Annual Life Cycle Research Articles

Analysis of “Word of the Year” phenomenon in the English and Russian languages (based on the data from English-language explanatory dictionaries, Yandex Internet portal, Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Expert Council of the Center for Creative Development of the Russian Language)

  The article discusses “Word of the Year” phenomenon in the English and Russian languages. The analysis is based on the data of modern sociolinguistic phenomenon – “Word of the Year” campaign. The author employs descriptive and comparative data processing methods for the period 2016–2020 from the portals of British English-language explanatory dictionaries Cambridge Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary, Collins Dictionary as well as Yandex Internet portal Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Expert Council of the Center for Creative Development of the Russian Language headed by Mikhail Epstein. The article aims to find out whether a particular word, word of the year, as a linguistic unit, can reflect the essence of the annual life cycle of a country, and as a lexical unit – determine the linguistic aspect, actual impact on the language. Based on the analysis of acquired data, the author presents a table with classification of words of the year into conceptual milestones that indicate the important areas of social life – economic-political, sociopolitical, socio-psychological, environmental, healthcare, post-pandemic, entertainment and recreation, where the semantic field of words of the year must reflect the events in the corresponding sphere. The conclusion is made that “Word of the Year” as a linguistic unit convey the conceptual identity of annual cycle of the particular society or language, by creating new set expressions and mainstream words with semantic increment; while as a lexical unit – shapes semantic dominants, determines linguistic aspect by replenishing lexical resource, and has impact on the language. Words of the year not only reflect the crucial political, economic, sociocultural events and phenomena that take place in social life during a particular time interval, but also set new, significant elements of linguocultural worldview mobile in a constantly changing semantic system of the language.  

Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation Pathways for Urban Passenger Land Transport under Ambitious Climate Targets.

Urban passenger land transport is an important source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally, but it is challenging to mitigate these emissions as this sector interacts with many other economic sectors. We develop the Climate change constrained Urban passenger Transport Integrated Life cycle assessment (CURTAIL) model to outline mitigation pathways of urban passenger land transport that are consistent with ambitious climate targets. CURTAIL uses the transport activity of exogenously defined modal shares to simulate the associated annual vehicle stocks, sales, and life cycle GHG emissions. It estimates GHG emission budgets that are consistent with global warming below 2 and 1.5 °C above preindustrial levels and seeks mitigation strategies to remain within the budgets. We apply it to a case study of Singapore, a city-state. Meeting a 1.5 °C target requires strong commitments in the transport and electricity sectors, such as reducing the motorized passenger activity, accelerating the deployment of public transit and of electrification, and decarbonizing the power generation system. Focusing on one mitigation technology or one mode of transport alone will not be sufficient to meet the target. Our novel model could be applied to any city to provide insights relevant to the design of urban climate change mitigation targets and policies.

Seasonal and diel cycles of fin whale acoustic occurrence near Elephant Island, Antarctica.

This study investigates the relevance of the Elephant Island (EI) region for Southern Hemisphere fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in their annual life cycle. We collected 3 years of passive acoustic recordings (January 2013 to February 2016) northwest of EI to calculate time series of fin whale acoustic indices, daily acoustic occurrence, spectrograms, as well as the abundance of their 20 Hz pulses. Acoustic backscatter strength, sea ice concentration and chlorophyll-a composites provided concurrent environmental information for graphic comparisons. Acoustic interannual, seasonal and diel patterns together with visual information and literature resources were used to define the period of occupancy and to infer potential drivers for their behaviour. Spectral results suggest that these fin whales migrate annually to and from offshore central Chile. Acoustic data and visual information reveal their arrival at EI in December to feed without producing their typical 20 Hz pulse. For all 3 years, acoustic activity commences in February, peaks in May and decreases in August, in phase with the onset of their breeding season. Our results emphasize the importance of EI for fin whales throughout most of the year. Our recommendation is to consider EI for establishing a marine protected area to expedite the recovery of this vulnerable species.

