No description available.

Hurricanes can temporarily disrupt seasonal patterns of fish assemblage change or result in permanent changes in fish assemblages. I studied the effects of two hurricanes on fish assemblages at the Chandeleur Islands and the possible influence that storm-generated tidal channels may have on the composition of local fish assemblages. I also compared recently collected data to historic ichthyofaunal survey data collected over thirty years ago at the Chandeleur Islands. Near shore fish assemblages changed the most after hurricanes but changes in species composition were primarily due to increases in abundance and diversity. During July 2007 there was no significant difference between fish assemblages in channel and seagrass habitats, although significant differences among wash-over channels existed. Loss of habitat and the increased intensity and frequency of recent storms may explain why current fish assemblages at the Chandeleur Islands are less diverse (as measured by taxonomic distinctness) than assemblages collected during 1969-1971.

Dens are a critical component of black bear (Ursus americanus) habitat, yet scale-dependent den-site selection has received limited attention. Natural and anthropogenic factors (e.g., vegetation, roads) may also influence bear den-site selection. I quantified black bear denning chronology and den use and evaluated multi-scale den-site selection in Mississippi, USA during 2005–2011. Females entered dens earlier than males and emerged later; multiple den use by both sexes in a single winter was common. I recorded equal numbers of tree and ground dens, with ground dens at higher elevations surrounded by dense vegetation. Chronology and other denning characteristics of bears in Mississippi were similar to other black bear populations in the southeastern United States. Bears exhibited scale-dependent den-site selection selecting sites with greater percentage horizontal cover and farther from roads. Greater percentage horizontal cover may provide security and increase energetic efficiency. Denning farther from roads likely decreases risk of human disturbance.

No description available.

No description available.

Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul / Environmental changes resulting from climatic conditions may limit the reproductive activity of anurans. The calling activity is an important indicator of the temporal patterns of anuran activity, which may be regulated by several factors. Reproductive strategies, including the period of calling activity, time of tadpole and juvenile recruitment, and the larval rate of development, can be used for minimizing the adverse influence of environmental variables. Moreover, local environmental changes may generate disturbances (e.g., flooding, grazing, climatic events) and alter the availability of resources in the environment, which may lead to either a reduction or an increase in the local species diversity. In this context, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts that the species diversity would be higher at intermediate levels of disturbance. In freshwater systems, for instance, water bodies with intermediate hydroperiods (temporary ponds) would have higher species diversity because they would have fewer predators in relation to permanent ponds, and more resources availability in relation to ephemeral ponds. Thus, we aimed to determine the environment abiotic effects on the calling activity of an anuran community from the temperate wetlands of the extreme southern Brazil. We identified the reproductive patterns of species considering the periods of tadpole and juvenile recruitment, the larval development rate, and the influence of environmental variables on the species activity seasonality. We also established the disturbance frequency, duration and extent in water bodies, through the investigation of the relationship between the disturbance levels, the hydroperiod and the diversity of anurans. Data were collected over 17 months in coastal wetlands of the extreme portion of southern Brazil. Between December 2012 and April 2014 we registered 11 active species, distributed in the families Hylidae, Leptodactylidae, and Bufonidae. The calling activity of the community was positively related to water temperature and rainfall. The recruitment of tadpoles occurred during the rainy period, regardless of variation in the measured abiotic variables. The recruitment of juveniles also occurred during the rainy period and was related to increased water temperature. Our results indicate a link between the frequency and duration of the disturbance with the hydroperiod, as well as with tadpole richness and abundance. Overall, much of the species abiotic dependence was linked to the patterns of reproductive behavior and phylogeny; the occurrence of many species was also linked to the hydrological regime of water bodies. Also, our study demonstrates the direct effect of a disturbance event and the IDH on the studied anuran community, in which temporary water bodies presented a richest anuran community than ephemeral or permanent ones. / As variações ambientais decorrentes do clima representam um limitador para a atividade reprodutiva em anuros. A atividade de vocalização, por exemplo, é um importante indicativo do padrão de atividade diária e sazonal dos anuros e pode ser regulada por diversos fatores. As estratégias reprodutivas, tais como períodos de vocalização, época de recrutamento de girinos e juvenis, são utilizadas para amenizar a influência dessas variáveis. Adicionalmente, as variações climáticas podem refletir na forma de distúrbios sobre uma comunidade. Os distúrbios (e.g. alagamentos, pastejo, eventos climáticos) agem no ambiente alterando a disponibilidade de recursos, podendo causar o declínio ou aumento da diversidade de espécies. Nesse contexto a hipótese do distúrbio intermediário (HDI) prediz que em níveis intermediários de distúrbio a diversidade de espécies seria máxima. Em sistemas dulcícolas, por exemplo, corpos d água com hidroperíodos intermediários (temporários) apresentariam maior diversidade, por possuir menor número de predadores em relação aos permanentes e mais recursos disponíveis em relação aos efêmeros. Dessa forma, objetivamos averiguar os efeitos de fatores abióticos sobre a atividade de vocalização em uma comunidade de zona úmida temperada no extremo sul do Brasil. Identificamos os padrões reprodutivos das espécies, através do período de recrutamento de girinos e juvenis e tempo de desenvolvimento larval, bem como a influência de variáveis abióticas sobre a sazonalidade das espécies. Por fim, estabelecemos os atributos frequência, duração e extensão de distúrbio em corpos d água continentais, verificando a relação dos níveis de distúrbio com o hidroperíodo e diversidade de espécies de anuros. Os dados foram coletados ao longo de 17 meses em campos úmidos costeiros no extremo sul do Brasil. Foram registradas 11 espécies ativas de dezembro de 2012 a abril de 2014, distribuídas em três famílias: Hylidae, Leptodactylidae e Bufonidae. A atividade de vocalização sazonal da comunidade foi relacionada com a temperatura da água e pluviosidade, havendo respostas diferentes quando consideradas as espécies separadamente. O recrutamento de girinos ocorreu no período de chuvas, sendo independente das variáveis abióticas. O recrutamento de juvenis também ocorreu no período de chuvas e foi relacionado ao aumento da temperatura da água. Observamos, também, uma ligação entre os níveis dos atributos frequência e duração de distúrbio com o hidroperíodo, bem como com a abundância e riqueza de espécies de girinos presentes nesses ambientes. De uma forma geral, os resultados adquiridos mostram que grande parte da dependência abiótica apresentada pela atividade das espécies esteve ligada à filogenia e padrões comportamentais reprodutivos, onde a ocorrência de muitas espécies está ligada ao regime hídrico dos corpos d água. Por fim, os resultados encontrados no presente estudo demonstram a ação direta de um evento de distúrbio, bem como da HDI, sobre a comunidade de anuros, onde corpos d água temporários, com níveis intermediários de distúrbio, apresentam um maior número de espécies que efêmeros ou permanentes.

