Pub Date : 2024-11-27DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110889
Lorena Madrigal , Bernardo Yáñez Macías Valadez
International scientific journals periodically publish articles about research which often takes place in the “global South”, nevertheless, the results of this research are frequently authored and conducted mainly by principal investigators from the “global North”. This reality reflects economic and structural disparities resulting from centuries of differential economic growth, extraction, and exploitation. Although scientists from the global North of this generation do not work for empires which are in the process of active colonization, they still have a responsibility to behave in an intellectual non-imperialistic manner. The authors of this paper, both from the global South (one practicing science in the global North), discuss examples in which the practice of field science or its reporting have failed to be inclusive or even respectful of the local investigators or communities. We also discuss examples of inclusive and respectful papers and point to how the authors of these projects behaved differently. We understand that some linguistic or reporting practices might seem benign to those who use or promote them. However, to those of us who are mis-represented by those reports, these words matter and offend. We are taking this opportunity to discuss these issues with our peers and hope for an inclusive and respectful global practice of field science, as well as a better science communication.
{"title":"What Science in the tropics should not be about","authors":"Lorena Madrigal , Bernardo Yáñez Macías Valadez","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110889","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110889","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>International scientific journals periodically publish articles about research which often takes place in the “global South”, nevertheless, the results of this research are frequently authored and conducted mainly by principal investigators from the “global North”. This reality reflects economic and structural disparities resulting from centuries of differential economic growth, extraction, and exploitation. Although scientists from the global North of this generation do not work for empires which are in the process of active colonization, they still have a responsibility to behave in an intellectual non-imperialistic manner. The authors of this paper, both from the global South (one practicing science in the global North), discuss examples in which the practice of field science or its reporting have failed to be inclusive or even respectful of the local investigators or communities. We also discuss examples of inclusive and respectful papers and point to how the authors of these projects behaved differently. We understand that some linguistic or reporting practices might seem benign to those who use or promote them. However, to those of us who are mis-represented by those reports, these words matter and offend. We are taking this opportunity to discuss these issues with our peers and hope for an inclusive and respectful global practice of field science, as well as a better science communication.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110889"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142723530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-26DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110847
Vishnu Menon , Kate Giljohann , Jack Pascoe , Brendan Wintle , Alan Robley , Laura Town-Hopkinson , Bronwyn Hradsky
Preventing further biodiversity loss requires understanding which processes threaten biodiversity and the effectiveness of management actions in mitigating them. Threatening processes can interact in complex and unexpected ways, but different threats are often managed independently. Here, we develop a conceptual model to identify the conditions needed for management of a single threat to achieve a net conservation benefit in systems with multiple interacting threats, and demonstrate its relevance in a replicated case-study experiment. In Australia, introduced red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cats (Felis catus) may hunt vulnerable native mammals more effectively after fire, due to loss of understory vegetation. However, the efficacy of broad-scale control of introduced predators in improving native mammal resilience to fire has not been quantified. Using a natural before-after control-impact experiment with 14 prescribed fires, each >200 ha, we tested whether existing landscape-scale fox baiting programs influenced the immediate effects of prescribed fire on these two introduced predators and five medium-sized native mammals, including the threatened long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) and southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus). Fox occupancy increased across both treatments post-fire, but baiting reduced the magnitude of increase. In contrast, mean feral cat occupancy remained constant in unbaited areas post-fire, but nearly doubled in fox-controlled areas. Existing landscape-scale fox control programs did not clearly improve the short-term resilience of native mammals to prescribed fire (at least under the current fire and fox management regimes in our study landscapes). In the presence of acute disturbances such as fire, threatened native mammals may require more intensive and integrated management of fire and introduced predators, such as targeted predator control around fire events or protection using natural or artificial refuges).
