Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Shan Guo, Yang Wang
Summary: Land use change has a significant impact on pollutant emissions, especially mercury, which is highly toxic and has severe environmental consequences. This study aims to assess mercury emissions in China caused by land use change by analyzing the effects of land use type conversion and intensities. The results show that both natural and anthropogenic land use contribute to mercury emissions, with significant increases in certain regions. The findings can inform policies to mitigate mercury pollution through land use management.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Xiao Sun, Qun Ma, Guangji Fang
Summary: This study mapped the spatial patterns of land use/land cover (LULC) and ecosystem services (ESs) in the three largest urban agglomerations of China and investigated their scaling relations across different urban hierarchical levels. The results showed that the scaling relations of ESs varied across urban hierarchical levels and were closely related to LULC patterns. Integrating the scaling relations of ESs into land use planning can assist decision-makers in formulating multi-scale landscape conservation strategies.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Caryl S. Benjamin, Lars Uphus, Marvin Luepke, Sandra Rojas-Botero, Maninder Singh Dhillon, Jana Englmeier, Ute Fricke, Cristina Ganuza, Maria Haensel, Sarah Redlich, Rebekka Riebl, Cynthia Tobisch, Johannes Uhler, Jie Zhang, Annette Menzel, Wibke Peters
Summary: The study reveals that the number of European roe deer is influenced by climate, habitat type, and wildlife management methods, with seasonal variations. Contrary to the belief that roe deer are woodland species, they prefer agriculture-dominated landscapes and areas with moderate temperatures. These findings are important for managing the species and predicting the impacts of climate and land-use changes.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Siyue Li, Jing Zhang, Ping Jiang, Liuqing Zhang
Summary: This study explores the complex relationships between riverine water quality and land use, focusing on the impacts of seasonality and different riparian zones on water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. The results suggest that land use within the 50 m riparian zone can effectively predict water quality parameters, while land use along the riparian zones performs better in the dry season.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Weiyue Zhang, Zhongfeng Xu, Weidong Guo
Summary: Human activity has led to an increase in greenhouse gas concentration and land use change, which in turn affect precipitation and surface air temperature in Asia. Increased greenhouse gas concentration results in increased precipitation in East Asia and Southeast Asia in spring and winter, while land use change leads to significant precipitation decrease in Southeast Asia and the Bay of Bengal in autumn and winter. Increased greenhouse gas concentration also leads to a decrease in dry days or light rain days and an increase in heavy rain days, but land use change has a weaker impact on extreme precipitation. Throughout the year, increased greenhouse gas concentration causes a significant increase in surface air temperature, while land use change plays a more important role in modulating surface air temperature. These changes also affect the frequency of daily temperature.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Seth C. Farris, J. Hardin Waddle, Caitlin E. Hackett, Laura A. Brandt, Frank J. Mazzotti
Summary: Indicator species, such as crocodylians, are important for monitoring ecosystem health. By analyzing survey count data from South Florida using an N-mixture model, researchers were able to provide color-coded quartile categories as a straightforward rating of Everglades restoration. Water depth influenced the detection probability of alligators, with the stoplight colors between the original method and hierarchical models matching 76% of the time.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gladys Nyakeru Kung'u, Laurence Cousseau, Mwangi Githiru, Jan Christian Habel, Mwangi Kinyanjui, Kennedy Matheka, Christine B. Schmitt, Tobias Seifert, Mike Teucher, Luc Lens, Beate Apfelbeck
Summary: Land-use change is the main threat to tropical forests and their biodiversity, and degradation of existing forest remnants will lead to further species loss. The drivers of forest degradation and its impact on biodiversity need to be understood for effective forest management and monitoring. This study investigates the effects of social factors, forest management, and spatial factors on vegetation structure in indigenous Taita forest fragments and the subsequent effects on arthropod abundance and diversity. The findings highlight the importance of maintaining multi-layered forest vegetation to conserve the endangered and endemic fauna of the Taita Hills.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Tamsin L. Woodman, Cristina Rueda-Uribe, Roslyn C. Henry, David F. R. P. Burslem, Justin M. J. Travis, Peter Alexander
Summary: Land use and land cover projections often lack sufficient spatial resolution for environmental models, which predict the impact of LULC on variables like ecosystem services, biodiversity, and hydrology. We introduce a downsampling method to generate high-resolution LULC projections, addressing this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELLING & SOFTWARE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Valerie A. Steen, Adam Duarte, James T. Peterson
Summary: Detecting spatiotemporal changes in organism abundances is crucial for species conservation. Traditional occupancy models and N-mixture models have limitations, but multistate occupancy models have the potential to overcome these limitations by differentiating between high and low abundance sites and detecting population declines.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Hawnaz Magid Abdulla, Muammal Alaaddin Ibrahim
Summary: This research study examines the influence of urban spatial plans on land value using a value model based on space syntax. A framework based on the urban spatial network is proposed, and the Kirkuk city master plan is used for evaluation. The study finds that urban spatial plans and socioeconomic and environmental factors have a significant impact on land price, which can contribute to future spatial design and the economy of metropolitan areas.
