Seasonal Changes In Group Size And Foraging Activity In An Urban Population Of Magpies (Pica Pica)

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-87
Author(s):  
Leszek Jerzak ◽  
Olaf Ciebiera ◽  
Joerg Boehner

Abstract We studied seasonal variation in group size and feeding activity in an urban population of Magpies in Zielona Góra, Western Poland. Each month from 1984 to 1987 we counted the species along a 10 km transect across the city and noted the number of single birds, pairs and flocks as well as flock size. In 1999 and 2000 we regularly observed Magpies foraging on the lawns of a park of Zielona Góra and recorded the number of pecks, as a measure for feeding activity. Magpies were most often encountered as single birds in April and May, as pairs in March, and in flocks in August. This pattern is predominantly dictated by the constraints of the breeding season and by reproductive success. The mean flock size was highest in August. Pecking rate showed a minimum in the summer months, with no sex-specific difference. However, males were much more active in foraging during winter, probably due to their larger body size and the respective higher energetic requirements.

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Kopij

Abstract In late autumn 2004, 160 dreys were found in all parks in Wroclaw (N=21 parks), i.e. 2.8 dreys per 10 ha. In the same period, 145 squirrels, grouped in 69 families, were counted in all these parks (1.23 families per 10 ha). The mean group size (including records of single squirrels) was 1.93 (SD = 1.04; N = 157). The density estimate based on this (number of dreys/mean number of dreys per group) shall be 1.40 families per 10 ha, therefore close to the value based on the number of squirrels counted. Squirrels were most common (64% of all squirrels recorded in parks) in largest parks located c. 2-7 km from the city centre. In forests (N = 12), squirrels density was much lower than in parks (0.1-0.3 families per 10 ha).


Author(s):  
T.S. Sraiyl ◽  
◽  
B. Ieszhanov ◽  

The article presents on observations made in the period from 2019 to 2021 and contains research materials on the distribution and seasonal changes of the avifauna of the city of Turkestan. The main research method is route and 5-minute boundary control. As a result of the study, it was found that 70 species of birds belonging to 11 orders live in various landscape areas of the city of Turkestan. Among them 5 species of Columbiformеs, 45 species of Passeriformes, 6 species of Falconiformes, 2 types of Ciconiiformess, 2 species of Caprimulgiformes, 2 species of Strigiformes, 2 species of Piciformes, 1 species of Cuculiformes, 2 types of Apodiformes and 2 species of Galliformes. The variety of birds varies by season. 14 species were recorded in winter, 51-in spring, 63-in summer and 39-in autumn. The location of birds on the territory also varies depending on the season. Insectivorous (51.0 %) and granivores (43.0 %) birds occupy the leading positions in the main component of the food composition. The most extensive spectrum is found on the territory of park areas: up to 20 species have been recorded there. The avifauna of open spaces and multi-storey structures is poor, there are 9 species and 5 of them nest. In the course of determining the number of birds in the city, several dominant species were identified. These are: A Pica pica from the family of Corvidae, а сorvus corone, a Passer domesticus from the family of Passeridae.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
R. D. Oktyabrskiy

The article is devoted to the justification of the need to reduce the population density in the residential development of cities. The analysis of vulnerability of the urban population from threats of emergency situations of peace and war time, and also an assessment of provision of the city by a road network is given. Proposals have been formulated to reduce the vulnerability of the urban population in the long term and to eliminate traffic congestion and congestion — jams.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-91
Author(s):  
Elena E. Rinchinova ◽  
Diyara A. Takumova ◽  
Irina I. Bochkareva

The article discusses main issues of organizing activities for the treatment of stray and street animals in the city of Novosibirsk. The important role of successful solving the problem of stray animals in ensuring environmental comfort and safety of the urban population is noted. Definitions of the concepts “stray animals” and “street animals” are given, the differences between them are emphasized. The main regulatory and legal documents governing the handling of stray and street animals are listed. The ways in which domestic animals get into a stray state are described briefly. The results of the collection and analysis of information on the activities of shelters for stray animals in Novosibirsk are described. The information on the quantitative indicators of the shelters are given. Conclusions on how to solve the problem of stray animals, relying on the latest regulations are drawn.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (March 2018) ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A Okanlawon ◽  
O.O Odunjo ◽  
S.A Olaniyan

