Journal for Nature Conservation最新文献

The charismatic migratory populations of monarch butterflies have declined precipitously in North America. A contributing threat might be the expansion of winter breeding populations in the southern portions of their historical eastern and western summer breeding ranges. Recent research suggests individuals from winter breeding populations are prone to high parasite burdens, resulting in lower fitness compared to migratory counterparts. Temporal and spatial overlap between these individuals and migratory monarchs in both fall and spring mean that interbreeding and use of the same host plants could result in transfer of parasites, especially the debilitating neogregarine Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, increasing the parasite load in migrating populations. We aimed to predict how climate change could affect the distribution of winter breeding monarchs in North America. We used ecological niche modeling of monarch larval observations for winter and current climate data to predict the current and future distributions of winter breeding monarchs across North America. Our analyses predict up to a 38% and 160% increase and a 574 and 340 km northward shift in suitable area for winter breeding monarchs in response to climate change by 2100 for eastern and western migratory populations, respectively. Our results support concerns over potential risk of disease spread from resident monarchs to the migratory monarch populations. In both eastern and western migratory populations this is due to an increase in overlap between the resident population and the areas through which the migratory populations travel during fall and spring migrations. Our results support calls for controlling the spread of non-native tropical milkweed, as winter breeding monarchs depend on this plant for reproduction.

People’s perceptions of wildlife are influenced by various factors. Studying these factors is a valuable tool to help conserve agro-biodiversity. The objective of this study was to analyze farmers’ perception of birds and mammals in a highly modified area of the Pampas region in Argentina, and to understand the factors that influence their decisions to apply methods that promote or control wildlife. An online survey was conducted to examine farmers’ perception of different animal groups, considering their economic activities and the factors influencing their decision to favor or control certain species. We received 65 responses, which revealed a negative perception toward two groups of birds and five groups of mammals, a neutral perception for one group of birds and four groups of mammals, and a positive for five groups of birds. Preserving natural vegetation along roadsides and field margins was the primary method to promote birds while reducing agrochemical use to promote mammals. Shooting was the main method employed to control all animals. The farmers’ positive perception, their main economic activity, and whether they resided on the farm significantly influenced their decisions to implement methods to promote species. The farmers’ negative perception, their main economic activity, their residence on the rural property, and their age affected their decisions to implement methods for controlling species. Understanding farmers’ perceptions and the drivers behind their decisions to promote or control species represent the initial step toward achieving sustainable management of agroecosystems.

This study investigated the population viability of Sotalia guianensis in the Cananéia Estuarine-Lagoon Complex, considering current and potential future scenarios. Simulations, using VORTEX software v. 10.5.5.0, spanned 100 years and were iterated 1000 times. Scenarios encompassed adjustments to demographic and environmental factors, evaluating population trajectories (baseline; increase fisheries; increase tourism; and increase harbour activity scenarios). Findings revealed a potential stochastic growth rate and population stabilization in baseline and increase tourism scenarios when major threats were absent. Conversely, increase fishing and harbour activity scenarios exhibited population decline, leading to eventual extinction within 100 years. Projected growth rates for all Scenarios were 0.0298 (SD=0.0424), −0.2650 (SD=0.2825), 0.0294 (SD=0.0654), and −0.0334 (SD=0.1145) respectively, with extinction probabilities of 0.0 for baseline and increase tourism scenarios, 1.0 for increase fishing scenario with mean estimated extinction time at 14 years, and 0.4430 for increase harbour activity scenario with mean estimated extinction time at 80.1 years. Sensitivity testing identified the percentage of adult females breeding and female mortality as the parameters most significantly impacting population trends. The simulations provided important insights into the primary factors impacting the viability of Sotalia guianensis and lay the groundwork for future population assessments and conservation plans.

Citizen science (CS) entails different citizen engagement levels in research. It is not well-known how these levels affect protected area (PA) governance. This review systematically maps and analyses how the empirical scientific literature has constructed the links between three CS engagement levels (contributory, collaborative, co-created CS) and their outcomes for protected areas’ governance. From our search results (5486 records), 63 articles dealt with the topic in-depth. The most common engagement level was contributory CS. Almost all collaborative and co-created CS projects were conducted outside Europe or North America. All CS levels support the strategy-formation phase of the governance cycle, whereas collaborative CS supports the monitoring and evaluation phase, and co-created CS the practical implementation. The collaborative/co-created CS supports legislative, cooperation-based, and information instruments, whereas economic instruments are not well-recognised by any CS level. Collaborative and co-created CS target a more diverse set of actors and governance levels, than contributory CS. Collaborative and co-created CS often mention project funding and collaboration as factors to achieve the outcomes, whereas contributory CS frequently mentions CS cost-effectiveness. In our total sample, CS is mainly conducted in national parks and Marine Protected Areas and targets simple monitoring objects. It shows a knowledge gap for other PA types and points to the need to diversify monitoring indicators. We suggest PA managers explore the potential of collaborative and co-created CS, especially in the European and North American context, as these CS levels support a more complex set of practice-oriented governance outcomes needed for strategic adaptive PA management.

