Use of Space by Black-and-Gold Howler Monkeys (Alouatta caraya) in an Urban Environment in Paraguay.

As urbanisation continues to reduce the available habitat for wildlife some species, such as the black-and-gold howler monkey (Alouatta caraya) in Pilar, southwest Paraguay, are making their homes in anthropogenic environments. Understanding an animal's home range is an important first step to understanding its ecological needs, an essential requirement for robust conservation plans. In this study we determined the home ranges and core areas of five groups of urban dwelling A. caraya using Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) Analysis. We used a Spearman’s Correlation to explore the relationship between home range size and group size. All five groups had home ranges of less than 10 ha and used core areas of less than 1ha. Group size had no significant relationship to home range size. We provide the first estimates of home range for A. caraya in an urban environment in Paraguay. Though the home ranges of the urban A. caraya in Pilar, Paraguay fall at the smaller end of the spectrum of range sizes in Alouatta they are not abnormal for a species in this genus.

Spatial Distribution and Landscape Characteristics of Flores Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus Floris) Habitat in Flores Island

Flores Hawk-Eagle (FHE, Nisaetus floris) is one of the endemic and keystone species that was rarely studied among other eagles. The study on the FHE is currently experiencing limited information for estimating their distribution area. Therefore, the FHE habitat distribution is required as the essential information for developing the strategies and conservation action. The objectives of this study were to identify the spatial habitat distribution and analyze the characteristics of the habitat. Minimum convex polygon (MCP) and kernel-density estimation (KDE) 95% was combined with the land cover map for delineating the patch habitat of FHE. Slope, elevation, and land cover were used as environmental variables. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) combine with GIS were used for characterizing the landscape habitat. The results showed that there were eight habitat patches with a total area of 1.132 km2. Six principal components were retained from PCA analysis which explained 71.96% of data variance. Habitat characteristics of FHE describe its requirement for nesting and hunting activities for principal components 1 to 4, while for flight activity related to principal components 5 and 6. Forests and savannahs become the main habitat preference for both nesting and hunting activities. Results of this study will be supported as baseline information for developing conservation strategies and action for FHE.

Spatial Distribution and Landscape Characteristics of Flores Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus Floris) Habitat in Flores Island

Flores Hawk-Eagle (FHE, Nisaetus floris) is one of the endemic and keystone species that was rarely studied among other eagles. The study on the FHE is currently experiencing limited information for estimating their distribution area. Therefore, the FHE habitat distribution is required as the essential information for developing the strategies and conservation action. The objectives of this study were to identify the spatial habitat distribution and analyze the characteristics of the habitat. Minimum convex polygon (MCP) and kernel-density estimation (KDE) 95% was combined with the land cover map for delineating the patch habitat of FHE. Slope, elevation, and land cover were used as environmental variables. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) combine with GIS were used for characterizing the landscape habitat. The results showed that there were eight habitat patches with a total area of 1.132 km2. Six principal components were retained from PCA analysis which explained 71.96% of data variance. Habitat characteristics of FHE describe its requirement for nesting and hunting activities for principal components 1 to 4, while for flight activity related to principal components 5 and 6. Forests and savannahs become the main habitat preference for both nesting and hunting activities. Results of this study will be supported as baseline information for developing conservation strategies and action for FHE.

Assessing Suitable Habitats for Treefrog Species after Previous Declines in Costa Rica

Treefrogs represent 22% of amphibian species in Costa Rica, but gaps in the knowledge about this group of amphibians can impede conservation efforts. In this study, we first updated the status of Costa Rican treefrogs and found that a total of 38% of treefrog species are threatened according to the most recent IUCN assessment in 2019. Additionally, 21% of Costa Rican treefrog species have a high vulnerability to extinction according to environmental vulnerability scores. Then, we predicted the historical climatic suitability of eight target species that we expected to have exhibited changes in their ranges in the last 20 years. We assessed the location of new occurrence records since 2000 to identify recovery, range expansion, or previously underestimated ranges due to methodological limitations. We also estimated the area of each species’ suitable habitat with two metrics: extent of suitable habitat (ESH) and area of minimum convex polygon (AMCP). Six declined species exhibited recovery (i.e., new occurrences across historical range after 2000), with the widest recovery found in Agalychnis annae. We also found that Isthmohyla pseudopuma appears to have spread after the decline of sympatric species and that the range of I. sukia was originally underestimated due to inadequate detection. We found that the ESH was 32–49% smaller than the AMCP for species that are slowly recovering; however, the ESH is similar or greater than the AMCP for species that are recovering in most of their ranges, as well as rare species with widespread ranges. Results of this work can be used to evaluate the risk of environmental threats and prioritize regions for conservation purposes.

