74 research outputs found
Egestion of plant propagules by turtles in a small Massachusetts river
No full textPadgett, Donald J., Quirk, Sydney, Joyal, Meghan, Surasinghe, Thilina D. (2019): Egestion of plant propagules by turtles in a small Massachusetts river. Journal of Natural History 53 (31): 2011-2021, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2019.168153
Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka
No full textKarunarathna, Suranjan, Bauer, Aaron M., Silva, Anslem De, Surasinghe, Thilina, Somaratna, Lankani, Madawala, Majintha, Gabadage, Dinesh, Botejue, Madhava, Henkanaththegedara, Sujan, Ukuwela, Kanishka D.B. (2019): Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 4545 (3): 389-407, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.3.
FIGURE 4 in Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka
No full textFIGURE 4. Distribution of Cnemaspis nilgala sp. nov. in Nilgala savannah forest, Monaragala District, Sri Lanka. Holotype locality is indicates solid triangle, Paratype localities are marked with solid squares, and additional localities are with solid circles.Published as part of Karunarathna, Suranjan, Bauer, Aaron M., Silva, Anslem De, Surasinghe, Thilina, Somaratna, Lankani, Madawala, Majintha, Gabadage, Dinesh, Botejue, Madhava, Henkanaththegedara, Sujan & Ukuwela, Kanishka D.B., 2019, Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka, pp. 389-407 in Zootaxa 4545 (3) on page 400, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/261895
FIGURE 2 in Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka
No full textFIGURE 2. Close-ups of Cnemaspis nilgala sp. nov. male holotype (2018.07.01.NH): (a) dorsal head, (b) lateral head, (c) ventral head, (d) cloacal characters and femoral pores,(e) subdigital lamellae on manus, (f) subdigital lamellae on pes, (g) smooth ventral scales, (h) dorsal granules of the body, (i) dorsal and ventral aspects of male holotype (2018.07.01.NH), (j) dorsal and ventral aspects of female paratype (2018.06.01.NH) (Photos: Madhava Botejue).Published as part of Karunarathna, Suranjan, Bauer, Aaron M., Silva, Anslem De, Surasinghe, Thilina, Somaratna, Lankani, Madawala, Majintha, Gabadage, Dinesh, Botejue, Madhava, Henkanaththegedara, Sujan & Ukuwela, Kanishka D.B., 2019, Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka, pp. 389-407 in Zootaxa 4545 (3) on page 394, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/261895
FIGURE 5 in Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka
No full textFIGURE 5. General habitat of Cnemaspis nilgala sp. nov. at Nilgala savannah forest, Monaragala District, Sri Lanka (a) two isolated mountains with prehistoric caves; (b) prehistoric granite rock caves and rock boulders; (c) prehistoric granite rock caves with inscription, and evidenced of remains of early human; (d) typical Nilgala savannah forest (Photos: Ashan Geeganage & Udaya Chanaka).Published as part of Karunarathna, Suranjan, Bauer, Aaron M., Silva, Anslem De, Surasinghe, Thilina, Somaratna, Lankani, Madawala, Majintha, Gabadage, Dinesh, Botejue, Madhava, Henkanaththegedara, Sujan & Ukuwela, Kanishka D.B., 2019, Description of a new species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the Nilgala Savannah forest, Uva Province of Sri Lanka, pp. 389-407 in Zootaxa 4545 (3) on page 402, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.3.4, http://zenodo.org/record/261895
INFLUENCES OF RIPARIAN LAND-USES ON HABITAT USE AND INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION OF STREAM-DWELLING SALAMANDERS: EVIDENCE FROM BLUE RIDGE & PIEDMONT
No full textHuman-induced disturbances can result in persistent influences on ecosystems, including habitat loss and biogeographical changes. Global amphibian decline, a consequence of habitat degradation, is among prime conservation concerns. To better understand causes of the amphibian crisis, investigations a multiple levels of biological organization - behavior, communities, and landscapes - is imperative. I investigated the responses of stream-associated Plethdontid salamanders of the Blue Ridge and Piedmont of the Southeastern US to historical and current land uses in the riparian zone and watershed to determine, (1) change in the community structure and mechanisms driving the change and uses operating at different spatial-temporal scales; (2) competition between two sympatric species with different body sizes, natural histories, and differential sensitivity for habitat alterations (black-bellied and northern dusky salamanders) in the context of riparian land uses. I surveyed low-order