Modelling the responses of wildlife to human disturbance: An evaluation of alternative management scenarios for black-crowned night-herons

Citizen Science Helps Uncover the Secrets to a Bat-Friendly Swimming Pool in an Urban Environment

For urban environments to support bat communities, resources need to be readily available. For example, bats typically use urban water sources such as drainage ditches and ponds; however, these sources can be ephemeral. During these periods, bats have utilized residential swimming pools, although they only appear to drink at pools when access to more natural equivalents are limited. This posed the question “can we make residential swimming pools friendlier for a diversity of bat species?” Using citizen science to determine which pool characteristics influenced bat activity, we distributed a questionnaire to residents in a suburban neighborhood in Fort Worth, TX, United States. It focused on observations of bat activity and the features of the pools and immediate surroundings. We distributed the questionnaire through social media, local presentations, and by mail throughout 2019 and 2020. We then used classification trees to determine which characteristics in combination influenced bat activity at the pools. We generated three different trees for bats observed (1) flying around the property and backyard, (2) above the swimming pool, and (3) drinking at the pool. We found that more bats were observed at unlit pools without bush or shrub borders. Furthermore, among pools with borders, activity was lowest at pools with textured interiors and ≥6 trees visible. The presence of features, such as fountains, then contributed to a reduction in bat observations in backyards and the presence of pets appeared to further reduce activity specifically over the pools. Where bats were observed drinking, this activity was reported the least at pools with bush or shrub borders, textured interiors, and trees <5 m and >10 m from the edge of the pools. Our study revealed that certain characteristics of residential swimming pools encouraged bat activity, while others discouraged them. Thus, it may be possible to make swimming pools more bat-friendly. For example, turning lights off in the evening when backyards are not in use and reducing clutter around pools could have an immediate positive impact on local bat populations. The implementation of such recommendations could improve urban habitats for bats overall and alleviate some of the negative implications of continued urbanization.

Monitoring and assessment of anthropogenic activities in mountain lakes: a case of the Fifth Triglav Lake in the Julian Alps

The Fifth Triglav Lake is a remote mountain lake in the Julian Alps. The area of the Julian Alps where the lake is situated is protected by law and lies within the Triglav National Park. Mountain lakes in Slovenia were considered for a long time as pristine, unpolluted lakes, but analyses in the last decade revealed considerable human impact even in such remote places. Eutrophication or excessive accumulation of nutrients is the main problem of most lakes in the temperate climatic zone, also in Slovenia. Since the introduction of fish in 1991, the lake is going through a series of changes for which we do not know exactly where they lead, so the monitoring and assessment of anthropogenic activities are of great importance. For this purpose, a qualitative multiattribute decision model was developed with DEX method to assess ecological effects on the lake. The extent of the ecological effects on the lake is assessed using four main parameters: the trophic state, lake characteristics, environmental parameters, and anthropogenic stressors. Dependence of environmental impact on various external factors beyond human control, such as temperature, precipitation, retention time, and factors on which we have influence, such as the amount of wastewater and the presence of fish in the lake, were also evaluated. The following data were measured: chlorophyll a, nutrients, TP, oxygen, C/N ratio, nutrients in sediment, temperature, precipitation, retention time, and volume. We made assumptions about fish and wastewater, which we could not measure. The main contributions of this work are the designed model and the obtained findings for the Fifth Triglav Lake that can help not only scientists in understanding the complexity of lake-watershed systems and interactions among system components but also local authorities to manage and monitor the lake aquatic environment in an effective and efficient way. The model is flexible and can be also used for other lakes, assuming that the used parameters are measured and anthropogenic stressors are adjusted to a specific situation. The results of assessment are of particular interest for decision makers in protected areas, providing a new approach to the management of the quality of the water environment.

Modelling hen harrier dynamics to inform human-wildlife conflict resolution: a spatially-realistic, individual-based approach

Individual-based models have gained popularity in ecology, and enable simultaneous incorporation of spatial explicitness and population dynamic processes to understand spatio-temporal patterns of populations. We introduce an individual-based model for understanding and predicting spatial hen harrier (Circus cyaneus) population dynamics in Great Britain. The model uses a landscape with habitat, prey and game management indices. The hen harrier population was initialised according to empirical census estimates for 1988/89 and simulated until 2030, and predictions for 1998, 2004 and 2010 were compared to empirical census estimates for respective years. The model produced a good qualitative match to overall trends between 1989 and 2010. Parameter explorations revealed relatively high elasticity in particular to demographic parameters such as juvenile male mortality. This highlights the need for robust parameter estimates from empirical research. There are clearly challenges for replication of real-world population trends, but this model provides a useful tool for increasing understanding of drivers of hen harrier dynamics and focusing research efforts in order to inform conflict management decisions.