Publications by authors named "Leah J Williams"

The study of how animals adapt their behaviors depending on weather variables has gained particular significance in the context of climate change. This exploration offers insights into endangered species' potential threats and provides information on the direction to take in conservation activities. In this context, noninvasive, cost-effective, and potentially long-term monitoring systems, such as Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), become particularly appropriate.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The study of rare or cryptic species in zoos can provide insights into natural history and behavior that would be difficult to obtain in the field. Such information can then be used to refine population assessment protocols and conservation management. The Bermuda skink (Plestiodon longirostris) is an endemic Critically Endangered lizard.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Modern zoos strive to construct habitats which both enable and encourage animals to engage in species-specific behaviour, without compromising their visibility to visitors. Here, we present the findings of a within-zoo move to a custom-built exhibit ( at Chester Zoo, UK) with respect to the behaviour of four mammal species; the Sumatran orangutan (), crested macaque (), Malayan tapir () and the Malayan sun bear (). We used full activity budgets along with Compositional Data Analysis (CoDA) to gain insight into how the move to a more naturalistic exhibit influenced behaviour.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There is a growing recognition that animal behavior can affect wildlife conservation, but there have been few direct studies of animal behavior in conservation programs. However, a great deal of existing behavioral research can be applied in the context of conservation. Research on avian vocalizations provides an excellent example.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Renewable energy will potentially make an important contribution towards the dual aims of meeting carbon emission reduction targets and future energy demand. However, some technologies have considerable potential to impact on the biodiversity of the environments in which they are placed. In this study, an assessment was undertaken of the realistic deployment potential of a range of renewable energy technologies in the UK, considering constraints imposed by biodiversity conservation priorities.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Selective logging significantly contributes to rainforest degradation in tropical areas.
  • Two logging strategies evaluated are land sharing, which balances timber extraction and biodiversity, and land sparing, which allows intensive logging while protecting remaining forests.
  • The study found that land-sparing resulted in higher bird, dung beetle, and ant abundance and species richness compared to land-sharing, indicating it as the more effective strategy for conserving biodiversity during logging operations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Self-report questionnaires on alcohol, nicotine and other drugs were administered to assess the current prevalence of alcohol, drug and nicotine use in our tertiary HIV service and inform the establishment of effective interventions. Many respondents reported use of alcohol over the preceding month (111 out of 152, 73%), and recent drug use (48 out of 137, 35%) and frequently both. Sessional alcohol consumption was prevalent among drinkers (52 out of 111, 47%), and correlated with both early treatment phase (P=0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF