scholarly journals OCCUPATION STRATEGY OF THE ARBOREAL SPECIES Tachigali rubiginosa (MART. EX TUL.) OLIVEIRA-FILHO: EVIDENCE OF FOREST EXPANSION OVER GRASSLAND AREAS.

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina de Oliveira ◽  
Letícia Alves Xavier Silva ◽  
Fabiana de Gois Aquino

ABSTRACT Understanding the dynamics of forest species occupation in savanna and grasslands environments allows us to assess how forest expansion operates over time. For eleven years, the population dynamics of Tachigali rubiginosa (Mart. ex. Tul.) Oliveira-Filho was registered to evaluate the occupation strategy of this species in the ecotone between forest (Mata de Galeria) and grassland (Campo Sujo), located within the Capetinga stream basin, at Fazenda Água Limpa, Federal District. This area has been protected from wildfires since 1987. This study allocated thirty-one transects of 5 m x 100 m perpendicularly to the Capetinga stream, covering forest and grassland environments. The measurements were taken from adult trees (DBH ≥ 5 cm), young trees (height > 1 m and DBH < 5 cm) and seedlings (height ≤ 1 m and DBH < 5 cm). The results indicated that, in the studied period, the population of T. rubiginosa increased from 179.5 to 262.8 ind / ha. In 2007, of the total of 280 individuals in 1.56 ha, 96 of them were in the forest (0.22 ha), 103 in the ecotone (0.16 ha), and 81 in the grassland (1.18 ha). In 2018, this proportion changed when the number of individuals decreased in the forest (83 individuals), while the number increased in the ecotone (135 individuals) and in the grassland (194 individuals). In 2007, the young trees dominated with 71% of the total, followed by the adults trees (28.5%) and the seedlings (20.7%). In 2018, the young trees represented most individuals (39.2%), but there was a balance between the three size categories, as the seedlings represented 30.0% and adults trees 30.7%. Over the period of the study, there was an increase in the population of T. rubiginosa, especially of young individuals, which indicates persistence over time and an expansion of this forest species into grassland environments.

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 141
Author(s):  
Firoza Akhter ◽  
Maurizio Mazzoleni ◽  
Luigia Brandimarte

In this study, we explore the long-term trends of floodplain population dynamics at different spatial scales in the contiguous United States (U.S.). We exploit different types of datasets from 1790–2010—i.e., decadal spatial distribution for the population density in the US, global floodplains dataset, large-scale data of flood occurrence and damage, and structural and nonstructural flood protection measures for the US. At the national level, we found that the population initially settled down within the floodplains and then spread across its territory over time. At the state level, we observed that flood damages and national protection measures might have contributed to a learning effect, which in turn, shaped the floodplain population dynamics over time. Finally, at the county level, other socio-economic factors such as local flood insurances, economic activities, and socio-political context may predominantly influence the dynamics. Our study shows that different influencing factors affect floodplain population dynamics at different spatial scales. These facts are crucial for a reliable development and implementation of flood risk management planning.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Jinding Gao

In order to solve some function optimization problems, Population Dynamics Optimization Algorithm under Microbial Control in Contaminated Environment (PDO-MCCE) is proposed by adopting a population dynamics model with microbial treatment in a polluted environment. In this algorithm, individuals are automatically divided into normal populations and mutant populations. The number of individuals in each category is automatically calculated and adjusted according to the population dynamics model, it solves the problem of artificially determining the number of individuals. There are 7 operators in the algorithm, they realize the information exchange between individuals the information exchange within and between populations, the information diffusion of strong individuals and the transmission of environmental information are realized to individuals, the number of individuals are increased or decreased to ensure that the algorithm has global convergence. The periodic increase of the number of individuals in the mutant population can greatly increase the probability of the search jumping out of the local optimal solution trap. In the iterative calculation, the algorithm only deals with 3/500∼1/10 of the number of individual features at a time, the time complexity is reduced greatly. In order to assess the scalability, efficiency and robustness of the proposed algorithm, the experiments have been carried out on realistic, synthetic and random benchmarks with different dimensions. The test case shows that the PDO-MCCE algorithm has better performance and is suitable for solving some optimization problems with higher dimensions.


2016 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Silva ◽  
J. M. F. F. Santos ◽  
J. R. Andrade ◽  
E. N. Lima ◽  
U. P. Albuquerque ◽  
...  

