Landscape Features Research Articles

The Spatial–Temporal Evolution of the Trade-Offs and Synergy between the Suburban Rural Landscape’s Production–Living–Ecological Functions: A Case Study of Jiashan in the Yangtze River Delta Eco-Green Integrated Development Demonstration Zone, China

The Yangtze River Delta is one of China’s most economically developed regions and includes parts of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai. The economic development of the Yangtze River Delta region is in a stage of rapid growth. As a unique intersection of urban and rural functions, contradictions are prominent. The production, life, and ecological functions of suburban rural landscapes are forming new trade-off and synergistic relationships. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the production–living–ecological function of the suburban rural landscape in the Yangtze River Delta region. Jiashan County is located in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, and is an important part of the Yangtze River Delta region. Jiashan County, which has location advantages and economic development, can be used as a representative area to study the relationship between the production–living–ecological function of the suburban rural landscape in the Yangtze River Delta region. To evaluate the current status of the production–living–ecological functions of suburban rural areas in the Yangtze River Delta region and provide data support for future planning decisions in the Yangtze River Delta region, this study selected the suburban rural landscape of Jiashan as the research object and used temporal rank correlation analysis and spatial bivariate autocorrelation analysis to explore the evolution characteristics of the suburban rural landscape of Jiashan from 2000 to 2020. The results show that (1) the linear increase in the production and life functions of Jiashan rural areas has led to a decline in ecological functions, and life functions has been dominant. (2) There are trade-offs and synergistic relationships between the different functions of the suburban rural landscape of Jiashan, showing a temporal change pattern dominated by trade-offs. (3) The multifunctional trade-offs and synergistic relationships for the suburban rural landscape in Jiashan County exhibited obvious spatial pattern variability, and there were differences in how the streets and towns evolved. The relevant policies for the construction of ecological green comprehensive demonstration areas affect the economic, social, and ecological development of the Yangtze River Delta region, resulting in substantial differences in the types of and trends in the spatiotemporal evolution of the functional trade-off and synergistic relationships of the suburban rural landscape. Targeted measures should be taken according to the local conditions to guide the coordinated development of landscape functions.

Habitat selection interacts with social processes and spatial scale: Conservation implications for a lekking bird

Habitat selection is influenced by landscape composition, resource distribution and social behaviour. Habitat selection is scale-dependent, and the spatial extent and the scale at which processes are measured are therefore of paramount importance. This study focused on the habitat selection of the little bustard (Tetrax tetrax). We developed habitat selection models with the aim of disentangling the relative effects of local habitat parameters (crop), landscape features and social factors (to take into account the exploded lek mating system of this species). We used the SILand package in R, which allows the estimation of simple and interactive effects, using spatially accurate counts of male little bustards over a 1074-km2 study suite (over 11 consecutive years). Local and landscape-scale habitats were taken into account, including agri-environment schemes, allowing a quantitative analysis of these conservation measures. The predictive power of the models that only included local habitat was poor, but including landscape habitats – interacting with local habitat or not – statistically increased the model's predictive power (by 16 %). Adding the social factor further improved model quality (by 14 %). From a conservation perspective, the presence probability of a male increases by about 25 % when the field is managed with an agri-environment scheme. If the habitat around the field is of high quality (50 % of grasslands within a 500-m radius), this probability rises to 0.8, and if a male is already present within 250 m, it reaches 1. This confirms that conservation measures should preferentially target hotspots of male presence (i.e., larger leks).

Unveiling water legacy: an interdisciplinary exploration for comprehending Siraf’s historical water landscape

In the heart of southern Iran’s arid expanse lies Siraf, a testament to the enduring bond between water and civilisation. This port city flourished in the 9th and 10th centuries, sustained by ingenious water management. Exploring Siraf’s water heritage reveals a cultural landscape shaped by the symbiotic relationship between water and human innovation. Through meticulous analysis of technical reports, excavation records, interviews, and historical accounts, this research aims to understand Siraf’s water heritage landscape using an interdisciplinary landscape-based approach. This approach integrates insights from archaeology, geology, geohydrology, and agriculture to provide a holistic view of the interconnectedness of natural and cultural elements. These dynamic systems inspire sustainable practices through landscape-based solutions considering natural and cultural landscape features to address urban challenges. As we face climate change and urbanisation, understanding and preserving Siraf’s water heritage landscapes through an interdisciplinary approach provide a roadmap for a more resilient future.