streams for salamanders, estimated 15 habitat variables and current and historical land-cover at riparian and watershed scale for each sampling site. Forested streams were more diverse than non-forested streams. Two assemblages were evident: disturbance avoiders (forest-dependent, large-bodied, disturbance-sensitive species) and disturbance tolerators (cosmopolitan, small-bodied, disturbance-resistant species); each assemblage composed of 80% and 20% of the regional species pool, respectively. Riparian zone characteristics (canopy cover, canopy height, leaf-litter cover) and stream geomorphology (bank complexity, stream substrate heterogeneity, sedimentation) were dramatically altered by land uses, rendering streams unsuitable for most salamanders. Historical land uses at both riparian- and watershed-scale influenced current populations and community structure of salamanders. Piedmont protected areas with crop-farming legacies were the most species-deprived since intensive agriculture can lead to lasting effects including soil erosion, sedimentation, increased discharge, and destabilization of stream banks. My experiment on competition revealed marked differences in microhabitat associations of focal species across riparian land uses. Black-bellied salamanders competitively dominated the use of stream channel over northern dusky salamanders in forested and agricultural streams. Northern dusky salamanders competitively displaced black-bellied salamanders from stream banks in urban streams. Riparian anthropogenic disturbances negatively affected the large-bodied habitat specialists and favored small-bodied habitat generalists. Terrestrial anthropogenic disturbances can modify stream habitats and, result in the exclusion of disturbance-sensitive species, ultimately leading to biotic homogenization. Conservation of stream salamander community should be strengthened with protection and restoration of riparian forests and degraded stream habitats; land-use regulations at the watershed scale; establishment of connectivity among riparian forests; and introduction of Best Management Practices for farmlands and timberlands
Lightning Round: Biodiversity Conservation in the Changing World: Challenges and Opportunities in Tropical World
No full textSri Lanka is rich in biodiversity and endemism and considered a global biodiversity hotspot and contains many key biodiversity areas. Sri Lanka has lost most of the primary forests; only 1.5% remains intact with total vegetation cover diminished below 20%. Yet, only \u3c10% of natural landscapes are under state-legislated protection. Over 20% of Sri Lanka’s vegetation cover occurs outside the protected area network that are subjected to multiple land tenureship. Our recent surveys revealed that such unprotected lands provide habitat for threatened species, highly-exploited species, and locally-rare species. Additionally, \u3e100 species of avifauna and butterflies have been recorded from rural home gardens and traditional farms. These landscapes provide suitable habitats for much of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity while establishing landscape-scale connectivity across multiple ecosystems. Therefore, exploring biodiversity outside Sri Lanka\u27s protected area network and planning conservation amongst multi-use anthropocentric habitats are foremost in importance
Biodiversity Conservation in the Changing World: Challenges and Opportunities in Tropical World
No full textSri Lanka is rich in biodiversity and endemism, and considered a global biodiversity hotspot containing many key biodiversity areas. Sri Lanka has lost most of the primary forests; only 1.5% remains intact with total vegetation cover diminished below 20%. Yet, less than 10% of natural landscapes are under state-legislated protection. Over 20% of Sri Lanka’s vegetation cover occurs outside the protected area networks that are subjected to multiple land tenureship. Our recent surveys revealed that such unprotected lands provide habitat for threatened species, highly-exploited species, and locally-rare species. Greater than 100 species of avifauna and butterflies have been recorded from rural home gardens and traditional farms. These landscapes provide suitable habitats for much of Sri Lanka’s biodiversity while establishing landscape-scale connectivity across multiple ecosystems. Therefore, exploring biodiversity outside Sri Lanka\u27s protected area network and planning conservation amongst multi-use anthropocentric habitats are foremost in importance
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