Abstract Variation in annual rainfall is considered the most important factor influencing population dynamics in dry environments. However, different factors may control population dynamics in different microhabitats. This study recognizes that microhabitat variation may attenuate the influence of climatic seasonality on the population dynamics of herbaceous species in dry forest (Caatinga) areas of Brazil. We evaluated the influence of three microhabitats (flat, rocky and riparian) on the population dynamics of four herbaceous species (Delilia biflora, Commelina obliqua, Phaseolus peduncularis and Euphorbia heterophylla) in a Caatinga (dry forest) fragment at the Experimental Station of the Agronomic Research Institute of Pernambuco in Brazil, over a period of three years. D. biflora, C. obliqua and P. peduncularis were found in all microhabitats, but they were present at low densities in the riparian microhabitat. There was no record of E. heterophylla in the riparian microhabitat. Population size, mortality rates and natality rates varied over time in each microhabitat. This study indicates that different establishment conditions influenced the population size and occurrence of the four species, and it confirms that microhabitat can attenuate the effect of drought stress on mortality during the dry season, but the strength of this attenuator role may vary with time and species.


Author(s):  
Arthur M. Spickett ◽  
Gordon J. Gallivan ◽  
Ivan G. Horak

The study aimed to assess the long-term population dynamics of questing Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis in two landscape zones of the Kruger National Park (KNP). Ticks were collected by dragging the vegetation monthly in three habitats (grassland, woodland and gully) at two sites in the KNP (Nhlowa Road and Skukuza) from August 1988 to March 2002. Larvae were the most commonly collected stage of both species. More R. appendiculatus were collected at Nhlowa Road than at Skukuza, with larvae being most abundant from May to August, while nymphs were most abundant from August to December. Larvae were most commonly collected in the gullies from 1991 to 1994, but in the grassland and woodland habitats from 1998 onwards. Nymphs were most commonly collected in the grassland and woodland. More R. zambeziensis were collected at Skukuza than at Nhlowa Road, with larvae being most abundant from May to September, while nymphs were most abundant from August to November. Larvae and nymphs were most commonly collected in the woodland and gullies and least commonly in the grassland (p < 0.01). The lowest numbers of R. appendiculatus were collected in the mid-1990s after the 1991/1992 drought. Rhipicephalus zambeziensis numbers declined after 1991 and even further after 1998, dropping to their lowest levels during 2002. The changes in numbers of these two species reflected changes in rainfall and the populations of several of their large herbivore hosts, as well as differences in the relative humidity between the two sites over time.


2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 829-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin O. Willis

Moderately dense woodland (cerradão) grew in two isolated patches of bushy savanna (cerrado) in central São Paulo over 23 years of bird censuses. Various uncommon birds were lost and some forest species were permanently gained. Fall and winter fruits attract long and short-distance migrants. Woodpeckers and some birds that nest in their holes seem to disappear during tree growth. Some birds in weedy areas nearby disappeared when the pastures replaced these areas, however sugar cane reduced the numbers of birds even more up to the point when some areas became pastures once more. Even travel-prone species disappear with vegetation growth in cerrado protected fragments, and therefore "metapopulations" may not survive over time, only in space.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 900
Author(s):  
Javier Quinto ◽  
María Eva Wong ◽  
Juan Ramón Boyero ◽  
José Miguel Vela ◽  
Martin Aguirrebengoa

The invasive chestnut gall wasp (CGW), Dryocosmus kuriphilus, the worst pest of chestnut cultivation, has spread worryingly throughout Europe in less than 20 years. Despite the great concern around this pest, little is known about the status in its southernmost distribution in continental Europe. We assessed spatio-temporal patterns in the population dynamics, phenology and tree damage caused by CGW in southern Spain. Likewise, the relationship between these variables and thermal trends was evaluated. We found strong variation in the population dynamics and flight phenology among localities and over time, which were highly influenced by changes in thermal regimes. Specifically, warmer localities and vegetative periods promoted higher population densities, a partial increase in the survival of immature stages, and advanced flight activity. Moreover, tree damage evolved differently over time in each locality, which suggests that local conditions may determine differences in damage evolution. Our findings evidence that great spatio-temporal variability in the CGW populations takes place across invaded areas in its southernmost European distributional range. Although control mechanisms have been introduced, implementation of further control and management measures are critical to cope with this main threat for the chestnut industry and to prevent its spread to nearing chestnut-producing areas.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (31) ◽  
pp. 8015-8018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dun Mao ◽  
Adam R. Neumann ◽  
Jianjun Sun ◽  
Vincent Bonin ◽  
Majid H. Mohajerani ◽  
...  

Retrosplenial cortex (RSC) is involved in visuospatial integration and spatial learning, and RSC neurons exhibit discrete, place cell-like sequential activity that resembles the population code of space in hippocampus. To investigate the origins and population dynamics of this activity, we combined longitudinal cellular calcium imaging of dysgranular RSC neurons in mice with excitotoxic hippocampal lesions. We tracked the emergence and stability of RSC spatial activity over consecutive imaging sessions. Overall, spatial activity in RSC was experience-dependent, emerging gradually over time, but, as seen in the hippocampus, the spatial code changed dynamically across days. Bilateral but not unilateral hippocampal lesions impeded the development of spatial activity in RSC. Thus, the emergence of spatial activity in RSC, a major recipient of hippocampal information, depends critically on an intact hippocampus; the indirect connections between the dysgranular RSC and the hippocampus further indicate that hippocampus may exert such influences polysynaptically within neocortex.


2021 ◽  
pp. 181-196
Author(s):  
Edgar J. González ◽  
Dylan Z. Childs ◽  
Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio ◽  
Roberto Salguero-Gómez

Integral projection models (IPMs) allow projecting the behaviour of a population over time using information on the vital processes of individuals, their state, and that of the environment they inhabit. As with matrix population models (MPMs), time is treated as a discrete variable, but in IPMs, state and environmental variables are continuous and are related to the vital rates via generalised linear models. Vital rates in turn integrate into the population dynamics in a mechanistic way. This chapter provides a brief description of the logic behind IPMs and their construction, and, because they share many of the analyses developed for MPMs, it only emphasises how perturbation analyses can be performed with respect to different model elements. The chapter exemplifies the construction of a simple and a more complex IPM structure with an animal and a plant case study, respectively. Finally, inverse modelling in IPMs is presented, a method that allows population projection when some vital rates are not observed.


Author(s):  
Daniel Oro

Throughout the book, I have been searching for empirical examples and theories dealing with how perturbations trigger behavioural feedback responses in social animals, how these responses affect the decision to disperse between patches, and the consequences of dispersal for complex, nonlinear population dynamics. What seems quite clear is that social feedbacks—and especially runaway dispersal by copying—do play an important role in those responses, compared to solitary species. Although philopatry to the patch has many benefits, perturbations may decrease the suitability of this patch. When a patch is perturbed, do social species show different responses than solitary species? Since evolution has selected for maximizing fitness prospects, individuals living either in groups or in solitary will try to avoid the detrimental effects of the perturbation, for instance by leaving the patch. The behavioural mechanisms triggered by perturbations are similar for both social and solitary species: increase of information gathering to reduce uncertainty and the use of this updated information to make optimal decisions about either staying or leaving. Thus, the answer is that solitary and social species show similar responses to perturbations. Nevertheless, the way those behavioural mechanisms operate is rather different between social and solitary species: in the former, information is shared among individuals, and decisions about when to leave the patch and where to go are made not only using private or personal information, but mostly using social information. Last but not least, there is social copying, a trend to copy in a nonrational way what others have decided before. This social copying, also called conformity, may trigger what I termed runaway dispersal: perturbations may accumulate over time, decreasing resilience of the social group until attaining a tipping point. Once this threshold is surpassed, the decision to disperse is led by a few individuals, and this decision is copied by the rest of the group in an autocatalytic way....


Author(s):  
Nancy A. Pachana

How has the construct of ageing, and attitudes towards it, changed over time? How have human beings from various historical epochs, cultures, and perspectives viewed ageing? What impact have these views about ageing had on individuals and our broader society? ‘Ageing, a brief history’ considers these questions and shows that from the ancient world to the modern there have been conflicting views on ageing. It examines historical trends in longevity and lifespan, and factors influencing life expectancy and ageing. We are now at a point in history where the number of individuals over the age of 65 will surpass those aged 5 and under, across the developed and developing world.


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