Activity Patterns of a Desert Rodent

Small mammals are commonly surveyed using live trapping but the influence of weather conditions on trap success is largely unknown. This information is required to design and implement more effective field surveys and monitoring. We tested the influence of weather and moon phase on capture rates of small mammals in the Murray Mallee region of semi-arid Australia. We used extensive pitfall trapping data collected at 267 sites, totalling 54 492 trap-nights. We built regression models to explore the relationship between the capture rates of five species and daily meteorological conditions, and across families of mammals, including dasyurids, burramyids and rodents. A relationship common to several taxa was the positive influence of high winds (>20 km h-1) on capture rates. We also identified differences between taxa, with warmer overnight temperatures increasing capture rates of mallee ningaui but decreasing those of Bolam’s mouse. This makes it difficult to determine a single set of ‘optimal’ meteorological conditions for surveying the entire community but points to conditions favourable to individual species and groups. We recommend that surveys undertaken in warmer months encompass a variety of meteorological conditions to increase capture rates and provide a representative sample of the small mammal community present in a landscape.

A detailed understanding of how weather influences the behavior of small mammals enhances our knowledge of species ecology and improves the interpretation of field study results. While the effect of weather on small mammal activity has long been recognized, research findings remain inconsistent, varying by species, season, and habitat. In the case of the Common vole, only a limited number of studies have examined this relationship, often focusing on a narrow range of weather parameters and yielding contradictory conclusions. This study aimed to investigate the influence of multiple weather factors on the activity (mainly nocturnal) of common voles in an open habitat during summer. To gather a sufficiently large dataset, an original technique for assessing small mammal activity by the footprint presence in systematically placed tracking devices was used. The study was conducted over one month across a 9‑hectare area, where 961 tracking stations – each consisting of a plastic bottle, a tracking cartridge with waterproof ink, and bait – were deployed. The Common vole was confirmed as the dominant small mammal species in the study area through intensive trapping in the central part of the experimental plot. Over 10,571 device inspections and 6,910 vole visits were recorded. Weather data were recorded using an automatic weather station. The results demonstrated that wind, rain, higher temperatures, and increased humidity all contributed to greater activity in common voles. In contrast, elevated illumination levels reduced movement intensity. The methodology proved effective for obtaining large datasets to assess small mammal activity in monospecific communities.

This paper presents the results of a study aimed at the development of mathematical methods for assessing air pollution based on fuzzy logic and neural network technologies. The object of the study is the dispersion of vehicle-related harmful substances, and the subject is the patterns of distributing the concentrations of these substances under the influence of urban area factors and weather conditions. The goal of the study is to develop a mathematical model for the dynamic calculation of the pollutant concentration cloud using computer modeling. The developed methods, as opposed to the existing ones, allow assessing the distribution of emission concentrations in real time and take into account the influence of building geometry factors, wind shadows, and weather conditions. The proposed approach allows detailing the spatial heterogeneity of air pollution in densely populated areas. The modeling results showed that under certain development parameters, the emission concentration in the leeward zone of buildings can more than double as compared to open urban environment areas. The analysis of the obtained data showed that the deviation of the results as compared to laboratory measurements does not exceed 20% in most of the studied urban areas, which confirms the high accuracy of the model. The results of the study have found their practical application as an algorithm integrated into the AIMS eco software which can be used for real-time environmental monitoring and the development of measures to reduce urban air pollution.

This article examines the influence of weather conditions on changes in the range of electric scooters when driving in the city. The influence of various weather conditions on changes in the power reserve of electric scooters when driving in the city was analyzed, including such weather factors as: sunny weather, rain, wind, fog, snow. The obtained results of the analysis of the influence of weather conditions on changes in the power reserve of electric scooters when driving in the city can be used in new studies regarding the transformation in urban mobility.

