Amephana dalmatica (Rebel, 1919) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) found in the Nature Park “Golija”: A new species in the fauna of the Republic of Serbia

Climate Change, Connectivity, and Conservation Success

Protected areas are a key instrument for conservation. Despite this, they are vulnerable to risks associated with weak governance, land-use intensification, and climate change. We used a novel hierarchical optimization approach to identify priority areas for expanding the global protected area system that explicitly accounted for such risks while maximizing protection of all known terrestrial vertebrate species. To incorporate risk categories, we built on the minimum set problem, where the objective is to reach species distribution protection targets while accounting for 1 constraint, such as land cost or area. We expanded this approach to include multiple objectives accounting for risk in the problem formulation by treating each risk layer as a separate objective in the problem formulation. Reducing exposure to these risks required expanding the area of the global protected area system by 1.6% while still meeting conservation targets. Incorporating risks from weak governance drove the greatest changes in spatial priorities for protection, and incorporating risks from climate change required the largest increase (2.52%) in global protected area. Conserving wide-ranging species required countries with relatively strong governance to protect more land when they bordered nations with comparatively weak governance. Our results underscore the need for cross-jurisdictional coordination and demonstrate how risk can be efficiently incorporated into conservation planning. Planeación de las áreas protegidas para conservar la biodiversidad en un futuro incierto.

Urban growth is a major threat to biodiversity conservation at the global scale. Its impacts are expected to be especially detrimental when it sprawls into the landscape and reaches sites of high conservation value due to the species and ecosystems they host, such as protected areas. I analyzed the degree of urbanization (i.e., urban cover and growth rate) from 2006 to 2015 in protected sites in the Natura 2000 network, which, according to the Habitats and Birds Directives, harbor species and habitats of high conservation concern in Europe. I used data on the degree of land imperviousness from COPERNICUS to calculate and compare urban covers and growth rates inside and outside Natura 2000. I also analyzed the relationships of urban cover and growth rates with a set of characteristics of Natura sites. Urban cover inside Natura 2000 was 10 times lower than outside (0.4% vs. 4%) throughout the European Union. However, the rates of urban growth were slightly higher inside than outside Natura 2000 (4.8% vs. 3.9%), which indicates an incipient urban sprawl inside the network. In general, Natura sites affected most by urbanization were those surrounded by densely populated areas (i.e., urban clusters) that had a low number of species or habitats of conservation concern, albeit some member states had high urban cover or growth rate or both in protected sites with a large number of species or habitats of high conservation value. Small Natura sites had more urban cover than large sites, but urban growth rates were highest in large Natura sites. Natura 2000 is protected against urbanization to some extent, but there is room for improvement. Member states must enact stricter legal protection and control law enforcement to halt urban sprawl into protected areas under the greatest pressure from urban sprawl (i.e., close to urban clusters). Such actions are particularly needed in Natura sites with high urban cover and growth rates and areas where urbanization is affecting small Natura sites of high conservation value, which are especially vulnerable and concentrated in the Mediterranean region.

Protected areas are a key conservation tool, yet their effectiveness at maintaining biodiversity through time is rarely quantified. Here, we assess protected area effectiveness across sampled portions of Great Britain (primarily England) using regionalized (protected vs unprotected areas) Bayesian occupancy-detection models for 1238 invertebrate species at 1 km resolution, based on ~1 million occurrence records between 1990 and 2018. We quantified species richness, species trends, and compositional change (temporal beta diversity; decomposed into losses and gains). We report results overall, for two functional groups (pollinators and predators), and for rare and common species. Whilst we found that protected areas have 15 % more species on average than unprotected ones, declines in occupancy are of similar magnitude and species composition has changed 27 % across protected and unprotected areas, with losses dominating gains. Pollinators have suffered particularly severe declines. Still, protected areas are colonized by more locally-novel pollinator species than unprotected areas, suggesting that they might act as ‘landing pads’ for range-shifting pollinators. We find almost double the number of rare species in protected areas (although rare species trends are similar in protected and unprotected areas); whereas we uncover disproportionately steep declines for common species within protected areas. Our results highlight strong invertebrate reorganization and loss across both protected and unprotected areas. We therefore call for more effective protected areas, in combination with wider action, to bend the curve of biodiversity loss – where we provide a toolkit to quantify effectiveness. We must grasp the opportunity to effectively conserve biodiversity through time.