A novel sizing method of a standalone photovoltaic system for powering a mobile network base station using a multi-objective wind driven optimization algorithm

A new multi-objective wind driven optimization algorithm is proposed to size a standalone photovoltaic system’s components to meet the load demand for a mobile network base station at a 1% loss of load probability or less with a minimum annual total life cost. To improve the sized model’s accuracy, a long short-term memory deep learning model is utilized to forecast the hourly performance of a photovoltaic module. The long-term memory model’s performance is compared with those obtained by a linear photovoltaic model and an artificial neural network model. The comparison is carried out based on the values of normalized root mean square error, normalized mean bias error, mean absolute percentage error, and the training and testing time. Accordingly, on the values obtained for these statistical errors, the long short-term memory model outperforms better than the linear model and the artificial neural network model based. In addition, a dynamic battery model is utilized to characterize the dynamic charging and discharging process. The findings show that the optimal number of the photovoltaic array and the capacity of the storage battery required to cover the load demand of a mobile network base station are 5.4 kWp and 2640 Ah/48 V, respectively. Besides, the annual total life cycle cost for the sized photovoltaic/battery configuration is 4028.33 AUD/year. The simulation time for the proposed method is 421.25 s. To generalize the sizing results for the mobile network base stations based on Sydney weather conditions, the photovoltaic array and storage battery ratios are calculated as 0.324 and 0.223, respectively. In addition, the cost of an energy unit generated by the optimized system is 0.254 AUD/kWh. Here, the results of the proposed method have been compared with those obtained by developed and recent benchmark published methods. The comparison outcomes show the effectiveness of the proposed method in terms of providing a high availability sized system at minimum cost within less simulation time than the other considered methods.

Environmental cues affecting horseweed (Conyza canadensis) growth types and their sensitivity to glyphosate

AbstractHorseweed [Conyza canadensis(L.) Cronquist] is a facultative winter annual weed that can emerge from March to November in Michigan. Fall-emergingC. canadensisoverwinters as a rosette, while spring-emergingC. canadensisskips the rosette stage and immediately grows upright upon emergence. In Michigan, primary emergence recently shifted from fall to spring/summer and therefore from a rosette to an upright growth type. Growth chamber experiments were conducted to determine (1) whether bothC. canadensisgrowth types could originate from a single parent and (2) whether common environmental cues can influence growth type. Variations in temperature, photoperiod, competition, shading, and soil moisture only resulted in the rosette growth type in fourC. canadensispopulations originating from seed collected from a single parent of the upright growth type. However, a vernalization period of 4 wk following water imbibition, but before germination, resulted in the upright growth type. Dose–response experiments were conducted to determine whether glyphosate sensitivity differed betweenC. canadensisgrowth types generated from a single parent of the upright growth type. Upright-typeC. canadensisfrom known glyphosate-resistant populations ISB-18 and MSU-18 were 4- and 3-fold less sensitive to glyphosate than their rosette siblings, respectively. Interestingly, differences in glyphosate sensitivity were not observed between growth types from the susceptible population. These results suggest that whileC. canadensispopulations shift from winter to summer annual life cycles, concurrent increases in glyphosate resistance could occur.

The Onshore Period in the Annual Life Cycle of Ringed Seals (Pusa hispida) at the Largest Haulout Site of the Species in the North Pacific

The Onshore Period in the Annual Life Cycle of Ringed Seals (Pusa hispida) at the Largest Haulout Site of the Species in the North Pacific

Seasonal dynamics and life histories of three sympatric species of Pseudocalanus in two Svalbard fjords.

Small copepods are the most diverse and numerous group in high-latitude zooplankton, yet our knowledge of important species remains poor because of the difficulties involved in correct species identification. In this study, we use a molecular method of identification, a species-specific polymerase chain reaction, to provide the first description of the seasonal dynamics and life histories of the important genus Pseudocalanus in two Svalbard fjords with contrasting environments. We conducted monthly investigations in the relatively warm and ice-free Adventfjorden, supplemented with seasonal samples from the colder, seasonally ice-covered Billefjorden. We found three species of Pseudocalanus (the Arctic P. acuspes and P. minutus, and the boreal P. moultoni). Pseudocalanus acuspes had a distinct annual life cycle and dominated during summer, when it actively reproduced. Surprisingly, the boreal P. moultoni was present year-round in both fjords and was the dominant species during winter; the presence of all life stages of this species throughout the year suggests a more continuous reproduction. The Arctic P. minutus was the rarest of the three species and was likely able to complete its life cycle in Billefjorden but not in Adventfjorden. Our study demonstrates that closely related species may have different life strategies and environmental preferences, which presumably make high-latitude zooplankton communities more resilient to climate change impacts on genus but not necessarily on species level.

<p><strong>Morphology and morphometry support a single species in the <em>Leucheria cerberoana</em> species complex (Asteraceae, Nassauvieae)</strong></p>

Leucheria (Asteraceae, Mutisioideae, Nassauvieae) has been traditionally defined as a South American genus with 49 species. In the context of an ongoing revision of the genus, we observed that 10 Chilean species (Leucheria cerberoana, L. cumingii, L. glabriuscula, L. glandulosa, L. menana, L. multiflora, L. oligocephala, L. senecioides, L. tenuis, L. tomentosa) were morphologically difficult to distinguish from each other. This group of species, called here the Leucheria cerberoana complex, shares the following features that differ from the other species of Leucheria: marginal florets and fruits of the capitulum tightly enclosed by the outer and the inner phyllaries, synaptospermy and a dimorphic pappus. Here, we test the current morphological circumscription of these 10 species on the basis of the analysis of 171 specimens. We carried out multivariate analyses (Principal Coordinate Analysis and K-means) based on 16 external morphological characters. We also examined anatomically the underground organs because these species were distinguished from each other by their annual or perennial life cycle. We found that all the specimens analyzed have underground organs with secondary growth and thus there are not annual species in this group. Our results showed that there are no morphological gaps among specimens supporting the hypothesis of a single species. It is proposed here to synonymize these species under the name Leucheria tomentosa (Lessing) Crisci. With this change, the number of species of Leucheria is reduced from 49 to 40.

Sex‐specific migratory behaviors in a temperate ungulate

AbstractSexual segregation has been intensely studied across diverse ecosystems and taxa, but studies are often limited to periods when animals occupy distinct seasonal ranges. Some avian and marine studies have revealed that habitat segregation, when sexes differ spatially or temporally in use of the physical landscape, is common during the migratory period and characterized by sex‐specific differences in migratory behaviors. Recent research highlights the importance of understanding movement patterns in the context of the full annual life cycle and highlights the need to extend relevant theories of sexual segregation to the migratory period. We tested predictions from two leading hypotheses of sexual segregation, the forage‐selection hypothesis (FSH) and the reproductive strategy hypothesis (RSH) as applied to the migratory period. We collected global positioning system (GPS) location data for male and female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in south‐central Wyoming and northwest Colorado and tested the main predictions of the FSH and RSH. Both sexes showed high fidelity to their migratory routes, but route fidelity was more variable in males. Males also started spring migrations earlier, ended spring and autumn migrations later, and spent 22% more time on stopover sites during spring migrations. Consequently, males took twice as long in spring and 44% longer in autumn to complete migration. Our results revealed clear sex‐specific migratory behaviors and supported predictions of the RSH that male foraging behaviors optimize body condition for the autumn rut, and females prioritize foraging while balancing reproductive constraints. Specifically, males timed their movements with spring green‐up as optimally as females, and the timing of male migrations and use of stopovers suggested that males prioritized time in areas of high‐quality forage. This refutes predictions of the FSH during the migratory period that males should consistently choose habitats with abundant, low‐quality forage. Our findings provide an important contribution to sexual segregation theory by extending relevant theories to understand male and female movements during the migratory period.

A study on evaluation systems for optimized design GSHP and ES technologies used in HVAC systems

Abstract Due to the lack of suitable evaluation systems for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning (HVAC) systems with ground source heat pump (GSHP) and energy storage (ES) technologies, it is difficult to design a building HVAC system to achieve optimized design with regard to investment cost, energy saving and environmental protection. This is a study on developing a fuzzy evaluation system by including GSHP and ES with comprehensively determined weights into an HVAC system. A questionnaire method was used and the answers from 21 HVAC experts were analyzed to facilitate the modeling. Taking a commercial integrated project in Nanjing as an engineering case, the evaluation system was tested. If the system with a comprehensive merit value of 0.303 is adopted, the annual operating cost is reduced by 32.5%, the annual total life cycle cost is reduced by 26.5% and the primary energy consumption and carbon emissions are reduced by 10.5%, with the initial investment increased by 6.5%. This study revealed that the newly developed evaluation system is very useful for realizing the optimal design of HVAC systems.

