Habitat For Certain Species Research Articles

Assessing the role of habitat, climate, and anthropization gradients on terrestrial mammal diversity in the western Mediterranean basin.

Mammal species globally exhibit distribution patterns conditioned by environmental conditions and human impact. The Mediterranean basin provides an ideal system to study these effects due to its diverse climate, and habitat conditions. In this work, we aim to assess the impact of landscape heterogeneity and anthropization degree on terrestrial mammal diversity in this region. Accordingly, we deployed over 300 camera traps across 28 sites for 3 months. Detected mammal species (weighing more than 1kg) were classified as domestic carnivores, domestic ungulates, wild carnivores, wild ungulates, lagomorphs, and large rodents. Alpha and beta diversity were calculated for each group and all wild mammals. Simple linear regressions and multimodal analysis were conducted between mammal diversities and climate, environmental conditions, landscape heterogeneity, and anthropization degree variables. Redundancy analyses were performed to identify variables and species determining the mammalian community composition. Indexes measuring landscape heterogeneity, anthropization degree, and its 30-year change did not correlate with mammal diversity. However, the difference in elevation within sites and domestic carnivore abundance showed a significant positive correlation with some of the diversity indexes. Nonetheless, rainfall and mean elevation factors generally showed the highest correlation with mammal diversity. Instead, a few influential species, including generalists and open-habitat specialists, highlighted the importance of conserving open areas, as well as the importance of the Pyrenees region as a key habitat for certain species. Therefore, climatic variables emerged as the key determinants of mammal diversity, highlighting climate change as a potential threat to mammal diversity in this area.

Башкирские дримонимы: лексико-семантическая классификация, структура, этимология

Introduction. The paper examines the cluster of toponyms derived from drymonyms. The relevance of the research topic is determined by the poor knowledge of this type of toponyms in the toponymic system of Bashkortostan (Russia). Goals. The study seeks to classify Bashkir toponyms derived from names of forests, groves, wild trees and shrubs, to describe their word-formation structure, semantics, origin and features of functioning in the toponymic system of the Southern Urals. Materials and methods. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that the paper is the first to identify toponyms associated with drymonyms using the method of continuous sampling — in the Dictionary of Toponyms of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The work also attempts to describe those systematically, traces new drymonyms of foreign origin, and reveals the latter’s role in the toponymy-related processes. Furthermore, the paper is the first to outline a lexical/semantic classification of such toponyms, defines their structure, semantics, and origin. Results. In addition to toponyms of common Turkic origin, the article identifies drymonymic toponyms formed from Indo-Iranian, Finno-Ugric, and Mongolian word stems. The insight into some drymonymic toponyms associated with beliefs of Bashkirs reveals their function in creating the unique toponymic picture of Bashkortostan. The analysis of related material shows the designated type of Bashkir toponyms characterize primarily natural landscapes of Bashkortostan, habitats of certain species of wild trees and shrubs. The toponymic substratum of Indo-Iranian, Finno-Ugric and Mongolian origin reflects historical backgrounds of the language and ethnos, while toponyms associated with deification of ancestral trees are indicative of specific ancient beliefs of Bashkirs.

The integration of cattle grazing activities as potential best sustainable practices for weeding operations in oil palm plantations.

Oil palm agriculture depends heavily on the use of herbicides to preserve crop output against competing weeds. Rising concerns about the impact of herbicides and carbon emissions on biodiversity and ecosystems require an urgent transformation in weed management. The 45% increase in global oil palm production area has resulted in increased agrochemical inputs in oil palm producing countries. Currently, estimated herbicide usage in Malaysia is reported to have increased by 18%. In fact, the use of herbicides may destroy understory vegetation that serves as critical habitat for certain species that are essential for the biodiversity of the oil palm. Hence, without any effort for innovation and sustainable weeding practices, this may lead to excessive use of herbicides, which reduce microbial activity, alter soil organic matter, and consequently influence soil CO2 emissions. The integrated cattle grazing system in oil palm plantations can be seen as a land-sharing method. Potentially, the livestock integration can improve productivity of the land while minimizing the impact of pollution and resource degradation. So, any reduction in the use of herbicides should be balanced by innovative, sustainable weed control methods such as the integration of cattle grazing. This will help reduce pollution, restore soil carbon (C) sequestration, and protect the oil palm ecosystem’s biodiversity. This review demonstrates that modern livestock systems can be redesigned to better exploit cattle and buffaloes’ ecological niches as sustainable best practices to regenerate oil palm plantation landscapes and contribute to faunal conservation initiatives in Malaysia’s oil palm plantation ecosystem.

Climbing and Clinging of Urban Lizards are Differentially Affected by Morphology, Temperature, and Substrate.

Urbanization alters the environment along many dimensions, including changes to structural habitat and thermal regimes. These can present challenges, but may also provide suitable habitat for certain species. Importantly, the functional implications of these habitat shifts can be assessed through the morphology-performance-fitness paradigm, though these relationships are complicated by interactions among habitat choice, other abiotic factors, and morphology across scales (i.e., micromorphology and gross anatomy). The common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) is one example of a cosmopolitan and successful urban colonizer. Quantifying both shifts in morphology over time and morphology-performance relationships under various ecological contexts can provide insight into the success of species in a novel environment. To examine how morphological variation influences performance, we measured seven gross morphological characteristics and utilized scanning electron microscopy to obtain high-resolution images of a claw from individuals living in established populations in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. We used a geometric morphometric approach to describe variation in claw shape and then compared the claws of contemporary lizards to those of museum specimens collected approximately 40 years ago, finding that claw morphology has not shifted over this time. We then performed laboratory experiments to measure the clinging and climbing performance of lizards on materials that mimic ecologically relevant substrates. Each individual was tested for climbing performance on two substrates (cork and turf) and clinging performance on three substrates (cork, turf, and sandpaper) and at two temperatures (24ºC and 34ºC). Clinging performance was temperature insensitive, but determined by substrate-specific interactions between body dimensions and claw morphology. Conversely, the main determinant of climbing performance was temperature, though lizards with more elongate claws, as described by the primary axis of variation in claw morphology, climbed faster. Additionally, we found strong evidence for within-individual trade-offs between performance measures such that individuals who are better at clinging are worse at climbing and vice versa. These results elucidate the complex interactions shaping organismal performance in different contexts and may provide insight into how certain species are able to colonize novel urban environments.

Effectiveness of New Rock-Ramp Fishway at Miyanaka Intake Dam Compared with Existing Large and Small Stair-Type Fishways

The migration of fish is influenced by the unique environmental characteristics of the destination and migratory habitat preferences. There are three fishways in Miyanaka Intake Dam. The rock-ramp fishway was newly established in 2012, creating an environment with different flow velocities and water depths. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the new rock-ramp fishway for native fish through two surveys. In the first survey, traps were installed during the survey period in all three fishways and all fish were caught. The run-up environment was quantified by measuring the flow velocity. In the second survey, fish were caught by spectrum methods upstream and downstream from the dam. It was found that bottom-dwelling fish and swimming fish not bound to the bottom with low migration abilities used the rock-ramp fishway for migration and as a habitat. After the new rock-ramp fishway was built, catches increased upstream from the dam. Further, the rock-ramp fishway is a potential habitat for certain species, such as Cottus pollux. As this is the first study to demonstrate the effectiveness of rock-ramp fishways, the research results are expected to be valuable to fishery managers and those planning river engineering projects.

Распространение вод Амура в восточной части залива Анива поздней осенью

As a result of an analysis of the long-term average salinity distributions at four standard sections of the Aniva Bay, it was shown that in the late autumn (November-December) there was an inflow of modified Amur low-salinity water along its eastern shore. According to the results of two oceanographic surveys performed on October 29-31, 2013 and November 29-03, 2013, a large-scale desalination in the northeastern part of the bay occurred in conditions of extreme river flow, much earlier than usual, was revealed. A year earlier, instrumental measurements of temperature and salinity revealed the appearance of this water in the area (salinity decreased to 27.5 psu) at the beginning of December 2012 it retained its influence until mid-March 2013. The revealed feature makes it necessary to consider the ecological habitats of certain species of aquatic organisms in the area in a different way.

Threshold responses of grassland and sagebrush birds to patterns of disturbance created by an ecosystem engineer

Burrowing mammals play a role in rangeland disturbance worldwide, enhancing habitat for certain species while negatively affecting others. However, little is known concerning effects of disturbance spatial pattern on co-occuring fauna. In the North American Great Plains, colonial black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) may enhance habitat for one suite of birds while degrading habitat for others. We examined the influence of prairie dogs on birds in a mosaic grassland–shrubland landscape. We evaluated how birds associated with shortgrass, midgrass, and sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) plant communities respond to spatial pattern of prairie dog disturbance and identified thresholds where abundance changes. We surveyed bird abundance on prairie dog colonies of varying sizes and shapes, across colony edges into undisturbed habitat, and within undisturbed sagebrush in northeastern Wyoming. We modeled species responses to colony presence, distance to colony edge, and total area and edge density of colonies at four spatial scales (100 m, 225 m, 500 m, 1000 m). Sagebrush specialists like Brewer’s sparrow (Spizella breweri) and sage thrasher (Oreoscoptes montanus) were 4.5 times more abundant in undisturbed shrublands. Conversely, the shortgrass-specialist mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) was abundant on colonies but showed a non-linear response to colony edge, increasing in abundance up to 600 m from edges then declining further towards colony cores. While some species may be broadly intolerant to disturbance, disturbance-dependent birds can display a “goldilocks syndrome” relative to disturbance size. As such, management for multiple species of conservation concern can be optimized relative to other goals by identifying thresholds associated with the effect of disturbance.

