scholarly journals Movements and use of space by Mangrove Cuckoos (Coccyzus minor) in Florida, USA

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3534
Author(s):  
John David Lloyd

I used radio-telemetry to track the movements of Mangrove Cuckoos (Coccyzus minor) captured in southwest Florida. Relatively little is known about the natural history of Mangrove Cuckoos, and my goal was to provide an initial description of how individuals use space, with a focus on the size and placement of home ranges. I captured and affixed VHF radio-transmitters to 32 individuals between 2012 and 2015, and obtained a sufficient number of relocations from 16 of them to estimate home-range boundaries and describe patterns of movement. Home-range area varied widely among individuals, but in general was roughly four times larger than expected based on the body size of Mangrove Cuckoos. The median core area (50% isopleth) of a home range was 42 ha (range: 9–91 ha), and the median overall home range (90% isopleth) was 128 ha (range: 28–319 ha). The median distance between estimated locations recorded on subsequent days was 298 m (95% CI [187 m–409 m]), but variation within and among individuals was substantial, and it was not uncommon to relocate individuals >1 km from their location on the previous day. Site fidelity by individual birds was low; although Mangrove Cuckoos were present year-round within the study area, I did not observe any individuals that remained on a single home range throughout the year. Although individual birds showed no evidence of avoiding anthropogenic edges, they did not incorporate developed areas into their daily movements and home ranges consisted almost entirely of mangrove forest. The persistence of the species in the study area depended on a network of conserved lands–mostly public, but some privately conserved land as well–because large patches of mangrove forest did not occur on tracts left unprotected from development.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D Lloyd

I used radio-telemetry to track the movements of Mangrove Cuckoos (Coccyzus minor) captured in southwest Florida. Relatively little is known about the natural history of Mangrove Cuckoos, and my goal was to provide an initial description of how individuals use space, with a focus on the size and placement of home ranges. I captured and affixed VHF radio-transmitters to 32 individuals between 2012 and 2015, and obtained a sufficient number of relocations from 16 of them to estimate home-range boundaries and describe patterns of movement. Home-range area varied widely among individuals, but in general, was roughly four times larger than expected based on the body size of Mangrove Cuckoos. The median core area (50% isopleth) of a home range was 42 ha (range: 9 – 91 ha), and the median overall home range (90% isopleth) was 128 ha (range: 28 – 319 ha). The median distance between estimated locations recorded on subsequent days was 298 m (95% CI = 187 m – 409 m), but variation within and among individuals was substantial, and it was not uncommon to relocate individuals >1 km from their location on the previous day. Site fidelity by individual birds was low; although Mangrove Cuckoos were present year-round within the study area, I did not observe any individuals that remained on a single home range throughout the year. Although individual birds showed no evidence of avoiding anthropogenic edges, they did not incorporate developed areas into their daily movements and home ranges consisted almost entirely of mangrove forest. The persistence of the species in the study area depended on a network of conserved lands – mostly public, but some privately conserved land as well – because large patches of mangrove forest did not occur on tracts left unprotected from development.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D Lloyd

I used radio-telemetry to track the movements of Mangrove Cuckoos (Coccyzus minor) captured in southwest Florida. Relatively little is known about the natural history of Mangrove Cuckoos, and my goal was to provide an initial description of how individuals use space, with a focus on the size and placement of home ranges. I captured and affixed VHF radio-transmitters to 32 individuals between 2012 and 2015, and obtained a sufficient number of relocations from 16 of them to estimate home-range boundaries and describe patterns of movement. Home-range area varied widely among individuals, but in general, was roughly four times larger than expected based on the body size of Mangrove Cuckoos. The median core area (50% isopleth) of a home range was 42 ha (range: 9 – 91 ha), and the median overall home range (90% isopleth) was 128 ha (range: 28 – 319 ha). The median distance between estimated locations recorded on subsequent days was 298 m (95% CI = 187 m – 409 m), but variation within and among individuals was substantial, and it was not uncommon to relocate individuals >1 km from their location on the previous day. Site fidelity by individual birds was low; although Mangrove Cuckoos were present year-round within the study area, I did not observe any individuals that remained on a single home range throughout the year. Although individual birds showed no evidence of avoiding anthropogenic edges, they did not incorporate developed areas into their daily movements and home ranges consisted almost entirely of mangrove forest. The persistence of the species in the study area depended on a network of conserved lands – mostly public, but some privately conserved land as well – because large patches of mangrove forest did not occur on tracts left unprotected from development.


