Monitoring landscape fragmentation in an inaccessible mountain area: Celaque National Park, Western Honduras

In central Saskatchewan, boreal woodland caribou population declines have been documented in the 1940s and again in the 1980s. Although both declines led to a ban in sport hunting, a recovery was only seen in the 1950s and was attributed to wolf control and hunting closure. Recent studies suggest that this time, the population may not be increasing. In order to contribute to the conservation efforts, historical changes in caribou distribution and land cover types in the Prince Albert Greater Ecosystem (PAGE), Saskatchewan, were documented for the period of 1960s to the present. To examine changes in caribou distribution, survey observations, incidental sightings and telemetry data were collated. To quantify landscape changes, land cover maps were created for 1966 and 2006 using current and historic forest resources inventories, fire, logging, and roads data. Results indicate that woodland caribou are still found throughout the study area although their distribution has changed and their use of the National Park is greatly limited. Results of transition prob¬abilities and landscape composition analyses on the 1966 and 2006 land cover maps revealed an aging landscape for both the National Park and provincial crown land portions of the PAGE. In addition, increased logging and the development of extensive road and trail networks on provincial crown land produced significant landscape fragmentation for woodland caribou and reduced functional attributes of habitat patches. Understanding historical landscape changes will assist with ongoing provincial and federal recovery efforts for boreal caribou, forest management planning activities, and landscape restoration efforts within and beyond the Park boundaries.

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A new species of long-tailed shrew of the genus Sorex (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) from Sierra de Omoa, Honduras

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4809.1.3 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4809 (1) ◽

pp. 56-70

Author(s):

ALEXANDRA J. ANDINO-MADRID ◽

JULIO E. MÉRIDA COLINDRES ◽

SERGIO G. PÉREZ-CONSUEGRA ◽

JOHN O. MATSON

Keyword(s):

Principal Component Analysis ◽

New Species ◽

National Park ◽

Cloud Forest ◽

Principal Component ◽

Species Group ◽

Mexican State ◽

Isthmus Of Tehuantepec ◽

Celaque National Park ◽

A New Species

The only known species of the genus Sorex in Honduras is Sorex mccarthyi Matson & Ordóñez-Garza, which is endemic to Celaque National Park. This species shows the presence of a postmandibular foramen and canal, a characteristic that is useful to distinguish between species south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and unique to the Sorex salvini species group. Recently, two specimens of Sorex were collected in 2018 at Cusuco National Park, northwestern Honduras. These specimens lack the distinctive characteristics possessed by the S. salvini species group and belong to the Sorex veraepacis species group. Previously, the S. veraepacis species group was only known from the highlands of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas and Guatemala. Principal component analysis shows that specimens from Sierra de Omoa are different in size and shape with respect to other known species (i.e., S. veraepacis Alston, S. ibarrai Matson & McCarthy and S. madrensis Matson & Ordóñez-Garza). We describe these two specimens, currently known only from an isolated cloud forest in the Sierra de Omoa, Honduras, as a new species.

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Assessing the impact of Celaque National Park on forest fragmentation in western Honduras

Applied Geography ◽

10.1016/j.apgeog.2004.07.003 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 303-322 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Jane Southworth ◽

Harini Nagendra ◽

Laura A. Carlson ◽

Catherine Tucker

Keyword(s):

Forest Fragmentation ◽

National Park ◽

Celaque National Park ◽

The Impact

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Tree Line Shift in the Olympus Mountain (Greece) and Climate Change

Forests ◽

10.3390/f11090985 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 985

Author(s):

Athanasios Zindros ◽

Kalliopi Radoglou ◽

Elias Milios ◽

Kyriaki Kitikidou

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Protected Area ◽

Temperature Increase ◽

National Park ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Line Shift ◽

Tree Line ◽

Mountain Area ◽

Gis Data ◽

The Impact

One of the effects of climate change is, among others, changes to forest ecosystems. Research Highlights: Temperature increases and upward tree line shifts are linked in many studies. However, the impact of climate change on tree lines has not been studied in Greece. Background and Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the relation of tree line shifts and climate change in Olympus mountain, and especially in a protected area. Materials and Methods: In the Olympus mountain, which includes a protected area (the Olympus National Park core) since 1938, GIS data regarding forest cover were analyzed, while climate change from a previous study is presented. Results: Forest expansion and an upward tree line shift are proven in the Olympus mountain area. In the National Park core, the tree line shift is the result of climate change and attributed to the significant temperature increase in the growing season. Conclusions: There are strong indications that a temperature increase leads to an upward shift of the tree lines in the National Park core.

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Reconciling Landscape Fragmentation and Hippopotamuses Population Decrease in Virunga National Park Wetland

Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection ◽

10.4236/gep.2020.812004 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 08 (12) ◽

pp. 63-76

Author(s):

Madeleine Udahogora ◽

Zhaoping Yang ◽

Patient Mindje ◽

Lamek Nahayo ◽

Richard Mindje ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Landscape Fragmentation ◽

Population Decrease

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First Report of Arceuthobium hondurense in Oaxaca, Mexico

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis.2002.86.1.72b ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 86 (1) ◽

pp. 72-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Mathiasen ◽

D. Nickrent ◽

C. Daugherty

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Male Flower ◽

Flower Color ◽

Its Sequences ◽

Dwarf Mistletoe ◽

First Report ◽

Northern Arizona ◽

Northern Arizona University ◽

Isthmus Of Tehuantepec ◽

Celaque National Park

Honduran dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium hondurense Hawksw. & Wiens) has only been found in four locations in Honduras: west of Zamorano, east of Lepaterique, Cusuco National Park, and Celaque National Park (1,2). At one time it was believed that this mistletoe could be in danger of extinction (1). However, it has also been reported in two locations in Chiapas, Mexico (3). In December 2000, ≈1 km north of Suchixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, near Route 175 (elevation 2,770 m), we collected a dwarf mistletoe parasitizing Pinus tecunumanii (Schw.) Eguiluz et Perry that was morphologically similar to A. hondurense (1). This population initially had been classified as A. nigrum Hawksw. & Wiens (1), but is now classified as A. hondurense based on morphology (male flower color and stigma length) (1) and analysis of nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences from Honduras (GenBank Accession No. AF325969) and Oaxaca (GenBank Accession No. AY055215). A comparison of these two A. hondurense ITS sequences indicated they are very closely related to each other, whereas both are distinct from A. nigrum (GenBank Accession No. L25693). Specimens of A. hondurense from Oaxaca were deposited at the Deaver Herbarium, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. hondurense in Oaxaca, Mexico, and extends its known distribution west across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec from central Chiapas by ≈400 km. References: (1) F. G. Hawksworth and D. Wiens. Dwarf Mistletoes: Biology, Pathology, and Systematics. USDA Agric. Handb. 709, 1996. (2) R. Mathiasen et al. Phytologia 85:268, 1998. (3) R. Mathiasen et al. Plant Dis. 85:444, 2001.

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