scholarly journals Identifying conservation priorities in a defaunated tropical biodiversity hotspot

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Tilker ◽  
Jesse F. Abrams ◽  
An Nguyen ◽  
Lisa Hörig ◽  
Jan Axtner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Site Occupancy ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Species Responses ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Analytical Approaches ◽  
Conservation Interventions

AimUnsustainable hunting is leading to widespread defaunation across the tropics. To mitigate against this threat with limited conservation resources, stakeholders must make decisions on where to focus anti-poaching activities. Identifying priority areas in a robust way allows decision-makers to target areas of conservation importance, therefore maximizing the impact of conservation interventions.LocationAnnamite mountains, Vietnam and Laos.MethodsWe conducted systematic landscape-scale surveys across five study sites (four protected areas, one unprotected area) using camera-trapping and leech-derived environmental DNA. We analyzed detections within a Bayesian multi-species occupancy framework to evaluate species responses to environmental and anthropogenic influences. Species responses were then used to predict occurrence to unsampled regions. We used predicted species richness maps and occurrence of endemic species to identify areas of conservation importance for targeted conservation interventions.ResultsAnalyses showed that habitat-based covariates were uninformative. Our final model therefore incorporated three anthropogenic covariates as well as elevation, which reflects both ecological and anthropogenic factors. Conservation-priority species tended to found in areas that are more remote now or have been less accessible in the past, and at higher elevations. Predicted species richness was low and broadly similar across the sites, but slightly higher in the more remote site. Occupancy of the three endemic species showed a similar trend.Main conclusionIdentifying spatial patterns of biodiversity in heavily-defaunated landscapes may require novel methodological and analytical approaches. Our results indicate to build robust prediction maps it is beneficial to sample over large spatial scales, use multiple detection methods to increase detections for rare species, include anthropogenic covariates that capture different aspects of hunting pressure, and analyze data within a Bayesian multi-species framework. Our models further suggest that more remote areas should be prioritized for anti-poaching efforts to prevent the loss of rare and endemic species.

Reconsidering the sediment connectivity and sediment transfer under the influence of hydraulic structures and coal mining in the Jiu river basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Adina Morosanu ◽  
Marta Cristina Jurchescu
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Hydraulic Structures ◽  
Water Runoff ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Sediment Transfer ◽  
The Impact

<p>The key to an efficient basin management, taking into account both the liquid (river water runoff and its quality) and the solid (sediment sources and delivery) components lies in the way we approach the complex problem of sediment-generating areas in a river basin. This complexity is manifested both through the primary geomorphological processes that contribute to the mobilization of significant amounts of alluvia from the slopes and along the river valleys, and the various environmental and anthropogenic factors that act as restrictors or catalysts of sediment transfer.</p><p>In the present study, we aim to analyze the various categories of anthropogenic factors, operating at different spatial scales (local or at subcatchment/river sector level), which contribute, together with the intrinsic geomorphological potential, to the sediment supply or, conversely, to the inhibition of erosion, transport and accumulation processes.</p><p>Tracking sediment mobilization, transfer, intermediate storage and final delivery in a lithologically and geomorphologically complex environment, such as the Jiu River Basin (10,070 km<sup>2</sup>), located in SW Romania, is a difficult task which can become even more challenging when we factor in the contribution of some additional elements of an anthropic nature. In our study area, represented by a Carpathian and Danubian river basin, some of the most significant issues impacting the research include, on the one hand, the existence of reservoirs and dams, the strengthening of anti-flood embankments or the presence of water diversions, to cite only hydrotechnical interventions, or the impact of coal mining on landforms, slope processes and sediment sources, on the other hand.  All these factors can act locally or regionally and they can surpass the influence exerted by the natural factors, thus being responsible for the reduction, storage, or, on the contrary, for the acceleration of specific hydro-sedimentary fluxes on certain paths.</p><p>In order to connect these two categories of potential factors regulating sediment generation and transfer, the methodological approach consists in evaluating the internal – geomorphic upstream-downstream connectivity in relation/contrast with the disruptive anthropogenic factors. The proposed workflow can be divided in two steps: 1) the identification of the upstream sediment generating areas which are most connected to the downstream delivery/ storage/ accumulation areas (river network and river mouth) by applying the connectivity index (IC) proposed by Cavalli et al. (2013); and 2) the evaluation of potential hotspot areas exhibiting the highest degree of connectivity, as seen through the lens of the additional coupling or decoupling effects induced by the anthropic activities specific to the Jiu river basin: hydraulic structures and coal mining.</p><p>Outcome discussions will focus on mapping problematic sediment production, storage and transfer sectors, as evidenced by the impact of hydrotechnical works and artificial landforms from coal mining on the connectivity potential of the Jiu river basin.</p>

