Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Tom D. Breeze, Alison P. Bailey, Kelvin G. Balcombe, Tom Brereton, Richard Comont, Mike Edwards, Michael P. Garratt, Martin Harvey, Cathy Hawes, Nick Isaac, Mark Jitlal, Catherine M. Jones, William E. Kunin, Paul Lee, Roger K. A. Morris, Andy Musgrove, Rory S. O'Connor, Jodey Peyton, Simon G. Potts, Stuart P. M. Roberts, David B. Roy, Helen E. Roy, Cuong Q. Tang, Adam J. Vanbergen, Claire Carvell
Summary: Monitoring pollinator populations is crucial for maintaining resilient pollination services. The costs of implementing monitoring schemes are minimal compared to the potential economic losses from declines in pollination services. By providing high-quality scientific data, monitoring schemes can save significant costs on data collection and serve as a cost-effective tool for both research and policymaking.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
M. Kyle S. Smith, Izak P. J. Smit, Louise K. Swemmer, Mohlamatsane M. Mokhatla, Stefanie Freitag, Dirk J. Roux, Luthando Dziba
Summary: Lockdown regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted South Africa's largest PA management agency, leading to decreased tourism revenue, loss of community development revenues, and implementation of cost-cutting measures. Employee morale was affected, complicating operational challenges.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Adriana De Palma, Andrew Hoskins, Ricardo E. Gonzalez, Luca Borger, Tim Newbold, Katia Sanchez-Ortiz, Simon Ferrier, Andy Purvis
Summary: The study combined data on land use, human population density, and road networks to model the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) across tropical and subtropical forested biomes, finding that BII decreased on average by 1.9 percentage points between 2001 and 2012. The study did not find strong relationships between changes in BII and countries' rates of economic growth over the same period.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sandra G. Marquardt, Jonathan C. Doelman, Vassilis Daioglou, Andrzej Tabeau, Aafke M. Schipper, Sarah Sim, Michal Kulak, Zoran J. N. Steinmann, Elke Stehfest, Harry C. Wilting, Mark A. J. Huijbregts
Summary: The study shows that global land-based biodiversity impact remains below the boundary in most scenario-year combinations, but in 2100, per capita boundaries are exceeded in some regions, indicating significant differences in the impact of final consumption on biodiversity among regions and scenarios. Regional-specific strategies should be adopted to promote environmental protection and reduce biodiversity loss.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Salvador Arenas-Castro, Neftali Sillero
Summary: A cost-effective and sustainable framework for monitoring species-specific habitat changes across scales was developed using ecological niche models and satellite remote sensing data. Trend analysis showed decreasing habitat suitability for most species across regional and continental scales, with amphibians and reptiles being the most affected groups. The framework can detect changes in habitat suitability regardless of spatial scale, providing a promising tool for biodiversity monitoring and risk assessment.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Verena Kulak, Sheri Longboat, Nicolas D. Brunet, Mukund Shukla, Praveen Saxena
Summary: Plant diversity is crucial to human societies, and a holistic approach is necessary for successful plant conservation. In vitro technologies have the potential to play a significant role in plant conservation, especially for culturally significant plants, but further research is needed.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Thazin Htay, Eivin Roskaft, Thor Harald Ringsby, Peter Sjolte Ranke
Summary: Wetland ecosystems are important for avian biodiversity conservation, but are heavily impacted by human-induced habitat changes. This study assessed the spatio-temporal variation in bird community diversity in the Indawgyi Wetland Ecosystem in Myanmar. The results showed that functional and phylogenetic diversity were highest in the lake habitat, indicating the importance of this habitat for conservation efforts. The study highlights the need for habitat restoration in riparian forests and sustainable agricultural practices to improve avifauna diversity in the ecosystem.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Francesco Parisi, Elia Vangi, Saverio Francini, Gherardo Chirici, Davide Travaglini, Marco Marchetti, Roberto Tognetti
Summary: In this study, the researchers used Landsat time series data to predict the quantity and diversity of saproxylic beetles by calculating various temporal metrics. The results showed that this method is significant for studying the distribution of saproxylic beetles and can help select monitoring areas, reducing the workload of field analysis.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samantha L. Rumschlag, Michael B. Mahon, Devin K. Jones, William Battaglin, Jonny Behrens, Emily S. Bernhardt, Paul Bradley, Ethan Brown, Frederik De Laender, Ryan Hill, Stefan Kunz, Sylvia Lee, Emma Rosi, Ralf Schaefer, Travis S. Schmidt, Marie Simonin, Kelly Smalling, Kristofor Voss, Jason R. Rohr
