scholarly journals Temporal trends in abundance and phenology of migratory birds across the Italian Alps during a 20-year period

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 13-28
Author(s):  
Alessandro Franzoi ◽  
Simone Tenan ◽  
Paula Lorenzo Sanchez ◽  
Paolo Pedrini
Keyword(s):  
Bird Migration ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Linear Increase ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Passerine Birds ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Elevational Distribution

Introduction: Bird migration across mountainous regions has been studied usually at single sites due to the difficulty in employing and support a multi-site sampling effort. This may affect inference on migration whose scale is larger that a single site. The Progetto Alpi has been monitoring post-breeding bird migration through the Italian Alps with a network of several ringing stations since 1997. Until 2017, 666,471 ringing data of 191 different species were collected. Methods: Phenology of bird migration in terms of date of capture and the related elevational distribution during the sampling season (August-November) were analysed for 69 species. For a subset of 45 species the inter-annual variation in phenology along with trends in the number of ringed birds and in the ratio between the number of juveniles and adults ringed, were also analysed. Results: Migration through the Italian Alps occurred differently between species, with heterogeneity across species in the median date of capture and their elevational distribution. No linear trends in phenology were detected. For four species an annual linear increase of the ringed individuals was detected, while for other four species an annual linear decrease of the captures was detected. For two species, an increase of the ratio between the number of the juveniles and the number of adults ringed was detected. Conclusions: The long-term standardized monitoring of post-breeding migration allowed us to consolidate and increase knowledge of bird migration through Italian southern Alps. The information gathered allowed us to define the temporal and elevation distribution of passerine birds crossing the mountainous area, and to test interannual trends in the number of captures. The main purpose of this work was to report on the information collected in twenty years of field activity, providing a contribution to the understanding this complex phenomenon. Further investigations and more in-depth analyses are necessary to understand how environmental factors and species-specific eco-physiological traits interact and affect migratory strategies of passerine birds in the Italian Alpine region.

scholarly journals Landscape analysis for multi-hazard prevention in Orco and Soana valleys, Northwest Italy

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1963-1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Turconi ◽  
D. Tropeano ◽  
G. Savio ◽  
S. K. De ◽  
P. J. Mason
Keyword(s):  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Natural Hazard ◽  
Thematic Maps ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Alpine Environment ◽  
Natural Risk ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Morphological Studies ◽  
Field Evidence ◽  
Different Types

Abstract. The study area (600 km2), consisting of Orco and Soana valleys in the Western Italian Alps, experienced different types of natural hazards, typical of the whole Alpine environment. Some of the authors have been requested to draw a civil protection plan for such mountainous regions. This offered the special opportunity (1) to draw a lot of unpublished historical data, dating back several centuries mostly concerning natural hazard processes and related damages, (2) to develop original detailed geo-morphological studies in a region still poorly known, (3) to prepare detailed thematic maps illustrating landscape components related to natural conditions and hazards, (4) to thoroughly check present-day situations in the area compared to the effects of past events and (5) to find adequate natural hazard scenarios for all sites exposed to risk. The method of work has been essentially to compare archival findings with field evidence in order to assess natural hazard processes, their occurrence and magnitude, and to arrange all such elements in a database for GIS-supported thematic maps. Several types of natural hazards, such as landslides, rockfalls, debris flows, stream floods and snow avalanches cause huge damage to lives and properties (housings, roads, tourist sites). We aim to obtain newly acquired knowledge in this large, still poorly understood area as well as develop easy-to-interpret products such as natural risk maps.

scholarly journals The Ringing Site In Jericho (Palestine) – Development Of Bird Migration And Parasitological Research On The Great Rift Valley Flyway

Ring ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Awad ◽  
Izabella Rząd ◽  
Przemysław Busse
Keyword(s):  
Bird Migration ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
North African ◽  
Jordan Valley ◽  
Field Methods ◽  
Local Species ◽  
New Research ◽  
Great Rift Valley

ABSTRACT A new research project near Jericho in the Jordan Valley (Palestine) was launched on 10 September 2013, work continued until October 23rd 2013. Standard ornithological work and bird ringing work was conducted using mist nets situated in an oasis type habitat of Wadi Qelt surrounded by palm plantations. The field methods followed the SEEN (SE European Bird Migration Network) standards that include apart from ringing of captured birds, also several measurements (wing length, tail length, wing formula) and scores (fat load and body mass), as well as the studies on the directional preferences of migrants using round, flat orientation cages. Ornithological research was enhanced by parasitological studies analysing migratory birds (hosts) - helminths relations during migration period of the former. This was a part of complex studies covering the Middle East and north African ringing sites. Altogether 481 individuals of birds representing 59 species were ringed and about 50 were retrapped. The most interesting was relatively high share of Masked and Red-backed shrikes as well as good number of birds of local species as Dead Sea Sparrows and introduced Indian Silverbills.

