Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Min Xu, Rong Wang, Xuhui Dong, Qinghui Zhang, Xiangdong Yang
Summary: Understanding the response of biological communities to anthropogenic eutrophication is crucial for biodiversity conservation. This study combines paleolimnology and network science to propose a heterogeneity index (H) for measuring community successions. The results show that different degrees of eutrophication have varying effects on diatom communities, and there are discrepancies between different indices.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Nan Wu, Baoshuang Hu, Yao Wang, Yaoxin Qin, Guofei Ma, Hua He, Youbing Zhou
Summary: This study examined the impact of redeveloping abandoned logging roads on bird diversity in a biodiversity conservation hotspot in central China. The results showed that the redevelopment of these roads had a negative effect on bird diversity, especially at the functional level. To mitigate this impact, it is suggested that abandoned roads should be allowed to renaturalize, only paved and cleared when necessary, and grassy or gravel roads should be used whenever possible. Additionally, deliberate planting of key umbrella tree species can help support maximal community diversity and maintain ecosystem functions and processes.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Michael J. W. Boyle, Tom R. Bishop, Sarah H. Luke, Michiel van Breugel, Theodore A. Evans, Marion Pfeifer, Tom M. Fayle, Stephen R. Hardwick, Rachel Isolde Lane-Shaw, Kalsum M. Yusah, Imogen C. R. Ashford, Oliver S. Ashford, Emma Garnett, Edgar C. Turner, Clare L. Wilkinson, Arthur Y. C. Chung, Robert M. Ewers
Summary: Logging and habitat conversion in tropical forest landscapes create hotter microclimates, affecting the abundance and functional activity of ant genera. The interaction between thermal tolerance and environmental temperature determines changes in ant communities along forest disturbance gradients. These findings highlight the importance of physiological traits in shaping disturbance-induced microclimate effects on invertebrates in tropical landscapes.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Elizabeth A. Finch, Eric T. Rajoelison, Matthew T. Hamer, Tancredi Caruso, Keith D. Farnsworth, Brian L. Fisher, Alison Cameron
Summary: This study investigated the impacts of land degradation from swidden agriculture on ant species diversity, finding that as land degradation increased, there was a reduction in overall and native species richness, with a subsequent increase in introduced species. Degraded fallow habitats were found to harbor unique and endemic species, potentially important for biodiversity conservation in tropical agricultural landscapes. The results highlight the potential detrimental effects of further spread and increased intensification of swidden systems in tropical ecosystems.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gabriela Montejo-Kovacevich, Charles J. Marsh, Sophie H. Smith, Carlos A. Peres, David P. Edwards
Summary: Selective logging is a common habitat disturbance in tropical forests. This study found that riparian reserves, which are mandatory conservation set-asides along rivers or streams, play an important role in protecting the abundance and composition of primary forest butterfly communities in a selective logging concession in the Brazilian Amazon. The butterfly assemblages in riparian reserves were more similar to unlogged primary forests than interior logged points, and canopy height in riparian reserves was associated with increased assemblage similarity to primary forest points.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Rodolfo Bizarria Jr, Tatiane de Castro Pietrobon, Andre Rodrigues
Summary: Yeast diversity in attine ant environments was assessed by sampling fungus gardens across different fungiculture systems. Taxonomically unique and diverse yeast communities were found in the fungus gardens of all ants examined. Different ant colonies and fungiculture systems harbored distinct yeast communities. Killer yeasts were also identified, exhibiting a classical inhibition pattern. These findings highlight the importance of studying yeast diversity and ecology in attine ant fungus gardens.
Article
Forestry
Joseph Oloya, Geoffrey M. Malinga, Margaret Nyafwono, Perpetra Akite, Ryosuke Nakadai, Sille Holm, Anu Valtonen
Summary: The study in the Budongo Central Forest Reserve in Uganda reveals that the fruit-feeding butterfly communities show similarities between primary forests and older secondary forests, but exhibit large seasonal variations in younger secondary forests.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Anjaharinony A. N. A. Rakotomalala, Annemarie Wurz, Ingo Grass, Dominic A. Martin, Kristina Osen, Dominik Schwab, Marie Rolande Soazafy, Teja Tscharntke, Lala H. Raveloson Ravaomanarivo
Summary: It has been found that preserving remnant forest fragments and promoting the development of vanilla agroforests, especially with increased canopy closure, are crucial management strategies for the conservation of endemic ants in northeastern Madagascar.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Kim I. Drager, Michael D. Rivera, Joshua C. Gibson, Selina A. Ruzi, Priscila E. Hanisch, Rafael Achury, Andrew V. Suarez
Summary: Associating morphological features with ecological traits is crucial for understanding the relationship between organisms and their environmental roles. However, functional trait data without natural history information provide an incomplete understanding of an organism's ecological role. In this study, we found that body size, relative eye position, and scape length were informative for predicting diet/trophic position in ant communities, albeit with relatively weak predictive values.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chelsea Aristone, Hossein Mehdi, Jonathan Hamilton, Kelly L. Bowen, Warren J. S. Currie, Karen A. Kidd, Sigal Balshine
Summary: Treated effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants has a significant impact on aquatic benthic macroinvertebrate communities. However, the effects during winter have been largely ignored. This study examines the impacts of wastewater effluent on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in two different plants, and finds that the treatment capabilities and receiving environments of the plants dictate the impact on these communities.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dieison Andre Moi, Franco Teixeira-de-Mello
Summary: The conversion of natural streams to urbanized systems leads to species loss and decreases in richness and biomass of multiple trophic groups, driven by deteriorating water quality and loss of habitat heterogeneity. Urbanization expansion induces a cascading reduction of multitrophic diversity and standing biomass, which could have potential negative consequences for ecosystem functioning in streams.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Michael Staab, Xiaojuan Liu, Thorsten Assmann, Helge Bruelheide, Francois Buscot, Walter Durka, Alexandra Erfmeier, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Keping Ma, Stefan Michalski, Tesfaye Wubet, Bernhard Schmid, Andreas Schuldt
Summary: According to the study, plant phylogenetic diversity has a stronger influence on the community structure of co-occurring organisms across trophic levels, increasing the diversity of predatory arthropods while decreasing herbivorous arthropod diversity.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chryssi Mytilineou, Bent Herrmann, Christopher J. Smith, Danai Mantopoulou-Palouka, Aikaterini Anastasopoulou, Apostolos Siapatis, Antonello Sala, Persefoni Megalofonou, Nadia Papadopoulou, Vassiliki Vassilopoulou, Caterina Stamouli, Stefanos Kavadas, Evgenia Lefkaditou, Artemis Nicolaidou
Summary: Fisheries have significant impacts on marine biodiversity. This study examined different units related to trawl fishing and found differences in abundance, species richness, diversity indices, species composition, trophic level, and vulnerability index. The study suggests that urgent modifications are needed to eliminate the discarded highly vulnerable species and improve trawl species-selectivity to minimize biodiversity losses.
FRONTIERS IN MARINE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christopher G. Bousfield, Mike R. Massam, Carlos A. Peres, David P. Edwards
Summary: Selective logging is a major driver of tropical forest degradation. A study on the Amazon rainforest showed that while it has minimal impacts on tree beta-diversity across large spatial scales, it does cause substantial subtractive heterogenization in community composition for larger trees.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Kit S. Prendergast, Sean Tomlinson, Kingsley W. Dixon, Philip W. Bateman, Myles H. M. Menz
Summary: Urbanization has a negative impact on native bee abundance and diversity, while bushland remnants play a crucial role in conserving native bee populations.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Simon C. Mills, Jacob B. Socolar, Felicity A. Edwards, Edicson Parra, Diego E. Martinez-Revelo, Jose Manuel Ochoa Quintero, Torbjorn Haugaasen, Robert P. Freckleton, Jos Barlow, David P. Edwards
Summary: Habitat conversion is a major driver of tropical biodiversity loss, but its effects in montane environments are unclear. This study on Colombian Andes found that lower elevation bird species are strongly impacted by nearby forest loss, while higher elevation species are relatively unaffected. There was limited evidence of within-species elevational gradients in sensitivity to forest loss. Overall, biodiversity response to habitat loss appears to be driven by interspecific differences in sensitivity rather than proximity to climatic thresholds.
Article
Biology
Liam J. Hughes, Oscar Morton, Brett R. Scheffers, David P. Edwards
Summary: Wildlife trade is a major driver of species extinction risk, affecting a significant proportion of terrestrial vertebrates. This trade-driven selection has far-reaching ecological implications, including direct effects on natural selection and populations of traded species, as well as wider ecosystem repercussions. Conservation actions to address wildlife trade need to be multi-faceted, encompassing regulatory and enforcement approaches, community-based interventions, captive breeding or wildlife farming, and conservation translocations and trophic rewilding. It is crucial to consider the broader consequences for other species and ecosystem processes when evaluating the sustainability of exploitation.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Wenhan Chen, David B. Kemp, Tianchen He, Robert J. Newton, Yijun Xiong, Hugh C. Jenkyns, Kentaro Izumi, Tenichi Cho, Chunju Huang, Simon W. Poulton
Summary: The period from the late Pliensbachian to early Toarcian experienced significant climatic and environmental changes, including the occurrence of the early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE) and the Pliensbachian-Toarcian boundary event (Pl/To). Current knowledge of seawater redox conditions during this time is mainly based on European sections deposited in restricted basins, limiting our understanding of the redox evolution in the open ocean, particularly Panthalassa. This study presents Fe-speciation and redox-sensitive trace metal data from two Panthalassic Ocean sections, revealing anoxic-ferruginous conditions in the deep-water site and oxygenated to suboxic conditions in the shallow margin site. The observations suggest that upwelling of anoxic-ferruginous waters onto the shelf, driven by increased sea level and prevailing winds, led to Fe2+ oxidation in the oxygenated shallow waters.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Pamela Gonzalez-del-Pliego, Robert P. Freckleton, Brett R. Scheffers, Edmund W. Basham, Andres R. Acosta-Galvis, Claudia A. Medina Uribe, Torbjorn Haugaasen, David P. Edwards
Summary: Global warming poses a significant threat to biodiversity and has negative impacts throughout the biological hierarchy. The ability of animals to survive at higher temperatures is determined by their critical thermal maximum (CTmax), which refers to the temperature at which they lose the ability to escape deadly conditions. The variation in CTmax across species is influenced by both environmental and evolutionary factors, but the extent to which each factor contributes is not well understood. This study aims to investigate the influence of local environmental variables and phylogeny on CTmax in amphibians in the Tropical Andes region.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Gianluca Cerullo, Filipe Franca, Tom Finch, Philip Erm, Hannah Griffiths, Julio Louzada, Chris G. Bousfield, Mike R. Massam, Carlos A. Peres, Jos Barlow, Rhys E. Green, David P. Edwards, Andrew Balmford
Summary: Timber extraction poses a threat to tropical ecosystems, and therefore, productive harvesting operations that protect biodiversity need to be designed. Different logging management options exist, ranging from less-intensive land-sharing logging to intensive harvesting combined with preservation of old-growth forest. Through simulations of logging concessions and production targets, this study examines how logging practices affect species abundances, population sizes, functional diversity, and trait characteristics in the Amazon rainforest. The results indicate that protecting old-growth forest is crucial for limiting biodiversity declines in tropical timber concessions, but compensatory payments are required to offset reduced profits.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Oscar Morton, Brett R. R. Scheffers, Torbjorn Haugaasen, David P. P. Edwards
Summary: The wildlife trade is a billion-dollar global business involving millions of people and thousands of species. This study examines the association between trade and life history traits of bird species, particularly focusing on captive and wild-sourced trade. Results show that large birds are more likely to be traded, but their longevity and age at maturity are not associated with trade. Captive trade is associated with longer-lived and early-maturing species, while the trait-volume associations in wild-sourced trade are more uncertain.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christopher G. Bousfield, Mike R. Massam, Carlos A. Peres, David P. Edwards
Summary: Selective logging is a major driver of tropical forest degradation. A study on the Amazon rainforest showed that while it has minimal impacts on tree beta-diversity across large spatial scales, it does cause substantial subtractive heterogenization in community composition for larger trees.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Edicson Parra-Sanchez, Oscar A. Perez-Escobar, David P. Edwards
Summary: Tropical montane forests have high species diversity and turnover across elevations. Orchid community composition is mainly influenced by geographical distance, while the influence of elevation and environmental factors is negligible.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Felix K. S. Lim, Luis Roman Carrasco, David P. Edwards, Jolian McHardy
Summary: This study examines the supply and demand of oil palm in Indonesia and explores the potential impact of market forces on intensification. The findings suggest that intensification may not effectively reduce crop expansion unless demand elasticity is low and crop prices are significantly reduced. It highlights the need for stronger spatial planning and enforcement to prevent further cropland expansion and protect biodiversity.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Zhong Han, Xiumian Hu, Robert J. Newton, Tianchen He, Benjamin J. W. Mills, Hugh C. Jenkyns, Micha Ruhl, Robert A. Jamieson
Summary: Researchers have studied high-resolution sulfur isotope records from the Tibetan Himalaya during the late Pliensbachian-Toarcian interval. They observed widespread ocean deoxygenation and significant spatial heterogeneity in seawater sulfur isotope compositions. Box-modeling analysis showed that the global reduction in seawater sulfate concentrations was responsible for the persistent positive sulfur isotope values in the later period.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Wei Shi, Benjamin J. W. Mills, Thomas J. Algeo, Simon W. Poulton, Robert J. Newton, Matthew S. Dodd, Zihu Zhang, Lei Zheng, Tianchen He, Mingcai Hou, Chao Li
Summary: Ediacaran carbonate rocks document the Shuram Excursion, the largest negative carbonate-carbon isotope excursion in Earth history. This event, attributed to enhanced weathering inputs of sulfate, has a complex interaction with the carbon-sulfur cycle, affecting the redox state of the ocean-atmosphere system and the co-evolution of life and the environment during the Ediacaran. High-resolution records of isotopes and phosphorus concentrations, combined with biogeochemical model simulations, indicate widespread H2S reoxidation during the Shuram Excursion, contributing to spatial heterogeneity in oceanic redox conditions and nutrient availability.
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yinggang Zhang, Tao Yang, Robert J. Newton, Wenqing Pan, Yongquan Chen, Huiyang Yu
Summary: The Cambrian period was a critical time in Earth's history, with the rapid diversification of early animals and significant changes in oceanic conditions. In this study, carbonate sediments from the Xingdi section in the eastern Tarim Basin were used to investigate the carbon and strontium isotope stratigraphy during the Cambrian. The carbon isotope record showed similarities to global seawater carbon isotope variations, providing a viable stratigraphic framework for the Cambrian strata in this region.
JOURNAL OF ASIAN EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Alice Hughes, Mark Auliya, Sandra Altherr, Brett Scheffers, Jordi Janssen, Vincent Nijman, Chris R. Shepherd, Neil D'Cruze, Emerson Sy, David P. Edwards
Summary: According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, exploitation of wildlife poses a significant threat to species survival. While illegal trade's detrimental effects are well-known, legal trade is often considered sustainable despite lacking evidence. This article reviews the sustainability of wildlife trade, the tools and frameworks to regulate it, and highlights the lack of data that hinders understanding of sustainability. The authors propose a more precautionary approach, strengthening data collection, linking trade quotas to international standards, improving databases, and enhancing understanding of trade bans and market forces.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Liam J. Hughes, Mike R. Massam, Oscar Morton, Felicity A. Edwards, Brett R. Scheffers, David P. Edwards
Summary: Wildlife trade is a multibillion-dollar industry that targets a vast range of species and can cause significant declines in population abundance. This study focuses on identifying the global hotspots of wildlife trade for phylogenetic and functional diversity and highlights the importance of conserving evolutionary history, ecological functions, and ecosystem services. The findings reveal that tropical regions have the highest levels of traded phylogenetic and functional diversity, particularly with endangered species. The study also emphasizes the need for targeted conservation efforts in these hotspots to prevent unsustainable exploitation and loss of unique lineages and traits.
Article
Ecology
Adam Woodhouse, Frances A. Procter, Sophie L. Jackson, Robert A. Jamieson, Robert J. Newton, Philip F. Sexton, Tracy Aze
Summary: The Pliocene-Recent period has witnessed significant climatic and paleoceanographic changes that have transformed the modern world. The closure of the Central American Seaway and the expansion of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets have globally impacted the structure of oceans, leading to the extinction and radiation of marine species. By examining sedimentary records from the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean and global datasets, researchers have observed extinctions and dominance shifts in marine calcifying planktonic foraminifera, which are sensitive to water column structure and temperature gradients. These changes are associated with the closure of the Central American Seaway and the subsequent expansion of polar ice sheets, favoring cold- and deep-water species. These findings have implications for understanding the impact of anthropogenic climate change on modern marine plankton communities.
