GPS tracking in high mountain landscapes: insights into the movement ecology of female alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex L. 1758).

The three studies reported in this thesis have been conducted on the Alpine ibex population of the Marmolada-Monzoni, in the north-eastearn Italian Alps. A summary for each study is given below. Chapter I: Land morphology, season and individual activity influence GPS fix acquisition rates and location error in an alpine ungulate. The use of GPS technologies in wildlife research has greatly increased the opportunities for addressing ecological issues that affect ultimately the conservation of the species. However, in order to formulate accurate and unbiased conclusions in studies of movement ecology with GPS-tracking systems, it is necessary to understand the sources of potential bias and error associated with this technology, under specific environmental conditions and taking into account the behavioural patterns of the species monitored. In chapter I, I first present the results of a field trial with stationary collars scheduled to attempt a location fix every 30 min during 24 hours cycles. The collars were positioned in 64 locations throughout the study area in order to sample different land cover categories and topographic conditions. GPS collars performances were influenced mainly by available sky view. When sky view was higher than 70%, acquired as respect to scheduled locations were close to 100%, and location accuracy was within 10 m for 75% of acquired locations. When sky view was below 70 %, the proportion of acquired locations dropped to 75% and location error increased to within 20 m for 75% of locations acquired. I then examined a database of more than 90.000 attempted locations from 11 GPS-tagged females of Alpine ibex to assess the temporal trends in fix acquisition rate, and how it was influenced by habitat features of daily areas used, by individual activity, and by climate and weather variables. I found that fix acquisition rate was very good and scarcely variable in summer, but could drop to less than 85% during the coldest months and at night in winter. Fix acquisition rate was strongly and positively influenced by individual activity and declined, especially in winter, in periods of adverse weather and lower than average temperatures. Most probably female ibex, when inactive and seeking for shelter, use microhabitats providing cover that obstructs the satellites signal, so reducing fix acquisition rate. I concluded that, although with an adequate screening procedure for identifying outliers the accuracy of locations received from different habitat conditions may remain good, the acquired locations underestimate the use of habitats providing shelter and the periods of adverse weather. In general, the results underline the importance of combining stationary tests with tests on free-ranging animals when assessing GPS bias and accuracy in field conditions. Chapter II: Determinants of home range size across spatio-temporal scales in a high mountain ungulate. The high seasonality of Alpine habitats might have strong effects on the spatial strategies of large herbivores. In the second chapter, I obtained a database of 672 estimates of weekly home ranges (232 in summer and 440 in winter) and 160 estimates of monthly home ranges (64 in summer and 96 in winter) from 15 female ibexes, and analysed it to describe intra-annual patterns of spatial use and to asses how it was influenced by climate, food resources and individual conditions. I used the k-LoCoH method to calculate the areas used at two spatial scales: the home range (HR; calculated on 95% of locations) and the core area (CA, calculated on 50% of the locations). At all temporal and spatial scales, the areas used by females were very small in deep winter, progressively increased until a peak in mid-summer, and then dropped again. This pattern was very marked, with a 15-20-fold increase in size from the winter minimum to the summer maximum. The HR and CA size was positively correlated with daylight, but was more synchronized with indexes of climate and vegetation phenology, as absolute temperature and average NDVI of the study area. After having defined biologically meaningful seasons with a clustering approach based on step distances and habitat features associated with locations, I then analysed, within seasons and correcting for temporal trends, the effects of the stochastic variability of climatic and weather conditions and of food resources on the size of ranges used. I found that, in winter, HRs and CAs at all temporal scales decreased strongly when snow was deeper, or precipitations more abundant, while in summer they decreased with increasing food resources (indexed by the average NDVI value or proportion of vegetation in the HRs or CAs). Also slope, which I used as an index of refuge areas from predators but also of snow accumulation, had a marked negative effect on the size of areas used. In contrast, individual conditions, as age class and reproductive status, did not influence with consistent patterns the spatial behaviour of females. These results highlight the peculiar strategy of spatial use of female ibex, which appear to be extremely energy conservative in winter and aimed at optimizing the use of food resources in summer. The understanding of factors driving spatial behaviour of female ibex is fundamental to conserve key wintering areas and habitats, and to predict how future climate changes might impact on the species. Chapter III: Validation of a non-invasive technique for estimating diet quality in an alpine ungulate. In seasonal environments, the behavioural patterns of large herbivores are shaped by the availability of forage resources, which affect the individual performance and reproduction success. Faecal nitrogen (FN) and Faecal Neutral Detergent Fibre (FNDF) have been proposed as indicators of diet quality in wildlife species. In the study reported in chapter III, I aimed at evaluating the use of faecal N, and secondarily of faceal NDF, to describe patterns of diet quality in Alpine ibex. Since chemical analyses are costly and time consuming, I also verificed whether NIRS estimates of faecal N might provide results as accurate as those of chemical analyses. From late June to November, I collected fresh samples of female and male ibex faeces, which were analyzed for FN and FNDF using Chemical analysis and three different NIRS instruments with variable wavelength ranges and approach (reflectance or transmittance). In order to verify possible relationships, I also associated to each sample the NDVI index of greenness of a surrounding buffer area. NIRS analyses gave good predictions for N, and only slightly lower for NDF, provided that the instrument used operated over a wide spectral range and in reflectance. Faecal N decreased, and FNDF increased, with Julian date, suggesting a reduction in diet quality thorugh summer and autumn. Females tended to have higher FN and lower FNDF contents than males, suggesting the ability to select a diet of better quality. These patterns were best described by data from chemical analyses, but were closely approximated by those from the best NIRS method. The NDVI of the buffer area surrounding faecal samples did not influence indexes of diet quality. I concluded that FN estimated with NIRS techniques could be a useful tool for studying patterns of diet quality in Alpine ibex. The declining FN and increasing FNDF values from summer to autumn suggest that ibex do not have the ability to contrast, with alternative food sources or with increasing selectivity, the decline in vegetation quality. This emphasizes the importance of energy-saving strategies during the winter, and of exploiting the short availability of good food resources in spring

Data S1: Raw data on the plants from the Nacozari tailings

Phytostabilization is a remediation technology that uses plants for in-situ stabilization of contamination in soils and mine tailings. The objective of this study was to identify native plant species with potential for phytostabilization of the abandoned mine tailings in Nacozari, Sonora in northern Mexico. A flora of 42 species in 16 families of angiosperms was recorded on the tailings site and the abundance of the most common perennial species was estimated. Four of the five abundant perennial species showed evidence of regeneration: the ability to reproduce and establish new seedlings. A comparison of selected physicochemical properties of the tailings in vegetated patches with adjacent barren areas suggests that pH, electrical conductivity, texture, and concentration of potentially toxic elements do not limit plant distribution. For the most abundant species, the accumulation factor for most metals was <1, with the exception of Zn in two species. A short-term experiment on adaptation revealed limited evidence for the formation of local ecotypes in Prosopis velutina and Amaranthus watsonii. Overall, the results of this study indicate that five native plant species might have potential for phytostabilization of the Nacozari tailings and that seed could be collected locally to revegetate the site. More broadly, this study provides a methodology that can be used to identify native plants and evaluate their phytostabilization potential for similar mine tailings

GPS tracking in high mountain landscapes: insights into the movement ecology of female alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex L. 1758).

The three studies reported in this thesis have been conducted on the Alpine ibex population of the Marmolada-Monzoni, in the north-eastearn Italian Alps. A summary for each study is given below. Chapter I: Land morphology, season and individual activity influence GPS fix acquisition rates and location error in an alpine ungulate. The use of GPS technologies in wildlife research has greatly increased the opportunities for addressing ecological issues that affect ultimately the conservation of the species. However, in order to formulate accurate and unbiased conclusions in studies of movement ecology with GPS-tracking systems, it is necessary to understand the sources of potential bias and error associated with this technology, under specific environmental conditions and taking into account the behavioural patterns of the species monitored. In chapter I, I first present the results of a field trial with stationary collars scheduled to attempt a location fix every 30 min during 24 hours cycles. The collars were positioned in 64 locations throughout the study area in order to sample different land cover categories and topographic conditions. GPS collars performances were influenced mainly by available sky view. When sky view was higher than 70%, acquired as respect to scheduled locations were close to 100%, and location accuracy was within 10 m for 75% of acquired locations. When sky view was below 70 %, the proportion of acquired locations dropped to 75% and location error increased to within 20 m for 75% of locations acquired. I then examined a database of more than 90.000 attempted locations from 11 GPS-tagged females of Alpine ibex to assess the temporal trends in fix acquisition rate, and how it was influenced by habitat features of daily areas used, by individual activity, and by climate and weather variables. I found that fix acquisition rate was very good and scarcely variable in summer, but could drop to less than 85% during the coldest months and at night in winter. Fix acquisition rate was strongly and positively influenced by individual activity and declined, especially in winter, in periods of adverse weather and lower than average temperatures. Most probably female ibex, when inactive and seeking for shelter, use microhabitats providing cover that obstructs the satellites signal, so reducing fix acquisition rate. I concluded that, although with an adequate screening procedure for identifying outliers the accuracy of locations received from different habitat conditions may remain good, the acquired locations underestimate the use of habitats providing shelter and the periods of adverse weather. In general, the results underline the importance of combining stationary tests with tests on free-ranging animals when assessing GPS bias and accuracy in field conditions. Chapter II: Determinants of home range size across spatio-temporal scales in a high mountain ungulate. The high seasonality of Alpine habitats might have strong effects on the spatial strategies of large herbivores. In the second chapter, I obtained a database of 672 estimates