scholarly journals Critical degradation of Peruvian Plantcutter Phytotoma raimondii habitat in Lobitos, Talara

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-337
Author(s):  
Jeremy N. M. Flanagan

The threatened Peruvian Plantcutter Phytotoma raimondii is a restricted-range species, endemic to the north coast of Peru. As a specialist herbivore, it is only found at sites with an adequate diversity of xerophytic flora. Although it is recognized that the species is under threat from habitat degradation and loss, little or no attempt has been made to measure these changes. This study catalogues the floral diversity and degradation of sites near Lobitos town, north of Talara, to determine the loss of this species´ habitat. Fieldwork was conducted between November 2019 and January 2020. All larger plants (with a diameter ≥ 5 cm near ground level) and all deforested Prosopis pallida (Algarrobo) stumps were georeferenced over a 10 ha plot at the main site of Cerro Blanco, c. 2 km south of Lobitos. The height, width and general health of each bush were noted, and the diameter of P. pallida stumps measured. Additionally, two smaller comparative plots, (0.3 and 0.75 ha) were surveyed c. 2.5 km to the north of Lobitos. Results point to an alarming and accelerated rate of degradation of this habitat type due to the deforestation and dieback of P. pallida: a key species in this habitat and important food source for the Plantcutter. Removal of P. pallida appears to affect the stability of sites, with other important species, e.g. Lycium boerhaviifolium (Palo Negro) dying off after logging. Without urgent remedial action, the Peruvian Plantcutter´s habitat will continue to become ever scarcer and more fragmented.

1996 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Romero ◽  
C. Ramis

Abstract. An Eulerian study of the distribution over the Island of Mallorca of a non-reactive pollutant (SO2) emitted from an electric power plant operating at present on the north coast is performed using a meso-β numerical model, paying particular attention to the diffusive physical mechanisms. The study is applied to the conditions of sea-land breeze development. This is a local circulation that dominates the flow during the summer and favours transporting pollutants from the coast toward the centre of the island. Results indicate that values of the ground-level concentration higher than 5 μ g/m3 are restricted over a limited and mountainous region during the whole diurnal cycle. However, when the simulation is carried out with the inclusion of a twin electric plant which may be built on the south coast, the affected area becomes larger, especially early in the morning, when air over the island is sinking as a consequence of the land breeze development. The inclusion of dry deposition in the simulations does not produce important changes in the spatial and temporal evolution of the ground-level concentration.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11499
Author(s):  
Catarina Ramos-Oliveira ◽  
Leandro Sampaio ◽  
Marcos Rubal ◽  
Puri Veiga

Mytilus galloprovincialis is an ecosystem engineer that provides habitat and generates environmental heterogeneity, increasing local biodiversity. Moreover, it is an economically important species representing 14% of the global production of marine bivalves. Natural drivers and the increase of anthropogenic pressures, such as sediment stress, influence its populations on rocky shores. The objective of this study was to explore the spatial-temporal patterns of different M. galloprovincialis attributes along the north of Portugal. For that purpose, six rocky shores were selected and sampled six times along the year 2019. The percentage of cover, density, spat density, condition index, clump thickness, size classes and clump sediment content were considered. Results showed the lack of seasonality in M. galloprovincialis along the north coast of Portugal. However, density, spat stage, clump thickness, condition index and size classes showed some variability among dates and shores. The percentage cover and sediment content only significantly differed among shores. Our results indicated an absence of seasonality for all the studied variables, probably because temperature was always within the optimum range for this species and the abundance of food supply in the study area independently of the season. The accumulated sediment on mussel clumps did not show any temporal variability with only significant differences among shores. The accumulated sediment was composed mainly by medium and coarse sand and it was correlated with mussel average size, condition index, but especially with the mussel clump thickness.