Implementation of Detailed Chemistry Mechanisms in Engine Simulations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prithwish Kundu ◽  
Muhsin M. Ameen ◽  
Chao Xu ◽  
Umesh Unnikrishnan ◽  
Tianfeng Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Operator Splitting ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Linear Increase ◽  
Flamelet Model ◽  
Detailed Chemistry ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Computational Resources ◽  
New Framework

The stiffness of large chemistry mechanisms has been proved to be a major hurdle towards predictive engine simulations. As a result, detailed chemistry mechanisms with a few thousand species need to be reduced based on target conditions so that they can be accommodated within the available computational resources. The computational cost of simulations typically increase super-linearly with the number of species and reactions. This work aims to bring detailed chemistry mechanisms within the realm of engine simulations by coupling the framework of unsteady flamelets and fast chemistry solvers. A previously developed Tabulated Flamelet Model (TFM) framework for non-premixed combustion was used in this study. The flamelet solver consists of the traditional operator-splitting scheme with VODE (Variable coefficient ODE solver) and a numerical Jacobian for solving the chemistry. In order to use detailed mechanisms with thousands of species, a new framework with the LSODES (Livermore Solver for ODEs in Sparse form) chemistry solver and an analytical Jacobian was implemented in this work. Results from 1D simulations show that with the new framework, the computational cost is linearly proportional to the number of species in a given chemistry mechanism. As a result, the new framework is 2–3 orders of magnitude faster than the conventional VODE solver for large chemistry mechanisms. This new framework was used to generate unsteady flamelet libraries for n-dodecane using a detailed chemistry mechanism with 2,755 species and 11,173 reactions. The Engine Combustion Network (ECN) Spray A experiments which consist of an igniting n-dodecane spray in turbulent, high-pressure engine conditions are simulated using large eddy simulations (LES) coupled with detailed mechanisms. A grid with 0.06 mm minimum cell size and 22 million peak cell count was implemented. The framework is validated across a range of ambient temperatures against ignition delay and liftoff lengths. Qualitative results from the simulations were compared against experimental OH and CH2O PLIF data. The models are able to capture the spatial and temporal trends in species compared to those observed in the experiments. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons between the predictions of the reduced and detailed mechanisms are presented in detail. The main goal of this study is to demonstrate that detailed reaction mechanisms (∼1000 species) can now be used in engine simulations with a linear increase in computation cost with number of species during the tabulation process and a small increase in the 3D simulation cost.

scholarly journals Partisipasi Masyarakat di Daerah Pegunungan terhadap Perwujudan Good Governance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rais Rahmat Razak
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Linear Regression ◽  
Community Participation ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Simple Linear Regression ◽  
Summary Table ◽  
Simple Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Mountainous Regions

Community participation in mountainous areas towards the realization of Good Governance in Maiwa District, Enrekang Regency ". The study aims to 1) To determine the participation of the community in the mountainous area of Maiwa Subdistrict 2) To find out the realization of good governance in Maiwa Subdistrict 3) To determine the effect of community participation in the mountainous region on the realization of good governance in Maiwa District, Enrekang Regency. The method used is descriptive quantitative research with frequency table analysis techniques to determine the condition of independent and dependent variables, namely the participation of people in mountainous regions as the variable "X" and the realization of good governance as a variable "Y", while to find out the formulation of associative problems using Simple Linear Regression Analysis . The results showed that the participation of the community in the mountainous area of Maiwa Subdistrict was 69.2 in the "Good" category. The realization of 77.02 percent good governance in the category of "Good" while the influence of participation in the mountainous community towards the realization of good governance using simple linear regression analysis then processed using spss version 20.00 obtained R2 or R square values from the summary table of 0.239 or 23.9 percent Community participation in mountainous regions has an influence on the realization of good governance in Maiwa Subdistrict, Enrekang Regency. While 76.1 percent is caused by other factors not examined.

scholarly journals Modern application and prospects of the stable isotopes  method for studying avian influenza A virus transmission   in migratory birds

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 92-100
Author(s):  
O. R. Druzyaka ◽  
A. V. Druzyaka ◽  
M. A. Gulyaeva ◽  
F. Huettmann ◽  
A. M. Shestopalov
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Avian Influenza ◽  
Influenza A Virus ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Bird Migration ◽  
Migratory Birds ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Viral Pathogen ◽  
Avian Influenza A Virus

