Search results for "landscape conservation"
showing 10 items of 783 documents
Foraging site fidelity shapes the spatial organisation of a population of female western barbastelle bats
2009
Abstract Information about the spatial distribution of individual foraging habitats, which determines the space required by a population to be viable, is vitally important for the conservation of bats. Detailed knowledge of this kind is crucial for the design of nature reserves and management plans. Recent field studies that examined habitat use and home range distribution of bats largely ignored factors like traditional range use vs. intra- and interspecific competition, which may be responsible for the spatial organisation of a population home range. We investigated the home range sizes and distribution of a maternity colony of the western barbastelle bat via radio telemetry in four conse…
Population trends of birds across the iron curtain: Brain matters
2011
One approach to assess human impact on species’ population dynamics is to correlate ecological traits of species with their long-term population trends. Yet, few studies investigated population trends in multiple regions that differ in human impact to reveal which traits explain population trends over larger geographic areas and which only regionally. We examined the relationship between various species traits and long-term population trends of 57 common passerine bird species from 1991 to 2007 in three adjacent regions in central Europe that experienced differences in socioeconomic history: North-Western Germany, Eastern Germany and the Czech Republic. We tested effects of habitat, dietary…
Food for flight: pre-migratory dynamics of the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni.
2014
Capsule The post-reproductive stage of Lesser Kestrel is crucial for migratory fuelling and survival. Aims To describe the summer pre-migratory ecology of the Lesser Kestrel in Sicily and review existing data in Southern Europe. Methods We identified the main summer roosts and then made roost counts every ten days from 2010 to 2012. We used case-sensitive modelling procedures to detect biases in counts (generalized linear mixed models), assess the annual population trends from 2005 to 2012 (TRends and Indices for Monitoring); and to model habitat preferences (generalized linear model). We sampled pellets to describe the birds’ diet during the peak month prior to migration. Results We discov…
Variation in egg size and offspring phenotype among and within seven Arctic charr morphs.
2022
Maternal effects have the potential to alter early developmental processes of offspring and contribute to adaptive diversification. Egg size is a major contributor to offspring phenotype, which can influence developmental trajectories and potential resource use. However, to what extent intraspecific variation in egg size facilitates evolution of resource polymorphism is poorly understood. We studied multiple resource morphs of Icelandic Arctic charr, ranging from an anadromous morph—with a phenotype similar to the proposed ancestral phenotype—to sympatric morphs that vary in their degree of phenotypic divergence from the ancestral anadromous morph. We characterized variation in egg size and…
Diversity of Pharmacological Properties in Chinese and European Medicinal Plants: Cytotoxicity, Antiviral and Antitrypanosomal Screening of 82 Herbal…
2011
In an extensive screening, the antiviral, antitrypanosomal and anticancer properties of extracts from 82 plants used in traditional Chinese medicine and European phytomedicine were determined. Several promising plants that were highly effective against hepatitis B virus (HBV), bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV)—a flavivirus used here as a surrogate in vitro model of hepatitis C virus, trypanosomes (Trypanosoma brucei brucei) and several cancer cell lines were identified. Six aqueous extracts from Celosia cristata, Ophioglossum vulgatum, Houttuynia cordata, Selaginella tamariscina, Alpinia galanga and Alpinia oxyphylla showed significant antiviral effects against BVDV without toxic effects …
Forest Sharing® as an Innovative Facility for Sustainable Forest Management of Fragmented Forest Properties: First Results of Its Implementation
2023
The forestry sector in Italy and throughout Europe is going through a critical period due to ongoing natural and anthropological processes, such as climate change and the abandonment of rural areas. These processes lead to a constant fragmentation of properties in small forest parcels, with direct impacts on management capacity. In this framework, new sustainable forest management methods are being tested and are shown to be good practices to oppose the decline of forest ecosystems. Their innovative aspects concern the introduction of a form of shared and circular economy, where management is built on the process, rather than on the product. Their technical activities are based on precision…
The anthropogenic sealing of soils in urban areas
2009
The sealing of soils by impervious materials is, normally, detrimental to its ecological functions. Exchanges of energy, water and gases are restricted or hampered and an increasing pressure is being exerted on adjacent, non sealed areas. The negative effects span from loss of plant production and natural habitats to increased floods, pollution, and health risks and consequently higher social costs. Environmental Agencies produce periodical reports where the phenomenon of soil consumption by urban infrastructures is monitored with extremely sophisticated geographical tools but little specific research is available that describes the effects of soil sealing. This paper reviews some recent co…
Sex-specific genetic differences in endurance swimming of Trinidadian guppies.
2015
Abstract Swim performance is considered a main fitness‐determining trait in many aquatic organisms. Swimming is generally the only way most aquatic prey can escape predation, and swimming capacity is directly linked to food capture, habitat shifts, and reproduction. Therefore, evolutionary studies of swim performance are important to understand adaptation to aquatic environments. Most studies, however, concentrate on the importance of burst‐swim responses to predators, and little is known about its effect on endurance. Even fewer studies associate differences in organism swim capabilities to key gender‐specific responses. In this experiment, we assess the gender‐specific genetic basis of sw…
Shifts in plankton assemblages promoted by free water surface constructed wetlands and their implications in eutrophication remediation
2015
Abstract Two units of free water surface constructed wetlands (FWSCWs) were created in 2009 in a Mediterranean protected site, the Albufera de Valencia Natural Park, to treat eutrophic inflows to the Albufera de Valencia lagoon, the largest coastal lagoon in the Iberian Peninsula, affected by cultural eutrophication. Data of phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass and richness of the inflows and outflows corresponding to the first 3.5 years of operation of the system have been analyzed to evaluate the role of plankton in the eutrophication reversion. The FWSCWs significantly reduced the exported microalgal biomass, stimulated the potential mixotrophic groups of phytoplankton such as Euglenoph…
The effects of post-pasture woody plant colonization on soil and aboveground litter carbon and nitrogen along a bioclimatic transect.
2013
Abstract: We investigated the effects of woody plant colonization of abandoned pastures on soil and litter organic carbon (C) stocks and nitrogen (N) content along a bioclimatic transect in a semi-arid environment (Sicily, Italy). Soil samples were taken in three successional stages (grazed pasture, shrubland, forest) within each of three bioclimates (supramediterranean - “supra”, mesomediterranean - “meso”, thermomediterranean - “thermo”). Organic C and N in litter and soil (0-10 cm and 10-30 cm depth) were determined, as well as soil bulk density. Especially at 0-10 cm depth, changes in C and N contents along successional stages differed among bioclimates. Soil organic carbon (SOC) stock …