Habitat Management of the Endemic and Critical Endangered Montseny Brook Newt (Calotriton arnoldi)

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.20944/preprints202110.0383.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Guinart ◽

Sonia Solórzano ◽

Fèlix Amat ◽

Jordina Grau ◽

Daniel Fernández-Guiberteau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Forest Restoration ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Water Withdrawal ◽

Technical Knowledge ◽

New Taxon ◽

Essential Information ◽

The Impact ◽

Water Catchments

Calotriton arnoldi is an endemic amphibian inhabiting Montseny Natural Park and Biosphere Re-serve (PNRBM). It was recognized as a new taxon in 2005 by means of genetic and morphologi-cal analyses and, due to its small distribution range and population size, it was listed as “Criti-cally endangered (CR)” by IUCN. Its area of distribution is small and fragmented less than line-ar 5 km. The Montseny Brook Newt is adapted to mountain streams and requires a pristine hab-itat, one which is currently being affected by conservation issues linked to climate change and human activities (logging, water catchments, visitor’s frequency, among others). At the end of 2016, the Life Tritó del Montseny (LifeTM) project (LIFE15 NAT/ES/000757) was launched. This project’s aim was to promote around fifty actions to ensure the conservation of C. arnoldi and its natural habitat, in the Montseny SCI of the Natura 2000 Network, with five strategic lines: 1) To increase scientific and technical knowledge with regard to C. arnoldi conservation status and its habitat management. 2) To ensure its genetic conservation and expand its geographic distribu-tion 3) To eliminate or minimize threats that exist in the riparian habitat. 4) To Involve and en-gage stakeholders and local residents in the conservation of Montseny brook newt riparian hab-itats. 5) To establish proper legal coverage and define long-term strategic planning. Since 2017, several actions linked to the strategic lines 1 and 3 have been initiated. Many unforeseen events have been overcome and there have been some failures, but there have also been several satis-factory results that allow us to be optimistic about the future of the species. These achievements and failures obtained throughout the process provide us with essential information to develop an adaptive habitat management. Dozens of monitoring surveys have been carried out which allow us to understand the evolution of natural populations, to improve our knowledge re-garding their biology and to assess the impact of conservation actions. In relation to eliminating or minimizing threats to the newt’s habitat, some of the actions that are being carried out are: a) Land acquisitions and land exchanges with different private properties. b) Land stewardship with two custody agreements being signed. c) Reduction of water withdrawal with nine water catchments and distribution being remodeled. e) Improvement of water treatments and storage by installing ecological wastewater treatment facilities. f) Ensure ecological connectivity and ri-parian forest restoration by removing twenty-two river connectivity barriers removed and exe-cuting twelve forestry and bioengineering interventions within the riverside habitat. With re-gard to analyzing the conservation status, management activities and scientific and technical knowledge, active long-term monitoring of the newt population and hydrological conditions has begun. Here we present an evaluation of the actions carried out to improve the habitat of this species, including the necessary considerations for them to be implemented correctly and to be successful in a natural area, which is under public-private management.

Download Full-text

A Global Perspective on Firefly Extinction Threats

BioScience ◽

10.1093/biosci/biz157 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 70 (2) ◽

pp. 157-167 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sara M Lewis ◽

Choong Hay Wong ◽

Avalon C S Owens ◽

Candace Fallon ◽

Sarina Jepsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Conservation Status ◽

Economic Value ◽

Global Perspective ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Cultural Significance ◽

Comprehensive Review ◽

Survey Results ◽

The Impact ◽

Recent Attention

Abstract Insect declines and their drivers have attracted considerable recent attention. Fireflies and glowworms are iconic insects whose conspicuous bioluminescent courtship displays carry unique cultural significance, giving them economic value as ecotourist attractions. Despite evidence of declines, a comprehensive review of the conservation status and threats facing the approximately 2000 firefly species worldwide is lacking. We conducted a survey of experts from diverse geographic regions to identify the most prominent perceived threats to firefly population and species persistence. Habitat loss, light pollution, and pesticide use were regarded as the most serious threats, although rankings differed substantially across regions. Our survey results accompany a comprehensive review of current evidence concerning the impact of these stressors on firefly populations. We also discuss risk factors likely to increase the vulnerability of certain species to particular threats. Finally, we highlight the need to establish monitoring programs to track long-term population trends for at-risk firefly taxa.

