Search results for "CLASSIFICATION"

Estimating natal dispersal movement rates of female European ducks with multistate modelling

2003

Summary 1 We used up to 34 years of capture–recapture data from about 22 100 new releases of day-old female ducklings and multistate modelling to test predictions about the influence of environmental, habitat and management factors on natal dispersal probability of three species of ducks within the Engure Marsh, Latvia. 2 The mean natal dispersal distances were very similar (c. 0·6–0·7 km) for all three species and were on average 2·7 times greater than breeding dispersal distances recorded within the same study system. 3 We were unable to confirm the kinship hypothesis and found no evidence that young first-nesting females nested closer to their relatives (either mother or sister) than to …

Factors affecting breeding dispersal of European ducks on Engure Marsh, Latvia

2003

Summary 1 We used up to 35 years of capture–recapture data from nearly 3300 individual female ducks nesting on Engure Marsh, Latvia, and multistate modelling to test predictions about the influence of environmental, habitat and management factors on breeding dispersal probability within the marsh. 2 Analyses based on observed dispersal distances of common pochards and tufted ducks provided no evidence that breeding success in year t influenced dispersal distance between t and t+ 1. 3 Breeding dispersal distances (year t to t+ 1) of pochards and tufted ducks were associated with a delay in relative nest initiation dates in year t+ 1. The delay was greater for pochards (c. 4 days) than for tu…

Ptyctima (Acari, Oribatida) in various habitats in Finland

2010

The oribatid species of the taxon Ptyctima were studied in eight habitat types (four forests, three bogs, and one shore). Altogether 19 species were found. The highest number of species (15) was found in marsh forests in southern Finland, and the lowest number (3) in eutrophic fens in northern Finland. Atropacarus striculus was the most common and abundant species in Finland. It was found in each habitat explored, especially abundant on shores, in marsh forests, and pine bogs. Phthiracarus longulus, P. boresetosus, and Steganacarus carinatus occurred in abundance in coniferous forests, especially in the southern and central parts of the country, whereas Rhysotritia ardua was found there onl…

Study of the morphological affinity between two species of benthic foraminifera from restricted environments: Rosalina douvillei (Cushman, 1928) and …

2020

A biometric comparison is carried out on selected tests of the foraminiferal species Rosalina douvillei (Cushman, 1928) and Trichohyalus aguayoi (Bermudez, 1935). The Rosalina douvillei specimens were recovered from the marginal marine Oligocene/Miocene site of Russingen (Mainz Basin, Germany), the lacustrine beds of the lower Miocene site of Bunol (Valencian Community, Spain) and the middle/ upper Miocene site of Fuendetodos (Aragon, Spain). The Trichohyalus aguayoi tests were collected in the current coastal lagoon of Torreblanca and recovered from Holocene cores sampled in the Peniscola marsh and in the coastal lagoon of l’Albufera de Valencia, all them in the Valencian Community (Spain)…

2015

The Indonesian island of Sulawesi harbors a highly endemic and diverse fauna sparking fascination since long before Wallace’s contemplation of biogeographical patterns in the region. Allopatric diversification driven by geological or climatic processes has been identified as the main mechanism shaping present faunal distribution on the island. There is both consensus and conflict among range patterns of terrestrial species pointing to the different effects of vicariant events on once co-distributed taxa. Tarsiers, small nocturnal primates with possible evidence of an Eocene fossil record on the Asian mainland, are at present exclusively found in insular Southeast Asia. Sulawesi is hotspot o…

Landslide inventory and rockfall risk assessment of a strategic urban area (Palermo, Sicily)

2019

This study concerns the assessment of the rockfall risk for two strategic sectors of the Mount Pellegrino, one of the most relevant place in the city of Palermo. During the last two decades, several rockfalls affected the study area setting up a serious threat to the people, structures and infrastructures preventing the economic and social development. For these landslides a detailed GIS inventory was realized; the most dangerous rockfalls occurred within the two study sectors. In both areas we have carried out detailed field surveys and the geo-mechanical characterization of the rock slopes. These analyses allowed to define the rock mass parameters, the set of discontinuities and the kinem…

Volcanic and anthropogenic contribution to heavy metal content in lichens from Mt. Etna and Vulcano island (Sicily)

1998

Major and trace element concentrations were determined in two lichen species (Parmelia conspersa and Xanthoria calcicola) from the island of Vulcano and all around Mt. Etna. In both areas, the average concentrations of Al, Ca, Mg, Fe, Na, K, P and Ti are substantially greater than those of other elements. Several elements (Br, Pb, Sb, Au, Zn, Cu) resulted enriched with respect to the local substrates. The Br and Pb enrichment factors turned out to be the highest among those calculated in both areas. Data indicate that mixing between volcanic and automotive-produced particles clearly explains the range of Pb/Br shown by lichen samples. Sb is also enriched, revealing a geogenic origin at Vulc…

Parasitoids (Hymenoptera) of leaf-spinning moths (Lepidoptera) feeding on Vaccinium uliginosum L. along an ecological gradient in central European pe…

2011

Parasitoids of leaf-spinning Lepidoptera associated with two isolated central European peat bogs were investigated. Five families of parasitoid Hymenoptera (Braconidae, lchneumonidae, Eulophidae, Pteromalidae and Encyrtidae) were recorded. Three categories were recognised: (1) primary parasitoids, (2) facultative hyperparasitoids and (3) obligatory hyperparasitoids. Ten species of Braconidae, five species and seven marked morphospecies among lchneumonidae, and three species of Chalcidoidea were identified. Despite of some niche-specific (but less host-specific) parasitoids, all these hymenopterans are likely to be generalists and none of them were confirmed to be habitat and/or host special…

Tracking migration of black‐headed buntings Emberiza melanocephala reveals the Iranian Plateau as an ecological barrier along the Indo‐European flyway

2021

The black-headed bunting is one of the few species that migrate along the Indo-European flyway, and its migration routes and phenology are poorly understood. We provide the first individual-based year-round tracking study describing route choice and timing of black-headed buntings migrating from a breeding site in Croatia to a 6000 km distant non-breeding region in Maharashtra, central India. To evaluate landscapes important for the black-headed bunting migration, we quantified land covers and climates along the migration corridor. Stopover areas during the post-breeding migration were concentrated in four distinct regions: the Balkan Peninsula, central Anatolia, along with the Zagros mount…

A terminal Cretaceous giant pterosaur from the French Pyrenees

1997

A very large pterosaur cervical vertebra is described from the Upper Maastrichtian deposits of Mérigon, in the foothills of the French Pyrenees. It resembles the vertebrae of Quetzalcoatlus, from the Maastrichtian of Texas, more than those of Arambourgiania, from the Maastrichtian of Jordan. The estimated wing span of the Mérigon pterosaur is close to 9 m, which makes it one of the largest known flying creatures. Giant pterosaurs still had a wide geographical distribution at the end of Maastrichtian time, which is not suggestive of a declining group, although it is difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of taxonomic diversity of terminal Cretaceous pterosaurs on the basis of available dat…