Framework For Conservation Research Articles

Plant functional rarity across different land use types in the megacity of Tokyo

The rarity of species has multiple facets. Functional rarity is an integrated index that can quantify species’ sparseness and functional traits’ rarity. However, a comprehensive evaluation of various dimensions of functional rarity at different scales in urban ecosystems is under-researched. Here, we addressed two hypotheses: (1) functional rarity will not be consistent with conventional rarity at local and regional scales, and (2) land use types influence the distribution of all forms of functionally rare plants in urban ecosystems. We first selected ten functional traits to quantify the functional rarity components of 170 plant species. Second, we assessed the distribution of functional rarity and all forms of functionally rare plants across seven land use types in the megacity of Tokyo. We found that functional rarity is not consistent with conventional rarity at the local and regional scales. Several native species and two non-native species were functionally distinct and not scarce at the local scale. In addition, natural remnants and anthropogenic habitats could protect functionally rare species in urban ecosystems. We thus argue for incorporating functional rarity in the current biodiversity conservation framework and considering natural remnants and anthropogenic habitats in urban functionally rare species conservation.

An ecosystem-based system of variables to enhance marine species and habitat monitoring and conservation: The Adriatic Natura 2000 case study

Implementing effective marine monitoring to detect and track ecosystem shifts, biodiversity alteration, and habitat loss is one of the most crucial challenges to meet the objectives set out by the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework and by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The lack of coordinated and harmonized monitoring frameworks at different spatial scales and their weakness in accounting for ecological processes, due to incomplete sets of monitoring variables, strongly hinder the achievement of conservation objectives. Here, we propose an approach to build a coherent ecosystem-based system of monitoring variables for target marine species and habitats. The approach is designed to integrate the existing monitoring frameworks set up by the Water and the Marine Strategy Framework directives, and the Essential Ocean and Biodiversity Variables, with the aim to contribute to their harmonization and implementation. Furthermore, by embracing a holistic vision, it aims to incorporate ecological processes and socio-ecological aspects, considering the benefits of public engagement through citizen science, and of the ecosystem services approach for policies’ implementation. The study stems from the Ecological Observing System of the Adriatic Sea (ECOAdS), which was developed in the framework of the Interreg Italy-Croatia project ECOSS, using as exemplary monitoring test cases two relevant conservation targets for Natura 2000 sites of the Adriatic Sea, the common bottlenose dolphin and seagrass meadows. We test the potential of this approach in guiding the prioritization of monitoring variables under ecosystem-based criteria, and provide insights into the benefits delivered by an integrated system of observatories’ networks and monitoring frameworks to support marine conservation at both local and regional scales. The proposed approach can be transferred to other contexts and scales to help build a common knowledge and monitoring framework for conservation and management strategies, saving costs by relying on available resources and on consolidated and long-lasting approaches that might converge towards global initiatives.

THE CONSERVATION FRAMEWORK OF HISTORIC INTERIOR SCHEME AS A GUIDELINE FOR FUTURE HERITAGE MUSEUM PLANNING: A CASE STUDY OF ‘RUMAH TEH BUNGA’ IN GEORGE TOWN PENANG

The heritage museum tourism has rapidly grown, contributing the most incometo Government of Malaysia while receiving local and global tourists. SinceMalaysian museums are among the most important tourism assets for the country, they must be given attention, especially the interior spaces of the museum. The interior spaces carry different stories. Due to their own unique historic interior scheme (HIS), different interior features, room functions, spatial designs, historic materials, finishes, and the associated historical events would fill the interior spaces. Unfortunately, the significance of HIS has gradually disappeared due to the exhibitions in the museums. Accordingly, not only the historic integrity in preserving the heritage museum buildings cannot be complied with, but also the significance of the HIS is not highlighted in the exhibition. This study aimed to propose a HIS conservation framework as a guideline for preserving the historic scheme of museum building interior. The evaluation method was used to measure the HIS and HES of the interior space of the museum. ‘Rumah Teh Bunga’ also known as the Penang Malay Gallery in George Town Penang has been selected for the case study. Hopefully, the HIS framework would inform the museum bodies to make the interior spaces of the museum more memorable for tourists.

ASSESSING CRITICAL RISK FACTORS FOR HERITAGE CONSERVATION PROJECTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL HERITAGE ACT 2005 (ACT 645)

The Malaysian government has consistently highlighted the significant value of historical buildings as one of the goals of sustainability initiatives. The heritage sites, locals, culture even assets are well preserved, highly valued, and renowned globally. However, significant risks and uncertainties have created challenges to heritage conservation projects. This paper aims to establish a Critical Risk Factors for Heritage Conservation Project in Malaysia and its relationship with National Heritage Act 2005. A quantitative research approach is used to achieve the two objectives towards attaining this aim. First, a systematic literature review is used to determine the critical risk factors for a heritage conservation project in a way to identify a significant risk involved in a heritage conservation project and finally to establish critical risk factors for a heritage conservation project in compliance with National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645). For this paper, the only second objective was discussed. Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that fifteen (15) most critical risk factors could enhance heritage conservation projects at every stage in building a conservation framework. Usually, most of the critical risk factors can be mitigated prudently with the compliance of Section 40 (1) – (6), National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645), focusing on the planning permission for Heritage sites.

A Protected Area Connectivity Evaluation and Strategy Development Framework for Post-2020 Biodiversity Conservation

Maintaining and improving the connectivity of protected areas (PAs) is essential for biodiversity conservation. The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) aims to expand the coverage of well-connected PAs and other effective area-based conservation measures to 30% by 2030. We proposed a framework to evaluate the connectivity of PAs and developed strategies to maintain and improve the connectivity of PAs based on PA connectivity indicators, and we applied this framework to China’s terrestrial PAs. We considered that the concept of PA connectivity is at the level of both PA patches and PA networks, including four aspects: intra-patch connectivity, inter-patch connectivity, network connectivity, and PA–landscape connectivity. We found that among China’s 2153 terrestrial PA patches, only 427 had good intra-patch connectivity, and their total area accounted for 11.28% of China’s land area. If inter-patch connectivity, network connectivity, and PA–landscape connectivity were taken as the criteria to evaluate PA connectivity, respectively, then the coverage of well-connected terrestrial PAs in China was only 4.07%, 8.30%, and 5.92%, respectively. Only seven PA patches have good connectivity of all four aspects, covering only 2.69% of China’s land. The intra-patch, inter-patch, network, and PA–landscape connectivity of China’s terrestrial PA network reached 93.41%, 35.40%, 58.43%, and 8.58%, respectively. These conclusions indicated that there is still a big gap between China’s PA connectivity and the Post-2020 GBF target, which urgently needs to be improved. We identified PA patches and PA networks of ecological zones that need to improve PA connectivity and identified improvement priorities for them. We also identified priority areas for connectivity restoration in existing PAs, potential ecological corridors between PAs, and priority areas for PA expansion to improve the connectivity of PAs in China. Application of our framework elsewhere should help governments and policymakers reach ambitious biodiversity conservation goals at national and global scales.

State of conservation of animal genetic resources in Slovakia

To effectively conserve animal genetic resources, countries need to periodically review their conservation efforts and reflect on actual problems and challenges. This study provides a review of animal genetic resources conservation activities, as well as the related existing legislative measures, strategies and funding in Slovakia. We present the development of endangered and supported breeds, discuss the impact of subsidies and the importance of awareness raising, and provide a SWOT analysis of the current animal genetic resources conservation framework in the country. In Slovakia, conservation is primarily based on animal breeding in natural conditions (in situ) without any limitations to breed improvement, and cryoconservation of animal genetic resources is in its initial phase. Most of the funding for conservation measures is provided by the Rural Development Programme. In general, the animal genetic resources system in Slovakia is open in terms of including new breeds eligible for support and this paper shows that the provided subsidies helped to stabilize most of the supported populations. Promoting the presence, characteristics and advantages of local breeds in times of intensive import of exotic breeds into the country is crucial to motivate breeders to prefer local livestock breeds. While the future challenge for the government is to improve conservation and facilitate related activities, research should address not only diversity, pedigree studies and cryoconservation, but also focus on the characterization of animal genetic resources for food security and climate change.