Biological parameters of stem borer Stromatium barbatum reared on grapevine wood logs under laboratory conditions

Stem borer Stromatium barbatum has recently emerged as a serious pest problem of grapevines in India. Hidden biology and lack of effective chemical control of stem borer warranted finding out weak links in its life cycle which aids in formulating effective management strategies. Being a monovoltine pest with annual life cycle, the systematic studies on developmental biology and stage specific mortality of stem borer in grapes are limited. In present study, a cohort life table was constructed for S. barbatum by rearing it on grapevine wood logs in the laboratory at 27 ± 1 ℃ temperature and 65 ± 5% RH. The life cycle of S. barbatum was tracked from egg hatching through larval and pupal stages till adult emergence and observations were recorded on stage specific developmental durations and mortality of immature stages, and longevity and fecundity of adult stages. The results revealed that the mean durations of egg, larvae and pupae were 6.60 ± 0.28 days, 296.10 ± 1.06 days and 19.70 ± 1.17 days, respectively. The adults after emerging from pupae could survive up to 36.40 ± 0.81 days. The egg hatching and adult emergence from pupae were 42.51% and 83.02%, respectively. S. barbatum population attained a net reproductive rate of 64.96 females/female/generation and a gross reproductive rate of 72.93 females/female/generation in her mean oviposition period of 9.80 ± 0.13 days. The data indicated that, S. barbatum population potentially might increase with an intrinsic rate (rm) of 0.087 females/female/day and a finite rate $$(\lambda )$$ of 1.09 females/ female/ day with a doubling time of 9.98 days and a mean generation time of 324.30 days. The mortality was relatively higher during the egg and larval stages, which was then gradually decreased for rest of the life span when S. babatum was reared on grapevine wood logs under laboratory conditions. Generation mortality for S. barbatum was 90.72%. The present study has generated detailed information on critical life events such as days to egg hatch, adult longevity and fecundity, time required for adults to oviposit after mating, and age-stage specific mortality. This could facilitate formulation and implementation of effective management strategies for S. barbatum in grape vineyards.

Epitokous metamorphosis, reproductive swimming, and early development of the estuarine polychaete, Neanthes glandicincta Southern, 1921 (Annelida, Nereididae) on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula.

The reproductive and developmental characteristics of the nereidid polychaete, Neanthes glandicincta Southern, 1921, commonly recorded in tropical estuaries in the Indo-West Pacific, were examined from Malaysia (the mangrove area of Kuala Ibai, Terengganu) and Thailand (the Lower Songkhla Lagoon) on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. Epitokous metamorphosis of fully mature males and females and their reproductive swimming behaviour were recorded based on ten Malaysian epitokous specimens, which were collected at night during spring tides in a period of January 2018 to March 2019. Six Thailand epitokes were obtained in February and March 2006 by the laboratory rearing of immature worms. Epitokous metamorphosis is characterised by the enlargement of eyes in both sexes, division of the body into three parts and modification of parapodia with additional lobes in the mid-body of males, and replacement of atokous chaetae in the mid-body by epitokous natatory chaetae, completely in males and incompletely in females. The diameter of coelomic unfertilised eggs in females was 100–140 µm. After fertilisation, each egg formed a jelly layer, inside which embryonic development progressed. Trochophores hatched out of the jelly layer, entering a short free-swimming larval phase followed by demersal life at the early stage of 3-chaetiger nectochaeta one day after fertilisation. Then, the larvae entered benthic life as juveniles, crawling on the bottom, at the late stage of 3-chaetiger nectochaeta two days after fertilisation. The results indicate that N. glandicincta has an annual life cycle, which is usually completed within an estuary with limited larval dispersal ability.

NABat: A top-down, bottom-up solution to collaborative continental-scale monitoring

Collaborative monitoring over broad scales and levels of ecological organization can inform conservation efforts necessary to address the contemporary biodiversity crisis. An important challenge to collaborative monitoring is motivating local engagement with enough buy-in from stakeholders while providing adequate top-down direction for scientific rigor, quality control, and coordination. Collaborative monitoring must reconcile this inherent tension between top-down control and bottom-up engagement. Highly mobile and cryptic taxa, such as bats, present a particularly acute challenge. Given their scale of movement, complex life histories, and rapidly expanding threats, understanding population trends of bats requires coordinated broad-scale collaborative monitoring. The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) reconciles top-down, bottom-up tension with a hierarchical master sample survey design, integrated data analysis, dynamic data curation, regional monitoring hubs, and knowledge delivery through web-based infrastructure. NABat supports collaborative monitoring across spatial and organizational scales and the full annual lifecycle of bats.

