Search results for "conservation."
showing 10 items of 1994 documents
Using Local Ecological Knowledge of Fishers to Reconstruct Abundance Trends of Elasmobranch Populations in the Strait of Sicily
2020
Fishers “local ecological knowledge” (LEK) can be used to reconstruct long-term trends of species that are at very low biomass due to overfishing. In this study, we used historical memories of Sicilian fishers to understand their perception of change in abundance of cartilaginous fish in the Strait of Sicily over the last decades. We conducted interviews with 27 retired fishers from Mazara del Vallo harbor (SW Sicily) working in demersal fisheries, using a pre-defined questionnaire with a series of open and fixed questions related to the abundance of sharks and rays. The questionnaire included specific questions about the trends they perceived in catch or by-catch of cartilaginous fish abun…
Pathways towards a sustainable future envisioned by early-career conservation researchers
2021
Scientists have warned decision-makers about the severe consequences of the global environmental crisis since the 1970s. Yet ecological degradation continues and little has been done to address climate change. We investigated early-career conservation researchers' (ECR) perspectives on, and prioritization of, actions furthering sustainability. We conducted a survey (n = 67) and an interactive workshop (n = 35) for ECR attendees of the 5th European Congress of Conservation Biology (2018). Building on these data and discussions, we identified ongoing and forthcoming advances in conservation science. These include increased transdisciplinarity, science communication, advocacy in conservati…
Biodiversity is not (and never has been) a bed of roses!
2011
9 pages; International audience; Over the last decades, the critical study of fossil diversity has led to significant advances in the knowledge of global macroevolutionary patterns of biodiversity. The deep-time history of life on Earth results from background originations and extinctions defining a steady-state, nonstationary equilibrium occasionally perturbed by biotic crises and "explosive" diversifications. More recently, a macroecological approach to the large-scale distribution of extant biodiversity offered new, stimulating perspectives on old theoretical questions and current practical problems in conservation biology. However, time and space are practically distinct, but functional…
Values and challenges in the assessment of coprophilous fungi according to the IUCN Red List criteria: the case study of Poronia punctata (Xylariales…
2020
Coprophilous fungi are specialized microorganisms, playing key roles in ecosystems and in several other contexts, whose protection requires more substantial efforts. This paper aims to highlight and discuss valuable and critical aspects faced during the process of the threat status assessment of Poronia punctata, providing inspirations for future conservation actions.
Comment on “A simple way to incorporate uncertainty and risk into forest harvest scheduling”
2017
In a recent research article, Robinson et al. (2016) described a method of estimating uncertainty of harvesting outcomes by analyzing the historical yield to the associated prediction for a large number of harvest operations. We agree with this analysis, and consider it a useful tool to integrate estimates of uncertainty into the optimization process. The authors attempt to manage the risk using two different methods, based on deterministic integer linear programming. The first method focused on maximizing the 10th quantile of the distribution of predicted volume subject to area constraint, while the second method focused on minimizing the variation of total quantity of volume harvested sub…
Within trophic level shifts in collagen-carbonate stable carbon isotope spacing are propagated by diet and digestive physiology in large mammal herbi…
2018
Stable carbon isotope analyses of vertebrate hard tissues such as bones, teeth, and tusks provide information about animal diets in ecological, archeological, and paleontological contexts. There is debate about how carbon isotope compositions of collagen and apatite carbonate differ in terms of their relationship to diet, and to each other. We evaluated relationships between δ13Ccollagen and δ13Ccarbonate among free-ranging southern African mammals to test predictions about the influences of dietary and physiological differences between species. Whereas the slopes of δ13Ccollagen–δ13Ccarbonate relationships among carnivores are ≤1, herbivore δ13Ccollag…
Staying cool: preadaptation to temperate climates required for colonising tropical alpine-like environments.
2018
Plant species tend to retain their ancestral ecology, responding to temporal, geographic and climatic changes by tracking suitable habitats rather than adapting to novel conditions. Nevertheless, transitions into different environments or biomes still seem to be common. Especially intriguing are the tropical alpine-like areas found on only the highest mountainous regions surrounded by tropical environments. Tropical mountains are hotspots of biodiversity, often with striking degrees of endemism at higher elevations. On these mountains, steep environmental gradients and high habitat heterogeneity within small spaces coincide with astounding species diversity of great conservation value. The …
An integrative identification guide to the Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Bocas del Toro, Panama
2018
This work is the first attempt to assess the biodiversity of the Hydrozoa in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro (Panamá, Caribbean Sea) using morphology and molecular taxonomy, and to produce field identification tools to help future identification and monitoring efforts in the area. We sampled, identified, vouchered, and barcoded 112 specimens of Hydrozoa from shallow coastal waters (0–22 m depth) in the Archipiélago de Bocas del Toro. The specimens belong to 70 taxa, of which 53 were identified at the species level, and 17 were identified at the genus or family level. We produced 64 sequences of the large ribosomal subunit of the mitochondrial RNA (mt lsu-rRNA, 16S), the genetic marker ge…
Conservation of the endangered Mediterranean tortoise Testudo hermanni hermanni: The contribution of population genetics and historical demography
2016
International audience; Estimating the genetic variation and demographic trends of species in decline is of major concern in conservation genetics. This study contributes to understanding how historical and anthropogenic factors shape the distribution of current genetic diversity in one of the most endangered reptiles in Western Europe, the Hermann's tortoise Testudo hermanni hermanni. We used 17 microsatellite loci, chosen from a pyrosequencing library specifically developed for the subspecies to genotype eight populations distributed over about 30 sample localities covering almost the entire geographic distribution of the sub-species. The population genetic results reflect a very strong g…
Corncrake conservation genetics at a European scale: the impact of biogeographical and anthropological processes
2016
Abstract Understanding patterns of genetic structure, gene flow and diversity across a species range is required to determine the genetic status and viability of small peripheral populations. This is especially crucial in species distributed across a large range where spatial heterogeneity makes it difficult to predict the distribution of genetic diversity. Although biogeographical models provide expectations of how spatially structured genetic variation may be at the range scale, human disturbance may cause strong deviations from these theoretical predictions. In this study, we investigated genetic structure and demography at a pan-European scale in the corncrake Crex crex , a grassland bi…