Search results for "Threatened species"
showing 10 items of 153 documents
Red Listing plants under full national responsibility: Extinction risk and threats in the vascular flora endemic to Italy
2018
Abstract Taxa endemic to a country are key elements for setting national conservation priorities and for driving conservation strategies, since their persistence is entirely dependent on national policy. We applied the IUCN Red List categories to all Italian endemic vascular plants (1340 taxa) to assess their current risk of extinction and to highlight their major threats. Our results revealed that six taxa are already extinct and that 22.4% (300 taxa) are threatened with extinction, while 18.4% (247; especially belonging to apomictic groups) have been categorized as Data Deficient. Italian endemic vascular plants are primarily threatened by natural habitat modification due to agriculture, …
Conserving plant diversity in Europe: outcomes, criticisms and perspectives of the Habitats Directive application in Italy
2016
Habitat Directive is the core strategy of nature conservation in Europe aiming at halting biodiversity loss. In this study the results of the third Italian assessment regarding the conservation status (CS) of plants listed in the Habitat Directive (Flora of community interest—FCI) was presented. Data was collected from several sources related to plant distribution, population data, habitats and pressures. Following the official European procedure, all parameters were evaluated and combined to give the CS of each taxon in each biogeographical region of presence. A comparison between the recent Italian IUCN and Reporting assessments was performed in order to evaluate the consistency between t…
Stream restorations with meanders increase dragonfly and damselfly diversity and abundance, including an endangered species.
2021
10 pages; International audience; This study presents examples of successful restoration projects for biodiversity conservation. In West France, the Pinail National Nature Reserve is a protected wetland interspersed with more than 6000 ponds. This wetland is inhabited by 50 species of Odonata and thus is a key biodiversity area for damselflies and dragonflies conservation. In the past, when the limestone was exploited, the streams of the plateau were artificially channeled rectilinearly, running to the Vienne River. Eventually streams were blocked by biomass and sediments resulting in water flowing mainly underground. In 2011, two restoration projects dug and recreated lost habitats such as…
Systematic targeting of management actions as a tool to enhance conservation of traditional rural biotopes
2017
Traditional rural biotopes (TRBs), which are biologically and culturally valuable habitats maintained by low-intensity grazing and mowing, are a core element of biodiversity in Europe. During the last decades, TRBs have faced severe habitat loss and fragmentation due to agricultural modernization. Despite their well-known critical state, their conservation remains inadequate, thus raising a need to advance TRB conservation via spatial land-use planning. In this study we analyze a national GIS database on TRBs in order to examine how the current TRB network can be complemented in terms of conservation value based on known ecological characteristics. Given different target scenarios for the a…
Taxonomic remarks on Scilla anthericoides Poir. (Asparagaceae, Scilloideae), a neglected species from Algeria
2016
Scilla anthericoides is a neglected name traditionally considered as Urginea maritima var. anthericoides. Based on recent field observations of living plants completed by karyological analyses, we promote again this taxon at species rank, under the genus Charybdis. It differs from other species of Charybdis maritima aggregate by many characters of flowers, fruits, bulbs, leaves and by ploidy level. It is endemic to the regional hotspot Kabylias-Numidia-Kroumiria in north-eastern Algeria. It is a threatened species that has been assessed as vulnerable.
Natural forest remnants as refugia for bryophyte diversity in a transformed mountain river valley landscape
2018
Riparian forests are among the most threatened ecosystem types worldwide. Their exploitation and replacement by coniferous plantations affects species pools and contributes to loss of biodiversity. We aimed to investigate bryophyte species pools within different habitat types in a transformed mountain river valley. We especially focused on the contribution of habitat types (relative to their proportional cover) to the species pool of the whole area. The study was conducted along the Czerwona Woda river - a model stream in the Stołowe Mountains National Park (SW Poland, study area: 91.2 ha) - and an example of coniferous plantations replacing natural broadleaved forest vegetation. Our study …
Positive demographic effects of nest surveillance campaigns to counter illegal harvest of the Bonelli's eagle in Sicily (Italy)
2017
Illegal trade in wildlife has been identified as one of the main challenges to wildlife conservation. In 2010, an illegal trade-ring trafficking in birds of prey was uncovered in Sicily (southern Italy). This illegal trade targeted the three most endangered species in Italy: Bonelli's eagle Aquila fasciata, Lanner falcon Falco biarmicus and Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus, all of them long-lived territorial raptors threatened with extinction across their European distribution. Illegal harvest primarily involved young birds and eggs taken from nests. After the discovery of these activities, surveillance camps and camera traps connected to the mobile Global System for Mobile communicat…
Ecological correlates of distribution change and range shift in butterflies
2011
1. In order to be effective custodians of biodiversity, one must understand what ecological characteristics predispose species to population decline, range contraction, and, eventually, to extinction. 2. The present paper analyses distribution change (area of occupancy) and range shift (extent and direction) of the threatened and non-threatened butterfly species in Finland, and identifies species-specific ecological characteristics promoting changes in distribution and range. 3. Overall, the range of butterflies has shifted along the climatic isotherms, suggesting that climate change has influenced species’ ranges. Interestingly, though, threatened species have moved very little and not to …
Climate change and the ecology and evolution of Arctic vertebrates
2012
Climate change is taking place more rapidly and severely in the Arctic than anywhere on the globe, exposing Arctic vertebrates to a host of impacts. Changes in the cryosphere dominate the physical changes that already affect these animals, but increasing air temperatures, changes in precipitation, and ocean acidification will also affect Arctic ecosystems in the future. Adaptation via natural selection is problematic in such a rapidly changing environment. Adjustment via phenotypic plasticity is therefore likely to dominate Arctic vertebrate responses in the short term, and many such adjustments have already been documented. Changes in phenology and range will occur for most species but wil…
Assessing multiple sources of data to detect illegal fishing, trade and mislabelling of elasmobranchs in Greek markets
2020
Abstract Elasmobranchs, extremely charismatic and threatened animals, still are an important economic source for fishers in many parts of the world, providing significant income through trade. Even though Greek seas host at least 67 elasmobranch species, our knowledge about their biology and ecology is to a large extent unknown. In the present study the integration of conventional (legislation, official data from fisheries landings and fish market value and import/export data) and unconventional (social media) sources of data, accompanied with the use of genetics, aim at outlining the elasmobranch fisheries and trade in Greece and identifying “weak spots” that sabotage their conservation. R…