Number Of Adult Males Research Articles

The current status of the Lena-Olenek population of wild reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus</i> L., 1758, Cervidae, Artiodactyla)

The rational use of wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L., 1758) based on reliable data on the number, distribution, age-sex composition, and herd size of the population is a challenging problem for hunting management. The purpose of this study was to characterize the current state of the Lena-Olenek tundra wild reindeer (LOWR) population. The counting of LOWR was based on the aerial census conducted from July 10 to 12, 2018; coordinate data from the GLONASS/Argos satellite tracker collars; stock materials from previous aerial surveys in the tundra of Yakutia. From the data obtained, the livestock of the LOWR was estimated to be 83,260. We specified that deer are housed in three distinct groups: broodstock, mixed, and male. The main livestock in the LOWR were females (44.2 %), calves (22.4 %), and juvenile animals 1–2 years old (17.5 %). Over 32 years, there was a decrease in 62.2% in the number of adult males and an increase in the number of fingerlings and juvenile animals. Since the middle of the last century, there has been a gradual increase in the number of LOWR from 21,000 to 95,000 deer in 2009 and a slight decrease to 83,200 deer in the last decade due to the exclusion of Taimyr reindeer migrants. The results of this study can be used to rationalize the use of wild reindeer resources and the allocation of quotas for production. Further census work will make it possible to monitor the state of the population over time.

Heterogeneous effects of emigration on labor market activity and investment decisions in Punjab, Pakistan.

We investigate the impacts of emigration on the labor market and investment decisions of migrant-sending households in Pakistan by constructing a large individual-level dataset, using several rounds of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted between 2003 and 2014. We add to the literature by introducing a new time-varying instrumental variable to control for endogenous migration decisions, constructed as a composite of three variables that represent opportunities to work abroad: (i) the household's number of adult males, (ii) historic diaspora rates, and (iii) deviations of nighttime light intensity from its trend in migrant-receiving countries. We find a significant shift in domestic labor market activity from lower-status employment categories (not working at all, unpaid family work and manual labor) toward higher-status activities and entrepreneurship such as self-employment and becoming an employer within migrant-sending households. We also find higher investment in property, bank deposits, agricultural land, livestock, poultry and fisheries by individuals in migrant-sending households. The results are stronger for vulnerable groups, implying that migration can be a force for good for rural development, the welfare of women, and less-educated individuals.

Effects of weather and social factors on hormone levels in the European badger (Meles meles)

Animals in the wild continually experience changes in environmental and social conditions, which they respond to with behavioural, physiological and morphological adaptations related to individual phenotypic quality. During unfavourable environmental conditions, reproduction can be traded-off against self-maintenance, mediated through changes in reproductive hormone levels. Using the European badger (Meles meles) as a model species, we examine how testosterone in males and oestrogens in females respond to marked deviations in weather from the long-term mean (rainfall and temperature, where badger earthworm food supply is weather dependent), and to social factors (number of adult males and females per social group and total adults in the population), in relation to age, weight and head-body length. Across seasons, testosterone levels correlated postively with body weight and rainfall variability, whereas oestrone correlated positively with population density, but negatively with temperature variability. Restricting analyses to the mating season (spring), heavier males had higher testosterone levels and longer females had higher oestradiol levels. Spring oestrone levels were lower when temperatures were above normal. That we see these effects for this generally adaptive species with a broad bioclimatic niche serves to highlight that climatic effects (especially with the threat of anthropogenic climate change) on reproductive physiology warrant careful attention in a conservation context.

Determinants of households' flood risk coping strategies in a high exposure system of the Manafwa catchment and Lake Kyoga Basin

Abstract The impact of floods on households in Uganda is becoming increasingly severe. It is often assumed that people who reside in a riverine area have adapted to flood pulses. However, in most cases, household-level risk reduction strategies are inadequate for ensuring a livelihood resilient to floods. The objective of this study was to investigate the determinants of households' decisions on coping strategies in the Manafwa catchment, Eastern Uganda. The study was based on a field survey of 210 households supplemented with focused group discussions (6) and key informant interviews (4) conducted in the Butaleja district in March 2019. The study used the protection motivation theory framework and applied the multivariate probit model. The most common short-term coping strategy was building temporary embankments (37%), whereas afforestation (44%) was the most common long-term solution deployed. The determinants that consistently and significantly influenced the choice of coping strategies adopted were: family size, number of adult males in the family, location of the house within the floodplain and time of residence in the affected area (P > 0.05). For policy purposes, this study recommends that the relevant stakeholder interventions should consider these determinants, in order to enhance the adaptive capacity of rural households to flooding.

Satellite Rearing ofAedesMosquito Eggs: Synchronized Empirical Test of a Novel Mass Rearing Model

Mosquito suppression strategies based on "rear and release" of male mosquitoes are attracting renewed interest from governments, municipalities, and private businesses. These include irradiation-based sterile insect technique, Wolbachia-based technologies, and genetic modification. Each of these approaches requires the mass rearing and release of adult male mosquitoes, which typically is accomplished via a rearing facility near the release site. Although some release programs have relied on centralized rearing and shipment of adult males, adult male mosquitoes are relatively fragile, and their fitness can be diminished by temperature fluctuations, humidity, nutritional deficiencies, and other stresses that occur during shipment. Furthermore, expensive, expedited shipment is typically used to maximize the amount of adult lifetime in the field following the release. In contrast, Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus eggs can be desiccated and stored for long periods. They are small, and many millions of eggs can be shipped without specialized environmental conditions and using less expensive means. Here we examine a model in which mosquito eggs are centrally produced and then mailed to satellite rearing facilities. As a control, a replicate set of eggs was reared at the factory of origin. At each of the rearing sites, cloud-based software was used to track and compare rearing at the different locations. The results demonstrate similar rearing outcomes (i.e., egg hatch, immature development, and number of adult males) at each of the different sites for both species. We discuss the outcome in relation to downstream applications and potential future studies.

Urban Informal Sector: How Much Women Are Struggling for Family Survival

The paper analyses the contribution of informally employed women (for the age group of 16-60 years) to their household budget. The urban informal sector largely absorbs women workers. We examine the determinants of their contribution to their household budgets for the survival of the families. Applying the OLS model to 937 observations, it is found that women as heads of household, women’s education, and ownership of assets by woman have a positive effect on their contribution. The burden of the large family size, household poverty, and loans availed by the household are shared by the informally employed women, as these variables positively affect their contribution. Age of the woman has a non-linear effect on woman’s contribution. The contribution first increases and then decreases by an increase in the age of the woman. Married women and women living in nuclear families contribute more to the household budget. The household per capita income and number of children (5-15 years) in the household have shown a negative effect on the contribution of women to the household budget. The household’s economic vulnerability due to unemployment of husband and lower productivity caused by lower education of husband are also largely shared by the urban informally employed women, i.e., they struggle more for family survival. However, the number of adult males in the household decreases the volume of contribution by women and the burden on women is relaxed.

Determinan Perilaku Merokok Pada Sopir Lintas Barat Di Satuan Pelayanan Terminal Tipe A Kota Banda Aceh Tahun 2022

Smoking behavior can cause disease that can lead to death. Tobacco consumption is one of the health challenges in Indonesia, where the number of adult males who smoke is 62.9%. Aceh Province is ranked 13th with a smoking percentage reaching 28.30%, this figure is high which is close to the national smoking rate of 28.96%. This study aims to determine the determinants of smoking behavior in western cross-country drivers at the Type A Terminal Service Unit in Banda Aceh City in 2022. This research is descriptive analytic with cross sectional design. The population in this study were all western transboundary drivers who were in the Type A Terminal Service Unit of Banda Aceh City, totaling 294 drivers. Sampling of 76 drivers using proportional random sampling technique. Data collection was carried out from 1-5 March 2022 using a questionnaire through interviews. Data were analyzed univariately and bivariately using the chi square test with the Stata computer program. Univariate analysis showed that 51.32% of drivers with heavy smoking behavior, 53.95% of drivers who have good knowledge, 56.58% of drivers who influence cigarette advertisements, 68.42% of drivers whose social environment is supportive, 64.47% of drivers who experience stress. Bivariate analysis showed that there was a relationship between cigarette advertising (p value 0.042) and stress levels (p value 0.003), whereas knowledge (p value 0.566) and social environment (p value 0.102) had no relationship with smoking behavior among drivers.

Women’s Time Allocation in Agricultural Activities in Tehsil Mian Channu, Pakistan: An Economic Analysis

Women play a significant role in agriculture as they assume various activities in agriculture such as cleaning of fields, fields preparation, sowing, weeding, harvesting, picking, cleaning of grains, drying of grains etc. but, unfortunately, they remain invisible workers. Their participation as decision-makers concerning these activities is also uncertain. This study is an economic analysis of women’s time allocation in agricultural activities in tehsil Mian Channu, Pakistan. A questionnaire is used to collect data from a random sample of 250 female respondents. The study points out the active participation of females in agriculture activities. Age of the woman and education of woman has a negative sign in crop production activities. Age of the woman and education of woman exhibit a positive association with women time allocation in non-crop production activities. Dependency Burdenis positively related to women participation in both crop production activities and non-crop production activities. The results also reveal that the number of adult males in a household is negatively related to woman’s time allocation and a tenant woman allocates more time to crop production activities than non-crop production activities.

Fighting force and experience combine to determine contest success in a warlike mammal

Conflicts between social groups or "intergroup contests" are proposed to play a major role in the evolution of cooperation and social organization in humans and some nonhuman animal societies. In humans, success in warfare and other collective conflicts depends on both fighting group size and the presence and actions of key individuals, such as leaders or talismanic warriors. Understanding the determinants of intergroup contest success in other warlike animals may help to reveal the role of these contests in social evolution. Using 19 y of data on intergroup encounters in a particularly violent social mammal, the banded mongoose (Mungos mungo), we show that two factors, the number of adult males and the age of the oldest male (the "senior" male), have the strongest impacts on the probability of group victory. The advantage conferred by senior males appears to stem from their fighting experience. However, the galvanizing effect of senior males declines as they grow old until, at very advanced ages, senior males become a liability rather than an asset and can be evicted. As in human conflict, strength in numbers and the experience of key individuals combine to determine intergroup contest success in this animal society. We discuss how selection arising from intergroup contests may explain a suite of features of individual life history and social organization, including male eviction, sex-assortative alloparental care, and adult sex ratio.

Factors Determining Child Labor: Empirical Evidence from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Children are forced to work when their families face financial pressures due to poverty, illness, or the loss of jobs. There is, however, still a perceived lack of research on the key factors contributing to child labor in Pakistan. This study examines the determinants of child labor in Mardan and Nowshera districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan. A total of 200 households were interviewed. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed to collect data from the family heads whose children are in child labor. A stepwise-regression model was adopted to explore the strength of the relationship between independent variables and dependent variable. The dependent variable was the child labor ratio and the independent variables were the socio-economic and demographic’ characteristics such as age, education, family size, parents’ occupation, the number of adult males and females, family income. The findings show that the family size was the most important determinant of child labor. Likewise, the number of adult females, parents’ occupation as daily wages labor, and the parents’ age had a positive influence on the extent of child labor. However, the number of adult males, family income, and parents’ education had a negative relationship with the extent of child labor. The questionnaire survey had shown that families considered poverty to be the main reason behind child labor, unemployment was the second reason and the third was number of dependent females within the families. Therefore, the government may target these families from lower socio-economic backgrounds to disseminate information about family planning and also include these people in the current governmental program to help them financially.

Correlates of individual participation in boundary patrols by male chimpanzees.

Group territory defence poses a collective action problem: individuals can free-ride, benefiting without paying the costs. Individual heterogeneity has been proposed to solve such problems, as individuals high in reproductive success, rank, fighting ability or motivation may benefit from defending territories even if others free-ride. To test this hypothesis, we analysed 30 years of data from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Kasekela community, Gombe National Park, Tanzania (1978-2007). We examined the extent to which individual participation in patrols varied according to correlates of reproductive success (mating rate, rank, age), fighting ability (hunting), motivation (scores from personality ratings), costs of defecting (the number of adult males in the community) and gregariousness (sighting frequency). By contrast to expectations from collective action theory, males participated in patrols at consistently high rates (mean ± s.d. = 74.5 ± 11.1% of patrols, n = 23 males). The best predictors of patrol participation were sighting frequency, age and hunting participation. Current and former alpha males did not participate at a higher rate than males that never achieved alpha status. These findings suggest that the temptation to free-ride is low, and that a mutualistic mechanism such as group augmentation may better explain individual participation in group territorial behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue 'Intergroup conflict across taxa'.

Male chimpanzee sexual coercion and mating success at Ngogo.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have a complex mating system in which both sexes use multiple tactics. Most copulations occur in group contexts, and high-ranking males can gain high mating and reproductive success, but females typically mate with multiple males and the potential for sperm competition is high. Also, male-female dyads sometimes form temporary exclusive mating associations (consortships). Male aggression to receptive females is common. Several studies have supported the hypothesis that this is sexual coercion, but debate exists regarding the importance of coercion relative to that of female choice. The number of adult males in a community can influence the balance between these processes. In the large Ngogo community, male dominance ranks and rates of aggression to fully-swollen females were positively related to mating success as estimated by copulation rates and by proportions of copulations achieved. Aggression rates were higher than at other sites, overall and per male, especially during periovulatory periods, and increased with the number of males associating with a female. Aggression impaired female foraging efficiency. Males initiated most copulations and females rarely refused mating attempts. Male-to-female grooming was positively associated with male mating success and with the proportion of copulations that females initiated, but the amount of grooming was typically small and whether grooming-for-mating trading occurs is uncertain. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that sexual coercion is an important component of male chimpanzee mating strategies in many sociodemographic circumstances, but also show that male tactics vary both in response to and independently of those circumstances.

Population status of Menelik’s bush buck (Tragelaphus scriptus Menelik’s) in Hawotu forest, West Arsi Zone, Ethiopia

Menelik’s bush buck (Tragelaphus scriptus Menelik’s) is among 12 endemic large animals found in Ethiopia. The present study was conducted to determine population status, age structure and identify major conservation challenge to the Menelik’s bush buck in Hawotu forest. Data were collected from August, 2010 to February 2011 including wet and dry seasons. The study area was stratified in to three habitat type (Riverine, Natural Forest and Erica Forest) based on elevation and vegetation cover of the study area. Age structure and total counting of individuals were made along each transect. Data were collected by focus group discussion and questionnaire survey. Individual count was used to determine the current population size, seasonal distribution, and sex and age structure of Menelik’s bush buck. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and compared with chi-square test. The average number of bush buck in the study area was 29 and 22 during the wet and dry season, respectively. There was no significant between the wet and dry seasons in the population size (x2 =2.96, df =1, p˃ 0.05). Of the total observed, 37.3% male, 51% female and, 11.8% were young. There was no statistical difference between the number of males and females (x2 = 0.34, df =4, p˃005). The sex ratio of males to females was 1:1.36 during wet and dry seasons. There was no significant difference between the number of adult males and females (x2= 0.1, df =2, p˃0.05). The ratio of female to young was 1:4.33 and there was no significant different in the ratio observed during the wet and dry season (x2=0.24, df=2, p˃0.05). Major threats for Menelik’s bush buck recorded in the study area were overgrazing, agricultural land expansion and human disturbance. Hence timely intervention is required to address these problems and conserving the population of Menelik’s bush buck (Tragelaphus scriptus Menelik’s).

