Familiar Habitats Research Articles

Evaluating the role of environmental familiarity and behaviour in the success of wildlife translocation: A grizzly bear case study using agent-based modelling

Human-carnivore systems are built on multi-scalar complex processes often resulting in conflicts that force wildlife managers to address what are conceived as problem individuals. In North America, the grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) is often involved in human-bear conflict with management measures such as translocations, in which problem individuals are moved to new areas, being used to reduce conflict risk. While translocations offer a non-lethal alternative to managing conflict animals, they show varying levels of success. Our objective was to perform a novel assessment of grizzly bear translocation success through agent-based simulation by evaluating how familiarity with landscape features coupled with behavioral traits affects the way individuals use resources in a new environment. Our results showed that bears translocated to familiar habitat used high-quality habitat more than bears moved to areas with unfamiliar landscape characteristics. Increased exploration led to greater use of high-quality habitat in the long run but resulted in reduced use of high-quality habitat during the first two years following a translocation. Habitat quality use depended on scale, with bears translocated to less familiar environments accessing higher quality areas at a finer scale than bears translocated to familiar habitats. We emphasize the need to account for wildlife behavioral traits and habitat characteristics at multiple scales when selecting suitable translocation locations. Understanding the role of factors such as these on translocation outcome will help ensure the success of translocations not only as a method for managing problem wildlife, but also for population restoration, species reestablishment, and conservation translocations across the globe.

Comparative exploratory movements of two terrestrial isopods (suborder: Oniscidea), in response to humidity and availability of food

Abstract Unfavourable conditions within familiar environments may prompt organisms to make forays into other habitats, at least temporarily. This behaviour is in turn linked to key demographic processes such as immigration, emigration, and eventually, metapopulation dynamics. How such movements are triggered by environmental conditions (much less their interaction effects) has rarely been experimentally tested. To address this, we examined how environmental conditions (3 levels of food and 3 levels of humidity) within a microcosm affect the movements of two species of isopods (Armadillidium vulgare and Porcellio scaber) out of their familiar habitat. We used web-camera checkpoints to record the movements of individually marked animals as they conducted forays along corridors that lead to new, unused habitats. Thirty-six trials were run in total for each species, with each trial involving 16 animals (8 ♂♂, 8 ♀♀). Relatively unfavourable conditions of low humidity, low food levels, and their interaction prompted changes to all the foray metrics we measured. However, different levels of mobility and tolerance to desiccation between the two species also appeared linked to the degree of responses, e.g., Porcellio demonstrated a greater tendency to depart from familiar habitat under low humidity, possibly due to their superior mobility and greater susceptibility to desiccation. This study improves our understanding of how different environmental conditions act in concert to affect the exploratory movements away from familiar habitat, and how these responses differ even for closely-related species.

Energy‐based step selection analysis: Modelling the energetic drivers of animal movement and habitat use

The energetic gains from foraging and costs of movement are expected to be key drivers of animal decision-making, as their balance is a large determinant of body condition and survival. This fundamental perspective is often missing from habitat selection studies, which mainly describe correlations between space use and environmental features, rather than the mechanisms behind these correlations. To address this gap, we present a novel parameterisation of step selection functions (SSFs), that we term the energy selection function (ESF). In this model, the likelihood of an animal selecting a movement step depends directly on the corresponding energetic gains and costs, and we can therefore assess how moving animals choose habitat based on energetic considerations. The ESF retains the mathematical convenience and practicality of other SSFs and can be quickly fitted using standard software. In this article, we outline a workflow, from data gathering to statistical analysis, and use a case study of polar bears Ursus maritimus to demonstrate application of the model. We explain how defining gains and costs at the scale of the movement step allows us to include information about resource distribution, landscape resistance and movement patterns. We further demonstrate this process with a case study of polar bears and show how the parameters can be interpreted in terms of selection for energetic gains and against energetic costs. The ESF is a flexible framework that combines the energetic consequences of both movement and resource selection, thus incorporating a key mechanism into habitat selection analysis. Further, because it is based on familiar habitat selection models, the ESF is widely applicable to any study system where energetic gains and costs can be derived, and has immense potential for methodological extensions.

