Isotopic ecology of coyotes from scat and road kill carcasses: A complementary approach to feeding experiments.

Scat is frequently used to study animal diets because it is easy to find and collect, but one concern is that gross fecal analysis (GFA) techniques exaggerate the importance of small-bodied prey to mammalian mesopredator diets. To capitalize on the benefits of scat, we suggest the analysis of scat carbon and nitrogen isotope values (δ13C and δ15N). This technique offers researchers a non-invasive method to gather short-term dietary information. We conducted three interrelated studies to validate the use of isotopic values from coyote scat: 1) we determined tissue-to-tissue apparent C and N isotope enrichment factors (ε13* and ε15*) for coyotes from road kill animals (n = 4); 2) we derived diet-to-scat isotope discrimination factors for coyotes; and 3) we used field collected coyote scats (n = 12) to compare estimates of coyote dietary proportions from stable isotope mixing models with estimates from two GFA techniques. Scat consistently had the lowest δ13C and δ15N values among the tissues sampled. We derived a diet-to-scat Δ13C value of -1.5‰ ± 1.6‰ and Δ15N value of 2.3‰ ± 1.3‰ for coyotes. Coyote scat δ13C and δ15N values adjusted for discrimination consistently plot within the isotopic mixing space created by known dietary items. In comparison with GFA results, we found that mixing model estimates of coyote dietary proportions de-emphasize the importance of small-bodied prey. Coyote scat δ13C and δ15N values therefore offer a relatively quick and non-invasive way to gain accurate dietary information

Experimental evaluation of koala scat persistence and detectability with implications for pellet-based fauna census

Establishing species distribution and population trends are basic requirements in conservation biology, yet acquiring this fundamental information is often difficult. Indirect survey methods that rely on fecal pellets (scats) can overcome some difficulties but present their own challenges. In particular, variation in scat detectability and decay rate can introduce biases. We studied how vegetation communities affect the detectability and decay rate of scats as exemplified by koalas Phascolarctos cinereus: scat detectability was highly and consistently dependent on ground layer complexity (introducing up to 16% non-detection bias); scat decay rates were highly heterogeneous within vegetation communities; exposure of scats to surface water and rain strongly accelerated scat decay rate and finally, invertebrates were found to accelerate scat decay rate markedly, but unpredictably. This last phenomenon may explain the high variability of scat decay rate within a single vegetation community. Methods to decrease biases should be evaluated when planning scat surveys, as the most appropriate method(s) will vary depending on species, scale of survey and landscape characteristics. Detectability and decay biases are both stronger in certain vegetation communities, thus their combined effect is likely to introduce substantial errors in scat surveys and this could result in inappropriate and counterproductive management decisions

Carnivore Diet Identification Through Scat and Genetic Analysis in Namibia, Africa

Worldwide the cheetah population is declining making them Africa’s most endangered large cat. Namibia, Africa currently has the largest population of cheetahs in the world. During the summer of 2014, I did scat analysis of carnivores on the property of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia in order to better understand the predators that compete with the cheetah and how the ecosystem works as a whole. I worked at CCF for nine weeks to analyze the diets of carnivores in the area through genetic and scat analysis. Analyzing carnivore feces would ultimately identify the diet of various carnivores in the area. One hundred and eight carnivore scat samples were analyzed including jackal, hyena, genet, serval, leopard, african wildcat, caracal, civet, aardwolf and cheetah samples. This information would help CCF understand how the entire ecosystem interacts and aid them in their efforts to manage and protect the wild cheetah. DNA was extracted from each scat sample to determine the species each sample came from. The DNA was then amplified using polymerase chain reaction. Ultimately, the sequences were compared to a genome reference database and the species were determined by sequence similarity. The scat samples were then washed and the contents were analyzed microscopically and macroscopically. Microscopic analysis involved burning hairs to create imprints and looking at the patterns underneath a microscope. My results revealed that the cheetahs are primarily competing with leopards for their prey. When CCF releases cheetahs back into the wild they will now be able to take my findings into consideration to locate the best release site

PERBANDINGAN HASIL INVESTIGASI PENYEBAB INSIDEN DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE SCAT DAN METODE TRIPOD (STUDI KASUS PENYEBAB INSIDEN DI TERMINAL LPG SEMARANG)

Insiden merupakan peristiwa yang mengakibatkan kerugian (accident) atau peristiwa yang tidak mengakibatkan kerugian (near-miss). Penyebab terjadinya insiden dapat ditemukan melalui metode investigasi agar insiden serupa tidak terulang. Terminal LPG Semarang (TLS) merupakan perusahaan yang memiliki potensi bahaya tinggi. TLS menggunakan metode SCAT untuk menginvestigasi penyebab terjadinya insiden. SCAT merupakan metode sekunder yang mengidentifikasi akar masalah pada tingkat manajemen dan budaya keselamatan sehingga faktor operasional dan human error tidak ikut teridentifikasi. Tripod merupakan metode metode primer yang dapat mengidentifikasi akar masalah pada faktor organisasi, operasional, dan human error. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif yang bertujuan mendeskripsikan perbandingan hasil investigasi penyebab insiden dengan menggunakan metode SCAT dan metode Tripod. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan pengumpulan data sekunder dan wawancara mendalam. Informan utama dalam penelitian ini adalah 14 orang pekerja yang terlibat dalam insiden. Informan triangulasi merupakan 4 orang investigator yang melakukan investigasi insiden. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat persamaan hasil hasil identifikasi immediate cause antara metode SCAT dan metode Tripod namun, terdapat perbedaan hasil identifikasi barrier, precondition, underlying cause, dan rekomendasi antara metode SCAT dan metode Tripod. Dari hasil tersebut perusahaan diharapkan dapat melakukan kajian yang mendalam mengenai metode investigasi insiden yang tepat untuk perusahaan Kata Kunci: Investigasi, SCAT, Tripo

