Connectivity conservation for arboreal marsupials in a fragmented landscape

Arboreal mammals are some of the most sensitive to the impacts of habitat fragmentation. Such species are either reliant on continuous forest cover or canopy connectivity to facilitate movement, especially if they are obligate arboreal species. Habitat loss from agricultural expansion and urban development, threatens the ability of arboreal mammals to disperse to enable landscape scale gene flow. Over long-time periods this can lead to a reduction in effective population size, genetic viability, and ultimately the ability to persist in the face of continuing threats. Creating wildlife corridors is one landscape conservation initiative that can aid in mitigating threats. This can be achieved through the identification of pathways of existing habitat, calculated through spatial models, and coupled with the evaluation of corridor functionality. Ideally, such corridors should benefit multiple species compared to focusing on one focal species, to achieve greater biodiversity conservation outcomes. However, such spatial models perform best with empirical data from large-scale comprehensive surveys that collect extensive abundance and distribution data. Wildlife surveys using remote cameras is a method that enables the collection of a high volume of data that can be readily used in analyses and models to inform corridor and connectivity conservation planning

Etiology and Epidemiology of Obstructive Jaundice in Continental Croatia

The etiology and epidemiology of obstructive jaundice in Continental Croatia has been studied in 174 patients. The objective of this research was also to explore the importance and efficiency of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) as a non-surgical method of treatment of obstructive jaundice in the population of Continental Croatia. Obstructive jaundice is the illness of elderly population which is also confirmed by the information on the average age of our patients. The frequency of illness is higher among female population, and the most frequent cause of obstructive jaundice are gallstones (54.1% of patients). In 29.8% of patients the primary or secondary malignant disease was the cause of blockage in gall flow and subsequent jaundice, and the most frequent malignant cause of obstructive jaundice is pancreas cancer in 11.5% of patients. The mean value of serum concentrations of total bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and gamma glutamiltransferase 24 hours before the biliary decompression by ERCP has been significantly above the upper referential value, and 24 hours after the ERCP it has dropped to normal with their statistically significant difference (p<0.0001). The normal values of markers for synthetic liver function (total proteins and prothrombin time) have been noticed as well as elevated values of inflammatory markers in obstructive jaundice independently of etiology. Out of the total number of patients, 37.7% required the surgical treatment while 60.3% of patients were treated by ERCP, i.e. either the stone extraction or the implantation of endobiliary stent was performed

Діагностика банкрутства в системі антикризового управління

Розглянуто питання відповідності і значимості діагностики фінансового стану кожної стадії антикризового управління. Діагностику банкрутства визначено як ретроспективне, оперативне і перспективне дослідження господарської діяльності та процесу управління підприємством, направлене на виявлення параметрів кризового розвитку за допомогою реалізації комплексу дослідницьких процедур, виявлення слабких ланок і "вузьких місць".Рассмотрены вопросы соответствия и значимости диагностики каждой стадии антикризисного управления. Диагностика банкротства определена как ретроспективное, оперативное и перспективное исследование хозяйственной деятельности и процесса управления предприятием, направленное на выявление параметров кризисного развития с помощью реализации комплекса исследовательских процедур, выявления слабых зон и «узких мест».The article analyzes issues of adequacy and role of diagnostics in all stage of anti-crisis management. The diagnostics of bankruptcy is defined as a retrospective, operative and prospective study of enterprise’s economic activity and management process that is directed to identification of parameters of crisis development by using comprehensive researches and to finding weak spots and "bottlenecks"

The selfie trap: A novel camera trap design for accurate small mammal identification

Camera traps are a popular tool for monitoring wildlife though they can fail to capture enough morphological detail for accurate small mammal species identification. Camera trapping small mammals is often limited by the inability of camera models to: (i) record at close distances; and (ii) provide standardised photos. This study aims to provide a camera trapping method that captures standardised images of the faces of small mammals for accurate species identification, with further potential for individual identification. A novel camera trap design coined the \u27selfie trap\u27 was developed. The selfie trap is a camera contained within an enclosed PVC pipe with a modified lens that produces standardised close images of small mammal species encountered in this study, including: Brown Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii), Bush Rat (Rattus fuscipes) and Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps). Individual identification was tested on the common arboreal Sugar Glider. Five individual Sugar Gliders were identified based on unique head stripe pelage. The selfie trap is an accurate camera trapping method for capturing detailed and standardised images of small mammal species. The design described may be useful for wildlife management as a reliable method for surveying small mammal species. However, intraspecies individual identification using the selfie trap requires further testing

Evaluating modelled wildlife corridors for the movement of multiple arboreal species in a fragmented landscape

Context: In highly fragmented landscapes, arboreal mammals are limited by their ability to move and disperse between core habitats. Connectivity modelling for multiple species allows scientists to identify the most efficient movement and/or dispersal pathway(s) to prioritise for conservation efforts. Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the most cost-effective corridor pathway for eight species of arboreal mammals, with particular emphasis on an endangered population of greater gliders (Petauroides volans). Methods: We use species distribution modelling and circuit theory to calculate connectivity in the landscape for each species. An all-species corridor was then modelled using a least cost path analysis. The final corridor was evaluated for all species through ground-truthing accessible segments. Results: We identified that some segments of the corridor had low suitability for highly specialised species, and those with tree hollow requirements for denning. The all-species corridor also utilised an artificial crossing structure over a highway, and monitoring of this rope bridge found only two species (sugar gliders; Petaurus breviceps and ringtail possums; Pseudocheirus peregrinus) used the structure on occasion. Thus, the modelled corridor pathway was not suitable for all species, rather it was found to be more suitable for generalist species such as sugar gliders, ringtail possums, brown antechinus; Antechinus stuartii and brushtail possums; Trichosurus vulpecula. Conclusions: Our study exemplifies the importance of ground-truthing in connectivity conservation studies to ensure conservation outcomes are realised. Furthermore, we provide detailed recommendations for relevant conservation managers, to improve the usage of these existing habitat corridors by arboreal species

The Use of Selfie Camera Traps to Estimate Home Range and Movement Patterns of Small Mammals in a Fragmented Landscape

The use of camera traps to track individual mammals to estimate home range and movement patterns, has not been previously applied to small mammal species. Our aim was to evaluate the use of camera trapping, using the selfie trap method, to record movements of small mammals within and between fragments of habitat. In a fragmented landscape, 164 cameras were set up across four survey areas, with cameras left to record continuously for 28 nights. Live trapping was performed prior to ear mark animals to facilitate individual identification on camera. Four small mammal species (sugar glider; Petaurus breviceps; brown antechinus; Antechinus stuartii, bush rat; Rattus fuscipes, and brown rat; Rattus norvigecus) were recorded on camera (N = 284 individuals). The maximum distance travelled by an individual sugar glider was 14.66 km, antechinus 4.24 km; bush rat 1.90 km and brown rat 1.28 km. Movements of both female and male sugar gliders in linear fragments were recorded at much higher rates than in larger patches of forest sampled in grids. Short term core homes ranges (50% KDE) of 34 sugar gliders ranged from 0.3 ha to 4.2 ha. Sugar glider core home ranges were on average 1.2 ha (±0.17) for females and 2.4 ha (±0.28) for males. The selfie trap is an efficient camera trapping method for estimating home ranges and movements due to its ability to obtain high recapture rates for multiple species and individuals. In our study landscape, linear strips of habitat were readily utilised by all small mammals, highlighting their importance as wildlife corridors in a fragmented landscape