Góry — dom dla zwierząt czy schronisko dla ludzi?

When thinking about nature, it is impossible to overlook fauna, which contributes to its constant transformation, mainly through the development of new species. The author of the article sheds light on the current situation of animals living e.g. in national parks, focusing on pro-environmental activities on social media and non-virtual media, and on destructive human behaviour. The growing tourism- and economy-related infrastructurisation of the mountains as well as their increasingly frequent exploration by humans force animals to change their familiar habitats. Owing to the animals’ natural territorialism as well as instinctive fight for species survival, in the case of stronger specimens we often see altruistic actions to protect the group under threat. The interference of humans with the natural environment forces animals to acquire social behaviours which are a consequence of a long adaptation process. The author of the article also examines selected aspects of ethology, that is study of inherited and acquired animal behaviour. However, the appropriation of the mountains by humans and their adaptation to human needs are characterised by a relatively high awareness of the impact on animal life, a fact reflected in numerous ecological and faunistic campaigns seeking to protect natural habitats and their indigenous residents. The article also features an analysis of campaigns and projects that are to make people sensitive to the fact that they are guests at a home of species other than the human species.

Correlation of morphological parameters of donkey from Austria

The donkey, as a work animal, is gradually losing its value. Agriculture industrialization, mechanization of many processes on mountain and valley farms have lead to a reduction of donkey livestock. This reduction gives cause for concern, and is good reason to study all aspects of these domestic animals in order to revive its role, to restart livestock growth in its familiar habitats, and to introduce it into new environments. This study focuses on these aspects. The domestic donkey (Equus asinus) originated from Africa, and there are two kinds of African donkeys: Nubian and Somali. Their enormous, almost mystical, endurance is well known. There is no place in the world where a donkey is not able to perform the most difficult work, above all in transporting goods. A donkey has an amazing capability of stable movement through the most difficult places. For study sample consisted of 44 donkeys (28 males and 16 females) from Austria. The following morphometric parameters were analysed: height at the withers, height at the back, height of the croup, body length, chest depth, chest width, chest circumference anterior, chest circumference posterior, shin circumference, head length, skull length, face length, skull width, face width, length of ears. Measurements were performed using a ruler, tape measure and vernier callipers. The average height at the withers of males was 116.40 cm, ranging from 99.60 to 140.60 cm, while for females, the average was 102.38 cm, ranging from 90.50 to 125.70 cm. Body length of males was on average 121.85 cm with a standard deviation of 11.79, while the mean body length for females is 115.80 cm, with a range of 101.00 to 131.00 cm. Male head length ranged from 48.00 to 71.00 cm, with an average of 55.60 cm, while in females, head length was on average 50.06 cm, ranging from 43.00 to 56.00 cm. Using the Pearson correlation, a very significant or significant positive statistical correlation was observed between almost all parameters of males, while for females, Pearson correlation values had slightly different values than for males. There was no statistically significant correlation between chest width and anterior chest circumference with nearly any other parameters. For females, a negative correlation between the skull width and all other parameters was also observed.

Building a Global Information Security System for the Future: New Angles

The year 2020 made it abundantly clear that the world is firmly and apparently immutably digitalized. All countries, regardless of their level of political, military, socioeconomic, and technological development, use information and communications technologies (ICTs) in various fields. But governments are certainly not the only users of ICTs. Companies, research and educational institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and civil society have swiftly adapted their work to the virtual format. It is convenient, accessible, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, often the only possible format. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the digital space has become a familiar habitat for most of the world's population. But due to the scale of their use, ICTs create global threats if they are abused. This makes information security a decisive factor in global social development and thus a key item on today's global agenda. Discussing international information security is not just a current trend but an urgent need in the new reality.

