Search results for "BOXES"
showing 10 items of 15 documents
Clutch-size variation in Western Palaearctic secondary hole-nesting passerine birds in relation to nest box design.
2014
Møller, A.P. [et al.]
Effects of interspecific coexistence on laying date and clutch size in two closely related species of hole-nesting birds
2018
Co-existence between great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus, \ud but also other hole nesting taxa, constitutes a classic example of species\ud co-occurrence resulting in potential interference and exploitation competition\ud for food and for breeding and roosting sites. However, the spatial and temporal\ud variation in co-existence and its consequences for competition remain poorly\ud understood. 2.We used an extensive database on reproduction in nest boxes by\ud great and blue tits based on 87 study plots across Europe and Northern Africa\ud during 1957-2012 for a total of 19,075 great tit and 16,729 blue tit clutches to \ud assess correlative evidence for a relationship …
Phenological sensitivity to climate change is higher in resident than in migrant bird populations among European cavity breeders
2018
Many organisms adjust their reproductive phenology in response to climate change, but phenological sensitivity to temperature may vary between species. For example, resident and migratory birds have vastly different annual cycles, which can cause differential temperature sensitivity at the breeding grounds, and may affect competitive dynamics. Currently, however, adjustment to climate change in resident and migratory birds have been studied separately or at relatively small geographical scales with varying time series durations and methodologies. Here, we studied differential effects of temperature on resident and migratory birds using the mean egg laying initiation dates from 10 European n…
The use of artificial nest-boxes by Apodemus sylvaticus dichrurus in Sicily
2008
Reports of wood mouse arboreality are rather scarce outside Britain. I reviewed and analysed 267 visits and 16.456 checks of glirids artificial nest-boxes mounted on trees, in twelve sample areas of Meso- and Supra-Mediterranean woodlands (Sicily, 1995-2005). The wood mouse was recorded only 65 times (0.395%) using the artificial nest-boxes in nine sample areas, and based on this low frequency, the wood mouse can be considered as an occasional dweller of artificial nest-boxes. The resource selection index allowed checking the use respect to the availability of nest-boxes placed at different heights. These were likely reached by climbing the dense understorey and low tree branches up to 5 m,…
Variation in clutch size in relation to nest size in birds
2014
© 2014 The Authors. Nests are structures built to support and protect eggs and/or offspring from predators, parasites, and adverse weather conditions. Nests are mainly constructed prior to egg laying, meaning that parent birds must make decisions about nest site choice and nest building behavior before the start of egg-laying. Parent birds should be selected to choose nest sites and to build optimally sized nests, yet our current understanding of clutch size-nest size relationships is limited to small-scale studies performed over short time periods. Here, we quantified the relationship between clutch size and nest size, using an exhaustive database of 116 slope estimates based on 17,472 nes…
Supervision by the state prerogatives of french sports federations
2013
French sports federations have developed without any state intervention. They had their own prerogatives to organize competitions in their respective sporting discipline. By virtue of their association status, they were entirely governed by private law. However, following a decision taken in 1974 by the Board of State confirming the existence of a public service delegated to the federal structure, the legislation gradually devote the principle of granting their prerogatives by the Ministry of Sports through two acts: the ministerial approval and delegation of public service. Since the issuance of these acts is synonymous powers recognized federations by state law and that the delegation lea…
Shape optimization of high-energy absorbers
2018
In this paper, a new approach to simulate and to optimize the performances of a crash-box, in terms of energy absorption or acceleration peak, is presented. As soon as the maximum size of the crash-box (longitudinal and transversal dimensions) has been fixed, the new approach allows optimizing the shape of the transversal section and the thickness of the structure. Thanks to the proposed procedure, engineers can easily identify the best crash-box depending on the particular working conditions. The new method has been tested with different cases study by considering different objective functions. The obtained results show the procedure works well and also demonstrate that the optimal number …
Habitat preferences of edible dormouse, Glis glis italicus: implications for the management of arboreal mammals in Mediterranean forests
2015
Research on arboreal mammals living in Mediterranean forests is poor. Molecular research assessed the existence of an evolutionary significant unit in the edible dormouse populations living in south Italy, Sicily and Sardinia, and we decided to investigate the environmental factors capable of explaining its occurrence and abundance in Sicily, for a better management of these populations. We assessed the species habitat preferences by setting 25 large and 25 small nestboxes in five sample areas along an altitudinal gradient of the Madonie Range, and recorded habitat variables, food availability, and demographic data for two years. To obtain synthetic descriptors of the dormice habitat requir…
The design of artificial nestboxes for the study of secondary hole-nesting birds: A review of methodological inconsistencies and potential biases
2010
The widespread use of artificial nestboxes has led to significant advances in our knowledge of the ecology, behaviour and physiology of cavity nesting birds, especially small passerines. Nestboxes have made it easier to perform routine monitoring and experimental manipulation of eggs or nestlings, and also repeatedly to capture, identify and manipulate the parents. However, when comparing results across study sites the use of nestboxes may also introduce a potentially significant confounding variable in the form of differences in nestbox design amongst studies, such as their physical dimensions, placement height, and the way in which they are constructed and maintained. However, the use of …
Blue lasing at room temperature in high quality factor GaN/AlInN microdisks with InGaN quantum wells
2007
The authors report on the achievement of optically pumped III-V nitride blue microdisk lasers operating at room temperature. Controlled wet chemical etching of an AlInN interlayer lattice matched to GaN allows forming inverted cone pedestals. Whispering gallery modes are observed in the photoluminescence spectra of InGaN/GaN quantum wells embedded in the GaN microdisks. Typical quality factors of several thousands are found (Q>4000). Laser action at similar to 420 nm is achieved under pulsed excitation at room temperature for a peak power density of 400 kW/cm(2). The lasing emission linewidth is down to 0.033 nm.