1,099 research outputs found
Interspecific patterns of small cats in an intraguild-killer free area of the threatened Caatinga drylands, Brazil
No full textThe semi-arid Caatinga is the largest dry forest ecoregion in the Americas; nevertheless, it is experiencing alarming rates of habitat loss. Most vegetation fragments in the biome are either unprotected or within private lands; however, these private areas are susceptible to anthropogenic activity, and often have the presence of non-native wildlife such as domestic dogs and cats. Two small felid species, the northern tiger cat and the jaguarundi co-occur throughout the Caatinga and have overlapping niches, which require segregation mechanisms to avoid interference competition. Assessing these species strategies for coexistence is crucial, as it can guide conservation actions. With this aim, a private ranch in the Brazilian Caatinga drylands was surveyed and multi-species occupancy models were used to assess co-occurrence patterns between northern tiger cats and jaguarundis. The degree of temporal overlap between both felids and domestic dogs and cats were also assessed. Evidence was found of positive co-occurrence between tiger cats and jaguarundis, suggesting a lack of spatial segregation at our study site; and low temporal overlap was found between both felids, with tiger cats being nocturnal and jaguarundis diurnal. High temporal overlap was found though between domestic dogs and both wild felid species. Our results suggest that small felids can coexist in private areas of the Caatinga with sufficient habitat. However, there is a need to highlight the potential threat of disease transmission by non-native carnivores as something that should be addressed in these private landscapes.Small Wild Cat Conservation FoundationTiger Cats Conservation InitiativePró-Vida Brasi
Time to independence and predator-prey relationships of wild-born, captive-raised cheetahs released into private reserves in Namibia
No full textData associated with the manuscript:
Marker, L., Schmidt-Küntzel, A., Walker, E. H., Nghikembua, M., Cristescu, B. Time to independence and predator-prey relationships of wild-born, captive-raised cheetahs released into private reserves in Namibia. Ecological Solutions and Evidence.
Contact:
Dr. Bogdan Cristescu
[email protected]
Description:
This manuscript estimated the time to independence and cheetah-prey relationships for cheetahs released onto three private reserves in Namibia. The cheetahs were rescued as wild-born cubs, were raised in captivity and went through a rehabilitation process at the Cheetah Conservation Fund, Namibia, and then released with collars to monitor their success post-release in the wild.
The data is a MS Excel file that includes separate spreadsheets for:
- Time to independence ("TimeToIndependence"): number of weekly supplemental feedings of cheetahs post-release before achieving independence
- Prey composition ("PreyComposition"): the species, sex, age class, and size class of prey that cheetahs killed and were recorded during monitoring post-release
- Prey availability ("PreyAvailability"): the prey species recorded along driven dirt road transects, and which were used to estimate prey density in a distance sampling framework
- Habitat use ("HabitatUse"): the number of kills made by released cheetahs that have associated habitat class information, partitioned by chetah reproductive status (SF: solitary female, CF: coalition females, CM: coalition males
High carnivore richness despite human pressure and prey depletion in southwestern region of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area
Get PDFTransfrontier conservation landscapes, such as the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TCA) in southern Africa, play a crucial role in preserving global biodiversity and promoting the sustainable development of local communities. However, resources to facilitate management could become scarce across large areas, leading to difficulties in obtaining baseline ecological information. Consequently, in the absence of sustainable management vast landscapes may experience loss of wildlife species, which could destabilize ecosystems. This effect is particularly significant if the loss involves top predators. Hence, understanding carnivore distributions is critical to informing management. We conducted a mammal survey in the Ondjou Conservancy in Namibia, an 8,729 km2 understudied area in the south-west of the KAZA TCA. We analysed camera-trapping data from a 2,304 km2 grid and identified high carnivore richness (18 species) despite widespread human activity and prey depletion. Using a multi-species occupancy framework we found that carnivore occurrence increased with increasing distance from the main village and with closer proximity to the Nyae Nyae Conservancy neighbouring the KAZA TCA, which has large and diverse carnivore populations. Carnivore occurrence was higher when local prey richness was high. The Ondjou Conservancy could function as an important buffer for the larger conservation network, yet rural communities in this area require support for fostering human–wildlife coexistence. Additionally, restoring the natural prey base will be critical to ensuring the long-term viability of carnivore populations in this and other human-impacted landscapes. With many remote areas of transfrontier conservation landscapes being understudied, our findings illustrate the conservation potential of such areas within large-scale conservation networks
