Elephant Population Status, Distribution and Conservation Threats in Kibale National Park, Uganda

This study focused on the estimation of the African elephant population, distribution, and conservation threats in Kibale National Park (KNP) from August 2019 to February 2020. The objectives of the study were to: generate population estimates, distribution and assess threats to the conservation of elephants. The line transect method based on the dung pile count density from line transect, dung decay, and defecation rates were used to estimate the elephant population. The density was calculated by multiplying the decay rate with the ratio of dung density to defecation rates. The overall elephant population was estimated at 566.27 (95% Confidence limits 377.24-850.02). This was a slow increase from 393 recorded in 2005 to 566 animals in 2019. Elephants were widely distributed within the park and these pose challenges such as increasing human-elephant conflicts. With a steady increase in the elephant population and seasonal movements out of the park, there is a need to continuously monitor elephant population growth and ranging behaviour vis-a-vis available habitat range and how this impacts ecosystem dynamics and human-elephant conflicts

Settle Down! Ranging Behaviour Responses of Roe Deer to Different Capture and Release Methods

The fitting of tracking devices to wild animals requires capture and handling which causes stress and can potentially cause injury, behavioural modifications that can affect animal welfare and the output of research. We evaluated post capture and release ranging behaviour responses of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) for five different capture methods. We analysed the distance from the centre of gravity and between successive locations, using data from 14 different study sites within the EURODEER collaborative project. Independently of the capture method, we observed a shorter distance between successive locations and contextual shift away from the home range centre of gravity after the capture and release event. However, individuals converged towards the average behaviour within a relatively short space of time (between 10 days and one month). If researchers investigate questions based on the distance between successive locations of the home range, we recommend (1) initial investigation to establish when the animals start to behave normally again or (2) not using the first two to three weeks of data for their analysis. We also encourage researchers to continually adapt methods to minimize stress and prioritize animal welfare wherever possible, according to the Refinement of the Three R’s.

“You can go out 14 miles away with the knowledge that you’ve got the battery to help you back if you need it!” Narratives of ranging behaviour and wellbeing in diaries of e-bike trial participants.

Increasing use of electric power assisted bikes (‘e-bikes’) could play a significant part in expanding the variety of people participating in cycling and contribute to replacing a greater range of journeys that are currently made by car. E-bike use is growing across the Europe and the UK government has committed to establishing a national e-bike support programme (DfT, 2020). This may have a significant impact on the requirements for planning and designing cycle infrastructure. Authorities will need to consider where e-bikes fit within wider policies to promote zero-emission cities. This paper draws on data from a large study on cycling and wellbeing - XXXXXX. Thirty-eight participants aged 50 and over, returning to cycling after a hiatus, were asked to keep a ‘Diary of Cycling Experience’ (DoCE) to record how their experiences of using an e-bike unfolded during an eight-week trial period. Standard tests pre and post revealed that e-bikes, through enabling increased physical activity and engagement with the outdoor environment, can provide positive benefits to cognitive function and wellbeing as reported in XXXXXX (XXXX). The paper expands these findings, drawing specifically on the qualitative component, namely the written and visual material provided in participant diaries to reveal the embodied nature of e-biking, and in particular, the opportunity it provided for longer distance travel, (re)discovery of spaces and places, and human flourishing. It argues for a reappraisal of what constitutes ‘active’ travel and what this might mean for the emerging practice of e-biking in relation to longer distance cycling, for different purposes and in different contexts. This is particularly pertinent in the context of an ageing society, the push towards zero-emission cities and the need to ensure socially inclusive mobility particularly in the time of Covid.Keywords: e-bikes; diary approach; ageing; wellbeing; social inclusion.

Badger territoriality maintained despite disturbance of major road construction

Road ecology has traditionally focused on the impact of in-situ and functional roads on wildlife. However, road construction also poses a major, yet understudied, threat and the implications for key aspects of animal behaviour are unknown. Badgers (Meles meles) have been implicated in the transmission of tuberculosis to cattle. There are concerns that environmental disturbances, including major road construction, can disrupt badger territoriality, promoting the spread of the disease to cattle. To address these knowledge gaps the ranging behaviour of a medium-density Irish badger population was monitored using GPS-tracking collars before, during, and after a major road realignment project that bisected the study area. We estimated badgers’ home range sizes, nightly distances travelled, and the distance and frequency of extra-territorial excursions during each phase of the study and quantified any changes to these parameters. We show that road construction had a very limited effect on ranging behaviour. A small increase in nightly distance during road construction did not translate into an increase in home range size, nor an increase in the distance or frequency of extra-territorial excursions during road construction. In addition, suitable mitigation measures to prevent badger deaths appeared to ensure that normal patterns of ranging behaviour continued once the new road was in place. We recommend that continuous badger-proof fencing be placed along the entire length of new major roads, in combination with appropriately sited underpasses. Our analysis supports the view that road construction did not cause badgers to change their ranging behaviour in ways likely to increase the spread of tuberculosis.

Effects of seed-rich habitat provision on territory density, home range and breeding performance of European Turtle Doves Streptopelia turtur

Summary Conservation measures providing food-rich habitats through agri-environment schemes (AES) have the potential to affect the demography and local abundance of species limited by food availability. The European Turtle Dove Streptopelia turtur is one of Europe’s fastest declining birds, with breeding season dietary changes coincident with a reduction in reproductive output suggesting food limitation during breeding. In this study we provided seed-rich habitats at six intervention sites over a 4-year period and tested for impacts of the intervention on breeding success, ranging behaviour and the local abundance of territorial turtle doves. Nesting success and chick biometrics were unrelated to the local availability of seed-rich habitat or to the proximity of intervention plots. Nestling weight was higher close to human habitation consistent with an influence of anthropogenic supplementary food provision. Small home ranges were associated with a high proportion of non-farmed habitats, while large home ranges were more likely to contain seed-rich habitat suggesting that breeding doves were willing to travel further to utilize such habitat where available. Extensively managed grassland and intervention plot fields were selected by foraging turtle doves. A slower temporal decline in the abundance of breeding males on intervention sites probably reflects enhanced habitat suitability during territory settlement. Refining techniques to deliver sources of sown, natural, and supplementary seed that are plentiful, accessible, and parasite-free is likely to be crucial for the conservation of turtle doves.

Ranging behaviour and habitat use in Montagu’s Harrier Circus pygargus in extensive farmland of Eastern Poland

Agriculture intensification drives changes in bird populations but also in the space use by farmland species. Agriculture in Eastern Europe still follows an extensive farming model, but due to policy shifts aimed at rural restructuring and implementation of government subsidies for farmers, it is being rapidly intensified. Here, we aimed to document the ranging behaviour and habitat use of a declining farmland bird of prey—Montagu’s Harrier—and to compare it to findings from Western Europe. In 2011–2018, 50 individuals were followed with GPS loggers in Eastern Poland to study species spatial ecology. We found home ranges (kernel 90%) to be considerably large: 67.3 (± 42.3) km2 in case of males, but only 4.9 (± 6.1) km2 in females. Home ranges overlapped by 40%, on average, with other males in colonies and by 61%, on average, between consecutive breeding seasons of a particular male. The average daily distance travelled by males and females reached, respectively, 94.5 and 45.3 km, covering a daily home range of 32.3 and 3.1 km2. Individuals foraged up to 35 km from nests (3.5 km on average). Daily distance travelled and daily home ranges varied across the breeding season, in case of females being shortest in July, but sharply increasing in August. Also, individuals with breeding success had higher daily distance travelled but smaller daily home ranges. Average harriers’ distance to nest was generally increasing over the season, but was also changing over time of day: birds were closest to nest during night time, but at the end of the season, males roosted up to 16 km from the nest. While foraging males slightly preferred grasslands, higher elevation and smaller land-use patches, they avoided slopes and proximity of roads. We conclude that the surprisingly large home ranges of breeding harriers may suggest reduced prey availability or high fragmentation of hunting areas, both driving birds to utilise large areas and potentially contributing to population decline.

Badger territoriality maintained despite disturbance of major road construction

ABSTRACTRoad ecology has traditionally focused on the impact of in-situ and functional roads on wildlife. However, road construction also poses a major, yet understudied, threat and any implications for key aspects of animal behaviour are unknown. There are also concerns that environmental disturbances, including major roadworks, can disrupt badger territoriality, promoting the spread of tuberculosis to cattle. To address these knowledge gaps, the ranging behaviour of a medium-density Irish badger population was monitored, using GPS-tracking collars, before, during and after a major road realignment project that bisected the study area. We estimated badgers’ home range sizes, nightly distances travelled and the distance and frequency of extra-territorial excursions during each phase of the study and quantified any changes to these parameters. We show that roadworks had a very limited effect on ranging behaviour. A small increase in nightly distance during the roadworks did not translate into an increase in home range size, nor an increase in the distance or frequency of extra-territorial excursions during the roadworks. In addition, suitable mitigation measures to prevent badger deaths appeared to ensure that normal patterns of ranging behaviour continued once the new road was in place. Our analysis supports the view that road construction did not cause badgers to change their ranging behaviour in ways likely to increase the spread of tuberculosis.

Application of Photo-Identification and Lengthened Deployment Periods to Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS) Abundance Estimates of Coral Reef Sharks

Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS) are widely used for monitoring relative abundances of fishes, especially sharks, but only the maximum number of individuals seen at any one time (MaxN) is usually recorded. In both the Cayman Islands and the Amirante Islands, Seychelles, we used photo-ID to recognise individual sharks recorded on BRUVS videos. This revealed that for most species the actual numbers of separate individuals (IndN) visiting the BRUVS were significantly higher than MaxN, with, for example, ratios of IndN to MaxN being 1.17 and 1.24 for Caribbean reef, Carcharhinus perezi, and nurse, Ginglymostoma cirratum, sharks in the Cayman Islands, and 2.46 and 1.37 for blacktip reef, C. melanopterus, and grey reef, C. amblyrhynchos, sharks, respectively, in the Amirantes. Further, for most species, increasing the BRUVS deployment period beyond the 60 min normally used increased the observed IndN, with more than twice as many individuals in the Cayman Islands and >1.4 times as many individuals in the Amirantes being recorded after 120 min as after 60 min. For most species, MaxN and IndN rose exponentially with time, so data from different deployment periods cannot reliably be compared using catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) calculated as catch-per-unit-time. In both study areas, the time of first arrival of individuals varied with species from <1 min to >2 h. Individually identifiable sharks were re-sighted after up to 429 days over 10 km away in the Cayman Islands and 814 days over 23 km away in the Amirantes, demonstrating that many individuals range over considerable distances. Analysis of Cayman re-sightings data yielded mean population estimates of 76 ± 23 (SE) and 199 ± 42 (SE) for C. perezi and G. cirratum, respectively. The results demonstrate that, for sharks, the application of both photo-identification and longer deployment periods to BRUVS can improve the precision of abundance estimates and provide knowledge of population size and ranging behaviour.