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javan M. Bauder ◽  
David R. Breininger ◽  
M. Rebecca Bolt ◽  
Michael L. Legare ◽  
Christopher L. Jenkins ◽  
...  

Context Despite the diversity of available home range estimators, no single method performs equally well in all circumstances. It is therefore important to understand how different estimators perform for data collected under diverse conditions. Kernel density estimation is a popular approach for home range estimation. While many studies have evaluated different kernel bandwidth selectors, few studies have compared different formulations of the bandwidth matrix using wildlife telemetry data. Additionally, few studies have compared the performance of kernel bandwidth selectors using VHF radio-telemetry data from small-bodied taxa. Aims In this study, we used eight different combinations of bandwidth selectors and matrices to evaluate their ability to meet several criteria that could be potentially used to select a home range estimator. Methods We used handheld VHF telemetry data from two species of snake displaying non-migratory and migratory movement patterns. We used subsampling to estimate each estimator’s sensitivity to sampling duration and fix rate and compared home range size, the number of disjunct volume contours and the proportion of telemetry fixes not included in those contours among estimators. Key Results We found marked differences among bandwidth selectors with regards to our criteria but comparatively little difference among bandwidth matrices for a given bandwidth selector. Least-squares cross-validation bandwidths exhibited near-universal convergence failure whereas likelihood cross-validation bandwidths showed high sensitivity to sampling duration and fix rate. The reference, plug-in and smoothed cross-validation bandwidths were more robust to variation in sampling intensity, with the former consistently producing the largest estimates of home range size. Conclusions Our study illustrates the performance of multiple kernel bandwidth estimators for estimating home ranges with datasets typical of many small-bodied taxa. The reference and plug-in bandwidths with an unconstrained bandwidth matrix generally had the best performance. However, our study concurs with earlier studies indicating that no single home range estimator performs equally well in all circumstances. Implications Although we did not find strong differences between bandwidth matrices, we encourage the use of unconstrained matrices because of their greater flexibility in smoothing data not parallel to the coordinate axes. We also encourage researchers to select an estimator suited to their study objectives and the life history of their study organism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Silmi ◽  
Kharisma Putra ◽  
Ali Amran ◽  
Mahfud Huda ◽  
Aldino Fauzil Fanani ◽  
...  

The leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is the most widespread feline in Asia. It has been recorded in a range of habitats, including monoculture landscapes, such as oil palm plantations. Here, we report on a study on the presence, home range, activity patterns and diet of the species in an oil palm landscape to assess their viability as biological pest controller of rats. The study took place in United Plantations/PT SSS estate in Central Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. From July 2014 to March 2018, we captured 11 leopard cats in purpose-built cage-traps and fitted them with VHF radio-transmitters. They were tracked for a 44 months study period, during which we collected a total of 2.031 GPS locations used for estimating the respective cats’ activities and home-ranges. The cats are strictly nocturnal and prefer to hide and rest in thick bush, primarily consisting of sword-fern (Nephrolepis sp.) during day-time, but forage both on the ground and in the palm canopy at night. The average home range (95% FK) for male leopard cats is 1.47 km2 (n = 7; SD = 0.62 km2) with slightly smaller home range for females at 1.29 km2 (n = 4; SD = 0.28 km2). All individuals studied were recorded strictly within the oil palm plantation landscape, although mangrove forest habitat makes up 7% of the greater plantation landscape. In conclusion, leopard cats survive and reproduce well in oil palm habitats and are effective biological controllers of rats that can replace the traditionally used expensive and environmentally polluting chemical rat poisons.