{"title":"Managing multiple threats: Evaluating the efficacy of broad-scale introduced predator management in improving native mammal resilience to fire","authors":"Vishnu Menon , Kate Giljohann , Jack Pascoe , Brendan Wintle , Alan Robley , Laura Town-Hopkinson , Bronwyn Hradsky","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110847","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110847","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Preventing further biodiversity loss requires understanding which processes threaten biodiversity and the effectiveness of management actions in mitigating them. Threatening processes can interact in complex and unexpected ways, but different threats are often managed independently. Here, we develop a conceptual model to identify the conditions needed for management of a single threat to achieve a net conservation benefit in systems with multiple interacting threats, and demonstrate its relevance in a replicated case-study experiment. In Australia, introduced red foxes (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>) and feral cats (<em>Felis catus</em>) may hunt vulnerable native mammals more effectively after fire, due to loss of understory vegetation. However, the efficacy of broad-scale control of introduced predators in improving native mammal resilience to fire has not been quantified. Using a natural before-after control-impact experiment with 14 prescribed fires, each >200 ha, we tested whether existing landscape-scale fox baiting programs influenced the immediate effects of prescribed fire on these two introduced predators and five medium-sized native mammals, including the threatened long-nosed potoroo (<em>Potorous tridactylus</em>) and southern brown bandicoot (<em>Isoodon obesulus</em>). Fox occupancy increased across both treatments post-fire, but baiting reduced the magnitude of increase. In contrast, mean feral cat occupancy remained constant in unbaited areas post-fire, but nearly doubled in fox-controlled areas. Existing landscape-scale fox control programs did not clearly improve the short-term resilience of native mammals to prescribed fire (at least under the current fire and fox management regimes in our study landscapes). In the presence of acute disturbances such as fire, threatened native mammals may require more intensive and integrated management of fire and introduced predators, such as targeted predator control around fire events or protection using natural or artificial refuges).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110847"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142723532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-26DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110878
Hannah Lacy , Maria Beger , Lochran W. Traill
The geographical range of common hippopotamus' (Hippopotamus amphibius) has retracted over the last century as a result of anthropogenic pressures. At present, extant common hippopotamus (hereafter, hippo) populations are fragmented and largely constrained to Protected Areas. There is an urgent need for conservation management, but data and information on the spatial ecology of hippos to base conservation strategies on are lacking. Without a centralised and collaborative database that documents their distribution and abundance, comprehensive population assessments remain a challenge. This study establishes a detailed spatial database of hippo population estimates and distribution across southern Africa, by collating recent survey data from a range of sources, facilitating population monitoring and informed conservation decision making. Drawing from a review of the primary literature, grey literature, aerial surveys, websites, and expert input, we provide a comprehensive geographic range map for hippos and evaluate hippo distribution within Protected Areas. Our review reveals several discrepancies between our data and previous hippo distribution and abundance estimates. We also highlight inconsistent methods used to survey hippo populations across southern Africa. By identifying twelve regions with large populations of hippos (>1000 individuals), our findings underscore the importance of extensive and well-connected Transfrontier Conservation Areas to support large, dense hippo populations. We encourage the IUCN SSC Hippo Specialist Group to promote standardised and coordinated surveys and progress a spatial database of hippo distribution and abundance across the rest of Africa.
{"title":"Present distribution of common hippopotamus populations in southern Africa, and the need for a centralised database","authors":"Hannah Lacy , Maria Beger , Lochran W. Traill","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110878","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110878","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The geographical range of common hippopotamus' (<em>Hippopotamus amphibius</em>) has retracted over the last century as a result of anthropogenic pressures. At present, extant common hippopotamus (hereafter, hippo) populations are fragmented and largely constrained to Protected Areas. There is an urgent need for conservation management, but data and information on the spatial ecology of hippos to base conservation strategies on are lacking. Without a centralised and collaborative database that documents their distribution and abundance, comprehensive population assessments remain a challenge. This study establishes a detailed spatial database of hippo population estimates and distribution across southern Africa, by collating recent survey data from a range of sources, facilitating population monitoring and informed conservation decision making. Drawing from a review of the primary literature, grey literature, aerial surveys, websites, and expert input, we provide a comprehensive geographic range map for hippos and evaluate hippo distribution within Protected Areas. Our review reveals several discrepancies between our data and previous hippo distribution and abundance estimates. We also highlight inconsistent methods used to survey hippo populations across southern Africa. By identifying twelve regions with large populations of hippos (>1000 individuals), our findings underscore the importance of extensive and well-connected Transfrontier Conservation Areas to support large, dense hippo populations. We encourage the IUCN SSC Hippo Specialist Group to promote standardised and coordinated surveys and progress a spatial database of hippo distribution and abundance across the rest of Africa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110878"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142697688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-24DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110867
