Red harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex barbatus) inhabits deserts of USA and Mexico. Its activity patterns are well known in temperate deserts, but they have not been studied in tropical ones. We studied these patterns in the Tehucan Valley, a tropical desert in central Mexico. It had bimodal activity patterns in spring, summer, and fall while unimodal patterns in winter. These patterns differ from those reported for this species in temperate deserts where activity stopped in winter. Our results suggest that P. barbatus extends its activity periods and remains active all year round in the Tehuacan Valley.
This article deals with chronically ill schoolage children and their parents' perceptions of their neighborhood. Three hundred and sixty-five chronically ill children (ages 10 through 12) were interviewed about their neighborhood. The children described aspects of their neighborhood that they liked and disliked, and their activity pattems alone and with peers. The parents also evaluated neighborhood safety. Regression analysis was used to identify parentand child-reported items that may have influenced images of neighborhood safety. The findings demonstrate that chronically ill children's activity patterns in their neighborhoods are influenced by child factors (perception of the neighborhood and its safety, gender, type of illness) and by parental factors (perception of neighborhood safety, income, home ownership). The findings also suggest that the patterns of interaction of chronically ill children with their neighborhood may be a source of developmental risk.
The study of human activity–travel patterns for urban planning has evolved a long way in theories, methodologies, and applications. However, the scarcity of data has become a major barrier for the advancement of research in the field. Recently, the proliferation of urban sensing and location-based devices generates voluminous streams of spatio-temporal registered information. In this study, we propose an approach using the linear-chain Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) model to learn the spatio-temporal correspondences of different types of activities and the inter-dependencies among sequential activities from training dataset such as the household travel or time use surveys, and to infer the hidden activity types associated with urban sensing data. The performance of the CRFs model is compared against the Random Forest (RF) model, which has been used in a number of existing studies. The results show that the linear-chain CRFs models generally outperform the RF counterparts with respect to classification accuracy of activity types, in particular for those travelers having more outdoor daily activities. The proposed methodology is demonstrated by reconstructing the activity landscape of the surrounding area of a major Mass Rail Transit station in Singapore using the transit smart card transaction data. The inferred activities from the transit smart card data are expected to complement the ground surveys and improve our understanding of the interactions of different components of activities/travels as well as the relationship between urban space and human activities.
This paper develops a methodology to measure urban segregation based on individuals' sociospatial experience of daily life. Since segregation can be considered as the isolation of people from those unlike themselves, its degree increases with the similarity in ethnicity, economic status, or other sociodemographic dimensions of interest between individuals and people who they are exposed to in their daily usage of urban space. Based on this perspective, we propose a regression estimator that measures segregation by assessing similarity or likeness between people and the social environments they experience in daily activity spaces. Compared to traditional segregation measures, the proposed estimator is not restricted to measuring residential segregation, but recognizes and assesses segregation as a dynamic process that unfolds in the daily life routines of individuals in a society and depends on the different ways individuals or social groups use urban space. It can be applied to various segregation factors, categorical or continuous, as well as to examine their interactions in a society. An empirical study in Hong Kong is used to demonstrate the proposed approach.
The movements of two subspecies of the sand goanna, V. gouldii, were studied at two localities in South Australia. The estimated home ranges of individuals of V.g. rosenbergi differed considerably, the largest area being 25 times the size of the smallest. Daily activity areas varied with the season, being largest in summer and smallest in winter. There were distinct differences between the two subspecies in their activity patterns, V. g. rosenbergi being active throughout the year whereas Kg. gouldii remained underground during winter.
Context When measuring grazing impacts of vertebrates, the density of animals and time spent foraging are important. Traditionally, dung pellet counts are used to index macropod grazing density, and a direct relationship between herbivore density and foraging impact is assumed. However, rarely are pellet deposition rates measured or compared with camera-trap indices.
Aims The aims were to pilot an efficient and reliable camera-trapping method for monitoring macropod grazing density and activity patterns, and to contrast pellet counts with macropod counts from camera trapping, for estimating macropod grazing density.
Methods Camera traps were deployed on stratified plots in a fenced enclosure containing a captive macropod population and the experiment was repeated in the same season in the following year after population reduction. Camera-based macropod counts were compared with pellet counts and pellet deposition rates were estimated using both datasets. Macropod frequency was estimated, activity patterns developed, and the variability between resting and grazing plots and the two estimates of macropod density was investigated.
Key Results Camera-trap grazing density indices initially correlated well with pellet count indices (r2=0.86), but were less reliable between years. Site stratification enabled a significant relationship to be identified between camera-trap counts and pellet counts in grazing plots. Camera-trap indices were consistent for estimating grazing density in both surveys but were not useful for estimating absolute abundance in this study.
