Designing Optimized Multi-Species Monitoring Networks to Detect Range Shifts Driven by Climate Change: A Case Study with Bats in the North of Portugal

<div><p>Here we develop a framework to design multi-species monitoring networks using species distribution models and conservation planning tools to optimize the location of monitoring stations to detect potential range shifts driven by climate change. For this study, we focused on seven bat species in Northern Portugal (Western Europe). Maximum entropy modelling was used to predict the likely occurrence of those species under present and future climatic conditions. By comparing present and future predicted distributions, we identified areas where each species is likely to gain, lose or maintain suitable climatic space. We then used a decision support tool (the Marxan software) to design three optimized monitoring networks considering: a) changes in species likely occurrence, b) species conservation status, and c) level of volunteer commitment. For present climatic conditions, species distribution models revealed that areas suitable for most species occur in the north-eastern part of the region. However, areas predicted to become climatically suitable in the future shifted towards west. The three simulated monitoring networks, adaptable for an unpredictable volunteer commitment, included 28, 54 and 110 sampling locations respectively, distributed across the study area and covering the potential full range of conditions where species range shifts may occur. Our results show that our framework outperforms the traditional approach that only considers current species ranges, in allocating monitoring stations distributed across different categories of predicted shifts in species distributions. This study presents a straightforward framework to design monitoring schemes aimed specifically at testing hypotheses about where and when species ranges may shift with climatic changes, while also ensuring surveillance of general population trends.</p></div

Study area and data locations.

<p>Location of the Study area (A) and of the available data before this study (source: Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e Florestas) and additional sampling determined by species richness as predicted by preliminary SMD for the present (B) (see methods).</p

Framework for designing monitoring networks sensitive to climate changes.

<p>Proposed framework scheme for designing adaptive monitoring networks sensitive to climate changes. