our results also show that local factors, such as crop size and canopy surface, together with forest cover amount, are also important to the removal rate, depending on the species. In addition, our results showed that plant–animal interactions are occurring in all fragments, but the health status of these forests is similar to disturbed forests, even in sites immersed in forested landscapes.

scholarly journals Spatial dynamics and activity patterns of the fosa Cryptoprocta ferox in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar: carnivores navigating a human-influenced landscape

Oryx ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 837-846
Author(s):  
Eileen Wyza ◽  
Luke Dollar ◽  
Leon Pierrot Rahajanirina ◽  
Viorel Popescu ◽  
Nancy J. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Gps Collars ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Cryptoprocta Ferox ◽  
Human Habitation

AbstractThe Vulnerable fosa Cryptoprocta ferox is the largest native carnivore in Madagascar, fulfilling a unique ecological niche in the island's remaining forests. Negative interactions with humans threaten the long-term viability of most remaining fosa populations across Madagascar. Threats to the fosa include habitat loss and persecution by humans resulting from perceived predation on domestic animals. We used GPS collars to record space use and activity patterns of five fosas in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar, during the dry seasons of 2016 and 2017. The results, with up to 2,110 recorded locations per individual, indicated fosas’ home ranges and movements were not limited to the forest, and all collared individuals used networks of habitat patches and corridors to navigate deforested areas. The fosas studied in Ankarafantsika National Park had significantly larger home ranges than those reported in previous studies in other protected areas. They were rarely found within village boundaries and appeared to avoid areas of human habitation, suggesting that during the study period livestock was not a significant component of the fosas’ diet in this Park. Our results suggest that fosas have some flexibility that enables them to adapt to living near deforested and human-dominated areas by altering their space-use patterns, but they are compensating by increasing their home range size.

scholarly journals Observations of a Coniferous Forest at 9.6 and 17.2 GHz: Implications for SWE Retrievals

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Thompson ◽  
Richard Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Snow Water Equivalent ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Snow Accumulation ◽  
Ancillary Data ◽  
Volume Scattering ◽  
Component Decomposition ◽  
Forested Landscapes

UWScat, a ground-based Ku- and X-band scatterometer, was used to compare forested and non-forested landscapes in a terrestrial snow accumulation environment as part of the NASA SnowEx17 field campaign. Field observations from Trail Valley Creek, Northwest Territories; Tobermory, Ontario; and the Canadian Snow and Ice Experiment (CASIX) campaign in Churchill, Manitoba, were also included. Limited sensitivity to snow was observed at 9.6 GHz, while the forest canopy attenuated the signal from sub-canopy snow at 17.2 GHz. Forested landscapes were distinguishable using the volume scattering component of the Freeman–Durden three-component decomposition model by applying a threshold in which values ≥50% indicated forested landscape. It is suggested that the volume scattering component of the decomposition can be used in current snow water equivalent (SWE) retrieval algorithms in place of the forest cover fraction (FF), which is an optical surrogate for microwave scattering and relies on ancillary data. The performance of the volume scattering component of the decomposition was similar to that of FF when used in a retrieval scheme. The primary benefit of this method is that it provides a current, real-time estimate of the forest state, it automatically accounts for the incidence angle and canopy structure, and it provides coincident information on the forest canopy without the use of ancillary data or modeling, which is especially important in remote regions. Additionally, it enables the estimation of forest canopy transmissivity without ancillary data. This study also demonstrates the use of these frequencies in a forest canopy application, and the use of the Freeman–Durden three-component decomposition on scatterometer observations in a terrestrial snow accumulation environment.

Salvage harvesting – past lessons and future issues

2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Lindenmayer
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Forest Planning ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Natural Resource Managers ◽  
Salvage Harvesting

The increasing prevalence and/or increasing intensity of large-scale natural disturbance events in forests means that post-disturbance salvage logging is becoming more widespread. Salvage logging can have a wide range of environmental impacts, but some of these are not well known or not well understood by policy makers and natural resource managers. Some of these impacts are briefly summarized in this paper. Improved long-term forest planning needs to be embraced that takes into account the not only the environmental but also the social and environmental impacts of salvage harvesting. Past mistakes and future opportunities associated with salvage harvesting are illustrated by a case study from the Lower Cotter Catchment in south-eastern Australia. Key words: salvage harvesting, natural disturbance, environmental impacts, ecologically sustainable forestry, forest planning, long-term forest sustainability

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