of weekly home ranges (232 in summer and 440 in winter) and 160 estimates of monthly home ranges (64 in summer and 96 in winter) from 15 female ibexes, and analysed it to describe intra-annual patterns of spatial use and to asses how it was influenced by climate, food resources and individual conditions. I used the k-LoCoH method to calculate the areas used at two spatial scales: the home range (HR; calculated on 95% of locations) and the core area (CA, calculated on 50% of the locations). At all temporal and spatial scales, the areas used by females were very small in deep winter, progressively increased until a peak in mid-summer, and then dropped again. This pattern was very marked, with a 15-20-fold increase in size from the winter minimum to the summer maximum. The HR and CA size was positively correlated with daylight, but was more synchronized with indexes of climate and vegetation phenology, as absolute temperature and average NDVI of the study area. After having defined biologically meaningful seasons with a clustering approach based on step distances and habitat features associated with locations, I then analysed, within seasons and correcting for temporal trends, the effects of the stochastic variability of climatic and weather conditions and of food resources on the size of ranges used. I found that, in winter, HRs and CAs at all temporal scales decreased strongly when snow was deeper, or precipitations more abundant, while in summer they decreased with increasing food resources (indexed by the average NDVI value or proportion of vegetation in the HRs or CAs). Also slope, which I used as an index of refuge areas from predators but also of snow accumulation, had a marked negative effect on the size of areas used. In contrast, individual conditions, as age class and reproductive status, did not influence with consistent patterns the spatial behaviour of females. These results highlight the peculiar strategy of spatial use of female ibex, which appear to be extremely energy conservative in winter and aimed at optimizing the use of food resources in summer. The understanding of factors driving spatial behaviour of female ibex is fundamental to conserve key wintering areas and habitats, and to predict how future climate changes might impact on the species. Chapter III: Validation of a non-invasive technique for estimating diet quality in an alpine ungulate. In seasonal environments, the behavioural patterns of large herbivores are shaped by the availability of forage resources, which affect the individual performance and reproduction success. Faecal nitrogen (FN) and Faecal Neutral Detergent Fibre (FNDF) have been proposed as indicators of diet quality in wildlife species. In the study reported in chapter III, I aimed at evaluating the use of faecal N, and secondarily of faceal NDF, to describe patterns of diet quality in Alpine ibex. Since chemical analyses are costly and time consuming, I also verificed whether NIRS estimates of faecal N might provide results as accurate as those of chemical analyses. From late June to November, I collected fresh samples of female and male ibex faeces, which were analyzed for FN and FNDF using Chemical analysis and three different NIRS instruments with variable wavelength ranges and approach (reflectance or transmittance). In order to verify possible relationships, I also associated to each sample the NDVI index of greenness of a surrounding buffer area. NIRS analyses gave good predictions for N, and only slightly lower for NDF, provided that the instrument used operated over a wide spectral range and in reflectance. Faecal N decreased, and FNDF increased, with Julian date, suggesting a reduction in diet quality thorugh summer and autumn. Females tended to have higher FN and lower FNDF contents than males, suggesting the ability to select a diet of better quality. These patterns were best described by data from chemical analyses, but were closely approximated by those from the best NIRS method. The NDVI of the buffer area surrounding faecal samples did not influence indexes of diet quality. I concluded that FN estimated with NIRS techniques could be a useful tool for studying patterns of diet quality in Alpine ibex. The declining FN and increasing FNDF values from summer to autumn suggest that ibex do not have the ability to contrast, with alternative food sources or with increasing selectivity, the decline in vegetation quality. This emphasizes the importance of energy-saving strategies during the winter, and of exploiting the short availability of good food resources in spring.Questa tesi riporta I risultati di tre studi condotti sulla colonia di stambecco alpino dei gruppi “Marmolada-Monzoni”. Una sintesi per ciascuno studio è riportata di seguito. Contributo I: Morfologia del suolo, stagione e attività individuale influenzano la probabilità di acquisizione e l’errore associato alle localizzazioni con sistema GPS in un ungulato alpino. L'applicazione della tecnologia “GPS-tracking” nella ricerca sulla fauna selvatica ha offerto nuove, ampie opportunità per affrontare questioni ecologiche che riguardano in definitiva la conservazione delle specie. Tuttavia, per sfruttare a pieno le potenzialità della tecnologia e formulare conclusioni corrette, è necessario approfondire le conoscenze sulle cause di errore in essa implicite, nelle specifiche condizioni ambientali e con le specie su cui si opera. Nel primo capitolo, ho studiato come le peculiarità dell’ambiente alpino e il comportamento di femmine di stambecco influiscano sulla probabilità di acquisizione delle localizzazioni e sulla loro accuratezza. Ho prima condotto una prova sul campo, utilizzando collari programmati a tentare una localizzazione (fix) ogni 30 minuti durante cicli di 24 ore, e posizionati in 64 punti, di cui era stata determinata la posizione con un errore di 2.0 (ds = 2.8) m, scelti in modo da rappresentare le diverse condizioni di cielo visibile e di vegetazione (bosco o area aperta) dell’area occupata dalle femmine di stambecco oggetto del mio studio. Le prestazioni dei collari sono state influenzate soprattutto dalla percentuale di cielo visibile (skyview). Con skyview superiori al 70%, le localizzazioni acquisite sono state prossime al 100% di quelle attese, e l’errore di localizzazione si è mantenuto entro i 10 m per il 75% di esse. Con skyview minori di tale soglia, tuttavia, le localizzazioni acuisite sono scese al 75% di quelle attese e l’errore è aumentato fino a 20 m, sempre per il 75% delle localizzazioni. Ho poi analizzato un database di oltre 85.000 localizzazioni tentate, su 11 femmine munite di collare GPS durante un periodo di tre anni, al fine di individuare l’effetto delle caratteristiche ambientali dell’area usata giornalmente, del livello di attività degli animali (misurato dai sensori di movimento dei collari), e della variabilità climatica e meteorologica sulla probabilità di acquisizione delle localizzazioni attese. In estate, tale probabilità è rimasta molto buona (intorno al 95%) durante tutti i mesi e nell’arco di tutta la giornata. In inverno, invece, è diminuita fino a meno dell’85% nei mesi più freddi e nelle ore notturne. L’attività degli animali ha influenzato positivamente la probabilità di acquisizione delle localizzazioni, che è stata invece penalizzata dalle giornate con precipitazioni e da temperature inferiori alla media del periodo, soprattutto d’inverno. L’effetto positivo dell’attività si spiega molto probabilmente con il fatto che gli animali, quando sono attivi per spostarsi o per alimentarsi, tendono a frequentare aree aperte, mentre quando sono inattivi, sia di notte che di giorno se cercano rifugio dalle intemperie, tendono a frequentare aree riparate dove la skyview diminuisce. In conclusione, sebbene con un adeguato screening per eliminare gli outliers dalle localizzazioni ricevute sia possibile assicurare una buona accuratezza dei fix provenienti da habitat diversi, le localizzazioni ricevute sottostimano l’uso di habitat che forniscono riparo e i periodi climaticamente sfavorevoli. In generale, inoltre, i risultati di questo contributo sottolineano l’importanza di abbinare alle prove con collari statici anche l’analisi di database provenienti dagli animali oggetto di studio, al fine di individuare meglio i fattori che influiscono sulle prestazioni della tecnologia. Contributo II: Fattori determinanti le variazioni dell’home range a diverse scale spazio-tamporali in un ungulato Alpino L'elevata stagionalità degli ambienti alpini può incidere fortemente sulle strategie di uso dello spazio da parte dei grandi erbivori che le abitano. Nel secondo contributo ho prodotto e utilizzato un database di 672 home range settimanali (232 in estate and 440 in inverno) e uno di 160 home range mensili (64 in estate e 96 in inverno), derivante dal monitoraggio con collari GPS di 15 femmine di stambecco alpino nell’arco di tre anni, per individuare i pattern di variazione intra-annuale delle aree usate individualmente e per verificare come le variabili climatiche, gli indici di disponibilità alimentare, e fattori individuali agissero su tali pattern. Ho utilizzato, per il calcolo delle aree usate, il metodo k-LoCoH con due scale spaziali: l’home range (HR, calcolato sul 95% delle localizzazioni) e la core area (CA, calcolata sul 50% delle localizzazioni). Con tutte le scale temporali e spaziali, le aree usate dalle femmine sono risultate molto ridotte in inverno, per aumentare poi progressivamente fino a un picco in estate, e diminuire poi nuovamente. Questo andamento si è rivelato