Aquatic Habitat Bird Occurrences at Photovoltaic Solar Energy Development in Southern California, USA

The development of photovoltaic (PV) utility-scale solar energy (USSE) in the desert Southwest has the potential to negatively affect birds through collision mortality. Based on early patterns in fatality monitoring data, the lake effect hypothesis (LEH) was developed and suggested that birds misinterpret PV solar panels for water. As the LEH was only recently defined and inference beyond bird mortality is limited, our research objective was to examine the species composition, abundance, and distribution of live and dead aquatic habitat birds at five PV solar facilities and paired reference areas in southern California. Further, we collected data from a small regional lake as an indicator of the potential aquatic habitat bird community that could occur at our study sites. Using an ordination analysis, we found the lake grouped away from the other study sites. Although the bird community (live and dead) at the solar facilities contained aquatic habitat species, Chao’s diversity was higher, and standardized use was more than an order of magnitude higher at the lake. Finally, we did not observe aquatic habitat bird fatalities in the desert/scrub and grassland reference areas. Thus, the idea of a “lake effect” in which aquatic habitat birds perceive a PV USSE facility as a waterbody and are broadly attracted is likely a nuanced process as a PV solar facility is unlikely to provide a signal of a lake to all aquatic habitat birds at all times.

A Process-Based Model with Temperature, Water, and Lab-derived Data Improves Predictions of Daily Mosquito Density

While the number of human cases of mosquito-borne diseases has increased in North America in the last decade, accurate modeling of mosquito population density has remained a challenge. Longitudinal mosquito trap data over the many years needed for model calibration is relatively rare. In particular, capturing the relative changes in mosquito abundance across seasons is necessary for predicting the risk of disease spread as it varies from year to year. We developed a process-based mosquito population model that captures life-cycle egg, larva, pupa, adult stages, and diapause for Culex pipiens and Culex restuans mosquito populations. Mosquito development through these stages is a function of time, temperature, daylight hours, and aquatic habitat availability. The time-dependent parameters are informed by both laboratory studies and mosquito trap data from the Greater Toronto Area. The model incorporates city-wide water-body gauge and precipitation data as a proxy for aquatic habitat. This approach accounts for the nonlinear interaction of temperature and aquatic habitat variability on the mosquito life stages. We demonstrate that the full model predicts the yearly variations in mosquito populations better than a statistical model using the same data sources. This improvement in modeling mosquito abundance can help guide interventions for reducing mosquito abundance in mitigating mosquito-borne diseases like the West Nile virus.

The Influence of the pH and Salinity of Water in Breeding Sites on the Occurrence and Community Composition of Immature Mosquitoes in the Green Belt of the City of São Paulo, Brazil

The physicochemical parameters of water, such as pH, salinity, conductivity, and total dissolved solids, can influence mosquito larval development, survival, and abundance. Therefore, it is important to elucidate how these factors influence mosquito occurrence. We hypothesized that the occurrence and community composition of immature mosquito species are driven not only by the availability of suitable aquatic habitats, but also by the physicochemical factors of these habitats. The primary objective of this study was therefore to investigate the influence of the physicochemical parameters of water in different types of aquatic habitats on the occurrence of mosquito species in two remnants of Atlantic Forest in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Collections of immature mosquitoes and assessment of the physicochemical characteristics of the water in the collection sites were carried out for twelve months. The variation in species composition and occurrence with the measured physicochemical parameters and the type of breeding site was assessed using constrained ordination methods. The results indicate that there was a statistically significant difference in species composition as a function of the different types of aquatic habitats, and that pH had an influence on species occurrence even when the variance explained by the type of aquatic habitat was removed from the analysis. There was a statistically significant association between mosquito species occurrence and pH and salinity, and the former had a significant influence on the mosquito species collected regardless of the type of aquatic habitat, showing that the pH of the breeding site water is an important factor in driving mosquito population dynamics and species distribution.

Aquatic habitat use in a semi-aquatic mammal: the Eurasian beaver

Background Semi-aquatic mammals exploit resources both on land and in water and may require both to meet their habitat requirements including food- and building resources, refuges, and for social interactions with conspecifics. Within this, the specific availability of both terrestrial and aquatic resources is expected to impact individual fitness. Beavers are highly dependent on water for movement and protection from predators. They are central place foragers and mostly forage on woody vegetation near water although aquatic vegetation may also be an important food resource. However, little is known about their use of aquatic habitats. We aimed to address this knowledge gap by dead-reckoning fine-scale movement tracks and classifying fine-scale diving events, which we then related to the spatial distribution of aquatic vegetation and habitat components within the territory. Results Overall, there was a statistically clear decrease in probability that diving would occur at dawn and with increasing distance from territory borders. In addition, the distance from the lodge at which animals dived decreased through the night and during the spring/early summer. There was strong selection for diving habitats located closer to the riverbank, with stronger selection for these areas being observed in individuals with larger home ranges. We saw a higher selection for diving above clay sediment, and within 150 m from the lodge, presumably because mud and clay sediment tended to be located closer to the lodge than sand and rock sediment. Furthermore, we found a clear selection for diving in the presence of quillwort (Isoetes spp.), shoreweed (Littorella uniflora), and stonewort (Nitella spp.). Selection for these focal species was stronger among subordinate individuals. Individuals with lower body condition dived closer to the beaver lodge, and dives located further from the lodge were associated with high densities of aquatic vegetation. Conclusion We provide new knowledge on the aquatic habitat use in a semi-aquatic mammal and show how energetic constraints may shape how beavers spatially use the aquatic environment, whereby short and shallow dives appear most beneficial. We show how aquatic habitats may have great importance for both foraging, building materials and safety, and discuss to how they may affect the fitness of individuals.

Florida Container Mosquitoes

Container mosquitoes inhabit small natural and artificial water-filled vessels during their immature stages. This publication lists and illustrates fifteen species of them, including two exotics that are the most important vector species of dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses. It also describes available control measures, the best for homeowners being to eliminate aquatic habitat by draining standing water in containers near homes.

A survey of Avifauna in aquatic habitat and their adjoining areas of Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, India

The present study deals with the observation of avifauna in the aquatic habitat and their adjoining areas of Ramnagar, Uttarakhand, India. The present study was carried out from January 2020 to December 2020. We have recorded a total of 145 avian species belonging to the 54 families during the study period. Among this, a total of 113 residents and 32 winter visitor species were identified. The percentage of resident and winter visitor avian species was 78.08% and 21.91%. During the study period, we also reported the four avian species viz., River Lapwing, River tern, Great Hornbill, and Alexandrine Parakeet are under the Near Threatened (NT) category and one species, namely Red-headed vulture is critically endangered according to IUCN Red data book. Thus, the findings of this study suggest that the selected study area has avifauna diversity of utmost importance which should be conserved by implementing specific strategies.