Habitat Management Strategies Research Articles

Native shrub densities predict burrow co-occurrence patterns in Central California Drylands

Ecological resource availability is crucial for the persistence and survival of local desert animal communities. Dryland resources such as shrubs and burrows positively benefit animal species by mitigating harsh abiotic factors and providing habitat. Understanding the role of native shrubs, many of which serve as foundation species within desert regions, as well as the function of underground burrows as resources, provides insights into habitat utilization. In this study, we seek to better understand the co-occurrence of these two resources as a first step in quantifying key patterns locally and regionally in drylands. We tested whether the presence of burrows increased with the density of foundational shrubs near the burrows at two scales—within a 5 m radius of every burrow recorded and at the site level—defined as discrete ecological areas. We performed fieldwork across 31 sites within the arid and semiarid regions of Central California. We used a combination of burrow field surveys and satellite imagery to document both vertebrate animal burrow frequencies and shrub densities. Additionally, the accuracy of the shrub data was verified through ground truthing. Both fine-scale and site-level shrub densities positively predicted the relative likelihood of burrows and the frequency of burrows, respectively. The existence of two highly utilized dryland resources and the relationship between them signal that areas abundant in both resources will likely better support resident animal species. This finding underscores the significance of incorporating both shrub density and burrow frequency in studies of habitat interconnectivity and quality. The co-occurrence patterns of these resources will support novel habitat management and conservation strategies designed around both conservation and restoration efforts.

Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) with Higher Whole Blood Selenium Levels Have Improved Survival and Altered Immune Responses.

Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) are herbivorous ungulates that live in forage-poor areas of the American west. The trace minerals that herbivores derive from forage are important for immune function. Therefore, identifying trace minerals that affect immune function in bighorn sheep could provide important insights into disease susceptibility and population health in threatened populations. We sought to determine whether trace mineral composition in blood or plasma correlates to survival and determine whether immunologic parameters correlate with any trace minerals that affect survival. We used data collected from 2016 to 2018 as part of a large study on bighorn sheep in southeastern Oregon and northern Nevada, US. We measured the survival of 135 bighorn sheep during the 8-mo monitoring period, including general metrics of immune function and trace mineral levels. We found that animals with higher selenium had improved survival over the monitoring period, with higher peripheral blood mononuclear cell activity (lymphocytes and monocytes) and lower bacterial killing ability in an in vitro assay. This suggests that bighorn sheep may have altered immune function when selenium levels are low, making them more likely to die during the 8-mo monitoring period. Future work should consider whether habitat management strategies that increase selenium intake might improve disease resistance and survival in bighorn sheep in selenium-poor areas.

Conservation of two freshwater turtle species in the Guru Gorakhnath Community Reserve in Western Haryana, India

The active involvement of local communities in conservation efforts is pivotal in ensuring the long-term protection and preservation of our natural environment. In the village of Kajalheri, located in Fatehabad district, the environmentally conscious Bishnoi community has been engaged in the conservation of the Indian soft-shell turtle (Nilssonia gangetica) population in the village pond for nearly a century. As a testament to their efforts, the pond was officially designated as a community reserve in 2019 to safeguard these turtles. Previously, the Indian soft-shell turtle was the sole known species inhabiting this small pond. However, our observations from 2021 to 2023 have revealed the presence of two additional turtle species, namely the Indian tent turtle (Pangshura tentoria) and the Indian roofed turtle (Pangshura tecta). No study on freshwater turtles specific to the Haryana region has been carried out. Therefore, baseline data on the diversity and distribution of freshwater turtles is scanty in the state. This scientific inquiry provides valuable insights into effective habitat management strategies and instils hope for identifying similar sites within the forest-deficient state of Haryana.

BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF DROSOPHILA SUZUKII: THE KEY TO EFFICIENT HABITAT MANAGEMENT IN AGRICULTURAL CROPS

Drosophila suzukii has become a species of significant concern for agricultural crops worldwide. This insect is particularly worrisome for farmers due to its short life cycle, enabling rapid and prolific reproduction, resulting in substantial damage to fruit and vegetable crops.In this context, this article focuses on examining the biology and behavior of Drosophila suzukii, providing an in-depth understanding of these crucial aspects for efficient habitat management in agricultural crops. Recent research has shed light on the species' life cycle, highlighting it as a short one with a high reproductive rate. This means that the species has the potential to cause significant crop damage if not properly managed.Furthermore, the feeding preferences of Drosophila suzukii are a key factor in its behavior. This species tends to target ripe fruits, with a particular preference for soft-fleshed varieties, posing a major challenge in fruit cultivation. Understanding this aspect is essential for developing crop protection strategies.The article also addresses how this knowledge of the biology and behavior of Drosophila suzukii can be integrated into habitat management strategies in agricultural crops. Biological control agents and environmental modification techniques are becoming increasingly important in the fight against this pest.

Лось (Alces alces) на південній межі ареалу: стан популяції Центрального Полісся, хижацтво вовка та вразливість до потепління клімату

In the latter less hot years after the decline in the number of elk (2019–2020), the stabilisation and increasing trend in the number of this species have been observed throughout the study area. Due to migrations, the winter elk population exceeds the summer one and amounts to 2 individuals/thousand hectares (40 individuals; against 1.3 individuals/1 thousand hectares in summer) in the Polissia Reserve, and 1–6 individuals/1 thousand hectares (940 individuals) in the Chornobyl Reserve. Data on the vulnerability of elk to climate change are presented. In hot weather at different times of the year, elks may show signs of heat stress. In summer, elk can be inactive, and in the leafless period, when chased by wolves, they can get heat stress and die. In the heat of the day, elk choose swamps, waterlogged forests with a dense tree canopy and better cooling, which are comfortable for these ungulates in the face of global warming. Climate change causes marshes to dry up and overgrow, reduces the moisture content of habitats, and worsens the fodder capacity of the land. In case of even partial restoration of lowland marshes in the Chornobyl Biosphere Reserve, the reserves of summer and winter food for elk may increase by 2–3 times. In the Polissia Reserve, in 2011–2013, lowland bogs with bush willows (Salix) were restored on fallow land near the Zholobnytsia drainage system, creating highly productive habitats for the elk, which is a promising measure for different areas of Polissia. Climate warming has led to an increase in the red deer (Cervus elaphus) population and a decrease in the elk population in the Polissia, and if no special measures are taken, these trends will intensify. Outside of protected areas, given the lack of a high legal status for wolves (Canis lupus), a strategy for conserving the elk population and reducing predation mortality in combination with other elk habitat management strategies can be recommended to hunting ground users, including limiting poaching, restoring the natural regime of forest fires in reserves, improving winter provision of branch fodder, reducing the disturbance factor, and introducing a ban on staying in the forest with dogs for berry and mushroom pickers.

Landscape context and spatial attributes matter for New England cottontail occupancy

AbstractIn response to the widespread threat of habitat loss, managers of imperiled species commonly focus on restoring habitat to encourage species establishment (i.e., the field of dreams hypothesis). Habitat management strategies for the rare New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) have largely followed the field of dreams hypothesis, focusing on increasing the area of young and regenerating forest throughout the species' range to increase populations of the species. Recently researchers indicated that these practices may not be as effective when the introduced eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) co‐occupies patches with the New England cottontail. Using data from the New England Cottontail Regional Monitoring Program collected in Connecticut, USA, from 2016–2020 and geospatial data to create dynamic occupancy models, we determined how both patch and landscape characteristics influence New England cottontail and eastern cottontail occupancy patterns. We ran 4 dynamic occupancy models: 1 at the patch scale and 1 at the landscape scale for each species. Large patches and short interpatch distances increased both species' occupancy patterns more than vegetation height <2.5 m. New England cottontail occupancy and colonization positively responded to the amount of shrublands within the landscape and weakly responded to forest regeneration, the vegetation type most commonly created by management actions for the species. New England cottontail colonization probability was low at both the patch and landscape scale, and lower than extinction probabilities, suggesting the current landscape may not be sufficient to allow metapopulations to persist. Overall, our results indicate that solely focusing on habitat restoration, or applying the field of dreams hypothesis, to conserve New England cottontail, a species that is area dependent, dispersal limited, and threatened by an introduced competitor, does not promote species persistence on the landscape.

