DOCSLIB.ORG

Potential for Remote Monitoring of Cattle Movement to Indicate Available Biomass

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Potential for Remote Monitoring of Cattle Movement to Indicate Available Biomass POTENTIAL FOR REMOTE MONITORING OF CATTLE MOVEMENT TO INDICATE AVAILABLE BIOMASS A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of New England by Jessica Jane Roberts Bachelor of Rural Science (Hons 1) University of New England September 2014 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge and thank the following people for their guidance, support and assistance during my candidature: o My supervisors: Prof David Lamb; Dr Mark Trotter; Prof Geoff Hinch; Dr Greg Falzon; Dr Robin Dobos. Thank you all for the time and effort you contributed to my development. I appreciate and value all that I have learnt in this process. o The PARG, Physics and Rural Properties teams including Claire Edwards, Simon Jasper and Pat Littlefield. Special thanks to Derek Schneider, for your patience and contribution to both field work and assisting me with data analysis. My favourite PhD days were spent in the field and chilling in PARG HQ. o My best PhD Buddy – Amy. Thanks for everything! I would not have made it without you (or Rowdy). o My fellow PhD candidates, especially Rachelle and Amanda. Thank you for your support, guidance, shared commiserations and good times. o My friends (you all know who are), thanks for not giving up on me and reminding me of a life outside of Uni. o My family, thank you for your support, patience, welcome distractions and most of all believing in me. Mum, I am grateful and appreciative of your love and support. Aunty Marian and Uncle Bill, thank you for your support and words of wisdom, both spoken and written. Grandma, thank you for always being there. Dad, thanks for your constant encouragement. o The staff at Lincoln Agritech. Thank you for allowing me the chance to grow in a new environment and supporting me while I completed my thesis. A special thanks to Scott and Armin for keeping me motivated. o The Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information, established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centre’s program, for in-kind support through technical assistance. o Meat and Livestock Australia for a technical assistance grant. o Australian Federal Government for an Australian Postgraduate Award. o University of New England for the Strategic Research top-up scholarship. Jessica Roberts i ABSTRACT There is a call for sustainable intensification of agricultural industries to cope with impending challenges to future food demand and production. Beef and sheep meat production in Australia is dominated by grazing production systems, and equates to the largest land use of the country. Pasture utilisation by livestock can be a major limiting factor in grazing production systems, through under- or over-grazing. This thesis aims to identify if spatio-temporal information from livestock tracking devices can be used to understand livestock-biomass interactions in a rotational grazing system. The specific goal was to determine if this spatio-temporal data might be related to pasture characteristics (particularly biomass quantity) and potentially used as an indicator of the state of the pastures being grazed. Cattle were tracked with GPS for detection and monitoring of specific behaviours including, distance moved, time spent grazing, stationary or travelling, spatial dispersion and social dispersion. Behaviours were compared with declining pasture availability, monitored with an active optical sensor. This thesis explores the behaviour of cattle in three grazing situations. In all experiments distance moved and grazing time results were considered normal, although behavioural changes observed in relation to pasture biomass did not always follow the same pattern. Large daily variation was observed in most results, potentially problematic for detecting a response to biomass. Considering only how the monitored behaviours relate to biomass, the most appropriate behaviour metrics investigated in this research were time spent grazing or moving and the proportion of the paddock utilised. In most cases these metrics exhibited simple, quadratic relationships with biomass. In combination with real-time monitoring systems these metrics might easily be monitored and key thresholds could be determined, resulting in management trigger points from the steepness of an incline or decline, or occurrence of a maxima or minima. There is potential to continue this research in a commercial context to determine if these behavioural metrics can be related to the pasture biomass characteristics that are important to producers. If successful, these behaviour metrics could be used to develop an autonomous spatial livestock monitoring (ASLM) systems to assist graziers make decisions that will substantially contribute to the sustainable intensification of red-meat industries across the globe. Jessica Roberts ii DECLARATION I certify that the substance of this thesis has not already been submitted for any degree and is not currently being submitted for any other degree or qualification. I certify that any help received in preparing this thesis and all sources used have been acknowledged in this thesis. Signature Jessica Roberts iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. i Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... ii Declaration ......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................................... vii List of Tables .....................................................................................................................................xiv List of Acronyms ................................................................................................................................xvi CHAPTER 1 – Introduction and Literature Review ................................................................................ 1 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Grazing Livestock Production Systems.......................................................................................... 3 1.3 The Plant System ........................................................................................................................... 5 1.3.1 Managing Pasture .................................................................................................................. 5 1.3.2 Measuring Pasture ................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 The Animal System ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.4.1 Cattle Behaviour ..................................................................................................................... 9 1.4.2 Observing Livestock Behaviour in Fields .............................................................................. 14 1.4.3 The Use of Spatial Livestock Behavioural Monitoring Tools ................................................ 18 1.5 Summary and Scope of Thesis .................................................................................................... 28 CHAPTER 2 – Monitoring Cattle Movement and Pasture Biomass Decline: Preliminary Study ... 31 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 31 2.2 Materials and Methods ............................................................................................................... 32 2.2.1 Field Site and Events ............................................................................................................ 32 2.2.2 Weather ............................................................................................................................... 32 2.2.3 The Plant System .................................................................................................................. 32 2.2.4 The Animal System ............................................................................................................... 34 2.3 Results ......................................................................................................................................... 37 2.3.1 The Plant System .................................................................................................................. 37 2.3.2 The Animal System ............................................................................................................... 39 2.4 Discussion .................................................................................................................................... 44 2.4.1 The Plant System .................................................................................................................. 44 2.4.2 The Animal System ............................................................................................................... 45 2.5 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER 3 – Cattle Behaviour in Relation to
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wireless and the Environment
    About This Report The purpose of this report is to explore environmental opportunities and challenges that arise from existing and emerging uses of wireless (licensed spectrum) technology, with a particular focus on the areas of transport, utilities, agriculture, and public services in the U.S. The report was commissioned by CTIA – The Wireless Association® and prepared by BSR. Please direct comments or questions for BSR to Vijay Kanal at [email protected] or +1 415 984 3212, or for CTIA to [email protected]. DISCLAIMER BSR publishes occasional papers as a contribution to the understanding of the role of business in society and the trends related to corporate social responsibility and responsible business practices. BSR maintains a policy of not acting as a representative of its membership, nor does it endorse specific policies or standards. The views expressed in this publication are those of its authors and do not necessarily reflect those of BSR members. ABOUT BSR A leader in corporate responsibility since 1992, BSR works with its global network of more than 250 member companies to develop sustainable business strategies and solutions through consulting, research, and cross-sector collaboration. With offices in Asia, Europe, and North America, BSR uses its expertise in the environment, human rights, economic development, and governance and accountability to guide global companies toward creating a just and sustainable world. Visit www.bsr.org for more information. BSR’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) practice works closely with 34 ICT member companies and other stakeholders, ranging from telecommunications and internet firms to component and hardware manufacturers, several of which are also members of CTIA.
