Modelling socio-spatial movement behaviour of orangutans (Pongo abelii) in Suaq (Sumatra Utara)

The Sumatran orangutan (pongo abelii ) is a flagship species for its valuable tropical rainforest habitat, but they are critically endangered. Habitat loss and wildlife trade can bring this close relative of ours to the brink of extinction. As humans continue to remove land from its natural habitat, the spatial behavior and needs of orangutans are of particular interest. The spatial behaviour and ecology of orangutans and their ecological needs are still poorly understood. By looking at different habitats and populations, the influence of external and internal factors on orangutans can be analysed. A data set from Suaq (Sumatra Utara, Indonesia) was compared to the available literature of a second research site in Tuanan (Borneo, Indonesia). The habitats and their topography are very similar, but fruit productivity, density, and sociability are much higher in Suaq which allows us to compare the underlying ecological differences. Three spatio-temporal levels of analysis were defined: Level 1 - distance patterns, Level 2 - daily movement patterns and Level 3 - momentary movement behaviour. In the context of this work, mainly level 1 and level 2 were analysed. For the first level, the focus was on ten adult females, while for the second level results for all age and sex classes were included. For all further analyses, external and internal predictors were used to see how they influenced the movement patterns found. External factors were Fruit Availability Index, average temperature, daytime and nighttime rainfall, and a derived density of fruit tree value. Internal factors for all individuals were age-sex classes. Whereas for adult females – which were the focus of this thesis – dominance rank, age, age of current offspring and relatedness were considered. On level one, the ranging pattern over the full study period and some user-defined periods were analysed with four home range algorithms (Minimum Convex Polygon, Kernel Distance Estimation, Biased Random Bridge, Autocorrelated Kernel Density Estimation. KDE and BRB gave similar estimates and proved to be the most useful. They did not over-smooth or under-smooth the distribution and were of high quality with respect to the defined quality descriptors (e.g. number of polygons, compactness, number of holes and Area Under the Curve). The AKDE was useful to access the absolute home range sizes for smaller sample sizes and the MCP was mainly used to compare the results with other studies. The unbalanced data set in terms of time and size proved to be the main problem in analysing spatial behaviour with the present data set. A conservative approximation of about 100 animals was determined, leading to reliable range estimates. Home ranges were found to be ranging between 1.6 (algorithm: BRB, focal: Ellie) and 2.4 km2 (algorithm: BRB, focal: Cissy) which is smaller than in recent studies. Likewise were core ranges smaller than expected but seemed more stable and less dependent on sample size. Existing hypotheses that home ranges in Suaq are much bigger based on the patchiness of feeding resources than, e.g. in Tuanan could not be confirmed. Dominance, age and the number of normalised forage trees were found to have no effect on the size of the home ranges. Fruit trees can account for some larger core ranges, but in general, the normalised fruit tree value did not differ between overlaps, core ranges nor complete home ranges. The overlaps of the resulted home ranges were also compared with different algorithms. The Utilization Distribution Overlap Index (UDOI) was especially useful in estimating overlaps based on the uncertainty analysis conducted at the beginning of this thesis. Overlap percentages of home ranges were bigger than for core ranges which may indicate partial range exclusion. The total amount of relatively shared range was found to be on average 84% and for core ranges 96%. However, using the UDOI values ranged between 0.32 (focal: Yulia) and 0.7 (focal: Tiara) where 1 equals 100% overlap. Relatedness explained around 10% higher overlaps and similar dominance levels showed to explain lower values of overlaps. The higher overlap of related females may be the result of female philopatry rather than a sign of active range exclusion. The higher overlap of differing dominance rank groups may result from the enlarged home ranges of young females. On level two, 1314 follows were mainly analysed by deriving the Day-journey-length or daily total-traveled-distance (DJL) and two tortuosity indices namely, the Straightness Index (SI) and the sinuosity index. A preliminary analysis revealed that an underestimation of DJL is present, based on the chosen sampling interval. DJL was around 35% lower when GPS fixes were taken every 30 min instead of every 5 min. The discussion of how much DJL actually reflect real daily movement, which revealed that many uncertainties exist and that further research is needed (e.g. denser sampling interval, inclusion of height changes). Nonetheless, the average DJL of 885 m was found to be higher in Suaq than in Tuanan. The overall higher travel distance is mainly addressed to a more pronounced ”search and find“ strategy compared to a ”sit and wait“ strategy in Tuanan during seasons of low fruit availability. Especially flanged males tended to travel much further in Suaq (+200 m) than in Tuanan, even slightly more than adult females. Flanged males in Suaq may adjust their mating and movement strategies based on habitat productivity and social conditions. The more stable dominance hierarchy between males may be maintained by longer DJL of flanged males. This results in the greater risk of unflanged males becoming flanged males and the greater developmental arrest in Suaq compared to Tuanan can be explained. External factors like day rain and night rain, average temperatures and fruit availability did not show any impact on day journey length. This indicates a ceiling effect where fruit availability is always high enough to support high movement activities, even when variation in FAI occurs. For females, dominance did not impact the movement parameters but the age of the current offspring did. The DJL increased from around 800 m to 1000 m on average over the duration of motherhood (for every year +34 m). A very similar pattern was also found in Tuanan and probably relates to the clinging of young o↵spring at lower ages but also to an adjustment to the offspring’s energy, household and movement competence. The age of the current offspring also influenced both tortuosity indices negatively (negative in the sense of tortuosity) and showed that I actually can detect movement changes with these indices. The only other factor which explained tortuosity was the number of visited fruit trees. This could indicate that feeding tree distribution is actually slightly clumped. Furthermore, this thesis gives various backgrounds and further insights into the available data set and possible future research. E.g. about the movement activity over daytime (level 3). The immense effort of preparing the analysis and the data set is additionally described and the used methods implemented in R are openly available

Using graphical style and visibility constraints for a meaningful layout in visual programming interfaces

In the expanding field of visual applications, layout design and graphical editing tasks are crucial points. In this paper, we address the incorporation of AI aspects in the visual software design process and the automatic layout and beautification of informational graphics such as visual programs and chart diagrams. Since layout in dynamic settings frequently requires a direct manipulation responsiveness, an incremental redesign of the generated visual material is necessary. Following our previous work on constraint-based multimodal design, we show how powerful constraint processing techniques, such as constraint hierarchies and dynamic constraint satisfaction, can be applied to visual programming environments in order to maintain graphical style and consistency for a meaningful layout. We describe InLay, a system for constraint-based presenting and editing visual programs. Finally, we will have a short look at some extensions with regard to advanced interaction and visualization techniques

Systematic, digital student feedback for differentiated teaching

The article reports results from a qualitative study of Elevbaro, a prototype of a digital tool for student feedback developed in connection with the demonstration school project, Inclusion, and differentiated teaching in digital learning environments. At the same time the study represents the first step of validating Elevbaro as a systematic feedback tool. There is general consensus that feedback is central to the quality of teaching, but the focus on and the exploration of systematic student feedback is an overlooked topic. Especially as regards differentiated teaching and complex teaching patterns, there is a need for supplementary and digital monitoring of a group of students and of individual students. The article examines how students and teachers understand and use Elevbaro, which is built on frequent ratings of five set statements in connection with teaching over a certain period of time. There is reason to assume that the usage of Elevbaro affects teachers’ professional assessment of students as well as students’ reflections of their work and acquisition process. This requires an active approach to Elevbaro and the integration of the tool into the teacher’s usual assessment and teaching practice. In our view, there is didactic potential for teachers’ data-informed teaching development

Online Oral Examination During Covid-19: A Survey Study on University College Level

In Denmark, oral examination is widely used. During the first period of Covid-19 shutdown oral examination had to be carried out through video conference systems. In Denmark as well as internationally there is little research on the topic. How do students experience examination while sitting at home? How does the technology affect the practice? How do students and teachers deal with nervousness? How is the exam dialogue experienced under digital conditions? In this study we investigate students-and teachers experiences with online oral examination at a university college in Denmark. The study is based on statistical analysis of a survey and qualitative analysis of open text fields. In addition to the overall contentment with online oral examination for both students and teachers, the results indicate that there are conflicting experiences with digital oral examination.During the Covid-19 pandemic, many teachers and students were forced to hold or take online oral examinations by video conferencing. Little research has been done on this topic either internationally or in Denmark. How do students experience examinations while sitting at home? How does the technology affect practice? How do students and teachers deal with nervousness? How is the exam dialogue experienced in a digital setting? In this study, we investigate the experiences of students and teachers with online oral examinations at a university college in Denmark. The study is based on the statistical analysis of a survey and a qualitative analysis of open text fields. Despite overall satisfaction with online oral examinations on the part of both students and examiners, the results indicate that there are conflicting experiences with online oral examinations