Article
Biology
Richard D. Gregory, Mark A. Eaton, Ian J. Burfield, Philip V. Grice, Christine Howard, Alena Klvanova, David Noble, Eva Silarova, Anna Staneva, Philip A. Stephens, Stephen G. Willis, Ian D. Woodward, Fiona Burns
Summary: This article models temporal change in species' abundance and biomass by using extensive data describing the population sizes and trends of native breeding birds in the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU). It finds significant change in the bird assemblages of the UK and EU, with overall bird abundance decreasing and losses concentrated in abundant and smaller sized species. The study also highlights the correlation between abundance trends and species' traits, migration strategy, and niche associations linked to diet.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Qiuyang Tan, Guoyu Zhang, Aizhong Ding, Zhaoyong Bian, Xue Wang, Yuzi Xing, Lei Zheng
Summary: Nitrogen cycling is vital for maintaining river ecological functions, but is threatened by human activities. The newly discovered comammox provides insights into the ecological effects of nitrogen by directly oxidizing ammonia to nitrate. This study examined how land use practices affect the activity and contribution of different ammonia oxidizers in North China. The results showed that comammox dominated nitrification in less disturbed basins, while AOB became the major player in highly developed basins. Increasing anthropogenic land use activities decreased the diversity of comammox communities and simplified the comammox network. NH4+-N, pH, and C/N were found to be crucial drivers of AOB and comammox distribution and activity. These findings shed light on aquatic-terrestrial linkages and can be applied to watershed land use management.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Muhammad Amjad Khan, Qing Huang, Sardar Khan, Qingqing Wang, Jingjing Huang, Shah Fahad, Muhammad Sajjad, Yin Liu, Ondrej Mased, Xiaohui Li, Junfeng Wang, Xiaomao Song
Summary: This paper investigates the contamination of microplastics (MPs) in the agricultural soil of Hainan Island, China. The study finds that plastic mulching and farming practices are the main contributors to soil MPs contamination, while social and environmental factors promote the fragmentation of soil MPs. The results of this study suggest a serious contamination of MPs in the agro-ecosystem of Hainan Island, posing a concern for ecological and environmental safety.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yandong Wang, Xiaoli Liu, Tao Wang, Xinyu Zhang, Yongzhong Feng, Gaihe Yang, Wenchao Zhen
Summary: This study investigated the relationship between LULC patterns and water quality in the surrounding sub-watersheds of the Danjiangkou Reservoir in different seasons. The results revealed seasonal differences in water quality parameters, the significant impact of urban landscape proportion on water quality in dry season, and the sources of organic and inorganic pollutants in rainy season. Landscape spatial configuration affected water quality, moderated by landscape aggregation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Binega Derebe Asmare, Yonas Derebe, Mulugeta Tamer
Summary: This study investigated the diversity and relative abundance of bird species in two habitat types of Dokima forest in Awi zone, Ethiopia. The results showed that the dry and wet seasons had a significant effect on the richness and abundance of bird species. The forest habitat type had the highest species diversity index and evenness in both seasons.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Brian E. Reichert, Mylea Bayless, Tina L. Cheng, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Charles M. Francis, Winifred F. Frick, Benjamin S. Gotthold, Kathryn M. Irvine, Cori Lausen, Han Li, Susan C. Loeb, Jonathan D. Reichard, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Jordi L. Segers, Jeremy L. Siemers, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Theodore J. Weller
Summary: Collaborative monitoring at broad scales and levels of ecological organization can inform conservation efforts necessary to address the contemporary biodiversity crisis. However, there is a challenge of balancing top-down control and bottom-up engagement, particularly in monitoring highly mobile and cryptic taxa like bats. Coordination of broad-scale collaborative monitoring is essential for understanding population trends of bats.