Download Full-text

Long-term Annual Aerial Surveys of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Support Science, Management, and Restoration

Estuaries and Coasts ◽

10.1007/s12237-019-00651-w ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Robert J. Orth ◽

William C. Dennison ◽

Cassie Gurbisz ◽

Michael Hannam ◽

Jeni Keisman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aquatic Vegetation ◽

New Technologies ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Commercial Fishing ◽

Submersed Aquatic Vegetation ◽

Essential Information ◽

Aerial Surveys ◽

The Impact

Abstract Aerial surveys of coastal habitats can uniquely inform the science and management of shallow, coastal zones, and when repeated annually, they reveal changes that are otherwise difficult to assess from ground-based surveys. This paper reviews the utility of a long-term (1984–present) annual aerial monitoring program for submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Chesapeake Bay, its tidal tributaries, and nearby Atlantic coastal bays, USA. We present a series of applications that highlight the program’s importance in assessing anthropogenic impacts, gauging water quality status and trends, establishing and evaluating restoration goals, and understanding the impact of commercial fishing practices on benthic habitats. These examples demonstrate how periodically quantifying coverage of this important foundational habitat answers basic research questions locally, as well as globally, and provides essential information to resource managers. New technologies are enabling more frequent and accurate aerial surveys at greater spatial resolution and lower cost. These advances will support efforts to extend the applications described here to similar issues in other areas.

Download Full-text

Eradication of a highly invasive bird, the Common Myna Acridotheres tristis, facilitates the establishment of insurance populations of island endemic birds

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270921000435 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-21

Author(s):

CHRIS J. FEARE ◽

RACHEL M. BRISTOL ◽

JANSKE VAN DE CROMMENACKER

Keyword(s):

Habitat Management ◽

Conservation Status ◽

Experimental Manipulation ◽

Small Island ◽

Island Endemic ◽

Endemic Birds ◽

Common Myna ◽

Acridotheres Tristis ◽

Native Birds ◽

The Impact

Summary Common Myna Acridotheres tristis is considered to be among the world’s most damaging invasive species through disturbance, predation, competition pathogen introduction to native birds and other taxa. Claimed impacts on native birds have often been based on anecdotal reports. More substantive evidence of interference with small-island endemic birds has been reported, but impacts have rarely been quantified or subjected to experimental manipulation. On Denis Island (Seychelles), up to 10% of Seychelles Warblers Acrocephalus sechellensis, and small numbers of Seychelles Fodies Foudia sechellesis and Seychelles Paradise Flycatchers Terpsiphone corvina had head injuries following myna attacks, stimulating an eradication of the mynas. Populations of four species of Seychelles’ endemic birds, introduced to the island to establish insurance populations, were estimated before, during and after the completion of the eradication, permitting assessment of the impact of myna removal on populations of the endemics. Numbers of all four endemics increased following introduction, but increases in the numbers of Seychelles Magpie Robins Copsychus sechellensis and Seychelles Paradise Flycatchers accelerated after >90% of the mynas had been removed. All endemic populations continued to increase during and after completion of the eradication in 2015, and injuries to Seychelles Warblers, Seychelles Fodies, and Seychelles Paradise Flycatchers ceased. Habitat management within a designated conservation zone on the island, into which the endemics were released and subsequently spread to occupy most of the island, also contributed to the endemic birds’ global populations and to their improved conservation status. This study confirms that mynas negatively impact small island populations of endemic birds and suggests that their potential impact has been underestimated. Myna eradication should be considered vital before endangered endemic birds and other taxa susceptible to their negative impacts are translocated to small islands for conservation reasons.

