Assessing Mammal and Bird Biodiversity and Habitat Occupancy of Tiger Prey in the Hukaung Valley of Northern Myanmar

I used results from camera traps set for tigers (Panthera tigris) during 2001-2011 in the Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary of northern Myanmar to assess overall biodiversity of large mammal and bird species, and to identify differences in photo rates inside and outside of the most protected core area of the Sanctuary. A total of 403 camera stations were deployed during October-July in the dry seasons of 2001-2011, 260 inside the Core area and 143 Outside. From 10,750 trap-nights I obtained 2,077 independent photos of wildlife species and 699 of domestic animals and humans, including 35 species of wild mammals (19 carnivores, 4 primates, 1 elephant, 6 even-toed ungulates, 1 pangolin, and 4 rodents) and 16 species of wild birds. Of these, 1 is considered critically endangered, 7 are endangered, 11 are vulnerable, and 5 are nearly threatened. Some species that probably occur in the Sanctuary (e.g., arboreal or semi-aquatic mammals) were not photographed, likely because of camera placement. In total, 48 wild species were photographed in the Core area vs. only 33 at locations Outside of the core area. Generally, few photos of any domestic animal species were obtained inside 9 the Core area, and no photos insurgents were obtained there, but many more photos of poachers and villagers, but also park rangers, were obtained there. Increased patrol efforts may have helped maintain species presence in the Core area, but differences in photo rates between areas were likely mostly influenced by differences in elevation, slope, density of streams, trails, and roads, and perhaps vegetative cover type. Tiger abundance is most influenced naturally by prey availability and anthropogenically by poaching. In the Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Myanmar, a major conservation area established to protect tigers, tiger presence has declined. This study was conducted to assess habitat occupancy and distribution of principal tiger prey species in the Core part of the Sanctuary by surveying for sign on 1650.9 km partitioned into 554 sampling units during November 2007 and May 2008. Using standard occupancy model in the program PRESENCE (6.2), habitat occupancy and detection probabilities were predicted and the best candidate model for each species was selected using the Akaike information criterion (AIC). By incorporating 7 environmental and 4 social covariates, the predicted habitat occupancy rates were 0.76 (SE=0.196, naïve estimate = 0.5162) for gaur (Bos gaurus), 0.91 (SE=0.03, naïve estimate = 0.7762) for sambar (Rusa unicolor), 0.57 (SE = 0.003, naïve estimate = 0.3195) for wild pigs (Sus scrofa) and 0.89 (SE = 0.001, naïve estimate = 0.7996) for muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak). Overall, shorter Euclidean distances to ranger stations and trails, decreased stream density, and broadleaved evergreen/semi-deciduous forest and relatively rare rain-fed cropland habitat occurrence positively influenced prey habitat occupancy; conversely, shorter Euclidean distances to villages, roads, and streams, higher elevations, and occurrence of mixed broadleaved and needle-leaved forest habitat 10 negatively influenced occupancy. In addition, Euclidean distance to ranger stations, trails, and roads positively affections species detections, whereas shorter Euclidean distance to villages and streams, high elevations, and high precipitation negatively affected detections. Results indicate that all four prey species were relatively well-distributed through the Sanctuary Core area. However, comparisons with tiger and prey indices of abundance elsewhere suggest that prey density is low and would not likely support many tigers

Seepage and Slope Stability Analysis of Myittha Multipurpose Dam Project, Gangaw Township, Magway Region, Myanmar

Myittha Multipurpose Dam Project is constructed on Myittha River to be implemented for hydropower production of installed power 40 MW and average annual energy 170 million kWh for regional development and irrigation network of 12,000 acres. Myittha dam has two portions of embankment: main dam (rockfill zone type) and long saddle dam (homogeneous type). The purpose of this paper is the evaluation of seepage and slope stability conditions of Myittha embankments (Myanmar) based on three different cases of operations: end of construction before filling the reservoir, steady state seepage and rapid drawdown of the reservoir. Seepage and slope stability analysis were done in two ways: analytical and computer approaches. Analytically, seepage analysis was done by using Laplace equation based on Darcy's law and slope stability analysis was done by using Ordinary Method of Slices and Bishop Simplified Method. This analytical approach was used to access based on the earthen dam details and geotechnical design parameters of embankment materials. On this research, SLOPE/W and SEEP/W soft-wares were used as computer approach. The analysis results presented in this research confirm the safety of Myittha dam against combined seepage and slope stability under all cases of operation

