How effective are artificial nests in attracting bees? A review

Background Recent declines in bee populations, along with increasing demand for pollination services in urban, agricultural, and natural environments, have led to strategies to attract wild bees to these areas. One of these strategies is installing artificial nests adjacent to urban gardens and agricultural farms. Bee hotels and nest boxes are among the artificial nests used by gardeners and farmers to attract pollinators. In this paper, we reviewed 50 studies that reported the efficiency of nest boxes and bee hotels in attracting bees. We considered the maximum occupation rate (percentage) as the main index to evaluate the efficiency of artificial nests. Results The maximum occupation rate of bee hotels was higher in farms (averaged 44.1%) than in forests (averaged 30.3%) and urban (averaged 38.3%) environments. In the case of nest boxes, most studies reported efficiencies of less than 20%, with an occupation rate of 16% and 5.5% on average in forest and urban environments respectively. However, our meta-analysis results showed that there was no significant relationship between the occupation rate of the nests and their installation place. Regression analysis also showed that the structural features of bee hotels (length and diameter) and nest boxes (volume and entrance size) did not affect their efficiency in attracting bees. Conclusion Our data showed that the strategy of installing artificial nests to attract pollinators is successful only concerning bee hotels, and the use of nest boxes has not been very successful.

Inpatient Hospitalizations during the First Wave of COVID-19 in Portugal

The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of the pandemic on inpatient hospital admissions during the first wave in Portugal. Data from hospital admissions in mainland Portugal from 2008 to 2017 were used to forecast inpatient hospital admissions for March to May 2020. The observed number of hospitalizations and their characteristics were compared to forecasted values. Variations were compared by hospital and region. Statistical analysis was used to investigate whether patterns of variations existed according to hospital characteristics. There were 119,315 fewer hospitalizations than expected during March to May 2020 in Portugal, which represented a 57% reduction. Non-COVID-19 hospitalizations had a higher mean length of stay and proportion of inpatient deaths than forecasted values. Differences between observed and forecasted values varied greatly among regions and hospitals. These variations were not associated with COVID-19 hospital admissions, region, forecasted number of hospitalizations, type of hospital, or occupation rate. The impact on inpatient hospital admissions for each hospital was not consistent or proportional to the expected use across Portugal, as indicated by variations between forecasted and observed values. The appropriate planning of future responses may contribute to improving the necessary balance between the level of hospital admissions for usual health needs of the population and the response to COVID-19 patients.

The common noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula): population trends from artificial roosts and the effect of biotic and abiotic parameters on the probability of occupation

As urbanization and intense forestry management are increasing, natural bat roosting opportunities, e.g. tree cavities, are constantly declining. A common management practice, especially in urban environments, is the installation of bat boxes. We assessed (1) abundance trends inside artificial bat boxes of the noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula) over 11 years in Neu-Ulm, Germany, and identified (2) parameters affecting the occupation rate. Further, we compared (3) abundance of noctule bats in bat boxes between areas with large availability of natural roosts (forests) and urban areas with primarily artificial roosting structures (parks). Our results revealed a severe decline of noctule bats over 11 years. Further, our results indicate that bat boxes cannot fully replace natural tree cavities. Nonetheless, they support roost availability in areas already altered and providing only low amounts of natural bat roosts. The findings of our study have important implications for the conservation of bats in urbanized landscapes and underline the importance of old and intact forests for local biodiversity.

Analysis of demand for public transport service in Lviv city

The demand for public transport on the example of Lviv city is analyzed in the paper. The aim of the trip, the duration of the trip, vehicle occupancy rate, walking approach to the stop, and the choice of public transport mode are determined as the main impact factors. The questioning of 1100 users of public transport is carried out. During the formation of transport strategy of public transport system functioning in large cities, it is necessary to consider such factors of functioning as optimal, from the view of transport provision, location of places of work and study, trips are up to 45 min; vehicle occupation rate is up to 80% (on the most routes); the walking distance is up to 600 m; vehicles of large capacity. The provision of these indicators in transport systems will provide an opportunity to increase the effectiveness and enlarge the demand for public transport services as a result of qualitative functioning.