Spatial ecological interactions between coyote and gray fox in a temperate forest

Coyotes (Canis latrans) and gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are abundant and widely distributed in México, with no information currently available about their spatial interactions in the country. Our objectives were to evaluate the habitat use of these species and the environmental interactions between them throughout the overlapping areas of their home ranges in temperate forests of Durango, México. We expected that their coexistence would be facilitated by the spatial segregation of their ecological niche, exhibited by the low or nil overlap between their home ranges or by differentiated habitat use. Radio-collars (VHF) were attached to nine individuals — four coyotes (two males and two females) and five gray foxes (females) — that were radio-tracked from September 2017 to August 2019. We estimated their home ranges and the size of their core areas through the minimum convex polygon and determined the extent of overlap between them. Also, we evaluated third-order habitat selection and use based on habitat availability using Manly’s habitat-selection ratios and simultaneous Bonferroni confidence intervals (95 %). The mean home range size for coyotes was larger (12.2 ± 1.74 km2) than for gray boxes (5.3 ± 0.67 km2); the interspecific mean overlap was 42 % (moderate). Of these two canids, just the gray fox showed a markedly selective habitat use. Our findings revealed a moderate overlap between the home ranges of both canids, so spatial segregation did not occur. Although a differential habitat use was observed, explaining the coexistence between these two canids in the areas where they thrive, they tend to avoid agonistic interactions.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Home Range in a Suburban City in the Osaka Metropolitan Area

This study aims to clarify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on home range. The home range is the area that individuals traverse in conducting their daily activities, such as working and shopping. In Japan, the central government declared the first state of emergency in April 2020. This study analyzed the panel data for mobile phone GPS location history from April 2019 to April 2020 in Ibaraki City, Osaka Metropolitan area. The study applied the minimum convex polygon method to analyze the data. The results show that the home range decreased significantly between April 2019 and April 2020. Specifically, the home range in 2020 decreased to approximately 50% of that in 2019 because of COVID-19 infection control measures, preventing people from traveling far from their homes and only allowing them to step outside for the bare minimum of daily activities and necessities. The results suggest that the emergency reduced people’s home ranges to the neighborhood scale. Therefore, it is necessary to consider designing new walkable neighborhood environments after the COVID-19 pandemic era.

WILAYAH JELAJAH DAN AKTIVITAS HARIAN ELANG JAWA (Nisaetus bartelsi STRESEMANN, 1924) DI BUKIT MAYANA KECAMATAN KADUGEDE, KABUPATEN KUNINGAN

Abstrak : Elang jawa (Nisaetus bartelsi) merupakan jenis raptor dengan penyebaran terbatas (endemik). Elang jawa dilindungi oleh Peraturan Menteri Lingkungan Hidup dan Kehutanan Republik Indonesia Nomor P.92 tahun 2018 dan termasuk kategori endangered menurut IUCN Redlist (2017). Tujuan penelitian ini untuk mengetahui wilayah jelajah elang jawa dan aktivitas hariannya. Penelitian dilaksanakan di Bukit Mayana Kecamatan Kadugede, Kabupaten Kuningan selama 4 bulan dari Desember 2017 sampai Maret 2018. Metode yang digunakan yaitu Cooperative Method dan Focal Animal Sampling. Analisis wilayah jelajah menggunakan Minimum Convex Polygon dan Kernel Density Estimation dan analisis deskriptif untuk aktivitas harian. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian dan analisis didapatkan wilayah jelajah elang jawa dengan MCP individu Maya dan Yana masing-masing seluas 79.8 ha dan 189.9 serta KDE seluas 118.6 ha dan 180.6 ha. Aktivitas harian elang jawa di bukit Mayana yang paling banyak terlihat adalah terbang dengan presentase 79% sedangkan ketika tengger hanya sebesar 21%. Intensitas terbang paling tinggi mulai dari jam 09:00-11:30.Kata Kunci: Aktivitas harian, Wilayah jelajah, kernel density estimation, , Nisaetus bartelsi

Invasion dynamics of the European bumblebee Bombus terrestris in the southern part of South America

Invasive species are one of the main biodiversity loss drivers. Some species can establish and thrive in novel habitats, impacting local communities, as is the case of managed pollinators. In this regard, an invasive species' expansion process over time is critical for its control and management. A good example is the European bumblebee Bombus terrestris, which has rapidly invaded the southern part of South America after being repeatedly introduced in Chile for crop pollination since 1997. We assessed the temporal dynamics of B. terrestris invasion in Argentina and Chile by compiling 562 occurrence points from 2000 to 2019. We used two estimators (minimum convex polygon and 95% fixed kernel) to estimate the increase of the invaded area over time. We found that the area invaded by B. terrestris in the southern part of South America presents a linear increase over time, which was consistent for both estimators. In this scenario, species traits, environmental characteristics, and introduction dynamics facilitate a rapid invasion process that will continue to expand, reaching other South American countries in the near future. As this bumblebee is a super-generalist, it probably will expand across South America, as climate niche modelling predicts, if no actions were taken.

Home range size in central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) from Loango National Park, Gabon

Ranging behavior has been studied extensively in eastern (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) and western (P. t. verus) chimpanzees, but relatively little is known regarding home ranges of the other two subspecies (P. t. ellioti; P. t. troglodytes). In this study, we determined the home range size and space use of a habituated community (Rekambo) of central chimpanzees living in a habitat mosaic in Loango National Park, Gabon. Data on travel routes were collected during follows between January 2017 and April 2019 (N = 670,616 relocations, collected over 640 days and 5690 h of observation). We used three methods for calculating home range size (minimum convex polygon, kernel density estimation, and biased random bridges). We compare our estimates to those obtained from prior genetic and camera trap studies of the Rekambo community and contrast them with estimates from other chimpanzee communities of the four chimpanzee subspecies. Depending on the methodology used, the home range size of the Rekambo community ranged between 27.64 and 59.03 km2. The location of the center of the home range remained relatively stable over the last decade, while the overall size decreased. The Rekambo home range is, therefore, one of the largest documented so far for chimpanzees outside savannah-woodland habitats. We discuss several explanations, including the presence of savannah, interspecies competition, and intercommunity interactions.