    [Show full text]
  • GPS Based Animal Tracking with SMS Alert [10] B
    KEC Conference KEC Conference __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ 230, Mar. 2013. the hydrological regime of the Kaligandaki Basin, [9] A. Dixit and A. Shukla, “Benefits and Burden: A Case Nepal,” Sci. Total Environ., vol. 625, pp. 837–848, Jun. Study of Gandak River Agreement,” Kathmandu, 2017. 2018. GPS based Animal Tracking with SMS Alert [10] B. K. Pradhan, “Personal Reflections: Nepal-India Water [20] V. Dahal, N. M. Shakya, and R. Bhattarai, “Estimating the Impact of Climate Change on Water Availability in Relations,” in The NepalIndia Water Relationships: Challenges, 2009, pp. 243–267. Bagmati Basin, Nepal,” Environ. Process., vol. 3, no. 1, Nabin Datt Bhatt Samundra Rai Janak Bastakoti [11] A. Detges, B. Pohl, and S. Schaller, “Editor’s Pick: 10 pp. 1–17, Mar. 2016. Department of Computer and Department of Computer and Department of Computer and Violent Water Conflicts,” 2017. [Online]. Available: [21] DOED, “Operating Hydropower Projects,” 2018. Electronics, Communication & Electronics, Communication & Electronics, Communication & https://www.newclimateforpeace.org/blog/editor’s-pick- [Online]. Available: Information Engineering Information Engineering Information Engineering 10-violent-water-conflicts. [Accessed: 01-Mar-2018]. http://www.doed.gov.np/operating_projects_hydro.php. Kathford International College of Kathford International College of Kathford International College of [Accessed: 01-Mar-2018]. [12] A. Richards and N. Singh, “Inter-state Water Disputes in Engineering and Management, Engineering and management, Engineering and management, India: Institutions and Policies,” Int. J. Water Resour. [22] D. of W. S. & S. (DWSS), “Nationwide Coverage and Affliated to Tribhuvan University Affliated to Tribhuvan University Affliated to Tribhuvan University Balkumari, Lalitpur Balkumari, Lalitpur Balkumari, Lalitpur Dev., vol. 18, no.
    [Show full text]
  • Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium
    1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium University of New England Armidale NSW Australia 15 th July 2010 Proceedings of the 1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium University of New England Armidale NSW Australia 15 th July 2010 ISBN 978-1-921597-23-7 Editors: M.G. Trotter, D.W. Lamb and T.F. Trotter Published by: Precision Agriculture Research Group, University of New England, Armidale, Australia. Printed: July 2010. Example Citation: Donald DD and Daffy DD (2010) “GPS-enabled duck plucking”. In: Proceedings of the 1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium. M.G. Trotter, D.W. Lamb and T.F. Trotter (Editors), Precision Agriculture Research Group, University of New England, Australia. 1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium Foreword Welcome to the 1st Australian and New Zealand Spatially Enabled Livestock Management Symposium and welcome to the New England region and the University of New England (UNE)! The university prides itself on its regional and global impact and, with a long history of education and research in rural and environmental science, is particularly proud to host this first symposium. Spatial monitoring of livestock and their environment has been a rapidly expanding area of research in Australia, New Zealand and around the world over the past few years. Furthermore, systems for commercial deployment are currently being developed to enable producers to make use of this technology. It’s an exciting time to be a researcher; however we need to be aware of the many challenges we face if these technologies are to be successfully adopted by industry.
    [Show full text]
  • An Advanced, Low-Cost, GPS-Based Animal Tracking System Patrick E
    Rangeland Ecol Manage 59:334–340 | May 2006 Technical Note An Advanced, Low-Cost, GPS-Based Animal Tracking System Patrick E. Clark,1 Douglas E. Johnson,2 Mark A. Kniep,3 Phillip Jermann,4 Brad Huttash,3 Andrew Wood,5 Michael Johnson,6 Craig McGillivan,7 and Kevin Titus8 Authors are 1Range Scientist and 4Biological Science Technician, US Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service, Boise, ID 83712; 2Professor and 6Software Programmer, Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; 3Electrical Engineers, Micron Technology, Inc, Boise, ID 83716; 5Electrical Engineer, Hewlett-Packard Company, Boise, ID 83714; and 7current and 8former electrical engineering students, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725. Abstract An improved global positioning system (GPS)–based animal tracking system is needed to meet quickly evolving demands of ecological research, range livestock production, and natural resource management. Commercially available tracking systems lack the data storage capacity needed to frequently collect animal location data (e.g., 15-minute intervals or less) over long-term deployment periods (e.g., 1 year or more). Some commercial systems have remote data–download capabilities, reducing the need to recapture tagged animals for data retrieval, but these systems download data via satellite (Argos), global system for mobile communications (GSM) cellular telephone, or telemetry radio frequencies. Satellite systems are excessively expensive, and GSM cellular coverage is extremely limited within the United States. Radio-based systems use narrow-band very-high– or ultra-high frequencies requiring the user to obtain frequency allocations. None of these existing systems were designed to provide continual, real-time data access.