Caractérisation de la population de Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del et la perception de son potentiel socioéconomique dans la partie Sud-Ouest du Niger

Dans la région de Tillabery au Sud-Ouest du Niger confrontée à des sècheresses récurrentes, les espèces agroforestières comme Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) jouent un rôle important dans la vie des communautés locales. Le présent article analyse les caractéristiques de Balanites aegyptiaca et son importance socioéconomique dans la région. L’étude se base sur des inventaires et des mesures dendrométriques menées dans les villages de Mari, Tamou Kaina, Kobio et Sansani Haoussa, et un total de 120 utilisateurs de Balanites aegyptiaca interviewés sur l’usage de l’espèce. Les résultats montrent que Balanites aegyptiaca occupe le premier rang des essences ligneuses avec un taux d’occupation de l’espace de 93%. Les diamètres varient de 24,25±0,7 à Tamou Kaina à30,60±1,9 à Sansane Haoussa. Les hauteurs varient de 5,30±0,1 à Mari et 6,16 ±1,6 à Tamou Kaina. Un indice de diversité de Shannon inférieur à 2,5 dans tous les sites indique une faible diversité. Les enquêtes montrent que toutes les parties de Balanites aegyptiaca sont utilisées dans l’alimentation humaine et animale, dans les autres activités domestiques, thérapeutiques et commerciales. Les fruits ont un d’usage plus important (80%) que les feuilles (60%), les racines (33%), le bois (53%), les écorces (46%), les fleurs (33%) et les branches (33%). Les actions anthropiques et les pâturages des animaux sont les principaux facteurs qui menacent la population de Balanites dans la zone. Malgré cela, Balanites aegyptiaca reste une espèce très utilisée par les communautés locales, et pourrait contribuer à renforcer leur résilience face à l’insécurité alimentaire et à d’autres chocs. Mots clés : Caractérisation, Balanites aegyptiaca, Perception, Dendrométrie, Carbone Niger. English title: Characterization of the population of Balanites aegyptiaca (L.) Del and the perception of its socioeconomic potential in the southwestern part of NigerIn the region of Tillabery, in the South-western part of Niger confronted with recurrent drought, agroforestry species like Balanites aegyptiaca play an important role in the lives of local communities. The study is based on inventories and dendrometric measurements of trees conducted in the villages of Mari, Tamou Kaina, Kobio and Sansani Haoussa, and on interviews of 120 users of Balanites aegyptiaca on their usage of the species. Results show that Balanites aegyptiaca ranks first in the sites of Mari, Tamou Kaina, Kobio and Sansane Haoussa with an occupation rate of 93%. The average diameters ranged from 24.25 cm (± 0.7) at Tamou Kaina to 30.60 cm (± 1.9) at Sansani Hausa. Average heights ranged from 5.30 m (± 0.1) at Mari to 6.16 m (± 1.6) at Tamou Kaina. The Shannon Diversity Index of less than 2.5 found in all four sites, indicate a low diversity. Surveys carried out revealed that all parts of Balanites aegyptiaca are used in human and animal food, and in other domestic, medical and commercial activities. Fruits have a greater usage value (80%) than leaves (60%), roots (33%), wood (53%), bark (46%), flowers (33%) and branches (33%). Anthropic actions and pastures of animals are the main factors threatening the settlement of the species in the area. B. aegyptiaca remains a popular species among local populations and could contribute in reinforcing their resilience to food insecurity and other shocks.Keywords: Characteristic, Balanites aegyptiaca, Dendrometry, Perception, Socioeconomic factors, Niger.

Development of online travel Web scraping for tourism statistics in Indonesia

Introduction. This research aims to study a novel approach to producing tourism statistics, especially accommodation statistics, in Indonesia using scraping of online travel agent Websites. Method. Accommodation data (e.g., room availability and price) were gathered from two of the largest online travel agencies in Indonesia. All data were collected automatically from the sites’ URLs listed in the sitemap. Analysis. The data were collected daily from 6 March to 27 July 2019. Datasets from the two Websites were merged. The room occupation rate (ROR) for each province was calculated and compared with the official statistics from Statistics Indonesia. Results. The results show that the online room occupancy rates and official statistics have a similar pattern indicating the use of the Web scraping technique provides valuable information, to measure the room occupation rate with an advantage in terms of cost and collection time. Conclusions. It is feasible to use big data as a proxy of or a complement to official statistics, especially in tourism statistics. By using the Web scraping technique, the indicator that usually requires significant time and cost can be done in real-time and less cost. This new approach would improve the quality of tourism statistics produced by BPS Statistics Indonesia.