Terms Of Biodiversity Research Articles

Boldness underlies foraging success of invasive Lepidodactylus lugubris geckos in the human landscape

Invasive species may reduce biodiversity in the long term by displacing resident species. Previous studies of geckos have suggested that invasive species can displace residents by monopolizing limited resources, and this competitive advantage may be exacerbated in structurally simple human-altered habitats. Lepidodactylus lugubris is a parthenogenetic gecko that comprises four major clones. On many Pacific islands A-clones have recently become numerically dominant over several other clones. We tested the general hypothesis that A-clones displace B-clones in structurally simple habitats owing to behavioural differences that influence foraging and aggression. Based on previous studies and the pattern of invasion, we predicted that A-clones would consume more insects and show higher levels of aggression and social dominance than would B-clones. We also tested the hypothesis that increasing topographic structure would affect clone behaviour asymmetrically and reduce the advantages of invading A-clones. We found that A-clones consumed more insects and initiated foraging faster compared to B-clones. However, A-clones were not consistently socially dominant over B-clones. Habitat structure affected foraging tactics, reduced aggression and decreased activity, but clones were affected equally and A-clones remained superior foragers in the structurally complex habitat. Although B-clones were more active, they were also more shy. They occupied and defended shelter more, which may partially explain their persistence in forested habitat. We conclude that part of the advantage A-clones have in structurally simple human landscapes stems from their innate boldness, which increases their ability to exploit limited food resources.

Allocation of effort and imbalances in biodiversity research

Ecosystem transformation and depletion of natural resources by human activity with associated increase in species extinctions renders research to understand the consequences of these transformations and design strategies to conserve biological diversity a fundamental priority. Since the introduction of the term biodiversity, accumulated research in this field has expanded exponentially. An analysis of existing literature was conducted to examine patterns in the resulting research effort. The analysis, conducted using the Web of Science (WoS), identified 13336 published articles between 1987 and 2005 concerning biodiversity research. Research efforts are increasing, with 72% of the research effort addressing terrestrial ecosystems. Most of the research is experimental in nature, with few models developed, and focuses on species. Despite constant technical improvements, research on genetic diversity still represents a minor component. Research on different systems is disseminated through different publication outlets, fragmenting the community and derived knowledge. Reported results, here measured as strength of the correlation between biodiversity and ecosystem function, do not differ across ecosystems but are stronger when the study focused on functional groups instead of species level. Collaborative efforts remain limited, as the average number of authors per paper is not increasing with time, unlike patterns in other disciplines. The international distribution of research efforts is highly skewed, with the USA and the EU conducting nearly 90% of the research.

New environmental policy for system innovation: Casus alternatives for fossil motor fuels

The Fourth Dutch Environmental Policy Plan, released in 2001, was explicitly focused on long term system innovations to solve the very tenacious problems of climate change and global biodiversity [VROM (Environmental Department). Where there’s a will there’s a world, 4th National Environmental Policy Plan for the Netherlands 2001 [summary in English]]. This plan ushered in a new environmental policy. Five years later, in 2006, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) brought out the first analysis of the progress of these system innovation processes, showing that although new initiatives had been taken, long term policy was not yet a leading element. MNP has developed a new evaluation method for this analysis, which is not based on monitoring results of environmental quality or emission reduction, but on societal activities concerning perception of the problems, vision, R&D, experiments in practice and the analysis of driving forces behind new investments. Still, a policy evaluation is difficult without clear policy goals. System innovation is a goal-seeking process, and not only in terms of greenhouse gas emissions or levels of biodiversity in the long term. Since there are many technological and/or institutional possibilities established beforehand, choices are not clear. Neither is it wise to make a choice too soon. This is why an important element of the method is the focus on system options as potential goals. The evaluation method is explained and illustrated with system options related to mobility. Examples are fuel cells and hydrogen produced with Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) in northern Africa, energy transport included. Another system option is based on CSP, as well as on the direct use of electricity in plug-in hybrid cars. A third system option is based on liquid biofuels. Although far from giving a complete picture, these options provide good indications of transition processes in practice for developing alternatives for fossil motor fuels. Here the main on-going activities for these system options are described and the role of Dutch policy in the goal-seeking process is analyzed. Potential environmental effects of these system options have been calculated as a part of a broader sustainability assessment.