Bogdan Bogdanović: Dissident in life, architecture and writing
Get PDFThe paper analyses selected works of Bogdan Bogdanović (1922- 2010). This Serbian architect, writer and Professor of Architecture at
the University of Belgrade, was the author of numerous monuments devoted to the victims of fascism in former Yugoslavia (1952-81). As the Mayor of Belgrade (1982-86) Bogdanović was a liberal member of the Yugoslav Communist Party and later, a strong opponent of Milošević’s regime. This paper argues that Bogdanović has always been both a dissident and an avant-garde proponent of architectural surrealism and its wider culture. Living with the belief that the vocation of an architect presupposes lifetime devotion to learning and experimentation, Bogdanović carried on with this attitude throughout his life. This approach, spiced up with playfulness and mystery as presented in his early volume Zaludna mistrija (The Futile Trowel) 1968, is the focus of this paper. In this unusual book the narratives are an intrinsic part of the architectural realm including design, drawings of various kinds, and the built form itself
Surrealist signatures of Bogdan Bogdanović
No full textThe main goal of the article is to explore relations of literature and architecture in works of Bogdan Bogdanović, the Serbian architect, writer, politician and dissident. The author focuses on surrealist influences that pervade Bogdanović’s work i.e. famous memorials of WWII, sketches, political and architectural essays and autobiographical narratives. Analyzing both aesthetic and ideological aspects of surrealist signatures etched into this ouvre, the author defines them as a subversive strategy aimed against the communist discourse of Yugoslavia as well as against the modernist discourse of postwar architecture
Rehabilitation and release of orphaned Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Europe: Implications for management and conservation.
Get PDFRehabilitation of injured or immature individuals has become an increasingly used conservation and management tool. However, scientific evaluation of rehabilitations is rare, raising concern about post-release welfare as well as the cost-effectiveness of spending scarce financial resources. Over the past 20 years, events of juvenile Eurasian lynx presumably orphaned have been observed in many European lynx populations. To guide the management of orphaned lynx, we documented survival, rehabilitation and fate after the release and evaluated the potential relevance of lynx orphan rehabilitation for population management and conservation implications. Data on 320 orphaned lynx was collected from 1975 to 2022 from 13 countries and nine populations. The majority of orphaned lynx (55%) were taken to rehabilitation centres or other enclosures. A total of 66 orphans were released back to nature. The portion of rehabilitated lynx who survived at least one year after release was 0.66. Release location was the best predictor for their survival. Of the 66 released lynx, ten have reproduced at least once (8 females and 2 males). Conservation implications of rehabilitation programmes include managing genetic diversity in small, isolated populations and reintroducing species to historical habitats. The lynx is a perfect model species as most reintroduced populations in Central Europe show significantly lower observed heterozygosity than most of the autochthonous populations, indicating that reintroduction bottlenecks, isolation and post-release management have long-term consequences on the genetic composition of populations. The release of translocated orphans could be a valuable contribution to Eurasian lynx conservation in Europe. It is recommended to release orphans at the distribution edge or in the frame of reintroduction projects instead of a release in the core area of a population where it is not necessary from a demographic and genetic point of view. Rehabilitation programmes can have conservation implications that extend far beyond individual welfare benefits
Animal behavior informed by history: Was the Asiatic cheetah an obligate gazelle hunter?