2014 ◽  
Vol 74 (3 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. S135-S141
Author(s):  
JF Borini ◽  
BB Petrucci ◽  
W Krohling ◽  
JL Rossi Júnior ◽  
MRD Santos ◽  
...  

Red-footed Tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonariaSpix, 1824) raised as pets and voluntarily handed over to environmental officers by their owners or apprehended by officers represent a large contingent of animals that overfill triage centres in Brazil. There is no consensus on the fate of these animals, and their numbers continue growing. In this study, we evaluated the movement patterns of C. carbonaria originating from triage centres in areas of cocoa plantations and forest remnants to define their home range and dispersion. After 120 days of quarantine and acclimatisation, eight C. carbonaria adults were released and monitored via radio telemetry for 10 months. The radio transmitters of two individuals presented problems, and consequently, it was not possible to track these individuals. Five individuals remained in an area of 7.75 ha 10 months after release, avoiding contact with humans after the first three months. The greatest problems were the proximity of individuals to inhabited areas in the first three months after release, the death of two individuals, and the escape of one individual. After the experiment, the animals were sent back to the triage centre. Our results suggest that a proportion of the animals in the triage centres are able to survive in natural conditions. Considering their survival and fidelity to the release site, the translocation of animals described herein should be considered partially successful. However, if this measure is adopted, it must be preceded by studies of the animals' origins and by a rigorous genetic, sanitary and behavioural analysis of each individual.


Author(s):  
Matthew S. Kendall ◽  
Laughlin Siceloff ◽  
Ashley Ruffo ◽  
Arliss Winship ◽  
Mark E. Monaco

AbstractSurprisingly, little is known about basic life history of the largest moray eel species in the Caribbean region, the green moray eel (Gymnothorax funebris). Sixteen eels were captured from the mangrove fringe in multiple bays on St. Croix, USVI, implanted with coded acoustic transmitters, and their movements were tracked for up to 11 months using an array of 37 stationary acoustic receivers. They exhibited high site fidelity in the bays during their residence, using the same general parts of individual bays and did not switch bays except for one individual. There was no relationship between eel size (mean TL = 83 cm, range = 54–126 cm) and home range size (mean area of 95% KUD = 5.8 ha ± 0.7 SE). Most individuals were more frequently detected at night than during the day suggesting greater nocturnal activity. Several of the larger eels (mean TL = 93 cm ± 5.9 SE) showed clear and permanent emigration tracks out of the mangrove estuary to coral reef habitats offshore. For some individuals, these habitat shifts were preceded by exploratory movements away from the eel’s typical home range the night before emigration. All final emigration events took place nocturnally, happened during a single night, and occurred during months from December to May. Mean emigration speed was 3.4 km/h. This study is the first documentation of an ontogenetic habitat shift in moray eels, as well as the first determination of home range size for this species and their site fidelity in mangrove habitats.


Author(s):  
Rafael Mares ◽  
Ricardo S. Moreno ◽  
Roland W. Kays ◽  
Martin Wikelski

Home range shifts prior to natal dispersal have been rarely documented, yet the events that lead a subadult to abandon a portion of its home range and venture into unfamiliar territories, before eventually setting off to look for a site to reproduce, are probably related to the causes of dispersal itself. Here, we used a combination of manual radio-tracking and an Automated Radio Telemetry System to continuously study the movements of a subadult male ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), a solitary carnivore with sex-biased dispersal, on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, for 18 months from May 2003 through October 2004. The subadult ocelot?s parents were also radio-tracked to record possible parent-offspring interactions within their home ranges. At the age of ca. 21 months the subadult gradually began to shift its natal home range, establishing a new one used until the end of the study, in an area that had previously been used by another dispersing subadult male. Only three parent-offspring interactions were recorded during the four months around the time the range-shift occurred. The apparent peaceful nature of these encounters, along with the slow transition out of a portion of his natal home range, suggest the subadult was not evicted from his natal area by his parents. The timing of the shift, along with the subadult?s increase in weight into the weight range of adult ocelots four months after establishing the new territory, suggests that predispersal home range shifts could act as a low risk and opportunistic strategy for reaching adult size, while minimizing competition with parents and siblings, in preparation for an eventual dispersal into a new breeding territory.


