Biodiversity and Conservation最新文献

Although the EU policy for conservation varieties has a history of more than a decade, there is little relevant academic literature. Geographical Indications (GIs) have an important role to play in preserving plant varieties. This paper assesses the implementation of the EU policy for conservation varieties from 2009 to 2023 and examines the relationship between conservation varieties and GIs. Data from the Common Catalogue of Varieties and the e-ambrosia database are used. According to the findings of the study, although the number of conservation varieties keeps increasing, it remains marginal when compared to the total number of varieties found in the Common Catalogue of Varieties. Different types of maintainers exist while the registration fee and the interpretation of the notion of region of origin differ among EU Member States. As far as GIs are concerned, few use conservation varieties as enforceable rules. However, as both GIs and conservation varieties increase in numbers their relationship will strengthen.

One of the few remaining extra-tropical palm species in the world, the Jubaea chilensis, is facing imminent collapse. This letter aims to urgently call upon the Chilean state to take immediate action on six key initiatives focused on enhancing the conservation of this endemic species and its natural habitats.

Fire offers both opportunities and risks for wildlife. Its impact will depend on the fire’s scale, how it alters key resources and how animals move. Understanding how wildlife respond to fire is crucial as climate change is predicted to increase wildfire risk and will likely result in more frequent prescribed fire to reduce wildfire risk. Invasive predators and inappropriate fire regimes in south-eastern Australia threaten the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus), a vulnerable marsupial often residing in areas frequently exposed to fire. The cumulative impacts of fire and predation may increase the threat to P. tridactylus after fire, as predators can be more effective in the immediate post-fire environment and P. tridactylus is often dependent on thick ground cover. We present a before-after control-impact experiment describing the influence of prescribed fire on P. tridactylus. We fitted GPS collars to 52 individuals at nine independent sites to test if exposure to prescribed burning reduced their survival or altered their movement behavior. Prescribed fire reduced P. tridactylus survival, yet range size and diffusion (movement) rate remained largely unaffected. With limited fire exposure, P. tridactylus tended to continue using burnt areas whereas activity became restricted to unburnt areas when larger proportions of their home range burnt. Site fidelity was very high - individuals rarely moved their home ranges after fire, regardless of fire exposure. Our results suggest recently burnt areas may be particularly dangerous for P. tridactylus: areas that can be attractive yet confer lower fitness outcomes. P. tridactylus may benefit from smaller fire scars, retention of structurally complex vegetation, and integrating invasive predator control with prescribed burning.

Knowing the centers of richness and endemism is crucial for prioritizing biodiversity conservation efforts, particularly in taxa susceptible to environmental changes and in regions of significant biological importance. We used species occurrence data from species lists, online information sources, and herbarium records to identify the centers of endemism of liverworts in Colombia. Sampling biases were assessed using the ‘sampbias’ package. Geospatial analyses were applied to identify species richness and endemism centers, with the latter identified using the NDM/VNDM algorithm. Species conservation status was evaluated based on IUCN Red List criterion B using the ‘ConR’ package. Despite low sampling efforts across all regions, the collection bias model revealed disparities in sampling, with fewer expected records in the Orinoco, Caribbean, and Amazon regions, highlighting the need for new inventories in these priority areas. The Andean (567 total species, 16 endemic species and subspecies) and Pacific (301 total species, 7 endemic species) regions stood out with higher richness. Two centers of endemism were identified: the Pacific and the Andean regions, emerging as priorities for conservation investments. Only 4% of the total area of the centers of endemism in Colombia was found within protected areas (PAs), and 40% of species were classified as threatened. Despite the challenges, 22.7% of the endemic species are found within PAs, underscoring the urgent need for efficient PA management, especially those located along the central Andes Mountain range.

Most forests are impacted by humans and are at the center of numerous species extinctions. Wilderness areas (i.e., areas with little or no human influence) are essential to limit biodiversity loss and are expected to have the most intact natural communities. The southern Yungas are neotropical mountain forests affected by unsustainable human activities that may pose a risk for many species. We used camera trap data, multispecies occupancy models, and regional human footprint index to assess the occupancy of medium- and large-sized mammal assemblage in wilderness areas and the effect of human influence variables in the southern Yungas forests of Salta and Jujuy provinces, Argentina. The occupancy probability of the mammal assemblage, red-brocket deer (Mazama rufa), tapeti (Sylvilagus paraguensis), crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris), and tayra (Eira barbara) was higher in wilderness areas than in areas with human influence. When one human influence variable of the human footprint index was analyzed at a time, greater distance from hamlets (i.e., small, isolated human houses) resulted in higher occupancy probability of the mammal assemblage, jaguar (Panthera onca), crab-eating fox, and lowland tapir. Distance to transformed areas had no significant effect on occupancy probability of the mammal assemblage, a positive effect on lowland tapir, and a negative effect on grey-brocket deer (Subulo gouazoubira). Distance to roads did not affect the occupancy probability of the mammal assemblage or species. Wilderness areas in the southern Yungas contribute substantially to the conservation of medium- and large-sized mammal assemblage and should be prioritized in conservation strategies.

