Browsing by Author "Fuggle, R"

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    An investigation into the feasibility of using birds as indicators of disturbance at De Hoop nature reserve
    (1988) Taylor, Murray; Fuggle, R
    The origins of this study are found in the perceived conflict of land uses that arose with the announcement in 1983 that the South African Armaments Development Corporation (Armscor) intended building a missile test range on the southern Cape coast. The issues of conflict resolution and multiple land-use management, therefore, bear importantly on this investigation. Both are encapsulated in the functions of ecological monitoring. The primary objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of developing an ecological monitoring programme for the terrestrial ecosystems of this subregion. Towards this end a number of subsidiary objectives were formulated, namely: 1) To introduce the concept of ecological monitoring and provide an understanding of its potential and limitations; 2) To test assess the the sensitivity of birds to disturbance and feasibility of their incorporation into a fullscale monitoring programme; 3) To address some of the problems associated with a diverse and dynamic environment that limit the wider applicability of ecological monitoring; 4) To test a range of analytical techniques for their ability to detect ecosystem stress from ecological data. A 12 month, side-by-side experimental plots was Southcoast Strandveld comparative study of control and conducted in Milkweed Thicket, and Lowland Limestone Fynbos. Experimental plots were subjected to existing disturbances within the De Hoop Nature Reserve, the severity and nature of which apprpximated those anticipated at the Overberg Missile Range. Bird populations in each plot were censused four times per month throughout the study period and. assessed for their ability to discriminate between disturbid and undisturbed plots.