scholarly journals Responsiveness to acoustic stimulation, distribution and habitat preferences of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos minor, in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (North-eastern Italy)

2015 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 51
Author(s):  
Gianluca Rassati

From 2005 to 2013 in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (NE Italy), using the playback method, a study on the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, <em>Dendrocopos</em> <em>minor</em>, was carried out. The aims were to identify the trends in distribution, the range, and the habitat preferences, along with the evaluation of the responsiveness to acoustic stimulation. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker responded in 10.67% of the points where a conspecifics stimulus was emitted, demonstrating a “strong” responsiveness to the first stimulus. In the case of a response, males prevailed, and the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was confirmed as the <em>Picidae</em> species that tended to show itself the most (79.17% of the points). Thanks to the tendency to expand the range and to occupy new zones within the known range, most of the suitable environments were occupied in the Provinces of Trieste and Gorizia and from the lowlands to the outer prealpine zone, even in urban areas. In the montane zone, expansion occurred through ascending of the valleys and slopes. The species was found from sea level to 1200 m (mean altitude: 429±270 SD m a.s.l.) and particularly below 800 m a.s.l. (about 90% of the contacts). Of all the contacts, 71.69% occurred in broadleaf woodlands. Woodlands along watercourses were revealed to be very important (most highly represented forest type with more than one fifth of contacts), which have allowed the species to live in the lowlands and subsequently colonize other suitable environments, and the countryside and orchards, which are fundamental in the mountains for the spread and permanence of the taxon. In some areas, densities of 1.11-2.50 territories/100 ha were obtained. In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a population of 150-190 pairs has been estimated, with an increase of just over 60% compared to the beginning of the century. Finally, some aspects concerning conservation-related problems are reported.

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Gianluca Rassati

The study was carried out from 2003 to 2011 with the aim of determining the responsiveness to acoustic stimulation, the distribution and the habitat preferences of <em>Picus canus</em> and <em>Picoides tridactylus</em> in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (NE Italy). <em>P. canus</em> resulted as being more responsive than <em>P. tridactylus</em> to conspecifics stimulation, responding in 13.23% of the points where a stimulus was emitted, against 7.65% of the other species. In both taxa, when there was a response, it was predominantly by the male birds. The most frequent type of response in <em>P. canus</em> was song, heard in 57.89% of the points, while for <em>P. tridactylus</em>, it was drumming, which was heard in 65.38% of the points. For both species (especially for P. tridactylus), a tendency was recorded to expand the range and to occupy new areas within the known range. <em>P. canus i</em>n Friuli-Venezia Giulia was found from altitudes close to the sea level up to the treeline (range 0-2000 m a.s.l.), while <em>P. tridactylus</em> was found in montane and subalpine woodlands (range 800- 2000 m a.s.l.). The observations of P. canus were obtained at a mean altitude of 977 m a.s.l. (± 402 SD), located in the altitudinal belt dominated by Fagus sylvatica L., which is present in more than half of the woodlands in which the woodpecker was found.<em> P. tridactylus</em> was discovered at a mean altitude of 1424 m a.s.l. (± 246 SD), located in the altitudinal belt dominated by Picea abies (L.) H. Karst., which is present in almost 90% of the woodlands in which this species was found. In some areas, densities of 0.67-2.26 territories/100 ha were obtained for<em> P. canus</em> and 0.16-0.40 territories/100 ha for <em>P. tridactylus.</em> In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a population of 320-390 pairs of P. canus and 45-60 pairs of P. tridactylus has been estimated, with an approximate 15% increase of<em> P. canus</em> compared to the beginning of the century, and just over 60% for the other species. Finally, some aspects concerning conservation-related problems are reported.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Cegolon ◽  
G. Mastrangelo ◽  
G. Maso ◽  
G. Dal Pozzo ◽  
L. Ronfani ◽  
...  

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Francesca Dal Cin ◽  
Fransje Hooimeijer ◽  
Maria Matos Silva

Future sea-level rises on the urban waterfront of coastal and riverbanks cities will not be uniform. The impact of floods is exacerbated by population density in nearshore urban areas, and combined with land conversion and urbanization, the vulnerability of coastal towns and public spaces in particular is significantly increased. The empirical analysis of a selected number of waterfront projects, namely the winners of the Mies Van Der Rohe Prize, highlighted the different morphological characteristics of public spaces, in relation to the approximation to the water body: near the shoreline, in and on water. The critical reading of selected architectures related to water is open to multiple insights, allowing to shift the design attention from the building to the public space on the waterfronts. The survey makes it possible to delineate contemporary features and lay the framework for urban development in coastal or riverside areas.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro J. Pinto ◽  
G. Mathias Kondolf ◽  
Pun Lok Raymond Wong