Diversity and habitat use of understorey bats in forest and agroforestry systems at the margin of Lore Lindu National Park (Central Sulawesi, Indonesia)

Tropische Landschaften sind zunehmend durch landwirtschaftliche Flächen dominiert. Bis heute ist jedoch nur wenig bekannt, welchen Beitrag Landnutzungssystemen für den Erhalt tropischer Biodiversität leisten. Vor allem Arten in Waldfragmenten nutzen oftmals angrenzende Agroforstsysteme. In dieser Studie wird zum ersten Mal die Bedeutung dieser Landnutzungsform für Unterwuchs-Fledermausarten auf Sulawesi (Indonesien) quantifiziert. Dazu vergleichen wir die Fledermausvielfalt von Wäldern und Agroforstsystemen und testen welche Zusammenhänge zwischen Veränderungen der Fledermauszönosen und der strukturellen Habitatkomplexität bestehen. Die Freilandarbeiten wurden im Kulawi-Tal an der westlichen Grenze des Lore Lindu Nationalparks durchgeführt. Dort wurden mit Japannetzen insgesamt 13 Arten während 8.592 Netz-Meter-Stunden im Unterwuchs von Naturwäldern, Sekundärwäldern und Kakao-Agroforstsystemen mit einer von Schattenbäumen gebildeten, heterogenen bzw. sehr einförmigen Kronenschicht (N = 4 Repliken pro Habitattyp) gefangen. Das entspricht 62.2 bzw. 79.8% der geschätzten Artenvielfalt (Chao 2 bzw. second-order Jackknife). Sowohl Individuen- als auch Artenzahlen waren in den Agroforstsystemen höher als in den Wäldern. Vor allem nahe am Waldrand liegende Agroforstsysteme mit verschiedenen Schattenbäumen (Reste ehemaliger Naturwaldbäume) schienen von einem großen Anteil der vorhandenen Fledermausarten genutzt zu werden. Es konnten keine Unterschiede in der Artenzusammensetzung der einzelnen Habitattypen gefunden werden. Aufgrund der geringen Fangzahlen an den Waldstandorten sind diese Ergebnisse jedoch mit Vorsicht zu interpretieren. Die einzelnen Habitattypen unterschieden sich signifikant hinsichtlich Kronenschluss und der Anzahl großer Bäume (dbh >50 cm). Die Häufigkeit von zwei Fledermausarten (Cynopterus brachyotis und Rousettus amplexicaudatus) nahm mit zunehmendem Kronenschluss ab, die Fangrate einer weiteren Art (Rousettus celebensis) war negativ mit der Anzahl großer Bäume korreliert. Auch bei anderen Arten waren derartige Tendenzen erkennbar. Unsere Ergebnisse lassen die Vermutung zu, dass in Indonesien Kakao-Agroforstsysteme wichtige Nahrungshabitate für Fledermäuse in der Pufferzone um verbleibende Waldresten darstellen können.Tropical landscapes are increasingly dominated by agriculture. However, still little is known about the contribution of land-use systems to preserving tropical biodiversity. Particularly, species that survive in forest remnants often interact closely with these agro-ecosystems. This study quantifies for the first time the importance of agroforestry systems in maintaining species diversity of forest understorey bats in Sulawesi, Indonesia. Therefore, we compared bat diversity of forest and cacao agroforestry systems and tested how changes in bat species assemblages are related to changes of structural habitat complexity. Bats were sampled by mist-netting in the understorey of natural forest, secondary forest and cacao agroforestry systems with a heterogeneous and a homogeneous shade tree layer (N = 4 replicate sites per habitat type) in Kulawi Valley at the western margin of Lore Lindu National Park. A total of 13 species were recorded during 8,592 net-meter-hours. The richness estimators Chao 2 and second-order Jackknife indicated a completeness of our species inventories of 62.2 and 79.8%, respectively. Abundances and species richness were greater in the understorey of agroforestry systems than in forests. Especially agroforestry systems with a diverse layer of shade trees (partly remaining from the formerly logged natural forest) and embedded in the forest margin appeared to harbor a high fraction of the local bat assemblage. Species composition did not differ between habitat types; rather bat assemblages appeared to be nested. However, results have to be interpreted cautiously due to the very small sample size achieved for our forest sites. Mean canopy closure and density of tall trees (dbh >50 cm) differed significantly between habitats. The abundance of two bat species (Cynopterus brachyotis and Rousettus amplexicaudatus) was negatively affected by increasing canopy closure; the abundance of one bat species (Rousettus celebensis) was negatively correlated with the number of tall trees. Other species showed at least a similar trend of decreasing abundances with increasing canopy closure and density of large trees. Our results suggest that cacao agroforestry systems have the potential to act as important feeding habitats for bats in the buffer zone of protected forest remnants in Indonesia