Assessing the vulnerability of Thailand's forest birds to global change

In order to assess the effects of climate change in temperate rainforest plants in southern South America in terms of habitat size, representation in protected areas, considering also if the expected impacts are similar for dominant trees and understory plant species, we used niche modeling constrained by species migration on 118 plant species, considering two groups of dominant trees and two groups of understory ferns. Representation in protected areas included Chilean national protected areas, private protected areas, and priority areas planned for future reserves, with two thresholds for minimum representation at the country level: 10% and 17%. With a 10% representation threshold, national protected areas currently represent only 50% of the assessed species. Private reserves are important since they increase up to 66% the species representation level. Besides, 97% of the evaluated species may achieve the minimum representation target only if the proposed priority areas were included. With the climate change scenario representation levels slightly increase to 53%, 69%, and 99%, respectively, to the categories previously mentioned. Thus, the current location of all the representation categories is useful for overcoming climate change by 2050. Climate change impacts on habitat size and representation of dominant trees in protected areas are not applicable to understory plants, highlighting the importance of assessing these effects with a larger number of species. Although climate change will modify the habitat size of plant species in South American temperate rainforests, it will have no significant impact in terms of the number of species adequately represented in Chile, where the implementation of the proposed reserves is vital to accomplish the present and future minimum representation. Our results also show the importance of using migration dispersal constraints to develop more realistic future habitat maps from climate change predictions.

The Central Yangtze ecoregion in China includes a number of lakes, but these have been greatly affected by human activities over the past several decades, resulting in severe loss of biodiversity. In this paper, we document the present distribution of the major lakes and the changes in size that have taken place over the past 50 years, using remote sensing data and historical observations of land cover in the region. We also provide an overview of the changes in species richness, community composition, population size and age structure, and individual body size of aquatic plants, fishes, and waterfowl in these lakes. The overall species richness of aquatic plants found in eight major lakes has decreased substantially during the study period. Community composition has also been greatly altered, as have population size and age and individual body size in some species. These changes are largely attributed to the integrated effects of lake degradation, the construction of large hydroelectric dams, the establishment of nature reserves, and lake restoration practices.

This study provides significant contributions to the knowledge of the Lepidoptera fauna of Romania by reporting species newly recorded for the national fauna, as well as by adding distributional data for already known taxa. We report the first record of Athetis hospes (Freyer, 1831) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Romania, based on observations carried out in several localities in the western and south-western parts of the country: Cefa Nature Park (Bihor County), Sfânta Elena (Caraș-Severin County, within the Iron Gates Natural Park), and the Foieni sand dunes (Satu Mare County). This finding represents a notable extension of the known distribution range of the species at the European level. For Dioszeghyana schmidtii Diószeghy, 1935, a Natura 2000 species listed in Annex II of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), new distribution data were presented from several sites in Bihor County (Cefa, Betfia, Cetariu) and Satu Mare County (Chegea). These results confirm the persistence and possible expansion of its populations in north-western Romania and emphasize the importance of maintaining conservation measures for this species at both national and European levels. Furthermore, the presence of Polymixis flavicincta (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) in Dobrogea is discussed, highlighting a broader distribution than previously known for Romania. In addition to morphological identification and genitalia dissection, the authors recommend complementary genetic analyses to strengthen taxonomic and distributional assessments. The study also reports the first record of Pancalia nodosella Mann, 1854 (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterigidae) in the Romanian fauna, identified in 2012 in Babadag Forest (Tulcea County). This discovery places Romania within the wide European and Eurasian distribution range of the species. Additional noteworthy observations include Callopistria latreillei (Duponchel, 1827) and Dasycorsa modesta (Staudinger, 1879), which further contribute to updating the knowledge of the national Lepidoptera diversity and their distribution. The results underline the importance of field entomological surveys in updating our knowledge of Romania’s lepidopterological biodiversity. The newly reported species and additional distributional data confirm the essential role of protected natural areas, such as Cefa Nature Park, the Iron Gates Natural Park, the Foieni sand dunes, and Babadag Forest, in safeguarding species diversity. Moreover, these findings provide a solid foundation for future taxonomic, ecological, and applied research, with direct implications for the management and conservation of Romania’s Lepidoptera fauna.

In this article we present data for new floristic records on the flora of Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park, which extends at north – east of Librazhdi town, in the border with Macedonia. It has a total surface 33,927.66 ha and the altitude varies from 300 m to 2264 m a. s. l. The Park is under the administration of Elbasan Regional Administration of Protected Areas (RAPAs) and is one of the largest Albanian National Parks, with great values especially of being home to a rich wild flora and fauna as well, that needs further explorations due to difficult terrains and roads. The Park is known for its diversity of vascular native flora and until now it comprises more than 1000 taxa, with a large number of endemic and sub-endemic species. During our exploration we found many taxa, which are reported here for the first time as present in the park area. Many of them have limited Europe distribution being native to Albania, Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey such as: Fritillaria macedonica Bornm., Vincetoxicum speciosum Boiss. & Spruner, Crocus jablanicensis N. Randjel. & V. Randjel. and others widespread, as: Tulipa sylvestris L., etc. that increase even more the number of floristic richness of this protected area.

