Modeling temporal and spatial colony‐site dynamics in a long‐lived seabird
We studied the determinants of colony site dynamics in Audouin's gull, Larus audouinii, breeding in a small archipelago of the western Mediterranean. Data on island occupation were available for a series of 25 years, since first colonization of the archipelago in 1973. Group behavior was studied in relation to the components of dispersal: permanence or abandonment (extinction) on an island previously occupied and permanence or occupation (colonization) of another island. Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMMs) were used to identify the relative contribution of each explanatory variable to the probability of colony abandonment. Gulls showed a low probability (3%) of abandoning one of the isl…
Rethinking conservation : towards a paradigm shift
Between the mid-1980s and the present day, conservation biology split into two almost independent fields: management ecology and conservation ecology. We have witnessed the recovery of large endangered species and a decrease in small and common species. In addition, the abandonment of rural areas has allowed the expansion of forest species and has hurt those that inhabit open spaces and who are linked to traditional farming. Many species that once lived only in refuges are now starting to venture further out and are losing their fear of humans. Moreover, environments that have become anthropic are now being successfully occupied more often. In short, we are going towards a world that reconc…
Herramientas estadísticas para resolver contrastes de hipótesis con contenido biológico: su uso en ecología del siglo XXI
Amenudo la formación que han recibido durante la carrera los jóvenes investigadores tiene notables carencias en los aspectos prácticos de diseño experimental, análisis de datos e interpretación de resultados, lo cual limita de manera decisiva el provecho científico futuro de sus actividades. Eso es especialmente cierto en nuestros días, ya que vivimos una revolución importante en el campo de la metodología estadística e incluso en el procedimiento de hacer inferencia (el salto matemático desde las propiedades de nuestra muestra de datos a las de los parámetros desconocidos de la población, nuestro objeto de estudio), que afecta no sólo a los ecólogos sino a muchas otras disciplinas científi…