Summary: Based on the analysis of 6131 stream sites across different land uses in the United States over a period of 27 years, it was found that macroinvertebrate density declined by 11% and richness increased by 12.2%. Insect density and richness showed even greater declines of 23.3% and 6.8%, respectively. Furthermore, there was an increasing difference in richness and composition between urban and agricultural streams compared to forested and grassland streams. Urban and agricultural streams lost disturbance-sensitive taxa and gained disturbance-tolerant taxa. These findings indicate that current stream protection and restoration efforts are insufficient to mitigate the impacts of human activities.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jose M. Farinas-Franco, Robert L. Cook, Fiona R. Gell, Dan B. Harries, Natalie Hirst, Flora Kent, Rebecca MacPherson, Colin Moore, James M. Mair, Joanne S. Porter, William G. Sanderson
Summary: Biodiversity loss and degradation of natural habitats, especially biogenic reefs created by shellfish, are increasing rapidly. The study analyzed the biodiversity of a model subtidal habitat formed by the horse mussel Modiolus modiolus across its Northeast Atlantic range. The results highlighted the importance of site and density-specific diversity values for conservation management.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Patrick Kacic, Claudia Kuenzer
Summary: Forests are vital for global environmental well-being, but they face increasing pressure from climate change, resource extraction, and human disturbances. Remote sensing technology offers a promising method for monitoring forest biodiversity at large scales. This review focuses on the application of remote sensing technology in forest biodiversity monitoring and analyzes its spatial-temporal distribution, sensors used, temporal scales, and thematic foci.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Youhua Chen, Yongbin Wu, Chia-Hao Chang, Tsung-Jen Shen
Summary: In this study, a simple estimator is developed to predict the minimal distance of finding a single new species, providing practical value in ecological studies.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Richard Cornford, Stefanie Deinet, Adriana De Palma, Samantha L. L. Hill, Louise McRae, Benjamin Pettit, Valentina Marconi, Andy Purvis, Robin Freeman
Summary: Understanding broad-scale ecological patterns and processes is essential for mitigating anthropogenically driven biodiversity degradation. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of text-classification approaches in identifying relevant biodiversity articles, with classifiers achieving over 90% accuracy in distinguishing relevant from non-relevant articles. Deploying machine-learning models on search results can significantly improve the recovery rate of potentially relevant papers, showing the potential of text-mining methods in enhancing ecological datasets.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alexey Ryabov, Bernd Blasius, Helmut Hillebrand, Irina Olenina, Thilo Gross
Summary: Monitoring functional diversity is crucial in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. This study demonstrates the use of diffusion maps to reconstruct species traits directly from monitoring data and estimate functional diversity. The wider application of this method to existing data could greatly advance the analysis of changes in functional biodiversity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Heying Jing, Xingshuo Xiong, Feng Jiang, Xucai Pu, Wenhong Ma, Daijiang Li, Zhongling Liu, Zhiheng Wang
Summary: Global climate change has led to the decline of species and functional diversity in ecosystems. Little is known about how species with different resource-use strategies respond to climate change and how these changes may influence community-level productivity. A study conducted in a temperate grassland in Inner Mongolia showed that species richness and functional richness decreased with drying climate, mainly due to the decline of diversity in resource-acquisitive species. However, community-level productivity remained stable due to the resilience of resource-conservative species.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Joanie L. Kennah, Michael J. L. Peers, Eric Vander Wal, Yasmine N. Majchrzak, Allyson K. Menzies, Emily K. Studd, Rudy Boonstra, Murray M. Humphries, Thomas S. Jung, Alice J. Kenney, Charles J. Krebs, Stan Boutin
Summary: Climate warming causes asynchronies between animal phenology and environments, and mismatched traits may decrease survival. However, coat color change can provide advantages other than camouflage. In this study, we found that mismatched snowshoe hares in Yukon had a significantly reduced autumn mortality risk, possibly due to the increased coat insulation and lower metabolic rates of winter-acclimatized hares. Mismatched hares also foraged less and had lower predation risk, leading to higher survival rates. However, mismatch did not affect spring mortality risk, suggesting a potential temperature limit where the costs of conspicuousness outweigh energetic benefits.
Article
Ecology
Quinn M. R. Webber, Ben Dantzer, Jeffrey E. E. Lane, Stan Boutin, Andrew G. G. McAdam
Summary: Through studying North American red squirrels, we found that territory size and intrusion rates display negative density dependence. When food availability increases, territories shrink while population density increases. However, when resources decrease, territories expand and population density decreases.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Sam F. Walmsley, Stan Boutin, Ben Dantzer, Jeffrey E. Lane, David W. Coltman, Andrew G. McAdam
Summary: The study on North American red squirrels revealed that kinship has an influence on their survival and reproductive success. Female red squirrels have higher annual survival when they live closer to their daughters, while males have higher annual reproductive success when they live closer to their fathers.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Melanie Dickie, Caroline Bampfylde, Thomas J. Habib, Michael Cody, Kendal Benesh, Mandy Kellner, Michelle McLellan, Stan Boutin, Robert Serrouya
Summary: Habitat loss is a major threat to species at risk, and habitat restoration is essential for the recovery of woodland caribou populations in Western Canada. An algorithm was developed to prioritize restoration efforts and monitor progress. The algorithm ranked landscape units into five zones of restoration priority based on maximizing gain in unaltered caribou habitat per unit cost. Ambitious and coordinated restoration efforts are needed to meet habitat management targets and minimize alteration within caribou range.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lauren Petrullo, Stan Boutin, Jeffrey E. Lane, Andrew G. McAdam, Ben Dantzer
Summary: This study shows that phenotype-environment mismatch errors in wild red squirrels can be explained by asymmetrical costs of different types of errors. Mothers that mistakenly increased reproductive effort when signals of an upcoming food pulse were absent were more likely to correctly increase effort when a food pulse did occur. However, mothers that failed to increase effort when cues of an upcoming food pulse were present suffered lifetime fitness costs that could only be offset through food supplementation. Therefore, these phenotype-environment mismatches may reflect a bias to overestimate environmental cues and avoid making the costliest error, ultimately enhancing lifetime fitness.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Olukayode O. Jegede, Katherine M. Standen, Steven Siciliano, Eric G. Lamb, Katherine J. Stewart
Summary: Soil invertebrates play important roles in Arctic ecosystems, but studies on them are limited and our understanding of their drivers and communities is lacking. We examined soil invertebrates in Nunavut Canada and found that vegetation and substrate cover, soil nutrients and pH were the drivers of the community. Rocks, woody litter, and lichen cover had significant positive influences on the density of all studied invertebrates. Mites and collembolans were associated with lichen cover, while enchytraeids were associated with woody litter and rocks. Anthropogenic and/or natural disturbances may impact soil invertebrates and the ecosystem services they provide.
Article
Ecology
Roy Vera-Velez, Sera A. Grover, Brendan K. Bischoff, Cameron N. Carlyle, Eric G. Lamb
Summary: Fire and grazing play important roles in shaping plant community structure, influencing the quantity and quality of forage in the Great Plains ecoregion. This study examined the effects of fire on forage quality in the northern mixed-grass prairie over a 4-year period, considering the impact of grazing as well. The results show annual variations in crude protein and fiber content after wildfires, with no significant influence of grazing on forage quality. The study also suggests that fire may enhance forb digestibility and impact the grazing behavior of large ungulate grazers.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Ian G. Hnatowich, Eric G. Lamb, Katherine J. Stewart
Summary: Disturbed low-Arctic environments pose challenges for ecological restoration, but transplantation of whole-turfs and shredded turfs from undisturbed tundra can effectively promote plant establishment and development. After two years, the transplanted turfs maintained a high percentage of vegetative cover and species richness, expanding into the surrounding substrate. While shredded turfs had difficulty establishing vascular species, they may be more successful in establishing non-vascular plant cover with better environmental protection. These results highlight the potential of turfs in providing native species for disturbed areas and promoting sustainable development of vegetation.
ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Michelle L. McLellan, Melanie Dickie, Stan Boutin, Marcus Becker, Bevan Ernst, Darcy Peel, Kathryn L. Zimmerman, Robert Serrouya
Summary: For wide-ranging species, it is often difficult to implement effective conservation action due to cost or political challenges. To address this, a prioritization approach is needed to focus on areas where conservation efforts are more likely to succeed. Using Southern Mountain Caribou as an example, a simple algorithm is developed to rank subpopulations based on habitat quality and population characteristics, weighted according to expert opinion. Sensitivity analyses are used to measure the impact of criteria variance and expert weighting. This transparent framework allows for discussions on conservation, subpopulation comparisons, and adaptive management. The algorithm can be adapted for other species and used by conservation scientists and managers to prioritize populations for recovery actions.
CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Alexandre P. Caouette, Erin M. Bayne, Kevin A. Judge
Summary: For animals that produce species-specific audible sounds, combining passive acoustic monitoring software and environmental recordings can be an effective monitoring tool. However, acoustic insects have received less attention in this field.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Edward W. Bork, Daniel B. Hewins, Eric G. Lamb, Cameron N. Carlyle, Mark P. Lyseng, Scott X. Chang, Michael J. Alexander, Walter D. Willms, Majid Iravani
Summary: Grasslands globally store significant amounts of carbon, providing valuable ecosystem services. However, the impact of livestock grazing on grassland carbon storage remains uncertain. A study in Alberta, Canada found that while grazing reduced litter mass, total ecosystem carbon was 8.5% higher in grazed grasslands compared to non-grazed grasslands, primarily due to increases in soil organic carbon (SOC) and roots. SOC increased consistently in the 0-15 cm soil layer across all climate conditions, with changes in the 15-30 cm layer related to aridity. The increase in SOC under grazing was indirectly attributed to elevated eudicot biomass and improved graminoid quality, leading to enhanced litter and mulch carbon and ultimately higher SOC densities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Soil Science
Jennifer K. Bell, Steven D. Siciliano, Eric G. Lamb
Summary: Invasive plants affect soil microbial communities and ecosystem services, reducing the Earth's carrying capacity for humans. Changes in microbial community assembly processes caused by invasion contribute to the effects on grassland ecosystem services. In this study on a native Rough Fescue prairie, invasion by nine invasive species, with smooth brome as a dominant member, disrupted ecosystem service provision through interactions with seasonal effects and altered fungal community assembly.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Andrew Bissett, Steven D. Mamet, Eric G. Lamb, Steven D. Siciliano
Summary: Using bacterial genetic data from Australian soil samples, we were able to predict the relative abundance of soil bacteria and their response to environmental changes, thus predicting potential changes in ecosystem services. These capabilities will be enhanced in the future with more genetic data.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alicia Halhed, Lauren Petrullo, Stan Boutin, Ben Dantzer, Andrew McAdam, Martin Wu, Karl Cottenie
Summary: In this study, the gut microbiome samples of red squirrels were analyzed to identify the drivers of microbiome composition. The spatial location of the squirrels was found to be a key contributor to the composition of the gut microbial community. The non-core microbiome showed highly localized spatial patterns, while the core microbiome showed some spatial patterns. The results suggest that environmental transmission plays a role in the spatiotemporal distribution of the red squirrel gut microbiome.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Mark O'Donoghue, Brian G. Slough, Kim Poole, Stan Boutin, Elizabeth J. Hofer, Garth Mowat, Dennis Murray, Charles J. Krebs
Summary: Counting tracks in the snow can provide a relatively simple and inexpensive method for estimating the abundance of meso-carnivores. However, seasonality and snow depth should be taken into account when using this method.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yongcui Lan, Jinliang Wang, Qianwei Liu, Fang Liu, Lanfang Liu, Jie Li, Mengjia Luo
Summary: This study focuses on the five major plateau lake basins in central Yunnan, China, and constructs an ecological security pattern using the source-resistance surface-corridor-pinch point framework. The study simulates land use/cover change in the region and identifies early warning regions where future urban expansion poses a threat to current ecological source areas and corridors.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pingping Huang, Feng Zhao, Bailing Zhou, Kuidong Xu
Summary: This study investigates the distribution of benthic microeukaryotes in the China Seas and finds that they can stride over the ecological barrier of 32 degrees N. The study also highlights the significant influence of depth, temperature, and latitude on communities in the China Seas.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Federico Morelli, Yanina Benedetti, Jesse Stanford, Leszek Jerzak, Piotr Tryjanowski, Paolo Perna, Riccardo Santolini
Summary: Species distribution models (SDMs) are numerical tools used for predicting species' spatial distribution. This study found that ecological characteristics, such as habitat specialization, play a role in improving the accuracy of SDMs.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Xiaoxuan Wu, Hang Liu, Wei Liu
Summary: Global climate change, urbanization, and economic development have increased the need for sustainable human development, urban ecological governance, and low-carbon energy transformation. This study analyzes the green ecological transition in Chengdu based on panel data from 2010 to 2020, exploring its spatiotemporal evolution and key factors. The results show an overall upward trend in Chengdu's green ecological development and positive spatial autocorrelation in certain districts.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Castaldi Simona, Formicola Nicola, Mastrocicco Micol, Morales Rodriguez Carmen, Morelli Raffaella, Prodorutti Daniele, Vannini Andrea, Zanzotti Roberto
Summary: Sustainable agricultural practices are increasingly important for global and national environmental policies and economy. This study compared the sustainability of grape production under integrated and organic management using multiple indicators. The results showed that organic management was more beneficial for most environmental aspects of the agroecosystem compared to integrated management, without affecting grape yield.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gaia Vaglio Laurin, Alexander Cotrina-Sanchez, Luca Belelli-Marchesini, Enrico Tomelleri, Giovanna Battipaglia, Claudia Cocozza, Francesco Niccoli, Jerzy Piotr Kabala, Damiano Gianelle, Loris Vescovo, Luca Da Ros, Riccardo Valentini
Summary: Phenology monitoring is important for understanding forest functioning and climate impacts. This research compares the phenological behavior of European beech forests using Tree-Talker (TT+) and Sentinel 2 satellite data. The study finds differences in the information derived by the two sensor types, particularly in terms of season length, phenology changepoints, and leaf period variability. TT+ with its higher temporal resolution demonstrates precision in capturing the phenological changepoints, especially when satellite image availability is limited.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Huanhuan Pan, Ziqiang Du, Zhitao Wu, Hong Zhang, Keming Ma
Summary: The land use and cover changes resulting from coal mining activities and ecological restoration have had a significant impact on ecosystem services in mining areas. This study investigates the relationship between ecosystem services and land use intensity in coal mining areas, emphasizing the importance of understanding this interdependence for balanced human-land system development. The research examines the evolving relationship across different reclamation stages in Shanxi, China, using a coupling coordination degree model. The findings suggest the need for timely and judicious reclamation of coalfields, considering the land's bearing capacity.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jingjuan He, Yijun Shi, Lihua Xu, Zhangwei Lu, Mao Feng
Summary: This study examines the spatial interplay between changes in the blue-green spatial distribution and modifications in land surface temperature grades in Shanghai. The findings reveal that the transformation of the blue-green spatial pattern differs between different sectors of the city, and the impact on the thermal environment varies spatially.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yi Xu, Di Zhang, Junqiang Lin, Qidong Peng, Xiaohui Lei, Tiantian Jin, Jia Wang, Ruifang Yuan
Summary: This study analyzed the response relationship between phytoplankton growth and water environmental parameters in the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China using long-term monitoring data and machine learning models. The results revealed the differences between monitoring sites and identified the key parameters that affect phytoplankton growth.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2024)