San Francisco Bay, the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of North America, is heavily encroached by a metropolitan region with over 7 million inhabitants. Urban development and infrastructure, much of which built over landfill and at the cost of former baylands, were placed at very low elevations. Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a formidable challenge to these highly exposed urban areas and already stressed natural systems. “Green”, or ecosystem-based, adaptation is already on the way around the Bay. Large scale wetland restoration projects have already been concluded, and further action now often requires articulation with the reinforcement of flood defense structures, given the level of urban encroachment. While levee setback, or removal, would provide greater environmental benefit, the need to protect urban areas and infrastructure has led to the trial of ingenious solutions for promoting wetland resilience while upgrading the level of protection granted by levees.We analyzed the Bay’s environmental governance and planning structure, through direct observation, interviews with stakeholders, and study of planning documents and projects. We present two cases where actual implementation of SLR adaptation has led, or may lead to, the need to revise standards &amp; practices or to make uneasy choices between conflicting public interests.Among the region’s stakeholders, there is an increasing awareness of the risks related to SLR, but the institutional arrangements are complex, and communication between the different public agencies/departments is not always as streamlined as it could be. Some agencies and departments need to adapt their procedures in order to remove institutional barriers to adaptation, but path dependence is an obstacle. There is evidence that more frank and regular communication between public actors is needed. It also emphasizes the benefits of a coordination of efforts and strategies, something that was eroded in the transition from government-led policies to a new paradigm of local-based adaptive governance.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Cerro ◽  

According to the United Nations, presently, about 54% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, with the number expected to increase to 66% by 2050. Urban areas which are ill prepared to deal with their present population needs will have to develop and manage; housing, healthcare, education, transportation, infrastructure and food pro-duction for an additional 2.5 billion people. With three-quarters of the world’s megalopolis by the sea and 80% of people living within 60 miles of the coast, sea level rise will force a new way of thinking about urban development. Managing urban areas has become one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century. In the UAE specifically, there are nearly 1,300 kilometers of coast-line. Approximately 85% of the population and over 90% of the infra-structure are located within several meters of sea level in low-lying coastal areas. This poses a very specific urban problem of relocation. But not all relocation will need to be done inland. The potential for floating architecture is a very real possibility to help solve some of the problems brought on by the rise in sea level. This is why at the American University of Sharjah, we have been studying this issue and other sustainability related opportunities in a series of courses that started in 2014 with a summer studio course set in Cambodia. Students lived with a floating community in the Tong le Sap lake for a month, studying vernacular floatation systems to inform the development of proposals for floating dwelling studies. This semester (Spring 2018), a fifth year architecture studio set up to transfer specific urban functions to the water within protected areas in the UAE. The aim of the studio was to start looking at possible implementation of floating systems within everyday functions to start a discussion of the potential of this technologies and the feasibility of its use at both an industrial and commercial level. The idea was to develop a series systemic interdependent sustainable designs based on the idea of third nature, hybridizing complex relationships between distinct functions in environments above and below water. This paper will cover the methodology implemented to start tackling these subjects in the studio environment with the aim to create awareness for designers and the general public.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Mitchell ◽  
Robert E. Isdell ◽  
Julie Herman ◽  
Christine Tombleson

Accelerating sea level rise in Virginia, United States, will significantly increase the flooding threat to low-lying roads, residences, and critical infrastructure as well as raise the water table, allowing saltwater intrusion into well water and threatening the function of septic fields. Although most of the adaptation work in Virginia has focused on urban economic centers, the majority of the coastline is rural and faces different threats and opportunities to address them compared to urban areas due to their reduced economic assets and their reliance on private infrastructure. In this case study, we assess the potential for geospatially quantifying impact to septic systems and adjacent water ways due to sea level rise. The case study found that the data necessary to reliably quantify these impacts on a state-wide scale are lacking and collection of that information needs to be prioritized given the potential for extensive sea level impacts.


1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
AF Bennett ◽  
LF Lumsden ◽  
JSA Alexander ◽  
PE Duncan ◽  
PG Johnson ◽  
...  

A total of 1487 observations of nine species of arboreal mammal, Acrobates pygmaeus, Phascolarctos cinereus, Petauroides volans, Petaurus australis, P. breviceps, P. norfolcensis, Pseudocheirusperegrinus, Trichosurus caninus and T. vulpecula, were made during surveys of the vertebrate fauna of northeastern Victoria. Habitat use by each species was examined in relation to eight forest types that occur along an environmental gradient ranging from sites at high elevation with a high annual rainfall, to sites on the dry inland and riverine plains. Arboreal mammals were not evenly distributed between forest types. Three species (P. australis, P. volans and T. caninus) were mainly associated with moist tall forests; two species (P. norfolcensis and T. vulpecula) were primarily associated with drier forests and woodlands of the foothills; the remaining three species (A. pygmaeus, P. breviceps and P. peregrinus) occurred widely throughout the forests. The composition of the arboreal mammal assemblage changed along the environmental gradient, but species displayed gradual changes in abundance with forest type rather than marked discontinuities in distributional pattern. The highest overall frequencies of occurrence of arboreal mammals were in forests typically dominated by a mixture of eucalypt species. The position at first sighting of an animal, and the relative height in the forest stratum, were used to describe the micro-habitats utilised. In general, the microhabitats occupied by each species are consistent with the distribution of their known food resources.


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