The European bison continues to be a conservation dependent species, as it inhabits small reserve areas that require strict management. To ensure the species’ long-term viability, it is imperative to expand both its population size and geographical range. However, achieving this expansion within its historical range poses challenges due to intensive land use and dense human populations. The objective of this study was to model the potential distribution of the European bison beyond its historical range, specifically in the boreal zone of Europe. Utilizing the maximum entropy method alongside bioclimatic variables and land use analysis, the research revealed a significant expanse of suitable territory. This suggests the feasibility of establishing a contiguous habitat capable of supporting a substantial European bison population. Factors such as ongoing global warming, deforestation, and agricultural decline are further enhancing the creation of favorable habitats for the species.

Increasing concerns about biodiversity loss have prompted international efforts to restore degraded habitats. Unfortunately, wildlife habitat restoration often fails due to inadequate planning, inappropriate scale, or lack of providing key elements of habitats. We investigated the effectiveness of habitat restoration of a threatened amphibian species, the natterjack toad Epidalea calamita, in Estonia, comparing two different restoration approaches – partial habitat restoration and extensive habitat restoration over 16 years. Our goal was to investigate the impact of these two different approaches on the populations, to find out which habitat components play a key role in restoration and which measures are of primary importance in the restoration of habitats for small amphibian populations. We used GIS analysis to identify changes in the area of the habitat complex and breeding sites in seven natterjack toad locations following the restoration activities. To assess population response to habitat restoration, we used the census of the natterjack toad egg-strings as a proxy to the population size. The average number of egg-strings increased by 1.2-fold after partial habitat restoration and 3.5-fold when comparing partial habitat restoration with extensive restoration. Partial habitat restoration, which consisted of improving the condition of extant habitat, had no significant effect on population size (number of egg-strings), while extensive habitat restoration, which included improving and enlarging the entire habitat complex (both terrestrial and aquatic habitats as well as migration matrix between these components) led to population growth. The habitat features that positively influenced population growth were the area of entire habitat complex and the number and size of the breeding sites. In terms of habitat restoration and conservation measures, the number of natterjack toad populations was positively affected by restoration of the entire habitat complex (terrestrial habitats and water bodies), which was supplemented by the supportive rearing of tadpoles.

Area-based conservation measures are the main approach to preserve forest biodiversity. However, there is no common view on the best strategy in relation to spatial aggregation of conservation areas, for a given total area preserved. We conducted a systematic literature review to evaluate the effect of mean patch size and aggregation of conservation areas on landscape-scale biodiversity in boreal forest. Our main objectives were to find empirical evidence regarding whether few large or several small conservation areas protect more biodiversity and investigate how the spatial aggregation of conservation areas affects biodiversity. We searched specifically for studies comparing biodiversity across many small vs. few large and dispersed vs. aggregated conservation areas, controlling for total area protected. Although our initial search resulted in a large number of articles, not a single study assessed landscape-scale biodiversity in many small vs. few large, or dispersed vs. aggregated conservation areas, of a spatial scale relevant to average-sized or even small nature reserves (i.e. ≥ 10 ha). We did find 5 studies comparing many small vs. few large conservation patches within clear-cuts, and one study of forest patches within a national park (ca 7 ha). The conservation areas on clear-cuts were patches of retained trees, with the smallest patches being single trees. The effect of patch size on biodiversity varied among studies, mostly indicating neutral effects of patch size. While the results of these studies are relevant to clear-cuts, their relatively small spatial extent (the largest retained patch being 1.2 ha) precludes extrapolation to scales relevant to reserves in boreal forest. Our review exposes an extensive knowledge gap regarding consequences of the sizes of conservation areas on landscape-scale boreal forest biodiversity. Until such information is available, we recommend a combined approach involving both small and large conservation areas in boreal forest.

At present, the conflict between humans and wildlife in China is becoming more serious, and the wildlife damage compensation policy, as an important part of the ecological compensation system, has become an important means to alleviate the contradiction between wildlife protection and farm household development. This study empirically examines the mechanism of action and analyses the impact of the pilot wildlife damage compensation policy on farmers’ incomes, using Chinese provincial panel data from 2004 to 2021, and employing synthetic control methods, double difference models and moderated effects models. The results show that: (1) At the provincial level, the wildlife damage compensation policy can significantly increase farmers’ income by 16.7 %, which has been validated through a series of robustness tests. (2) Further analysis using micro-survey data shows that the wildlife compensation policy significantly increases farmers’ income by 22.5 %. (3) Mechanism analysis reveals that the wildlife damage compensation policy can increase rural agricultural employment by 4.3 %, thereby increasing farmers’ income. (4) Heterogeneity analyses indicate that wildlife damage compensation policy has different effects on farmers’ income. Among these, the impact on low-income farmers is more pronounced. Understanding the impact and heterogeneity of wildlife damage compensation policy on farmers’ income can facilitate the design of targeted compensation policies to address the mismatch between conservation and development, thereby achieving the policy objective of promoting a symbiotic coexistence between wildlife conservation and farmers’ economic interests.