Topic Independent Identification of Agreement and Disagreement in Social Media Dialogue

Research on the structure of dialogue has been hampered for years because large dialogue corpora have not been available. This has impacted the dialogue research community's ability to develop better theories, as well as good off the shelf tools for dialogue processing. Happily, an increasing amount of information and opinion exchange occur in natural dialogue in online forums, where people share their opinions about a vast range of topics. In particular we are interested in rejection in dialogue, also called disagreement and denial, where the size of available dialogue corpora, for the first time, offers an opportunity to empirically test theoretical accounts of the expression and inference of rejection in dialogue. In this paper, we test whether topic-independent features motivated by theoretical predictions can be used to recognize rejection in online forums in a topic independent way. Our results show that our theoretically motivated features achieve 66% accuracy, an improvement over a unigram baseline of an absolute 6%.Comment: @inproceedings{Misra2013TopicII, title={Topic Independent Identification of Agreement and Disagreement in Social Media Dialogue}, author={Amita Misra and Marilyn A. Walker}, booktitle={SIGDIAL Conference}, year={2013}

Food resource competition between African wild dogs and larger carnivores in an ecosystem with artificial water provision

Predators of similar size often compete over prey. In semi-arid ecosystems where water is a limiting resource, prey availability can be affected by water distribution, which further increases resource competition and exacerbate conflict among predators. This can have implications for carnivore dietary competition. Hence, we evaluated the dynamics of food resource competition between African wild dogs and four competing predators (cheetahs, leopards, lions and spotted hyaenas) in different seasons and across areas with different waterhole densities in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. We used the frequency of occurrence of prey items found in predators’ scats to analyse diet composition, overlap and prey preference. For most predators, kudu was most frequently consumed and preferred. Low and medium water-dependent prey (medium and small-sized) were mostly consumed by wild dogs, leopards and cheetahs. Wild dog diet overlap was high with all predators, particularly with hyaenas and lions. There were no seasonal differences in the predators diet. The diet overlap of wild dogs with lions was highest in the low waterhole density area, and wild dog diet composition did not differ significantly from the diet of lions and hyaenas. In the low waterhole density area, wild dogs and hyaenas broadened their niche breadth, and predators diet had a higher proportion of low water-dependent prey. A low density of waterholes increased food resource competition. However, high density of waterholes, where there is more prey availability, can increase the aggregation and density of predators, and hence, increase the risks involved in interspecific competition on wild dogs. To reduce food resource competition on wild dogs, we propose to conserve larger-bodied prey that are less dependent on water (e.g. kudu, reedbuck, eland, gemsbok). As the use of water pumping is common practice, we propose maintaining water management heterogeneity where prey which is less dependent on water can also thrive

Trophy Hunting and Possible Source-Sink Dynamics in Protected Areas: Insights from Trophy Size and Offtake Patterns in Southeast Zimbabwe

Developing harvest management strategies in designated hunting areas requires systematic and robust monitoring. We assessed the trophy size, quota utilization, and distribution of kill sites of African elephant, Cape buffalo, greater kudu, and leopard for the period 2007-2014 in Malapati Safari Area, southeast Zimbabwe. Trophy sizes for African elephant significantly increased over time albeit being below the expected minimum Safari Club International (SCI) score. Cape buffalo trophy sizes declined significantly over time but were not different from the SCI minimum score. However, greater kudu trophy sizes were higher than the SCI minimum score despite being constant over time. Leopard trophy sizes were higher than the SCI minimum score and increased with time. Quota utilization for African elephant and Cape buffalo increased while that of greater kudu and leopard did not change between 2007 and 2014. Some kill sites, in particular, for the African elephant and Cape buffalo, were within the buffer area with the state protected area, i.e., Gonarezhou National Park. Increased hunting pressure likely leads to poor trophy quality and hunting within the protected buffer areas. In contrast, effective adherence to hunting ethics and scientifically and conservatively set quotas largely does not compromise the trophy quality of harvested species. The observed trophy size patterns and kill sites distribution suggest the possible existence of source and sink dynamics of trophy species occurring in a protected area complex within the Zimbabwe’s component of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. To ensure sustainable trophy hunting in the study area and similar ecosystems the following are recommended: (i) scientifically robust, adaptable, and participatory quota setting process, (ii) enhanced adherence to good practice in terms of ethical hunting conduct, and (iii) development of a robust hunting monitoring system covering all elements of hunting for adaptive wildlife management