    [Show full text]
  • AWT-PDF V7 Opt.Pdf
    PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The information given in this document is proprietary information. This information is the property of AFRICA WILDLIFE TRACKING and is provided for use by the customer only. It may not be communicated to any unauthorized person or copied in any way without the permission of AFRICA WILDLIFE TRACKING. INDEX 1. AWT TAGS 4. SOFTWARE 1.1 Tag Summary 1.2 Very-High Frequency (VHF) 4.1 AWT Software Summary 1.3 Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) 4.2 AWT Mobile Tracker Application 1.4 Long Range (LoRa) 4.3 AWT Tracker Lite Application 1.5 GSM (2G Cellular) 4.4 AWT Tracker Application 1.6 GlobalStar Satellite (GS-SAT) 4.5 AWT Web Application 1.7 Iridium Satellite (IR-SAT) 4.6 AWT API (Application Programming Interface) 1.8 OGI Inmarsat Satellite (OGI-SAT) 4.7 AWT Dongle Application 1.9 Inmarsat Satellite (IM-SAT) 4.8 AWT Transceiver Manager 1.10 Tag Functions 5. GLOSSARY 2. TAG FITMENT 6. LICENSING AND COMPLIANCE 2.1 Collars 2.2 Harness 7. IMPORTANT NOTICE 2.3 Implants 2.4 Tags 8. CONTACTS 2.5 Patrol and Vehicle Trackers 3. TRACKING EQUIPMENT 3.1 AWT VHF/UHF Transceiver 3.2 AWT VHF Receiver 3.3 R-1000 VHF Receiver (Communication Specialists) 3.4 TR-4 VHF Receiver (Telonics) 3.5 UHF Dongle 3.6 Towers 3.7 Antennas and Accessories 3.8 Drop-offs 2 1. AWT TAGS 1.1 Tag Summary A Tag is an electronic RF ID (Radio Frequency Identity) device providing the tracking and telemetry data that is transmitted using the below mentioned communication mediums.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Sharing and Reuse of Animal Telemetry Data in Australasia
    1 2 Finding our way: on the sharing and reuse of animal telemetry 3 data in Australasia 4 5 Authors 6 Hamish A. Campbell1*, Hawthorne L.Beyer2, Todd E. Dennis3, Ross G. Dwyer4, James D. 7 Forester5, Yusuke Fukuda6, Catherine Lynch7, Mark A. Hindell8, Norbert Menke9, Juan M. 8 Morales10, Craig Richardson11, Essie Rodgers4, Graeme Taylor12, Matt E.Watts2 & David A. 9 Westcott13 10 11 *corresponding author- [email protected] 12 13 1Department of Ecosystem Management, School of Environment and Rural Sciences, 14 University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia 15 2ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Centre for Biodiversity & 16 Conservation Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 17 3School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New 18 Zealand 19 4School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia 20 5 Dept. Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 21 USA 22 6Department of Land Resource Management, PO Box 496, Palmerston, NT, Australia 23 7Arid Recovery, PO Box 147, Roxby Downs, SA, Australia 24 8University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia 25 9Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 26 10 Ecotono, INIBIOMA—CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Quintral 1250, 27 8400 Bariloche, Argentina 28 11Ecological Resources Information Network, Department of the Environment, Canberra, 29 ACT, Australia 30 12Department of Conservation, PO Box 10420, Wellington 6143, New Zealand 31 13 Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, PO Box 780, Atherton, 32 QLD, Australia 33 1 34 Keywords: biotelemetry, wildlife tracking, inter-disciplinary, movement ecology, GPS, 35 ARGOS 36 Running Title: Sharing and reuse of tracking data 2 37 ABSTRACT 38 The presence and movements of organisms both reflect and influence the distribution of 39 ecological resources in space and time.