Laurent Larrieu , Christophe Bouget , Benoit Courbaud , Inken Doerfler , Nicolas Gouix , Michel Goulard , Sylvie Ladet , Fabien Laroche , Amandine Acloque , Rita Bütler , Daniel Kozák , Daniel Kraus , Frank Krumm , Thibault Lachat , Maxence Martin , Jörg Müller , Yoan Paillet , Andreas Schuck , Jonas Stillhard , Miroslav Svoboda , Sergey Zudin
Tree-related Microhabitats (TreMs) are of prime concern for biodiversity since they host thousands of taxa. TreMs are discrete habitat patches borne by trees and cover a wide range of lifespans, from days to decades to centuries. The taxa associated with such discrete and sometimes highly ephemeral habitat patches are likely to be sensitive to spatial distribution because they need to search for new habitats after the occupied one disappears. Although many studies have recently been dedicated to TreMs, only very few have investigated their spatial distribution. Focusing on European beech-dominated forests, we used a European TreM database with 12,362 trees and 296 plots (ranging from local (0.1–1 ha) to landscape scale (10,000 ha)) to assess TreM spatial distribution patterns in long unmanaged forests. Then, with a TreM sub-database with 6828 trees and 21 plots, we assessed whether and if so, how harvesting changes spatial patterns at the plot scale. In long unmanaged forests, most TreMs showed a regular pattern at the plot scale and an aggregated pattern at larger scales. Tree diameter was the most influential factor for spatial patterns in TreMs. Spatial patterns at the plot scale in harvested forests differed slightly from those observed in unmanaged forests. To favor TreM-dwelling taxa in harvested stands, our results suggest retaining habitat trees in a regular spatial pattern to mimic the natural pattern. However, some TreMs should be conserved in an aggregate pattern; we specify the spatial scale at which this should be done.
{"title":"Spatial distribution of tree-related microhabitats in European beech-dominated forests","authors":"Laurent Larrieu , Christophe Bouget , Benoit Courbaud , Inken Doerfler , Nicolas Gouix , Michel Goulard , Sylvie Ladet , Fabien Laroche , Amandine Acloque , Rita Bütler , Daniel Kozák , Daniel Kraus , Frank Krumm , Thibault Lachat , Maxence Martin , Jörg Müller , Yoan Paillet , Andreas Schuck , Jonas Stillhard , Miroslav Svoboda , Sergey Zudin","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110867","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110867","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tree-related Microhabitats (TreMs) are of prime concern for biodiversity since they host thousands of taxa. TreMs are discrete habitat patches borne by trees and cover a wide range of lifespans, from days to decades to centuries. The taxa associated with such discrete and sometimes highly ephemeral habitat patches are likely to be sensitive to spatial distribution because they need to search for new habitats after the occupied one disappears. Although many studies have recently been dedicated to TreMs, only very few have investigated their spatial distribution. Focusing on European beech-dominated forests, we used a European TreM database with 12,362 trees and 296 plots (ranging from local (0.1–1 ha) to landscape scale (10,000 ha)) to assess TreM spatial distribution patterns in long unmanaged forests. Then, with a TreM sub-database with 6828 trees and 21 plots, we assessed whether and if so, how harvesting changes spatial patterns at the plot scale. In long unmanaged forests, most TreMs showed a regular pattern at the plot scale and an aggregated pattern at larger scales. Tree diameter was the most influential factor for spatial patterns in TreMs. Spatial patterns at the plot scale in harvested forests differed slightly from those observed in unmanaged forests. To favor TreM-dwelling taxa in harvested stands, our results suggest retaining habitat trees in a regular spatial pattern to mimic the natural pattern. However, some TreMs should be conserved in an aggregate pattern; we specify the spatial scale at which this should be done.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110867"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142697686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-24DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110855
April M. Goebl , Michelle DePrenger-Levin , Rebecca A. Hufft , Daniel F. Doak
Quantification of population dynamics and predictions of species viability rely on estimates of vital rates and an understanding of the ecological drivers of these rates. Most standard methods for assessing impacts of drivers, such as climate, on vital rates require annual demographic data for many individuals over multiple years. However, many real studies have either planned or unplanned data gaps. Vital rates are usually estimated over annual transitions, therefore one year of missing data results in two missing estimates. Additionally, relating annual climate variation to changes in vital rates is challenging if studies do not collect data annually. To avoid this loss of information due to missing data, we developed and then tested a Bayesian modeling approach for a dataset with missing years. Using an 18-year study of the rare plant Eriogonum brandegeei we estimate vital rates, their relationship to annual climate, and stochastic population growth. By comparing model performance across data subsets, as well as in tests using simulated data, we find that the approach works well with missing years of demographic data and removes the need to ignore information from multi-year transitions. This generalizable approach increases the useability of available data to study species dynamics despite patchy demographic data.
{"title":"Optimizing demographic analysis in the face of missing data years to improve conservation of threatened species","authors":"April M. Goebl , Michelle DePrenger-Levin , Rebecca A. Hufft , Daniel F. Doak","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110855","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110855","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Quantification of population dynamics and predictions of species viability rely on estimates of vital rates and an understanding of the ecological drivers of these rates. Most standard methods for assessing impacts of drivers, such as climate, on vital rates require annual demographic data for many individuals over multiple years. However, many real studies have either planned or unplanned data gaps. Vital rates are usually estimated over annual transitions, therefore one year of missing data results in two missing estimates. Additionally, relating annual climate variation to changes in vital rates is challenging if studies do not collect data annually. To avoid this loss of information due to missing data, we developed and then tested a Bayesian modeling approach for a dataset with missing years. Using an 18-year study of the rare plant <em>Eriogonum brandegeei</em> we estimate vital rates, their relationship to annual climate, and stochastic population growth. By comparing model performance across data subsets, as well as in tests using simulated data, we find that the approach works well with missing years of demographic data and removes the need to ignore information from multi-year transitions. This generalizable approach increases the useability of available data to study species dynamics despite patchy demographic data.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110855"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142697192","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-24DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110865
Caleb P. Roberts , Alison K. Ludwig , Dillon T. Fogarty , Erica F. Stuber , Daniel R. Uden , Thomas L. Walker Jr , Dirac Twidwell
Woody plant encroachment and row-crop agricultural land conversion are existential threats to species that rely on grassland ecosystems. The American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) is a threatened species whose largest remnant populations are predominantly located in grassland ecoregions comprised of privately-owned ranching lands. Here, we seek to determine functional scaling patterns and population trends of the American Burying Beetle in the face of conservation threats and grassland restoration. We used 13 years (2007–2019) of American Burying Beetle abundance data collected from permanent sampling locations across the Loess Canyons ecoregion (Nebraska, USA), where a network of ranchers have been restoring large-scale grasslands. To estimate beetle abundance relative to land cover variables, we developed a Bayesian N-mixture model, incorporating the Bayesian latent indicator scale selection (BLISS) method to probabilistically determine at which scales land cover variables best explained beetle abundance. American Burying Beetle abundance exhibited high interannual variation but overall significantly increased across the ecoregion. Increases in beetle abundance were associated with large-scale (1149 ha extent) grassland cover. Decreases in abundance were associated with large-scale crop conversion (590 ha extent) and large-scale increases in woody cover (1149 ha extent). This study provides the first evidence of ecoregion-scale population increases of the American Burying Beetle. These increases are tied to landscape variables that are managed in a large-scale, coordinated private lands grassland restoration effort. Our results suggest that successful grassland restoration will depend on coordinating across property boundaries to implement conservation at scales necessary to conserve species that require large-scale, unfragmented grasslands.