National accounting scheme for biodiversity loss: An international trade perspective

International trade has emerged as a threat to biodiversity. Identifying the biodiversity loss in countries/regions driven by international trade is a prerequisite for effective protection. Considering the lack of existing research, it is urgently necessary to construct an equitable and reasonable accounting scheme for biodiversity loss. Therefore, based on the multi-regional input–output model framework, this study uses the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species data to evaluate and compare the biodiversity footprints of 188 countries/regions between 2006 and 2015. We find that the world’s biodiversity footprint is characterized by a significant spatial non-equilibrium driven by developed countries and developing countries with large economies. Financial intermediation and business activities, education, health, and other services, and construction and agriculture sectors play an important role in the accounting scheme for biodiversity and hence must be strictly controlled. This study will help construct a biodiversity conservation framework in the 2020s.

(3Ts) Green conservation framework: A hierarchical-based sustainability approach

Conservation of heritage buildings presents a significant approach to cultural identity and continuity. In this regard, previous literature has focused on architectural heritage. However, limited studies have been conducted to investigate the sustainable conservation hierarchy. Given the potential integration of Sustainable Development Goal requirements and green conservation of heritage buildings, this paper develops a hierarchical-based sustainability approach, which refers to the 3Ts green conservation framework. Based on this developed framework, three acronyms, namely, targets and green retrofitting, tools for building information modeling, and tasks through stakeholder involvement, have been proposed. The proposed framework identifies how green sustainable initiatives can be incorporated into heritage buildings, while preserving their significance and characters, through three acronyms, which should be considered simultaneously across the different hierarchical conservation stages, including heritage identification, documentation stage, action plan, and follow-up.

Outside, Around, Inside. New Paths to Discover San Michele Castle (Cagliari, Sardinia).

In the framework of conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage, accessibility plays a crucial role. Architectural heritage peculiarities call for specific approaches: the same care must be adopted to improve accessibility to historic architecture, designing actions case by case. Starting from these considerations, the contribution is aimed to discuss the accessibility of fortified architecture, a not easily accessible heritage, to make it accessible both in a physical meaning as well as in cognitive, cultural and social. Particularly, the authors propose some reflections about alternative ways of usability for inaccessible architectures due to their typological configuration and as a consequence of previous conservation design. The case study is the medieval castle of San Michele in Cagliari (Sardinia), which was transformed several times during its life and restored at the end of the 20th century. The contribution analyses how a multidisciplinary approach is necessary for the formulation of effective accessibility solutions, especially in complex cases such as fortified architecture. This multidisciplinary approach must be accompanied by the widest possible consideration of the causes limiting accessibility, whether they are physical or related to motor, perceptive or cognitive disabilities.

Using cloud computing techniques to monitor long-term variations in ecohydrological dynamics of small seasonally-flooded wetlands in semi-arid South Africa

