scholarly journals Mammal Persistence Along Riparian Forests in Western India Within a Hydropower Reservoir 55 Years Post Construction

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shah Nawaz Jelil ◽  
Avinash Gaykar ◽  
Natasha Girkar ◽  
Clement Ben ◽  
Matt W. Hayward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Riparian Forests ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Western India ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Occupancy Models ◽  
River Continuum ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Koyna Reservoir ◽  
Continuum Concept

While the negative impacts of dam construction on downstream river stretches and riparian forests are well studied, the status of wildlife presence and persistence in upstream reservoir deltas is virtually unknown. We investigated the drivers of terrestrial mammal occupancy and persistence along riparian forests of Koyna reservoir in western India 55 years after its construction. We adopted a catchment-wide field design grounded in the river continuum concept and sampled different stream orders within the reservoir. Camera traps, nested in an occupancy modeling framework, were deployed across 72 riparian sites and replicated for four seasons across all stream types. We recorded a total of nineteen species of terrestrial mammals during the study period. Multi-season occupancy models revealed three key patterns of mammal persistence: (a) ungulates were more frequently photo-captured in riparian forests; gaur and wild pig had the highest proportions of the total sampled area (0.84 ± 0.12 SE; 0.77 ± 0.07 SE, respectively); (b) small-sized ungulates were more vulnerable to local extinction than large-bodied ungulates; extinction probability was highest for barking deer (0.59 ± 0.07) and lowest for sambar (0.15 ± 0.07); and (c) distance from stream played major roles in determining mammal detection. Riparian forests are fundamentally important to ecosystem functioning and biodiversity conservation, and using the data from this study, managers can plan to sustain high mammal persistence along riparian forests at Koyna reservoir or similar Indian reserves. Further, our robust sampling approach, grounded in the terrestrial-riverine continuum concept, can be applied globally to understand species assemblages, aiding in multi-landscape and wildlife management planning.

scholarly journals Medium and large-sized mammals of the Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçú, Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Israel Dias de Carvalho ◽  
Rildo de Oliveira ◽  
Alexandra dos Santos Pires
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Forest ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Mammal Conservation ◽  
Pecari Tajacu ◽  
Local Extinctions ◽  
Global Threat ◽  
Janeiro State

Medium and large-sized terrestrial mammals develop important functions in ecosystems maintenance. However, this group is the most vulnerable to local extinctions, through habitat loss or hunting. This study inventoried the community of medium and large mammals in the Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçú (REGUA), Cachoeiras de Macacu, RJ, providing data on species composition, richness and abundance. Species were registered through the use of camera traps, sign survey and visual encounters on pre-existing trails and roads. The study was conducted from January to October 2012, with each month considered as a sample unit. An effort of 1568 cameras-day and 120 km traveled, resulted on 302 records of 22 species of medium and large-sized mammals, belonging to eight orders. This value corresponds to more than three-quarters of the richness described from this group in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state. Five species are under some level of regional, national or global threat. Three game species, Pecari tajacu, Cuniculus paca and Dasyprocta leporina were abundant in the area. The observed richness was comparable to that found in other studies conducted in rain forests. Thus, for its high number of species, including those under some degree of threat, we conclude that REGUA is an important area to mammal conservation, especially in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro state.

scholarly journals Long-term monitoring of margays (Leopardus wiedii): Implications for understanding low detection rates

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0247536
Author(s):  
Bart J. Harmsen ◽  
Nicola Saville ◽  
Rebecca J. Foster
Keyword(s):  
Detection Rate ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Detection Rates ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Exclusive Territories ◽  
Carnivore Species ◽  
Density Population

Population assessments of wide-ranging, cryptic, terrestrial mammals rely on camera trap surveys. While camera trapping is a powerful method of detecting presence, it is difficult distinguishing rarity from low detection rate. The margay (Leopardus wiedii) is an example of a species considered rare based on its low detection rates across its range. Although margays have a wide distribution, detection rates with camera traps are universally low; consequently, the species is listed as Near Threatened. Our 12-year camera trap study of margays in protected broadleaf forest in Belize suggests that while margays have low detection rate, they do not seem to be rare, rather that they are difficult to detect with camera traps. We detected a maximum of 187 individuals, all with few or no recaptures over the years (mean = 2.0 captures/individual ± SD 2.1), with two-thirds of individuals detected only once. The few individuals that were recaptured across years exhibited long tenures up to 9 years and were at least 10 years old at their final detection. We detected multiple individuals of both sexes at the same locations during the same survey, suggesting overlapping ranges with non-exclusive territories, providing further evidence of a high-density population. By studying the sparse annual datasets across multiple years, we found evidence of an abundant margay population in the forest of the Cockscomb Basin, which might have been deemed low density and rare, if studied in the short term. We encourage more long-term camera trap studies to assess population status of semi-arboreal carnivore species that have hitherto been considered rare based on low detection rates.

