scholarly journals Camera Trapping to Assess Status and Composition of Mammal Communities in a Biodiversity Hotspot in Myanmar

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 880
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cremonesi ◽  
Francesco Bisi ◽  
Lorenzo Gaffi ◽  
Thet Zaw ◽  
Hla Naing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Occupancy Models ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Disturbed Area ◽  
The Status ◽  
Mammal Communities

Tropical forests comprise a critically impacted habitat, and it is known that altered forests host a lower diversity of mammal communities. In this study, we investigated the mammal communities of two areas in Myanmar with similar environmental conditions but with great differences in habitat degradation and human disturbance. The main goal was to understand the status and composition of these communities in an understudied area like Myanmar at a broad scale. Using camera trap data from a three-year-long campaign and hierarchical occupancy models with a Bayesian formulation, we evaluated the biodiversity level (species richness) and different ecosystem functions (diet and body mass), as well as the occupancy values of single species as a proxy for population density. We found a lower mammal diversity in the disturbed area, with a significantly lower number of carnivores and herbivores species. Interestingly, the area did not show alteration in its functional composition. Almost all the specific roles in the community were present except for apex predators, thus suggesting that the effects of human disturbance are mainly effecting the communities highest levels. Furthermore, two species showed significantly lower occupancies in the disturbed area during all the monitoring campaigns: one with a strong pressure for bushmeat consumption and a vulnerable carnivore threatened by illegal wildlife trade.

Forest Management In Mongolia – A Review Of Challenges And Lessons Learned With Special Reference To Degradation And Deforestation

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 133-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gradel ◽  
Gerelbaatar Sukhbaatar ◽  
Daniel Karthe ◽  
Hoduck Kang
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Hydrological Regime ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Driven System ◽  
The Status

The natural conditions, climate change and socio-economic challenges related to the transformation from a socialistic society towards a market-driven system make the implementation of sustainable land management practices in Mongolia especially complicated. Forests play an important role in land management. In addition to providing resources and ecosystem functions, Mongolian forests protect against land degradation.We conducted a literature review of the status of forest management in Mongolia and lessons learned, with special consideration to halting deforestation and degradation. We grouped our review into seven challenges relevant to developing regionally adapted forest management systems that both safeguard forest health and consider socio-economic needs. In our review, we found that current forest management in Mongolia is not always sustainable, and that some practices lack scientific grounding. An overwhelming number of sources noticed a decrease in forest area and quality during the last decades, although afforestation initiatives are reported to have increased. We found that they have had, with few exceptions, only limited success. During our review, however, we found a number of case studies that presented or proposed promising approaches to (re-)establishing and managing forests. These studies are further supported by a body of literature that examines how forest administration, and local participation can be modified to better support sustainable forestry. Based on our review, we conclude that it is necessary to integrate capacity development and forest research into holistic initiatives. A special focus should be given to the linkages between vegetation cover and the hydrological regime.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Human Disturbance on the Activity of Medium–Large Mammals in Myanmar Tropical Forests

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 290
Author(s):  
Giacomo Cremonesi ◽  
Francesco Bisi ◽  
Lorenzo Gaffi ◽  
Thet Zaw ◽  
Hla Naing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Daily Activity ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Circular Statistics ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Human Presence ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Status ◽  
Statistical Approaches

The effects of human disturbance represent one of the major threats for wildlife conservation. Many studies have shown that wildlife avoids or reduces direct contact with human activities through changes in activity patterns, and by minimizing spatiotemporal overlap. In this study, we investigated the possible effects of human presence on the temporal activity of medium-to-large mammals using two areas in Myanmar that differ in the intensity of human disturbance. We monitored temporal segregation mechanisms using camera trapping data and with two statistical approaches: daily activity overlaps between humans and wildlife and circular statistics. We did not find a significant difference in overlapping activity between areas but, thanks to circular statistics, we found that some species show changes in activity patterns, suggesting temporal avoidance. We observed that the daily activity of five species differed between areas of Myanmar, likely adopting mechanisms to reduce overlap in areas highly frequented by humans. Interestingly, these species are all threatened by hunting or poaching activities, four of which have been described in literature as “cathemeral”, or species that are active through day and night. This study suggests that some species adapt their behavior, at least partially, to avoid human presence in habitats with higher anthropic occurrence and increase our knowledge on the status of medium–large mammals in a poorly studied country as Myanmar.