{"title":"Population increases of the threatened American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) linked to large-scale collaborations in a working lands ecoregion","authors":"Caleb P. Roberts , Alison K. Ludwig , Dillon T. Fogarty , Erica F. Stuber , Daniel R. Uden , Thomas L. Walker Jr , Dirac Twidwell","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110865","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110865","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Woody plant encroachment and row-crop agricultural land conversion are existential threats to species that rely on grassland ecosystems. The American Burying Beetle (<em>Nicrophorus americanus</em>) is a threatened species whose largest remnant populations are predominantly located in grassland ecoregions comprised of privately-owned ranching lands. Here, we seek to determine functional scaling patterns and population trends of the American Burying Beetle in the face of conservation threats and grassland restoration. We used 13 years (2007–2019) of American Burying Beetle abundance data collected from permanent sampling locations across the Loess Canyons ecoregion (Nebraska, USA), where a network of ranchers have been restoring large-scale grasslands. To estimate beetle abundance relative to land cover variables, we developed a Bayesian N-mixture model, incorporating the Bayesian latent indicator scale selection (BLISS) method to probabilistically determine at which scales land cover variables best explained beetle abundance. American Burying Beetle abundance exhibited high interannual variation but overall significantly increased across the ecoregion. Increases in beetle abundance were associated with large-scale (1149 ha extent) grassland cover. Decreases in abundance were associated with large-scale crop conversion (590 ha extent) and large-scale increases in woody cover (1149 ha extent). This study provides the first evidence of ecoregion-scale population increases of the American Burying Beetle. These increases are tied to landscape variables that are managed in a large-scale, coordinated private lands grassland restoration effort. Our results suggest that successful grassland restoration will depend on coordinating across property boundaries to implement conservation at scales necessary to conserve species that require large-scale, unfragmented grasslands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110865"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142697687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Fires and grazing disrupt the diversity and composition of biological organisms and their functions in the savannas. In the current study, we assessed the impact of fire and grazing intensities on the abundance, species richness and assemblages of eight functional groups of arthropods in Kruger National Park. Pitfalls and active searches were used to collect arthropods at the experimental burnt plots (EBPs) and grazed plots that were undisturbed, minimally or heavily disturbed in Mopane and Skukuza regions. Omnivores constituted the highest proportion (40 %) of individuals, whilst detritivores, granivores, hematophagous, herbivores, nectarivores, predators and scavengers constituted between 0.5 % and 31.4 %. The abundance, species richness and assemblages of different functional groups significantly varied among EBPs and grazed sites in Mopane and Skukuza. The abundance and species richness of arthropods were higher at EBPs compared to grazed plots in Mopane and Skukuza. Furthermore, abundance was higher at the undisturbed compared to disturbed plots and a contrary pattern was observed for species richness. Results showed a distinct variation in the assemblage of detritivores, nectarivores, omnivores and predators between EBPs and grazed plots, with a clear separation between Mopane and Skukuza. However, the composition of granivores and herbivores was neither influenced by fires nor grazing in the Mopane and Skukuza. The intensity of disturbances by fire and grazing failed to drive arthropod assemblages within different functional groups. We conclude that fire and grazing are potent drivers of assemblages of arthropod functional groups in Afrotropical savannas requiring evidence-based manipulation for the conservation of key species.
{"title":"Consequences of fire and grazing to conservation of arthropod functional diversity in a protected Afrotropical savanna","authors":"Ludzula Mukwevho , Tatenda Dalu , Mduduzi Ndlovu , Frank Chidawanyika","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110885","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110885","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fires and grazing disrupt the diversity and composition of biological organisms and their functions in the savannas. In the current study, we assessed the impact of fire and grazing intensities on the abundance, species richness and assemblages of eight functional groups of arthropods in Kruger National Park. Pitfalls and active searches were used to collect arthropods at the experimental burnt plots (EBPs) and grazed plots that were undisturbed, minimally or heavily disturbed in Mopane and Skukuza regions. Omnivores constituted the highest proportion (40 %) of individuals, whilst detritivores, granivores, hematophagous, herbivores, nectarivores, predators and scavengers constituted between 0.5 % and 31.4 %. The abundance, species richness and assemblages of different functional groups significantly varied among EBPs and grazed sites in Mopane and Skukuza. The abundance and species richness of arthropods were higher at EBPs compared to grazed plots in Mopane and Skukuza. Furthermore, abundance was higher at the undisturbed compared to disturbed plots and a contrary pattern was observed for species richness. Results showed a distinct variation in the assemblage of detritivores, nectarivores, omnivores and predators between EBPs and grazed plots, with a clear separation between Mopane and Skukuza. However, the composition of granivores and herbivores was neither influenced by fires nor grazing in the Mopane and Skukuza. The intensity of disturbances by fire and grazing failed to drive arthropod assemblages within different functional groups. We conclude that fire and grazing are potent drivers of assemblages of arthropod functional groups in Afrotropical savannas requiring evidence-based manipulation for the conservation of key species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110885"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142697680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110880
Graham J. Edgar
Many species have benefited from management actions associated with listing as threatened on the IUCN Red List, resulting in fewer extinctions relative to business as usual. Red List criteria used to categorise threat status have, however, been designed with primary focus on higher vertebrates, and consequently produce inconsistent and deficient threat assessments for other taxa. Equally valid decisions on population trend shape, generation length, period of assessment, and habitat quality can result in threat status determinations ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered. Moreover, inconspicuous species exhibiting catastrophic population decline to below detection limits can ultimately be regarded as Data Deficient, thus categorised as neither extinct nor threatened. Under-estimation of extinction frequency biases our understanding of global environmental change and the urgent need for societal action. Improved extinction risk assessments can be achieved with changes and simplification of Red List criteria, and detailed case examples that guide progress through decision-points.
{"title":"IUCN Red List criteria fail to recognise most threatened and extinct species","authors":"Graham J. Edgar","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110880","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110880","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Many species have benefited from management actions associated with listing as threatened on the IUCN Red List, resulting in fewer extinctions relative to business as usual. Red List criteria used to categorise threat status have, however, been designed with primary focus on higher vertebrates, and consequently produce inconsistent and deficient threat assessments for other taxa. Equally valid decisions on population trend shape, generation length, period of assessment, and habitat quality can result in threat status determinations ranging from Least Concern to Critically Endangered. Moreover, inconspicuous species exhibiting catastrophic population decline to below detection limits can ultimately be regarded as Data Deficient, thus categorised as neither extinct nor threatened. Under-estimation of extinction frequency biases our understanding of global environmental change and the urgent need for societal action. Improved extinction risk assessments can be achieved with changes and simplification of Red List criteria, and detailed case examples that guide progress through decision-points.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110880"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142697689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110874
Yoan Paillet , Livia Zapponi , Peter Schall , Jean-Matthieu Monnet , Christian Ammer , Lorenzo Balducci , Steffen Boch , Gediminas Brazaitis , Alessandro Campanaro , Francesco Chianucci , Inken Doerfler , Markus Fischer , Marion Gosselin , Martin M. Gossner , Jacob Heilmann-Clausen , Jeňýk Hofmeister , Jan Hošek , Kirsten Jung , Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas , Peter Odor , Sabina Burrascano
Several regional initiatives and reporting efforts assess the state of forest biodiversity through broad-scale indicators based on data from national forest inventories. Although valuable, these indicators are essentially indirect and evaluate habitat quantity and quality rather than biodiversity per se. Therefore, their link to biodiversity may be weak, which decreases their usefulness for decision-making.
For several decades, Forest Europe indicators assessed the state of European forests, in particular their biodiversity. However, no extensive study has been conducted to date to assess their performance – i.e. the capacity of the indicators to reflect variations in biodiversity – against multitaxonomic data. We hypothesized that no single biodiversity indicator from Forest Europe can represent overall forest biodiversity, but that several indicators would reflect habitat quality for at least some taxa in a comprehensive way. We tested the set of Forest Europe's indicators against the species richness of six taxonomic and functional groups across several hundreds of sampling units over Europe. We showed that, while some indicators perform relatively well across groups (e.g. deadwood volume), no single indicator represented all biodiversity at once, and that a combination of several indicators performed better.
Forest Europe indicators were chosen for their availability and ease of understanding for most people. However, we showed that gaps in the monitoring framework persist, and that surveying certain taxa along with stand structure is necessary to support policymaking and tackle forest biodiversity loss at the large scale. Adding context (e.g. forest type) may also contribute to increase the performance of biodiversity indicators.
{"title":"One to rule them all? Assessing the performance of sustainable forest management indicators against multitaxonomic data for biodiversity conservation","authors":"Yoan Paillet , Livia Zapponi , Peter Schall , Jean-Matthieu Monnet , Christian Ammer , Lorenzo Balducci , Steffen Boch , Gediminas Brazaitis , Alessandro Campanaro , Francesco Chianucci , Inken Doerfler , Markus Fischer , Marion Gosselin , Martin M. Gossner , Jacob Heilmann-Clausen , Jeňýk Hofmeister , Jan Hošek , Kirsten Jung , Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas , Peter Odor , Sabina Burrascano","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110874","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110874","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Several regional initiatives and reporting efforts assess the state of forest biodiversity through broad-scale indicators based on data from national forest inventories. Although valuable, these indicators are essentially indirect and evaluate habitat quantity and quality rather than biodiversity per se. Therefore, their link to biodiversity may be weak, which decreases their usefulness for decision-making.</div><div>For several decades, Forest Europe indicators assessed the state of European forests, in particular their biodiversity. However, no extensive study has been conducted to date to assess their performance – i.e. the capacity of the indicators to reflect variations in biodiversity – against multitaxonomic data. We hypothesized that no single biodiversity indicator from Forest Europe can represent overall forest biodiversity, but that several indicators would reflect habitat quality for at least some taxa in a comprehensive way. We tested the set of Forest Europe's indicators against the species richness of six taxonomic and functional groups across several hundreds of sampling units over Europe. We showed that, while some indicators perform relatively well across groups (e.g. deadwood volume), no single indicator represented all biodiversity at once, and that a combination of several indicators performed better.</div><div>Forest Europe indicators were chosen for their availability and ease of understanding for most people. However, we showed that gaps in the monitoring framework persist, and that surveying certain taxa along with stand structure is necessary to support policymaking and tackle forest biodiversity loss at the large scale. Adding context (e.g. forest type) may also contribute to increase the performance of biodiversity indicators.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"300 ","pages":"Article 110874"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142704577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-11-22DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110863
Wenqiang Hu , Xueyou Li , Kenneth Otieno Onditi , Hongjiao Wang , Wenyu Song , Zhechang Hu , Changzhe Pu , Mingjing Pu , Yun Xiong , Suhua Yang , Lin Zhu , Jianqiang Yin , Lifan He , Haoyang Song , Yueti Li , Ge Gao , William V. Bleisch , Xuelong Jiang
Understanding wildlife distribution patterns in relation to human disturbance and environmental variables across varying spatial and temporal dimensions is crucial for advancing effective conservation strategies. Here, we employed multi-species occupancy models on an extensive dataset derived from a systematic camera trapping survey across the Gaoligong Mountains to examine the effects of human modification (settlements and farmland) and human presence (camera detections of humans and livestock), latitude, and elevation on the diversity and distribution of large and medium-sized mammal species. We divided the study area into three sections (northern, middle and southern), 12 altitude zones, and sampling years into wet and dry seasons. We used spatial and temporal β diversity indices to quantify changes in species assemblages. From 375 stations over 113,204 camera days, we recorded 34 large and medium-sized mammal species. Throughout the year, the community mean occupancy showed a strong negative response to latitude. The dry season community mean occupancy negatively responded to latitude, elevation, and human modification and presence. Species turnover was the primary driver of diversity changes across all sections. Importantly, lower altitude zones from 1700 to 2300 m gained more species in the dry seasons, compared with wet seasons. These findings underscore the critical importance of low-elevation habitats for mammal conservation, emphasizing the need for targeted protection and restoration efforts in these areas. Effective conservation strategies should incorporate spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics, with particular attention to the varying habitat requirements of species across different seasons.
{"title":"Spatiotemporal distribution patterns of large and medium-sized mammals in a biodiversity hotspot: Implications for conservation","authors":"Wenqiang Hu , Xueyou Li , Kenneth Otieno Onditi , Hongjiao Wang , Wenyu Song , Zhechang Hu , Changzhe Pu , Mingjing Pu , Yun Xiong , Suhua Yang , Lin Zhu , Jianqiang Yin , Lifan He , Haoyang Song , Yueti Li , Ge Gao , William V. Bleisch , Xuelong Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110863","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110863","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><u>Understanding wildlife distribution patterns in relation to human disturbance and environmental variables across varying spatial and temporal dimensions is crucial for advancing effective conservation strategies. Here, we employed multi-species occupancy models on an extensive dataset derived from a systematic camera trapping survey across the Gaoligong Mountains to examine the effects of human modification (settlements and farmland) and human presence (camera detections of humans and livestock), latitude, and elevation on the diversity and distribution of large and medium-sized mammal species. We divided the study area into three sections (northern, middle and southern), 12 altitude zones, and sampling years into wet and dry seasons. We used spatial and temporal β diversity indices to quantify changes in species assemblages. From 375 stations over 113,204 camera days, we recorded 34 large and medium-sized mammal species. Throughout the year, the community mean occupancy showed a strong negative response to latitude. The dry season community mean occupancy negatively responded to latitude, elevation, and human modification and presence. Species turnover was the primary driver of diversity changes across all sections. Importantly, lower altitude zones from 1700 <u>to</u> 2300 m gained more species in the dry seasons, compared with wet seasons. These findings underscore the critical importance of low-elevation habitats for mammal conservation, emphasizing the need for targeted protection and restoration efforts in these areas. Effective conservation strategies should incorporate spatial heterogeneity and temporal dynamics, with particular attention to the varying habitat requirements of species across different seasons.</u></div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"301 ","pages":"Article 110863"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142697682","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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