Optimizing ultrasonic sampling effort for monitoring forest bats

Landscape‐scale monitoring is a key approach for assessing changes in indicators. However, great care needs to be taken to collect rigorous data and avoid wasting resources in long‐term programmes. Insect‐eating bats are diverse, functionally important and are often proposed as indicator species of environmental health. We used acoustic (ultrasonic) data from pilot bat surveys undertaken in forests and woodlands to optimize sampling effort to produce precise estimates of bat activity and occupancy. We also carried out simulations to evaluate the statistical power of different sampling designs to detect changes in activity and occupancy levels of individual bat species. There was little gain in precision for estimates of bat activity by sampling beyond five to six detector nights. To ensure spatial heterogeneity was sampled around a monitoring point, three detectors for two nights or two detectors for three nights would be required. This level of sampling was also sufficient to be 90% certain of recording occupancy for 11 of 12 taxa. Power simulations revealed that a sampling design using two detectors per monitoring point for two nights could detect a 30% decline within 10 years with 90% power for all species, except the white‐striped free tail bat (Tadarida australis), using either changes in activity levels or occupancy. However, fewer years were required when using occupancy. Setting detectors either on‐flyways or off‐flyways contributed only minor differences to the time taken to reach 90% power for both occupancy and activity levels, though sampling both locations has major implications for interpreting trends in bats. We suggest that bat activity levels are more sensitive for detecting change than occupancy because one pass or 1000 passes can be recorded per night by an acoustic detector, and this is not differentiated by occupancy. Bats can be monitored cost‐effectively and should be included in monitoring programmes.     

Power to detect trends in abundance of secretive marsh birds: Effects of species traits and sampling effort

Standardized protocols for surveying secretive marsh birds have been implemented across North America, but the efficacy of surveys to detect population trends has not been evaluated. We used survey data collected from populations of marsh birds across North America and simulations to explore how characteristics of bird populations (proportion of survey stations occupied, abundance at occupied stations, and detection probability) and aspects of sampling effort (numbers of survey routes, stations/route, and surveys/station/year) affect statistical power to detect trends in abundance of marsh bird populations. In general, the proportion of survey stations along a route occupied by a species had a greater relative effect on power to detect trends than did the number of birds detected per survey at occupied stations. Uncertainty introduced by imperfect detection during surveys reduced power to detect trends considerably, but across the range of detection probabilities for most species of marsh birds, variation in detection probability had only a minor influence on power. For species that occupy a relatively high proportion of survey stations (0.20), have relatively high abundances at occupied stations (2.0 birds/station), and have high detection probability (0.50), ≥40 routes with 10 survey stations per route surveyed 3 times per year would provide an 80% chance of detecting a 3% annual decrease in abundance after 20 years of surveys. Under the same assumptions but for species that are less common, ≥100 routes would be needed to achieve the same power. Our results can help inform the design of programs to monitor trends in abundance of marsh bird populations, especially with regards to the amount of sampling effort necessary to meet programmatic goals. © 2013 The Wildlife Society     

Rapid biodiversity assessment and monitoring method for highly diverse benthic communities: a case study of mediterranean coralligenous outcrops

Increasing anthropogenic pressures urge enhanced knowledge and understanding of the current state of marine biodiversity. This baseline information is pivotal to explore present trends, detect future modifications and propose adequate management actions for marine ecosystems. Coralligenous outcrops are a highly diverse and structurally complex deep-water habitat faced with major threats in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite its ecological, aesthetic and economic value, coralligenous biodiversity patterns are still poorly understood. There is currently no single sampling method that has been demonstrated to be sufficiently representative to ensure adequate community assessment and monitoring in this habitat. Therefore, we propose a rapid non-destructive protocol for biodiversity assessment and monitoring of coralligenous outcrops providing good estimates of its structure and species composition, based on photographic sampling and the determination of presence/absence of macrobenthic species. We used an extensive photographic survey, covering several spatial scales (100s of m to 100s of km) within the NW Mediterranean and including 2 different coralligenous assemblages: Paramuricea clavata (PCA) and Corallium rubrum assemblage (CRA). This approach allowed us to determine the minimal sampling area for each assemblage (5000 cm(2) for PCA and 2500 cm(2) for CRA). In addition, we conclude that 3 replicates provide an optimal sampling effort in order to maximize the species number and to assess the main biodiversity patterns of studied assemblages in variability studies requiring replicates. We contend that the proposed sampling approach provides a valuable tool for management and conservation planning, monitoring and research programs focused on coralligenous outcrops, potentially also applicable in other benthic ecosystems.     

海上风电场对大型底栖生物影响

海上风电作为一种清洁能源在全球快速发展,其建设和运营皆会对底栖生境造成影响.海上风电对大型底栖生物的影响是研究热点之一.本文对国内外相关研究进行了整理和分析,海上风电场对大型底栖生物的影响主要从以下几个方面展开:栖息地改变、生物多样性变化、禁止拖网作业影响以及促进生态连通性等.未来研究应重点关注海上风电场在更长时间尺度...     

Evaluation of Bear Rub Surveys to Monitor Grizzly Bear Population Trends

Abstract: Wildlife managers need reliable estimates of population size, trend, and distribution to make informed decisions about how to recover at-risk populations, yet obtaining these estimates is costly and often imprecise. The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) population in northwestern Montana, USA, has been managed for recovery since being listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1975, yet no rigorous data were available to evaluate the program's success. We used encounter data from 379 grizzly bears identified through bear rub surveys to parameterize a series of Pradel model simulations in Program MARK to assess the ability of noninvasive genetic sampling to estimate population growth rates. We evaluated model performance in terms of 1) power to detect gender-specific and population-wide declines in population abundance, 2) precision and relative bias of growth rate estimates, and 3) sampling effort required to achieve 80% power to detect a decline within 10 years. Simulations indicated that ecosystem-wide, annual bear rub surveys would exceed 80% power to detect a 3% annual decline within 6 years. Robust-design models with 2 simulated surveys per year provided precise and unbiased annual estimates of trend, abundance, and apparent survival. Designs incorporating one survey per year require less sampling effort but only yield trend and apparent survival estimates. Our results suggest that systematic, annual bear rub surveys may provide a viable complement or alternative to telemetry-based methods for monitoring trends in grizzly bear populations.     

天津海域底栖线虫群落结构的多元统计分析

应用多元统计分析方法(等级聚类分析和非度量多维标度)研究了天津近岸海域的底栖线虫群落结构情况.结果表明,等级聚类分析和非度量多维标度分析的结果具有很好的一致性.15个取样站位的线虫群落存在差异,根据线虫种类组成和丰度不同,调查站位可以分为4组.中南部近岸海域多数站位的线虫种类组成相似,深水区域的底栖线虫种类变化最大,而北部湾顶海域的线虫组成近似,但与其他站位相差较大.     

Estimating species richness and catch per unit effort from boat electro‐fishing in a lowland river in temperate Australia

Abstract Biodiversity estimates are typically a function of sampling effort and in this regard it is important to develop an understanding of taxon‐specific sampling requirements. Northern hemisphere studies have shown that estimates of riverine fish diversity are related to sampling effort, but such studies are lacking in the southern hemisphere. We used a dataset obtained from boat electro‐fishing the fish community along an essentially continuous 13‐km reach of the Murrumbidgee River, Australia, to investigate sampling effort effects on fish diversity estimates. This represents the first attempt to investigate relationships between sampling effort and the detection of fish species in a large lowland river in Australia. Seven species were recorded. Species‐specific patterns in catch per unit effort were evident and are discussed in terms of solitary and gregarious species, recreational fishing and the monitoring of rare and threatened species. There was a requirement to sample substantial lengths of river to describe total species richness of the fish community in this river reach. To this end, randomly allocated sampling effort and use of species richness estimators produced accurate estimates of species richness without the requirement for excessive levels of effort. Twenty operations were required to estimate species richness at this site, highlighting the need for comparable studies of river fish communities in lowland rivers elsewhere in Australia and the southern hemisphere.     

Information needs to support environmental impact assessment of the effects of European marine offshore wind farms on birds

European legislation requires Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) of national offshore wind farm (OWF) programmes and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) for individual projects likely to affect birds. SEAs require extensive mapping of waterbird densities to define breeding and feeding areas of importance and sensitivity. Use of extensive large scale weather, military, and air traffic control surveillance radar is recommended, to define areas, routes and behaviour of migrating birds, and to determine avian migration corridors in three dimensions. EIAs for individual OWFs should define the key avian species present; as well as assess the hazards presented to birds in terms of avoidance behaviour, habitat change and collision risk. Such measures, however, are less helpful in assessing cumulative impacts. Using aerial survey, physical habitat loss, modification, or gain and effective habitat loss through avoidance behaviour can be measured using bird densities as a proxy measure of habitat availability. The energetic consequences of avoidance responses and habitat change should be modelled to estimate fitness costs and predict impacts at the population level. Our present ability to model collision risk remains poor due to lack of data on species-specific avoidance responses. There is therefore an urgent need to gather data on avoidance responses; energetic consequences of habitat modification and avoidance flights and demographic sensitivity of key species, most affected by OWFs. This analysis stresses the importance of common data collection protocols, sharing of information and experience, and accessibility of results at the international level to better improve our predictive abilities.     

Calculating Background Levels for Ecological Risk Parameters in Toxic Harbor Sediment

Establishing background levels for biological parameters is necessary in assessing the ecological risks from harbor sediment contaminated with toxic chemicals. For chemicals in sediment, the term contaminated is defined as having concentrations above background and significant human health or ecological risk levels. For biological parameters, a site could be considered contaminated if levels of the parameter are either more or less than the background level, depending on the specific parameter. Biological parameters can include tissue chemical concentrations in ecological receptors, bioassay responses, bioaccumulation levels, and benthic community metrics. Chemical parameters can include sediment concentrations of a variety of potentially toxic chemicals. Indirectly, contaminated harbor sediment can impact shellfish, fish, birds, and marine mammals, and human populations. This paper summarizes the methods used to define background levels for chemical and biological parameters from a survey of ecological risk investigations of marine harbor sediment at California Navy bases. Background levels for regional biological indices used to quantify ecological risks for benthic communities are also described. Generally, background stations are positioned in relatively clean areas exhibiting the same physical and general chemical characteristics as nearby areas with contaminated harbor sediment. The number of background stations and the number of sample replicates per background station depend on the statistical design of the sediment ecological risk investigation, developed through the data quality objective (DQO) process. Biological data from the background stations can be compared to data from a contaminated site by using minimum or maximum background levels or comparative statistics. In Navy ecological risk assessments (ERA's), calculated background levels and appropriate ecological risk screening criteria are used to identify sampling stations and sites with contaminated sediments.     

Red-Shouldered Hawk Occupancy Surveys in Central Minnesota,USA

ABSTRACT Forest-dwelling raptors are often difficult to detect because many species occur at low density or are secretive. Broadcasting conspecific vocalizations can increase the probability of detecting forest-dwelling raptors and has been shown to be an effective method for locating raptors and assessing their relative abundance. Recent advances in statistical techniques based on presence—absence data use probabilistic arguments to derive probability of detection when it is < 1 and to provide a model and likelihood-based method for estimating proportion of sites occupied. We used these maximum-likelihood models with data from red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) call-broadcast surveys conducted in central Minnesota, USA, in 1994–1995 and 2004–2005. Our objectives were to obtain estimates of occupancy and detection probability 1) over multiple sampling seasons (yr), 2) incorporating within-season time-specific detection probabilities, 3) with call type and breeding stage included as covariates in models of probability of detection, and 4) with different sampling strategies. We visited individual survey locations 2–9 times per year, and estimates of both probability of detection (range = 0.28-0.54) and site occupancy (range = 0.81-0.97) varied among years. Detection probability was affected by inclusion of a within-season time-specific covariate, call type, and breeding stage. In 2004 and 2005 we used survey results to assess the effect that number of sample locations, double sampling, and discontinued sampling had on parameter estimates. We found that estimates of probability of detection and proportion of sites occupied were similar across different sampling strategies, and we suggest ways to reduce sampling effort in a monitoring program.     

Life Cycle Assessment of Offshore Wind Farm Siting: Effects of Locational Factors,Lake Depth,and Distance from Shore

According to previous studies, the life cycle energy intensity of an offshore wind farm (OWF) varies between 0.03 and 0.13 megawatt‐hours (MWh) of primary energy for each MWh of electricity generated. The variation in these life cycle energy intensity studies, after normalizing for capacity factor and life span, is significantly affected by OWF location because of geographical properties, namely, wind speed and water depth. To improve OWF siting, this study investigates how an OWF's distance from shore and geographical location impacts its environmental benefit. A process‐based life cycle assessment is conducted to compare 20 OWF siting scenarios in Michigan's Great Lakes for their cumulative fossil energy demand, global warming potential, and acidification potential. Each scenario (four lake locations at five offshore distances) has unique foundation, transmission, installation, and operational requirements based on site characteristics. The results demonstrate that the cumulative environmental burden from an OWF is most significantly affected by (1) water depth, (2) distance from shore, and (3) distance to power grid, in descending order of importance, if all other site‐relevant variables are held constant. The results also show that when OWFs are sited further offshore, the benefit of increased wind energy generation does not necessarily outweigh the increase in negative environmental impacts. This suggests that siting OWF nearer to shore may result in a better life cycle environmental performance. Finally, we demonstrate how much an OWF's environmental burdens can be reduced if the OWF system is either recycled, transported a shorter distance, or manufactured in a region with a high degree of renewable energy on the grid.     

Improving Aquatic Warbler Population Assessments by Accounting for Imperfect Detection

Monitoring programs designed to assess changes in population size over time need to account for imperfect detection and provide estimates of precision around annual abundance estimates. Especially for species dependent on conservation management, robust monitoring is essential to evaluate the effectiveness of management. Many bird species of temperate grasslands depend on specific conservation management to maintain suitable breeding habitat. One such species is the Aquatic Warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola), which breeds in open fen mires in Central Europe. Aquatic Warbler populations have so far been assessed using a complete survey that aims to enumerate all singing males over a large area. Because this approach provides no estimate of precision and does not account for observation error, detecting moderate population changes is challenging. From 2011 to 2013 we trialled a new line transect sampling monitoring design in the Biebrza valley, Poland, to estimate abundance of singing male Aquatic Warblers. We surveyed Aquatic Warblers repeatedly along 50 randomly placed 1-km transects, and used binomial mixture models to estimate abundances per transect. The repeated line transect sampling required 150 observer days, and thus less effort than the traditional ‘full count’ approach (175 observer days). Aquatic Warbler abundance was highest at intermediate water levels, and detection probability varied between years and was influenced by vegetation height. A power analysis indicated that our line transect sampling design had a power of 68% to detect a 20% population change over 10 years, whereas raw count data had a 9% power to detect the same trend. Thus, by accounting for imperfect detection we increased the power to detect population changes. We recommend to adopt the repeated line transect sampling approach for monitoring Aquatic Warblers in Poland and in other important breeding areas to monitor changes in population size and the effects of habitat management.     

Importance of scalar and riparian habitat effects for assessment of ecological status using littoral diatoms

The classification of waterbodies under the Water Framework Directive is dependent on the ability of monitoring programmes to reflect habitat quality using biotic elements including benthic diatom communities. This study investigated the influence of specific riparian habitats, of mixed woodland, grassland and lake artificial structures such as jetties and slipways, on benthic diatom assemblages in nine lakes across gradients of total phosphorus, alkalinity and in the presence or absence of Dreissena polymorpha. The heterogeneity of the benthic diatom assemblages at riparian and lake scale was assessed by taking three replicates per site category per lake, following standard European Union protocols. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and mixed effect modelling was used to investigate the main environmental controls on assemblage structure. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) was used to examine patterns in assemblage structure. No single environmental gradient was found to control benthic diatom composition, with differences among assemblages influenced both by riparian habitat type within lakes and interaction of multiple environment gradients, including presence of D. polymorpha. Greater control was exerted on community structure at the lake than local riparian scale. The influence of scalar factors on diatom assemblages increased with increasing scale. We recommend that for effective monitoring and assessment of ecological status, standard sampling protocols should include localised littoral habitats with individual samples pooled across riparian habitat types, thereby accounting for both multiple environmental and spatial controls on community structure.     

淀山湖鱼类生物多样性调查样本量的优化设计

样本量大小影响估算鱼类种群动态和鱼类群落特征的准确性和精确度.本文以淀山湖渔业资源调查为例,研究估算淀山湖鱼类群落特征所需的样本量大小.2010年7月—2011年6月研究期间每月进行一次淀山湖渔业资源调查,共捕获14科45种鱼类.利用重采样方法,估算淀山湖渔业资源调查最优调查频次和最佳站点数.结果表明: 在淀山湖渔业资源调查中,站点数和调查频次呈负相关关系;保持95%的探测率探测90%的物种,每年调查11和12次相应需要设置21和19个站点.Shannon多样性指数随着每次调查站点数的增多而变大,增长到一定程度之后逐渐趋于稳定.淀山湖鱼类群落的物种多样性调查最佳站点数为21.本文的研究方法和结果可以为其他类似研究提供借鉴.     

Surveying carnivores at large spatial scales: a comparison of four broad-applied methods

Reliable methods to estimate species richness are very important to managers and conservationists because they provide key data to make the right decisions in conservation programmes. In the case of carnivore mammals, traditional methods, such as direct count censuses, are not useful since these animals are usually scarce, elusive and nocturnal. Difficulties in carnivore sampling are compounded when monitoring programmes are developed at large spatial scales, where high economic costs and field efforts are necessary to achieve reliable richness or abundance estimates. These problems have highlighted the need to find more effective carnivore survey methods, especially in regions with high rates of landscape change, such as the Mediterranean basin. The present study, performed in a typical Mediterranean area, was the first in Europe to test simultaneously the relative efficiencies of four broad-applied sampling methods to detect carnivore species at large spatial scales. Sign surveys based on scat detection, scent stations, camera-trapping and live-trapping were investigated. We compared efficiencies using biological parameters and by considering both the logistic and economic costs of each method. Overall, scent stations and sign surveys were the most efficient methods both in economic and logistic terms. In addition, the use of scent stations may be necessary to detect species rarely detected by scats. Detailed and extensive training programmes for conducting sign surveys and scent stations may overcome perceived problems thus enhancing the widespread use of both methods. Our results are applicable not only to other Mediterranean areas, but also to other habitats and regions of the world. More research into the suitability of these and other methods in relation to different landscapes, seasons and species is required.     

Monitoring of marine benthic communities and taxonomic resolution: an approach through diverse habitats and substrates along the Southern Iberian coastline

Studies conducted along the southern Iberian coastline validate macrobenthic community analyses at taxonomic levels higher than that of species. Twelve studies on littoral benthic communities, carried out by the same research team, were selected spanning both a variety of sampling strategies (spatial, temporal, spatio-temporal) and substrate/habitat types (sediment, rock, algae). In order to establish differences between the results obtained at the taxonomic levels of species, family and order, similarities among stations were calculated using Spearman’s coefficient for ranges. A subset of three studies was selected to investigate possible differences in ‘best-explaining’ environmental variables with taxonomic level. The environmental variables selected at species level were the same as those found at levels of family and order. It is concluded that studies at the different levels of taxonomic resolution (species, family, order) lead to similar results both with regard to relative community distributions and the environmental variables associated with these. The importance of this result for monitoring similar benthic communities is discussed.     

山东半岛南部海湾底栖动物群落生态特征及其与水环境的关系

2006-2007年对山东半岛南部4个海湾(荣成湾、桑沟湾、靖海湾和五垒岛湾)19个站位的底栖动物群落结构特征进行了研究,并对14个环境因素和底栖动物群落生态特征分别进行主成分分析和Spearman相关分析。结果显示,荣成湾、桑沟湾和靖海湾的底栖动物种类中,多毛类所占比例最高,而五垒岛湾仅秋、冬季多毛类所占比例最高。根据聚类分析和非度量多维标度方法分析,4季底栖动物群落均可分为2个群落,春、冬季的第一聚群为靖海湾和五垒岛湾,第二聚群为荣成湾和桑沟湾。秋季荣成湾、桑沟湾、靖海湾组成第一聚群,第二聚群由五垒岛湾构成。夏季,底栖动物Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H')与采样深度和总碱度呈显著正相关,与水温呈极显著的负相关关系。秋季,与硝酸盐呈负相关关系,说明富营养化对山东半岛南部4个海湾大型底栖动物群落产生了一定负面影响。ABC曲线法分析显示,荣成湾和桑沟湾底栖动物的丰度优势度曲线与生物量优势度曲线相交,表明荣成湾和桑沟湾大型底栖动物群落处于中度干扰状态,密集的养殖活动可能对其生态系统带来了巨大影响,加强海水养殖管理,强化生态健康养殖理念,合理利用海洋生物资源,对大型底栖动物群落的稳定性具有重要意义。     

Effect of moonlight on detection of Whip-poor-wills: implications for long-term monitoring strategies

ABSTRACT.   Understanding variation in the detectability of birds is fundamental to determining the reliability of survey methods. We examined the influence of lunar light conditions on the detection probability of Whip-poor-wills through repeated sampling of 78 point count stations over two lunar cycles. The probability of detection was positively related to moonlight intensity measured as the percentage of moon-face illuminated and moon height above the horizon. These results were used to show how the reliability of long-term monitoring strategies can be improved by sampling design. Surveys conducted on nights when the moon-face was >50% illuminated were less variable and provided more statistical power to long-term monitoring results compared to surveys that were conducted across all nights. Stratifying surveys for Whip-poor-wills during bright moonlight provides greater statistical power for monitoring programs, which inevitably allows better scientific conclusions to be drawn from collected data.     

Do nematode and macrofauna assemblages provide similar ecological assessment information?

Do nematode and macrofauna assemblages provide similar ecological assessment information? To answer this question, in the summer of 2006, subtidal soft-bottom assemblages were sampled and environmental parameters were measured at seven stations covering the entire salinity gradient of the Mondego estuary. Principal components analysis (PCA) was performed on the environmental parameters, thus establishing different estuarine stretches. The ecological status of each community was determined by applying the Maturity Index and the Index of Trophic Diversity to the nematode data and the Benthic Assessment Tool to the macrofaunal data. Overall, the results indicated that the answer to the initial question is not straightforward. The fact that nematode and macrofauna have provided different responses regarding environmental status may be partially explained by local differentiation in microhabitat conditions, given by distinct sampling locations within each estuarine stretch and by different response-to-stress times of each benthic community. Therefore, our study suggests that both assemblages should be used in marine pollution monitoring programs.     

Detecting benthic community differences: Influence of statistical index and season

An accurate assessment of estuarine condition is critical to determining whether there has been a change from baseline or ‘natural’ conditions; benthic communities are routinely used as an ecological endpoint to make this assessment. We addressed two issues, which arise when attempting to detect differences between benthic communities. The first is the varying sensitivity of metrics, e.g. one metric may not be able to detect differences between two communities where another metric can. The second is the influence of season on the detection of differences between benthic communities from different estuarine systems. In this study, benthic communities taken from depositional sites were sampled in three seasons, at three sites within two relatively pristine estuaries located in southern Massachusetts, USA. Statistical comparisons of benthic community data from the two estuaries were made using three common metrics: species richness, Shannon diversity and Bray–Curtis similarity indices. Significant community differences were found depending upon the index. The Bray–Curtis index, using permutation testing, was the only metric that detected differences between estuaries despite disparate seasonal sampling. This suggests that researchers do not need to be overly constrained to sampling in the same season when testing for differences in benthic communities between estuaries. Additionally, we propose an analytical method to identify anthropogenically impacted estuarine systems.