• Semi-arid Southern African wetlands are lost due to unsustainable use and poor management. • Ramsar Convention on wetlands encourages development of frameworks for wetlands conservation. • The implementation of these frameworks is hindered by a dearth of high-resolution data. • Google Earth Engine (GEE) offers opportunities to address data challenges. • Findings underscores the relevance of GEE in evaluating wetland ecohydrological dynamics. Wetlands in drylands have high inter- and intra-annual ecohydrological variations that are driven to a great extent by climate variability and anthropogenic influences. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands encourages the development of frameworks for national action and international cooperation for ensuring conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources at local, national and regional scales. However, the implementation of these frameworks remains a challenge. This is mainly due to limited availability of high-resolution data and suitable big data processing techniques for assessing and monitoring wetland ecohydrological dynamics at large spatial scales, particularly in the sub-Saharan African region. The availability of cloud computing platforms such as Google Earth Engine (GEE) offers unique big data handling and processing opportunities to address some of these challenges. In this study, we applied the GEE cloud computing platform to monitor the long-term ecohydrological dynamics of a seasonally flooded part of the Nylsvley floodplain wetland complex in north-eastern South Africa over a 20-year period (2000–2020). The specific objectives of the study were 1) to evaluate wetland ecohydrological dynamics using the 20-year multi-date Landsat composite data coupled with the Random Forest machine learning algorithm, and 2) to establish the major drivers of wetland ecohydrological changes, using selected spectral indices (i.e. Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalised Difference Water Index (NDWI) and Normalised Difference Phenology Index (NDPI)) coupled with climate data. The ecohydrology of the wetland changed over time, with some classes increasing twice when compared to the previous measurement, while others decreasing significantly during the study period. Notably, the bare surface class increased at rates of 230% and 350% between 2006–2010 and 2016–2020, respectively. Moreover, the indices showed similar trends throughout the 20-year period, with NDWI having minimum values less than zero in all cases. This implied no surface inundation, although the presence of some wetland vegetation indicated seasonal to semi-permanent soil saturation conditions. A comparative analysis of climate data and remotely sensed indices showed that annual changes of precipitation and evapotranspiration were the main drivers of wetland ecohydrological variations. The findings of the study underscore the relevance of cloud computing artificial intelligence techniques, and particularly the GEE platform, in evaluating wetland ecohydrological dynamics for semi-arid southern African systems which are deteriorating due to the unsustainable use and poor management resulting from limited knowledge about their changes over time.

Social network analysis and application for ecosystem service perceptions by stakeholders for coastal wetland conservation

Stakeholders play a dominant role in shaping ecosystems and driving current environmental management; thus, social networks of stakeholders should be cleared up for ecosystem governance to maintain the ecosystem services and sustainable development. Based on the field survey and questionnaires, we constructed a social network framework for coastal wetland conservation and took the Yellow River Delta (YRD) as an example. We further explored the stakeholder network structure and function and took ecosystem service perceptions as an application by stakeholders impacting coastal wetland conservation. In this case study, we identified a non-cohesive network with low density and high centrality. Among all these stakeholders, provincial government (PGov), municipal government (MGov), and educational institutions (Edu) have high module-to-module participation (MP) scores with other organizations, indicating that they connect others tightly in the network. The main relationships between different stakeholder groups were concentrated in information sharing (79%), production-consumption (14%), and administrative management (7%) relationships, of which the information sharing relationships have a stronger correlation with productivity in the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) test. We also found that support and regulation services were of the most concern for the ecosystem services perception of stakeholders. Based on our findings, improving the closeness among relevant stakeholder groups, optimizing their overall relationships, and enhancing the protection of ecosystem services are greatly needed to benefit ecosystem conservation.

Establishing an Evaluation Framework for Endangered Species Conservation Preferences for the Eurasian Otter

Wildlife conservation and management are critical issues that attract substantial attention. To develop a sustainable conservation project for the Kinmen Eurasian otter, the present study established a wildlife conservation framework and constructed a management program suitable for Kinmen Eurasian otter conservation based on the preferences of tourists and residents. The results of this study show that residents and tourists were not satisfied with the current status of Eurasian otter conservation in Kinmen and were willing to pay to change the status quo. Respondents preferred to maintain and artificially construct otter habitats, increase the otter population, limit traffic speed and establish underpasses, Kinmen Eurasian otter products, and educational parks. The findings of the market segmentation analysis divided respondents into two groups, passive conservationists and active conservationists. Both groups preferred protecting the Kinmen Eurasian otter to some extent. Passive conservationists, which included mostly residents and individuals with lower levels of education, lacked awareness of the Kinmen Eurasian otter and preferred to establish Kinmen Eurasian otter products and educational parks. Active conservationists were primarily tourists with higher levels of education who were familiar with the Kinmen Eurasian otter and had previously participated in Kinmen Eurasian otter conservation activities. These tourists preferred all conservation attributes and levels. Both groups of conservationists disliked the decline in the number of Eurasian otters in Kinmen. In addition to understanding respondents’ preferences for conservation strategies, these findings reveal the importance of promoting education about the Kinmen Eurasian otter.