The influence of the sex and height at the withers on pelvis size of donkeys in Austria

During the recent decades, the donkey, as an ever-employed labour animal, is slowly but steadily losing its value. The agricultural industrialization, mechanization of many processes at the mountain and valley farms led to rejection of the donkeys as a livestock. This reduction in donkey numbers evokes some concerns. This fact is a good reason to study all aspects of these domestic animals, in order to revive their role and to restart their livestock growth in the familiar habitat, and bring them into the new environmental conditions. For the recent research, 35 donkeys (23 males and 12 females) were chosen. All animals lived on Styria terrain in Austria. The following morphometric parameters were analysed: height at the withers (VG), pelvis length (DK), pelvis width (SK), and point of buttock width (SSK). For the males, the average height at the withers was 116.70 cm and the average pelvis length – 40.13 cm. The average pelvis width was 38.56 cm, and the average point of buttock width – 16.39 cm. For the females the average height at the withers was 101.48 cm, the average pelvis length – 36.00 cm, pelvis width was 35.41 cm. The average point of buttock width was 13.66 cm. These measurements show the influence of the height at the withers on the development of the pelvis, particularly on its width and height for both males and females. Comparatively to other donkey populations of the world, the Austrian donkey has an average size.

Transnational encounters

This paper reflects on the transnational journeys poets make as they cross and re-cross nation-state boundaries. They are sensitively alert to their need for adjustment in their new place of relocation after being displaced from ‘homes that have given … [their] lives roots, stability, and meaning’ (Ghosh 2016: 54). The distance of time and space lends an objectivity to the diasporic observations of transnational writers and their peripheral positioning often leads to an alignment with other marginal lives, enabling a profound understanding and empathy with those faced with displacement and rupture from a familiar habitat and way of life. Transcontinental writers today are acutely aware of ‘a planet-spanning … arena of activity’ (Vertovec 2009: 3) as they confront the environmentalism of the poor, the slow violence (Nixon 2013) inflicted on vast swathes of humanity by ‘capitalism and empire’ (Ghosh 2016: 146). In their poetry, they are writer activists, bearing witness and testimony to the devastating effects of power which have accelerated climate change, widening social disparities. In these transnational encounters, they ‘displace the centre’ from the periphery which ‘return(s) to rewrite the history and fiction of the metropolis’ (Bhabha 1990), as evident in Dominique Hecq’s verse and my poetic responses and reflections.

High levels of natal philopatry and no difference in reproductive success between philopatric and non-philopatric songbirds breeding in a native forests of east-central Argentina

ABSTRACT Philopatric birds have a number of advantages when breeding in familiar habitats, such as learning the locations of food, efficient movement throughout the breeding area, or effective escape from predators. However, few investigators have examined the possible effect of site familiarity on reproductive success, even less for Neotropical songbirds. We studied a breeding population of Masked Gnatcatchers (Polioptila dumicola) and Vermilion Flycatchers (Pyrocephalus rubinus), two south temperate songbirds, and examined the possible reproductive benefits of natal philopatry. In our population, 13.9% and 6.9% of breeding adults, respectively, for Masked Gnatcatchers and Vermilion Flycatchers, were philopatric. We found no difference in the breeding success between philopatric and non-philopatric individuals. Our results showed higher levels of philopatry for both species than previously reported for other songbirds. Because the remnants of native forests in our study area were located within a matrix of highly disturbed habitats, these intermediate-to-high values of natal philopatry could be linked to the structural characteristics of the forest that may force birds to use the few suitable forest patches available in the area.