Driving factors of earthworm communities in Mediterranean urban parks

Earthworm communities within urban environments remain an intriguing subject. This study aims to unravel the intricate relationship between these communities and the heterogeneous urban soils they inhabit. Urban soils, shaped by past and present human activities, harbor a rich diversity of earthworms, yet the specific factors influencing these communities remain poorly understood.Earthworm communities were sampled across 13 urban parks of Montpellier, a Mediterranean city in France. The effect of four variables at two scales were assessed: (i) landscape attributes within a 100-meter radius surrounding each sampling point and (ii) site-specific factors, including soil properties such as organic carbon content and pH levels, soil age, and management practices. Variation partitioning was employed through partial canonical correspondence analysis in order to disentangle the effects of these variables on earthworm community composition.A total of 16 species were identified out of 1270 individuals collected. Most are ubiquist, with a limited number being endemic to the Mediterranean region, potentially indicating biotic homogenization due to urbanization. In addition, multivariate analyses emphasized the substantial influence of landscape characteristics, composed by the rate of green spaces and the number of patches. These landscape-level attributes and especially the connectivity of green spaces emerged as primary drivers, surpassing the influence of management practices, soil age and soil properties.Thus, this research underscores the importance of considering diverse scales, and particularly landscape-level factors, in comprehending and restoring soil fauna such as earthworm communities within Mediterranean urban parks.

Determination of the Change of Agricultural Landscapes Based on CORINE Land Cover Agricultural Land Classes Using GIS and Visual Quality Value with the AHP Method: The Case of Tekı̇rdağ Province

Agricultural landscapes contribute positively to the visual texture of the city and change over time. In this context, this study aims to determine the visual landscape quality of agricultural landscapes based on parameters on expert approach the hypothesis; it is important and necessary to determine the visual landscape values based on the change in agricultural landscapes over time. Within the framework of the developed hypothesis, it aims to make an expert-based visual landscape assessment of the agricultural landscapes of Tekirdağ Province, located in the northwestern part of Türkiye, based on nine subclasses created according to the CORINE land cover (CLC) classes, on the basis of 4 main parameters. Using the AHP technique, the priorities of the parameters and agricultural landscape classes and the relationships between basic parameters and visual preferences were determined. In this direction, the questions; What are the priorities of parameters that are effective in determining the visual quality of agricultural landscapes on the basis of expert approach?; What kind of changes have occurred in agricultural landscapes during the years 1990-2000-2006-2012-2018 in 9 subclasses created according to the CLC classes? and; How should the visual landscape quality values of the agricultural landscape subclasses created according to the CLC classes be ranked? The results of the study can be used as a tool in landscape planning and management studies as a factor in strengthening landscape quality.

Wilyakali and archaeologists collaborating to map the journey of the Bronzewing Pigeon, Broken Hill, western New South Wales, Australia

ABSTRACTThis paper describes a collaboration between Wilyakali Indigenous Custodians and a group of archaeologists. This collaboration has generated a shared and integrated understanding of the cultural landscape, Ancestral Creation Histories, and archaeology of the Broken Hill region of western New South Wales. The Broken Hill landscape is ancient beyond imagination, and complex geological processes/Creation Histories have resulted in distinctive landscape features and resources including quartz suitable for stone artefact manufacture. Wilyakali stone knappers employed specialised and varied technological processes to overcome the diverse and sometimes intractable nature of the quartz material, resulting in efficient use of this local stone resource. Wilyakali interpret the Country through their knowledge of the travelling sacred Bronzewing Pigeon and its creation of landscape features and resources such as quartz and water. Empirical archaeological data complement traditional knowledge, with the two ways of knowing coming together to reconstruct a nuanced interpretation of the cultural landscape. This shared narrative has had ongoing and inter‐generational benefits to the Wilyakali people, with knowledge communicated to younger generations by Elders, enabling them to interpret both the archaeology and Ancestral Creation Histories with confidence. This paper also highlights the inconsistent recognition of Indigenous ways of knowing and connection in Aboriginal cultural heritage assessments in the region.

Enhancing climate adaptation: Integrating place-based risk perceptions and coastalscape values using Q+PPGIS

Effective climate change adaptation planning requires evaluating the interplay of physical landscape characteristics and community perceptions of places. Geographic information system (GIS)-based approaches to measuring environmental values can identify locations for planning prioritization. But they seldom are used to consider spatial differences in socio-ecological worldview. This study aims to identify how place-based risk perceptions and landscape values can inform climate change adaptation using a Q+PPGIS method. We integrated mapped landscape values and climate risks (from 39 PPGIS participants) with elicited discourses (for 28 Q-method participants) to develop a novel land classification approach (reflexive Q+PPGIS). The results demonstrate significant differences between wilderness as a discourse and perceived, and the physical features associated with mapped wild areas. Similar differences in discourse and spatial patterns are observed for climate risks. For example, participants’ mapped areas of bushfire risk do not align with agencies’ identified risk areas, their jurisdictions, and capacities to take action. This disconnect presents a challenge to adaptation. Local governments can use this new method to show constituents multiple and often competing community demands for action, enabling honest conversations about feasible actions, responsibilities, and resource allocation.

Landscape and insecticide use affecting the Leucoptera coffeella infestation and the natural parasitism spatiotemporal distribution in brazilian coffee agroecosystems

Monitoring the coffee leaf miner and natural parasitism is an important part of integrated pest management, and knowing the spatial distribution patterns of this pest can help improve sampling plans. This study aimed to determine spatial and temporal distributions of the coffee leaf miner infestation and natural parasitism in coffee plantations of different insecticide use and landscape configurations in the Planalto region, Bahia, Brazil. We monitored five coffee farms with different insecticide management practices in insecticide use and landscape features during two seasons, from December 2020 to November 2021. In each coffee farm, four regular grid plots of 30 points were established, for a total of 120 sample points per farm, that were georeferenced. Each point was a group of five coffee plants within 5 m of each other, 30 m in distance. Monthly collections of mined leaves were carried out at each sampling point to determine the L. coffeella infestation and natural parasitism rates. Geostatistical analysis was used to determine the spatial distribution of infestations and natural parasitism using semivariograms. Landscape metrics of each coffee plantation were surveyed in buffers ranging from 500 to 3000 m to assess their effects on population aggregation. Infestations of L. coffeella and natural parasitism of the pest occurred throughout the year and at varying intensities among farms. Leucoptera coffeella infestation and natural parasitism exhibited moderate aggregation patterns in most sampling months. The aggregation of L. coffeella infestations and natural parasitism were influenced by landscape and insecticide use. Forest cover, land cover use diversity, and insecticide use increased aggregation of L. coffeella infestations and natural parasitism, whereas edge density decreased aggregation of both. The study suggests that it may be beneficial to review the current sampling plans for the coffee leaf miner and the natural parasitism in coffee farms. This information can improve the integrated management of the pest in coffee farms and assist in decision-making regarding L. coffeella control strategies.

Integrated vegetation management within electrical transmission landscapes promotes floral resource and flower-visiting insect diversity.