Measurement Analysis of Specific Absorption Rate in Human Body Exposed to a Base Station Antenna by Using Finite Difference Time Domain Techniques

The system analysis of specific absorption rate (SAR) in human body exposed to a base station antenna by using finite difference time domain techniques was presented in this research works. The objectives of this work are to evaluate the knowledge and awareness about SAR among human body and mobile base station. The paper investigates the electromagnetic wave absorption inside a human body. The human body has been identified using dataset based on 2D object considering different electrical parameters.The SAR convinced inside the human body model exposed to a radiating base station antenna (BSA) has been considered for multiple numbers of carrier frequencies and input power of 20 W/carrier at GSM 900 band.The distance (R) of human body from BSA is varied in the range of 0.1 m to 5.0 m. For the number of carrier frequency equal to one and R = 0.1 m,the concentrated value of whole-body average SAR obtained by FDTD technique is found to be 0.68 W/kg which decreases either with increase of R or decrease of number of carrier frequencies. Safety distance for general public is found to be 1.5 m for number of carrier frequencies equal to one.The performance accuracy of this analysis meets the high level condition by comparing with the relevant system development in recent time

Research on Self-balancing Two Wheels Mobile Robot Control System Analysis

The paper presents the research on self-balancing two-wheels mobile robot control system analysis with experimental studies. The research problem in this work is to stabilize the mobile robot with self-control and to carry the sensitive things without failing in a long span period. The main objective of this study is to focus on the mathematical modelling of mobile robot from laboratory scale to real world applications. The numerical expression with mathematical modelling is very important to control the mobile robot system with linearization. The fundamental concepts of dynamic system stability were utilized for maintaining the stability of the constructed mobile robot system. The controller design is also important for checking the stability and the appropriate controller design is proportional, integral,and derivative – PID controller and Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR). The steady state error could be reduced by using such kind of PID controller.The simulation of numerical expression on mathematical modeling was conducted in MATLAB environments. The confirmation results from the simulation techniques were applied to construct the hardware design of mobile robot system for practical study. The results from simulation approaches and experimental approaches are matched in various kinds of analyses. The constructed mobile robot system was designed and analyzed in the control system design laboratory of Yangon Technological University (YTU)

Predicting biodiversity richness in rapidly changing landscapes: climate, low human pressure or protection as salvation?

Rates of biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia are among the highest in the world, and the Indo-Burma and South-Central China Biodiversity Hotspots rank among the world’s most threatened. Developing robust multi-species conservation models is critical for stemming biodiversity loss both here and globally. We used a large and geographically extensive remote-camera survey and multi-scale, multivariate optimization species distribution modelling to investigate the factors driving biodiversity across these two adjoining biodiversity hotspots. Four major findings emerged from the work. (i) We identified clear spatial patterns of species richness, with two main biodiverse centres in the Thai-Malay Peninsula and in the mountainous region of Southwest China. (ii) Carnivores in particular, and large ungulates to a lesser degree, were the strongest indicators of species richness. (iii) Climate had the largest effect on biodiversity, followed by protected status and human footprint. (iv) Gap analysis between the biodiversity model and the current system of protected areas revealed that the majority of areas supporting the highest predicted biodiversity are not protected. Our results highlighted several key locations that should be prioritized for expanding the protected area network to maximize conservation effectiveness. We demonstrated the importance of switching from single-species to multi-species approaches to highlight areas of high priority for biodiversity conservation. In addition, since these areas mostly occur over multiple countries, we also advocate for a paradigmatic focus on transboundary conservation planning.The majority of the team, as well as the data, were part of the core WildCRU effort supported principally by a Robertson Foundation grant to DWM

Design and Implementation of High Gain High Stability Power Amplifier for X band Radar Transmitter

Power Amplifier (PA) is an important part of transmitter’s front end. The main function is to amplify extremely high gain high stability power amplifier for radar transmitter. In this paper, PA used in transmitter portion of radar is designed and implemented. DC biasing, stability checking and input/output impedance matching of the RF transistor design procedures are considered. The stability analysis of power amplifiers is one of the most critical and the most challenging aspects of power amplifier design. Stability analysis is shown an analysis technique, which accurately predicts the oscillations in power amplifiers. The power amplifier (PA) design project is simulated with Electronic Workbench Multisim8 software. The simulation results are considered on the frequency used in 9.35GHz of X-band