    [Show full text]
  • Smart Farming: an Enhanced Pursuit of Sustainable Remote Livestock Tracking and Geofencing Using Iot and GPRS
    Hindawi Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Volume 2020, Article ID 6660733, 12 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6660733 Research Article Smart Farming: An Enhanced Pursuit of Sustainable Remote Livestock Tracking and Geofencing Using IoT and GPRS Qazi Mudassar Ilyas 1 and Muneer Ahmad 2 1Department of Information Systems, College of Computer Sciences and Information Technology, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia 2Department of Information Systems, Faculty of Computer Science & Information Technology, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Correspondence should be addressed to Qazi Mudassar Ilyas; [email protected] Received 16 October 2020; Revised 9 November 2020; Accepted 4 December 2020; Published 19 December 2020 Academic Editor: Mohammad Hossein Anisi Copyright © 2020 Qazi Mudassar Ilyas and Muneer Ahmad. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The farmers of agricultural farms manage and monitor different types of livestock. The manual inspection and monitoring of livestock are tedious since the cattle do not stay at fixed locations. Fencing many cattle requires a considerable cost and involves farmers’ physical intervention to keep an eye to stop them from crossing beyond the access points. Visual tracking of livestock and fencing is a time-consuming and challenging job. This research proposes a smart solution for livestock tracking and geofencing using state-of-the-art IoT technology. The study creates a geographical safe zone for cattle based on IoT and GPRS, where the cattle are assigned dedicated IoT sensors. The cattle can be easily remotely monitored and controlled without having any need for farmers to intervene for livestock management physically.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocelot Density and Home Range in Belize, Central America
    OCELOT DENSITY AND HOME RANGE IN BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA: CAMERA-TRAPPING AND RADIO TELEMETRY Adam Dillon Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences Marcella J. Kelly – Chair Dean F. Stauffer James D. Nichols October 10, 2005 Blacksburg, Virginia Keywords: Ocelot, density, home range, camera trapping, radio telemetry OCELOT DENSITY AND HOME RANGE IN BELIZE, CENTRAL AMERICA: CAMERA-TRAPPING AND RADIO TELEMETRY By: Adam Dillon Marcella J. Kelly, Chair (ABSTRACT) Historically, ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) were hunted in large numbers for their fur, causing declines in population abundance across their range. In recent decades protection measures (e.g. CITES) and decreased public demand for ocelot fur resulted in declines in hunting pressure. Do to their elusive nature there is little known about ocelot population size, structure or general ecology. This lack of information hampers our ability to provide protection for this endangered species. Remote cameras were deployed in 7 grids across the landscape to estimate the density of ocelots in 2 habitat types; the broadleaf rainforest and pine forest of western Belize. Camera trapping combined with mark-recapture statistics resulted in densities of 18.91 – 20.75 ocelots per 100 km2 in the rainforest and 2.31 – 3.81 ocelots per 100 km2 in the pine forest habitat. This study examined the issues of camera spacing and animals with zero distance moved and their effect on density estimation. Increased camera spacing resulted in larger buffer sizes (increasing the effective trap area) and decreased density estimates.
    [Show full text]
  • On-Animal Motion Sensing Using Accelerometers As a Tool for Monitoring Sheep Behaviour and Health Status
    On-animal motion sensing using accelerometers as a tool for monitoring sheep behaviour and health status Jamie Barwick Bachelor of Rural Science (Honours) University of New England A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Science of Technology, University of New England December, 2016 i Declaration I certify that the substance of this thesis has not already been submitted for any degree and is not currently being submitted for any other degree or qualification. I certify that any help received in preparing this thesis, and all sources used, have been acknowledged in this thesis. Jamie DJ Barwick i Acknowledgements I wish to sincerely thank Associate Professor Mark Trotter. You and your family’s support and friendship throughout the past 3 years has been tremendous and is greatly appreciated. Your knowledge of the livestock and precision agriculture industries has proved invaluable. I am indebted to you for your assistance and truly grateful for all the time you have dedicated to me ensuring this project was completed. To Dr Robin Dobos, your enthusiasm, advice and encouragement has been essential over the past 3 years, as has your patience. Your diligence and feedback has certainly been appreciated. I am truly grateful for all the time you have dedicated to me. I wish to express my sincere thanks to my principal supervisor, Professor David Lamb. I am grateful for your supervision and advice throughout the course of this thesis, especially throughout the final months. To Mr Derek Schneider, thank you for all your assistance with data collection, analysis and presentation.
