Plenty of rooftops with few neighbours occupied by young breeding Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis): Does this occur at the expense of their health condition?

Gulls, as largely flexible opportunistic individuals, have been increasingly breeding in many cities around the world, but it is still unclear whether urban habitats are of equal or higher quality than traditional natural habitats or represent an ecological trap with immediate reproductive benefits but longer-term detrimental consequences to health. Here we present a study of breeding parameters (nest density, egg dimensions, clutch size, hatching success and adult body condition) and physiological parameters (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, haemoglobin concentration and measurements of oxidative stress) as indicators of the general health condition of Yellow-legged Gull Larus michahellis adults and chicks from natural and urban colonies. Yellow-legged Gulls in the largest urban area (Porto) laid smaller eggs and clutches, showed a significantly lower occurrence of inflammatory processes in chicks, and showed a slower early chick growth than in the natural colony of Deserta. This suggests that urban gulls might be facing important trade-offs between the advantages of breeding in lower density urban colonies, with fewer intraspecific interactions and a lower disease transmission probability, and the disadvantages of having an anthropogenic diet usually lower in nutritional value.     

Genetic variation in three species in the Lampropholis delicata (Lacertilia: Scincidae) complex

The Lampropholis delicata complex consists of three closely related species, which have very different habitat requirements and geographic distributions. Percentage polymorphism and average heterozygosity per population are lowest in the species with the narrowest habitat requirements. Genetic differentiation between populations is also lowest in this species, which had a very limited and almost continuous distribution. For one species, which occurs in a very wide range of habitats, both natural and disturbed, genetic variability is compared between samples from disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Average heterozygosity is significantly lower in samples from disturbed than in those from undisturbed sites.     

Spatial ecology of golden jackal in farmland in the Ethiopian Highlands

The spatial ecology of golden jackal Canis aureus was studied on farmland adjacent to the Bale Mountains National Park in southern Ethiopia during 1998–2000. Three adult and four subadult jackals were captured in leg‐hold traps and radiotagged. The range size of the adult jackals varied from 7.9 to 48.2 km² and the subadults from 24.2 to 64.8 km² . These ranges are the largest recorded for this species. Range overlap of the tagged jackals averaged 54%, which, in conjunction with observations of associations between individuals, suggested that all the tagged jackals belonged to one social group. Tagged jackals were observed alone on 87% of occasions despite the extensive overlap in individual ranges. Pairs consisting of a male and female were the most commonly observed group and larger groups were seen on only five occasions. Jackals in this population appeared less gregarious than observed elsewhere. The jackals used all the habitats available to them, particularly at night when they foraged in Artemesia and Hypericum bush and farmland. During the day they were more frequently found in Hagenia and Juniper woodland and their diurnal resting sites were characterized by thick cover. This is the first detailed study of golden jackals in a human‐modified landscape in Africa and further demonstrates the flexibility in behaviour and ecology exhibited by this species throughout its range.     

Species–energy relationships and habitat complexity in bird communities

Species–energy theory is a commonly invoked theory predicting a positive relationship between species richness and available energy. The More Individuals Hypothesis (MIH) attempts to explain this pattern, and assumes that areas with greater food resources support more individuals, and that communities with more individuals include more species. Using a large dataset for North American birds, I tested these predictions of the MIH, and also examined the effect of habitat complexity on community structure. I found qualitative support for the relationships predicted by the MIH, however, the MIH alone was inadequate for fully explaining richness patterns. Communities in more productive sites had more individuals, but they also had more even relative abundance distributions such that a given number of individuals yielded a greater number of species. Richness and evenness were also higher in structurally complex forests compared to structurally more simple grasslands when controlling for available energy.     

Influences of habitat features and human disturbance on use of breeding sites by a declining population of southern fur seals (Arctocephalus australis)

Southern fur seals Arctocephalus australis in Peru have declined gradually over the past decade, and declined dramatically (72%) as a result of low food availability during the severe El Niño in 1997–98. In 1999, seals abandoned some historically important breeding sites. This is particularly alarming because new sites were not colonized. Our objective was to examine how habitat features and human disturbance influenced whether sites were currently used, abandoned or apparently not used in the past by fur seals for breeding. Data were collected on 14 variables at 70 potential breeding sites at three guano reserves in Peru. Discriminant analysis revealed significant multivariate differences among sites currently used for breeding, abandoned sites and unused sites ( F =5.97, P <0.00001), and the model classified 74% of sites correctly. Currently used sites were less likely to have human disturbance and more likely to have offshore islands, stacked rocks, tide pools and abundant shade. Separate discriminant analyses for each reserve produced similar results. Habitat associated with thermoregulation (e.g. shade or pools) may be more important to fur seals in Peru, which breed at lower latitudes and are at greater risk of overheating on land than other populations. Habitat with minimized human access may be especially important to seals in small populations in which individuals may perceive themselves as more vulnerable because of decreased vigilance and dilution effects. Seals in our study selected breeding habitat with stacked rocks, which create shade and tide pools for thermoregulation and make human access difficult; but pups might suffer higher mortality in this habitat. We hypothesize that fur seals in Peru may exhibit an Allee effect, whereby suitability of habitat varies with population abundance.     