Aim. The circulation and transmission of pathogens is a global biological phenomenon that is closely associated with bird migration. This analysis was carried out with  the aim of understanding and assessing the prospects of using the stable isotope  method to study the circulation and transmission of the avian influenza A virus via  migratory birds. Discussion. Insufficient data on the distances of migration of infected birds and their  interpopulational relationships leaves open the question of the transmission of highly pathogenic influenza viruses (HSV) in the wild bird population. A deeper study of  the role of migrations in the spread of HSV may possibly allow the more effective  investigation of the transmission of the viral pathogen between individuals at migration stopover sites and the clarification of global migration routes. New methodological approaches are providing a more complete picture of the geography and phenology of migrations, as well as of the consequences of migratory behavior for species biology. The study of the quantitative component of migratory flows based on  the analysis of the content of stable isotopes (SIMS) in bird tissues seems very promising. This method is being applied to the solution of various environmental issues,  including the study of animal migrations.   Conclusion. Based on data from the scientific literature, it is shown that SIMS is  promising for the clarification of bird migration routes and the quantification of their  intensity. The resolving power of the method is sufficient to determine the migration  pathways of carriers of viral pathogens on the scale of zoogeographic subdomains  and in even further detail. However, to date, there have been few such studies: in  Russia they have not been conducted at all. The increased use of the SIMS methodology may possibly reveal new ways in which viral infections are spread via birds.  

scholarly journals [Transiting species, phenologies and their trends]

2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-144
Author(s):  
Paolo Pedrini ◽  
Alessandro Franzoi ◽  
Paula Lorenzo Sanchez ◽  
Fernando Spina ◽  
Simone Tenan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Operating Time ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Italian Alps ◽  
Trend Analyses ◽  
Continuous Activity ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Migratory Period ◽  
Different Altitudes

[In order to contribute to the knowledge of the spatio-temporal progression of post-nuptial migration of birds across the Italian Alps, we present in detail the results of the analysis carried out for 69 species (4 non-Passeriformes; 65 Passeriformes) of the 191 ringed within the Progetto Alpi. Data were collected in 40 ringing stations located in different habitats and at different altitudes (mountain passes, slopes and valley floors) and active in the post-breeding migratory period (1 August - 30 November). Among these, those (n=15) with continuous activity (at least one month) and known sampling effort (daily capture effort described as product of net area in square meters by operating time in hours) were selected. Data from the 6 stations that operated continuously over the years (2001-2017) and with standardised capture effort were used for trend analyses. Species covered refer to those with more than 100 birds ringed within the first eight hours after sunrise (excluding local retraps). Species accounts contain detailed data from datasets from all stations participating in the Alps Project (1997-2017)].   [Article in Italian]

scholarly journals Precision as a metric for acoustic survey design using occupancy or spatial capture-recapture

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius Juodakis ◽  
Isabel Castro ◽  
Stephen Marsland
Keyword(s):  
Survey Design ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Occupancy Modelling ◽  
Call Recognition ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Capture Recapture

AbstractPassive acoustic surveys provide a convenient and cost-effective way to monitor animal populations. Methods for conducting and analysing such surveys, especially for performing automated call recognition from sound recordings, are undergoing rapid development. However, no standard metric exists to evaluate the proposed changes. Furthermore, most metrics that are currently used are specific to a single stage of the survey workflow, and therefore may not reflect the overall effects of a design choice.Here, we attempt to define and evaluate the effectiveness of surveys conducted in two common frameworks of population inference – occupancy modelling and spatially explicit capture-recapture (SCR). Specifically, we investigate precision (standard error of the final estimate) as a possible metric of survey performance, but we show that it does not lead to generally optimal designs in occupancy modelling. In contrast, precision of the SCR density estimate can be optimised with fewer experiment-specific parameters. We illustrate these issues using simulations.We further demonstrate how SCR precision can be used to evaluate design choices on a field survey of little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii). We show that precision correctly measures tradeoffs involving sampling effort. As a case study, we compare automated call recognition software with human annotations. The proposed metric captured the tradeoff between missed calls (8% loss of precision when using the software) and faster data through-put (60% gain), while common metrics based on per-second agreement failed to identify optimal improvements and could be inflated by deleting data.Due to the flexibility of SCR framework, the approach presented here can be applied to a wide range of different survey designs. As the precision is directly related to the power of detecting temporal trends or other effects in the subsequent inference, this metric evaluates design choices at the application level, and can capture tradeoffs that are missed by stage-specific metrics, thus enabling reliable comparison between different experimental designs and analysis methods.

scholarly journals Delineation of groundwater potential zones in rocky aquifers in the mountainous area of Central Nepal

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh Pathak ◽  
Surendra Raj Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Relevant Information ◽  
Groundwater Potential ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Mountainous Terrain ◽  
Groundwater Potential Zones ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Central Nepal ◽  
The People ◽  
Thematic Layer ◽  
Groundwater Potential Map

Groundwater is the lifeline for the people residing in the mountainous regions of Nepal as they are dependent in this natural resource for drinking and other domestic purposes. The springs and seepages are reported to be drying in many places in Nepalese mountains in the recent time. Such problem is expected to be much more severe in view of climate change condition in the future. In this regard, it is important to establish a methodology to explore groundwater in the mountainous terrain for better planning. In order to delineate groundwater potential zones of rocky aquifers in the mountainous terrain, study has been carried out in Melamchi watershed, lying in the Sindhupalchowk district, Nepal. Various thematic layers have been prepared in GIS and the satellite imageries have been used to extract relevant information. Ranks and weights have been assigned to each thematic layer and its classes, respectively. The rasterized layers have been combined and classifi ed and the resulting map is crossed with the existing springs. It is found that the moderate and high potential classes of the groundwater potential map are represented by the existing springs. This method is expected to be useful at the preliminary watershed level study of groundwater potential in the mountainous terrain of central Nepal.

scholarly journals Temporal Trends and Potential Drivers of Stranded Marine Debris on Beaches Within Two US National Marine Sanctuaries Using Citizen Science Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy V. Uhrin ◽  
Sherry Lippiatt ◽  
Carlie E. Herring ◽  
Kyle Dettloff ◽  
Kate Bimrose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
The United States ◽  
Linear Increase ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Search Pattern ◽  
Seasonal Patterns ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Sampling Window ◽  
The Impact

Marine debris is a threat to our ocean that can be more effectively addressed through monitoring and assessment of items stranded on shorelines. This study engaged citizen scientists to conduct shoreline marine debris surveys according to a published NOAA protocol within the Greater Farallones and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuaries on the west coast of the United States. Here, we use the results of these multi-year monitoring data to estimate marine debris abundance and temporal trends, and identify drivers of debris loads. Changes in debris counts and composition are shown to reflect seasonal patterns of coastal upwelling and downwelling, but longer temporal trends in overall debris loads depend on the sampling window. Identifying drivers of stranded debris is challenging given the observational nature of the data. A linear increase in total expected debris counts was observed when up to five participants are conducting a survey, suggesting a need to standardize the number of participants and their search pattern for debris in shoreline monitoring efforts. Lastly, we discuss the application of shoreline marine debris data to evaluate the impact of management decisions and identify new targets for mitigation.

Consideration of Evacuation Drills Utilizing the Capabilities of People with Special Needs

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 794-801
Author(s):  
Takashi Sugiyama ◽  
Katsuya Yamori ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Special Needs ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Participation Rate ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Disaster Prevention ◽  
Mountainous Regions ◽  
Evacuation Drills ◽  
Evacuation Behaviors

People with special needs are at higher risk during a disaster than those without because of delayed disaster evacuation behaviors. Therefore, one of the top priorities in the field of disaster risk reduction is implementing evacuation support for the people with special needs. However, assistance is often limited, especially in areas with declining and aging populations. In addition, past evacuation activities for people with special needs have tended to focus on the barriers they face and assistance they need during evacuation rather than their utilizable capabilities. Therefore, this study considers evacuation drills that utilize the capabilities of people with special needs. An “indoor evacuation drill” was developed and the evacuation behaviors of residents with special needs were analyzed. An indoor evacuation drill is defined as an evacuation activity that participants carry out within their own homes – for example, evacuating from the bedroom to an exit. In coastal areas, such a drill helps residents prepare to evacuate their homes in case of a tsunami, while in mountainous regions, it helps them prepare for evacuation to the upper floors in case of a landslide. The study participants were residents of Hamamachi ward (a coastal area) and Kumai ward (a mountainous area) in Kuroshio town, Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. The results indicate that an indoor evacuation drill conducted in the participants’ living area, such as the entrance or second floor of their home, is easier to implement than usual disaster evacuation drills, and helps people with special needs regain autonomy in disaster risk reduction activities. Moreover, the participation rate of the target population in local evacuation drills increased after participating in the indoor evacuation drills. Existing evacuation drills often overlook people with special needs, and delays in disaster prevention for this population are often associated with their lack of interest in related activities. However, the results of this study suggest that disaster prevention activities themselves sometimes overlook the challenges faced by people with special needs and prevent them from participating.

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