Biodiversity Hotspots and Conservation Priorities

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kareiva ◽  
Isaac Kareiva
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Wind Farms ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Biodiversity Hotspots ◽  
Degraded Lands ◽  
Early Application ◽  
The Impact

The concept of biodiversity hotspots arose as a science-based framework with which to identify high-priority areas for habitat protection and conservation—often in the form of nature reserves. The basic idea is that with limited funds and competition from humans for land, we should use range maps and distributional data to protect areas that harbor the greatest biodiversity and that have experienced the greatest habitat loss. In its early application, much analysis and scientific debate went into asking the following questions: Should all species be treated equally? Do endemic species matter more? Should the magnitude of threat matter? Does evolutionary uniqueness matter? And if one has good data on one broad group of organisms (e.g., plants or birds), does it suffice to focus on hotspots for a few taxonomic groups and then expect to capture all biodiversity broadly? Early applications also recognized that hotspots could be identified at a variety of spatial scales—from global to continental, to national to regional, to even local. Hence, within each scale, it is possible to identify biodiversity hotspots as targets for conservation. In the last 10 years, the concept of hotspots has been enriched to address some key critiques, including the problem of ignoring important areas that might have low biodiversity but that certainly were highly valued because of charismatic wild species or critical ecosystem services. Analyses revealed that although the spatial correlation between high-diversity areas and high-ecosystem-service areas is low, it is possible to use quantitative algorithms that achieve both high protection for biodiversity and high protection for ecosystem services without increasing the required area as much as might be expected. Currently, a great deal of research is aimed at asking about what the impact of climate change on biodiversity hotspots is, as well as to what extent conservation can maintain high biodiversity in the face of climate change. Two important approaches to this are detailed models and statistical assessments that relate species distribution to climate, or alternatively “conserving the stage” for high biodiversity, whereby the stage entails regions with topographies or habitat heterogeneity of the sort that is expected to generate high species richness. Finally, conservation planning has most recently embraced what is in some sense the inverse of biodiversity hotspots—what we might call conservation wastelands. This approach recognizes that in the Anthropocene epoch, human development and infrastructure are so vast that in addition to using data to identify biodiversity hotspots, we should use data to identify highly degraded habitats and ecosystems. These degraded lands can then become priority development areas—for wind farms, solar energy facilities, oil palm plantations, and so forth. By specifying degraded lands, conservation plans commonly pair maps of biodiversity hotspots with maps of degraded lands that highlight areas for development. By putting the two maps together, it should be possible to achieve much more effective conservation because there will be provision of habitat for species and for economic development—something that can obtain broader political support than simply highlighting biodiversity hotspots.

scholarly journals Conservation priorities and distribution patterns of vascular plant species along environmental gradients in Aberdare ranges forest

PhytoKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 131 ◽  
pp. 91-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solomon Kipkoech ◽  
David Kimutai Melly ◽  
Benjamin Watuma Mwema ◽  
Geoffrey Mwachala ◽  
Paul Mutuku Musili ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Partial Least Square Regression ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Conservation And Management

Distribution patterns of biodiversity and the factors influencing them are important in conservation and management strategies of natural resources. With impending threats from increased human population and global climatic changes, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive understanding of these patterns, more so in species-rich tropical montane ecosystems where little is known about plant diversity and distribution. Vascular species richness along elevation and climatic gradients of Aberdare ranges forest were explored. A total of 1337 species in 137 families, 606 genera, 82 subspecies and 80 varieties were recorded. Correlations, simple linear regression and Partial least square regression analysis were used to assess richness and diversity patterns of total plants, herbs, shrubs, climbers, arboreal and endemic species from 2000–4000 m above sea level. Total plant species richness showed a monotonic declining relationship with elevation with richness maxima at 2000–2100 m a.s.l., while endemic species richness had a positive unimodal increase along elevation with peaks at 3600–3700 m a.s.l. Herbs, shrubs, climbers and arboreal had significant negative relationships with altitude, excluding endemism which showed positive relations. In contrast, both air and soil temperatures had positive relationships with taxa richness groups and negative relations with endemic species. Elevation was found to have higher relative influence on plant richness and distribution in Aberdare ranges forest. For effective conservation and management of biodiversity in Aberdare, localized dynamic conservation interventions are recommended in contrast to broad and static strategies. Establishment of conservation zones and migration corridors are necessary to safeguard biodiversity in line with envisaged global climatic vicissitudes.

scholarly journals Populations state of selected communities of Juniperus communis(Common Juniper)in Vitosha Mt., Bulgaria

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aneta Lambevska-Hristova ◽  
Svetlana Bancheva
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
Calcareous Grassland ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Juniperus Communis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Common Juniper

Juniperus communis L. formations on heaths or calcareous grassland are included in the Bulgarian Biological Diversity Act (code 5130) and some of them are covered by the European Ecological Network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria. Aim: The purpose of this work is to investigate the status of selected communities with the participation of J. communis in the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) "Vitosha" with an emphasis on the species richness of plants and fungi and the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors. Material and methods: The survey was conducted between May and September 2019. Habitat 5130 covers an area of 19.27 ha in the territory of SAC "Vitosha". For the purpose of this study is crawled throughout the mountain where it is registered. The route and stationary methods were used for selected objects. Reporting plots were installed in 5 places, each with an area of 100 sq.m. For the assessment of the state of J. communis’ communities and the influencing factors the appropriate Methodology used for the establishment of the national Natura 2000 network in Bulgaria was applied (Zingstra et al. 2009). Results: A remarkable species richness of plants and fungi was found in the selected communities of Common Juniper at SAC "Vitosha". A new lignicolous species for the Bulgarian mycota, Peniophora junipericola J. Erikss on single host J. communis, was found. The explored plant communities were in good condition and have not been established factors threatening their existence. Conclusion: The habitat occurs at various altitudes and includes species with various ecological characteristics. A tendency for restoration and increasing of the areas covered by the Common juniper has been observed recently as a result of abandonment of arable land.

scholarly journals Land cover drives large scale productivity-diversity relationships in Irish vascular plants

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah J. White ◽  
Willson Gaul ◽  
Dinara Sadykova ◽  
Lupe León-Sánchez ◽  
Paul Caplat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

The impact of productivity on species diversity is often studied at small spatial scales and without taking additional environmental factors into account. Focusing on small spatial scales removes important regional scale effects, such as the role of land cover heterogeneity. Here, we use a regional spatial scale (10 km square) to establish the relationship between productivity and vascular plant species richness across the island of Ireland that takes into account variation in land cover. We used generalized additive mixed effects models to relate species richness, estimated from biological records, to plant productivity. Productivity was quantified by the satellite-derived enhanced vegetation index. The productivity-diversity relationship was fitted for three land cover types: pasture-dominated, heterogeneous, and non-pasture-dominated landscapes. We find that species richness decreases with increasing productivity, especially at higher productivity levels. This decreasing relationship appears to be driven by pasture-dominated areas. The relationship between species richness and heterogeneity in productivity (both spatial and temporal) varies with land cover. Our results suggest that the impact of pasture on species richness extends beyond field level. The effect of human modified landscapes, therefore, is important to consider when investigating classical ecological relationships, particularly at the wider landscape scale.

scholarly journals Applying conservation reserve design strategies to define ecosystem monitoring priorities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Martín-Forés ◽  
Greg Guerin ◽  
Samantha Munroe ◽  
Ben Sparrow
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Species Turnover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Reserve Design ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Ecosystem Change ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Monitoring Networks ◽  
Ecosystem Research

In an era of unprecedented ecological upheaval, accurately monitoring ecosystem change at large spatial scales and over long-time frames is an essential to effective environmental management and conservation. However, economic limitations often preclude revisiting entire monitoring networks at a high enough frequency to accurately detect ecological changes. Thus, a prioritisation strategy is needed to select a subset of sites that meets the principles of complementarity and representativeness of the whole ecological reality. Here, we applied two well-known approaches for conservation design, the ‘minimum set’ and the ‘maximal coverage’ problems, to develop a strategic monitoring prioritisation procedure that compares potential monitoring sites using a suite of alpha and beta biodiversity metrics. To accomplish this, we created a novel function for the R environment that easily performs biodiversity metric comparisons and site prioritisation on a plot-by-plot basis. We tested our procedures using plot data provided by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) AusPlots, an Australian long-term monitoring network of 774 vegetation and soil monitoring plots. We selected 250 plots and 80% of the total species recorded for the maximal coverage and minimum set problems, respectively. We compared the results of each approach in terms of ecological complementarity (species accumulation) and the spatial and environmental representativeness of the plots selected by the different biodiversity metrics. We repeated the selection process for clusters of plots to incorporate logistic constraints for field expeditions. We found that prioritisation based on species turnover (i.e. selection of the most dissimilar plots in terms of species composition but ignoring species richness) maximised ecological complementarity and spatial representativeness, while also providing high environmental coverage. Species richness was an unreliable metric for spatial representation, whereas plot selection based on corrected weighted endemism failed to capture ecological and environmental variation. Range-rarity-richness was a more balanced metric in terms of complementarity and representativeness. Prioritisation based on species turnover is desirable to cover the maximum variability of the whole network. Synthesis and applications: Our results inform monitoring design and conservation priorities, which should consider changes in the turnover component of the beta diversity instead of being based on univariate metrics.

scholarly journals Assessing the impact of fire on spider abundance through a global comparative analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire A McLean ◽  
Jane Melville ◽  
Joseph Schubert ◽  
Rebecca Rose ◽  
Iliana Medina
Keyword(s):  
Fire Management ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Time Since Fire ◽  
Family Level ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Spider Abundance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Analytical Approaches

Fire is an important ecological disturbance; however, in many regions fire regimes are changing due to anthropogenic factors. Understanding the responses of species and ecosystem to fire can help to develop predictive models and inform fire management decisions. Despite their massive diversity and abundance, relatively little is known about the impacts of fire on invertebrates. Spiders are a diverse and ubiquitous group, with variation in ecological, behavioural and life history traits, and can offer important insights into the impacts of fire on invertebrates and whether these depend on environmental factors, phylogenetic history, or species traits. We conducted phylogenetic comparative analyses of published data from studies investigating the impacts of fire on spiders. We investigated whether fire affects family level abundance and whether this effect depends on ecologically relevant traits or site-specific factors (vegetation, latitude, fire type, time since fire). We found that time since fire had a significant effect on the abundance of some spider families (Lycosidae, Linyphiidae, Agelenidae), and within forest vegetation types. There was no relationship between family level traits and response to fire, suggesting that a trait-based approach does not increase predictive power in this group at this taxonomic level. Overall, it is difficult to make broad generalisations about the impacts of fire on spider abundance due to variation in site- and fire-specific factors. We did, however, find evidence that short fire intervals may be a threat to some spider families, and in forest ecosystems, where abundance initially decreased after fire, which may have important implications for fire management strategies. Finally, we show that analyses of published data can be used to detect broad scale ecological patterns and provide an alternative to traditional meta-analytical approaches.

scholarly journals Distribution of the birds of the Philippines: biogeography and conservation priorities

2000 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Townsend Peterson ◽  
Lisa G. Ball ◽  
Kelly W. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Reserve Design ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Avian Diversity ◽  
Biogeographic Patterns ◽  
Maximum Elevation ◽  
Optimal Reserve

The Philippine islands hold a concentration of species diversity and endemism of global importance, yet few studies have analyzed biogeographic patterns or attempted to prioritize areas for conservation within the archipelago. We analyzed distributions of 386 species on 28 Philippine islands and island groups, documenting intense concentration of species richness, especially of endemic species, on the two largest islands, Mindanao and Luzon. Factors identified as influencing species richness included island area, maximum elevation, and Pleistocene patterns of connection and isolation. Reserve systems were developed based on heuristic complementarity algorithms, and compared with the existing Integrated Protected Areas (IPAS) system in the country, showing that IPAS is an impressive first step towards protecting avian diversity in the country. Addition of presently proposed reserves on Palawan and Mindoro would make IPAS a near-optimal reserve design, at least at the level of island representation. Important challenges remain, however, with regard to design of reserve systems within islands to represent complete island avifaunas.

scholarly journals Estimates of Species Richness and Composition Depend on Detection Method in Assemblages of Terrestrial Mammals

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 186
Author(s):  
Bruno D. Suárez-Tangil ◽  
Alejandro Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Method Performance ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Mediterranean Landscapes ◽  
The Impact

Detecting rapid changes in mammal composition at large spatial scales requires efficient detection methods. Many studies estimate species composition with a single survey method without asking whether that particular method optimises detection for all occurring species and yields reliable community-level indices. We explore the implications of between-method differences in efficiency, consistency, and sampling effort for the basic characterisation of assemblages of medium to large mammals in a region with three contrasted Mediterranean landscapes. We assessed differences between camera traps, scent stations, scat surveys, and track surveys. Using track surveys, we detected all species present in the regional pool (13) and obtained the most accurate description of local species richness and composition with the lowest sampling effort (16 sampling units and 2 survey sessions at most). Had we chosen camera traps, scent stations, or scat surveys as the only survey method, we would have underestimated species richness (9, 11, and 12 species, respectively) and misrepresented species composition in varying degrees. Preliminary studies of method performance inform whether single or multiple survey methods are needed and eventually which single method might be most appropriate. Without such a formal assessment current practices may produce unreliable and incomplete species inventories, ultimately leading to incorrect conclusions about the impact of human activity on mammal communities.

scholarly journals Impact of Fires on Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Priority Bird Species for Conservation in Bolivia

Fire ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Oswaldo Maillard ◽  
Sebastian K. Herzog ◽  
Rodrigo W. Soria-Auza ◽  
Roberto Vides-Almonacid
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Threatened Species ◽  
Endemic Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Santa Cruz ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Anthropogenic Fires ◽  
Del Rio ◽  
The Impact

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites that contribute significantly to the protection of the planet’s biodiversity. In this study, we evaluated the annual burned areas and the intensity of the fires that affected Bolivia and its 58 KBAs (23.3 million ha) over the last 20 years (2001–2020). In particular, we analyzed the impact of wildfires on the distribution of Bolivian birds at the levels of overall species richness, endemic species and threatened species (Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable). We found that at the KBA level, the cumulative area of wildfires was 21.6 million ha, while the absolute area impacted was 5.6 million ha. The KBAs most affected by the wildfires are located in the departments of Beni and Santa Cruz; mainly in the KBAs Área Natural de Manejo Integrado San Matías, Oeste del río Mamoré, Este del río Mamoré, Noel Kempff Mercado and Área Natural de Manejo Integrado Otuquis. The wildfires impacted the distribution of 54 threatened species and 15 endemic species in the KBAs. Based on the results of this study, it is a priority to communicate to Bolivian government authorities the importance of KBAs as a strategy for the conservation of the country’s biodiversity and the threats resulting from anthropogenic fires.

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