molto marcato, con un aumento fino a 15-20 volte di dimensione degli HR e delle CA passando dal minimo invernale al massimo estivo. L’area degli HR e delle CA è risultata così correlata positivamente con il fotoperiodo, ma le sue variazioni si sono sincronizzate maggiormente con l’andamento della temperatura e dell’indice NDVI medio dell’area di studio. Successivamente, dopo aver individuato stagioni biologicamente sensate sulla base di una cluster analisi della “step distance” e delle variabili ambientali associate alle localizzazioni, ho analizzato HR e CA, entro stagione e correggendo per il trend temporale, al fine di verificare gli efetti della varibilità stocastica degli indici climatici, degli indici di abbondanza trofica, e delle caratteristiche individuali degli animali. Le aree di HR a CA sono risultate negativamente influenzate dalla variabilità del manto nevoso o dall’abbondanza delle precipitazioni in inverno, e dalla disponibilità alimentare individuale (indicizzata dall’NDVI medio o dalla prevalenza di vegetazione su rocce e ghiaioni entro HR e CA). Anche la pendenza, che può indicare la disponibilità di zone di rifugio, ha influito negativamente sull’area di HR e CA. Invece, i fattori individuali, cioè la classe di età e lo stato di lattazione o meno, non hanno influito in misura apprezzabile sul comportamento spaziale. Questi risultati sottolineano la peculiarità delle strategie di uso dello spazio da parte delle femmine di stambecco alpino, che appaiono estremamente conservative nei riguardi dei dispendi energetici d’inverno e improntate a ottimizzare l’uso delle risorse alimentari, anche con rilevanti spostamenti, durante l’estate. La comprensione dei fattori che determinano tali strategie è di fondamentale importanza per la conservazione di aree e habitat chiave e per prevedere come la specie possa reagire al loro modificarsi, ad esempio in seguito al cambiamento climatico. Contributo III: Validazione di una tecnica non invasiva per la stima indiretta della qualità della dieta in un ungulato alpino Uno dei principali fattori che determinano i modelli di comportamento dei grandi erbivori è il variare stagionale della disponibilità di risorse alimentari, soprattutto in ambienti estremi come quelli frequentati dallo stambecco alpino. I contenuti fecali di azoto (FN) e, in minor misura, di NDF (FNDF) sono stati suggeriti come indicatori della qualità della dieta negli erbivori selvatici. Lo studio considerato dal terzo contributo ha valutato l’uso di questi indicatori per descrivere i pattern di qualità della dieta di stambecchi maschi e femmine dall’inizio dell’estate all’autunno. Dato che le analisi chimiche sono onerose in termini di costi e tempo richiesto, lo studio ha anche verificato in che misura i dati provenienti da strumenti NIRS diversi per ampiezza della gamma spettrale e per principio (riflettanza o assorbanza) potessero sostituire quelli dell’analisi chimica. Da giugno avanzato fino a novembre ho raccolto campioni freschi di feci di stambecchi maschi e femmine, su tutta l’area occupata dalla colonia. I campioni sono stati poi analizzati per N e NDF con metodo chimico tradizionale e con NIRS. Le predizioni NIRS sono risultate soddisfacenti, soprattutto per l’N, solo con lo strumento caratterizzato da ampia banda (350-1050 nm) e basato sulla riflettanza. I valori di FN sono diminuiti con il crescere della data giuliana, e quelli di FNDF sono aumentati, suggerendo un progressivo peggioramento della qualità della dieta ingerita da entrambi i sessi. Le femmine hanno tuttavia tendenzialmente mostrato valori di FN superiori e di FNDF inferiori a quelli dei maschi. Anche se questi andamenti sono stati descritti nella maniera più puntuale dai dati dell’analisi chimica, i dati prodotti dallo strumento NIRS rivelatosi più affidabile hanno prodotto patterns molto simili. Al fine di evidenziare eventuali correlazioni, ciascun campione fecale era stato caratterizzato anche con il valore medio dell’indice NDVI di un’area buffer circostante la sua localizzazione. Tuttavia, nessuna relazione è stata trovata tra indici di qualità della dieta e NDVI. In conclusione, i risultati ottenuti dimostrano che adeguate tecnologie NIRS possono sostituire le analisi chimiche per la stima dell’N e dell’NDF fecali. I patterns osservati per questi indicatori suggeriscono che, anche se le femmine sembrano capaci di selezionare una dieta migliore di quella dei maschi, entrambi i sessi sperimentano nel corso dell’estate e dell’autunno un declino progressivo della qualità della dieta ingerita. Questo risultato sottolinea l’importanza delle strategie di riduzione dei dispendi energetici messe in atto dalla specie in inverno, sia di quelle intese a massimizzare l’uso delle risorse trofiche messe in atto durante la primavera

