scholarly journals Home range and activity of African goshawks Accipiter tachiro in relation to their predation on bats

Koedoe ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
I.L. Rautenbach ◽  
M.B. Fenton ◽  
A.C. Kemp ◽  
S.J. Van Jaarsveld

Winter radio-tracking of three African goshawks Accipiter tachiro showed that they each occupied well-wooded home ranges of at least 28 hectares. They perched and roosted mainly within densely foliaged trees and an adult female changed perches on average 4,7 times per hour. No crepuscular predation of bats was recorded, in contrast to regular summer predation on colonies of little free-tailed bats, Tadarida pumila, but winter emergence rates of these bats at dusk had dropped to < 5 of the previous summer. We predict that many accipiters will be regular predators of bats and that skewed sex ratios and high fecundity may be two means by which bats counter this predation.

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn F. Wilson ◽  
Helene Marsh ◽  
John Winter

Roads and powerline corridors destroy canopy connectivity in the rainforest of north-east Australia. We tested the hypotheses that linear barriers affect (a) the alignment of home ranges, (b) use of habitat either side of linear barriers, and (c) the crossing of them by the strictly arboreal lemuroid ringtail possum (Hemibelideus lemuroides), which is known to be vulnerable to habitat fragmentation. Radio-tracking and a translocation experiment were conducted at a narrow 7-m-wide road and an 80-m-wide powerline. Homes ranges of lemuroid ringtails ranged from 0.15 to 1.67 ha (minimum convex polygon) and were aligned with the road but not powerline corridors. When lemuroid ringtails were experimentally translocated, wider canopy clearings over roads reduced their capacity to return to their original home range, and the powerline corridor was a nearly insurmountable barrier. No possums were observed crossing roads or the powerline corridor at ground level or residing in the intervening matrix, indicating that loss of canopy connectivity has a negative impact on their movements.


1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 547 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Evans

Home ranges and movement schedules of sympatric bridled nailtail wallabies, Onychogalea fraenata, and black-striped wallabies, Macropus dorsalis, were studied during wet and dry seasons by radio-tracking. Home ranges of black-striped wallabies (91 ha) were much larger than those of bridled nailtail wallabies (40 ha). Home-range size differed between sexes for bridled nailtail wallabies (males, 59 ha; females, 26 ha), but not for black-striped wallabies. Intraspecific seasonal differences in home-range size were not significant. All home ranges included diurnal shelter habitat, although the preferred type of shelter habitat was different for each species. Movement schedules differed significantly between wet and dry seasons for black-striped wallabies (which made a higher frequency of longer-distance movements during the dry season than during the wet season), but not for bridled nailtail wallabies.


1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ Taylor

Home range, nest use and activity of the Tasmanian bettong, Bettongia gaimardi, was investigated in northern Tasmania. During 3-week periods in August and November 1986 and February and May 1987 radio-tracking of six females and three males was undertaken, five of these being tracked in more than one period. Home ranges of males were larger than those of females. There was no indication of any major differences in home-range size or shifts in location of home ranges between seasons. Nightly patterns of movement were essentially random with distances of 500-600 m between half-hourly locations being not uncommon. Males occasionally showed a more regular pattern of movement possibly related to searching for oestrous females. Bettongs became active soon after dark. The number of hours spent active was greatest during May (79% of length of night) and lowest during November (93% of night). Bettongs occasionally rested at night between two bouts of activity. Nests are formed from a hollowed-out bundle of plant material and located under fallen trees, shrubs or logs, or under low shrubs or clumps of ground vegetation such as Lomandra. Individuals used 3-6 nests per 3-week tracking period. Nests were usually only used consecutively for one or two nights, and different nests were used to different extents. A different set of nests tended to be used in different months. Nests showed some tendency to be located at one end of the home range. Nesting areas used by different individuals overlapped.


2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edsel Amorim Moraes Junior ◽  
Adriano Garcia Chiarello

From August 2001 to July 2002 the home range and movements of seven Micoureus demerarae (Thomas, 1905) (three males and four females) were investigated using radio tracking in the União Biological Reserve, state of Rio de Janeiro, south-eastern Brazil. A total of 436 locations was obtained and home range estimated with fixed Kernel (95% of data points), and minimum convex polygon (MCP) methods, with 100 and 95% of data points. Male home ranges estimated by MCP (100%) ranged from 5.4-24.2 ha and females from 0.3-10.7 ha. Corresponding figures calculated with Kernel (95%) were 4-10.9 ha for males and 1.3-5.9 ha for females. Animals travelled on average 423 m/night, with males travelling significantly further (582.8 m/night) than females (335.1 m/night) (t test, t = 3.609, p = 0.001). We concluded that radio tracking produced much larger home ranges than those estimated with traditional live-trapping techniques, suggesting that the latter might underestimate ranging when the area covered with traps is relatively small (ca. 1 ha or less). Radio tracking also indicated that M. demerarae, although predominantly arboreal and weighting only ca. 130 g., has movements similar in magnitude to larger-sized terrestrial didelphimorph marsupials, such as Didelphis Linnaeus, 1758, Philander Linnaeus, 1758 and Metachirus (Desmarest, 1817).


