Search results for "Europe"
showing 10 items of 6186 documents
Broad-front migration leads to strong migratory connectivity in the lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni)
2019
Aim: Migratory animals regularly move between often distant breeding and non‐breeding ranges. Knowledge about how these ranges are linked by movements of individuals from different populations is crucial for unravelling temporal variability in population spatial structuring and for identifying environmental drivers of population dynamics acting at different spatio‐temporal scales. We performed a large‐scale individual‐based migration tracking study of an Afro‐Palaearctic migratory raptor, to determine the patterns of migratory connectivity of European breeding populations. Location: Europe, Africa. Methods: Migration data were recorded using different devices (geolocators, satellite transmi…
Lack of molluscan host diversity and the transmission of an emerging parasitic disease in Bolivia.
2001
Fasciolosis is a re-emerging parasitic disease that affects an increasing number of people in developing countries. The most severe endemic affects the Bolivian Altiplano, where the liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) and its hermaphroditic snail host, Lymnaea truncatula, have been introduced from Europe. To achieve a better understanding of the epidemiological situation and the consequences of the colonization event of this invasive species, genetic analysis of Bolivian snail populations was needed. Here we compare the genetic diversity and population structure of snail samples from the Bolivian Altiplano with samples from the Old World at six polymorphic microsatellite loci. Whereas some vari…
EUNIS Habitat Classification: Expert system, characteristic species combinations and distribution maps of European habitats
2020
Aim The EUNIS Habitat Classification is a widely used reference framework for European habitat types (habitats), but it lacks formal definitions of individual habitats that would enable their unequivocal identification. Our goal was to develop a tool for assigning vegetation-plot records to the habitats of the EUNIS system, use it to classify a European vegetation-plot database, and compile statistically-derived characteristic species combinations and distribution maps for these habitats. Location Europe. Methods We developed the classification expert system EUNIS-ESy, which contains definitions of individual EUNIS habitats based on their species composition and geographic location. Each ha…
Spatio-temporal variations in the application of the Braun-Blanquet approach in Europe
2018
An historical overview on the affirmation of the phytosociological method in Europe is presented. Some methodological and procedural differences in the application of the Braun-Blanquet approach, from the selection of the sampling plots to the assignment of relevés to existing or newly described units, are briefly commented. The main advantages and limitations of the phytosociological vegetation classification are reviewed and discussed, also in the light of their applications for vegetation mapping and monitoring.
The value of by-catch data: how species-specific surveys can serve non-target species
2019
Camera trapping has a wide range of research application, but, while research designs are often focused on the study of a single focal species, cameras can also record other non-target species. Occupancy modeling using by-catch data can be a valuable resource to gain information on these species maximizing the scientific effort and efficiency of wildlife surveys. In this study, we used by-catch data from a European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) survey in Southern Italy to assess the habitat covariates determinant for the occupancy of the crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata). We recorded 33 detections at 17 out of 51 cameras (naive occupancy = 0.33). The best models fitted the data w…
Assessing sampling coverage of species distribution in biodiversity databases
2019
Abstract Aim Biodiversity databases are valuable resources for understanding plant species distributions and dynamics, but they may insufficiently represent the actual geographic distribution and climatic niches of species. Here we propose and test a method to assess sampling coverage of species distribution in biodiversity databases in geographic and climatic space. Location Europe. Methods Using a test selection of 808,794 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA), we assessed the sampling coverage of 564 European vascular plant species across both their geographic ranges and realized climatic niches. Range maps from the Chorological Database Halle (CDH) were used as bac…
Succession in ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in deciduous forest clear-cuts - an Eastern European case study
2017
Clear-cutting, the main method of harvesting in many forests in the world, causes a series of dramatic environmental changes to the forest habitat and removes habitat resources for arboreal and epigeal species. It results in considerable changes in the composition of both plant and animal communities. Ants have many critical roles in the maintenance and functioning of forest ecosystems. Therefore, the response of ants to clear-cutting and the time it takes for an ant community to recover after clear-cutting are important indicators of the effect of this harvesting technique on the forest ecosystem. We investigated ground-dwelling ant communities during secondary succession of deciduous fore…
Predator–vole interactions in northern Europe: the role of small mustelids revised
2014
The cyclic population dynamics of vole and predator communities is a key phenomenon in northern ecosystems, and it appears to be influenced by climate change. Reports of collapsing rodent cycles have attributed the changes to warmer winters, which weaken the interaction between voles and their specialist subnivean predators. Using population data collected throughout Finland during 1986–2011, we analyse the spatio-temporal variation in the interactions between populations of voles and specialist, generalist and avian predators, and investigate by simulations the roles of the different predators in the vole cycle. We test the hypothesis that vole population cyclicity is dependent on predator…
Resource polymorphism in European whitefish: Analysis of fatty acid profiles provides more detailed evidence than traditional methods alone
2019
Published version, licensed CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. , available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221338 Resource polymorphism—whereby ancestral generalist populations give rise to several specialised morphs along a resource gradient—is common where species colonise newly formed ecosystems. This phenomenon is particularly well documented in freshwater fish populations inhabiting postglacial lakes formed at the end of the last ice age. However, knowledge on how such differential exploitation of resources across contrasting habitats might be reflected in the biochemical compositions of diverging populations is still limited, though such patterns might be expected. Here, we aimed to assess …
Resource Partitioning in Food, Space and Time between Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus), Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) and European Whitefish (Coregonus…
2017
Arctic charr and European whitefish are considered to be strong competitors in lakes, with the latter usually being the superior species. However, high niche plasticity and lake morphometry may suggestively facilitate resource partitioning and coexistence between charr and whitefish. Here, we explore the trophic niche utilization (diet and habitat use) of charr and whitefish co-occurring with brown trout in the deep and oligotrophic Lake Fyresvatnet, southern Norway (59˚05’N, 8˚10’E). Using CPUE, stomach contents and stable isotope analyses, a distinct resource partitioning was revealed between brown trout and the other two species. Brown trout typically occupied the littoral zone, feeding …