scholarly journals A sparse observation model to quantify species interactions in time and space

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadoune Ait Kaci Azzou ◽  
Liam Singer ◽  
Thierry Aebischer ◽  
Madleina Caduff ◽  
Beat Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Observation Model ◽  
Occupancy Models ◽  
Time And Space ◽  
Imperfect Detection ◽  
Mobile Species

SummaryCamera traps and acoustic recording devices are essential tools to quantify the distribution, abundance and behavior of mobile species. Varying detection probabilities among device locations must be accounted for when analyzing such data, which is generally done using occupancy models. We introduce a Bayesian Time-dependent Observation Model for Camera Trap data (Tomcat), suited to estimate relative event densities in space and time. Tomcat allows to learn about the environmental requirements and daily activity patterns of species while accounting for imperfect detection. It further implements a sparse model that deals well will a large number of potentially highly correlated environmental variables. By integrating both spatial and temporal information, we extend the notation of overlap coefficient between species to time and space to study niche partitioning. We illustrate the power of Tomcat through an application to camera trap data of eight sympatrically occurring duiker Cephalophinae species in the savanna - rainforest ecotone in the Central African Republic and show that most species pairs show little overlap. Exceptions are those for which one species is very rare, likely as a result of direct competition.

scholarly journals Use of highway culverts by the water opossum (Chironectes minimus) in southeastern Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Ribeiro Prist ◽  
Guilherme S. T. Garbino ◽  
Fernanda Delborgo Abra ◽  
Thais Pagotto ◽  
Osnir Ormon Giacon
Keyword(s):  
New Records ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
Riparian Forests ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Aquatic Mammal ◽  
Paulo State ◽  
Degraded Area

Abstract The water opossum (Chironectes minimus) is a semi-aquatic mammal that is infrequently sampled in Atlantic rainforest areas in Brazil. Here we report on new records of C. minimus in the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, and comment on its behavior and ecology. We placed nine camera traps in culverts and cattle boxes under a highway, between 2017 and 2019. From a total of 6,750 camera-trap-days, we obtained 16 records of C. minimus (0.24 records/100 camera-trap-days) in two cameras placed in culverts over streams. Most of the records were made between May and August, in the dry season and in the first six hours after sunset. The new records are from a highly degraded area with some riparian forests. The records lie approximately 30 km away from the nearest protected area where the species is known to occur. We suggest that C. minimus has some tolerance to degraded habitats, as long as the water bodies and riparian forests are minimally preserved. The new records presented here also fill a distribution gap in western São Paulo state.

Greenhouse gas dynamics in an anthropogenically modified tropical river continuum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siddhartha Sarkar ◽  
Ajayeta Rathi ◽  
Sanjeev Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Flow Regime ◽  
Residence Time ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Channel Length ◽  
Western India ◽  
River Continuum ◽  
Significant Control ◽  
Process Dynamics ◽  
Sabarmati River ◽  
The City

<p>Recent decades have witnessed large scale modifications in the natural flow regime of river systems. What follows are shifts in various instream processes that ultimately govern the air-water fluxes of major greenhouse gases (GHGs) like CH<sub>4</sub>, CO<sub>2</sub>, and N<sub>2</sub>O. However, due to paucity of data, the process dynamics and controls on fluxes of GHGs in tropical rivers are understudied, contributing to uncertainty in their global budget. In this study, an attempt was made to estimate the fluxes of GHGs and thereby decipher the controls on evasive processes in an anthropogenically affected Sabarmati River (catchment ~ 27,674 km<sup>2</sup> and channel length ~371 km) located in semi-arid western India. After originating from a relatively pristine region, Sabarmati passes through a major twin city (Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar), where construction of a riverfront resulted in increased residence time of water within the city limits.</p><p>To compare and understand changes in in-stream biogeochemical processes as a result of human interventions, sampling was carried out at 50 sites along the Sabarmati river continuum and a parallel running, but not so anthropogenically modified, Mahi River along with their tributaries. Results indicated relatively lower fluxes of GHGs in pristine upstream of Sabarmati and Mahi River continuum with CH<sub>4</sub>, CO<sub>2</sub> and N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes at 0.99 ± 0.35 mg C m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1</sup>, 4250.99 ± 477.74 mg C m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1 </sup>and 0.055 ± 0.026 mg N m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1</sup> respectively. The effect of higher residence time of water could be seen in the riverfront with increased CH<sub>4 </sub>and N<sub>2</sub>O fluxes at 3.27 ± 1.02 mg C m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1 </sup>and 0.129 ± 0.024 mg N m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. However, the CO<sub>2</sub> flux did not show much increase. The fluxes increased significantly post city limits until its mouth in the Arabian Sea with extremely large flux for methane (CH<sub>4</sub>: 102.84 ± 41.32 mg C m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1</sup>, CO<sub>2</sub>: 9563.58 ± 1252.43 mg C m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1</sup>, and N<sub>2</sub>O: 0.16 ± 0.11 mg N m<sup>-2 </sup>d<sup>-1</sup>, respectively). Overall, it appeared that even within the anthropogenically stressed river, the nature of flow regime, exerts significant control on cycling of elements leading to differential fluxes. Also, the level of coupling between nitrogen and carbon appeared to change within the course of the river.</p>

