Search results for "HABITAT"
showing 10 items of 1243 documents
Are small protected habitat patches within boreal production forests effective in conserving species richness, abundance and community composition? :…
2021
Abstract Background In boreal zone forest management is changing and degrading forest habitats, which has caused declines in biodiversity. To mitigate these harmful effects in production forests, small-scale habitats with high biodiversity values have been protected within them. These habitats include woodland key habitats, and other small habitat patches protected by voluntary conservation actions. In this systematic review we synthesize the evidence on the value of small protected habitat patches (SPHP) within production forest landscapes for biodiversity. Review question: Are small protected habitat patches within boreal production forests effective in conserving species richness, abunda…
Resource use of wood-inhabiting fungi in different boreal forest types
2017
Generalist species are usually widespread and abundant, and thrive in heterogeneous environments. Specialists, in turn, are generally more restricted in their range, and benefit from more stable conditions. Therefore, increasing human-induced disturbance can have more negative effects on specialist than generalist species. We assessed the specialization of 77 wood-inhabiting fungal species across seven boreal forest types and different substratum qualities. A significantly higher number of specialist species was associated with herb-rich forests and afforested fields than with managed coniferous forests and wood pastures, the number of specialists associated with natural coniferous forests …
Assessing coastal habitats with Juniperus sp. pl. in the Iberian Peninsula and on the Balearic Islands
2021
Coastal habitats with Juniperus sp. pl. represent the mature stage in the ecological succession of dune ecosystems. Maritime junipers (Juniperus macrocarpa), prickly junipers (J. navicularis) and c...
Proposal to Achieve Floodplain Connectivity in Alțâna Sector on Hârtibaciu River (Transylvania, Romania)
2016
Abstract The process of supplying water to the new anthropogenic wetland is achieved gravitationally, and the excess water in the wetland will be directed towards the Hârtibaciu River in a similar natural way. The fish and fauna of the Hârtibaciu River have a disrupted lateral connectivity due to its banks embanking including in the proximity of the Alţâna locality. The newly proposed anthropogenic wetland would improve habitat quality for the fish species of conservation interest, Rhodeus amarus (Bloch, 1782), and increase its population numbers. A new fish species, Chondrostoma nasus, was identified for the first time in the Hârtibaciu River.
The “Porţile de Fier/Iron Gates” Nature Park (Romania) Some Danube Northern Tributaries Fish Fauna
2014
Abstract The relative larger size of the Berzasca River, respectively the relatively constant environmental conditions, with relatively stenotopic ichthyocenosis, suffered small qualitative and quantitative fish fauna modifications in time, compared to the smaller rivers such as Sirinia, Liubcova/Oreviţa and Mraconia. The Danube “Iron Gates” I Lake influences the lower sectors of the studied rivers in term of fish species exchange. The accidental droughts in the karstic zones of the studied lotic sectors have a negative influence on the spatial continuity of the local fish fauna, and the climate change can increase these influence in the future. All the studied rivers play an important role…
Restricted geographic distribution and low genetic distinctiveness of steppic Crioceris quinquepunctata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) populations in Ce…
2019
Crioceris quinquepunctata is a European leafbeetle, rare and strictly associated with steppe-like habitats in Central and Eastern Europe. We sampled suitable localities in Central East Europe to determine the current distribution and to verify whether populations isolated by the Carpathian Mountains (within Pannonian and Pontic area) show genetic differentiation. Sequences from the beetle COI and ITSl were amplified and compared. Furthermore, ftsZ and hcpA genes of the endosymbiont Wolbachia were analysed as additional genetic markers. We found only two populations of C. quinquepunctata (in Moravia and Podolian Upland). Unusually low genetic differences between these populations were reveal…
Interactive effects between physical forces and ecoystem engieneers on seed burial: a case study using Spartina anglica
2015
Seed burial (i.e. vertical seed dispersal) has become increasingly valued for its relevance for seed fate and plant recruitment. While ecosystem engineers have been generally considered as the most important drivers of seed burial, the role of physical forces, such as wind or water flow, has been largely overlooked. Using tidal habitats as a model system, and a combination of flume and mesocosm experiments, we investigated the effects of 1) currents, 2) benthic animals with different engineering activities and 3) their interplay on seed burial of a common salt marsh pioneer plant, Spartina anglica. Our results reveal that in such systems, water flow can be of equal or higher importance than…
Spatio-temporal analyses of local biodiversity hotspots reveal the importance of historical land-use dynamics
2017
Woodland key habitats (WKHs) form a network of local biodiversity hotspots in human-dominated landscapes of northern Europe. They have been designated based on the presence of old-growth species and structures, and are considered to indicate long-term forest cover. To test whether WKHs do particularly occur in continuous forest land and to explore the scale dependence of relationships between WKH presence and their historical and environmental properties, we analysed them at five spatial scales (from stand to landscape: 80–2500 m) and referring to four reference years (1790, 1860, 1910, and 2010) using univariate and multivariate analyses. We upscaled the georeferenced data using a moving w…
An annotated checklist of the leech (Annelida: Hirudinida) species of the Moulouya River basin, Morocco, with several new distribution records and a …
2019
A historical overview of the leech fauna of Morocco, based on both literature data, museum collections and new material, sampled in more than 100 sites in the Moulouya River basin (eastern region of Morocco), is provided. Twenty species from five families and ten genera are currently known, of which Helobdella europea Kutschera, 1987, is a new record for the country and North Africa as a whole. Herein, we add many new distribution records. The current list will need to be revised as new species distributions are recorded in the region. Notes on the species distribution are given along with comments on their habitat preferences. A concise biogeographic analysis outlines the similarities in t…
Camouflage accuracy in Sahara–Sahel desert rodents
2020
1. Camouflage helps animals to hide from predators and is therefore key to survival. Although widespread convergence of animal phenotypes to their natural environment is well-established, there is a lack of knowledge about how species compromise camouflage accuracy across different background types in their habitat.2. Here we tested how background matching has responded to top–down selection by avian and mammalian predators using Sahara–Sahel desert rodents in North Africa.3. We show that the fur colouration of several species has become an accurate match to different types of desert habitats. This is supported by a correlation analysis of colour and pattern metrics, investigation of animal…