Evidence-based land conservation framework using multi-criteria acceptability analysis: A geospatial tool for strategic land conservation in the Gulf coast of the United States

Strategic land conservation investments that prioritize stakeholder priorities show promise for protection of ecological integrity and associated socioeconomic benefits of land conservation. However, despite many known benefits, decisions on where and what to conserve are often made without effective ecological and socioeconomic considerations. Ideally, multiple measurable attributes relevant to the ecological and socioeconomic priorities of stakeholders should be brought into an efficient, data-driven framework to evaluate areas of interest and help optimize decisions on conservation investments. Planners need to have access to a dynamic, web-based platform that assesses and compares conservation areas based on geospatial, science-based, and stakeholder-driven data. In this work, we provide a co-produced framework for a multi-criteria Conservation Prioritization Tool (CPT) that is based on available geospatial data reflecting stakeholder priorities for land conservation. The framework allows for flexible and hierarchical weighting of goals and data measures by the decision maker and allows for optimization of conservation decisions through a geospatial multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Geospatial MCDA is a popular approach for evaluating decision alternatives in conservation problems, but the scarcity of functional tools that are widely accessible still limits their breadth of use. In this work, we describe the structure and creation of the CPT and demonstrate its application in the United States Gulf of Mexico coastal region, an area over 700,000 km2 in size. We designed and implemented a dynamic, cloud-based software tool that both considers and ranks user priorities and utilizes geospatial MCDA to evaluate areas of interest for land conservation. This tool improves the effectiveness and efficiency of land conservation actions by reducing the time needed to gather ecological evidence, increasing the transparency of decision processes, and encouraging inter-organizational partnerships. The versatile and open-access nature of the CPT broadens the availability of the geospatial MCDA methodology for conservation planners across large regions. We intentionally developed the CPT framework and procedures therein to be transferable and open-source to other objectives for any desired spatial geography.

New Normal, but Good Normal? Testing the Effect of a Hybrid Way of Working on Employee Effectiveness

The COVID-19 pandemic has made telecommuting the “new normal”. Employees can now move rather freely between work locations, from the office to home, back again, or even to another location to perform their work. This increased flexibility in the location of work raises the question of whether employees’ weekly work effectiveness varies when they telecommute to varying extents throughout the week. Applying the conceptual framework of conservation of resources theory, the current study addresses this critical issue by developing and testing a conceptual model that highlights how employees’ effectiveness waxes and wanes in response to their extent of telecommuting during a workweek. Furthermore, I explore the moderating role of self-goal setting in this process. Results from a panel study of German employees conducted over 1.5 years provide support for a curvilinear within-person relationship between the extent of telecommuting and employees’ effectiveness in terms of work performance and work engagement in the shape of a “U”. I discuss the implications of these results for the literature on telecommuting. Furthermore, these findings also have important implications for practitioners who face the challenge to shape a post-pandemic future of work in which a hybrid way of working is possibly here to stay.

A SCOPING REVIEW OF THE RANGIFER TARANDUS INFECTIOUS DISEASE LITERATURE: GAP BETWEEN INFORMATION AND APPLICATION.

The role and impact of infectious diseases in wildlife population dynamics are increasingly recognized, yet disease information is variably incorporated into wildlife management frameworks. This discrepancy is particularly relevant for Rangifer tarandus (caribou or reindeer), a keystone circumarctic species experiencing widespread population declines. The primary objective of this review was to characterize the available peer-reviewed literature on infectious diseases of Rangifer by using a scoping review methodology. Three databases of peer-reviewed literature-Web of Science, BIOSIS previews, and Scopus-were searched and 695 articles met the criteria for initial review. After screening for relevance and language, 349 articles, published between 1967 and 2020, remained. More than half of the excluded articles (181/346; 52%) were left out because they were not published in English; the majority of these excluded articles (120) were in Russian. From the 349 included articles, 137 (39%) pertained to wild (as opposed to semidomesticated or captive) Rangifer populations. Articles on infectious disease in wild Rangifer were published in 40 different journals across various disciplines; the most common journals were disease and parasitology oriented, accounting for 55% of included articles. Most studies were descriptive (87%), followed by experimental (9%). Of the pathogen taxa investigated, helminths were the most common, comprising 35% of articles. Rangifer subspecies were not equally represented in the literature, with barren-ground caribou (R. t. groenlandicus; n=40) and woodland caribou (R. t. caribou; n=39) having the greatest abundance and diversity of infectious disease information available. Few studies explicitly examined individual or population-level impacts of disease, or related disease to vital population rates, and only 27 articles explicitly related results to management or conservation. Findings from this review highlight an unbalanced distribution of studies across Rangifer ecotypes, a preference for dissemination in disease-specialized publication venues, and an opportunity for investigating population-level impacts that may be more readily integrated into caribou conservation frameworks.

JOHN RUSKIN VE YEDİ YOL GÖSTERİCİ IŞIKTAN “BELLEK”

John Ruskin, günümüzde anti-restorasyon ve konservasyon kavramlarıyla özdeşleşmiş, romantik olarak nitelendirilen bakış açısıyla da yaşadığı dönemden itibaren çok farklı kesimden övgü ve eleştiri toplamıştır. Ruskin’in eserlerini ve düşünce biçimini salt okuma ile anlamak mümkün değildir. İçine doğduğu aile ve çevre dahil, hayatındaki diğer her bir olay ve detay Ruskin’in bakış açısını, buna paralel olarak da eserlerini etkilemiştir. Eserleri sadece mimarlık ve koruma alanında değil, toplumsal konulardan mitoloji ve botaniğe kadar uzanan geniş yelpazesi ile 19. yüzyılın kültürel değişimine ışık tutmaktadır. Bu bağlamda Ruskin’in eserlerinden “Mimarlığın Yedi Yol Gösterici Işığı” ele alınmış ve altıncı ışık olan “bellek”, konservasyon çatısı alında irdelenmiştir. Ardında bıraktığı değerli düşünce filizlerinin bugüne nasıl evrildiği ise ayrıca önem taşımaktadır.
 
 Summary
 In today’s world, John Ruskin is known with the notions anti-restoration and conservation. Also, with his point of view characterized as romantic, starting from his era to today, he had received numerous compliments and criticisms, people from different walk of life. It is not possible to understand Ruskin’s work and way of thinking only by reading his publications. Every event and detail in his life including the environment that he had born in and his family, are effective on Ruskin’s point of view and parallelly his works. His works shed light on the cultural change of the 19th century, not only in the field of architecture and conservation but also from the wide range of social subjects to mythology and botany. In this context, one of the Ruskin’s most famous works, “The Seven Lamps of Architecture” was held and “memory” which is the sixth lamp, was examined within the framework of conservation. It is also important to see how his valuable thinking that he left behind has evolved to the present.

Global status, impacts, and management of rocky temperate mesophotic ecosystems.

The ecology and function of rocky temperate mesophotic ecosystems (TMEs) remain poorly understood globally despite their widespread distribution. They typically occur at 20-150m (the limit of photosynthesis), and on rocky substratum they support rich benthic communities and mobile fauna. We determined the distribution of rocky TMEs, their conservation status, and their most characteristic biological groups. Rocky TMEs were dominated by algae, turf-invertebrate matrices (<50m only), sponges, bryozoans, and cnidarians. The community composition of TMEs differed significantly from shallow (0-15m) subtidal reefs. Data were geographically biased and variable, available only from the North and South Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Temperate Australasia. Degree of protection of rocky TMEs varied considerably across the world. The biggest threats to rocky TMEs were identified changes in temperature, sedimentation rates, nutrient concentrations, and certain fishing types. We propose a conservation framework to inform future rocky TME management and conservation, highlighting the need to recognize the importance of these biologically diverse and functionally important ecosystems.