Energy Saving and Life Cycle Analysis of a Daylight-Linked Control System

The main purpose of this work is to examine the environmental impact of a daylight-linked dimming lighting control system integrated in the Lighting Laboratory of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, Sakarya University. For this purpose, total annual energy savings and greenhouse gas emission savings is performed in terms of measured annual in operation data and calculated life cycle energy data. The results indicate that the system provides 1,519.55 kWh annual energy savings and spends 365.26 kWh life cycle energy. Assuming that life time of a lighting control system is ten years, annual energy spent by the control system is estimated 36.54 kWh/year. Total annual lighting energy savings, subtraction of estimated annual life cycle energy from measured annual energy savings, are calculated 1,483.01 kWh which is nearly 40% of total annual lighting energy consumption of the test room accordingly. In conclusion, it is established that emissions of the test room are reduced 2.71 tCO2 annually by the lighting control system proposed in this work.

A New Species of Monocystis (Apicomplexa: Gregarina: Monocystidae) from the Asian Invasive Earthworm Amynthas agrestis (Megascolecidae), with an Improved Standard for Monocystis Species Descriptions.

Monocystis perplexa n. sp., a parasite of an important invasive Japanese earthworm in North America, Amynthas agrestis, is described from a site in Vermont. An improved standard for Monocystis species descriptions is proposed including a standard nomenclature to reduce synonymies, a standard set of biometrics and shape descriptions for living cells, and a DNA genomic sequence for the 18S rRNA (∼1,700 base pairs). Comparing morphologies of Monocystis parasites in sympatric earthworm species indicates that M. perplexa is specific to A. agrestis in the study region. Also, polymerase chain reaction primers specific to M. perplexa amplified samples of A. agrestis earthworms taken from several sites in Japan. This suggests the parasite entered North America from Japan, the origin of the invasive Amynthas earthworm, and thus M. perplexa would be the first Monocystis described from the diverse Japanese Amynthas earthworms and the first from East Asia. Monocystis perplexa was found in every population of A. agrestis surveyed in Vermont, always reaching 100% prevalence by late summer (the host has an annual life cycle in Vermont). The 18S gene sequence differed from that of Monocystis agilis from the sympatric earthworm Lumbricus terrestris (the only other sequence available for Monocystis), and a genetic similarity tree places them closest among other gregarines. Many of the 95 described species of Monocystis are very similar in morphology (based on species descriptions), so the 18S gene can act as a barcode for Monocystis species and thus will help to eliminate both synonymies and reveal cryptic species.

Sexual Dimorphism in the Chemical Composition of Male and Female in the Dioecious Tree, Juniperus communis L., Growing under Different Nutritional Conditions.

We hypothesized that female and male individuals of the dioecious tree species, Juniperus communis, exhibit different strategies of resource allocation when growing under stress conditions. To test this hypothesis, we performed a two-year pot experiment on plants exposed to different levels of nutrient availability. Analysis of the plants revealed a higher concentration of carbohydrates, carbon, and phenolic compounds in needles of female plants, indicating that females allocate more resources to storage and defense than males. This difference was independent of nutrient availability. Differences in carbohydrates levels between the sexes were most often significant in June, during the most intensive phase of vegetative growth in both sexes, but could also be attributed to female resources investment in cone development. A higher level of nitrogen and other macroelements was observed in males than in females, which may have been connected to the accumulation of resources (nitrogen) for pollen grain production in males or greater allocation of these elements to seeds and cones in females. The interaction between sex and soil fertilization for the C:N ratio may also indicate sex-specific patterns of resource allocation and utilization, which is impacted by their availability during specific periods of J. communis annual life cycle.

A comparison of the direct and indirect defence abilities of cultivated maize versus perennial and annual teosintes

The transition from a perennial to an annual life cycle, as well as domestication, are expected to increase plant growth and reproduction at the same time that anti-herbivore defences are reduced. Here, we investigated the effects of the life-history transition (the perennial teosinte Zea diploperennis to the annual teosinte Z. mays ssp. mexicana) and domestication of Zea (annual teosinte to the modern maize Z. mays ssp. mays) on direct and indirect defences against the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda. The direct defence of Zea was assessed by larval survival and nutritional indices based on food intake and utilisation. Indirect defence was measured in terms of the olfactory preference of the night-active predatory earwig Doru luteipes for nocturnal herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) from the teosintes and maize. Larval growth and survival were reduced on teosintes relative to maize. Whilst larvae fed on perennial teosinte had lower food intake indices, those on annual teosinte showed lower food utilisation indices relative to maize. The earwig preferred HIPVs emitted by teosintes over those by maize, but it did not discriminate between odours of herbivore-damaged annual and perennial teosinte. The nocturnal HIPV blend from maize contained the lowest total amount of fatty acid derivatives, while it had higher total amounts of terpenes compared to teosintes. Our study shows that the teosintes are better defended than maize in terms of direct and indirect defences; however, the perennial teosinte have stronger direct defences against the fall armyworm than the annual teosinte.