Suitability of habitat for spawning lake trout

We provide further insight into the reproductive ecology and spawning requirements of lake trout. New comparative information about substrate characteristics, sediment transport, quality of interstitial water at spawning substrates, and the role of temperature in site selection and time of spawning is given for lakes Simcoe and Manitou (Ontario) and Seneca Lake (New York). Spawning lake trout commonly use stable lag deposits derived from glacial sediments, or relict features such as fans, bars or submerged talus slopes. Artificial breakwaters of broken material may also provide suitable substrates. Optimal particle sizes range from 4 to 10 cm diameter but larger materials to 30 cm are also successfully utilized for spawning. The transport of finer particulates by wind generated water movements may limit the suitability of some substrates and successful spawning sites are usually remote from depositional effects. Successful embryo development is associated with low nutrient conditions, with high dissolved oxygen (>7 mg L^-1) and with low un-ionized ammonia (<12.5 g L^-1) in the interstitial water of spawning substrates. Shallow-water spawning appears to be the common strategy of colonizing lake trout. Some deepwater spawning in the Great Lakes may reflect initial colonization in shallow-water and adaptation to later increases in water level, but some may also reflect unique behavioural and physiological adaptations. Temperature is an important cue, and many wild and hatchery stocks spawn at 8 to 13 °C with latitudinal shifts in the actual time of spawning. These requirements are summarized as a dichotomous key for evaluation of approaches to restoration of lost or damaged lake trout stocks.Presented at the Conference on Rehabilitation of Lake Trout in the Great Lakes: A Critical Assessment (sponsored by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Ann Arbor, Michigan, January 10–14, 1994).     

Fish and decapod crustaceans inhabiting drifting algae in Jervis Bay,New South Wales

Abstract This study documents the fish and decapod crustaceans inhabiting a bed of Gracilaria verrucosa that was drifting on the bottom of a temperate marine embayment in relatively deep water (15- 18m) during autumn 1991. Fauna were sampled with diver-operated enclosure nets. Relatively few species inhabited the algae at this time, and the assemblage was primarily a subset of that in adjacent Posidonia australis beds. Three fish species [Neoodax balteatus (Odacidae), Cristiceps australis (Clinidae), Siphamia cephalotes (Apogonidae)] and one species of crab [Nectocarcinus tuberculosus (Portunidae)] dominated the catches numerically. A further 14 fish and decapod species were relatively rare. Neoodax balteatus, C. australis and N. tuberculosus were caught at all life stages and appeared to be permanent residents of the Gracilaria. Few juveniles of other species were captured, which indicates that these algal wracks may not be an important nursery habitat for seasonally resident fish species. Trachurus novaezelandiae and a number of other fish species that associate with a variety of benthic habitats appeared to be transient visitors. The biomass of algae varied significantly within the bed, but algal biomass was not a good indicator of faunal abundances. The low species richness of the fish and decapod crustacean assemblage may be related to both lower recruitment in deeper water and to unfavourable characteristics of the alga.     

Examination of thirteen petroliferous formations for hydrocarbon-utilizing sulfate-reducing microorganisms

Virgin cores and production fluids were obtained from seven wells, ranging in depth from 805 ft to 14 492 ft, and examined for the presence of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) using Rosenfeld's sulfate-reducing medium modified by using crude oil in place of lactate. Cores from an additional six wells, ranging in depth from 1160 ft to 13 337 ft were tested for SRB using the modified Rosenfeld medium and API-sulfate-reducing medium. Produced waters from five of the six wells were tested also. All of the eleven produced water samples were positive for SRB while H₂S production was not detected from the core samples.     

High-elevation rock outcrop vegetation of the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Abstract. Species composition patterns and vegetation-environment relationships were quantified for high-elevation rock outcrops of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, an infrequent and insular habitat in a forested landscape. Outcrops occur over a wide geographic range encompassing extensive variation in both geology and climate. Geographic-scale factors interact with site-scale factors to produce variation in vegetation among outcrops. Similarly, site-scale factors interact with micro-scale factors to produce variation in vegetation within outcrops. To provide a quantitatively-based classification of outcrop vegetation we used a TWINSPAN analysis of 154 100-m² plots. We recognized nine communities that primarily correspond to different combinations of elevation, bedrock type, geography, and moisture. Within outcrops of a single bedrock type, vegetation composition of 100-m² plots was consistently correlated with elevation and solar radiation, but relationships to soil nutrients varied with bedrock type. Both site-scale (100 m²) factors (e.g. elevation, slope, aspect, and bedrock type) and plot-scale (1-m²) microsite factors (e.g. soil depth, vegetation height, soil nutrients) were strongly correlated with species composition at the 1-m² level. Environment can be used to predict composition more effectively for 100-m² plots on a single bedrock type than either across bedrock types or at a 1-m² scale. Composition-environment relationships resemble those described for outcrop systems from other regions with pronounced topographic relief more than they do those described for the nearby but flatter and lower-elevation outcrops of the Southeastern Piedmont. There is strong spatial autocorrelation in this community, perhaps owing to dispersal limitation. Consequently, a comprehensive conservation strategy must include reservation of both a range of geologic types and a range of geographic locations.     

The role of the National Trust in the conservation of British butterflies

The National Trust is of paramount importance in the conservation of butterflies in the UK on account of the scale of its land holding and its ability to manage habitats beneficially. Fifty two of the fifty four species currently regarded as resident in Britain occur on Trust land. The Trust has major responsibilities for the conservation of all bar one of the British rarities, and is of special significance in the conservation of the high brown fritillary and heath fritillary, two protected species. The Trust owns some 35 areas (many of which are large) of national importance for butterflies, plus much other property where the butterfly fauna is of regional importance. The Trust is implementing many dynamic projects aimed at conserving rare species, maintains a butterfly site data base and is developing a butterfly population monitoring programme. It is well placed to address the key issue of butterfly conservation on a metapopulation scale. To do this, it must work in partnership with other conservation organizations.