This study examined Residents’ evaluation of turning transport infrastructure (road) to spaces for holding social ceremonies in the indigenous residential zone of Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. Upon stratifying the city into the three identifiable zones, the core, otherwise known as the indigenous residential zone was isolated for study. Of the twenty (20) political wards in the two local government areas of the town, fifteen (15) wards that were located in the indigenous zone constituted the study area. Respondents were selected along one out of every three (33.3%) of the Trunk — C (local) roads being the one mostly used for the purpose in the study area. The respondents were the residents, commercial motorists, commercial motorcyclists, and celebrants. Six hundred and forty-two (642) copies of questionnaire were administered and harvested on the spot. The Mean Analysis generated from the respondents’ rating of twelve perceived hazards listed in the questionnaire were then used to determine respondents’ most highly rated perceived consequences of the practice. These were noisy environment, Blockage of drainage by waste, and Endangering the life of the sick on the way to hospital; the most highly rated reasons why the practice came into being; and level of acceptability of the practice which was found to be very unacceptable in the study area. Policy makers should therefore focus their attention on strict enforcement of the law prohibiting the practice in order to ensure more cordial relationship among the citizenry, seeing citizens’ unacceptability of the practice in the study area.


1970 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shurovi Sayeed ◽  
Akhter Banu ◽  
Parvin Akter Khanam ◽  
Sharmina Alauddin ◽  
Sabrina Makbul ◽  
...  

Bangladeshis are prone to develop type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), hypertension (sHTN and dHTN) and atherosclerotic heart diseases, observed more predominantly in the urban population. Though metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a related disorder, there are few studies in this regard. The prevalence of obesity, T2DM and MetS in three urban communities of Bangladesh were addressed in this study. Nine hundred non-slum urban households in three Dhaka City Wards were randomly selected. One member (age ≥ 25y) from each household was invited for investigation with an overnight fast. Socio-demographic information as well as height, weight, waist-girth, hip-girth and blood pressure were measured. Fasting plasma glucose (FPG), total cholesterol (chol), triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoproteins-c (HDL) were estimated. A total of 705 (m / f = 239 / 466) subjects volunteered for the study. The mean value with 95% confidence interval (CI) of age was 42.4 (40.9 - 43.1) years for men and 37.8 (36.8 - 38.7) for women. The mean (CI) body mass index (BMI) was 21.0 (20.6 - 21.5) and 22.6 (22.2 - 22.9) and waist hip ratio (WHR) was 0.84 (0.83 - 0.84) and 0.82 (0.81 - 0.83), respectively for men and women. The mean (CI) FPG (fasting plasma glucose) was 5.5 (5.2 - 5.7) for men and 5.2 (5.0 - 5.4) for women. The prevalence of obesity (BMI ≥ 25.0) was 21%, T2DM (FPG ≥ 6.1 mmol/l) was 22.2%, triglyceridemia (TG ≥ 150mg/dl) was 45.1% and low HDL-c (HDL<40mg/ dl) was 43.8%. The crude prevalence of MetS varied based on different cluster combinations, being the lowest (0.3%) recommended by WHO cluster (FPG + BMI + SBP/DBP) and the highest (8.7%) by International Diabetes Federation (IDF) cluster (waist + FPG + HDL). The MetS was found higher in male than female by NCEP criteria and higher in female than male by IDF criteria. The study revealed an increased prevalence of obesity, T2DM and MetS in the urban communities. It also revealed that T2DM and MetS are moderately common and of growing healthcare burden in the rapidly growing urban population. Additionally, the study observed the wide ranging prevalence rates of MetS in the same study population indicating the need to establish a consistent and useful MetS-cluster depending on population characteristics. Ibrahim Med. Coll. J. 2008; 2(2): 44-48 Key Words: Metabolic syndrome, urban, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia   doi: 10.3329/imcj.v2i2.2936