Individual Activity Interacts with Climate and Habitat Features in Influencing GPS Telemetry Performance in an Alpine Herbivore

Global Positioning System (GPS) telemetry allows to monitor large herbivores in Alpine habitats that are difficult or impossible to access by humans. However, little is known about the factors influencing the performance of GPS telemetry in these habitats. We used stationary test collars and a data set of over 90,000 attempted locations from 11 collared free-ranging Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex) females to quantify the loss of scheduled locations and accuracy of GPS telemetry at the high-elevation habitats of the Marmolada massif (eastern Italian Alps). In both tests the fix acquisition rates and proportions of 3D fixes averaged near 90%. After removing outliers, the estimated location error in stationary collar tests was within 10 m for 75% of 3D locations and within 20 m for 75% of 2D locations. In both tests, sky view determined by terrain morphology was the main habitat feature influencing the performance of GPS telemetry, while forest had only minor effects compared to open ground. Both fix acquisition rates and proportions of 3D fixes in free-ranging ibexes were lowest (close to 85%) in winter and highest (close to 95%) in summer, and exhibited contrasting seasonal diel patterns, being lowest during the night and highest at midday in winter, and lowest at midday and highest at dawn and dusk in summer. Fix acquisition rates and proportions of 3D fixes were positively influenced by individual activity, warm temperatures in winter, absence of precipitation in all seasons, and shallow snow depth in winter. These effects could explain the seasonal and diel patterns. The performance of GPS telemetry of large herbivores at Alpine habitats can be as good as or better than in forested habitats at low elevations. However, acquired locations underestimate inactive periods in sheltered habitats, especially in winter and in adverse weather conditions

