Human settlement ecology and chimpanzee habitat selection in Mali

Customary land-use practices create distinctive cultural landscapes, including landscapes where abandoned settlements host vegetation that attracts wild animals. Understanding how landscape patterns relate to land-use history can help clarify the ecological effects of particular land uses. This study examines relationships between chimpanzee habitat selection and Maninka settlement practice, to determine how settlement history has affected chimpanzee habitat in Mali’s Bafing Biosphere Reserve, where conservation practitioners assume that the characteristic settlement pattern reflects a process of settlement expansion into undisturbed habitat. Three types of data are reported: (1) ethnographic interviews on settlement history and practice; (2) systematic sampling of chimpanzee habitat use; and (3) ground-based mapping of settlement sites, surface water, and fruit-tree patches. These data show that the Maninka have a shifting settlement system, meaning that most sites are occupied for only relatively brief periods; and that some abandoned settlement sites host fruit-tree patches that are seasonally important chimpanzee habitat. Two main conclusions are: (1) settlement expansion has not occurred; instead, historic settlement has created habitat that is both attractive and available to chimpanzees. Anthropogenic habitat does not appear to be vital for chimpanzee survival, but it spatially and temporally supplements natural habitats. (2) Conservation policies meant to reduce the presumed threat of settlement expansion may have initiated an unintended, long-term threat of habitat loss for chimpanzees. While settlement practices may be a component of short-term threats to chimpanzees, such as hunting, when addressing these threats conservation practitioners should consider long-term settlement processes to avoid creating new threats.     

Animal behavioral adaptation to changing landscapes: spring-staging geese habituate to wind farms

Wind farms are positioned in open landscapes and may cause loss of wildlife habitat due to disturbance, fragmentation, and infrastructure development. Especially flocking geese, swans, ducks and waders are regarded as vulnerable to wind farm development. We compared past and current displacement effects of two onshore wind farms and a line of land-based turbines on spring-staging pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) to see if there was evidence of habituation. In one wind farm area, geese previously (1998) (Larsen and Madsen 2000) kept a distance of c. 200 m (the distance at which 50% of peak densities is reached) and they did not go between the turbines; today (2008) they keep a distance of c. 100 m, but do still not enter the wind farm area. In another wind farm, where foraging geese previously (2000) kept a distance of more than 100 m and did not enter the wind farm, they now (2008) forage between the wind turbines and keep a distance of c. 40 m to turbines. In 1998, geese kept a distance of 125 m to a line of turbines, compared to 50 m now. We conclude that geese have behaviorally adapted to changing landscapes created by wind farms. The difference in avoidance between the sites may be due to the sizes of the turbines which in this study were small in both rotor-swept area and in height compared to more recent “industry standard” of 2.5 and 3.0 MW turbines. The study points to the need for longer term studies to properly assess the impact of wind farms on wildlife, including consequent increased risks from inclement weather events of feeding, rafting, and migrating waterfowl.     

Historical change in coastal sage scrub in southern California,USA in relation to fire frequency and air pollution

Invasions resulting in the transformation of one ecosystem to another are an increasingly widespread phenomenon. While it is clear that these conversions, particularly between grassland and shrubland systems, have severe consequences, it is often less clear which factors are associated with these conversions. We resampled plots from the 1930s (Weislander VTMs) to test whether two widely assumed factors, changes in fire frequency and nitrogen deposition, are associated with the conversion of coastal sage scrublands to exotic grasslands in southern California. Over the 76-year period, coastal sage scrub cover declined by 49%, being replaced predominantly by exotic grassland species. Grassland encroachment was positively correlated with increased fire frequency and, in areas with low fire frequencies, air pollution (percent fossil carbon as indicated by ∂¹⁴C, likely correlated with nitrogen deposition). We conclude that increases in fire frequency and air pollution over the last several decades in southern California may have facilitated the conversion of coastal sage shrubland to exotic grassland systems.     

Modeling tsunami damage in Aceh: a reply

In reply to the critique of Baird and Kerr, we emphasize that our model is a generalized vulnerability model, built from easily acquired data from anywhere in the world, to identify areas with probable susceptibility to large tsunamis—and discuss their other criticisms in detail. We also show that a rejection of the role of trees in helping protect vulnerable areas is not justified in light of existing evidence.     

The importance of landscape context for songbirds on migration: body mass gain is related to habitat cover

Landscape context influences many aspects of songbird ecology during the breeding season. The importance of landscape context at stopover sites for migrating songbirds, however, has received less attention. In particular, landscape context may affect the availability and quality of food for refueling during stopovers, which is critical for successful migration. We evaluated the influence of woody habitat cover in the surroundings of stopover sites at several spatial extents on the hourly changes of body mass in two species of European-African forest-dwelling songbird migrants (Willow Warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus, and the Eurasian Redstart, Phoenicurus phoenicurus). Data were sampled by standardized methods from a network of ringing stations throughout Europe during the falls of 1994–1996. In both species, hourly body mass gain calculated for first captures increased with woody habitat cover. We found a similar logarithmic relationship for both species, although for Willow Warblers mass gain was more strongly related to the habitat cover within 5 km, in contrast to 3 km for Redstarts. For Willow Warblers, where sufficient data are available for each year, the relationship is consistent over the years. The shape of the relationship suggests existence of a threshold of landscape suitability for refueling at stopover sites: in sites with less than 10% of woody habitat cover, birds tend to lose body mass or to gain mass at a lower rate. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Protocol: A high-throughput DNA extraction system suitable for conifers

Background  

High throughput DNA isolation from plants is a major bottleneck for most studies requiring large sample sizes. A variety of protocols have been developed for DNA isolation from plants. However, many species, including conifers, have high contents of secondary metabolites that interfere with the extraction process or the subsequent analysis steps. Here, we describe a procedure for high-throughput DNA isolation from conifers.     

Development and evaluation of a high-throughput,low-cost genotyping platform based on oligonucleotide microarrays in rice

Background  

We report the development of a microarray platform for rapid and cost-effective genetic mapping, and its evaluation using rice as a model. In contrast to methods employing whole-genome tiling microarrays for genotyping, our method is based on low-cost spotted microarray production, focusing only on known polymorphic features.     

Landscape-scale distribution of tree roosts of the northern long-eared bat in Mammoth Cave National Park,USA

Context

The roosting habits of many temperate zone bats are well documented at microhabitat scales, but fewer studies have included multi-scale assessments of landscape patterns in bat roost site selection.

Objectives

To identify and assess at the landscape-scale the location of spring and early season maternity roosts of female northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis) from 2015 to 2016 at Mammoth Cave National Park (MACA), Kentucky, USA.

Methods

We used mist-nets and radiotelemetry to catch and track bats to roost trees across the landscape of MACA. Data on roosting sites were evaluated using spatial point pattern analysis to examine distributional trends of roosts. A variety of spatial covariates were used to model the effect of landscape pattern, including: forest type, elevation, and proximity to hibernacula, water, and road corridors.

Results

Data indicate that roost locations of female northern long-eared bats in MACA were typically situated within 2000 m of known winter hibernacula, occurring more often at higher elevations in mesic upland deciduous forests, and in close proximity to water sources and roads. We present hypotheses to account for the patterns observed in relation to landscape features and habitat resources in the Park.

Conclusions

Our data indicate that a more comprehensive understanding of habitat requirements which includes empirically-based, landscape-scale patterns, and not solely considerations at stand or local levels, could lead to better informed management policies targeting conservation of maternity habitat of forest-dwelling bats, including the northern long-eared bat, a species in decline throughout much of its distribution in North America.