Based on observation data in the summer of 2019 and 2021, an assessment was made of changes in abiotic characteristics and chlorophyll (Chl) content in the Kuibyshev Reservoir. Regular observations were carried out at the outlet section of the reservoir (Zhigulevsky hydroelectric complex) under conditions of complete mixing of water masses. The main goal of the study is to assess the influence of abiotic factors on the chlorophyll content and the mass development of cyanobacteria. It has been established that the main influencing factors are thermal regime and weather conditions. 2019 is characterized as “cold”. The total number of days with water temperatures above 22 °C was only 11. The degree of favorability was low (23 °C ˃ t ˃ 22 °C). 2021 characterized as “warm”. The total number of days with water temperatures above 22 °C was 72. The degree of favorability varied widely: from low (23 °C ˃ t ˃ 22 °C) to extreme high (t ˃ 26 °C). The most favorable year for the mass development of cyanobacteria was 2021, when the Chl content over the summer period was 7.2 μg/dm3. The least favorable year was 2019, when the Chl content was 1.4 μg/dm3. Seasonally, the temperature optimum was observed annually in July. The Chl content in July 2021 was 12.6 μg/dm3, and in July 2019 – 1.8 μg/dm3. Significant variability in chlorophyll content is due to synoptic cyclicity and changing weather conditions. The established influence of thermal regime and weather conditions on the content of chlorophyll suggests that in conditions of global warming, the process of mass development of cyanobacteria is expected to intensify, which will negatively affect the ecological state and water quality of the Kuibyshev Reservoir.

Influence of weather conditions on the activity and properties of alpha-amylase in maize grains

The influence of weather conditions on adult transit ridership in the sub-tropics

Requirements on monitoring stations to guarantee good reproducibility of measured railway noise data from one test site to another are investigated by field measurements and numerical simulations. Based on data from a monitoring system installed at Deutsch-Wagram in Austria, the influence of weather conditions (temperature, rain and snow) on pass-by noise levels and rail vibration is assessed. The influence of temperature on track decay rates (TDR) has been determined from pass-by analysis (PBA). It is concluded that the track superstructure design used at Deutsch-Wagram (60 kg/m rails, rail pads with dynamic stiffness in the order of 700–1000 kN/mm, and monobloc concrete sleepers on ballast) is appropriate for noise monitoring since the variation of measured noise levels for the studied range of weather conditions has a standard deviation of less than 2 dB. For such a track design, it is not essential to apply a correction procedure to account for seasonal variations (except in the case of snow). Further, a numerical parameter study of the influence of TDR and ground conditions (horizontal ground surface level relative to top of rail, and ground impedance based on a single value effective flow resistivity parameter) on predicted noise level is performed using TWINS. It is found that for ground surfaces with low sound reflection, the influence of ground surface level (when varying from 0.2 to 2 m) on predicted pass-by noise level is in the order of 1 dB.

Risk of predation is one of the main constraints of small mammal distribution and foraging activity. Aside from numerical effects on population size due to the presence and abundance of predators, indirect cues, such as vegetation structure and moonlight, determine patterns of activity and microhabitat use by small mammals. Indirect cues are expected to interact, as shading provided by vegetation can suppress the effects of changing moonlight. We analyzed the effects of moonlight levels on the activity patterns of three common small mammal species in Mediterranean habitats, and tested whether moonlight effects were modulated by shadowing associated with the development of tall vegetation due to spontaneous afforestation following land abandonment. A. sylvaticus, a strictly nocturnal species, decreased activity under moonlight with no interactive effects of vegetation cover. C. russula showed no activity change with moonlight levels and M. spretus increased activity, although activity in both species was mostly determined by vegetation cover, that favored it. The effects of moonlight on small mammal activity were not homogeneous among species, nor were the interactive effects of man-made gradients of habitat structure, a fact that will produce community changes along vegetation gradients mediated by varying fear landscapes.

Impacts of generalist predators on declining prey populations are a major conservation issue, but management of this situation is constrained by limited knowledge of the factors influencing predator distribution and activity. In many declining populations of ground-nesting waders, high levels of nest and chick predation are preventing population recovery. Red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, are the main predator but their primary prey is small mammals. On wet grasslands managed for breeding waders, small mammals are concentrated in tall vegetation outside of fields, and nests closer to these patches are less likely to be predated. To assess whether these patterns result from fox attraction to small mammals, and thus the potential for management of tall vegetation to influence nest predation rates, we quantify seasonal and spatial variation in fox and small mammal activity in relation to tall vegetation patches. Across wet grassland sites, tall vegetation patches of any size (> 0.05 ha) supported small mammals and small mammal activity increased throughout the wader breeding season, while the use of fox track plots within fields declined seasonally. Although within field fox track plot use did not vary with distance to tall vegetation, over the 1064 nights of trail camera recording, foxes were seen in areas with tall vegetation on 13 nights compared with short vegetation on only two nights. These findings suggest that lower predation rates of lapwing nests close to tall vegetation could reflect fox attraction to areas with small mammal activity, but any such effects would primarily operate later in the breeding season, and may therefore primarily influence late nests and chicks.