scholarly journals Sustainable exploitation of temperate fish stocks

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Sparholt ◽  
Robin M. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Species Interactions ◽  
Fishery Management ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Theoretical Concept ◽  
Maximum Sustainable Yield ◽  
Production Model ◽  
The Status ◽  
Long Time

The theory of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) underpins many fishery management regimes and is applied principally as a single species concept. Using a simple dynamic biomass production model we show that MSY can be identified from a long time series of multi-stock data at a regional scale in the presence of species interactions and environmental change. It suggests that MSY is robust and calculable in a multispecies environment, offering a realistic reference point for fishery management. Furthermore, the demonstration of the existence of MSY shows that it is more than a purely theoretical concept. There has been an improvement in the status of stocks in the Northeast Atlantic, but our analysis suggests further reductions in fishing effort would improve long-term yields.

Eggersanthus Sittichaya & Smith gen. nov., a new Oriental ambrosia beetle genus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae: Xyleborini)

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4779 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-288
Author(s):  
WISUT SITTICHAYA ◽  
SARAH M. SMITH
Keyword(s):  
New Genus ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Ambrosia Beetle ◽  
The Status

A new genus, Eggersanthus Sittichaya & Smith gen. nov is described from a single species, Webbia sublaevis Eggers, 1927. The taxonomic characters of Eggersanthus and the morphologically similar genus Arixyleborus are analyzed and compared, and the status of the Webbia genus group is discussed. 

scholarly journals Environmental variation mediates the prevalence and co-occurrence of parasites in the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara

BMC Ecology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Wu ◽  
Murielle Richard ◽  
Alexis Rutschmann ◽  
Donald B. Miles ◽  
Jean Clobert
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Common Lizard ◽  
Zootoca Vivipara ◽  
The Common

Abstract Background Hosts and their parasites are under reciprocal selection, leading to coevolution. However, parasites depend not only on a host, but also on the host’s environment. In addition, a single host species is rarely infested by a single species of parasite and often supports multiple species (i.e., multi-infestation). Although the arms race between a parasite and its host has been well studied, few data are available on how environmental conditions may influence the process leading to multiple infestations. In this study, we examine whether: (1) environmental factors including altitude, temperature, vegetation cover, human disturbance, and grazing by livestock affect the prevalence of two types of ectoparasites, mites and ticks, on their host (the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara) and (2) competition is evident between mites and ticks. Results We found the probability of mite infestation increased with altitude and vegetation cover, but decreased with human disturbance and presence of livestock. In contrast, the probability of tick infestation was inversely associated with the same factors. Individuals with low body condition and males had higher mite loads. However, this pattern was not evident for tick loads. The results from a structural equation model revealed that mites and ticks indirectly and negatively affected each other’s infestation probability through an interaction involving the environmental context. We detected a direct negative association between mites and ticks only when considering estimates of parasite load. This suggests that both mites and ticks could attach to the same host, but once they start to accumulate, only one of them takes advantage. Conclusion The environment of hosts has a strong effect on infestation probabilities and parasite loads of mites and ticks. Autecological differences between mites and ticks, as indicated by their opposing patterns along environmental gradients, may explain the pattern of weak contemporary interspecific competition. Our findings emphasize the importance of including environmental factors and the natural history of each parasite species in studies of host–parasite coevolution.

Impacts of aquatic invasive species and land use on stream food webs in Kaua’i, Hawai’i.

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Layhee ◽  
Michael P. Marchetti ◽  
Sudeep Chandra ◽  
Tag Engstrom ◽  
Daniel Pickard
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Species ◽  
Food Webs ◽  
Introduced Species ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Community Change ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Native Populations ◽  
Niche Area ◽  
Stream Food Webs

Anthropogenic disturbance is restructuring ecosystems and changing interactions within ecological communities. On the Hawaiʼian Islands, habitat degradation is linked to the establishment of invasive species; and together these stressors may lead to declining native populations and changes in food webs. In this study we employed stable isotopes to examine the structure of multiple Hawaiʼian stream food webs with varying levels of these stressors to illustrate interactions between native and non-native organisms that may represent drivers of community change. Limahuli stream contains all five species of native Hawaiʼian gobies, has a small number of introduced species, and minimal human disturbance. ʻOpaekaʼa, Hul¯eʼia and Kapaʼa streams are more heavily invaded than Limahuli and have greater human influence. We found increased species richness, increased trophic diversity, and increased total niche area in the more heavily invaded stream food webs relative to Limahuli. We also found non-native predatory species inhabiting top trophic positions in the three more heavily invaded streams and isotope mixing model estimates suggest that several species of non-natives have overlapping prey sources with native gobies in these sites. Lastly, we found that native stream organisms were nearly absent in ʻOpaekaʼa stream which also had the highest percent urban development of the streams sampled. Our results suggest significant trophic changes have occurred as the result of introduced species and possibly related to increased human disturbance.

A comparison of small mammal communities in two High-Andean Polylepis woodlands in Ecuador

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Reed Ojala-Barbour ◽  
Jorge Brito ◽  
William R. Teska
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Quality ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Habitat Heterogeneity ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Small Mammal Communities ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
Habitat Generalist ◽  
High Elevations ◽  
Mammal Communities

Polylepis forest, historically widespread throughout high elevations of the central and northern Andes, now remain only in discontinuous small patches.  An expanding agricultural frontier, along with other anthropogenic pressures, imperils these remnants through further isolation and loss of habitat quality. Using two grids of live traps we compared the populations of small nonvolant mammals in an intact Polylepis woodland with one nearby that had been logged 50 years before. Our study is the first to examine the effects of habitat degradation and associated changes to vertical complexity and habitat heterogeneity on mammalian communities in Polylepis woodlands above 3500 m. The intact woodland had significantly more vertical complexity than the mid-successional woodland.  A total of 315 captures of 147 individuals of 9 species were sampled during an intensive trapping effort in 2010.  Trap success was especially high averaging 35.4 % and 28.1 % in the intact and mid-successional woodland, respectively.  Diversity and abundance of small mammals were greater in the intact woodland than the mid-successional site.  Forest specialist species were more abundant in the intact habitat; while Thomasomys paramorum, a habitat generalist, was dominant in both.  Habitat quality affected movement patterns of T. paramorum.  The results affirm a high diversity and density of small mammals in intact Polylepis woodland and indicate that the effects of habitat disturbance are species dependent.  We suggest that habitat specialists are more susceptible to loss of habitat heterogeneity and vertical complexity than habitat generalists. 

Revision of the genus Epexochus Reitter, with description of three new species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Lixinae: Cleonini)

Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2011 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-68
Author(s):  
MASSIMO MEREGALL ◽  
FABIO TALAMELLI
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Morphological Characters ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Western China ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Colour Variant ◽  
The Status ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
North Western

The genus Epexochus Reitter is revised, its morphological characters are defined and the differences from the most closely related genera, Leucochromus Motschulsky and Eurycleonus Bedel, are outlined. All the populations of Epexochus from Kazakhstan and north-western China (Xinjiang) are referred to a single species, E. lehmanni (Ménétries). The status of Exochus latus Chevrolat is discussed and its name is formally synonymised with lehmanni. According to Art. 45.6.4.1 of the ICZN (1999), the name lehmanni var. consobrinus Faust, originally proposed for a colour variant and misidentified by Ter-Minasyan, is deemed to be subspecific and thus a synonym of lehmanni. Three new species are described in the genus: E. korotyaevi sp. n. (type locality: southern Tajikistan, Shaar-tuz region), characterised by the pronotum curved towards the elytra and by slender, lanceolate scales; E. voriseki sp. n. (type locality: central Uzbekistan, Gazli), characterised by small size, only slightly convex elytra and long hair-like setae, and E. mongolicus sp. n. (type locality: western Mongolia, Kobdoskij Aimak), characterised by large size, convex elytra with flat intervals and an elongate lamella of the aedeagus.

Perigomphus angularis spec. nov. from central Ecuador (Odonata: Gomphidae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2915 (1) ◽  
pp. 66 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. J. TENNESSEN
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Wing Length ◽  
Hind Wing ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Species Description ◽  
Neotropical Species ◽  
Related Taxon ◽  
The Status

Perigomphus Belle, 1972, was described as a subgenus of Diaphlebia Selys, 1854, based on a single species, P. pallidistylus Belle (1972) from Costa Rica. Belle (1972) listed a combination of features as the basis for his subgenus: pterostigma of hind wing 1/7 hind wing length, anal triangle of male hind wing 2-celled, triangles without a crossvein, top of head round and without a row of setae, and branches of epiproct widely divaricate. In the species description he stated that the longest spines on the hind femora of the male were nearly the diameter of the femur. The status of Perigomphus and a related taxon, Desmogomphus Williamson, 1920, which was also included as a subgenus of Diaphlebia, remained poorly known for nearly two decades. Belle (1988), based on information from Dr. Minter J. Westfall, Jr., recognized Perigomphus and Desmogomphus as genera distinct from Diaphlebia. Westfall (1989) described the larvae of Perigomphus pallidistylus and Desmogomphus paucinervis and the adult female of P. pallidistylus. He had reared these species in 1979 and came to the conclusion that both subgenera deserved to be elevated to generic rank. Later, Belle (1996) placed Perigomphus in the subfamily Octogomphinae, whereas Desmogomphus and Diaphlebia were placed in the Gomphoidinae. Perigomphus pallidistylus is a rarely seen Neotropical species that ranges from northern Costa Rica to southern Panama (Garrison et al. 2006). Belle (1996) speculated that the genus “possibly occurs” in Colombia and Ecuador. I discovered a second species of Perigomphus in the Amazon headwaters of central Ecuador, partly verifying Belle’s prediction; the new species fits the generic characters for Perigomphus given in the key to Gomphidae in Garrison et al. (2006).

scholarly journals The status and ecology of the last wild population of Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW J. BAMFORD ◽  
THE SEING SAM ◽  
FELIX RAZAFINDRAJAO ◽  
HANNAH ROBSON ◽  
LANCE G. WOOLAVER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Isotope Analysis ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Volcanic Lakes ◽  
Faecal Samples ◽  
The Status ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Caddis Fly ◽  
First Time

SummaryOne of the rarest birds in the world, the Madagascar Pochard Aythya innotata was thought to be extinct until a small population was found in 2006. Little is known about this diving duck as it had not been studied prior to its decline and disappearance. Its rediscovery provided the opportunity to study this species in the wild for the first time and to assess the viability of this last remaining population. The population is small, fluctuating around 25 individuals, and mainly utilises two small volcanic lakes in the far north of Madagascar. Nesting occurs on only one of these lakes, Matsaborimena. Nest success (76% in 2007–2008) and hatching success (89% in 2007–2008) are both comparable to other Aythya species, but fledging success (4% in 2011–2012) is extremely low. Duckling mortality rates peak between 14 and 21 days old. We propose that starvation is the major cause of duckling mortality. Examination of faecal samples and stable isotope analysis of feathers and potential food items provide evidence that adult pochards are insectivorous, favouring caddis fly larvae. Macroinvertebrate density in the benthos of Matsaborimena is low. Adults spend 38% of daylight hours foraging, mainly in the shallowest water. However Matsaborimena is steep-sided and has no areas shallow enough for diving ducklings to feed. We conclude that these lakes are not good breeding habitat for this species. The Madagascar Pochard’s persistence here and not at other sites is probably due to a lack of the human-induced habitat degradation that has impacted many other wetlands in Madagascar.

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