Counter-strategies to infanticide : the importance of cubs in determining lion habitat selection and social interactions

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Data available from the figshare repository: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24786867.v2 (Dejeante et al., 2023).APPENDIX S1. TABLE S1.1. Coefficients (β) and standard errors (SE) for selection ratio model of lioness habitat selection for distance to water (WATER), open habitats (OPEN), and distance to the home range centroid (HR) accounting for the presence/absence of cubs within the pride (CUB; without cub = 0, with cub = 1). TABLE S1.2. Coefficients (β) and standard errors (SE) for selection ratio models of pride male habitat selection for distance to water (WATER), open habitats (OPEN), and distance to the home range centroid (HR) accounting for the presence/absence of cubs within the pride (CUB; without cub = 0, with cub = 1) and for the presence/absence of females in proximity (FEM; without female = 0, with female = 1). TABLE S1.3. Coefficients (β) and standard errors (SE) for the GLMMs testing the influence of the mean habitat openness (OPEN) and the presence of cubs (CUB) on (a) the percentage of time pride males spent in proximity with pride females, (b) the frequencies and (c) the duration of male-female proximity events. TABLE S1.4. Frequency of pride male-competitor male proximity events according to the presence of cubs within the pride (CUB) and the overlap of the utilization distributions of pride and competitor males (UD overlap). We run a log-linear regression adding a random intercept with dyad identity. TABLE S1.5. Spatial characteristics of proximity events between pride males and competitor males. TABLE S1.6. Outcome characteristics of proximity events between pride males and competitor males.APPENDIX S2. Distance-based definition of proximity events, used as proxies for social interactions. FIGURE S2.1. Methods to identify male-female interactions: comparison of male-female proximity events estimated by an univariate hidden-markov model based on the dyad distance, and estimated by a distance threshold from 100 to 5 km. FIGURE S2.2. Distance-threshold sensitivity of the duration and frequency measures describing the temporal dynamics of male-female (a, b) and male-male proximity events (c, d).APPENDIX S3. Pride male-female association. FIGURE S3.1. Locations and core home ranges of pride males (blue) and females (red), delineated from the 50% utilization distribution of a kernel-based home range estimate, using the adehabitatHR package (Calenge 2007). FIGURE S3.2. Temporal dynamic of pride male and female proximity events as a function to the size of the female core home range and to the proportion of habitats close to waterholes (i.e. <1 km) within it, according to the presence (blue) and absence (orange) of cubs within the pride. TABLE S3.1. Coefficients (β) and standard errors (SE) for selection ratio model of lioness habitat selection for distance to water (WATER), open habitats (OPEN), and distance to the home range centroid (HR) accounting for the presence/absence of cubs within the pride (CUB; without cub = 0, with cub = 1). TABLE S3.2. Coefficients (β) and standard errors (SE) for selection ratio models of pride male habitat selection for distance to water (WATER), open habitats (OPEN), and distance to the home range centroid (HR) accounting for the presence/absence of cubs within the pride (CUB; without cub = 0, with cub = 1) and for the presence/absence of females in proximity (FEM; without female = 0, with female = 1). TABLE S3.3. Coefficients (β) and standard errors (SE) for the GLMMs testing the influence of the mean habitat openness (OPEN) and the presence of cubs (CUB) on (a) the percentage of time pride males spent in proximity with pride females, (b) the frequencies and (c) the duration of male-female proximity events.APPENDIX S4. Pride male—competitor male association. FIGURE S4.1. GPS locations of female (green), male (blue) and competitor (red) lions, for each of the 30 studied triads. FIGURE S4.2. Relationship between the frequencies of proximity events between pride males and competitor males and the overlap of their utilization distribution (i.e. Bhattacharyya's affinity index) according to the presence (blue) and absence (orange) of cubs in the pride. TABLE S4.1. Frequency of pride male-competitor male proximity events according to the presence of cubs within the pride (CUB) and the overlap of the utilization distributions of pride and competitor males (UD overlap). TABLE S4.2. Spatial characteristics of proximity events between pride males and competitor males. TABLE S4.3. Outcome characteristics of proximity events between pride males and competitor males.Animal social and spatial behaviours are inextricably linked. Animal movements are driven by environmental factors and social interactions. Habitat structure and changing patterns of animal space use can also shape social interactions. Animals adjust their social and spatial behaviours to reduce the risk of offspring mortality. In territorial infanticidal species, two strategies are possible for males: they can stay close to offspring to protect them against rivals (infant-defence hypothesis) or patrol the territory more intensively to prevent rival intrusions (territorial-defence hypothesis). Here, we tested these hypotheses in African lions (Panthera leo) by investigating how males and females adjust their social and spatial behaviours in the presence of offspring. We combined datasets on the demography and movement of lions, collected between 2002 and 2016 in Hwange National Park (Zimbabwe), to document the presence of cubs (field observations) and the simultaneous movements of groupmates and competitors (GPS tracking). We showed a spatial response of lions to the presence of offspring, with females with cubs less likely to select areas close to waterholes or in the periphery of the territory than females without cubs. In contrast, these areas were more selected by males when there were cubs in the pride. We also found social responses. Males spent more time with females as habitat openness increased but the presence of cubs in the pride did not influence the average likelihood of observing males with females. Furthermore, rival males relocated further after an encounter with pride males when cubs were present in the prides, suggesting that the presence of cubs leads to a more vigorous repulsion of competitors. Males with cubs in their pride were more likely to interact with male competitors on the edge of the pride's home range and far from the waterholes, suggesting that they are particularly assiduous in detecting and repelling rival males during these periods. In general, the strategies to avoid infanticide exhibited by male lions supported the territorial-defence hypothesis. Our study contributes to answer the recent call for a behavioural ecology at the spatial-social interface.the Hwange Lion Project was supported by grants from the Robertson Foundation, the Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, a CV Starr Scholarship, the Darwin Initiative for Biodiversity grant 162/09/015, The Eppley Foundation, Disney Foundation, Marwell Preservation Trust, Regina B. Frankenburg Foundation, Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation, Panthera Foundation and the generosity of Joan and Riv Winant.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jane2025-01-04hj2024Mammal Research InstituteZoology and EntomologySDG-15:Life on lan