Download Full-text

Sustainability and Livelihoods

10.5772/intechopen.96158 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Chinta Srinivas

Keyword(s):

Environmental Sustainability ◽

Habitat Management ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Developing Economies ◽

Agricultural Practices ◽

Economic Activities ◽

History Of ◽

The Impact ◽

Environmental Landscape

The word environmental sustainability of late has been used as catch word for illustrating the climate change and subsequent sequential impact of various aspects of environmental landscape that include soil management, gaseous exchange, nutrient cycling, carbon emission, rainfall etc., Interpretation of environmental changes are interpreted based on very few trends which need not necessarily cause short term or long term impacts. The impact assessment of a region fundamentally depends on region specific history of habitat management, human interference, agricultural practices, Economic livelihood activities which depend on available natural resources and seasonality of intensity of activities. In the present study efforts are made to indentify the major NTFP based livelihood economic activities and relate the habitat management aspects along with commercial invasion that became detrimental to environmental threshold to call for sustainability alarm. The livelihoods in various developing economies have different environmental impacts. Such assessment of economic activities have any real environmentally detrimental consequences or is it being essentially over emphasizing to create such fears have been analyzed.

Download Full-text

The CMEMS In Situ TAC multi-year and multi-variate products to monitor and understand the ocean variability

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-8803 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tanguy Szekely ◽

Mélanie Juza ◽

Jérôme Gourrion ◽

Paz Rotllán-García ◽

Sylvie Pouliquen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ocean Circulation ◽

Marine Ecosystem ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Global Ocean ◽

Polar Regions ◽

Temporal Scales ◽

Essential Information ◽

The Impact

The CMEMS In Situ TAC (INSTAC) integrates in situ observations from various platforms, (e.g. profiling floats, gliders, drifters, saildrones, research vessels, ferryboxes, fixed stations, tides gauges, sea mammals, high-frequency radar), providing physical and biogeochemical ocean data at local, regional and global scales, with an increasing data integration from the polar and coastal regions.&#160;The INSTAC quality-controlled data in both delayed mode and near-real time are contributing to support the operational oceanography (e.g. model forecasting, analysis and reanalysis, satellite calibration, downstream services) and to monitor the 4-dimensional ocean at various spatial and temporal scales. The INSTAC multi-year products provide an essential information on the ocean state, variability and changes and allow addressing long-term variations (climate) analysis as well as detecting remarkable events. Hence, the INSTAC group has contributed substantially to the elaboration of the annual CMEMS Ocean State Report (OSR, Von Schuckmann et al., 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021).&#160;A general overview of the INSTAC contributions to the CMEMS OSR is presented, highlighting its capacity to describe, analyze and understand the ocean state and variability of both physical and biogeochemical components from the sea surface to the deep ocean, from the coastal to open sea waters, from tropical to polar regions, from semi-enclosed seas to the global ocean, from short-term to long-term temporal scales. The INSTAC team contributes to the CMEMS Ocean Monitoring Indicators reporting, investigates the ocean circulation variability, analyses the impact of climate change on marine ecosystem and ocean circulation, and develops operational applications and services.&#160;Maintaining the current observational network, integrating new platforms, enhancing the spatial and temporal resolutions, improving methodologies and developing new metrics (e.g. quality control, data assimilation), developing new products, INSTAC will continue to serve the overall need to understand and predict the ocean state and variability, in line with the present and future scientific, societal and environmental challenges.

Download Full-text

Suppressed, but Not Forgotten

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185/a000033 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 70 (1) ◽

pp. 5-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Beat Meier ◽

Anja König ◽

Samuel Parak ◽

Katharina Henke

Keyword(s):

Memory Trace ◽

Thought Suppression ◽

Test Phase ◽

Indirect Test ◽

Final Test ◽

Test Experiment ◽

And Control ◽

Cue Words ◽

The Impact

This study investigates the impact of thought suppression over a 1-week interval. In two experiments with 80 university students each, we used the think/no-think paradigm in which participants initially learn a list of word pairs (cue-target associations). Then they were presented with some of the cue words again and should either respond with the target word or avoid thinking about it. In the final test phase, their memory for the initially learned cue-target pairs was tested. In Experiment 1, type of memory test was manipulated (i.e., direct vs. indirect). In Experiment 2, type of no-think instructions was manipulated (i.e., suppress vs. substitute). Overall, our results showed poorer memory for no-think and control items compared to think items across all experiments and conditions. Critically, however, more no-think than control items were remembered after the 1-week interval in the direct, but not in the indirect test (Experiment 1) and with thought suppression, but not thought substitution instructions (Experiment 2). We suggest that during thought suppression a brief reactivation of the learned association may lead to reconsolidation of the memory trace and hence to better retrieval of suppressed than control items in the long term.

Download Full-text