EMPIRISMA ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fathimatuz Zahra Dan Abdul Azis

Pati is a region on the north coast, according to the hypothesis of the researcher, the region is divided into three categories. The northern regions are more religious, the central is more plural, while the southern region is in the middle. In the central region there are many relics of tombs believed to be the those of the Muslim proselytizers in the area of Pati. The one that attracts the researcher is a tomb in the Gambiran area, where there are five local Muslim saints buried, one of them belons to mbah Hendro Kusumo, the son of Syech Ahmad Mutamakkin. This article attempts to trace back the spreading of Islam in Pati based on the existence of thetomb of Mbah Hendro Kusumo. It wants to answer question of whethere the existence of his tomb is due to his studying there or marital relationship, and how it relates to the spreading of Islam.Keywords: Mbah Hendro Kusumo, Traces of Islamic Dakwah, Islam


2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Chabi A.M.S. Djagoun ◽  
Etotépé A. Sogbohossou ◽  
Barthélémy Kassa ◽  
Christian B. Ahouandjinou ◽  
Hugues A. Akpona ◽  
...  

Background: The habitat degradation together with fragmentation and illegal hunting represent a major threat for biodiversity conservation in Lama protected areas. Method: We used a combination of questionnaire survey with local communities for ranking the hunted mammal species as bushmeat and track surveys in gridded-cell system of 500x500 m2 (n=268) to assess at what extend the management design, the anthropogenic factors and habitat type affect the occupancy model of those mammal species. Results: Twenty mammal species have been predominantly reported by the local inhabitants to consume bushmeat species and 5 of them have been identified as the most preferable as hunted game mammals. The selection of the preferred habitat among the swampy forest, the dense forest, the tree plantations and cropland for the prioritized game species varies between species but looks similar when grouping in different orders. Some bushmeat species were found to select the more secure habitat (natural forest); suggesting the zoning system in the Lama forest can passively protect those species. However, some species such as T. swinderianus although highly hunted showed preference to anthropogenic habitat, avoiding the well secured core zone in Lama Forest. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the importance of the zoning system with different management objectives in the habitat occupancy model of the highly hunted wildlife species.


1968 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 44-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Taylor

The Tyara site, KkFb-7 in the National Museum catalogue and site file, faces the north coast of the Ungava mainland and rests on the west shore of Sugluk Island (Fig. 1). That island stands about five hundred yards from the mainland and from Sugluk Inlet, one of the few good harbors on that coast. This handsome little island, about one and one-half miles long and as wide, consists of rounded, rugged, hardrock hills that shelter well-vegetated, generally flat-floored valleys. The valleys often contain marshy patches. The shore, of variable incline, is quite jagged, a result of abrupt rock outcrops projecting seaward from brief stretches of sandy beach. The shore facing the mainland is, therefore, quite convenient for small boat use. Dark grey gneisses seem to predominate, although they are often cut by dykes and veins of lighter material, notably quartz. The dense, green valley and hillside vegetation includes willows, mosses, grasses, lichens, and a pleasant profusion of arctic wild flowers (Polunin 1948, Pt. III). I was told at Sugluk that at the head of the inlet, willows, growing in protected situations, reach the thickness of a man's wrist.


1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
TS Andrews ◽  
RDB Whalley ◽  
CE Jones

Inputs and losses from Giant Parramatta grass [GPG, Sporobolus indicus (L.) R. Br. var. major (Buse) Baaijens] soil seed banks were quantified on the North Coast of New South Wales. Monthly potential seed production and actual seed fall was estimated at Valla during 1991-92. Total potential production was >668 000 seeds/m2 for the season, while seed fall was >146000 seeds/m2. Seed fall >10000 seeds/m2.month was recorded from January until May, with further seed falls recorded in June and July. The impact of seed production on seed banks was assessed by estimating seed banks in the seed production quadrats before and after seed fall. Seed banks in 4 of the 6 sites decreased in year 2, although seed numbers at 1 damp site increased markedly. Defoliation from mid-December until February, April or June prevented seed production, reducing seed banks by 34% over 7 months. Seed banks in undefoliated plots increased by 3300 seeds/m2, although seed fall was estimated at >114 000 seeds/m2. Emergence of GPG seedlings from artificially established and naturally occurring, persistent seed banks was recorded for 3 years from bare and vegetated treatment plots. Sown seeds showed high levels of innate dormancy and only 4% of seeds emerged when sown immediately after collection. Longer storage of seeds after collection resulted in more seedlings emerging. Estimates of persistent seed banks ranged from 1650 to about 21260 seeds/m2. Most seedlings emerged in spring or autumn and this was correlated with rainfall but not with ambient temperatures. Rates of seed bank decline in both bare and vegetated treatment plots was estimated by fitting exponential decay curves to seed bank estimates. Assuming no further seed inputs, it was estimated that it would take about 3 and 5 years, respectively, for seed banks to decline to 150 seeds/m2 in bare and vegetated treatments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 873
Author(s):  
Dimitra Konsta ◽  
Alexandra Tsekeri ◽  
Stavros Solomos ◽  
Nikolaos Siomos ◽  
Anna Gialitaki ◽  
...  