Factors influencing the habitat selection of Mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) and its conservation threats in the Rapti River of Chitwan National Park, Nepal

Mugger crocodiles (hereafter called muggers) are the apex predator and keystone species in slow flowing freshwater ecosystem. They play an important role in its functioning by distributing nutrients and increasing primary productivity. Muggers have a sympatric distribution with gharials in the Rapti and Narayani River of Chitwan National Park, but more research and conservation attention has been focused on gharials in Nepal. The inadequate availability of information on the occupied habitats of muggers restrict their evidence-based conservation and management. Therefore, we investigated the ecological factors affecting the habitat selection of muggers and its conservation threats in the Rapti River. We conducted a preliminary survey, followed by a detailed habitat survey, conducted in February and March 2022. During the detailed habitat survey, the pre-defined habitat characteristics were recorded at each station spaced at 500 m intervals along the river as well as the locations where muggers were sighted. We used a generalized linear model (glm) under the binomial family with a logit link function to analyze the factors influencing the habitat selection of muggers. The dependent variable was the presence or absence of muggers at sampling points and the independent variables included: river bank aspect, river width, mid-river depth, river bank substrate type, river bank slope, water current, invasive alien plant species, and anthropogenic disturbances. In addition, a relative whole-site ranking method was employed to determine the most prevalent threats to the mugger. During the survey period, we recorded a total of 46 mugger individuals, 71.8% were observed basking and 28.2% were observed submerged in the river. The highest percentage of muggers (39.1%) was observed on the sandy river bank, followed by the grass and forest bank (19.5%), and clay and sandy bank (15%), respectively. Only the river banks with moderate (15–25°) and moderately steep (25–35°) slopes were found to be the significant factors influencing the occurrence of muggers. Fishing and extraction of river materials, and disposal of garbage and solid waste were ranked as the most prevalent conservation threats. For the long-term conservation of muggers in the Rapti River, effective habitat management plans and strategies are required to control illegal anthropogenic activities such as fishing, sand mining, and boulder quarrying. Research on spatio‐temporal partitioning between mugger and gharials is recommended to understand how resources are shared by the species.

Forest raptor nest selection traits in Mediterranean forest (Maamora, North Africa): conservation implications

Summary Forest raptor nest-site selection is mostly influenced by the quality of the habitat, food resources, and competition. Here, we identified common targets of trees selected as breeding sites and differences in selection traits, i.e. prey availability and intra- and interspecific competition, among Booted Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard, Black Kite, and Common Kestrel in a Mediterranean Cork Oak forest (private protected reserve of 25 km2). Using generalised linear mixed models we developed species-specific models describing nesting habitat selection. We tested the overlap in nesting habitat selection among species using environmental principal component analysis. The densities of forest raptor breeding pairs were high (3.1 pairs/km2) and the distance between occupied territories was short, strongly connected with food availability and competition. The results showed that all the species, with the exception of Common Kestrel, selected for nesting areas characterised by higher conspecific distance, highlighting the importance of conspecific competition. Booted Eagle and Black Kite selected areas with a high abundance of rabbits. The height of the nesting tree, the size and distance between surrounding trees, and the scrub cover were significant habitat characteristics for Booted Eagle and Long-legged Buzzard. Indeed, the environmental analyses showed a moderate nest site overlap between Black Kite and both Booted Eagle and Long-legged Buzzard, and a high overlap between Common Kestrel and both Booted Eagle and Long-legged Buzzard. Our study improves knowledge of the habitat requirements for nest selection and the potential competitive interactions between these raptor species in Mediterranean forests, and highlights the need for implementation of habitat management and conservation strategies.

Using derivative thresholds to resolve conflicting habitat management strategies

Habitat management efforts for multiple species with contrasting habitat requirements can be challenging, particularly on small landscapes where large-scale heterogeneity may not be a viable solution. We sought to utilize derivative functions from species-response curves to identify thresholds along an environmental gradient for two species with differing responses to juniper cover. We estimated percentages of one-seed juniper (Juniperus monosperma) cover around loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) and gray vireo (Vireo vicinior) nests in central New Mexico in 2016–2020 to better understand tolerance of juniper expansion for these two species of conservation concern. Species-response curves were derived from generalized additive mixed-effect models, with year as a random effect and a local regression smoother. Loggerhead shrike nests were more likely to occur in areas without junipers at the 170-m radius spatial scale. Nest-site selection declined as percent juniper cover increased. Gray vireo nests were most likely to be found in areas with approximately 11 % juniper cover at the 100-m radius spatial scale. Derivative functions were used to find juniper percentages where the rate of change in species' response was most negative for loggerhead shrikes and most positive for gray vireos. The rate of change in nest-site selection decreased the fastest at 13 % and increased the fastest at 4 % juniper cover for loggerhead shrike and gray vireo, respectively. These results suggest that maintaining juniper percentages between 4 and 13 % at relatively broad spatial scales would likely increase available nesting habitat both species. We demonstrate how derivative functions can be used to estimate the rate of change of species' response to environmental gradients and an application of such thresholds to resolve conflicting habitat management for two species of conservation concern.

Species Distribution Modeling of the Breeding Site Distribution and Conservation Gaps of Lesser White-Fronted Goose in Siberia under Climate Change

Climate change has become an important cause of the loss of bird habitat and changes in bird migration and reproduction. The lesser white-fronted goose (Anser erythropus) has a wide range of migratory habits and is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. In this study, the distribution of suitable breeding grounds for the lesser white-fronted goose was assessed in Siberia, Russia, using a combination of satellite tracking and climate change data. The characteristics of the distribution of suitable breeding sites under different climate scenarios in the future were predicted using the Maxent model, and protection gaps were assessed. The analysis showed that under the background of future climate change, temperature and precipitation will be the main climatic factors affecting the distribution of breeding grounds, and the area associated with suitable breeding habitats will present a decreasing trend. Areas listed as an optimal habitat only accounted for 3.22% of the protected distribution; however, 1,029,386.341 km2 of optimal habitat was observed outside the protected area. Obtaining species distribution data is important for developing habitat protection in remote areas. The results presented here can provide a basis for developing species-specific habitat management strategies and indicate that additional attention should be focused on protecting open spaces.

Fine-scale ensemble species distribution modeling of eelgrass (Zostera marina) to inform nearshore conservation planning and habitat management

Baseline data on the distribution and extent of biogenic habitat-forming species at a high spatial resolution are essential to inform habitat management strategies, preserve ecosystem integrity, and achieve effective conservation objectives in the nearshore. Model-based approaches to map suitable habitat for these species are a key tool to address this need, filling in gaps where observations are otherwise unavailable and remote sensing methods are limited by turbid waters or cannot be applied at scale. We developed a high resolution (35 m) ensemble species distribution model to predict the distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada where the observational coverage of eelgrass occurrence is sparse and nearshore waters are optically complex. Our ensemble model was derived as a performance-weighted average prediction of 7 different modeling methods fit to 6 physical predictors (substrate type, depth, wave exposure, slope, and two bathymetric position indices) and evaluated with a 5-fold spatially-blocked cross-validation procedure. The ensemble model showed moderate predictive performance (Area Under the Receiver-Operating Characteristic Curve (AUC) = 0.803 ± 0.061, True Skill Statistic (TSS) = 0.531 ± 0.100; mean ± SD), high sensitivity (92.0 ± 4.5), and offered some improvement over individual models. Substrate type, depth, and relative wave exposure were the most influential predictors associated with eelgrass occurrence, where the highest probabilities were associated with sandy and sandy-mud sediments, depths ranging 0 m – 4 m, and low to intermediate wave exposure. Within our study region, we predicted a total extent of suitable eelgrass habitat of 38,130 ha. We found suitable habitat was particularly extensive within the long narrow inlets and extensive shallow flats of the South Shore, Eastern Shore, and Bras d’Or Lakes. We also identified substantial overlap of eelgrass habitat with previously identified Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas that guide regional conservation planning while also highlighting areas of greater prediction uncertainty arising from disagreement among modeling methods. By offering improved sensitivity and insights into the fine-scale regional distribution of a habitat-forming species with associated uncertainties, our ensemble-based modeling approach provides improved support to numerous nearshore applications including conservation planning and restoration, marine spatial and emergency response planning, environmental impact assessments, and fish habitat protection.

The fear diet: Risk, refuge, and biological control by omnivorous weed seed predators

Weed seed biocontrol by omnivorous mice and insects can limit weed seedbanks, but this ecosystem service can be difficult to predict given the broad diet breadth of seed predators and their potential for intraguild predation. Seed foraging behavior is further modified by fluctuating cues of predation risk from higher trophic levels and the availability of refuge habitat. Uncertainty about whether co-occurring insects and mice additively contribute to weed biocontrol or interfere with each other via intraguild predation limits our ability to recommend habitat management strategies that reliably promote seed destruction. Using seed removal assays, fluorescent powder tracking, and stable isotope analyses, we assessed effects of a predation risk cue (moonlight) on mouse foraging patterns in a patchwork of vegetated and exposed plots in a cultivated field. Mouse foraging activity decreased on exposed ground during the full moon, compared to dark nights, yet foraging movements were unaffected by moon cycle within refuge patches. Weed seed consumption was more than three times higher in cover than exposed soil, and 78% of that difference was attributable to invertebrate granivores. Mice and invertebrate granivores both exhibited higher foraging activity in cover, indicating co-occurrence of intraguild predators and prey. However, stable isotope analyses of fecal samples revealed that mice captured in refuge habitats fed at slightly lower trophic levels than those in exposed habitats (suggesting minimal intraguild predation in refuge habitat), and mouse diet was unaffected by moonlight. Despite increased availability of invertebrate prey in cover patches, mice do not appear to preferentially exploit prey when avoiding their own predators or interfere with weed seed predation. Therefore, functional redundancy of mice and invertebrate seed predators in cover crops and other refuge habitats may strengthen and stabilize weed seed biocontrol.

Foraging habitat selection of shrubland bird community in tropical dry forest

AbstractHabitat loss due to increasing anthropogenic disturbance is the major driver for bird population declines across the globe. Within the Eastern Ghats of India, shrubland bird communities are threatened by shrinking of suitable habitats due to increased anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. The development of an effective habitat management strategy is hampered by the absence of data for this bird community. To address this knowledge gap, we examined foraging sites for 14 shrubland bird species, including three declining species, in three study areas representing the shrubland type of forest community in the Eastern Ghats. We recorded microhabitat features within an 11 m radius of observed foraging points and compared these data with similar data from random plots. We used chi‐square to test the association between plant species and bird species for sites where they were observed foraging. We observed significant differences between foraging sites of all the study species and random plots, thus indicating selection for foraging habitat. Using linear discriminant analysis, we found that the microhabitat features important for the bird species were shrub density, vegetational height, vertical foliage stratification, grass height, and percent rock cover. Our results show that diet guild and foraging strata influence the foraging microhabitat selection of a species (e.g., ground‐foraging species differed significantly from other species). Except for two species, all focal birds were associated with at least one plant species. The plant‐bird association was based on foraging, structural, or behavioral preferences. Several key factors affecting foraging habitat such as shrub density can be actively managed at the local scale. Strategic and selective harvesting of forest products and a spatially and temporally controlled livestock grazing regime may allow regeneration of scrubland and create conditions favorable to birds.

Trunk picking from a truncating menu: Dry season forage selection by Asian elephant in a multi-use landscape.

Elephants show a strong selection towards areas with high foraging opportunities at the landscape level making top-down decisions by first selecting patch types within landscapes and finally species within them. Understanding forage selection in a multi-use landscape is critical for prioritising patches for habitat management, ensuring availability of selected forage, helping in minimizing pressure on food crops and subsequent negative interactions with people. We assessed dry season forage selection in a multi-use landscape of West Bengal state, India. Relative forage use and relative plant species availability ratio were calculated to assess forage selection in a multi-use landscape comprising of the forest, tea estates, agricultural land, and human settlement. Forage use was assessed using the opportunistic feeding trail observation method (150.01 km). Stratified random sampling was used to assess plant species availability using the quadrat method (123 plots of 0.1 ha each). Among 286 plant species recorded, 132 plant species were consumed by elephants. A majority (80.21%) of plant species were consumed more than the proportional availability thereby showing selective foraging during the dry season in the study area. From forest to semi-open forest and open forest, canopy layer tree density and the total number of species decreased whereas invasive species density increased. This indicates the high impact on the forage species availability for elephants and the requirement of appropriate habitat management strategies. The presence of 32.14% of the selected forage species in human-use landscape alone demands the development of conservation interventions. This is the first study to assess forage selection by elephants in a multi-use landscape and used to prioritise conservation and management strategies at a landscape level.

Too hot to hunt: Mechanistic predictions of thermal refuge from cat predation risk

AbstractMany threatened species depend on climatic microrefugia, but places with harsh climates for predators may also play a refugial role. Feral cats threaten many native species in arid Australia. Although cats can persist in regions with no free water, their abundance should depend on the availability of microclimates that protect them from harsh environmental conditions. We developed a biophysical model of feral cat heat stress and used it to explore how behavior and microhabitat features influence water requirements and activity. Tests of model predictions against fine‐scale GPS and microclimate data highlight the importance of refuges, particularly rabbit burrows. Continent‐wide simulations show large but temporally varying areas of the arid zone that would be lethal for cats without access to deep or shaded burrows. Our approach can identify locations that may act as natural refuges for native prey, and where habitat management strategies may be effective in controlling cat abundance.

Effect of a cover crop on the aphid incidence is not explained by increased top-down regulation.

BackgroundCover crops can be used as a habitat management strategy to enhance the natural enemies and their temporal synchronization with a target pest. We examined the effect of winter oat intercropping within organic plum orchards on the natural enemy abundance and seasonal dynamics on the biological control of plum aphids in spring in Central Chile.MethodsWe compared the incidence and abundance of natural enemies and aphid pests from winter to the end of spring using two treatments: (1) plum trees with an oat cover crop (OCC) and (2) plum trees without a cover crop but with spontaneous vegetation (SV). We hypothesized that cover crops allow the development of winter cereal aphids, promoting the early arrival of natural enemies in spring, resulting in an earlier control of plum aphids.ResultsWinter cereal aphids developed well on the OCC, and as a result, a lower plum aphid incidence in spring was observed when compared to the SV. However, the abundance of natural enemies and the parasitism rates cannot explain the positive impacts of the oat cover crop on the aphid populations as there were no differences between treatments. A potential effect of the oat due to chemical and/or physical stimuli (bottom-up effects) could help to explain these results.

Proximity to wildflower strips did not boost crop pollination on small, diversified farms harboring diverse wild bees

The yield of many agricultural crops depends on pollination services provided by wild and managed bees, many of which are experiencing declines due to factors such as reductions in floral resources. Thus, improving pollinator habitat on farmlands using management strategies like planting wildflower strips is vital for wild bee conservation and sustainable crop pollination. Yet, few studies have examined whether and at what spatial scales wildflower strips enhance crop pollination and yields, and most research has been conducted in large-scale commercial agriculture. Therefore, we investigated the effects of wildflower strips on crop pollination on small, diversified farms (i.e., those growing a variety of crop species) where wild bee diversity and abundance is predicted to be comparatively high. Over three years, on four diversified farms in Montana USA, we tested the hypothesis that distance (20, 60, and 180 m) of crops from native perennial wildflower strips planted alongside crop fields affected wild bee visitation, pollination, and yields of squash and sunflower crop plants. We found that distance to wildflower strips did not affect bee visitation or pollination in crops. Squash yield was pollen-limited in the growing season prior to wildflower strip establishment, and in one of the two years after wildflower strip establishment, but proximity to wildflower strips did not influence the magnitude of pollen limitation. Sunflower seed production was not pollen-limited in any year. Our findings demonstrate that even on diverse farms with wildflower strips and a demonstrated high diversity of bees, some crops do not necessarily receive maximum pollination, regardless of distance from the wildflower strips. However, the value of wildflower strips for supporting wild bee diversity, and other ecological or economic benefits, needs consideration for a full understanding of this pollinator habitat management strategy.

Integrated pest management strategies for cabbage stem flea beetle (Psylliodes chrysocephala) in oilseed rape.

Oilseed rape (OSR) is the second largest source of vegetable oil globally and the most important biofuel feedstock in the European Union (EU) but the production of this important crop is threatened by a small insect, Psylliodes chrysocephala – the cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB). The EU ban on use of neonicotinoid seed treatments and resistance of CSFB to pyrethroid insecticides have left farmers with limited control options resulting in drastic reductions in production. Integrated pest management (IPM) may offer a solution. We review the lifecycle of CSFB and the current options available, or in the research pipeline, for the eight IPM principles of the EU Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive (Directive‐2009/128/EC). A full IPM strategy for CSFB barely exists. Although there are a range of preventative measures, these require scientific validation; critically, resistant/tolerant OSR cultivars are not yet available. Existing monitoring methods are time‐consuming and there are no commercial models to enable decision support based on predictions of migration timing or population size. Available thresholds are not based on physiological tolerances of the plant making it hard to adapt them to changing market prices for the crop and costs of control. Non‐synthetic alternatives tested and registered for use against CSFB are lacking, making resistance management impossible. CSFB control is therefore dependent upon conservation biocontrol. Natural enemies of CSFB are present, but quantification of their effects is needed and habitat management strategies to exploit their potential. Although some EU countries have local initiatives to reduce insecticide use and encourage use of ‘greener’ alternatives, there is no formal process for ranking these and little information available to help farmers make choices. We summarize the main knowledge gaps and future research needed to improve measures for CSFB control and to facilitate development of a full IPM strategy for this pest and sustainable oilseeds production.

Evaluation of the Patas Monkey (Erythrocebus Patas) Lifestyle and Habitat Management Strategies in Kainji Lake National Park, Nigeria, for the Development of Ecotourism

The rising human activities around the protected areas have been a significant limitation to wildlife conservation, especially in Nigeria. This study evaluated habitat management for the patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas) in Kainji Lake National Park. A field survey through the administration of a structured interview guide was used to extract information on the effective management of the habitat from the park staff. Site assessment was also carried out. Five transects of 1km length were laid at 500m intervals. Four plots of 50m × 50m were alternately laid at 200m intervals in each transect. Enumeration of trees ≥ 10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) was carried out while the patas monkey activities were monitored. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Thirty-five (35) tree species were identified and classified based on their IUCN status, with 62.86 % as least concern (L.C.), 22.86 % not evaluated (N.E.), and 5.71 % vulnerable (V.U.), 2.86 % endangered (EN). In contrast, 5.71 % do not have an IUCN status code (N.C.). Activities of patas monkey show that those sighted in plots 1, 14, 18, and 20 were running, while those sighted in plots 7 and 10 were feeding on fruits, seeds, leaves, and flowers. It was also observed that the animal moves in groups. The respondents opined that hunting and capturing are the primary threat to the animal. Registration of visitors, control burning, and regular patrol were the major habitat management strategies at the park. It is recommended that more water holes be provided to limit the animal's movement to less guided areas. The government should procure more patrol vehicles to improve the regular anti-poaching patrol

Home Range, Site Fidelity, and Movement Patterns of the Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) at the Southwestern Edge of Its Range

Wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) are considered rare or threatened throughout their range. Populations in Iowa occur at the western periphery of the species' range and may be particularly vulnerable to extirpation due to low population density, geographic isolation with restricted opportunities for gene flow, a small range, and a high percentage of land that has been converted for agriculture. To improve our understanding of the ecological needs of the species and to provide targeted conservation of required habitat, determining home range size, site fidelity, and movement patterns is needed. We conducted a 2-yr radiotelemetry study on wood turtles in Iowa to provide baseline data on movement patterns (including estimated total distance moved in an active season and mean daily movement) and home range size and site fidelity between years of survey. Home range size of adult male and female wood turtles differed significantly for 100%, 95%, and 50% minimum convex polygon home range, with male mean home range being nearly 3 times the mean size of female home range. Stream home range length also differed significantly between males and females, with males utilizing a larger portion of lotic habitat. Both sexes showed a high degree of site fidelity to annual home ranges but not to specific overwintering locations. Our study provides important data on home range size, degree of site fidelity, and movement patterns of wood turtles from an isolated population in Iowa at the southwest periphery of the species' range. These data will inform conservation agencies on relevant habitat protection and management strategies of riparian areas that are necessary for the continued survival and protection of the species in the state.