Effect of pheromone blends, trap type and color on the capture of male clearwing moths, Synanthedon bicingulata (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae)

Two components of the Synanthedon bicingulata sex pheromone, (E,Z)-3,13-octadecadienyl acetate (E3,Z13-18:OAc) and (Z,Z)-3,13-octadecadienyl acetate (Z3,Z13-18:OAc), were synthesized to investigate the effect of pheromone blends, trap type and trap color on the capture of S. bicingulata males. The optimal sex pheromone ratio for E3,Z13-18:OAc and Z3,Z13-18:OAc was approximately 4.3:5.7 based on the purity of the two pheromone components in all test areas. A significant difference was observed in the number of S. bicingulata adult males caught in bucket and delta traps. The mean numbers of males caught in bucket and delta traps were 13.2 ± 2.2 and 7.6 ± 2.0, respectively. Trap color affected the number of adult males caught in bucket traps. More adult males were attracted to a yellow bucket trap than to green, white, blue, black and red traps. An analysis of the relationship between trap capture and trap surface-color values (L*a*b*) revealed a positive relationship between trap capture and b* value.

Status of the Critically Endangered Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis (Gmelin, 1789) in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal

The Bengal Florican is one of the rarest bustard species and is listed ‘Critically Endangered’ by the IUCN. The species is restricted to the lowland grasslands of India, Nepal, and Cambodia with fewer than 1,000 mature individuals. To assess the species status in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, Nepal, we repeated our first comprehensive survey conducted during the 2012 breeding season. In spite of a larger area coverage we recorded only 41 adult Bengal Floricans in 2017 compared to 47 individuals in 2012. Detectability of this rare species is low in its Imperata-Saccharum grasslands. We, therefore, used a long pole with black and white clothing to mimic Bengal Florican’s display flight to stimulate male Bengal Florican. The number of adult males recorded was the same as in the 2012 survey and the adult male density remains one of the highest in the Indian subcontinent. Management recommendations for the long-term conservation of the species in Koshi Tappu include maintenance of Imperata-Saccharum grasslands in the reserve favoured by the Bengal Florican and working with farmers and communities adjacent to the reserve where the birds breed in order to maintain some agricultural lands with vegetation height suitable for the species especially during the species’ breeding season.

Linking White‐Tailed Deer Density, Nutrition, and Vegetation in a Stochastic Environment

Linking White‐Tailed Deer Density, Nutrition, and Vegetation in a Stochastic Environment

Understanding the factors that influence household use of clean energy in the Similipal Tiger Reserve, India

Biotic pressure in and around protected areas (PA) is the primary cause of biodiversity loss in many developing countries across the globe. The pressure comes partly from biomass energy dependency in the form of heavy extraction of fuelwood from the forests. Although biomass fuels provide easily accessible and affordable sources of domestic energy to the rural masses, their combustion results in environmental and health‐related hazards. The objectives of this paper are to assess the patterns of household energy use in a subsistence forest economy and analyze the factors that influence their energy use choice for cooking and lighting. The paper uses primary data collected randomly from 244 households located in and around the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR), situated in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. Age of the household head, number of days in wage employment, number of adult males and females in a household, education of the household head and landholding size are found to be the major variables that determine household fuelwood collection sources inside the reserve. Considering household structure as an income indicator, the analysis clearly shows that non‐poor households prefer to use clean energy (i.e. solar) for lighting, while poor households tend to use solid fuel. Energy policies for development should be based on the realistic proposition that fuelwood will remain the major source of energy for cooking for substantial proportions of the world’s population. Promotion of public education, social forestry schemes and fuel‐efficient improved chulhas should be encouraged in order to reduce household dependence on fuelwood. Moreover, devolving sufficient property rights over forest resources to local communities may help secure their broad‐based and active participation in the decision‐making process, which may result in a positive change in the attitude of the local people towards biodiversity conservation.

Zanzibar's endemic red colobus Piliocolobus kirkii: first systematic and total assessment of population, demography and distribution

AbstractWe present the first systematic assessment of the population, demography and distribution of the Endangered Zanzibar red colobus Piliocolobus kirkii, in Unguja in the Zanzibar archipelago, based on a survey effort of 4,725 hours. We estimate the total population comprises 5,862 individuals in 342 groups (mean group size 17.12); 3.4 times the mean of all previous estimates. We calculated a total area of occupancy of 376 km2, with 4,042 individuals living within protected areas. Mean group sizes were significantly higher within protected areas (20.57) than outside (12.80). The number of adult females was 3,179 (54.21%), with a mean of 9.29 per group, and the number of adult males was 932 (15.89%), with a mean of 2.71 per group, giving a ratio of 3.31 adult females to adult males. This ratio was significantly lower outside protected areas. The total number of infants was 958 (16.34%), with a mean of 2.80 per group, and the number of subadults/juveniles was 793 (13.52%), with a mean of 2.32 per group, giving ratios of 0.30 infants to adult females, and 0.25 subadults/juveniles to adult females. The results indicate that P. kirkii is resilient and thriving far better than assumed. However, recruitment is low and the population may be in decline, with individuals outside protected areas most at risk. We tentatively support the categorization of P. kirkii as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, argue for greater protected area status for southern Uzi, Vundwe and Mchamgamle, and discuss conservation implications for this charismatic flagship species.

Modeling Developmental Class Provides Insights into Individual Contributions to Infant Survival in Callitrichids

Cooperative breeders live in social groups in which individuals in an age–sex class vary in reproductive development due to reproductive dominance by a few individuals in each group. Among callitrichids, adult males have been implicated in driving group reproductive output, but uneven sampling efforts, the underlying effects of group size, and pseudoreplication at the group and species levels are confounding variables in these analyses. We examined the drivers of group reproductive output in callitrichids by 1) conducting a meta-analysis of published studies of callitrichid group composition; 2) assigning developmental class based on reproductive morphology; and 3) using multivariate modeling to test whether the proportion of individuals of each developmental class predicts the presence and the number of surviving offspring among free-ranging Weddell’s saddleback tamarins (Leontocebus weddelli) and emperor tamarins (Saguinus imperator) in Peru. The meta-analysis revealed that the number of adult females and group size, but not the number of adult males, are significantly correlated with group reproductive output. Statistical models of the new dataset revealed that the proportion of primary breeding males, primary breeding females, and group size predicted whether groups had surviving infants, and that only the proportion of primary breeding females and group size predicted the number of surviving infants. Thus, primary breeding males appear to be necessary for groups to raise any infants, but a higher proportion of primary breeding females and a larger group size increase group reproductive output overall.

Alpha male status and availability of conceptive females are associated with high glucocorticoid concentrations in high-ranking male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) during the mating season

The relationship between male mating opportunities, stress, and glucocorticoid concentrations is complicated by the fact that physiological stress and glucocorticoid concentrations can be influenced by dominance rank, group size, and the stability of the male dominance hierarchy, along with ecological factors. We studied the three highest-ranking males in nine different social groups within the same free-ranging population of rhesus macaques on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico, during the mating season, to examine variation in glucocorticoid concentrations in relation to number of females that conceived each month, alpha status, number of adult males in a group, and male rank hierarchy stability. We found that glucocorticoid concentrations were highest in the early mating season period when more females conceived in each group and declined linearly as the mating season progressed and the number of conceptive females decreased. Alpha males had significantly higher mean monthly glucocorticoid concentrations than other high-ranking males throughout the study period. Male age, number of adult males in a group, and hierarchy stability were not significantly associated with glucocorticoid concentrations. Our findings suggest that alpha males may experience significantly higher levels of physiological stress than their immediate subordinates and that this stress coincides with the period of the mating season when most conceptions occur.