We use the Generalized Retrieval of Aerosol Surface Properties algorithm (GRASP) to compare with dust concentration profiles derived from the NMME-DREAM model for a specific dust episode. The GRASP algorithm provides the possibility of deriving columnar and vertically-resolved aerosol properties from a combination of lidar and sun-photometer observations. Herein, we apply GRASP for analysis of a Saharan dust outburst observed during the “PREparatory: does dust TriboElectrification affect our ClimaTe” campaign (PreTECT) that took place at the North coast of Crete, at the Finokalia ACTRIS station. GRASP provides column-averaged and vertically resolved microphysical and optical properties of the particles. The retrieved dust concentration profiles are compared with modeled concentration profiles derived from the NMME-DREAM dust model. To strengthen the results, we use dust concentration profiles from the POlarization-LIdar PHOtometer Networking method (POLIPHON). A strong underestimation of the maximum dust concentration is observed from the NMME-DREAM model. The reported differences between the retrievals and the model indicate a high potential of the GRASP algorithm for future studies of dust model evaluation.


Author(s):  
Xiaoyi Shen ◽  
Chang-Qing Ke ◽  
Bin Cheng ◽  
Wentao Xia ◽  
Mengmeng Li ◽  
...  

AbstractIn August 2018, a remarkable polynya was observed off the north coast of Greenland, a perennial ice zone where thick sea ice cover persists. In order to investigate the formation process of this polynya, satellite observations, a coupled ice-ocean model, ocean profiling data, and atmosphere reanalysis data were applied. We found that the thinnest sea ice cover in August since 1978 (mean value of 1.1 m, compared to the average value of 2.8 m during 1978–2017) and the modest southerly wind caused by a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (mean value of 0.82, compared to the climatological value of −0.02) were responsible for the formation and maintenance of this polynya. The opening mechanism of this polynya differs from the one formed in February 2018 in the same area caused by persistent anomalously high wind. Sea ice drift patterns have become more responsive to the atmospheric forcing due to thinning of sea ice cover in this region.


Author(s):  
An Zhang ◽  
Jinhuang Lin ◽  
Wenhui Chen ◽  
Mingshui Lin ◽  
Chengcheng Lei

Long-term exposure to ozone pollution will cause severe threats to residents’ physical and mental health. Ground-level ozone is the most severe air pollutant in China’s Pearl River Delta Metropolitan Region (PRD). It is of great significance to accurately reveal the spatial–temporal distribution characteristics of ozone pollution exposure patterns. We used the daily maximum 8-h ozone concentration data from PRD’s 55 air quality monitoring stations in 2015 as input data. We used six models of STK and ordinary kriging (OK) for the simulation of ozone concentration. Then we chose a better ozone pollution prediction model to reveal the ozone exposure characteristics of the PRD in 2015. The results show that the Bilonick model (BM) model had the highest simulation precision for ozone in the six models for spatial–temporal kriging (STK) interpolation, and the STK model’s simulation prediction results are significantly better than the OK model. The annual average ozone concentrations in the PRD during 2015 showed a high spatial variation in the north and east and low in the south and west. Ozone concentrations were relatively high in summer and autumn and low in winter and spring. The center of gravity of ozone concentrations tended to migrate to the north and west before moving to the south and then finally migrating to the east. The ozone’s spatial autocorrelation was significant and showed a significant positive correlation, mainly showing high-high clustering and low-low clustering. The type of clustering undergoes temporal migration and conversion over the four seasons, with spatial autocorrelation during winter the most significant.


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