Author(s):  
Xiaorong Jiang ◽  
Wei Wei ◽  
Shenglan Wang ◽  
Tao Zhang ◽  
Chengpeng Lu

The COVID-19 epidemic has become a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Thus, this sudden health incident has brought great risk and pressure to the city with dense population flow. A deep understanding of the migration characteristics and laws of the urban population in China will play a very positive role in the prevention and control of the epidemic situation. Based on Baidu location-based service (LBS) big data, using complex networks method and geographic visualization tools, this paper explores the spatial structure evolution of population flow network (PFN) in 368 cities of China under different traffic control situations. Effective distance models and linear regression models were established to analyze how the population flow across cities affects the spread of the epidemic. Our findings show that: (1) the scope of population flow is closely related to the administrative level of the city and the traffic control policies in various cities which adjust with the epidemic situation; The PFN mainly presents the hierarchical structure dominated by the urban hierarchy and the regional isolation structure adjacent to the geographical location.(2) through the analysis network topology structure of PFN, it is found that only the first stage has a large clustering coefficient and a relatively short average path length, which conforms to the characteristics of small world network. The epidemic situation has a great impact on the network topology in other stages, and the network structure tends to be centralized. (3) The overall migration scale of the whole country decreased by 36.85% compared with the same period of last year’s lunar calendar, and a further reduction of 78.52% in the nationwide traffic control stage after the festival. (4) Finally, based on the comparison of the effective distance and the spatial distance from the Wuhan to other destination cities, it is demonstrated that there is a higher correlation between the effective distance and the epidemic spread both in Hubei province and the whole country.


1923 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Graham Forbes

1. The bacterial content of the air of the Underground Railways, when the average of all results of the bacteriological investigations is taken, does not numerically compare unfavourably with the outside air of London.2. The ratio of the number of organisms growing at room temperature appears to be about 14 for railway air to 10 outside air. For those growing at body temperature the ratio is considerably higher, namely 2 to 1 respectively. The mean per litre, for room temperature organisms, is about 9 in railway air, 6·3 in the outside air; for body temperature organisms 4·6 for railway air, 2·2 for outside air.3. The bacterial content of platform air, except on the City and South London Railway, would appear to be higher than that of carriage air; the total mean for platform air being 52 and for carriage air 42·8 organisms per 5 litres, or a ratio of 16·4 and 13·5 respectively to 10 of the open air. The higher proportion in platform air is generally speaking to be accounted for by the greater amount of draught and dust disturbance.4. The ratios of the total bacterial content of railway carriage air and carriage and platform air on the six lines to open air are estimated in the following proportions:


Author(s):  
Nadezhda V. Dulina ◽  
◽  
Evgeniya V. Anufrieva ◽  

In order to study the feminization process of the Russian city, the article compares statistical data on a number of indicators for 2015 and 2019–2020. In the course of the analysis an asymmetry in the urban population is revealed: (there are more women than men). It is shown how the ratio of women to men in employment has changed during the study period. As well the article defines those areas in which women lead. The authors outline a range of works studying the feminization phenomenon in social processes, including the feminization of the city. The results of the work made it possible to conclude that the feminization of the Russian city is one of the processes in the space of a today Russian city that have a positive dynamics


Sci ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Jie Cheng

A portable Fourier Transform Spectrometer (B3M-IR) is built and used to measure atmospheric trace gases in the city of Beijing during Olympic Games in 2008. A short description of the instrument is first provided in this paper. A detailed spectral analysis is then presented. The total columns of ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are retrieved from the ground-based solar absorption spectra recorded by the B3M-IR during the Olympic Games. Lacking validation data, only the retrieved total column of O3 is compared with that retrieved by MAX-DOAS, which is deployed at the same station. The mean difference between the two methods of measurement is 6.5%, demonstrating the performance and reliability of B3M-IR.


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