Get PDFUnderstanding key ecological adaptations, such as foraging, when a predator is almost extinct is complex. Nonetheless, that information is vital for the recovery of the persisting individuals. Therefore, reviewing historical, ethnobiological and recent records can assist in exploring the species behavioral ecology. We applied this approach to Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus), which once roamed most west and central Asian countries but now is confined to a few dozens in Iran, at historical (pre-1970) and recent (post-1970) scales. We addressed a widely popular perception that Asiatic cheetahs were subjected to prey shifts from gazelles (Gazella spp.) in open plains areas to urial (Ovis vignei) in mountains because of gazelle populations declines due to anthropogenic influences. We also quantified recent prey choice of Asiatic cheetahs and their behavioral plasticity in foraging different prey species types. Although ethnobiological and historical records suggested that gazelle species were the main prey for cheetahs across their Asian range. However, urial were also commonly reported to be hunted by cheetahs across their historical Asian range, showing that the predation on mountain ungulates is not an emerging hunting behavior in Asiatic cheetahs. We found spatiotemporal plasticity in recent hunting behavior of cheetahs with selective predation on adult urial males. There was temporal overlap in hunting times for plains dwelling versus mountain ungulates, albeit with some minor differences with morning mostly for gazelles while the predation on mountain ungulates was predominantly post-midday. We provided three management implications for the recovery and restoration of cheetahs in Asia. Our work highlighted the importance of historical studies in informing the behavioral ecology of rare species
Better sturdy or slender? Eurasian otter skull plasticity in response to feeding ecology
Get PDFOtters are semi-aquatic mammals specialized in feeding on aquatic prey. The Eurasian otter Lutra lutra is the most widely distributed otter species. Despite a low degree of genetic variation across its European range, the population from Great Britain exhibits distinct genetic structuring. We examined 43 skulls of adult Eurasian otters belonging to 18 sampling localities and three genetic clusters (Shetlands, Wales and Scotland). For each sample location, information regarding climate was described using bioclimatic variables from WorldClim, and information on otter diet was extracted from the literature. By using photogrammetry, 3D models were obtained for each skull. To explore any evidence of adaptive divergence within these areas we used a three dimensional geometric morphometric approach to test differences in skull size and shape between areas with genetically distinct populations, as well as the influence of diet, isolation by distance and climate. Males were significantly larger in skull size than females across all the three genetic clusters. Skull shape, but not size, appeared to differ significantly among genetic clusters, with otters from Shetland exhibiting wider zygomatic arches and longer snouts compared to otters from Wales, whereas otters from Scotland displayed intermediate traits. A significant relationship could also be found between skull shape variation, diet as well as climate. Specifically, otters feeding on freshwater fish had more slender and short-snouted skulls compared to otters feeding mostly on marine fish. Individuals living along the coast are characterised by a mixed feeding regime based on marine fish and crustaceans and their skull showed an intermediate shape. Coastal and island otters also had larger orbits and eyes more oriented toward the ground, a larger nasal cavity, and a larger distance between postorbital processes and zygomatic arch. These functional traits could also represent an adaptation to favour the duration and depth of diving, while the slender skull of freshwater feeding otters could improve the hydrodynamics
A transgressive pendulum of Bogdan Loebl’s poetry
No full textThe article discusses the questions of poetics and philosophy in Bogdan Loebl’s poetry comparing two poems: Dopóki bolisz [Until You Hurt] by the aforementioned author and Leopold Staff’s sonnet Kowal [Blacksmith]. The confrontation of the two poems is designed as a ready-to-use lesson plan, especially helpful for students attending the last year of high school in view of the final exam. The article includes the contexts of both genesis of the two discussed poems and functions of cultural discourse
Defending crime: Right to counsel as a natural human right
Get PDFDouglas College and the New Westminster Museum collaborated to host the Tick-Talk: Crime and Consequences Student Conference, which featured criminology students' presentations on a variety of crime, justice, and social issues. Adopting a fast-paced presentation format, students raised key issues and challenges, described personal experiences, and disseminated unique ideas in a public forum. Presentation topics included the right to legal representation, the over representation of Indigenous peoples in Canada’s criminal justice system, youth justice policy, and connections between mental health and criminal justice. The conference also included several discussion sessions that generated valuable dialogue among students, academics, practitioners, and members of the public. --- Bogdan Maksimcev presented on the right to defence counsel within the Canadian legal system. Maksimcev outlined the legal rights of Canadians and discussed the role of defence counsel in people's lives, arguing that every person should have fair access to justice.Not peer reviewe
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