scholarly journals Biological diversity in a changing world

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1558) ◽  
pp. 3593-3597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E. Magurran ◽  
Maria Dornelas
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Evolutionary Processes ◽  
The World ◽  
Natural Change

From the pioneering explorations of Joseph Banks (later a President of the Royal Society), to the present day, a great deal has been learnt about the extent, distribution and stability of biological diversity in the world. We now know that diverse life can be found even in the most inhospitable places. We have also learned that biological diversity changes through time over both large and small temporal scales. These natural changes track environmental conditions, and reflect ecological and evolutionary processes. However, anthropogenic activities, including overexploitation, habitat loss and climate change, are currently causing profound transformations in ecosystems and unprecedented loss of biological diversity. This series of papers considers temporal variation in biological diversity, examines the extent of human-related change relative to underlying natural change and builds on these insights to develop tools and policies to help guide us towards a sustainable future.

Hybrid energy module for experiments and studies in remote locations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misha Krassovski ◽  
Jeffery Riggs ◽  
Chris Tavino ◽  
Stan Wullschleger ◽  
Susan Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Electrical Power ◽  
Power Equipment ◽  
Hybrid Energy ◽  
Remote Areas ◽  
Remote Locations ◽  
The World

<p>Increased concerns about regional and global climate change in recent decades has led to a significant expansion of monitoring, observational, and experimental sites in remote areas of the world. During this same time, advances in technology and availability of low-power equipment, have allowed increasingly sophisticated measurements with an increasingly wide variety of instruments, sensors, and sensor networks. However, the deployment and use of these technologies in remote locations is restricted not only by harsh environmental conditions, but by the availability of electrical power and communication options. With this presentation we would like to share our experience of designing and building hybrid energy (solar and wind) module that can be used to provide power and communication capabilities for remote installations.</p>

scholarly journals Animals in Our Midst: An Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Jozef Keulartz ◽  
Bernice Bovenkerk
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Landscape Degradation ◽  
The World ◽  
Habitat Loss And Fragmentation

AbstractIn this introduction we describe how the world has changed for animals in the Anthropocene—the current age, in which human activities have influenced the planet on a scale never seen before. In this era, we find many different types of animals in our midst: some—in particular livestock—are both victims of and unwittingly complicit in causing the Anthropocene. Others are forced to respond to new environmental conditions. Think of animals that due to climate change can no longer survive in their native habitats or wild animals that in response to habitat loss and fragmentation are forced to live in urban areas. Some animals are being domesticated or in contrast de-domesticated, and yet others are going extinct or in contrast are being resurrected. These changing conditions have led to new tensions between humans and other animals. How can we shape our relationships with all these different animals in a rapidly changing world in such a way that both animal welfare and species diversity are not further affected? We describe how animal ethics is changing in these trying times and illustrate the impacts of Anthropocene conditions on animals by zooming in on one country where many problems, such as biodiversity loss and landscape degradation, converge, the Netherlands. We conclude by giving an overview of the different chapters in this volume, which are organised into five parts: animal agents, domesticated animals, urban animals, wild animals and animal artefacts.

scholarly journals The first record of the Siberian northern shrike (Lanius borealis sibiricus) in Lithuania with molecular confirmation

Biologija ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vytautas Eigirdas ◽  
Vesta Jonikė
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
Mitochondrial Cytochrome ◽  
The Past ◽  
Mitochondrial Cytochrome B ◽  
The World ◽  
A New Species

Climate change significantly affects biological diversity around the world. Trends of this phenomenon have also been noticed in Lithuania: in the past decades, 55 new bird species have been recorded. The recent record of a new species was done on 3 December 2019. During ordinary birds ringing carried out in Ventės Ragas Ornithological Station in Lithuania, an individual Siberian northern shrike (Lanius borealis sibiricus) was caught and ringed. Additional blood sample was collected for species confirmation. Based on identification keys and molecular mitochondrial cytochrome b analysis, we report that this is the first record of the Siberian northern shrike in Lithuania.

scholarly journals Shrunken Life: Discourses of the Cryptic and the Miniature in Madagascar

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genese Marie Sodikoff
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Cryptic Species ◽  
Dna Barcoding ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Species Discovery ◽  
The Public ◽  
Micro Scale ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Imagination

As scientists scour remnant habitats and “unmask” cryptic species with DNA barcoding, a boom of species discovery has enchanted the world.  In Madagascar, recent discoveries of previously unknown miniature frogs, chameleons, and lemurs often photographed on human fingers or cradled in hands, have captured the public imagination. In this imagery of scale, the giant finger conveys the outsized impact of humanity on Earth, or points to what Susan Stewart (1996, p. 74) calls “a physical world of disorder and disproportion.” Although the phenomenon of insular gigantism and dwarfism has shaped scientific discourses of evolution and extinction since the nineteenth century, recent reportage on “new” miniature and cryptic species reflects a sensibility beyond wistful nostalgia for creatures past. Species miniaturism evolves out of habitat loss, and living minifauna encapsulate the contraction of existential time, all the more pronounced by the effects of climate change. Photographs of cryptic minifauna therefore compel us to reflect on the whole of our losses, while they fuel the impulse to restock the “library of life” at micro-scale.  

scholarly journals Rock anchoring in Karimun Jawa, Indonesia: Ecological impacts and management implications

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 242 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Maynard ◽  
K. R. N. Anthony ◽  
S. Afatta ◽  
L. F. Anggraini ◽  
D. Haryanti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Ecological Impacts ◽  
Coastal Development ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The World

Coral reefs everywhere are under increasing pressure from a suite of stressors. Recently, threats associated with climate change have been brought closer into focus and now dominate discussions and debate relating to the coral reef crisis (Hughes et al. 2003, Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2007). Indeed, mitigating local stressors on coral reefs has been given less priority and publicity than the global need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Interestingly though, recent surveys demonstrate that most reef scientists agree that coral reefs are under greater threat from impacts associated with human population growth, coastal development, and overfishing than from global climate change (Kleypas and Eakin 2007). This is especially true for the reefs in SE Asia and the Pacific, which make up the bulk of the reefs in the world (Bryant et al. 1998). In these areas, regulations to ensure that anthropogenic activities near and on coral reefs are conducted sustainably, such as development, sanitation, fishing and even tourism; either do not exist or are rarely enforced due to a lack of resources. Here, we present one such example from Indonesia, one of the most densely populated countries in the world, a country where over 60% of the population relies in some way on marine resources.

Is Canada fulfilling its obligations to sustain marine biodiversity? A summary review, conclusions, and recommendations 1This manuscript is a companion paper to Hutchings et al. (doi:10.1139/a2012-011) and VanderZwaag et al. (doi:10.1139/a2012-013) also appearing in this issue. These three papers comprise an edited version of a February 2012 Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel Report.

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A. Hutchings ◽  
Isabelle M. Côté ◽  
Julian J. Dodson ◽  
Ian A. Fleming ◽  
S. Jennings ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
New Research ◽  
Research Initiatives ◽  
Developed Nations

Canada has made numerous national and international commitments to sustain marine biodiversity. Given current and potential threats to biodiversity from climate change, fisheries, and aquaculture, we provide a summary review of Canada’s progress in fulfilling its obligations to protect, conserve, recover, and responsibly exploit marine biodiversity. We conclude that Canada has made little substantive progress, when compared to most developed nations, in meeting its biodiversity commitments. Much of Canada’s policy and rhetoric has not been operationalised, leaving many of the country’s national and international obligations unfulfilled in some key areas, such as the establishment of marine protected areas and incorporation of the precautionary approach to fisheries management. We conclude that regulatory conflict within Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the absolute discretion exercised by the national Minister of Fisheries and Oceans contribute significantly to an unduly slow rate of policy and statute implementation. We recommend new approaches and measures to sustain Canadian marine biodiversity and new research initiatives to support scientific advice to decision-makers. Many recommendations focus on management actions required to meet existing commitments to biodiversity conservation. Overall, we conclude that the most effective strategy is to protect existing biological diversity and to rebuild depleted populations and species to restore natural diversity. By improving and protecting the biodiversity in Canada’s oceans, such a strategy will restore the natural resilience of Canada’s ocean ecosystems to adapt to the challenges posed by climate change and other anthropogenic activities with consequent long-term benefits for food security and social and economic well-being.

Part I. General Introduction

1965 ◽  
Vol 249 (759) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Activity ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Volcanic Eruption ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Royal Society ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
General Introduction ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Generous Financial Support

Tristan da Cunha and the three neighbouring islands of Inaccessible, Nightingale and Gough support a unique flora and fauna, poor in numbers of species but rich in endemics. Many of the endemics occur throughout the archipelago while others, some of great peculiarity, such as the flightless birds, are confined to single islands. Knowledge of the environmental conditions which have prevailed during the evolution of such a biota is very much to be desired. It is in this respect that examination of the damage caused by the volcanic eruption which began on Tristan da Gunha during October 1961 is most important. There are over thirty secondary eruptive centres which form very fresh, prominent features of the topography of Tristan. It is highly probable that the biota has suffered from volcanic activity many times in ways similar to, if not more severe than, those which occurred during 1961 and 1962. Soon after the eruption started, the Royal Society began to organize an expedition to study the new volcano, to make a geological survey of the Tristan archipelago and to investigate the effects of the eruption on the vegetation and fauna. Details of the history of the Expedition and the geological results are given by Baker, Gass, Harris & Le Maitre (1964). The inclusion of a botanist (J. H. Dickson) and a zoologist (D. E. Baird) was made possible by the generous financial support given to the project by the Trustees of the World Wildlife Fund.

scholarly journals Physiological Responses of Coral Reef Species to Emerging Threats of Anthropogenic Climate Change

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-127
Author(s):  
Rabia Mahmood
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Physiological Responses ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Conservation Practices ◽  
Current Conservation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World

Anthropogenic climate change is a threat to countless species and ecosystems around the world, including the coral reefs. Coral Reefs provide habitat to hundreds of thousands of species and play a big role in maintaining biological diversity. Unfortunately, around 50-70% of all coral reefs are under direct threat from human activities such as deforestation and overfishing. Major threats to the survival of coral reefs include increasing sea surface temperatures and ocean acidification, as they lead to bleaching and reduction in coral calcification. Due to the rapidly changing climate, conservation efforts should be aimed at protecting species that can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and buffer pH changes. This paper discusses recent research on tolerance and persistence of various species that make up the coral reefs and how this information can be integrated into current conservation practices to better protect the coral reefs.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE IN ADVANCING CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND CLIMATE JUSTICE

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otitoola Olufolajimi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Large Section ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World ◽  
Global Population ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

Climate change is a threat to the earth and sustainable development. There is no country in the world that is not experiencing first-hand, the drastic effects of climate change.7 Indeed, a large section of the global population already suffers or is in some way affected by the adverse effects of climate change, including its impacts on agriculture, aquaculture, livelihoods, biological diversity, health and a broad range of human rights. Although the impacts of climate change are felt globally, developing countries will bear the brunt of their social, economic and environmental effects.

scholarly journals Impact of climate change on biodiversity of India with special reference to Himalayan region-An overview

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinod Kumar ◽  
A. K. Chopra
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Himalayan Region ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
The World ◽  
Marine Areas

India possesses a distinct identity, not only because of its geography, history and culture, but also because of the great diversity of its natural ecosystems. The panorama of Indian biological diversity is much wider, as it comes under the twelve mega biodiverse (Hot-spot) centers of the world. It contains a great wealth of biological diversity in its forests, its wetlands and in its marine areas which are distributed all over the country. This richness is shown in absolute numbers of species and the proportion they represent of the world total. The great Himalayan region has peculiar identity in the perspective of its unique biogeography. It supports a large number of glaciers, lakes, rivers, flora and fauna due to its variable climate. It has a profound effect on the climate of the subcontinent. But due to anthropogenic activities the global climate has changed since last few decades. The climate of the subcontinent has also adversely affected the biological resources of the country along with that of the Himalayan region. The present paper discusses the various causes responsible for melting and shrinkage of glaciers, decreasing water flow in the major rivers, increasing pressure of extinction of the ecological wealth of the country. It also talks about the control measures and various management steps which can be taken, with special reference to the Himalayan region.

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