    [Show full text]
  • GPS HAWK) to Monitor Cattle Behavior and the Effect of Sample Interval on Travel Distance Jeremiah D
    Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications 2011 Development of a GPS Herd Activity and Well- Being Kit (GPS HAWK) to Monitor Cattle Behavior and the Effect of Sample Interval on Travel Distance Jeremiah D. Davis Mississippi State University Matthew .J Darr Iowa State University, [email protected] Hongwei Xin Iowa State University, [email protected] Jay D. Harmon Iowa State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_pubs JamesPa rRt .of Ru thesselAlgriculture Commons, Animal Sciences Commons, and the Bioresource and AIowgraic Stulturate Unaliv Eernsitgyineering Commons The ompc lete bibliographic information for this item can be found at http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ abe_eng_pubs/96. For information on how to cite this item, please visit http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ howtocite.html. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Development of a GPS Herd Activity and Well-Being Kit (GPS HAWK) to Monitor Cattle Behavior and the Effect of Sample Interval on Travel Distance Abstract As an alternative to commercial GPS tracking collars, a low-cost GPS Herd Activity and Well-being Kit (GPS HAWK) was developed to monitor locomotion behavior of cattle ta a high sampling frequency (20 s). The operational goal of the GPS HAWK was to collect GPS location data at a user-specified frequency and store the data in a secure format (compact flash media) for retrieval and optimize power consumption to extend the sampling period.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Sharing and Reuse of Animal Telemetry Data in Australasia
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Queensland eSpace 1 2 Finding our way: on the sharing and reuse of animal telemetry 3 data in Australasia 4 5 Authors 6 Hamish A. Campbell1*, Hawthorne L.Beyer2, Todd E. Dennis3, Ross G. Dwyer4, James D. 7 Forester5, Yusuke Fukuda6, Catherine Lynch7, Mark A. Hindell8, Norbert Menke9, Juan M. 8 Morales10, Craig Richardson11, Essie Rodgers4, Graeme Taylor12, Matt E.Watts2 & David A. 9 Westcott13 10 11 *corresponding author- [email protected] 12 13 1Department of Ecosystem Management, School of Environment and Rural Sciences, 14 University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia 15 2ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Centre for Biodiversity & 16 Conservation Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 17 3School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New 18 Zealand 19 4School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia 20 5 Dept. Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 21 USA 22 6Department of Land Resource Management, PO Box 496, Palmerston, NT, Australia 23 7Arid Recovery, PO Box 147, Roxby Downs, SA, Australia 24 8University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia 25 9Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Brisbane, QLD, Australia 26 10 Ecotono, INIBIOMA—CONICET, Universidad Nacional del Comahue, Quintral 1250, 27 8400 Bariloche, Argentina 28 11Ecological Resources
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CAPE TOWN in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
    Ecology of the Verreaux’s eagle Aquila verreauxii in natural and agriculturally transformed habitats in South Africa Sarah Megan Murgatroyd MRGSAR004 February 2016 SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN In fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy UniversityAnimal Demographyof Cape Unit Town & Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science University of Cape Town Supervised by: Prof. Les Underhill and Dr. Arjun Amar The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Contents Thesis abstract ............................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 4 Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2. The influence of agricultural transformation on the breeding performance of a top predator: Verreaux’s eagles in contrasting land use areas ............................ 34 Chapter 3. Adaptability of a specialist predator: The effects of land use on diet diversification and
    [Show full text]