Remains of trilobites and other species discovered in a volcanic ash bed of the end-Permian, Yangtze craton, South China

ABSTRACTThe remains of trilobites and other species were unexpectedly discovered in a volcanic ash layer beneath the Permian–Triassic Boundary (PTB). Based on a biostratigraphic investigation of the Zhongliangshan section in Chongqing, South China, the quantity of the species gradually decreased with subsequent volcanism. This finding provides an opportunity to further understand the disappearance of trilobites and the evolution of the mass extinction event. The temporal coincidence between the volcanic eruption event and the loss of trilobites and other species supports the idea of a cause-and-effect relationship. The species remains in the ash bed appeared before the disappearance of Clarkina yini and the climax of the negative carbon isotope excursion, which implies that the onset of the mass extinction occurred at the end-Permian. The explosive volcanic events caused massive releases of CO2, toxic gases and volcanic ash and resulted in loss of habitat for certain species in the Tethys domain. This phenomenon may have led to the abrupt death of trilobites and the catastrophic collapse of biodiversity.

The role of planted forests in the provision of habitat: an Irish perspective

The continued decline of natural forests globally has increased interest in the potential of planted forests to support biodiversity. Here, we examine the potential conservation benefits of plantation forests from an Irish perspective, a country where remaining natural forests are fragmented and degraded, and the majority of the forest area is comprised of non-native Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) plantations. We examine the true value of Irish plantation forests to native biodiversity, relative to remaining natural forest fragments, and to prior and alternative land use to afforestation. We find that plantation forests provide a suitable surrogate habitat primarily for generalist species, as well as providing habitat for certain species of conservation concern. However, we find that plantation forests provide poor habitat for native forest specialists, and examine potential management strategies which may be employed to improve habitat provision services for this group.

Application of Nested Logitech Model for Ecosystem Services Valuation (Case study: Gavkhony Wetland, Isfahan Province, Iran)

Wetlands as a situ for the growth of native plants, as a habitat for certain species of fish and aquatic birds, and because of their potential economic, cultural and recreational services, are valuable heritage so their protection and conservation is very essential. Mostly due to the absence of wetlands services’ valuation, lack of special regulations, and lack of guarantee for these properties, resources and services of wetlands are not utilized appropriately, and destructed and evacuated in a free and unrestricted fashion, leading to inefficiency in use. The purpose of this study is the economic valuation of Gavkhony wetland ecosystem attributes, estimation of implicit price for attributes, impact assessment of socioeconomic variables such as age, marriage, indigenous, family size and education on willingness to pay (WTP), and analyzing welfare and compensation variation due to variation of hypothetical policy. The approach being used is choice experiment that is a subset of choice modeling procedure and stated preference method. Data were collected from six different choice experiments provided in the questionnaires, which were filled out by 500 randomly selected households in Isfahan and Varzaneh cities in the spring and summer of 2013. Each questionnaire contained 72 hypothetical policies, 36 choice sets, 2442 observations and 7327 rows of data. Nested Logitech models and Hausman-MacFadden test were used in order to estimate the visitors’ WTP for improving attribute levels for Gavkhony wetland. This procedure was used on the basis of multinomial discrete choice analysis of preferences, Lancaster’s theory of value and the theory of random utility function. The Hausman-MacFadden test results showed that cross-elasticity between the first and third options was the same. Thus, these two options were placed in the second nest. The results further showed that the visitors had WTP for preserving forest diversity and vegetation of wetland and its surrounding; preserve of natural habitats and organisms life of wetland (bird, fish and animals); wetland hygiene (preventing industrial and domestic effluent, and water salinity); and increasing the water surface (increasing wetland water inlet). The values estimated for these four aspects correspondingly were 8636, 12584, 11553 and 4740 Rials. Some socio-economic variables such as gender, marriage, age, family expenditure, education and being native had a positive impact on the visitors’ WTP. The surplus welfareresults showed that in 72 hypothetical policies, option 1 had the most positive welfare, and option 5 had the most negative welfare for the users of Govkhony wetland. The surplus welfare results based on WTP estimation provide important tools for policy making. *Corresponding author: Assistant Professor in Economics, Humane science Faculty, University of Ayatollah Borujerdy, Iran, Tel: +98 918 500 3597, E-mail: parviz.jalili@abru.ac.ir, parviz.jalili@gmail.com S. P. Jalili Kamjo et al. ______________________________________________ ECOPERSIA (2016) Vol. 4(1) 1252

Avian response to tidal freshwater habitat creation by controlled reduced tide system

Human activities have caused extensive loss of estuarine wetlands, and the restoration of functional habitats remains a challenging task given several physical constraints in strongly embanked estuaries. In the Schelde estuary (Belgium), a new tidal marsh restoration technique, Controlled Reduced Tide system (CRT), is being implemented in the freshwater zone. A polder area of 8.2 ha was equipped with a CRT to test the system functionality. Among different ecological compartments that are studied for assessing the CRT restoration success, avifauna was monitored over three years. The tidal regime generated a habitat gradient typical of tidal freshwater wetlands along which the distributions of bird and ecological groups were studied. 103 bird species were recorded over the three years. In addition to many generalist bird species, several specialist species typical of the North Sea coast were present. Thirty-nine species of local and/or international conservation interest were encountered, emphasising the importance of this habitat for certain species. Species communities and ecological groups were strongly habitat specific and non-randomly organized across habitats. Spatiotemporal analyses highlighted a rapid habitat colonization, and a subsequent stable habitat community structure across seasons in spite of strong seasonal species turnovers. Hence, these findings advocate CRT implementation as a means to effectively compensate for wetland habitat loss.

Les oiseaux, le Parc et les agriculteurs de l'isthme du Cotentin

Birds, the Park and farmers in the Cotentin Under the policy for protecting the Cotentin and Bessin marshlands in France, areas have been marked off so as to conserve the habitats of certain species, in particular of fowl. Attention is focused on this construction in an environment which bears a history and a complex set of social relations, and where farmers' actions are of fundamental importance. The application of EU Article 19 to these wetlands helps us to understand the debates sparked by the fixing of objectives and by specific practices. As a product and producer of this agri-environmental measure, the Regional Natural Marshlands Park plays, locally, a role of mediation. The emergence of this institution is analyzed in an area whose emblem has become nature.

Trail corridors as habitat and conduits for movement of plant species in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA

Ground-layer vegetation was sampled along selected trail corridors to determine whether corridors provide habitat for certain species and act as conduits for species movement. Patterns of plant species composition were analyzed in relation to distance from trail edge, level of trail use, and distance from trailheads, junctions, and campgrounds. Species composition was significantly affected by distance from trail edge and level of trail use, as species were favored or inhibited by the corridor, depending upon their growth habits. Species composition was also affected by distance from trailheads. These findings, along with the presence of exotic species, indicate that trail corridors in Rocky Mountain National Park function as habitat and conduits for movement of plant species.

A Twenty-One-Year Study of the Water-Bugs in a Moorland Fishpond

the general conditions obtaining in bodies of water, even lakes (Macan 1970). The definition of these habitats has been based extensively on single collections. The findings of a long continuous study of one place now provide information on which the validity of this step can be examined. There are three other objectives. The collections in Hodson's Tarn were started with a view to discovering the effect of predation by Salmo trutta L. on the community, and continued for comparison with catches on artificial substrata. The outcome of the first experiment was described as soon as predation had been reduced to a low level (Macan 1965a, b, 1966). Confirmation of the conclusions is now provided by the subsequent observations. The work with artificial substrata adds to knowledge about the habits and habitats of certain species. Finally changes in the vegetation and in the corixid fauna during the twenty-one years can be related.

Some nutritional and chemical properties of the larval habitats of certain species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

Definition of the habitats of certain species of Culicoides by the examination of some chemical properties of the larval environment was made using standard soil analysis methods. Aquatic substrates located at the edges of streams and ponds were taken in various parts of Virginia and adjoining states. A portion of each sample was submitted to the University Soil Testing Laboratory for analysis of percentage of organic matter, the amounts of calcium (CaO), magnesium (MgO), phosphates (P2O5.), potash (K2O) and the pH. The other portion of each sample was held at room temperature to allow the insects within to complete their development and to emerge as adults. Culicoides furens (Poey), C. hollensis (Melander & Brues), and C. variipennis (Coquillett), probably subspecies variipennis, were reared from substrates analyzed to be high in percentage of organic matter and minerals. C. variipennis was found in only fresh water substrates and never with C. furens and C. hollensis. Culicoides crepuscularis Malloch and C. stellifer (Coquillett) were found in substrates analyzed to be moderate to high in soil nutrients; C. baueri Hoffman and C. piliferus group were present in substrates moderate to low in nutrients; and C. biguttatus (Coquillett) and C. loisae Jamnback were present in substrates low in nutrients. The species C. haematopotus Malloch and C. spinosus Root & Hoffman were found to occur in a wide range of soil nutrients.