Article
Ornithology
Sarah P. Saunders, Joanna X. Wu, Elizabeth A. Gow, Evan Adams, Brooke L. Bateman, Trina Bayard, Stephanie Beilke, Ashley A. Dayer, Auriel M. Fournier, Kara Fox, Patricia Heglund, Susannah B. Lerman, Nicole L. Michel, Eben H. Paxton, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Melanie A. Smith, Wayne Thogmartin, Mark S. Woodrey, Charles van Riper
Summary: The recognized gap between research and implementation in avian conservation can be overcome with translational ecology, which involves collaborative efforts from science producers and users to co-develop ecological research addressing conservation issues. Following translational ecology principles can lead to improved conservation decision-making and delivery of outcomes accessible to broader audiences. Embracing translational ecology can help close the research-implementation gap and ensure scientifically informed management decisions in the face of environmental threats to avian communities worldwide.
ORNITHOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tina L. Cheng, Jonathan D. Reichard, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Theodore J. Weller, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Brian E. Reichert, Alyssa B. Bennett, Hugh G. Broders, Joshua Campbell, Katherine Etchison, Daniel J. Feller, Richard Geboy, Traci Hemberger, Carl Herzog, Alan C. Hicks, Sandra Houghton, Jessica Humber, Joseph A. Kath, R. Andrew King, Susan C. Loeb, Ariane Masse, Katrina M. Morris, Holly Niederriter, Gerda Nordquist, Roger W. Perry, Richard J. Reynolds, D. Blake Sasse, Michael R. Scafini, Richard C. Stark, Craig W. Stihler, Steven C. Thomas, Gregory G. Turner, Shevenell Webb, Bradley Westrich, Winifred F. Frick
Summary: The study evaluated the threat impact of white-nose syndrome on bat populations by analyzing winter bat count data. Declines of more than 90% were observed in three bat species, classifying the severity of the WNS threat as extreme. Data-sharing allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of the scope and severity of the threat.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2021)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
B. J. Mattsson, J. H. Devries, J. A. Dubovsky, D. Semmens, W. E. Thogmartin, J. J. Derbridge, L. Lopez-Hoffman
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Anna Skye Bruce, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Chris Trosen, Karen Oberhauser, Claudio Gratton
Summary: This study assessed the impact of surrounding habitat on monarch presence and reproduction in specific habitat patches, finding that optimal sites for monarch habitat restoration are within landscapes with little habitat. High milkweed density and floral richness and abundance should be conservation goals in these landscapes.
Article
Ecology
Kevin J. Aagaard, Eric V. Lonsdorf, Wayne E. Thogmartin
Summary: This study developed a model based on energetics to predict the migration and overwinter occurrence of mallards during the non-breeding period. The model considers metabolism and weather factors such as temperature and snowfall to approximate movements and stopovers. The research found that as weather severity increased, the proportion of available habitat decreased and mortality decreased. The most commonly used locations during the non-breeding period were consistent across years, except for the overwintering area which showed more inter-annual variation. The study also revealed that the distribution of mallards on the landscape changed more dramatically when the daily available habitat varied greatly.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
John Grider, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Riley F. Bernard, Robin E. Russell
Summary: White-nose syndrome has greatly reduced bat populations, but treatments can mitigate mortality. A model was developed to explore the effects of different treatment scenarios on bat populations. Treatment method, timing, and disturbance are important factors affecting treatment success. Applying treatments before or during the early epidemic stages is more effective.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Charles C. Chester, Aaron M. Lien, Juanita Sundberg, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Columba Gonzalez-Duarte, Brady J. Mattsson, Rodrigo A. Medellin, Darius J. Semmens, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Jonathan J. Derbridge, Laura Lopez-Hoffman
Summary: Biodiversity conservation efforts can lead to inequitable socio-economic outcomes. The spatial subsidies approach, which analyzes relationships between locations connected by migratory species, identifies three axes of inequity: between indigenous and settler colonial societies, between urban and rural populations, and between the Global North and Global South. Recognizing these relationships is crucial for achieving fair conservation outcomes and long-term effectiveness.
CONSERVATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jessica N. Hightower, Dolly L. Crawford, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Kyle R. Aldinger, Sara Barker Swarthout, David A. Buehler, John Confer, Christian Friis, Jeffery L. Larkin, James D. Lowe, Martin Piorkowski, Ronald W. Rohrbaugh, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Curtis Smalling, Petra B. Wood, Rachel Vallender, Amber M. Roth
Summary: Climate change is impacting the distribution and interactions between the Golden-winged Warbler (GWWA) and the Blue-winged Warbler (BWWA), potentially threatening the GWWA's survival due to hybridization. The breeding distributions and potential for hybridization are predicted to change under future climate scenarios, with a decrease in overlapping habitat and a shift in climatically suitable conditions.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Benjamin M. West, Mark L. Wildhaber, Kevin J. Aagaard, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Adrian P. Moore, Michael J. Hooper
Summary: Oil spills can cause mortality and injury to bird populations. The effects of sublethal oiling on birds are not well understood. This study used a model to examine the effects of oiling on migration patterns, energetic gains, and starvation in mallard-like ducks. The results showed that the severity of oiling affects migration delays, energy gains, and the potential for starvation.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Ashton M. M. Wiens, Wayne E. E. Thogmartin
Summary: White-nose syndrome has been devastating bat populations since its first appearance in 2006-2007, and a model using Gaussian process variations has been developed to predict the spread of the disease. The results indicate that the syndrome is likely to spread throughout the United States by 2030, which will help in disease management and assessment of bat species status and trends.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jay E. Diffendorfer, Ryan G. Drum, Greg W. Mitchell, Eduardo Rendon-Salinas, Victor Sanchez-Cordero, Darius J. Semmens, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Ignacio J. March
Summary: This paper discusses the elements and successful practices of interdisciplinary teams in addressing complex conservation issues caused by various social and environmental factors, with a focus on the conservation science of the monarch butterfly in North America.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jennyffer Cruz, Steve Windels, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Shawn M. Crimmins, Benjamin Zuckerberg
Summary: Recovered species are not returning to their original environments or communities, posing challenges for conservation researchers and practitioners. However, assessing species resilience in these novel systems can still be guided by their ecology, including population size, life history traits, and interactions with other species.
AVIAN CONSERVATION AND ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Wayne E. Thogmartin, Michelle A. Haefele, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Darius J. Semmens, Jonathan J. Derbridge, Aaron Lien, Ta-Ken Huang, Laura Lopez-Hoffman
Summary: By conducting surveys with respondents from Canada, the United States, and Mexico, it was found that people are willing to invest in conservation in other countries, demonstrating potential support for multinational conservation policies and programmes.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Emily L. Weiser, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Darius Semmens, Wayne E. Thogmartin
Summary: The TrendPowerTool is a web-based lookup app that quickly provides users with an estimate of the statistical power to detect a population trend of a particular magnitude in a planned monitoring program. With a user-friendly interface, users can retrieve results instantaneously, facilitating the important step of conducting a power analysis when designing monitoring programs.
CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
(2021)