The PREDICTS database: A global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

© 2014 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015. The collation of biodiversity datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents is necessary to understand historical declines and to project - and hopefully avert - future declines. We describe a newly collated database of more than 1.6 million biodiversity measurements from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world

Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management

1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.Peer reviewe

Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management

Data availability statement: No data was used in this study.Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1002/2688-8319.12032.Supporting Information: eso312032-sup-0001-SuppMat.docx (21.1 KB) available at: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1002%2F2688-8319.12032&file=eso312032-sup-0001-SuppMat.docx. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.Copyright © 2021 The Authors. 1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas. Making informed conservation and ecosystem management choices is based upon a sound understanding of the relevant evidence. There is an increasing wealth of conservation science available, and access to this is becoming easier. But, are conservation practitioners being trained to utilize this information? In conservation, decision-making is often based upon past experience or expert knowledge, as opposed to the full body of scientific literature (e.g., Pullin, Knight, Stone, & Charman, 2004; Rafidimanantsoa, Poudyal, Ramamonjisoa, & Jones, 2018). The failure to include scientific evidence in decision-making has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of management, or even lead to detrimental actions being undertaken (Walsh, Dicks, & Sutherland, 2015). Evidence-based conservation (EBC) seeks to avoid this by providing tools to facilitate and inform decision-making. To do this, scientific evidence is collated and critically appraised for its quality and relevance, and integrated with other knowledge, experience, values and costs (Sutherland, Pullin, Dolman, & Knight, 2004). Wider adoption of EBC requires conservation professionals to be trained in its principles and taught how to use it to inform conservation decision-making.MAVA Foundation; Arcadia Fund

Exotic fish in exotic plantations: a multi-scale approach to understand amphibian occurrence in the mediterranean region

Globally, amphibian populations are threatened by a diverse range of factors including habitat destruction and alteration. Forestry practices have been linked with low diversity and abundance of amphibians. The effect of exotic Eucalyptus spp. plantations on amphibian communities has been studied in a number of biodiversity hotspots, but little is known of its impact in the Mediterranean region. Here, we identify the environmental factors influencing the presence of six species of amphibians (the Caudata Pleurodeles waltl, Salamandra salamandra, Lissotriton boscai, Triturus marmoratus and the anurans Pelobates cultripes and Hyla arborea/meridionalis) occupying 88 ponds. The study was conducted in a Mediterranean landscape dominated by eucalypt plantations alternated with traditional use (agricultural, montados and native forest) at three different scales: local (pond), intermediate (400 metres radius buffer) and broad (1000 metres radius buffer). Using the Akaike Information Criterion for small samples (AICc), we selected the top-ranked models for estimating the probability of occurrence of each species at each spatial scale separately and across all three spatial scales, using a combination of covariates from the different magnitudes. Models with a combination of covariates at the different spatial scales had a stronger support than those at individual scales. The presence of predatory fish in a pond had a strong effect on Caudata presence. Permanent ponds were selected by Hyla arborea/meridionalis over temporary ponds. Species occurrence was not increased by a higher density of streams, but the density of ponds impacted negatively on Lissotriton boscai. The proximity of ponds occupied by their conspecifics had a positive effect on the occurrence of Lissotriton boscai and Pleurodeles waltl. Eucalypt plantations had a negative effect on the occurrence of the newt Lissotriton boscai and anurans Hyla arborea/meridionalis, but had a positive effect on the presence of Salamandra salamandra, while no effect on any of the other species was detected. In conclusion, eucalypts had limited effects on the amphibian community at the intermediate and broad scales, but predatory fish had a major impact when considering all the scales combined. The over-riding importance of introduced fish as a negative impact suggests that forest managers should prevent new fish introductions and eradicate fish from already-occupied ponds whenever possible

The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015

Cálculo de la distribución de temperatura en el electrodo de una soldadura de punto por resistencia mediante el metodo de volumenes finitos

ESTA TESIS TIENE POR OBJETIVO UTILIZAR LAS TEORIAS DE CONDUCCION DE CALOR Y LOS METODOS NUMERICO TALES COMO VOLUMENES FINITOS COMO HERRAMIENTAS VALIOSAS EN EL ANALISIS DE CONDUCCION EN ESTADO TRANSCIENTE CON GENERACION, EN EL DISEÑO DE LOS ELECTRODOS DE LA MAQUINA SOLDADORA DE PUNTO POR RESISTENCIA ELECTRICA. SE REVISA LA INFORMACION CONCERNIENTE A SOLDADURA DE PUNTO POR RESISTENCIA Y LOS PRINCIPALES METODOS DE ANALISIS DE LA DISTRIBUCION DE TEMPERATURA. SE TRATA DE IDEALIZAR LOS PROCESOS DE GENERACION DE CALOR Y ENFRIAMIENTO EN MODELOS MATEMATICOS, PARA OBSERVAR LA VARIACION DE LA TEMPERATURA EN EL LECTRODO CON RESPECTO A LA POSICION Y EL TIEMPO

Estudio del efecto de agentes emusionantes en las características reológicas de la masa de pan con harina de arroz

El presente trabajo tuvo como propósito evaluar el efecto que ejercen dos tipos de emulsionantes, sobre las características reológicas presentes en la masa de pan con harina de arroz, la cual carece de gluten. Para evaluar estas características se utilizó el reómetro Kinexus Pro, presente en el laboratorio LEMAT de la ESPOL, en el cual se tuvo que implementar una metodología de operación del equipo y preparación de la muestra. Los emulsionantes empleados fueron el Monoglicérido Destilado y Estearoil 2 Lactilato de Sodio, los cuales son muy comúnmente utilizados en la industria panadera del país. Los resultados obtenidos indicaron que existe un predominio de la componente elástica sobre la componente viscosa en todas las muestras evaluadas. Además, se pudo conocer que no existió diferencia significativa entre las concentraciones de un mismo aditivo.GuayaquilIngenieros de Alimento

Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management

1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.Additional co-authors: Eduardo C. Arellano, Jan Axmacher, Holly Barclay, Lesley Batty, Ana Benítez-López, Joseph R. Bennett, Maureen J. Berg, Sandro Bertolino, Duan Biggs, Friederike C. Bolam, Tim Bray, Barry W. Brook, Joseph W. Bull, Zuzana Burivalova, Mar Cabeza, Alienor L. M. Chauvenet, Alec P. Christie, Lorna Cole, Alison J. Cotton, Sam Cotton, Sara A. O. Cousins, Dylan Craven, Will Cresswell, Jeremy J. Cusack, Sarah E. Dalrymple, Zoe G. Davies, Anita Diaz, Jennifer A. Dodd, Adam Felton, Erica Fleishman, Charlie J. Gardner, Ruth Garside, Arash Ghoddousi, James J. Gilroy, David A. Gill, Jennifer A. Gill, Louise Glew, Matthew J. Grainger, Amelia A. Grass, Stephanie Greshon, Jamie Gundry, Tom Hart, Charlotte R. Hopkins, Caroline Howe, Arlyne Johnson, Kelly W. Jones, Neil R. Jordan, Taku Kadoya, Daphne Kerhoas, Julia Koricheva, Tien Ming Lee, Szabolcs Lengyel, Stuart W. Livingstone, Ashley Lyons, Gráinne McCabe, Jonathan Millett, Chloë Montes Strevens, Adam Moolna, Hannah L. Mossman, Nibedita Mukherjee, Andrés Muñoz-Sáez, Nuno Negrões, Olivia Norfolk, Takeshi Osawa, Sarah Papworth, Jérôme Pellet, Andrea D. Phillott, Joshua M. Plotnik, Dolly Priatna, Alejandra G. Ramos, Nicola Randall, Rob M. Richards, Euan G. Ritchie, David L. Roberts, Ricardo Rocha, Jon Paul Rodríguez, Roy Sanderson, Takehiro Sasaki, Sini Savilaakso, Carl Sayer, Cagan Sekercioglu, Masayuki Senzaki, Grania Smith, Robert J. Smith, Masashi Soga, Carl D. Soulsbury, Mark D. Steer, Gavin Stewart, E. F. Strange, Andrew J. Suggitt, Ralph R. J. Thompson, Stewart Thompson, Ian Thornhill, R. J. Trevelyan, Hope O. Usieta, Oscar Venter, Amanda D. Webber, Rachel L. White, Mark J. Whittingham, Andrew Wilby, Richard W. Yarnell, Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez, William J. Sutherlan

Funding and delivering the routine testing of management interventions to improve conservation effectiveness

Evidence-based approaches are key for underpinning effective conservation practice, but major gaps in the evidence of the effectiveness of interventions limit their use. Conservation practitioners could make major contributions to filling these gaps but often lack the time, funding, or capacity to do so properly. Many funders target the delivery of conservation and can be reluctant to fund primary research. We analysed the literature testing the effectiveness of interventions. Of a sample of 1,265 publications published in 2019 that tested conservation interventions, 96% included academics. Only 21% included conservation practitioners, of which just under half were first or last author. A community of conservation funders and practitioners undertook a series of workshops to explore means of improving the quality and quantity of intervention testing. A survey of the suggested proportion of conservation grants that should be allocated to testing intervention effectiveness showed practitioners tended to prefer larger percentages (median 3-6%) than funders (median 1-3%), but the overlap was considerable. Funders can facilitate the testing of interventions through a range of measures, including welcoming applications that incorporate testing, allocating funds to testing, and providing training and support to deliver testing. The funders represented by the authors of this paper have committed to these actions. Practitioners can contribute by committing to routine testing, benefiting from funding allocated specifically to testing, and establishing processes for testing interventions. The organisations of the practitioner authors have committed to test at least one intervention per year and share findings, regardless of outcome. Currently, practitioners rarely lead the testing of conservation actions. We suggest processes by which both funders and practitioners can make this routine. This will not only improve the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of practice, but also make conservation more attractive to funders.This paper arose from a series of workshops attended by funders and practitioners, focused on how to integrate evidence in conservation. We thank all participants. The first workshop was hosted by Lord Mountevans at the House of Lords, UK, with funding from Arcadia. Subsequent workshops were held online. We thank Kate Willott for providing the 2019 references from the Conservation Evidence database. We are also grateful to two anonymous reviewers whose feedback provided helpful suggestions for improving this manuscript