2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 165 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Butler ◽  
B. Malone ◽  
N. Clemann

In many suburban parts of Australia the removal of snakes from private property by licenced snake catchers is employed to mitigate perceived risks to humans and their pets. The number of snakes translocated around greater Melbourne, Victoria, each year can be very high (at least many hundreds). However, the effects of translocation on the behaviour and welfare of individual snakes, and the impact on existing snake populations at release sites are unknown. We used radio-telemetry of ‘resident’ and translocated snakes to investigate the consequences of translocation on the spatial ecology of tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) in a suburban parkland near Melbourne. Fourteen snakes (two female and four male residents, and four female and four male translocated snakes) implanted with radio-transmitters were tracked between spring 2002 and autumn 2003. Translocated snakes exhibited home ranges ~6 times larger than those of residents, although each group maintained core ranges of similar size. Translocated snakes travelled longer distances and were often located in residential areas adjacent to the park, whereas resident snakes were never located outside of the park.


Diversity ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscila da Silva Lucas ◽  
Milene Alves-Eigenheer ◽  
Talitha Mayumi Francisco ◽  
James M. Dietz ◽  
Carlos Ramón Ruiz-Miranda

Linear infrastructures are a primary driver of economic development. However, they also can negatively affect wildlife by mortality and the barrier effect. In this paper, we address how paved and unpaved roads, high-tension power lines, and gas/oil pipelines affect home range size, core areas, and movement in an endangered primate, the golden lion tamarin (GLT). Location data were recorded using radio telemetry on 16 groups in two protected areas and in privately owned forest fragments. The GLT’s home range, not core area, increased in size for the groups that occupied locations far from linear infrastructures; home range was also significantly influenced by available forest size. None of the home ranges contained a road, but home ranges did contain power lines. GLTs used the surrounding landscape near all types of infrastructure. Movement analysis showed that most of the step lengths (distances between subsequent locations) were less than 100 m between two consecutive locations, but step length was longer for roads and longer for groups in fully forested habitats. Tamarins avoided paved roads when in close proximity to this type of infrastructure; this behavior increased in areas without adequate adjacent forest habitat. Our results show that linear infrastructures differ in their level of impact: roads can act as a barrier, whereas other types of infrastructure have minimal effect on movement and home range. We discuss these differences in impact in terms of structure, maintenance schedules, and edge effects of infrastructure.


The Auk ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen D. Ketterson ◽  
Val Nolan

Abstract In previous experiments, Dark-eyed Juncos (Junco hyemalis) were captured on a winter home range to which they had shown year-to-year site fidelity and held there until just before the autumn. They failed to show normal autumn migratory restlessness and fattening, which suggested that previous experience at the migratory destination suppressed readiness to migrate. We asked what the suppressing cues might be. Possibilities included very local features peculiar to the individual's winter home range (e.g. its trees) and cues common to the general region (e.g. geophysical or celestial information); features of the latter sort might give information about latitude. To test these possibilities we monitored autumn restlessness and fattening of new groups of juncos that were held before migration where some could perceive landmarks of their familiar winter home range and others only more general information about their location. In autumn those held at, near, and far south of their winter home ranges again failed to become restless or fat. A small group held far north of their winter home ranges became somewhat restless, significantly more so than the others. These may have perceived that they had not reached their usual winter latitude, but alternative explanations are possible.


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