Avifauna Ethological Response to Unmanned Aircraft Systems

This study investigated the ethological response of avifauna to the operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Proliferation of consumer, commercial, and military applications of UAS have provided environmental managers a new tool to use in their discipline. However, it has also promoted the need for critical examination of the effects UAS may have on existing natural resource practices, such as the management of avifauna populations. While this technology has largely been regarded as a beneficial new tool for efforts like wildlife population monitoring, it is not without potential effects to target species. This is particularly relevant to birds which share use of a common habitat feature with UAS operators – airspace. Research objectives for this project included: (1) determining how avifauna will respond to UAS operation, (2) quantify which taxonomic groups of birds have been exposed to UAS to-date, (3) identifying factors that influence the behavioral interaction, and (4) investigating the role of setback distance, or buffers, to mitigate any negative effects to birds. To accomplish this, I conducted a comprehensive literature review and metanalysis of the current body of literature reporting interactions between UAS and avifauna, distributed an original survey to US Department of the Interior Remote Pilots regarding their field observations of avifauna while flying UAS missions, and I investigated the regulatory framework for people or organizations who desire or are required to legally operate UAS within the proximate vicinity of bird species. My efforts concluded: (1) birds can respond mildly to severely, evasively or antagonistically, to the operation of UAS, (2) 87 bird species have been documented interacting with UAS as of early 2018, (3) factors of each interaction component [bird, drone, and environment] are all important variables in determining the type of reactions seen, and (4) as a general rule the implementation of a 100-meter buffer between avifauna and UAS operations should sufficiently avoid or mitigate any behavioral impacts (e.g., disturbance) to those target species. This research may serve to inform future research and regulatory mechanisms developed around the safe operation of UAS in tandem with good conservation practices for the avifauna that now shares airspace with human beings in a new way

A responsabilidade civil das plataformas de vendas digitais à luz do marco civil da internet

O presente estudo tem por objetivo analisar os institutos da responsabilidade civil, relacionando-os com a realidade contemporânea do comércio eletrônico, e das plataformas de vendas digitais. O escopo da pesquisa é analisar de quais maneiras o Marco Civil da Internet foi benéfico, ou não, para com as novas práticas virtuais especialmente no que tange à responsabilização Civil

Invaded Invaders: Infection of Invasive Brown Treesnakes on Guam by an Exotic Larval Cestode with a Life Cycle Comprised of Non-Native Hosts

Background: Multiple host introductions to the same non-native environment have the potential to complete life cycles of parasites incidentally transported with them. Our goal was to identify a recently detected parasitic flatworm in the invasive Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on the remote Pacific island of Guam. We considered possible factors influencing parasite transmission, and tested for correlations between infection status and potential indicators of host fitness. We used genetic data from the parasite and information about the native ranges of other possible non-native hosts to hypothesize how it arrived on Guam and how its life cycle may be currently supported. Methods: We identified the parasite by comparing larval morphology and mtDNA sequences with other Pseudophyllid tapeworms. We assessed probability of infection in individual snakes using logistic regression and examined different factors influencing presence of parasites in hosts. Results: We identified the parasite as the pseudophyllid cestode Spirometra erinaceieuropaei, with all sampled worms from multiple snakes sharing a single mtDNA haplotype. Infection appears to be limited to the only freshwater watershed on the island, where infection prevalence was high (77.5%). Larger snakes had a higher probability of being infected, consistent with the chronic nature of such infections. While infection status was positively correlated with body condition, infected snakes tended to have lower intra-peritoneal fat body mass, potentially indicating a negative effect on energy stores. Conclusions: We discovered that B. irregularis inhabiting a small area of forested habitat in a freshwater watershed on Guam are often infected by a novel parasite of Asian origin. While further work is needed, this species of Spirometra, itself a non-native species, likely depends on a suite of recently introduced hosts from different parts of the world to complete the life cycle. This baseline study provides little evidence of any effects on host fitness, but additional data are needed to more thoroughly explore the consequences of infection in this invasive snake population