A Quantitative Analysis of Biodiversity and the Recreational Value of Potential National Parks in Denmark

Denmark has committed itself to the European 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity. Currently, Denmark is in the process of designating larger areas as national parks, and 7 areas (of a possible 32 larger nature areas) have been selected for pilot projects to test the feasibility of establishing national parks. In this article, we first evaluate the effectiveness of the a priori network of national parks proposed through expert and political consensus versus a network chosen specifically for biodiversity through quantitative analysis. Second, we analyze the potential synergy between preserving biodiversity in terms of species representation and recreational values in selecting a network of national parks. We use the actual distribution of 973 species within these 32 areas and 4 quantitative measures of recreational value. Our results show that the 7 pilot project areas are not significantly more effective in representing species than expected by chance and that considerably more efficient networks can be selected. Moreover, it is possible to select more-effective networks of areas that combine high representation of species with high ranking in terms of recreational values. Therefore, our findings suggest possible synergies between outdoor recreation and biodiversity conservation when selecting networks of national parks. Overall, this Danish case illustrates that data-driven analysis can not only provide valuable information to guide the decision-making process of designating national parks, but it can also be a means to identify solutions that simultaneously fulfill several goals (biodiversity preservation and recreational values).

Community participatory landscape classification and biodiversity assessment and monitoring of grazing lands in northern Kenya

In this study, we asked the Ariaal herders of northern Kenya to answer “why, what and how” they classified landscape, and assessed and monitored the biodiversity of 10 km 2 of grazing land. To answer the “why question” the herders classified grazing resources into 39 landscape patches grouped into six landscape types and classified soil as ‘warm’, ‘intermediate’ or ‘cold’ for the purpose of land use. For the “what question” the herders used soil conditions and vegetation characteristics to assess biodiversity. Plant species were described as ‘increasers’, ‘decreasers’ or ‘stable’. The decreaser species were mostly grasses and forbs preferred for cattle and sheep grazing and the increasers were mostly woody species preferred by goats. The herders evaluated biodiversity in terms of key forage species and used absence or presence of the preferred species from individual landscapes for monitoring change in biodiversity. For the “how question” the herders used anthropogenic indicators concerned with livestock management for assessing landscape potential and suitability for grazing. The anthropogenic indicators were related to soils and biodiversity. The herders used plant species grazing preferences to determine the links between livestock production and biodiversity. By addressing these three questions, the study shows the value of incorporating the indigenous knowledge of herders into classification of landscape and assessment and monitoring of biodiversity in the grazing lands. We conclude that herder knowledge of biodiversity is related to the use as opposed to exclusive conservation practices. This type of knowledge is extremely valuable to conservation agencies for establishing a baseline for monitoring changes in biodiversity in the future.

The European union’s 2010 target: Putting rare species in focus

The European Union has adopted the ambitious target of halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Several indicators have been proposed to assess progress towards the 2010 target, two of them addressing directly the issue of species decline. In Europe, the Fauna Europaea database gives an insight into the patterns of distribution of a total dataset of 130,000 terrestrial and freshwater species without taxonomic bias, and provide a unique opportunity to assess the feasibility of the 2010 target. It shows that the vast majority of European species are rare, in the sense that they have a restricted range. Considering this, the paper discusses whether the 2010 target indicators really cover the species most at risk of extinction. The analysis of a list of 62 globally extinct European taxa shows that most contemporary extinctions have affected narrow-range taxa or taxa with strict ecological requirements. Indeed, most European species listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List are narrow-range species. Conversely, there are as many wide-range species as narrow-range endemics in the list of protected species in Europe (Bird and Habitat Directives). The subset of biodiversity captured by the 2010 target indicators should be representative of the whole biodiversity in terms of patterns of distribution and abundance. Indicators should not overlook a core characteristic of biodiversity, i.e. the large number of narrow-range species and their intrinsic vulnerability. With ill-selected indicator species, the extinction of narrow-range endemics would go unnoticed.

RAGEP Marker System (RAGEP) and Its Validation: A Novel Approach to Assess Insect Biodiversity

Insects are omnipresent and encompass 3/4(superscript th) of the whole animal kingdom. Their wide range of ecological adaptability makes them fittest in the extreme ecosystems. Therefore, there is a need to assess their biodiversity in terms of biological and biogeographical identities. We have devised a novel marker system called Random Amplified Genome Encoding Primer (RAGEP) which has been described to assess the migratory pattern and intra species diversity in H. puera. In the present study we propose to characterize the RAGEPs for its heritability, stringency, reproducibility, species specificity and development of species-specific tags and genome specific tags (nuclear and mitochondrial) using RAGEP marker system. We provide convincing results to accept RAGEP system as good marker system to address biodiversity in terms of its biological and biogeographical identities.

The frailty of adaptive hypotheses for the origins of organismal complexity.

The vast majority of biologists engaged in evolutionary studies interpret virtually every aspect of biodiversity in adaptive terms. This narrow view of evolution has become untenable in light of recent observations from genomic sequencing and population-genetic theory. Numerous aspects of genomic architecture, gene structure, and developmental pathways are difficult to explain without invoking the nonadaptive forces of genetic drift and mutation. In addition, emergent biological features such as complexity, modularity, and evolvability, all of which are current targets of considerable speculation, may be nothing more than indirect by-products of processes operating at lower levels of organization. These issues are examined in the context of the view that the origins of many aspects of biological diversity, from gene-structural embellishments to novelties at the phenotypic level, have roots in nonadaptive processes, with the population-genetic environment imposing strong directionality on the paths that are open to evolutionary exploitation.

FOREST FLOOR DEPTH MEDIATES UNDERSTORY VIGOR IN XERICPINUS PALUSTRISECOSYSTEMS

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) woodlands and savannas are among the most frequently burned ecosystems in the world with fire return intervals of 1-10 years. This fire regime has maintained high levels of biodiversity in terms of both species richness and endemism. Land use changes have reduced the area of this ecosystem by >95%, and inadequate fire frequencies threaten many of the remnants today. In the absence of frequent fire, rapid colonization of hardwoods and shrubs occurs, and a broad-leaved midstory develops. This midstory encroachment has been the focus of much research and management concern, largely based on the assumption that the midstory reduces understory plant diversity through direction competition via light interception. The general application of this mechanism of degradation is questionable, however, because midstory density, leaf area, and hardwood species composition vary substantially along a soil moisture gradient from mesic to extremely xeric sites. Reanalysis of recently reported data from xeric longleaf pine communities suggests that the development of the forest floor, a less conspicuous change in forest structure, might cause a decline in plant biodiversity when forests remain unburned. We report here a test of the interactions among fire, litter accumulation, forest floor development, and midstory canopy density on understory plant diversity. Structural equation modeling showed that within xeric sites, forest floor development was the primary factor explaining decreased biodiversity. The only effects of midstory development on biodiversity were those mediated through forest floor development. Boundary line analysis of functional guilds of understory plants showed sensitivity to even minor development of the forest floor in the absence of fire. These results challenge the prevailing management paradigm and suggest that within xeric longleaf pine communities, the primary focus of managed fire regime should be directed toward the restoration of forest floor characteristics rather than the introduction of high-intensity fires used to regulate midstory structure.

Effects of exotic species on evolutionary diversification

Exotic species invasions create almost ideal conditions for promoting evolutionary diversification: establishment of allopatric populations in new environmental conditions; altered ecological opportunities for native species; and new opportunities for hybridization between previously allopatric taxa. Here, we review recent studies of the evolutionary consequences of species invasions, revealing abundant and widespread examples of exotic species promoting evolutionary diversification via increased genetic differentiation among populations of both exotic and native species and the creation of new hybrid lineages. Our review indicates that, although the well-documented reductions to biodiversity caused by exotic species might outweigh the increases resulting from diversification, a complete understanding of the net effects of exotic species on biodiversity in the long term will require consideration of both.

EC Law and Biodiversity

AbstractThe term biodiversity itself was not coined until the 198os, when it was popularised by the eminent Harvard biologist Wilson. Biodiversity entails at the macro level ecosystemic diversity (ecosystems and landscapes), specific diversity (the species of plants, animals and micro-organisms that surround us) and at the micro level it includes genetic diversity. Although less marked than on other continents, Europe's systemic diversity displays a number of particular characteristics. However, Europeans should seriously fear for the future of their wildlife. Indeed, many wild fauna and flora species today are passing through a period of major crisis. As most natural or semi-natural, continental and coastal ecosystems are now undergoing significant modifications as a result of human activity (fiagmentation, isolation, intensification, ... ), animal and plant species are suffering an unprecedented rate of extinction. To make matters worse, this negative trend is compounded by an array of additional threats (poaching, excessive hunting, disturbance inflicted by tourism, collision of birds with power-lines). Last, on a more global scale, global warming and the depletion of the ozone layer risk precipitating much more profound changes to the distribution, structure and functions of European ecosystems. Given that this issue has been identified as a pressing concern by the EC institutions, the aim of the present article is to highlight the different strategies, plans and programs as well as the main directives and regulations that were enacted with the aim of conserving biodiversity.

Effects of management on timber production and carbon stock in a boreal forest ecosystem under changing climate: a model based approach

In this thesis a process-based growth and yield model was used to investigate: (i) the sensitivity of timber production (paper I) and carbon (C) stocks (paper II) to management (i.e. five thinning regimes and one unthinned regime) under different climate scenarios (i.e. current climate, ECHAM4 and HadCM2) at the level of the forest management unit (FMU); and (ii) the effects of initial age class distributions (i.e. normal, equal, leftand rightskewed distributions) of an FMU on timber production and C stocks under different management and climate scenarios, with implications on the cost of C sequestration over the next 100 years (paper III). Moreover, the integrated use of a process-based growth and yield model, a wood products model and a multi-objective optimisation heuristic allowed the investigation of how climate change may affect optimal planning solutions for multiobjective forest management in an FMU (paper IV). The different management objectives considered timber production, C sequestration (in situ as well as in wood products) and biodiversity (in terms of deadwood). Simulations over the next 100 years were undertaken with ground true stand inventory data of a forest management unit (1451 hectares) made up of a mosaic of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), Norway spruce (Picea abies) and silver birch (Betula pendula) stands in central Finland. The gradual increase in temperature and precipitation with a concurrent elevation in CO2 over the simulation period enhanced timber production and C stocks. Regardless of the climate scenario and initial age class distribution used, any thinning regime allowing a higher tree stocking than business-as-usual management over the rotation increased the timber production and simultaneously maintained or increased the C stock in the forest ecosystem compared to business-as-usual management (papers I-III). On the other hand, the maximum C stock in the forest ecosystem was reached in the unthinned regime, but it also gave the lowest net present value. The initial age class distribution had more effect on timber production (up to 20% difference) than on average C stock in the forest ecosystem (3%) (Paper III). When optimising the management plans within the FMU, under changing climatic conditions, the share of allocated management regimes differed between the management objective scenarios as well as between the climate scenarios within each objective scenario (Paper IV). The relative increase in the utility of optimised plans due to climate change differed somewhat between the objective scenarios. As a conclusion, the integrated use of process-based model and wood products model together with multiobjective optimisation appears to be a promising approach for multiple-use management planning under conditions of climate change.

Parasites of spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius) in the St. Lawrence River: effects of municipal effluents and habitat

Parasite communities were examined from spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius (Clinton, 1824)) collected from nine localities in the St. Lawrence River around the Island of Montréal and downstream from its municipal effluents in June and September 1998–2000. A total of 30 taxa were found, the most common being Diplostomum spp. Parasite communities were dominated by digeneans, most of which were larval stages that infect birds as definitive hosts. Mean abundance of the most common parasites varied among localities and years. Component community and mean infracommunity species richness fluctuated within and among years at the various localities. Similarity analyses demonstrated that parasite component communities from the different localities could be partitioned according to season, year, and water mass. Canonical correspondence analysis demonstrated that the parasite component communities from the different localities could be distinguished clearly, indicating that the fish in the different localities compose separate populations or stocks. Year, season, and water mass correlated most strongly among the species–environment relationships. The abundance and distribution of parasite species appeared to be subtly influenced by environmental contaminants and urban effluents, leading to slight reductions in parasite diversity. However, the parasite species composition at the various localities more clearly reflected the local food-web structure and biodiversity in terms of the distributions of various invertebrate groups, piscivorous fish, and waterfowl along the St. Lawrence River.

What does biodiversity actually do? A review for managers and policy makers

Conservation managers and policy makers must often justify the need for protection of biodiversity. However, results of scientific studies testing for a positive value of biodiversity in terms of community stability and ecosystem function have been complex and inconsistent. We review recent information on the consequences of loss of biodiversity for natural systems. The relationships described vary with scale of interest – for instance, biodiversity at local scales typically has strong effects on ecosystem function, although the opposite relationship is often found at regional scales. These inconsistencies lead to some concern as to whether these relationships can be used to justify biodiversity protection. This is particularly relevant to policy, where holistic protection of biodiversity has most often been mooted and justified. For managers, who most often work to protect single species, communities or ecosystem functions, biodiversity research has failed to address questions of critical concern such as consequences of the loss of rare species or the identification of functional keystone species. For the general public, we believe that the confusion and debate surrounding biodiversity and ecosystem function relationships is in danger of eroding the positive value society places on biodiversity. We further warn that using those relationships in policy documents as justifications for biodiversity protection is fraught with difficulties. Finally, we contend that biodiversity research has largely not addressed issues of concern to conservation managers, and list a set of priorities for relevant research on the consequences of biodiversity loss.

‘Planetodiversity’: the variety of planets and planetary systems in the Universe

‘Planetodiversity’ is a composite word from planetary diversity. This denomination wants to parallel the common use of the term biodiversity employed in biology but translated here to the context of planetary sciences due to the proliferating variety of planets discovered outside the Solar System and theoretically proposed to exist. There are two properties that allow us a classification of a body as a planet or more generally as a ‘planetary mass object’: the orbital configuration and the physical structure (mass, energy and chemical composition). This leads respectively to the concepts that we term the ‘orbital planetodiversity’ and the ‘physical planetodiversity’. We present in a comparative way the basic planetary types observed or expected to exist within the framework of these two concepts.

Biodiversity—The Appreciation of Different Thought Styles and Values Helps to Clarify the Term

Abstract In restoration ecology the term biodiversity is widely used to define endpoints, to assess restoration needs, and to monitor restoration success. However, the term is far from clear because different uses of it result in ambiguities and misunderstandings. The appreciation of different thought styles, which are types of worldviews, and different values is crucial for a clearer and more consistent understanding of “biodiversity.” Three groups of thought styles with different uses of the term biodiversity can be distinguished. (1) Natural history perceives biodiversity as biotic elements of nature that can be described and classified. (2) Science considers biodiversity as a measurable parameter that is relevant for ecosystem processes and functions. (3) In environmentalism, biodiversity is used in the context of concerns about species extinctions and habitat destructions. Values play a strong role in some perceptions of biodiversity but are negligible in others. Much confusion arises from some people considering biodiversity as something valuable per se and others seeing it as a virtually value‐free parameter for the description of ecosystems. Because of different thought styles and values the term biodiversity should be used as a general concept, not as a specific element of nature. Biodiversity is a framework for the variety of life on Earth. Biodiversity in this sense is not measurable. However, specific features of biodiversity, e.g., the species richness of vascular plants, can be quantified. The selection of these features depends on thought styles and values. This implies that “biodiversity as general concept” should be distinguished from measurable “features of biodiversity.” Explicit declarations of selected biodiversity features, in every case quantities are in the focus, are inevitable for an unambiguous use of the term.

Freshwater ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: a conservation assessment

As part of a global effort to identify those areas where conservation measures are needed most urgently, World Wildlife Fund has assembled teams of scientists to conduct ecological assessments of all seven continents. Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar is the latest contribution, presenting in a single volume the first in-depth analysis of the state of freshwater biodiversity across Africa, Madagascar, and the islands of the region. Looking at biodiversity and threats in terms of biological units rather than political units, the book offers a comprehensive examination of the entire range of aquatic systems. In addition to its six main chapters, the book includes nineteen essays by regional experts that provide more depth on key issues, as well as six detailed appendixes that present summary data used in the analyses, specific analytical methodologies, and a thorough text description for each of Africa's ninety-three freshwater ecoregions. Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar provides a blueprint for conservation action and represents an unparalleled guide for investments and activities of conservation agencies and donor organizations.

Stand level analysis on the effects of management and climate change on the growth and timber yield with implications on carbon stocks in boreal forest ecosystem: a model based approach

The main aim of this study was to investigate based on process-based ecosystem model simulations how management and climate change affect the growth, timber yield and carbon stocks in boreal forest ecosystem (Papers I-II). In addition, it was studied how the management affects under varying climate the possibility to meet multi-purpose demands in regard to timber production, carbon sequestration and biodiversity (in terms of dead wood) based on a stochastic multi-criteria analysis (Paper IV). Simulations were carried out in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst. L.) and silver birch (Betula pendula) stands growing in the southern and northern Finland. In addition to current climate, two different climate change scenarios and eight different stand treatment programmes (i.e. one unthinned and seven thinning regimes) were applied in simulations over 100 years. The stand treatment programmes differed from each other in the sense that the mean stocking varied in the stand over the rotation. The simulation results were also used as data for a multi-criteria analysis, in which expected utility was calculated with an additive utility model (Paper IV). In this context, it was also utilized a wood products model developed (Paper III), to estimate carbon stocks in wood products. The model based analyses indicated that in unthinned stands, the growth and carbon stock was on an average always higher compared to thinned stands regardless of tree species, sites and climate scenarios compared (Papers I-II). However, in regard to thinning regimes, the one in which the mean stocking was kept an average higher over a rotation compared to the current thinning guidelines, had also a higher growth and timber yield (Paper I). This increased also the mean carbon stock both in the forest ecosystem and in the harvested timber compared to the current thinning guidelines (Paper II). The climate change (regardless of scenarios) in itself enhanced growth, timber yield and carbon stocks in relative terms more in the north than in the south regardless of tree species. The utility was also maximized, regardless of site, tree species and climate scenario applied, by leaving the stand unthinned over a rotation or alternatively by keeping the stocking level higher (e.g. 30% higher) over the simulation compared to the current thinning guidelines (Paper IV). When accurate weights for criteria of timber production, carbon sequestration and dead wood were used to reduce uncertainty, expected utility did not change noticeably. As a conclusion, the selection of stand treatment programme was found to have an important role, regardless of tree species, sites and climate scenarios, on the timber production, but also on other benefits such as carbon sequestration and amount of dead wood in the forest ecosystem.

Plantations and biodiversity: A comment on the debate in New Brunswick

The importance of biodiversity has become widely recognized but the best methods for conserving forest biodiversity are still being debated. Central to this debate is the influence of plantations and managed stands on local and landscape-scale biodiversity. A recent paper by Erdle and Pollard in The Forestry Chronicle (2002), which concluded that few plantations are strict monocultures in terms of the total number of tree species, could be interpreted as making the case that plantations have relatively minor consequences for biodiversity. We argue that: (1) it is not only the number of species, but also the identities and relative abundances of species that are of ecological importance, and (2) defining biodiversity in terms of tree species alone is of limited applicability. Existing research in New Brunswick on the impact of plantations on biodiversity at the stand scale reveals potentially significant biodiversity losses, at least in certain taxa. The proposal that incorporating more structural elements (e.g., snags, coarse woody debris, vertical structure) and retaining greater tree species diversity to ameliorate negative consequences of plantations remains a hypothesis to be tested in this region. Scientific information gathered in the following areas will allow better decision making: (1) to what degree are older plantations used by native species? (2) are productivity and survivorship of vertebrates in intensively managed stands similar to those in unmanaged forest? (3) are intensively managed stands suitable habitat for non-vertebrates? (4) are there thresholds in the response of some species to landscape-scale habitat loss caused by intensive forest management? Key words: plantations, biodiversity, species composition, landscape scale, stand structures

Species diversity or biodiversity?

Species diversity and biodiversity are widely used terms in ecology and natural resource management. Despite this, they are not easily defined and different authors apply these terms with varying connotations. The term biodiversity, in particular, has the dubious honour of being widely used but rarely defined. Is it simply the number of species or is it something more? Here I consider what these terms might really mean and their value. I also briefly discuss the rationale for studying and protecting species diversity or biodiversity.