SummaryTimneh Parrots Psittacus timneh are a threatened species endemic to the moist forests of West Africa. In 2016, they were categorised as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List, due to suspected rapid population declines driven by habitat loss and heavy trapping for the pet trade. Systematic assessments of the status of populations are lacking for much of their range and addressing this knowledge shortfall has been identified as a priority action. We combined multiple research approaches to investigate the distribution, trends and threats to Timneh Parrots in Guinea Bissau, where the species is restricted to the islands of the Bijagós archipelago and Pecixe. Direct observational surveys were conducted along line transects on 19 islands. A total of 69 groups were observed on eight of these islands, with the majority (78%) seen on just two islands. Forty-two interviews were conducted with local community members on 24 islands. Interviewees reported the species to occur on 20 islands and that populations are generally perceived to have declined in recent decades. Based on these findings and existing data we conclude that Timneh Parrots occur on 22 of the 32 islands considered and estimate the national population in Guinea-Bissau to be in the order of several hundred individuals, with perhaps half of the parrots occurring on the islands of João Vieira and Meio. Investigations into the factors linked to inter-island variation in parrot densities indicate that densities are highest on the islands which are most remote from permanent human settlements. These findings suggest that human activities including habitat modification and trapping have been important in driving population declines in Guinea-Bissau. We consider the implications of these findings for the conservation of Timneh Parrots.
Abstract-A smart transducer is the integration of a sensor/actuator element, a processing unit and a network interface. Smart sensor networks are composed of smart transducer nodes interconnected through a communication network. This paper proposes a new architecture for smart sensor networks, that is driven by events (asynchronous data). The events are derived from a data compression algorithm embedded in the smart sensor, which compresses data from the sensor. The proposed architecture also provides configuration and monitoring data to manage the distributed system.
Satellite tracking is a key tool for studying sea turtles in the wild. Most tracking has been performed on adult females however, leaving knowledge gaps regarding other population segments, such as adult males. By satellite tracking 12 male green turtles (
Chelonia mydas
) at a breeding site in West Africa, we describe their movements from the breeding to the foraging grounds and compare migrations with those of 13 females tracked in the same season. During the mating period, some males remained near the focal nesting site, while others performed exploratory movements, apparently to visit other nearby rookeries. Males migrated on average shorter distances to foraging grounds (377 km, range 50–1081,
n
= 9) compared to females (1038 km, range 957–1850,
n
= 11]). Importantly, male foraging areas overlapped with previously described areas for females, suggesting sex-specific migration distances are not derived from differences in habitat selection. Strong support for differential migration by sex in sea turtles has hitherto been found in just one other species, but indications are that it may be a general feature in this group. These findings have important implications for our understanding of the interplay between reproductive roles and movement ecology of these emblematic animals.
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