Abdominal fat depots associated with insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome risk factors in black African young adults

Abstract Background Individuals of black African ethnicity tend to have less visceral adipose tissue (VAT) but more subcutaneous-abdominal adipose tissue (SCAT) than white Caucasians. However, it is unclear whether such distribution of abdominal fat is beneficial for metabolic disease risk in black individuals. Here we compared the associations between these specific abdominal fat depots, insulin sensitivity and metabolic syndrome risk. Methods A cross-sectional analysis of 76 black South African young adults (36 men; 40 women) aged 18–19 years participating in the Birth to Twenty Cohort Study had VAT and SCAT measured by MRI. The metabolic syndrome traits (blood pressure, lipid profile, fasting glucose and insulin) were measured and the values were combined into a metabolic syndrome risk score. Fasting glucose and insulin were used to derive the HOMA-index of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Results Compared to men, women had greater VAT (mean: 16.6 vs. 12.5 cm2) and SCAT (median 164.0 vs. 59.9 cm2). In men, SCAT (r = 0.50) was more strongly correlated to the metabolic syndrome score (MetS) than was VAT (r = 0.23), and was associated with both MetS (P = 0.001) and HOMA-IR (P = 0.001) after adjustment for VAT and total fat mass. In women, both abdominal fat compartments showed comparable positive correlations with MetS (r = 0.26 to 0.31), although these trends were weaker than in men. Conclusions In young black South African adults, SCAT appears to be more relevant than VAT to metabolic syndrome traits

Baseband version of the bat-inspired spectrogram correlation and transformation receiver

Echolocating bats have evolved an excellent ability to detect and discriminate targets in highly challenging environments. They have had more than 50 million years of evolution to optimise their echolocation system with respect to their surrounding environment. Behavioural experiments have shown their exceptional ability to detect and classify targets even in highly cluttered surroundings. The way bats process signals is not exactly the same as in radar and hence it can be useful to investigate the differences. The Spectrogram Correlation And Transformation receiver (SCAT) is an existing model of the bat auditory system that takes into account the physiology and underlying neural organisation in bats which emit chirped signals. In this paper, we propose a baseband receiver equivalent to the SCAT. This will allow biologically inspired signal processing to be applied to radar baseband signals. It will also enable further theoretical analysis of the key concepts, advantages and limitations of the "bat signal processing" for the purpose of target detection, localisation and resolution. The equivalence is demonstrated by comparing the output of the original SCAT to that of our proposed baseband version using both simulated and experimental target echoes. Results show that the baseband receiver provides compatible frequency interference pattern for two closely located scatterers

Suzaku View of the Swift/BAT Active Galactic Nuclei (I): Spectral Analysis of Six AGNs and Evidence for Two Types of Obscured Population

We present a systematic spectral analysis with Suzaku of six AGNs detected in the Swift/BAT hard X-ray (15--200 keV) survey, Swift J0138.6-4001, J0255.2-0011, J0350.1-5019, J0505.7-2348, J0601.9-8636, and J1628.1-5145. This is considered to be a representative sample of new AGNs without X-ray spectral information before the BAT survey. We find that the 0.5--200 keV spectra of these sources can be uniformly fit with a base model consisting of heavily absorbed (log $N_{\rm{H}} > 23.5 \rm{cm}^{-2}$) transmitted components, scattered lights, a reflection component, and an iron-K emission line. There are two distinct groups, three "new type" AGNs (including the two sources reported by \citealt{Ueda2007}) with an extremely small scattered fraction ($f_{\rm{scat}} < 0.5$) and strong reflection component ($R = \Omega / 2 \pi \gtrsim 0.8$ where $\Omega$ is the solid angle of the reflector), and three "classical type" ones with $f_{\rm{scat}} > 0.5$ and $R \lesssim 0.8$. The spectral parameters suggest that the new type has an optically thick torus for Thomson scattering ($N_{\rm{H}} \sim 10^{25} \rm{cm}^{-2}$) with a small opening angle $\theta \sim 20^{\circ}$ viewed in a rather face-on geometry, while the classical type has a thin torus ($N_{\rm{H}} \sim 10^{23-24} \ \rm{cm}^{-2}$) with$\theta \gtrsim 30^{\circ}$. We infer that a significant number of new type AGNs with an edge-on view is missing in the current all-sky hard X-ray surveys.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa