Search results for "CAP"

Monitoring internet trade to inform species conservation actions

2017

Specimens, parts and products of threatened species are now commonly traded on the internet. This could threaten the survival of some wild populations if inadequately regulated. We outline two methods to monitor internet sales of threatened species in order to assess potential threats and inform conservation actions. Our first method combines systematic monitoring of online offers of plants for sale over the internet with consultation by experts experienced in identifying plants collected from the wild based on images of the specimens, species identity and details of the trade. Our second method utilises a computational model, trained using Bayesian techniques to records that have been clas…

Distribution of sea urchins living near shallow water CO2 vents is dependent upon species acid-base and ion-regulatory abilities.

2013

To reduce the negative effect of climate change on Biodiversity, the use of geological CO2 sequestration has been proposed; however leakage from underwater storages may represent a risk to marine life. As extracellular homeostasis is important in determining species' ability to cope with elevated CO2, we investigated the acid-base and ion regulatory responses, as well as the density, of sea urchins living around CO2 vents at Vulcano, Italy. We conducted in situ transplantation and field-based laboratory exposures to different pCO2/pH regimes. Our results confirm that sea urchins have some ability to regulate their extracellular fluid under elevated pCO2. Furthermore, we show that even in cl…

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic inventory of the most abundant demersal fish captured by benthic gears in southwestern Iceland (North Atlantic)

2009

International audience; Stable isotopes (δC and δN) were used to examine the origin of organic matter for the most representative demersal species of the SW Icelandic fishery, accounting for over 70% of landings of those species in the North Atlantic. Samples were collected during a 2-week period in early September 2004 from landings and directly during fishing cruises. Stable isotopes showed that particulate organic matter and sedimentary organic matter were at the base of the food web and appeared to fill two different compartments: the pelagic and the benthic. The pelagic realm was composed of only capelin and sandeel; krill and redfish occupied an intermediate position between pelagic a…

Defaunation and biomass collapse of mammals in the largest Atlantic forest remnant

2016

Large continuous rainforests are the main hope for sustaining the population of large-bodied vertebrates that cannot cope with fragmentation or unsustainable hunting. The Brazilian Atlantic forest is considered a biodiversity hotspot and although highly fragmented, it still contains large forest patches that may be important for the conservation of mammals that require large areas. Here, we estimated species richness, density and biomass of medium- and large-sized mammals along the largest remnant of the Atlantic rainforest, Brazil (the Serra do Mar bioregion), an estimated area of 8000 km2. We recorded 44 species based on 4090 km of diurnal line transects and camera traps, animal tracks an…

Intégrer la connectivité paysagère dans la séquence ERC : une approche par la quantité d'habitat atteignable

2019

Des engagements nationaux, européens et internationaux ont été pris pour maintenir et restaurer la connectivité entre habitats naturels face à la perte et à la fragmentation de ces habitats. Dans le même temps, les politiques environnementales dans différents pays mettent en oeuvre la séquence Eviter-Réduire-Compenser (ERC) pour atteindre l’objectif d’absence de perte nette de biodiversité (PPN). La séquence ERC a pour principe d’évaluer l’ensemble des impacts écologiques d’un aménagement, mais les critères et indicateurs permettant de quantifier les impacts sur la connectivité paysagère ne sont pas satisfaisants. Nous proposons une démarche opérationnelle pour évaluer les impacts environne…

Social equity and marine protected areas: Perceptions of small-scale fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea

2020

Abstract Global conservation policy requires the scaling up of effectively and equitably managed networks of marine protected areas (MPAs). While progress has been made on spatial coverage, the fundamental aspects of effectiveness and equity are falling short. Past research has focused on management effectiveness in MPAs, but less attention has been given to social equity though it is an ethical imperative and instrumental to conservation. This study assessed the perceptions of SSF regarding recognitional, procedural and distributional dimensions of social equity using quantitative surveys in 11 MPAs across 6 countries on the Mediterranean Sea. To do so, we developed individual indicators f…

Role of Soil Organisms in the Maintenance of Species-Rich Seminatural Grasslands through Mowing

2009

To preserve species-rich grasslands, management practices such as mowing are often required. Mowing is known to promote aboveground conditions that help to maintain plant species richness, but whether belowground effects are important as well is not known. We hypothesized that if mowing decreases belowground carbon transfer by reducing root mass, this will reduce the abundance and activity of soil decomposers and lead to diminished nutrient availability in soil. In grasslands, this would provide a means to mitigate the negative effects of nitrogen enrichment on plant species richness. We established experimental plots on grassland with one-third of plots growing untouched, one-third mowed o…

Cuticular hydrocarbons as potential mediators of cryptic species divergence in a mutualistic ant association

2019

International audience; Upon advances in sequencing techniques, more and more morphologically identical organisms are identified as cryptic species. Often, mutualistic interactions are proposed as drivers of diversification. Species of the neotropical parabiotic ant association between Crematogaster levior and Camponotus femoratus are known for highly diverse cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles, which in insects serve as desiccation barrier but also as communication cues. In the present study, we investigated the association of the ants' CHC profiles with genotypes and morphological traits, and discovered cryptic species pairs in both genera. To assess putative niche differentiation betwee…

2018

Allometric relationships linking species characteristics to body size or mass (scaling) are important in biology. However, studies on the scaling of life history traits in the reptiles (the nonavian Reptilia) are rather scarce, especially for the clades Crocodilia, Testudines, and Rhynchocephalia (single extant species, the tuatara). Previous studies on the scaling of reptilian life history traits indicated that they differ from those seen in the other amniotes (mammals and birds), but so far most comparative studies used small species samples and also not phylogenetically informed analyses. Here, we analyzed the scaling of nine life history traits with adult body mass for crocodiles (n = 2…

Low contribution of Caribbean-based researchers to academic publications on biodiversity conservation in the insular Caribbean.

2021

11 pages; International audience; The insular Caribbean is among the most threatened global biodiversity hotspots, warranting urgent and effective action in conservation. However, the capacity of Caribbean-based researchers to address challenges in biodiversity conservation appears limited. To assess the latter, we used the contribution of Caribbean-based authors to the production of peer-reviewed journal papers on biodiversity conservation in the insular Caribbean as a proxy for research capacity. Moreover, because the insular Caribbean is a complex geopolitical system including sovereign states and overseas territories, we examined the contributions of these two groups to the number of pa…