Daily and Seasonal Activity of Moorhens Studied by Motion-Sensitive Transmitters

Acquarone, Camilla; Cucco, Marco; Malacarne, Giorgio

doi:10.2307/1522236

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…These observations contrast with the study of Acquarone et al (2001) in Italy, where the dominant habitat is grass field.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 92%

“…In our analysis, we found an upward trend for resting from 1:00 to 3:00 pm (Fig. 4), possibly related to the high temperatures at this time of day, in accordance with the observations of Acquarone et al (2001).…”

Section: Restingsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Similarly, in a study carried out in Italy during the spring (Acquarone et al 2001), the Common Moorhen maintained constant activity throughout the day, with an upward trend from 12:00 am to 2:00 pm. In our analysis, we found an upward trend for resting from 1:00 to 3:00 pm (Fig.…”

Section: Restingmentioning

confidence: 81%

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Behaviour of the Common Moorhen in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

et al. 2010

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This study presents data on behavioural acts performed by the Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus in southern Brazil, and compares these with the behaviours previously reported for other populations. Focal observations of individuals were conducted in the municipality of Santa Maria, in the central region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The sampling was done in 2-hour sessions, between January and March of 2007. A total of 20 behavioural acts, grouped in seven categories, were identified and described: locomotion (N=5 acts), grooming (N=4), intra-specific behaviour (N=2), inter-specific behaviour (N= 3), foraging (N=2), reproduction (N=2) and rest (N=2). Among the observed behaviours were acts that are not described in the literature such as greeting of offspring and some feeding acts. Regarding the use of habitat, we observed that this species has a preference for water or aquatic macrophytes, which is contrary to other reports. In the analysis of behavioural daily variation, overall behavioural categories did not vary significantly throughout the day,

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“…These observations contrast with the study of Acquarone et al (2001) in Italy, where the dominant habitat is grass field.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 92%

Section: Restingsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Behaviour of the Common Moorhen in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

et al. 2010

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“…Radio telemetry can facilitate studies of reproductive success (Aldridge & Brigham 2001;Nguyen et al 2003;Ziesemann et al 2011). Increasingly sophisticated radio tag technology has been developed, and it is now possible to use radio tags to measure heart rate, temperature (Signer et al 2010) and, crucially, motion (Acquarone et al 2001). New Zealand-based wildlife technology company Wildtech Ltd has adapted motion sensor technology for use in its Chick Timer™ software.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chick Timer™ software proves an accurate disturbance minimising tool for monitoring hatching success in little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii)

Taylor

Nelson

Ramstad

2014

New Zealand Journal of Zoology

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Measuring hatching success in birds is important for assessing population viability, but nests are often cryptic and may be abandoned if birds are disturbed during nesting. We evaluated the suitability of Wildtech New Zealand Ltd's Chick Timer™ radio telemetry software for monitoring hatching success in little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii). The software provided accurate reports of activity levels and times of nest emergence by adult birds. Eighty four per cent of incubation attempts and 70% of first hatching events were detected, with no false indications of incubation or hatching. Our results suggest that this technology will facilitate studies of hatching success in little spotted kiwi and other large birds with cryptic or inaccessible nests. A ground truthing study such as this one, however, is required before full implementation of the software in any species.

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“…Radio telemetry can facilitate studies of reproductive success (Aldridge & Brigham 2001;Nguyen et al 2003;Ziesemann et al 2011). Increasingly sophisticated radio tag technology has been developed and it is now possible to use radio tags to measure heart rate, temperature (Signer et al 2010) and, crucially, motion (Acquarone et al 2001). New Zealand-based wildlife technology company Wildtech Ltd has adapted motion sensor technology for use in its Chick Timer TM software.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting inbreeding depression in a severely bottlenecked, recovering species: The little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii)

Taylor¹

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<p>Population bottlenecks reduce genetic variation and population size. Small populations are at greater risk of inbreeding, which further erodes genetic diversity and can lead to inbreeding depression. Inbreeding depression is known to increase extinction risk. Thus, detecting inbreeding depression is important for population viability assessment and conservation management. However, identifying inbreeding depression in wild populations is challenging due to the difficulty of obtaining long-term measures of fitness and error-free measures of individual inbreeding coefficients. I investigated inbreeding depression and our power to detect it in species that have very low genetic variation, using little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii) (LSK) as a case study. This endemic New Zealand ratite experienced a bottleneck of, at most, five individuals ~100 years ago and has since been subjected to secondary bottlenecks as a result of introductions to new predator-free locations. There is no behavioural pedigree data available for any LSK population and the status of the species is monitored almost exclusively via population growth. I conducted two seasons of field work to determine hatching success in the two LSK populations with the highest and lowest numbers of founders; Zealandia Sanctuary (40 founders) and Long Island (two founders). I also used simulation-based modelling to assess the feasibility of reconstructing pedigrees based on individual genotypes from LSK populations to calculate pedigree inbreeding coefficients. Finally, I used microsatellite genotypes to measure the genetic erosion in successive filial groupings of Long Island and Zealandia LSK as a result of their respective bottlenecks, and tested for inbreeding depression on Long Island. Hatching success was significantly lower on Long Island than in Zealandia in both years of the study despite significantly higher reproductive effort on Long Island. Although this was suggestive of inbreeding depression on Long Island, simulation results showed that constructing a pedigree for any LSK population based on the genetic markers and samples currently available would lead to inaccurate pedigrees and invalid estimates of individual inbreeding coefficients. Thus, an alternative method of detecting inbreeding and inbreeding depression was required. Microsatellite data showed continued loss of heterozygosity in both populations, but loss of allelic diversity on Long Island only. Individual genotypes indicated that the majority (74%) of the adult Long Island population is comprised of the founding pair (F) and their direct offspring (F1) rather than birds from subsequent generations (F2+). This is not what would be expected if survival was equal between these two filial classes. I suggest that the high levels of inbreeding (≥0.25) in F2+ birds is impacting on their survival, creating a demographic skew in the population and resulting in lower hatching success on average on Long Island when compared to the relatively outbred Zealandia birds. This inbreeding depression appears to have been masked, thus far, by positive population growth on Long Island resulting from the long life span of LSK (27-83 years) and continued reproductive success of the founding pair. Thus, it is likely that the Long Island population will go into decline when the founding pair cease to reproduce. This study highlights the challenges of measuring inbreeding depression in species with very low genetic variation and the importance of assessing the statistical power and reliability of the genetic tools available for those species. It also demonstrates that basic genetic techniques can offer valuable insight when more advanced tools prove error-prone. Monitoring vital rates such as hatching success in conjunction with genetic data is important for assessing the success of conservation translocations and detecting potentially cryptic genetic threats such as inbreeding depression. My results suggest that LSK are being affected by inbreeding depression and that careful genetic management will be required to ensure the long-term viability of this species.</p>

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Daily and Seasonal Activity of Moorhens Studied by Motion-Sensitive Transmitters

Cited by 6 publications

References 18 publications

Behaviour of the Common Moorhen in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Behaviour of the Common Moorhen in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Chick Timer™ software proves an accurate disturbance minimising tool for monitoring hatching success in little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii)

Detecting inbreeding depression in a severely bottlenecked, recovering species: The little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii)

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