Missing in action: Species competition is a neglected predictor variable in species distribution modelling.

The central role of species competition in shaping community structure in ecosystems is well appreciated amongst ecologists. However species competition is a consistently missing variable in Species Distribution Modelling (SDM). This study presents results of our attempt to incorporate species competition in SDMs. We used a suit of predictor variables including Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), as well as distance from roads, settlements and water, fire frequency and distance from the nearest herbivore sighting (of selected herbivores) to model individual habitat preferences of five grazer species (buffalo, warthog, waterbuck, wildebeest and zebra) with the Ensemble SDM algorithm for Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe. Our results showed that distance from the nearest animal sighting (a proxy for competition among grazers) was the best predictor of the potential distribution of buffalo, wildebeest and zebra but the second best predictor for warthog and waterbuck. Our findings provide evidence to that competition is an important predictor of grazer species' potential distribution. These findings suggest that species distribution modelling that neglects species competition may be inadequate in explaining the potential distribution of species. Therefore our findings encourage the inclusion of competition in SDM as well as potentially igniting discussions that may lead to improving the predictive power of future SDM efforts

Data from: Counter-strategies to infanticide: the importance of cubs in determining lion habitat selection and social interactions

(1) RSF_male_data contains the data used to perform the habitat selection analysis on male lions. It contains observed and simulated points (case_), the distance to waterholes, the vegetation cover, the name of the male, the presence of cubs or not at the corresponding datetime, the male distance to the tracked female from the pride, and the distance to the home range centroid.(2) RSF_female_data contains similar information to perform the habitat selection analysis on female lions(3) Male_female_interaction contains (for the 17 male-female dyads) the coordinates of males and females, the name of the dyad, the extracted habitat variables and whether cubs are present or not at the corresponding datetime.(4) Male_competitor_interaction contains the coordinates between tracked males, females, and competitor males, with the extracted habitat variables and whether cubs are present or not at the corresponding datetime.</p

Variable importance for each species distribution model.

<p>Variable importance for each species distribution model.</p