Surveying Cory Shearwater colonies with camera traps and identifying potential invasive nest predators

Background The Azores holds the largest population of Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis (Cory, 1881) (Aves, Procellariiformes, Procellariidae) in the world. One of the major threats of this species in the Azores is the predation by invasive mammals, which were introduced during European colonisation of the islands. The present study provides a dataset from a camera-trapping survey performed in colonies of Cory’s shearwater. The sampling was conducted between 7 April and 23 October 2019, covering the entire breeding season, in three colonies of the Terceira Island (Azores). A total of 32 nests were sampled using motion-triggered cameras. The aims of this study are to provide information about the ecological patterns of the Cory shearwater and to identify potential nest predators. New information Our results include a total of 6972 records of 15 species (nine species of birds, five of mammals and one reptile), of which 5414 records are of Cory’s shearwater, 478 of potential mammal predators and 1080 of another vertebrate species. Information about the biology of the species is also provided, as species circadian behaviour and habitat description.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A typing error in Tokeshi's test of bimodality

Copyright © 2003 Blackwell Publishing“One way to describe patterns of species distribution is to plot the frequency histograms using species–range-size data (Gaston, 1994; Brown, 1995; Gaston & Blackburn, 2000). Usually the untransformed geographical ranges of species are distributed following a ‘hollow curve’, i.e. most species have narrow ranges and very few have widespread distributions. This highly ‘right-skewed’ curve has been regarded as unimodal (e.g. Gaston, 1994). In some cases, however, the species-range-size distribution shows a bimodal pattern (Hanski, 1982; Brown, 1984, 1995; Gaston, 1994; Gaston & Blackburn, 2000), in which to the left-hand mode is added a right hand mode generated by the widespread group of species that occur in almost all sampled sites. The ‘core-satellite species hypothesis’ (Hanski, 1982) and the ‘resource usage model’ (Brown, 1984, 1995) were proposed to explain the finding that a few species are regionally common (widespread) and locally abundant (the ‘core’ species in Hanski’s model; the generalists or broad-niched species in Brown’s model), while most species can be regarded as having smaller ranges and low local abundances (the ‘satellite’ species in Hanski’s model; the specialists or narrow-niched species in Brown’s model). […]

Dispersal syndromes are poorly associated with climatic niche differences in the Azorean seed plants

Aim: Environmental niche tracking is linked to the species ability to disperse. While well investigated on large spatial scales, dispersal constraints also influence small-scale processes and may explain the difference between the potential and the realized niche of species at small scales. Here we test whether niche size and niche fill differ systematically according to dispersal syndrome within isolated oceanic islands. We expect that species with higher dispersal abilities (anemochorous or endozoochorous) will have a higher niche fill, despite their environmental niche size. Location: Azores archipelago. Taxon: Native seed plants. Methods: We combined a georeferenced database of the species distribution within the archipelago (Azorean Biodiversity Portal/GBIF) with an expert-based dispersal syndrome categorization and a high-resolution climatic grid (CIELO model). Using four climatic variables (Annual Mean Temperature, Mean Diurnal Range, Annual Precipitation, Precipitation Seasonality), we calculated a four-dimensional hypervolume to estimate the niche size of each species. Niche fill was quantified as the suitable climatic space of the island that was occupied by the focal species. Results: We found a significant relationship between dispersal syndromes and niche size, and also between dispersal syndromes and niche fill. Such relationships presented no phylogenetic signal. Endozoochorous species display higher niche fill compared to epizoochorous and hydrochorous species, and larger niches than anemochorous and epizoochorous. Differences among the remaining groups are not significant for either niche size or for niche fill. Main conclusions: The ability of a species to track its niche at small scales is not tightly related to its dispersal syndrome, although endozoochorous species track their niche more efficiently than the rest of groups. Despite being intuitively appealing, dispersal syndrome classifications might not be the most appropriate tools for understanding dispersal processes at small scales.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Standardised inventories of spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) of Macaronesia II: The native forests and dry habitats of Madeira archipelago (Madeira and Porto Santo islands)

Here we present the data obtained from the samples collected as part of a large research project (MACDIV) which aims at understanding the drivers of spider (Araneae) community assembly in Macaronesian islands. To obtain the data, we applied the sampling protocol COBRA (Conservation Oriented Biodiversity Rapid Assessment), in twelve 50 m x 50 m native forest plots and five dry habitat plots on the island of Madeiraand in 5 dry habitat plots on the island of Porto Santo. Through this publication, we contribute to the knowledge of the arachnofauna of the Madeiran archipelago.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Macaronesia as a fruitful arena for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology

peer reviewe

Community structure of woody plants on islands along a bioclimatic gradient

Peer reviewe

Pasture arthropod community in Azorean Islands of different geological ages

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN025021 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

System Modeling And Optimization Under Vector-valued Criteria

The integrated problem of optimization and parameter estimation of a given system is addressed in the context of vector-valued optimization techniques. The validity of the existing convergence properties of the basic two-step approach for solving the joint problem of scalar optimization and parameter estimation is extended for the vector-valued case under adequate conditions. Some elements of decision analysis are incorporated into the joint problem in order to reflect conflicting situations derived from the simultaneous consideration of multiple performance criteria. To illustrate the main aspects of the approach proposed, the problem of optimization and parameter estimation of a nonlinear dynamic batch reactor is considered. The results attest the computational feasiblity of the procedure and its usefulness as a qualitative tool for the synthesis of integrated control policies. © 1994.302331336Borges, Ferreira, Joint optimization and identification (1991) Internal Report n. 01/91, , UNICAMP, (in Portuguese)Brdys, Roberts, Optimal structures for steady-state adaptive optimizing control of large-scale industrial processes (1986) Int. J. Systems Sci., 17, pp. 1449-1474Chankong, Haimes, On the characterization of noninferior solutions of the vector optimization problem (1982) Automatica, 18, pp. 697-707Cohon, Church, Sheer, Generating multiobjective trade-offs: an algorithm for bicriteria problems (1979) Water Resources Research, 15, pp. 1001-1009Denbigh, Turner, (1984) Chemical Reactor Theory: An Introduction, , 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press, CambridgeEllis, Roberts, Measurement and modelling trade-offs for integrated system optimization and parameter estimation (1982) Large Scale Systems, 3, pp. 191-204Ferreira, Geromel, An interactive projection method for multicriteria optimization problems (1990) IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 20 SMC, pp. 596-605Foss, Critique of chemical process control theory (1973) IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 18 AC, pp. 646-652Geoffrion, Solving Bicriterion Mathematical Programs (1967) Operations Research, 5, pp. 39-54Haimes, Wismer, A computational approach to the combined problem of optimization and parameter identification (1972) Automatica, 8, pp. 337-347Hwang, Masud, Multiobjective decision-making methods and applications (1979) Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, , Springer, BerlinKümmel, Seborg, A contemplative stance for chemical process control (1987) Automatica, 23, pp. 801-802Luenberger, (1984) Linear and Nonlinear Programming, , Addison Wesley, MALuyben, (1973) Process Modeling, Simulation and Control for Chemical Engineers, , McGraw-Hill Chemical Engineers Series, NYMcGrew, Haimes, Parametric solution to the joint system identification and optimization problem (1974) J. of Optimization Theory and Applications, 3, pp. 583-605Payne, Polak, Collins, Miesel, An algorithm for bicriteria optimization based on the sensitivity function (1975) IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 20 AC, pp. 546-548Rarig, Haimes, Risk/dispersion index method (1983) IEEE Trans. on Systems, Man and Cybernetics, 13 SMC, pp. 317-328Roberts, An algorithm for steady-state system optimization and parameter estimation (1979) Int. J. Systems Sci., 10, pp. 719-734Sorenson, Parameter estimation (1980) Control and Systems Theory, 9. , Marcel Dekker, NYTatjewski, Roberts, Newton-like algorithm for integrated system optimization and parameter estimation technique (1987) Int. J. Systems Sci., 46, pp. 1155-1170Vachtsevanos, Lp-convergence of a process identification algorithm (1979) International Journal of Systems Science, 6, pp. 401-407Yu, (1985) Multiple-Criteria Decision Making: Concepts, Techniques and Extensions, , Plenum, N