Microhabitat complexity influences fear acquisition in fathead minnows

Abstract Habitat varies in structure, with animals often preferring a certain degree of microhabitat complexity that facilitates fitness-related activities such as predator avoidance. Environments with high predation risk can induce elevated baseline fear and neophobia in prey, but whether microhabitat complexity influences the acquisition of neophobia has yet to be reported. Here, we tested whether exposure to predation risk induces different levels of fear in microhabitats that differed in complexity. We exposed fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas, to predation risk repeatedly (12 times over 4 days) in the form of damage-released chemical alarm cues (compared to water control) in tanks with vertical plant structure distributed either throughout the tank (complex habitat) or clumped together (simple habitat). Then, we tested minnows before and after exposure to a novel odor in tanks with either the same microhabitat complexity (i.e., familiar habitats) or in tanks with novel habitat that had different substrate structure and no vertical structure. Minnows in the complex habitat showed less overall movement one day after the background risk period, whereas individuals in the simple habitat showed reduced movement regardless of prior risk exposure. We observed stronger effects in the novel habitat, where background risk in both simple and complex habitats caused neophobia. However, individuals from the simple background habitat showed higher baseline fear behaviors. Hence, for minnows, low microhabitat complexity appears to lead to elevated fear, which remains even after a habitat change.

Bio-inspired untethered fully soft robots in liquid actuated by induced energy gradients.

Soft robotics with new designs, fabrication technologies and control strategies inspired by nature have been totally changing our view on robotics. To fully exploit their potential in practical applications, untethered designs are preferred in implementation. However, hindered by the limited thermal/mechanical performance of soft materials, it has been always challenging for researchers to implement untethered solutions, which generally involve rigid forms of high energy-density power sources or high energy-density processes. A number of insects in nature, such as rove beetles, can gain a burst of kinetic energy from the induced surface-energy gradient on water to return to their familiar habitats, which is generally known as Marangoni propulsion. Inspired by such a behavior, we report the agile untethered mobility of a fully soft robot in liquid based on induced energy gradients and also develop corresponding fabrication and maneuvering strategies. The robot can reach a speed of 5.5 body lengths per second, which is 7-fold more than the best reported, 0.69 (body length per second), in the previous work on untethered soft robots in liquid by far. Further controlling the robots, we demonstrate a soft-robot swarm that can approach a target simultaneously to assure a hit with high accuracy. Without employing any high energy-density power sources or processes, our robot exhibits many attractive merits, such as quietness, no mechanical wear, no thermal fatigue, invisibility and ease of robot fabrication, which may potentially impact many fields in the future.

Time-restricted orientation of green turtles

Sea turtles have an exceptional ability to travel accurately between known habitats as well as from unknown areas back to familiar habitats. Previous studies indicate that their ability to migrate long distances depends upon geomagnetic cues, but that they may rely on other undetermined cues once they are close to their destination. It has been suggested that they may then use visual cues for orientation during daylight hours, but detailed analysis of their movements when approaching their destination, particularly in relation to time of day, are lacking. This study examined the orientation behaviour of 22 displaced green turtles (Chelonia mydas), tracked en route back to their foraging habitats in eastern Australia. Study turtles tended to alternate stationary and travelling states during their trip home. Orientation corrections predominantly occurred immediately after a stationary state and after sunrise. This is the first study to demonstrate time-restricted orientation by sea turtles and provided a new insight into their sophisticated way-finding abilities.

Predation risk predicts use of a novel habitat

Predator–prey interactions are often highly co‐evolved, with selection over time for prey with morphological and behavioral traits that minimize predation risk. Consequently, in many environments prey choose among potential habitats according to their refuge value. It is unclear, however, when presented with new habitats, if prey are able to evaluate the predation risk of these relative to familiar habitats and utilize these in accordance with their value. We tested whether, along the east coast of the USA, native mud crabs Panopeus herbstii utilize the non‐native alga Gracilaria vermiculophylla according to its relative refuge value. Experiments examining predation by blue crabs Callinectes sapidus on mud crabs revealed that the non‐native alga had an intermediate refuge value relative to native oysters, which were the most protective, and unvegetated sediment, which was the least. In subsequent choice experiments, mud crabs selected oysters over alga over unvegetated sediment, in accordance with habitat refuge values. Further, in field experiments, the use of Gracilaria by mud crabs was inversely related to the proximity of the alga to the preferred habitat type, oysters, and was reduced by the presence of a blue crab predator. Consequently, mud crabs are utilizing the non‐native alga Gracilaria in accordance with its intermediate refuge value. The relative refuge value of non‐native vs native habitat‐forming species may provide a baseline expectation against which to measure the speed of learning and opportunism in the response of native prey to novel protective habitats.

Polarised skylight and the landmark panorama provide night-active bull ants with compass information during route following

Navigating animals are known to use a number of celestial and terrestrial compass cues that allow them to determine and control their direction of travel. Which of the cues dominate appears to depend on their salience. Here we show that night-active bull ants attend to both the pattern of polarised skylight and the landmark panorama in their familiar habitat. When the two directional cues are in conflict, ants choose a compromise direction. However, landmark guidance appears to be the primary mechanism of navigation used by forager ants, with those cues in the direction of heading having the greatest influence on navigation. Different colonies respond to the removal of these cues to different degrees, depending on the directional information provided by the local landmark panorama. Interestingly, other parts of the surrounding panorama also influence foraging speed and accuracy, suggesting that they too play a role in navigation.

Fecal glucocorticoid metabolite analysis as an indicator of stress during translocation and acclimation in an endangered large mammal, the Grevy's zebra

AbstractFecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) analysis provides a non‐invasive method for studying the physiological response of wildlife to a variety of stressors and is a ground‐breaking monitoring technique in wildlife management and conservation. The conservation benefits of successful wildlife translocation restocking efforts are significant but understandably stressful for the animals being captured, removed from familiar habitat, held in captivity in many cases and subsequently released into an unfamiliar environment. It is imperative that we identify non‐invasive methods for evaluating stress in translocated animals, especially in endangered species. Twenty Grevy's zebra Equus grevyi were translocated to Meru National Park as part of a Kenya Wildlife Service re‐population initiative. FGMs were monitored from the time of capture, during captivity and post‐release as an indicator of the stress of translocation and acclimation to the new environment. FGMs from representative non‐translocated zebra were used as a further control. When held in pens at Meru Park 3–4 and 5–6 weeks after capture, the zebra had higher FGMs (25.1±1.2 and 23.4±1.3 ng g−1) than either at the time of capture (14.6±2.1 ng g−1) or non‐translocated controls (16.2±1.2 ng g−1). This suggests that the stress of captivity elevated FGMs. FGM concentrations returned to pre‐capture concentrations c. 11–18 weeks after the zebra were released into Meru Park. The return of FGM concentrations to baseline suggests successful acclimation to the new environment. This study supports the use of FGM analysis as an assessment technique in wildlife management projects involving the movement of endangered large mammals with application for monitoring stress in a wide array of conservation projects involving translocation, reintroduction and rehabilitation.

Protohydra leuckarti near Plymouth

A new location for Protohydra leuckarti is reported near Plymouth at Millbrook Lake (Tamar Estuary). To place this finding in context, notes follow on a familiar habitat of this species in the White Sea, and on the general ecology and distribution of Protohydra and its enigmatic phylogeny.

Early Experience Influences both Habitat Choice and Locomotor Performance in Tiger Snakes

Through adaptive developmental plasticity, individuals may function most effectively in the type of environment in which they have spent most of their time. Such habitat-specific modifications may favor active selection of that habitat type later in life, further reinforcing developmentally plastic phenotypic modifications. The interaction between these processes may have profound evolutionary implications. In nature, Australian tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) use a complex mosaic of terrestrial, arboreal, and aquatic habitats. We raised juvenile tiger snakes for the first 11 months of life in enclosures mimicking one of these habitats and then tested their habitat selection when offered a choice of habitat types. Snakes consistently selected the habitat types in which they had been reared, and they were more effective at locomotion in those habitats than in the others. This attachment to a familiar habitat and phenotypically flexible adjustments in order to function effectively in that habitat constitute a positive feedback loop. That is, animals benefit by choosing a familiar habitat because they can fine-tune behaviors in ways that enable them to function better in that habitat, and, by consistently selecting that kind of habitat, they not only reinforce those phenotypically plastic adjustments but also are placed under continuing selection to cope with the challenges (of foraging, predator evasion, etc.) imposed by that habitat type. The end result may be to create ecomorphs, whereby different individuals within a population become specialized for different types of habitats even in the absence of genetic differentiation.

Insect Surveys in the Southeast: Investigating a Relictual Entomofauna

Rare insects can occur in specialized niches of familiar habitats. For example, the burrows of rodents, such as the pocket gopher, contain a relictual entomofauna of surprising diversity. The discovery and cataloging of this cryptic diversity is an ongoing process that will require patience, time, and resources. The role of the amateur naturalist and collector is far from extinct in modern systematics, particularly in surveys of these specialized environments. They can provide much of the manpower for local surveys and often have extensive regional knowledge.

Dispersal behaviour of individuals in metapopulations of two British butterflies

Dispersal patterns are important in metapopulation ecology because they affect the dynamics and survival of populations. However, because little empirical information exists on dispersal behaviour of individuals, theoretical models usually assume random dispersal. Recent empirical evidence, by contrast, suggests that the butterfly Maniola jurtina uses a non‐random, systematic dispersal strategy, can detect and orient towards habitat from distances of 100–150 m, and prefers a familiar habitat patch over a non‐familiar one (‘homing behaviour’). The present study (1) investigated whether these results generalise to another butterfly species, Pyronia tithonus; and (2) examined the cause of the observed ‘homing behaviour’ in M. jurtina. P. tithonus used a similar non‐random, systematic dispersal strategy to M. jurtina, had a similar perceptual range for habitat detection and preferred a familiar habitat patch over a non‐familiar one. The ‘homing behaviour’ of M. jurtina was found to be context‐dependent: individual M. jurtina translocated within habitat did not return towards their capture point, whereas individuals translocated similar distances out of habitat did return to their ‘home’ patch. We conclude that butterfly ‘homing behaviour’ is not based on an inherent preference for a familiar location, but that familiarity with an area facilitates the recognition of suitable habitat, towards which individuals orient if they find themselves in unsuitable habitat. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we suggest that frequent, short ‘excursions’ over habitat patch boundaries are evolutionarily advantageous to individuals, because increased familiarity with the surrounding environment is likely to increase the ability of a straying animal to return to its natural habitat, and to reduce the rate of mortality experienced by individuals attempting to disperse between habitat patches. We discuss the implications of the non‐random dispersal for existing metapopulation models, including models of the evolution of dispersal rates.

Non-random dispersal in the butterfly Maniola jurtina: implications for metapopulation models.

The dispersal patterns of animals are important in metapopulation ecology because they affect the dynamics and survival of populations. Theoretical models assume random dispersal but little is known in practice about the dispersal behaviour of individual animals or the strategy by which dispersers locate distant habitat patches. In the present study, we released individual meadow brown butterflies (Maniola jurtina) in a non-habitat and investigated their ability to return to a suitable habitat. The results provided three reasons for supposing that meadow brown butterflies do not seek habitat by means of random flight. First, when released within the range of their normal dispersal distances, the butterflies orientated towards suitable habitat at a higher rate than expected at random. Second, when released at larger distances from their habitat, they used a non-random, systematic, search strategy in which they flew in loops around the release point and returned periodically to it. Third, butterflies returned to a familiar habitat patch rather than a non-familiar one when given a choice. If dispersers actively orientate towards or search systematically for distant habitat, this may be problematic for existing metapopulation models, including models of the evolution of dispersal rates in metapopulations.