The influence of weather conditions on the COVID-19 epidemic: Evidence from 279 prefecture-level panel data in China

To understand the relationship between conservation measures and agricultural yields, we need to know the contributions of organisms to both ecosystem services and disservices. We studied the activity and contribution of birds and mammals to intermediate ecosystem services (predation of weed seeds or invertebrate pests) and disservices (predation of crop seeds or beneficial invertebrates) in southern Sweden between June and November 2016. We measured seed and invertebrate predation rates using trays placed in front of 32 wildlife cameras in 16 cereal fields with a local habitat contrast (8 fields adjacent to another crop field and 8 fields adjacent to a semi-natural grassland) and along a landscape heterogeneity gradient (amount of semi-natural grassland). Both activity and predation were dominated by small mammals (mainly rodents), yet only a few species contributed to predation services and disservices according to camera records. Small mammal activity and predation varied considerably over time. Small mammal activity was significantly higher at trays with crop seeds or beneficial invertebrate prey compared to trays with pest prey, and crop seed predation by small mammals was significantly higher than weed seed predation. In contrast, bird activity and predation did not differ significantly between resource types, but varied over time depending on the habitat contrast. Predation of animal prey by birds was highest after cereal harvest, independent of habitat contrast. Our study highlights that birds and in particular rodents provide important intermediate ecosystem services, but also disservices, which fluctuate strongly in intensity over time.

A spatial simulation model to assess controls upon grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

For sea snakes as for many types of animals, long-term studies on population biology are rare and hence, we do not understand the degree to which annual variation in population sizes is driven by density-dependent regulation versus by stochastic abiotic factors. We monitored three populations of turtle-headed sea snakes (Emydocephalus annulatus) in New Caledonia over an 18-year period. Annual recruitment (% change in numbers) showed negative density-dependence: that is, recruitment increased when population densities were low, and decreased when densities were high. Windy weather during winter increased survival of neonates, perhaps by shielding them from predation; but those same weather conditions reduced body condition and the reproductive output of adult snakes. The role for density-dependence in annual dynamics of these populations is consistent with the slow, K-selected life-history attributes of the species; and the influence of weather conditions on reproductive output suggests that females adjust their allocation to reproduction based on food availability during vitellogenesis.

Optimisation of reproductive investment is crucial for Darwinian fitness, and detailed long-term studies are especially suited to unravel reproductive allocation strategies. Allocation strategies depend on the timing of resource acquisition, the timing of resource allocation, and trade-offs between different life-history traits. A distinction can be made between capital breeders that fuel reproduction with stored resources and income breeders that use recently acquired resources. In capital breeders, but not in income breeders, energy allocation may be decoupled from energy acquisition. Here, we tested the influence of extrinsic (weather conditions) and intrinsic (female characteristics) factors during energy storage, vitellogenesis and early gestation on reproductive investment, including litter mass, litter size, offspring mass and the litter size and offspring mass trade-off. We used data from a long-term study of the viviparous lizard, Lacerta (Zootoca) vivipara. In terms of extrinsic factors, rainfall during vitellogenesis was positively correlated with litter size and mass, but temperature did not affect reproductive investment. With respect to intrinsic factors, litter size and mass were positively correlated with current body size and postpartum body condition of the previous year, but negatively with parturition date of the previous year. Offspring mass was negatively correlated with litter size, and the strength of this trade-off decreased with the degree of individual variation in resource acquisition, which confirms theoretical predictions. The combined effects of past intrinsic factors and current weather conditions suggest that common lizards combine both recently acquired and stored resources to fuel reproduction. The effect of past energy store points out a trade-off between current and future reproduction.