The potential use of Piptatherum miliaceum for the phytomanagement of mine tailings in semiarid areas: Role of soil fertility and plant competition

Phytomanagement in terms of phytostabilisation has been proposed as a suitable technique to decrease the environmental risks of metal(loid) enriched mine tailings. Nevertheless, at these sites some issues must be solved to assure the long-term establishment of vegetation (e.g. salinity, low fertility, metal(loid) phytotoxicity, etc.) The objective of this study was to assess the effects of the addition of a municipal solid waste on a mine tailings soil and on the growth and metal(loid) accumulation of a grass plant species (Piptatherum miliaceum). In addition, the effects of intra-specific interactions were evaluated. A pot experiment was performed during 8 months, including two soil treatments: the mine soil and its combination with municipal solid wastes. For each treatment, pots without plants, pots with one plant, and pots with two plants were arranged. The addition of municipal solid wastes improved the soil fertility and plant growth in the mine soil, but also increased the mobile fractions of Zn, Pb, Cd, Mn and Ni. Plants in the amended treatments showed better nutritional status (higher P and K). Stable isotope δ15N was associated to the better nutritional status, while δ13C and δ18O indicated higher photosynthetic efficiency and stomatal conductance in amended treatments. Although the accumulation in leaves of most metal(loid)s decreased with the municipal waste application, the concentrations in both treatments did not exceed toxic limits for fodder. There was an effect of intra-specific competition in plant growth, probably due to lack of nutrients in the mining soil or limited pots volume in the treatments with municipal waste

NDVI from Landsat 8 Vegetation Indices to Study Movement Dynamics of Capra Ibex in Mountain Areas

In this study we analyse the correlation between the spatial positions of <i>Capra ibex</i> (mountain goat) on an hourly basis and the information obtained from vegetation indices extracted from Landsat 8 datasets. Eight individuals were tagged with a collar with a GNSS receiver and their position was recorded every hour since the beginning of 2013 till 2014 (still ongoing); a total of 16 Landsat 8 cloud-free datasets overlapped that area during that time period. All images were brought to a reference radiometric level and NDVI was calculated. To assess behaviour of animal movement, NDVI values were extracted at each position (i.e. every hour). A daily "area of influence" was calculated by spatially creating a convex hull perimeter around the 24 points relative to each day, and then applying a 120 m buffer (figure 4). In each buffer a set of 24 points was randomly chosen and NDVI values again extracted. Statistical analysis and significance testing supported the hypothesis of the pseudo-random NDVI values to be have, in average, lower values than the real NDVI values, with a <i>p</i> value of 0.129 for not paired <i>t</i> test and <i>p</i> value of < 0.001 for pairwise <i>t</i> test. This is still a first study which will go more in depth in near future by testing models to see if the animal movements in different periods of the year follow in some way the phenological stage of vegetation. Different aspects have to be accounted for, such as the behaviour of animals when not feeding (e.g. resting) and the statistical significance of daily distributions, which might be improved by analysing broader gaps of time

Methodological considerations for the use of faecal nitrogen to assess diet quality in ungulates: The Alpine ibex as a case study

Faecal indices are used to describe spatiotemporal patterns of diet quality in wild herbivores, and near infrared spectroscopy methods (NIRS) distinctively reduce costs and labour compared to conventional chemical analyses. In this study we compared the prediction accuracy of faecal nitrogen (N), ash and fibrous fractions of a laboratory instrument (NIRS) with that of a lightweight portable instrument (VisNIRS) using faecal samples of Alpine ibex (Capra ibex). We then compared how different indices based on faecal N and fibrous fractions were able to detect the expected temporal trend and difference between sexes in diet quality, and verified whether the presumably lower accuracy of NIRS and VisNIRS (compared to wet chemistry) influenced the ability of indices to detect such trends. The laboratory NIRS was more accurate than the portable VisNIRS, especially for fibrous fractions. Predicted data from both instruments clearly identified the temporal trend identified by chemically analysed data, but only NIRS identified the small difference between sexes. Expressing faecal N as a proportion of organic matter (OM) or neutral detergent fibre (NDF) improved the power of the index as compared to expressing it as a proportion of dry matter (DM), irrespective of the method used to estimate the data. Faecal NDF contents followed the patterns expected from the variation of faecal N, while faecal acid detergent fibre (ADF) and especially lignin (ADL) followed contradictory patterns, which might be due to a selection of different forage sources rather than to changing quality of a homogenous forage source. We conclude that expressing faecal N as a proportion of OM is advised with wild herbivores faeces, where ash content can be biased by accidental soil contamination or ingestion. Faecal fibrous fractions are useful to complement faecal N and to avoid simplified interpretations of the results. For this purpose, NIRS methods can be extremely useful to predict multiple indices on large numbers of samples. VisNIRS portable instruments might be unable to detect subtle biological patterns in small numbers of samples. However, developing procedures for portable instruments outside laboratory facilities might further improve practicability, cost effectiveness, and, through allowing onfield predictions on large numbers of samples, power of statistical testing of diet quality indices