Electrical transmission rights-of-way are ubiquitous and critical infrastructure across the landscape. Active vegetation management of these rights-of-way, a necessity to deliver electricity more safely, maintains these landscape features as stages of early successional habitat, a rarity in many regions, making these areas viable movement corridors for many taxa. The goals of this study were to (i) evaluate the effects of different electrical transmission landscape management practices on flowering plant and flower-visiting insect diversity parameters and (ii) generate conservation management inferences for these landscapes. In this study we tested the impact of three vegetation management levels across 18 electrical transmission sites. We evaluated the effects of treatment on bloom abundance and species richness as well as flower-visiting insect abundance and family richness. We identified 76541 flowers/inflorescences across 456 transects, including 188 species in 56 plant families. Additionally, we obtained data on 11361 flower-visitoring insects representing 33 families from 2376 pan trap sets. High vegetation management favored the reduction of coarse woody debris in the sites and harbored the highest level of abundance and richness of both floral resources and flower-visiting insects. We discuss that we can align social and ecological values of rights-of-way, ensuring their sustainability by applying regular and targeted integrated vegetation management. Thus, we can use rights-of-way landscapes not only as an effective management strategy for the delivery of essential human services, but also to provide conservation benefits for wild pollinators.

Organic farming and annual flower strips reduce parasite prevalence in honeybees and boost colony growth in agricultural landscapes

Abstract Despite the major role that insect pollinators play in crop production, agricultural intensification drives them into decline. Various conservation measures have been developed to mitigate the negative effects of agriculture on insect pollinators. In a novel comparison of the efficacy of three conservation measures on honeybee colony growth, we monitored experimental honeybee colonies in 16 landscapes that comprised orthogonal gradients of organic agriculture, annual flower strips and perennial semi‐natural habitats. Using structural equation modelling, we assessed the effects of conservation measures on the prevalence of 11 parasites, Varroa destructor loads and their collective impact on colony growth. Increasing area coverage of perennial semi‐natural habitat related to higher V. destructor load and indirectly to lower colony growth. Increasing area of annual flower strips was associated with lower V. destructor load and indirectly with higher colony growth. Increasing area of organic farming related to lower parasite richness and also directly to improved colony growth. Synthesis and applications: Landscape features can affect pollinators directly through the provision of food resources and indirectly through modulation of parasite prevalence. To promote honeybee colony health in agro‐ecosystems, our results suggest that organic agriculture and annual flower strips should be prioritized conservation measures. Landscape management should consider the merits and demerits of different measures to sustain healthy populations of pollinators in agro‐ecosystems.

Brown bear habitat use patterns across 19 years of population expansion in the Cantabrian Mountains

ContextLarge carnivores have faced severe extinction pressures throughout Europe during the last centuries, where human-induced disturbances reached unprecedented levels. In the late twentieth century, the Cantabrian brown bear population was on the verge of extinction, due to poaching. Yet, the end of the last century was a turning point for this population. Presence data on the western Cantabrian subpopulation was collected since the beginning of the century and insights provided by this long-term monitoring may be useful for brown bear conservation.ObjectivesHere, we aim to: (i) identify the landscape features relevant to bears’ recovery; and (ii) understand if and how the landscape use patterns by bears changed over time.MethodsWe tested the influence of landscape structure (i.e., composition and configuration) on bear occurrence patterns using MAXENT in three periods representative of land cover change.ResultsDespite variation across the 19-year monitoring period, brown bears were more often detected near broad-leaf forests and bare rock areas and at lower to intermediate altitudes, but avoided arable lands, permanent crops, and burnt areas. Human population density or distance to roads—often used for modelling habitat suitability for Cantabrian brown bears—were not identified as relevant variables for this brown bear subpopulation. Artificial areas were identified as relevant landscape features, but not as disturbance.ConclusionsThese findings reinforce the importance of preserving bears’ native habitats and provide new insights, namely on the use of humanized landscapes.

Predicting protein conformational motions using energetic frustration analysis and AlphaFold2

Proteins perform their biological functions through motion. Although high throughput prediction of the three-dimensional static structures of proteins has proved feasible using deep-learning-based methods, predicting the conformational motions remains a challenge. Purely data-driven machine learning methods encounter difficulty for addressing such motions because available laboratory data on conformational motions are still limited. In this work, we develop a method for generating protein allosteric motions by integrating physical energy landscape information into deep-learning-based methods. We show that local energetic frustration, which represents a quantification of the local features of the energy landscape governing protein allosteric dynamics, can be utilized to empower AlphaFold2 (AF2) to predict protein conformational motions. Starting from ground state static structures, this integrative method generates alternative structures as well as pathways of protein conformational motions, using a progressive enhancement of the energetic frustration features in the input multiple sequence alignment sequences. For a model protein adenylate kinase, we show that the generated conformational motions are consistent with available experimental and molecular dynamics simulation data. Applying the method to another two proteins KaiB and ribose-binding protein, which involve large-amplitude conformational changes, can also successfully generate the alternative conformations. We also show how to extract overall features of the AF2 energy landscape topography, which has been considered by many to be black box. Incorporating physical knowledge into deep-learning-based structure prediction algorithms provides a useful strategy to address the challenges of dynamic structure prediction of allosteric proteins.

The relative influence of agricultural abandonment and semi-natural habitats on parasitoid diversity and community composition.

Wild biodiversity is usually larger in semi-natural habitats than in croplands, but this pattern is not ubiquitous because it varies among taxa and geographic regions. Knowing how the diversity of natural enemies is structured at the landscape level is important to better understand when semi-natural habitats promote the conservation of natural enemies and ultimately enhance biocontrol. We explore the relative influence of agricultural abandonment and the proportion of semi-natural habitats at the landscape level on the diversity and abundance of parasitoid wasps in the Ichneumonidae family. We studied changes in parasitoid diversity both at local and regional scales (i.e. alpha vs beta diversity), and both at the taxonomic and functional level (i.e. species vs guild identities). We extracted landscape features in circular buffers of varying radii to perform a multi-scale analysis, and to assess at which scale landscape-level effects influenced parasitoid assemblages. We found that parasitoid alpha and beta diversity decreased with an increasing proportion of semi-natural habitats. The multi-scale analysis revealed that for this group of natural enemies, landscape-level effects occur at mid to low distances (i.e. less than 500m). Our results provide insights into the origin of pest natural enemies, their spillover to croplands, and may help to understand under which circumstances semi-natural habitats fail at promoting biocontrol services.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Large-Scale Ecological Restoration Measures in the Liaohe Estuary Using a Landscape Pattern Perspective

In recent years, the Chinese government implemented many policies and actions to restore coastal wetlands. This study focused on assessing how these projects have influenced the landscape patterns of the Liaohe Estuary, an area of critical importance. By analyzing remote sensing images from 2009 to 2022, we determined the spatiotemporal changes in landscape pattern, fragmentation, and conversion. Results showed that (1) Reed (Phragmites australis) fields were the dominant landscape feature and covered 46.3–48.2% of the area; however, road was the serious factor in fragmenting these wetlands. Seepweed (Suaeda salsa) marshes, an iconic and characteristic wetland of the region, gradually expanded towards the estuary and coast over the study years. (2) Landscape fragmentation increased and seasonally changed during the study period and restoration measures actually resulted in more fragmentation of the landscape. (3) Ponds replaced 14.28 km2 natural landscape in the development stage and 40.93 km2 were restored to natural landscape during restoration and maintenance. (4) Active restoration projects caused landscape fragmentation to sharply increase initially, but then fragmentation declined as passive restoration continued in the maintenance stage. This study suggests that road construction should be carefully deliberated in ecologically sensitive areas and that ecological restoration (a combination of active and passive restoration) in the Liaohe Estuary region showed evidence of temporal lag and hysteresis that may be important for research in the future.

Archaeological LiDAR in Mediterranean Karst Landscapes. A Multiproxy Dating Method for Archaeological Landscape and a Case Study From Prehistoric Kras Plateau (Slovenia)