As one of the world’s mega-biodiverse regions, the Indian subcontinent harbors exceptional biological riches spanning diverse taxa and ecosystems. However, rapid economic growth and associated anthropogenic pressures pose ever-increasing threats to native biota through habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive species, climate change, and pollution. This paper analyzes India’s changing biodiversity landscape, evaluates the efficacy of conservation policies, and charts strategic priorities for the future. Spatiotemporal trends for 3563 species across terrestrial, fresh water and marine realms were assessed using IUCN Red List data. We find that birds and mammals show modest improvements recently owing to legal protections and habitat recovery initiatives. However, other less-charismatic taxa exhibit alarming population declines nationwide. Our policy analysis highlights critical gaps in implementation frameworks involving multi-sector coordination, capacity building, benefit sharing, and participatory decision-making. To arrest biodiversity erosion and achieve stated policy targets by 2030, we propose an integrated, evidence-driven strategy prioritizing invasives control, agro-ecological transitions, pollution abatement, ecological connectivity via green-gray infrastructure, and community-based adaptation. Mindful of inherent socio-ecological complexities, our recommendations provide a framework for targeted conservation investments attuned to India’s development aspirations.

Monitoring provides the foundation for evaluating recovery of endangered species, yet many species lack monitoring programs designed to integrate a species’ unique attributes, specific monitoring objectives, and principles of statistical sampling theory. We developed a framework for monitoring and assessment of endangered light-footed Ridgway’s rails (Rallus obsoletus levipes) across their U.S. range, relative to multi-scale recovery goals. We created spatially explicit sample units and a sampling frame covering all potential habitat to facilitate range-wide probability sampling, and also built a model of the call-broadcast process commonly used to survey marsh birds that included heterogeneity in availability for detection and conditional detectability for each bird during each survey. We used the model to simulate 96 sampling strategies that included different levels of replication, multiple approaches for sample allocation amongst strata, and both simple random and weighted probability sampling (i.e., weights proportional to local rail abundance) of sample units within strata. Effective monitoring surveyed ≥ 20–30% of the sampling frame on ≥ 3 occasions, with weighted sample selection and more targeted sampling (50% of units) for strata that are key to species recovery. We also tested Bayesian N-mixture models for estimating abundance and show that multiple models provide reasonable estimates. This work lays the foundation for statistical sampling and multi-scale population estimation for an endangered bird, and for refinement of abundance estimation models. Moreover, this work provides a replicable process for building customized and statistically defensible sampling frameworks to assess recovery of endangered species that can be used for other sensitive species.

Human-wildlife interactions can range from reverence to extreme conflict. Conservationists have come to the realization that humans and wildlife have always coexisted together in shared landscapes across the globe. Thus, understanding and acting upon the prospects of human-wildlife coexistence (HWCo) is now a crucial component of biodiversity conservation to sustain it. HWCo is a state where humans and wildlife share spaces by exposing each other to tolerable levels of risks and disadvantages. HWCo transpires as a result of interplay between a number of perceived and behavioral factors, some of which are interdependent on one another. Through this framework, we find ways to identify these factors, which can then be used to evaluate HWCo and understand the drivers of HWCo. Therefore, the current article focuses on changing this paradigm in HWCo research. We suggest three continuums involving three crucial factors viz., space-use by wildlife, daily activity pattern of wildlife, and human attitude towards wildlife, be used to obtain a cumulative value signifying HWCo for a particular species/taxon in a shared landscape. We propose that these factors be measured simultaneously on a predefined scale, which will allow it to become relative, and will further allow cross-site comparisons. This preliminary framework is expected to enable scientists and researchers to visualize the complexity and dynamicity embedded within human-wildlife interactions through modeling. The evaluation on a continuum is especially effective when positive or negative interactions between humans and wildlife are not obvious.

Efforts to restore habitats and conserve wildlife species face many challenges that are exacerbated by limited funding and resources. Habitat restoration actions are often conducted across a range of habitat conditions, with limited information available to predict potential outcomes among local sites and identify those that may lead to the greatest returns on investment. Using the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) as a case study, we leveraged existing resource selection function models to identify areas of high restoration potential across landscapes with variable habitat conditions and habitat-use responses. We also tested how this information could be used to improve restoration planning. We simulated change in model covariates across crucial habitats for a suite of restoration actions to generate heatmaps of relative habitat suitability improvement potential, then assessed the degree to which use of these heatmaps to guide placement of restoration actions could improve suitability outcomes. We also simulated new or worsening plant invasions and projected the resulting loss or degradation of habitats across space. We found substantial spatial variation in projected changes to habitat suitability and new habitat created, both across and among crucial habitats. Use of our heatmaps to target placement of restoration actions improved habitat suitability nearly fourfold and increased new habitat created more than 15-fold, compared to placements unguided by heatmaps. Our decision-support products identified areas of high restoration potential across landscapes with variable habitat conditions and habitat-use responses. We demonstrate their utility for strategic targeting of habitat restoration actions, facilitating optimal allocation of limited management resources to benefit species of conservation concern.