Predicting fish species richness and habitat relationships using Bayesian hierarchical multispecies occupancy models

2020 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 602-610
Author(s):  
Shannon White ◽  
Evan Faulk ◽  
Caleb Tzilkowski ◽  
Andrew Weber ◽  
Matthew Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Occupancy Models ◽  
Imperfect Detection ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Bayesian Hierarchical ◽  
Recreation Area ◽  
Species Occupancy

Understanding how stream fishes respond to changes in habitat availability is complicated by low occurrence rates of many species, which in turn reduces the ability to quantify species–habitat relationships and account for imperfect detection in estimates of species richness. Multispecies occupancy models have been used sparingly in the analysis of fisheries data, but address the aforementioned deficiencies by allowing information to be shared among ecologically similar species, thereby enabling species–habitat relationships to be estimated for entire fish communities, including rare species. Here, we highlight the utility of hierarchical multispecies occupancy models for the analysis of fish community data and demonstrate the modeling framework on a stream fish community dataset collected in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, USA. In particular, we demonstrate the ability of the modeling framework to make inferences at the species-, guild-, and community-levels, thereby making it a powerful tool for understanding and predicting how environmental variables influence species occupancy probabilities and structure fish assemblages.

Retesting a prediction of the River Continuum Concept: autochthonous versus allochthonous resources in the diets of invertebrates

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 534-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma J. Rosi-Marshall ◽  
Kathryn L. Vallis ◽  
Colden V. Baxter ◽  
John M. Davis
Keyword(s):  
River Continuum Concept ◽  
River Continuum ◽  
Allochthonous Resources ◽  
Continuum Concept

Hydrologic and Riparian Influences on the Import and Storage of Coarse Particulate Organic Matter in a Prairie Stream

1988 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 655-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin E. Gurtz ◽  
G. Richard Marzolf ◽  
Keith T. Killingbeck ◽  
David L. Smith ◽  
J. Vaun McArthur
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Particulate Organic Matter ◽  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
River Continuum Concept ◽  
Hydrologic Regime ◽  
River Continuum ◽  
Coarse Particulate Organic Matter ◽  
Continuum Concept ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Prairie Stream

The hydrologic regime and zonation of riparian vegetation influenced the quantity and quality of coarse particulate organic matter (CPOM; >1 mm) stored in the channel and upper bank of a prairie stream. In a 5.4-km intermittent reach of the South Branch of Kings Creek on Konza Prairie, Kansas, total annual import was lowest in headwater reaches and increased downstream. Total storage of benthic CPOM in the dry channel and on the bank before the flow period was highest in the fourth- and fifth-order gallery forest zone (999 g ash-free dry mass∙m−2) and less in upstream reaches (320–341 g∙m−2). These longitudinal patterns of CPOM annual import and storage (before the flow period) were opposite those predicted by the river continuum concept for streams draining forested regions. Following flow, headwater channels had more CPOM (291 g∙m−2) than downstream reaches. On the bank, storage was always highest in downstream reaches. Composition of CPOM both in the channel and on the bank varied with changes in riparian vegetation; grass tissues dominated in headwater channels, while wood and leaves of trees and shrubs were more abundant downstream. During the flow period, storage of CPOM increased only in headwater channels, where retention was high despite the lack of woody debris. In this intermittent prairie stream, benthic CPOM may not contribute consistently to the terrestrial/aquatic linkages that are suggested in the river continuum concept because of (1) a paucity of large CPOM sources (e.g. trees, shrubs) in the upper reaches and (2) a hydrologic regime that reduces the amount, as well as the predictability, of stored CPOM. The biota of prairie streams must have opportunistic food gathering and reproductive strategies to take advantage of variable food resources in a flow environment that is itself very unpredictable.

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