A study on the effects of prescribed burning on rodent community ecology was conducted in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. The study aimed at generating ecological knowledge about the changes in rodent communities when areas of the park are intentionally burned to regulate grasslands or reduce undergrowth that can lead to uncontrolled forest fires. A completely randomized design (CRD) factorial layout with two treatments (burned and unburned) and two replications was applied. A total of 148 animals comprising six species of rodent and one insectivore were captured over 2,940 trap nights. Among the trapped individuals, 41.9% were adults, 16.1% juveniles and 41.9% sub-adults. Males and females were at parity between treatments. Species abundance was estimated using the minimum number alive (MNA) method for different rodent species and was found to vary with treatment where Mastomys natalensis declined in burned plots whilst Arvicanthis niloticus increased. However, species diversity did not differ across treatments (F1, 10 = 0.15, p = 0.70). Differences in the reproductive condition of female M. natalensis (z = 4.408, df = 15, p < 0.001) and A. niloticus (z = 2.381, df = 15, p = 0.017) were observed between treatments showing that higher numbers of reproductively active females were observed in burned plots in March, whilst in unburned plots more were observed from November to February. Conservation strategies involving periodic habitat burning should, therefore, consider small mammal reproductive periods to ensure that species potentially at risk are not adversely affected and able to rapidly recover from the effects of burning in temporarily lowering food resources and longer term impacts of increased predation caused by reduced cover.
Genet life span is a key demographic trait for understanding life history of plants. However, the longevity of clonal plants is hard to determine, especially when inter-ramet connections are short-lived and plants subsequently move independently of one another in space by means of an expansive growth strategy. In this study we estimated genet life span in the clonal pioneer species Geum reptans, living on glacier forelands, by using a projection matrix model based on demographic field data of ramets collected at two sites and in three subsequent years. We then calculated genet age structure at different population ages using multiple simulations, including a maximum carrying capacity and density-dependent mortality. Additionally, we estimated the age of the two field populations by comparing results from simulations with population structure recorded in the field. According to our simulations, more than half of the genets die within the first three decades. However, a considerable proportion survived more than 50 years and some genets even became immortal as they produced so many ramets that the risk of the entire genet becoming extinct was zero. Simulated genet age structures were strongly left skewed with many young and a few very old genets. The rather low carrying capacity was reached only after 350 years, after which density-dependent mortality started to influence genet age structure considerably. The age of the two field populations was estimated to be 250 and 450 years, respectively. Results indicate that in clonal plants, genet immortality can potentially lead to unlimited persistence of established populations. In the case of G. reptans, old populations may experience competition and increased mortality due to the ongoing succession in older parts of the glacier foreland that will prevent populations reaching their maximum carrying capacity. But due to the ability of this plant to colonize new sites and follow retreating ice on glacier forelands, populations of G. reptans can be very old as recorded here for the two field populations in the Swiss Alps.
In the internal French Alps, subalpine grasslands become dominated by the tussock grass, Festuca paniculata, when mowing ceases. Does litter or living plants affect seedling recruitment in these subalpine communities, and does this vary between mown and unmown grasslands? Can the vegetation patterns observed in the field be related to the effects of F. paniculata? These hypotheses were tested using both a field and pot experiment. Seedlings of Bromus erectus, a subordinate species in these grasslands, were used as phytometers in both experiments. At both mown and unmown subalpine grassland sites in the French Alps, a removal experiment was established. This field experiment included removal of litter and living vegetation in order to differentiate their respective effect on seedling establishment. Vegetation and litter had contrasting effects. Vegetation affected the recruitment success of B. erectus by limiting seedling growth at the mown site and survival at the unmown site. Litter modified recruitment only at the unmown site, where it increased survival but limited growth. Survival and growth of seedlings responded to different environmental factors. Survival was determinedmore by soilmoisture, while growth probably dependedmore on light availability.Where there is a thick litter layer, as is the case in unmown subalpine grasslands, the competitive effect of vegetation can be counterbalanced by an increase in soil moisture due to the litter reducing rate of evaporation of water. The effect on seedlings of the presence of Festuca paniculata, the dominant species at these sites, was also quantified using a pot experiment, including a cutting treatment. This experiment showed that the competitive effect of the vegetation could be largely explained by the inhibitory effect on growth of the dominant species, F. paniculata. This study provides a better understanding of the processes that result in conservative plants, such as F. paniculata, becoming dominant in these subalpine environments upon cessation of traditional management practices.
The effects of weather and individual attributes of the broods in the local population of tawny owl Strix aluco on recruitment were studied in the Duna-Ipoly National Park, Hungary (47º35’ N; 19º02’ E) in 1992–2007. In harsh breeding conditions, with many snowy days, the parents’ body condition was low and they were able to raise only few fledglings. Nevertheless, the few fledglings remaining in this reduced broods left them in better condition and had a greater chance to be recruits than offspring which fledged in mild seasons, with many siblings, from broods raised by the parents in good condition. Parents produced most male recruits in adverse breeding seasons, when one offspring fledged from the broods, but raised most female recruits in mild breeding years, when two offspring left the broods. Sex related differences in the recruitment of a local population of tawny owls are discussed with a focus on environmental effects.