Behavioural responses can reveal important fitness trade-offs and ecological traps in evolutionarily novel contexts created by anthropogenic stimuli, and are of increasing conservation concern due to possible links to population-level impacts. This thesis illustrates the use of proxies for energy acquisition and expenditure within multivariate and state-based modelling approaches to quantify the relative time and energetic costs of behavioural disturbance for a deep-diving marine mammal (Physeter macrocephalus) in foraging grounds in Kaikoura Canyon (New Zealand) and near Lofoten Islands (Norway). A conceptual framework is first developed to identify and explore links between individual motivation, condition and external constraints to behavioural disturbance [Chapter 1]. The following chapters then use data from behavioural response studies (BRS) to: 1) derive biologically relevant metrics of behaviour [all chapters], 2) investigate effects of boat-based focal follows and tagging procedures [Chapters 2-3], and 3) relate responses to specific disturbance stimuli (distance, approach, noise) from whale-watching [Chapter 2], naval sonar and playback of presumed natural predator (killer whale Orcinus orca) sounds [Chapter 4]. A novel hidden state model was developed to estimate behavioural budgets of tagged sperm whales from multiple streams of biologging (DTAG) data [Chapter 3]. Sperm whales traded off time spent at foraging depths in a non-foraging and non-resting state in response to both tag boat presence, 1-2 kHz naval sonar (SPL 131-165 rms re 1μPa) and mammal-eating killer whale sound playbacks, indicating that parallel non-lethal costs were incurred in both anthropogenic disturbance and presumed antipredatory contexts. While behavioural responses were highly variable by individual, biologically informed state-based models appeared effective to control for variability in energy proxies across different functional contexts. These results and Chapter 5 “linking buzzes to prey” demonstrate that behavioural context is a signal that can aid understanding of how individual non-lethal disturbance responses can impact fitness.

Les cervidés, animaux mobiles et herbivores, peuvent influencer les distributions, assemblages et dynamiques d'espèces végétales. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'évaluer le rôle joué par les cervidés sur la composition, stratification et dynamique de la végétation forestière. Le ré-échantillonnage de relevés couplant composition et abroutissement de la flore, implantés en 1976 en Forêt d'Arc-en-Barrois (52) a permis d'identifier (i) des espèces ligneuses préférées (Cornus sp., Rosa arvensis) ou au contraire évitées par les cervidés qui sélectionnent les espèces arbustives et à bois dense et (ii) le niveau trophique et la pression d'abroutissement comme gradients structurant la végétation et déterminant les dynamiques des espèces et des communautés. Nous analysons plus précisément le rôle des cervidés dans la progression spectaculaire de Cynoglossum germanicum, espèce rare, épizoochore et toxique.A partir d'un réseau national d'enclos/exclos suivis sur 10 ans, nous montrons que les cervidés limitent la croissance des arbustes et des espèces compétitrices, ce qui profite à la richesse spécifique de la strate herbacée. La valeur écologique et patrimoniale des espèces en progression est discutée. A l'aide de données de chasse, nous tentons d'isoler les rôles des différentes espèces d'ongulés dans ces dynamiques.Ces résultats exposent la complexité et la diversité des effets des cervidés sur la végétation forestière. Enfin, ce travail met l'accent sur la nécessité des suivis temporels intégrant toutes les composantes de l'écosystème forestier pour mieux appréhender les changements en cours. / This thesis aims at assessing the impacts of deer on forest vegetation composition, stratification and dynamics.We resampled a network of relevés coupling vegetation and browsing surveys, settled in 1976 in the national forest of Arc-en-Barrois. We identified (i) ligneous species that are either preferred (Cornus sp., Rosa arvensis) or avoided by deer, which tend to select shrubs species with dense wood and (ii) trophic level and browsing pressure as gradients that determine plant communities structures and dynamics. Then, we highlight the roles of deer in the spectacular expansion of Cynoglossum germanicum, a rare, epizoochorous and toxic species. According to a national network of exclosures, monitored for over 10 years, we show that deer limit shrubs and competing species growth, which in turn benefits to the herbaceous species richness probably through an increased light availability. Ecological and patrimonial value of the benefitting species is discussed. Using hunting statistics, we try to isolate the role of the various ungulate species in these dynamics.These results provide evidence for the diversity and complexity of deer impacts on forest vegetation. Finally, we demonstrate the need for long term monitoring programs, including all the forest ecosystem components so that we could better appreciate the forces driving the current changes