2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Molyneux ◽  
David A. Taggart ◽  
Anthony Corrigan ◽  
Sean Frey

In 2008, after 9 years of presumed local extinction, brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) were reintroduced at Moora Moora Creek in the Grampians National Park, western Victoria. Since little is known about this species in Victoria, the reintroduction presented an important opportunity to gain information on the species’ ecology. Radio-tracking was undertaken and home range determined for three individuals released 11 months before this study and a further five individuals that were released at the commencement of the study in October 2009. Home-range size showed little variation amongst individuals, with a mean overall home range of 26 ha (±1.69, s.e.) and a mean core home range of 2.5 ha (±0.24, s.e.). Newly reintroduced individuals showed higher levels of association with wallabies from the same release and greater site fidelity when known conspecifics were close. Within 5 months of release, newly reintroduced animals showed home ranges similar in both size and distribution to those of animals released 11 months prior.


Mammal Study ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-Soo Kim ◽  
Jong-U Kim ◽  
Jong-Hoon Jeon ◽  
Jong Koo Lee ◽  
Woo-Shin Lee

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
pp. 1309-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran N. Cederlund ◽  
Håkan K. G. Sand

Dispersal of subadult moose (Alces alces) in a sedentary population in central Sweden was studied during 1983 – 1989 by radio-tracking individuals for up to 11 seasons after their abandonment by the cow. Linear distance between geometric centers of natal area and consecutive home ranges increased with time among males, but not by more than about 4 km. The main increase occurred in autumn, probably due to rutting activities. Females maintained a fairly consistent distance of approximately 1 km throughout the study period. Seasonal home range overlap of natal area was negatively correlated with time for both sexes, but the patterns in the decrease differed. For males, the overlap was 10–40% after the first year, whereas female home ranges never overlapped by less than 40%. Overlap of consecutive seasonal home ranges increased significantly with age in both sexes. Neither sex dispersed out of the study area, since the animals were highly philopatric. The absence of dispersal (high philopatry) in moose in Fennoscandia is an important factor affecting demographic processes (and perhaps also genetic processes) within and between populations. It is important to distinguish different subpopulations of moose and manage them with respect to their unique demographic features.


1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 435 ◽  
Author(s):  
N Dexter

The hypothesis that disturbance from a shooting exercise using a helicopter will influence the behaviour of surviving feral pigs, Sus scrofa, was tested on a population of radio-collared feral pigs in north-western New South Wales. No significant differences existed in hourly distance moved by pigs, diel variation in distance moved by pigs, or home-range size of pigs, between a radio-tracking session conducted immediately before a shooting exercise from a helicopter and a radio-tracking session conducted during and after the exercise. The position of the home ranges of feral pigs did not appear to be affected by the shooting exercise, although several radio-collared feral pigs moved into and out of the study area between tracking sessions. Overall, the results suggest that the disturbance caused by shooting has little effect on the behaviour of surviving feral pigs.


Mammalia ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Haigh ◽  
Ruth M. O’Riordan ◽  
Fidelma Butler

AbstractAs a non-territorial species with no known dispersal period, there are no obvious factors that regulate hedgehog numbers in an area. This study aimed to examine these factors and involved the radio-tracking of rural hedgehogs over a 3-year period. Males had a significantly larger mean annual home range (56 ha) than females (16.5 ha), which was at its maximum during the breeding season. Outside of the breeding season, the home range was relatively small (4–5 ha) in both sexes. The home ranges of males completely overlapped both each other and all of the females. In contrast, females occupied more exclusive areas with little overlap between one another. On a nightly basis, both sexes occupied spatially independent areas with little overlap. Compositional analysis of the data showed that habitats were not used in proportion to their availability but were selected, and this changed seasonally, with the highest preference being for garden and arable land. Hedgehogs tagged for consecutive years exhibited site philopatry and followed the same pattern of habitat selection annually. It is suggested that the spatial separation observed amongst individual hedgehogs could restrict numbers in an area and that female numbers reach a carrying capacity before that of males.


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myfanwy J. Runcie

I used trapping and radio-telemetry to study a population of scaly-tailed possums (Wyulda squamicaudata) in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Radio-tracking of five adults over eight days provided detailed information on dens, and on size and shape of the home range, and facilitated nocturnal observations. W. squamicaudata used four different types of rock formations for diurnal dens: rockpiles, sunken rockpiles, large rock slabs and underground rock crevices. Radio-tagged possums of both sexes nested alone, used multiple dens and had overlapping home ranges. Both tagged and untagged possums appeared to be solitary and foraged alone. The average size of the home range was 1.0 ha (range 0.03–2.0 ha). Estimates of density ranged from 2.3 to 4.6 possums per hectare. Scaly-tailed possums fed on leaves of four species of trees (Xanthostemon eucalyptoides, X. paradoxus, Eucalyptus spp., and Planchonia careya) as well as the flowers and seeds of a perennial herb (Trachymere didiscordis). Feeding in trees is aided by the rough scaly tail, which sometimes supports the possum’s full body weight. At this study site W. squamicaudata is sympatric with the rock-haunting possum (Petropseudes dahli), and they may compete for food and den resources.


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