To what extent is the launch of the Ultra HD Blu-Ray justified in the light of Video-on-Demand? : What technological and organizational challenges does the new disc imply?

Ultra HD spielt im Kino und bei Kameras schon länger eine Rolle. Jetzt will die Blu-Ray Disc Association mit dem neuen Standard die Wohnzimmer erobern und bringt 2016 die Ultra HD Blu-Ray auf den Markt. Neben einer erweiterten technischen Funktionsweise bringt die neue Disc viele Herausforderungen und großes Potential mit sich. Für Konsumenten stellt sich die Frage, ob sich die notwendigen Neuanschaffungen lohnen oder ob das Erfolgsmodell Video-on-Demand nicht eine bessere Alternative für 4K-Inhalte darstellt

State of the Art of Hydrogen Production via Pyrolysis of Natural Gas

Fossil fuels have to be substituted by climate neutral fuels to contribute to CO2 reduction in the future energy system. Pyrolysis of natural gas is a well‐known technical process applied for production of, e. g., carbon black. In the future it might contribute to carbon dioxide‐free hydrogen production. Production of hydrogen from natural gas pyrolysis has thus gained interest in research and energy technology in the near past. If the carbon by‐product of this process can be used for material production or can be sequestrated, the produced hydrogen has a low carbon footprint. This article reviews literature on the state of the art of methane / natural gas pyrolysis process developments and attempts to assess the technology readiness level (TRL)

Collaboration in Automotive - The Eclipse Automotive Industry Working Group

International audienceThe Automotive Industry is constantly introducing new and improved features based on advanced electronics and software. The use of these consumer electronics and software has required the automotive industry to define processes and tools that manage the interactions within an organization and within their extended supply chain. To address the growing complexity and time-to-market pressures , the automotive industry needs a common development tool-chain to support the development and testing of these new types of features. Today, many automotive companies use Eclipse to assist in the development of new features. However, a lack of integration between technology stacks, consistent use of tools throughout the supply chain and missing functionality has limited the effectiveness of create a complete development tool-chain. OEMs, 1st-tiers and consutling companies are founding the Eclipse Autmotive Industry Working Group to coordinate the activites within companies

A long-term analysis of the declining population of the Egyptian vulture in the Italian peninsula: Distribution, habitat preference, productivity and conservation implications

Between the beginning of the 1970s and the early 1990s the breeding population of the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in the Italian peninsula declined from 29 to nine breeding pairs. We analysed the main aspects of the decline of this population during the last 30 years, namely: (1) landscape structure and composition of active and extinct nesting sites; (2) changes in the land use and number of cattle within the breeding range; (3) productivity (1986-1999) of the last nine pairs breeding in the Italian peninsula. Further decline in the breeding population was probably stopped by creating artificial feeding sites and protecting the last nesting sites from direct persecution. Nearly two-thirds of the pairs laid at least one egg per year, and half of the pairs fledged at least one young per year. The mean number of fledged young was 0.99±0.66 per breeding pair, and 1.27±0.45 per successful pair. About 75% of the breeding failures occurred during incubation, and 71% were related to human activities and direct persecution. The nesting cliff occupation rate, percentage of breeding attempts that fledged at least one chick and mean number of fledged young were negatively correlated with the distance to an artificial feeding site. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe