The home range sizes of 10 adult male chamois were studied in association with the spatial distribution of intensively used food patches and rest sites in two contrasting areas, in the Maritime Alps Regional Park (a “rich habitat”, in... more
The home range sizes of 10 adult male chamois were studied in association
with the spatial distribution of intensively used food patches and rest sites in two
contrasting areas, in the Maritime Alps Regional Park (a “rich habitat”, in terms of
vegetation and habitat features) and Gran Paradiso National Park (a “poor habitat”). Radiotelemetry was used to locate chamois for which the time budget and
feeding behaviour were recorded. Preferred sites for feeding were assessed monthly through the relative redundancy of usage of all home range sites. In both study
areas, only the number of peripheral preferred sites for feeding influenced the
home range size. An increase in the mean distance of peripheral preferred sites
for feeding from the home range centre was associated with an increase in home
range size in the “rich habitat”, but not in the “poor habitat” where other factors
were probably involved (e.g. female availability in the mating season).
Background: Household dietary diversity is an attractive proxy indicator for the food accessibilityin the household. A more diversified diet is an important outcome in areas such as child birthweight, anthropometric status, and improved... more
Background: Household dietary diversity is an attractive proxy indicator for the food accessibilityin the household. A more diversified diet is an important outcome in areas such as child birthweight, anthropometric status, and improved haemoglobin concentrations in women ofreproductive age group. Dietary diversity at the household or individual level makes it possible toexamine food accessibility and ultimately security at the household and intra-household levels.Objective: To assess the intra-household dietary diversity of rural women of reproductive agegroup to identify the accessibility of different food groups in their community. Study Area:Chiraigaon community development block of Varanasi district of Uttar Pradesh. Study Design:Community based cross sectional design. Study Sample: 610 Non pregnant women ofreproductive age group (15-49 years). Sampling Methodology: The required sample size wasselected by adopting multi stage random sampling procedure. Tools and Techniques of t...
Usually, biospeleological studies focus on cave-specialist taxa showing strong adaptation to the subterranean environment, as their unusual morphological and ecological features represent intriguing case studies. On the other hand,... more
Usually, biospeleological studies focus on cave-specialist taxa showing strong adaptation to the subterranean environment, as their unusual morphological and ecological features represent intriguing case studies. On the other hand, species occurring in subterranean environments but without marked adaptations have been generally overlooked, probably because they are thought to be accidental and not very important for the ecosystem. Particularly exemplificative is the case of Tipuloidea crane flies (Diptera), which although abundant, are rarely considered in biospeleological studies. Here, by analyzing the crane fly occupancy, we observed that individuals occur within the shallowest areas of subterranean environments throughout the year, with a peak of presence during hot season. Crane flies occupy dark and warm areas close to the connection with surface and with smoother walls. Furthermore, we observed that the presence of crane flies is positively related to the abundance and the ri...
Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances... more
Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances and retard sustainable development. Regional and international literature on climate change adaptation opportunities and challenges applicable to southern Africa from a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective was reviewed. Specifically, this review highlights climate change impacts on water, energy, and food resources in southern Africa, while exploring mitigation and adaptation opportunities. The review further recommends strategies to develop cross-sectoral sustainable measures aimed at building resilient communities. Regional WEF nexus related institutions and legal frameworks were also reviewed to relate the WEF nexus to policy. Southern Africa is witnessing an increased frequency and intensity in climate change-associated extreme weather event...
With the rapidly increasing human population, there is an urgent need to meet the challenge of providing sufficient nutrition for the people of the world. Along with edible insects, edible arachnids like spiders and scorpions can be an... more
With the rapidly increasing human population, there is an urgent need to meet the challenge of providing sufficient nutrition for the people of the world. Along with edible insects, edible arachnids like spiders and scorpions can be an alternative source of proteins for humans. Although, arachnids have been consumed by humans since time immemorial, there are very few references cataloguing the consumption of arachnids. The different species of edible spiders and scorpions, their distribution, safety issues related to their consumption, and the prospect of sustainable farming of edible arachnids have been explained in this review.
Mutualistic networks involving plants and their pollinators or frugivores have been shown recently to exhibit a particular asymmetrical organization of interactions among species called nestedness: a core of reciprocal generalists... more
Mutualistic networks involving plants and their pollinators or frugivores have been shown recently to exhibit a particular asymmetrical organization of interactions among species called nestedness: a core of reciprocal generalists accompanied by specialist species that interact almost exclusively with generalists. This structure contrasts with compartmentalized assemblage structures that have been verified in antagonistic food webs. Here we evaluated whether nestedness is a property of another type of mutualism-the interactions between ants and extrafloral nectary-bearing plants--and whether species richness may lead to differences in degree of nestedness among biological communities. We investigated network structure in four communities in Mexico. Nested patterns in ant-plant networks were very similar to those previously reported for pollination and frugivore systems, indicating that this form of asymmetry in specialization is a common feature of mutualisms between free-living spe...
Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances... more
Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances and retard sustainable development. Regional and international literature on climate change adaptation opportunities and challenges applicable to southern Africa from a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective was reviewed. Specifically, this review highlights climate change impacts on water, energy, and food resources in southern Africa, while exploring mitigation and adaptation opportunities. The review further recommends strategies to develop cross-sectoral sustainable measures aimed at building resilient communities. Regional WEF nexus related institutions and legal frameworks were also reviewed to relate the WEF nexus to policy. Southern Africa is witnessing an increased frequency and intensity in climate change-associated extreme weather event...
La préservation de la biodiversité n’est plus l’apanage des seuls milieux naturels. De plus en plus, de nombreux scientifiques s’intéressent à la contribution des milieux anthropisés et notamment des milieux urbains dans la conservation... more
La préservation de la biodiversité n’est plus l’apanage des seuls milieux naturels. De plus en plus, de nombreux scientifiques s’intéressent à la contribution des milieux anthropisés et notamment des milieux urbains dans la conservation des espèces d’oiseaux sauvages. Cependant, en Côte d’Ivoire, peu d’études se sont consacrées à l’avifaune des milieux urbains. Les rares études disponibles ont été réalisées au sud et au centre du pays. De ce fait, la présente étude qui a pour objectif de contribuer à une meilleure connaissance des oiseaux du nord de la Côte d’Ivoire est pionnière. La collecte de données s’est déroulée pendant 12 mois, d’août 2020 à juillet 2021 sur toute la superficie du campus universitaire Peleforo Gon Coulibaly de Korhogo, par la méthode des indices ponctuels d’abondance basés sur les points d’écoute. Au total, 110 espèces de 41 familles et 16 ordres ont été inventoriées pour une abondance relative globale de 1494 individus d’oiseaux. L’ordre des Passeriformes es...
Variation in the availability and distribution of food resources is a strong selective pressure on wild primates. We explored variation in Tibetan macaque gut microbiota composition during winter and spring seasons. Our results showed... more
Variation in the availability and distribution of food resources is a strong selective pressure on wild primates. We explored variation in Tibetan macaque gut microbiota composition during winter and spring seasons. Our results showed that gut microbial composition and diversity varied by season. In winter, the genus Succinivibrio, which promotes the digestion of cellulose and hemicellulose, was significantly increased. In spring, the abundance of the genus Prevotella, which is associated with digestion of carbohydrates and simple sugars, was significantly increased. PICRUSt analysis revealed that the predicted metagenomes related to the glycan biosynthesis and metabolic pathway was significantly increased in winter samples, which would aid in the digestion of glycan extracted from cellulose and hemicellulose. The predicted metagenomes related to carbohydrate and energy metabolic pathways were significantly increased in spring samples, which could facilitate a monkey's recovery ...
Mutualistic networks involving plants and their pollinators or frugivores have been shown recently to exhibit a particular asymmetrical organization of interactions among species called nestedness: a core of reciprocal generalists... more
Mutualistic networks involving plants and their pollinators or frugivores have been shown recently to exhibit a particular asymmetrical organization of interactions among species called nestedness: a core of reciprocal generalists accompanied by specialist species that interact almost exclusively with generalists. This structure contrasts with compartmentalized assemblage structures that have been verified in antagonistic food webs. Here we evaluated whether nestedness is a property of another type of mutualism—the interactions between ants and extrafloral nectary-bearing plants—and whether species richness may lead to differences in degree of nestedness among biological communities. We investigated network structure in four communities in Mexico. Nested patterns in ant–plant networks were very similar to those previously reported for pollination and frugivore systems, indicating that this form of asymmetry in specialization is a common feature of mutualisms between free-living spec...
Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances... more
Climate change is a complex and cross-cutting problem that needs an integrated and transformative systems approach to respond to the challenge. Current sectoral approaches to climate change adaptation initiatives often create imbalances and retard sustainable development. Regional and international literature on climate change adaptation opportunities and challenges applicable to southern Africa from a water-energy-food (WEF) nexus perspective was reviewed. Specifically, this review highlights climate change impacts on water, energy, and food resources in southern Africa, while exploring mitigation and adaptation opportunities. The review further recommends strategies to develop cross-sectoral sustainable measures aimed at building resilient communities. Regional WEF nexus related institutions and legal frameworks were also reviewed to relate the WEF nexus to policy. Southern Africa is witnessing an increased frequency and intensity in climate change-associated extreme weather event...