ABSTRACTThe case study area is a small but typical prehistoric landscape in the Kras Plateau on the north coast of the central Mediterranean. The Late Bronze and Iron Age Kras Plateau was an emblematic Mediterranean archaeological landscape dotted with numerous hillforts. Since the mid‐20th century, the landscape had been overgrown with some of the most archaeology‐hostile vegetation, severely impeding landscape archaeology until archaeological LiDAR revealed thousands of archaeological features that attest to a carefully constructed and managed agro‐pastoral landscape. However, these discoveries were hampered by insecure chronology typical of any LiDAR guided analysis. This case study meticulously documented two prehistoric hillforts and a previously unknown agro‐pastoral landscape with hundreds of archaeological features. The focus of the article, however, was on establishing a more precise and objective dating method. We proposed a multiproxy method to date the archaeological landscape. It combines relative dating using remote sensing data and historical maps; dating based on historical context; relative stratigraphic dating; indirect dating based on associated archaeological finds; and dating by association. Particularly, we focused on the association‐based dating of archaeological features. We proposed a method based on the concept of taskscapes that relies on kernel density estimation. Using these methods, we objectively demonstrated that agro‐pastoral landscape features documented with archaeological LiDAR were contemporaneous with Late Bronze Age and Iron Age hillforts and have no connection to the post‐medieval landscape. The latter has important methodological implications for the prehistoric archaeology of Mediterranean karst landscapes, where backdating post‐Medieval landscapes is a common practise.

Optimization Strategies for Waterfront Plant Landscapes in Traditional Villages: A Scenic Beauty Estimation–Entropy Weighting Method Analysis

This investigation delves into the waterfront plant landscapes of traditional villages in Western Hunan, China, aiming to bolster sustainable ecological resource management, amplify ecological culture, and ameliorate environmental standards. Furthermore, it endeavors to furnish a theoretical scaffold for the meticulous construction and assessment of these landscapes. This study has illustrated the waterfront botanical landscapes of 32 traditional hamlets within the Xiangxi region, integrating prior research on the waterfront botanical regression model based on the Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) method. It established and investigated fifteen landscape factors pivotal to the aesthetic valorization of these village waterfronts. The study concocted a beauty quality evaluation model, unearthing a significant correlation (p < 0.01) across evaluations by students majoring in landscape architecture, expert landscape architects, and laypersons, thus underscoring a consensus in aesthetic judgments. A noteworthy correlation between the beauty value (Z-value) and the entropy weight value was elucidated through the equation EWM = −0.106 + 0.425ZSBE, showcasing the landscape quality’s variance among the studied villages. The formulated evaluation model accentuates the significance of seasonal variation, scale affinity, and a rich hierarchical structure.

Application of artificial intelligence sensor and visual image technology in the analysis of hydrophilic space landscape characteristics

With the continuous development of intelligent sensor technology and artificial intelligence, the application of artificial intelligence feature recognition at the level of intelligent sensor information acquisition to urban landscape analysis has become a current research trend and hot spot, but also brings us new research directions and challenges. In this paper, the multi-sensor collaborative filtering algorithm is optimized, and a method based on evidence theory is proposed to deal with the fuzzy and unclear information generated in the process of multi-sensor collaboration. Then, the analysis and recognition of multi-sensor fusion information using AI technology are analyzed in detail. This paper discusses the problems in multi-sensor information fusion and related solutions. Combined with the key nodes of 3D object AI feature recognition, multi-sensor collaborative Dempster Shafer evidence theory and 3D convolutional neural network waterfront space landscape feature recognition sub-model are constructed, and the waterfront space landscape recognition analysis model is tested and analyzed. The results show that the multi-sensor information collection Kalman filtering fusion algorithm effectively realizes the recognition of landscape feature information and the filtering of irrelevant interference information combined with an artificial intelligence algorithm to build a landscape feature recognition model. Among all kinds of landscape recognition, the recognition effect of beach inflow is the best, and the recognition accuracy, recall, and F1 value are all above 95. However, the identification effect of hydrophilic plank roads and underwater breakwater is relatively poor. The recognition accuracy of the hydrophilic platform is the lowest at 83.16 % among the eight landscape types, and the recall rate of underwater breakwater is the lowest at 79.96 % among the eight landscape types. In general, the multi-sensor Kalman filtering algorithm information fusion model designed in this paper has higher recognition accuracy and better classification performance for the collection and classification of the entire landscape dataset. The work of this paper provides a new idea and direction for the design and application of waterfront landscape identification and analysis systems based on intelligent sensors and artificial intelligence technology and lays a certain foundation for the intelligent design of urban waterfront landscapes.

Landscape properties and density dependence shape the movement patterns of three threatened butterflies

ContextConservation of endangered species necessitates an in-depth understanding of their ecological requirements. Particularly in landscape ecology, the behavioural tendencies of threatened butterfly species in Gotland, a biodiversity-rich island in the Baltic Sea, become crucial.ObjectivesThe primary aim of this study was to elucidate the movement patterns of three threatened butterfly species—Euphydryas aurinia, Parnassius apollo, and Phengaris arion—in Gotland and to identify the influence of specific land characteristics on these patterns.MethodsOur study, conducted from 2017 to 2020 across 60 km2 in Gotland, involved detailed capture-mark-recapture (CMR) efforts of 29,584 captures including 16,223 unique butterflies. We investigate the departure and arrival events of butterflies, specifically focusing on the associations between movements when individuals leave or enter a hectare grid different from their previously recorded location and key landscape features: open vegetated land, ground moisture, and forest cover. We model landscape features to examine the interplay between these and butterfly movement patterns, providing insights into preferred landscape features and conservation strategies.ResultsAmong the 4821 arrivals and 5083 departures documented, the species exhibited differential responses to the evaluated habitat features. Both E. aurinia and P. apollo displayed a positive density-dependent dispersal, while P. arion’s movements were not significantly associated with any of the examined habitat features. Landscape properties like open vegetated land and ground moisture index statistically influenced the likelihood of arrival and departure.ConclusionsThe study accentuates the relationship between land cover and the behavioural tendencies of the subject butterfly species. It has broader implications for the targeted habitat management strategies that would benefit threatened butterfly populations in Gotland.

Spatial and temporal ecology of Cerdocyon thous: a mesopredator canid coping with habitat loss, fragmentation, and chronic anthropogenic disturbances

ContextHuman activities are reducing the amount and quality of natural landscapes. Understanding how such changes affect the spatial and temporal ecology of mammal populations will enable us to foresee how communities will be structured in the Anthropocene.ObjectivesHere, we evaluated how the occupancy, intensity of use, and activity patterns of the mesopredator canid Cerdocyon thous are affected by topographic variation, habitat amount, fragmentation and chronic anthropogenic disturbances.MethodsCamera trapping data were obtained between May and September 2014 in 179 sampling points within ten priority areas for conservation in a seasonally dry tropical forest (Caatinga) in Brazil, totaling an effort of 6,701 camera.days. We use occupancy models for analyzed occupancy, generalized linear models (GLM) for the intensity of use and kernel density curve for activity pattern.ResultsCerdoyon thous benefited from human disturbance, showing greater occupancy and intensity of use near anthropogenic habitats, fragmentation, human density and cattle density. Moreover, temporal analyses showed that it modulates its daily activity according to habitat amount, human density, cattle density and altitude. However, C. thous tends to avoid areas with excess of fire, logging and infrastructures.ConclusionsThese results allow us to understand the mechanisms that contribute to the dominance of generalist mesocarnivores in human-dominated environments.

Landscape Analysis for Surrogate Models in the Evolutionary Black-Box Context.

Surrogate modeling has become a valuable technique for black-box optimization tasks with expensive evaluation of the objective function. In this paper, we investigate the relationships between the predictive accuracy of surrogate models, their settings, and features of the black-box function landscape during evolutionary optimization by the Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES) state-of-the-art optimizer for expensive continuous black-box tasks. This study aims to establish the foundation for specific rules and automated methods for selecting and tuning surrogate models by exploring relationships between landscape features and model errors, focusing on the behavior of a specific model within each generation in contrast to selecting a specific algorithm at the outset. We perform a feature analysis process, identifying a significant number of non-robust features and clustering similar landscape features, resulting in the selection of 14 features out of 384, varying with input data selection methods. Our analysis explores the error dependencies of four models across 39 settings, utilizing three methods for input data selection, drawn from surrogate-assisted CMA-ES runs on noiseless benchmarks within the Comparing Continuous Optimizers framework.