Population Trends of Monarch Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Migrating From the Core of Canada’s Eastern Breeding Population

Abstract The Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) (Linnaeus 1758) is being considered for up-listing to Endangered under the Canadian federal Species-at-Risk Act due to population declines recorded throughout the annual life cycle. Understanding local population dynamics is therefore necessary to assess the effect of environmental and human induced stressors, and to establish a benchmark from which management success can be measured through time. Using fall count data collected along the Lake Erie shoreline, which captures migrants moving south from the core eastern breeding population in Canada, monarch abundance trends are quantified. Count data from three migration count sites and one roost site were analyzed following similar methods as Crewe and McCracken (2015) to make findings comparable. Two of these datasets are newly compiled and are analyzed here for the first time. Results suggest that during the past 10 yr, the number of migrating monarchs along the north shore of Lake Erie has been stable [mean: −3.05% per year, credibility interval (CI): −13.15, 9.97], which is consistent with changes being observed on the wintering grounds. Only migration counts collected between 1995 and 2018 at the Long Point sites demonstrated significant abundance declines (5.25% per year, CI: −8.60, −1.39), which is a similar results to previous analysis of this dataset. Opportunities for future research are discussed within the context of using monarch count data for future conservation efforts.

Sex and Age Variation in the Phenology of a Common Pipistrelle Bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) Population in Front of a Hibernaculum

The annual life cycle of temperate bats is typically accompanied by seasonal movements. In autumn, individuals of several species display very active flying behaviour around preferred locations, often hibernacula, a behaviour called swarming. This behaviour is usually characterized by a strong male-biased sex ratio and is often considered to be related to mating. Alternatively, these groupings may be a social behaviour related to the location and quality assessment of hibernacula and may enable this information to be transferred to juveniles, the maternal guidance hypothesis. Our study reports the results of a weekly survey of a bat community in an abandoned mine in Switzerland from April to October 2009, a period longer than the swarming period. The site is characterized by numerous visiting species as well as a high number of common pipistrelle bats displaying autumnal swarming like behaviour at the entrance of the mines. Thirteen species were present at the site with a total of 1,589 individuals of which 1,404 (88%) were common pipistrelle bats allowing us to focus on intersexual and age variations in their arrival phenology. Although the recapture rate was too low to obtain a reliable population size estimator, our data suggest that the site attracts individuals from a large area, possibly from several different nursing colonies and therefore requires a national conservation status. Adult males were present at the site throughout the study period with a peak from mid-July to the end of August. Females arrived later and both sexes displayed a swarming like behaviour in July and August. During this period, the sex ratio was slightly female biased, an unexpected pattern when compared with other swarming species. The absence of a male-biased sex ratio suggests that swarming behaviour in pipistrelle bats may have functions other than mating. Juveniles of both sexes joined the site about two weeks later suggesting that the maternal guidance hypothesis also did not explain this phenology pattern. The number of days between recaptures was greater for males than females indicating that males stay longer or return more often to the sites than females. Further studies may bring insights to the understanding of the function of swarming in pipistrelle bats.

Investigating Asian Parti-colored bats using the BatTalk internet of things approach

Labor intensive visual observation has been used to study the activities of Asian parti-colored (APC) bats in the past. Through an Internet of Things (IoT) platform called BatTalk, we continuously monitor the APC bats population to investigate its compositional changes, life history, and environmental factors. BatTalk achieves the same goals as traditional visual observations with reduced man power and minimal interference to the bat activities. In particular, BatTalk automates the process to understand APC bats' regular annual life cycle history and estimate the percentage of the baby bats born and raised there, who would return to their original habitat in the coming year. This paper proposes an inexpensive manner to identify the bat habitats and bat movement paths by identifying the bat's ultrasonic signal strength and GPS position, and then show the information in a map. Our study indicates that for current BatTalk deployment, the wireless communication delays have small variance, and as long as the observer moves with a constant speed, even if he/she moves fast, the bats still can be accurately located.