Conclusions Camera trapping was efficient and reliable for estimating macropod activity patterns. Although significant, the relationship between pellet count indices and macropod grazing density based on camera-trapping indices was not strong; this was due to variability in macropod pellet deposition rates over different years. Time-lapse camera imagery has potential for simultaneously assessing herbivore foraging activity budgets with grazing densities and vegetation change. Further work is required to refine the use of camera-trapping indices for estimation of absolute abundance.
Implications Time-lapse camera trapping and site-stratified sampling allow concurrent assessment of grazing density and grazing behaviour at plot and landscape scale.
Physical activity protects against heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, and cancer. Fewer than 40% of African American women obtain recommended amounts of physical activity. Healthy Campus 2010 identifies physical activity as a top priority for improving the health of college students. However, during college, women tend to reduce their levels of physical activity. This study examines the relationship between campus housing and physical activity behaviors in a sample of African American female college students ( N = 138). Participants who lived on campus were significantly more likely to meet the recommended amounts of both moderate and vigorous physical activity than students who lived off campus (44% vs. 19%). The results demonstrate the importance of campus fitness resources in explaining the role that the built environment can play in increased physical activity among this population. Recommendations for the use of the campus's built environment and fitness resources are provided.
Context Hunting has demographic effects on large and medium carnivores, causing population reductions and even extinctions worldwide. Yet, there is little information on carnivore demographic parameters and spatial and temporal land-use patterns in areas experiencing sport hunting, thus hindering effective conservation plans for such areas. Aims We estimated densities and determined activity patterns of pumas (Puma concolor) from camera-trapping surveys in a protected area and in a game reserve with sport hunting, in the Caldén forest of central Argentina. Methods We used both non-spatial and spatial mark–resight techniques to estimate and compare puma densities and we used kernel-density estimation (KDE) techniques to analyse and compare puma activity patterns between study sites. Key results Puma densities estimated from spatial models were lower than densities estimated from non-spatial mark–resight techniques. However, estimated density of pumas in the protected area was always higher (range = 4.89–9.32 per 100 km2) than in the game reserve (range = 0.52–1.98 per 100 km2), regardless of the estimation technique used. Trapping rates for large mammal prey were similar across sites. Pumas exhibited more nocturnal behaviour and high activity peaks at 0600 hours and 1100 hours in the hunted game reserve, whereas puma activity was spread more evenly around the clock in the protected area. Conclusions The higher puma densities in the protected area reflect the potential for such areas to function as refugia in a human-dominated landscape. However, the game reserve had a lower puma density than the protected area despite high trap rates of large prey, indicating that these areas may function as attractive sinks. Implications Our results could indicate that puma sport hunting in the Caldén forest should be managed at a metapopulation, regional level, and include both no-hunting areas (protected area, as potential sources) and hunting areas (game reserves, as potential sinks). Considering that our study areas were small and that this was an unreplicated study, we urge more research to be conducted, so as to determine whether sport hunting is compatible with puma conservation in the region.
• Summary: This study examines the early impact on care coordinators' (care managers') work activity patterns of implementing the current personalization agenda within English local authorities. The Individual Budget (IB) pilots operated between 2005 and 2007 and provided a basis for personalization that, ultimately, sought to give personal care budgets to every eligible service user in England. Of particular interest was how the pilots impacted upon the roles, responsibilities and activity of care coordinators, who are expected to play a key role in this transformation of social care. A self-administered diary schedule was completed by 249 care coordinators, including teams directly involved in delivering IBs and a comparative sample of teams not involved in the pilots. These data were supplemented by semi-structured interviews with 48 care coordinators and 43 team managers. • Findings: The study found that on most measures there were no differences in working patterns between care managers with and without IB holders on their caseload. However, the results do show that – contrary to expectations – more time was spent assessing needs, and that more time generally was required to conduct support planning activities. • Application: The findings are necessarily dependent upon the early experiences of the pilot phase of IBs. As personal budgets are rolled out across all eligible service users, it will be interesting to examine whether the time-use of frontline staff, and indeed the wider organization, structure and function of local authority frontline teams, changes further.
Movements, activity patterns and habitat use of feral pigs were studied in a tropical woodland habitat by radio-telemetry, live-trapping and hunter returns. The mean aggregate home-range size was 33.5 km2 for boars and 24.1 km2 for sows. Feral pigs were rather sedentary, with no tendency to disperse great distances from their initial home ranges. Pigs were most active at night, with peaks of activity in the late afternoon and early morning. Pigs preferentially used the riparian vegetation strip bordering major rivers, and grain crops, when available. The implications for the management of pigs are discussed.