Spatially-explicit population modeling to predict large carnivore recovery and expansion

Despite extensive range contractions, several large carnivore species have recently recolonized portions of their former range. Since the 1990s, American black bear reports have increased in Missouri, USA, corresponding with increasing abundance and distribution. As effective management benefits from sound information on wildlife demographics and spatial distribution, we used a spatially-explicit metapopulation model built from local data to inform a stage matrix, which was used in conjunction with a previously created habitat suitability model to quantify and predict the growth and expansion of the black bear population. We collected demographic data during 2011–2021 from 162 female bears with 159 young from 70 litters. Average litter size was 1.95, 42% of cubs were female, and cub survival to yearling was, on average, 95% for females and 70% for males. The habitat suitability model identified 53 core areas most suitable for bears in Missouri. Increasing from previous local estimates of bear population size (∼280 bears in 2012), the model estimated the total bear population inhabiting core habitat patches in year 10 as 732 individuals (598–873, 5th–95th percentiles), with an average annual growth rate of 1.11. The estimated carrying capacity of the core habitat patches (excluding cubs-of-the-year) was ∼2700 bears, but adding marginal and highly marginal habitat patches increased the carrying capacity to ∼5500 bears. Population estimates were most sensitive to variations in stage matrix parameters though overall patch colonization estimates were relatively stable. Our work is an important step toward understanding the recolonization potential of black bears in Missouri and can aid future studies projecting large carnivore density in other areas as well as values and attitudes toward these wide-ranging species. Developing holistic conservation frameworks will be critical if human acceptance toward large carnivores continues increasing and carnivore recolonization of historical range continues.

A Method for Evaluating Cultural Perception Performance in the Re-Use of Monumental Buildings

Re-use is one of the conservation methods used to meet the changing and evolving needs for historical cultural heritage that cannot be used for social, cultural, or socio-economic reasons with its original function. One of the most important issues in re-use is the right balance between conservation and functional change, ensuring the continuity of the cultural value and originality of the building. In line with this perspective, this paper aims to determine the cultural perception performance in a re-functioned historical building to determine how the user perceives the authenticity and historical values. Within the scope of the research, the criteria for measuring cultural perception via users are tested on the example of Hışvahan, which is a monumental building in the historic urban site of Gaziantep and is re-used as a hotel and restaurant. The study is descriptive in terms of research design. The methodology of the research consists of two stages: Creating criteria for analysing cultural perception performance and testing these criteria via users. A questionnaire and interview technique was used to test the criteria. The re-use of a building is evaluated within its cultural heritage and how the user perceives its authenticity, symbolic, historical and cultural value. The research offers a new perspective on restoration and re-functioning within the framework of conservation and cultural sustainability.

Diatom Red List Species Reveal High Conservation Value and Vulnerability of Mountain Lakes

Mountain lakes are unique and often isolated freshwater habitats that harbour a rich biotic diversity. This high conservation value may be reflected by diatoms, a group of algae that is known for its reliability as a bioindicator, but which has not been studied extensively in mountain lakes of the northern European Alps. In this study, the conservation value of these lakes was assessed by characterizing the number, share, and abundance of diatom Red List (RL) taxa and their relationship with environmental variables, diatom α and β diversity (assemblage uniqueness). For this purpose, linear regression models, generalized linear models, and generalized additive models were fitted and spatial descriptors were included when relevant. Of the 560 diatom taxa identified, 64% were on the RL and half of these were assigned a threat status. As hypothesized, a decreasing share of RL species in sediment and littoral samples at higher trophic levels was reflected by higher total phosphorous content and lower Secchi depth, respectively. Species-rich lakes contained a high number of RL taxa, contrasting our hypothesis of a logarithmic relationship. In turn, RL abundance increased with uniqueness, confirming our initial hypothesis. However, some of the most unique sites were degraded by fish stocking and contained low abundances of RL species. The results demonstrate the importance of oligotrophic mountain lakes as habitats for rare freshwater biota and their vulnerability in light of human impact through cattle herding, tourism, damming, and fish stocking. Additional conservation efforts are urgently needed for mountain lakes that are still underrepresented within legal conservation frameworks. Species richness and uniqueness reflect complementary aspects of RL status and thus should be applied jointly. Uniqueness can indicate both pristine and degraded habitats, so that including information on human impacts facilitates its interpretation.