Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment最新文献

To promote sustainable fisheries under climate change, fisheries managers must apply appropriate adaptation measures. However, little is known about how species interactions shift with climate change and the potential effectiveness of such adaptation measures. Here, we modeled the application of a species control measure in a lake ecosystem using a temperature-dependent food-web model containing different thermal guilds. A warm-adapted predator (bass, Micropterus spp) was removed to locally mitigate undesirable effects of climate warming on a cool-adapted species (walleye, Sander vitreus). Nevertheless, a warming-induced thermally mediated trophic cascade can lead to expected and unexpected outcomes, with bass removal depending on food-web linkages. With low levels of bass predation on juvenile walleye, walleye persist in warmer temperatures when bass are present (not controlled) than when bass are absent (controlled). Therefore, we encourage managers to use caution and consider various scenarios of food-web changes, to determine when species control may be effective for climate adaptation.

In the Anthropocene, ecosystems are changing along with their capacity to support human well-being. Monitoring ecosystem services (ESs) is required to assess the changing state of human–nature interactions. To standardize the monitoring of multiple facets of ESs, the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) recently proposed the essential ecosystem service variables (EESVs), which are organized into six classes: Ecological Supply, Use, Demand, Anthropogenic Contribution, Instrumental Value, and Relational Value. We apply the EESV framework to three case studies in British Columbia, Canada, each targeting a single ES. Using trend and intervention analysis, we show how EESVs are changing and affected by policy. We discuss key challenges and solutions while providing guidance on how to quantify EESVs. Finally, we demonstrate the potential of EESVs to harmonize metrics across conceptual frameworks, monitor ES change, and provide decision support to assess progress under various international policy conventions.

Aristolochia plants (family Aristolochiaceae) are made toxic by secondary metabolites, some of which are carcinogenic to vertebrates (J Chromatogr A 2006; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2005.12.072). Certain secondary metabolites, specifically aristolochic acids (AAs), are important defense compounds against herbivory. However, caterpillars from some tribes of swallowtail butterflies (family Papilionidae)—namely, tribes Luehdorfiini, Troidini, and Zerynthiini—are known to feed exclusively on Aristolochia foliage and to sequester these metabolites, thereby becoming toxic to predators (Annu Rev Entomol 2002; https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.47.091201.145121).

In the Parque Estadual de Itaúnas (within the Espírito Santo state of Brazil), we recently observed a land snail (Auris sp) consuming Aristolochia zebrina. The snail was observed rasping (scraping its tongue along) leaves of A zebrina, and numerous other leaves showed signs of herbivory, possibly indicating that this particular snail fed exclusively on this plant, as no other animals were detected feeding on it. We have been monitoring this State Park for several years, and intriguingly, leaf herbivory by Papilionidae larvae has never been detected on A zebrina.

Artificial light at night is often viewed as harmful for animals, with negative effects documented for vertebrates and invertebrates alike, and the term light pollution reflects its undesirability. Less well studied are animals that have come to exploit this “night-light niche”. Some species of toads are anecdotally known to feed on insects attracted to night lighting, including Woodhouse's toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii), which is a common toad throughout much of central-western North America.

The volume of and interest in unstructured participatory science data has increased dramatically in recent years. However, unstructured participatory science data contain taxonomic biases—encounters with some species are more likely to be reported than encounters with others. Taxonomic biases are driven by human preferences for different species and by logistical factors that make observing certain species challenging. We investigated taxonomic bias in reports of butterflies by characterizing differences between a dedicated participatory semi-structured dataset, eButterfly, and a popular unstructured dataset, iNaturalist, in spatiotemporally explicit models. Across 194 butterfly species, we found that 53 species were overreported and 34 species were underreported in opportunistic data. Ease of identification and feature diversity were significantly associated with overreporting in opportunistic sampling, and strong patterns in overreporting by family were also detected. Quantifying taxonomic biases not only helps us understand how humans engage with nature but also is necessary to generate robust inference from unstructured participatory data.

There is growing interest in enhancing soil carbon sequestration (SCS) as a climate mitigation strategy, including neutralizing atmospheric emissions from fossil-fuel combustion through the development of soil carbon offset markets. Several studies have focused on refining estimates of the magnitude of potential SCS or on developing methods for soil carbon quantification in markets. We call on scientists and policy makers to resist assimilating soils into carbon offset markets due to not only fundamental flaws in the logic of these markets to reach climate neutrality but also environmental justice concerns. Here, we first highlight how carbon offset markets rely on an inappropriate substitution of inert fossil carbon with dynamic stocks of soil carbon. We then note the failure of these markets to account for intersecting anthropogenic perturbations to the carbon cycle, including the soil carbon debt and ongoing agricultural emissions. Next, we invite scientists to consider soil functions beyond productivity and profitability. Finally, we describe and support historical opposition to offset markets by environmental justice advocates. We encourage scientists to consider how their research and communications can promote diverse soil functions and just climate-change mitigation.

Translocations are a critical tool for reversing biodiversity loss but are often characterized by unreasonably high expectations, leading to many translocation programs being brief and terminated before achieving their full potential. To address these issues, we developed the “Translocation Continuum Framework”, an easy-to-use tool that clarifies the criteria, strategies, tactics, progress measures, and expected outcomes for five key translocation “phases”: Feasibility Studies, Pilot Studies, Primary Trials, Secondary Experiments, and Tertiary Reinforcements. By accounting for uncertainty, the Framework aims to empower practitioners to design translocation programs that suit their context. We also discuss the limitations of “success” and “failure” labels in translocations, and the importance of parsimonious decision making to maximize learning with the least amount of loss. Only by managing expectations of the likelihood of establishment, growth, and regulation throughout a program's lifetime can we galvanize trust and investment in translocations so they can contribute meaningfully to long-term restoration.

Conservation priorities and legal protections are often based on confirmed species occurrences. However, imperfect detection is likely the norm in biological surveys, resulting in negative consequences for conservation. Focusing on threatened species in the US and Canada, we show that detectability information appears to be lacking for most species that are conservation priorities. Although more research on species detection is needed, detectability estimates are important for many immediate decisions. Thus, we recommend: (1) estimating and accounting for detectability and designing rigorous surveys when confirming presence or absence is crucial. Otherwise, absence in surveys should be considered suggestive only and critical habitat should be managed even if species presences are unconfirmed. (2) When directly estimating detectability is prohibitively difficult, indirect estimates should be explored, for example through expert elicitation or trait-based predictors. (3) Detectability should be explicitly incorporated into decisions to ensure that surveys and management actions are directed where they have the greatest potential benefit.

Multiple rulemaking iterations have led to variable definitions of the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a rule that determines which waterbodies receive federal protection under the Clean Water Act. The rulemaking process has incorporated American Indian Tribes as “stakeholders” rather than as sovereign peoples, compounding a colonial legacy that limits the ability of Indigenous peoples to choose appropriate strategies for water protection on Tribal lands. For example, protecting waters for Tribal beneficial uses requires applying both Western science and Indigenous knowledge to document patterns of waterbody connectivity and permanence, which underpin WOTUS policy. To honor the federal trust responsibility (a legal obligation) of the US Government to Tribes, policy should incorporate a parallel set of scientific standards for determining WOTUS on Tribal lands. These standards must recognize culturally distinct uses of waters and account for place-based Indigenous knowledge. Examination of the intersection of the science supporting water protection, Indigenous sovereignty, and US policy has relevance to similar issues around the globe.