Climate change is challenging the ability of protected areas (PAs) to meet their objectives. To improve PA planning, we developed a framework for assessing PA vulnerability to climate change based on consideration of potential climate change impacts on species and their habitats and resource use. Furthermore, the capacity of PAs to adapt to these climate threats was determined through assessment of PA management effectiveness, adjacent land use, and financial resilience. Users reach a PA‐specific vulnerability score and rank based on scoring of these categories. We applied the framework to South Africa's 19 national parks. Because the 19 parks are managed as a national network, we explored how resources might be best allocated to address climate change. Each park's importance to the network's biodiversity conservation and revenue generation was estimated and used to weight overall vulnerability scores and ranks. Park vulnerability profiles showed distinct combinations of potential impacts of climate change and adaptive capacities; the former had a greater influence on vulnerability. Mapungubwe National Park emerged as the most vulnerable to climate change, despite its relatively high adaptive capacity, largely owing to large projected changes in species and resource use. Table Mountain National Park scored the lowest in overall vulnerability. Climate change vulnerability rankings differed markedly once importance weightings were applied; Kruger National Park was the most vulnerable under both importance scenarios. Climate change vulnerability assessment is fundamental to effective adaptation planning. Our PA assessment tool is the only tool that quantifies PA vulnerability to climate change in a comparative index. It may be used in data‐rich and data‐poor contexts to prioritize resource allocation across PA networks and can be applied from local to global scales.

Science and Public Engagement in National Parks: Examples and Advice from Young Scientists

Land use change due to human activity can have serious, often irreversible effects on the environment. It affects ecosystem functions and the sustainability of protected natural areas. Problems such as fragmentation, low habitat connectivity or a decline in a territory’s ability to capture carbon are some of its consequences. By studying past land use trends we can simulate future land uses, and modeling such trends is essential if a preventive approach to the management of protected areas is to be adopted. The aim of this chapter is to simulate different change scenarios in protected natural areas in the urban region of Madrid, from National and Nature Parks to Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas. To this end we study land use changes both inside and around these protected areas. CORINE Land Cover maps from 1990, 2000 and 2006 are used. Cross-tabulation techniques are applied in order to study trends in land use change. Three scenarios are designed: a baseline or trend scenario, an economic crisis scenario and a green scenario. The CLUE model (based on logistic regression) is used. LCM (based on neural networks) is also used but only in the trend scenario. Biophysical, socio-economic and accessibility factors and incentives and restrictions are considered. FRAGSTATS and GUIDOS are used to analyse the effect of infrastructure and built-up land growth on connectivity and fragmentation. In recent decades, the region of Madrid has experienced intense urban and infrastructure development (48,332 ha). Protected areas have been affected by this urbanization process. Built-up areas have grown at an average annual rate of 5.52% in protected areas and around them. According to the trend scenario, the built-up area will increase by 28,000 ha over the period 2006–2025 to 7.6% of the study area. No fragmentation processes are expected in the National Park. However, fragmentation of agricultural and natural habitats around protected areas is expected to increase by 7.2% during this period. These findings should alert land use planners and the managers of protected areas to the potential threats.

Conserving migratory and nomadic species

Dispatches

In Asian Region, quite a few, only five countries had introduced National Parks and protected areas system before World War II including Japan, whose first National Parks, Kirishima, Setonaikai and Unzen were designated on March 16th 1934 as the first National Parks in Asian Region as well. Indonesia followed with the designation of Berbak National Park (Sumatra) in 1935, then India’s Corbett National Park (Uttar Pradesh) in 1936, Sri Lanka’s Ruhuna and Wilpattu National Parks in 1938, and Malaysia’s world famous Taman Negara National Park in 1939. These were all 14-18 years prior to gaining independent state-hold from former suzerain states of the Netherlands or the United Kingdom. The National Parks Act, enforced in 1933, prescribed that the Director of the Forestry Service would be appointed to the authority of National Parks management in the Philippines, and the Government of Japan nominally designated National Parks in Taiwan prior to and during the period of World War II, however according to the present official records the Philippines established five Natural (not National) Parks in 1996-97 and Taiwan designated its first park, Kenting National Park, in 1982 followed by its second park, Yushan National Park, in 1985. In terms of the first designation/establishment of National Parks, South-East Asian (ASEAN) countries can be divided into four groups excluding Singapore as a city-state: i.e. 1) prior to World War II; Indonesia and Malaysia, 2) in response to the 1st World Conference on National Parks in 1962; Thailand and Vietnam, 3) in response to the global trends of environmental issues during 1980s; Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Myanmar and the Philippines, and 4) still no designation/establishment; Lao PDR, with the exception of National Biodiversity Conservation Areas in response to the World Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In relation to the ASEAN member countries with their earliest designation/establishment of National Parks and protected areas, this article attempts to analyze mainly the present state and perspectives on National Parks and protected areas in this particular sub-region, putting special emphasis on tropical natural and remaining forests using data on natural forest areas from 1995, and annual deforestation rates from 1981-1990 and from 1990-1995 by IUCN, among others. Deforestation has continued steadily within ASEAN countries, except in Thailand. There might exist correlations among National Parks areas and all categories of Protected Areas in ASEAN countries. It should be pointed out that Thailand has remarkably high percentages of both National Parks area per natural forest area (47%), and of all categories of Protected Areas per natural forest area (76%). Particular emphasis on international cooperation should be considered and assistance should be given to Lao PDR and Myanmar (in quantity; establishment of protected areas), and Cambodia & Vietnam (in quality; management of protected areas).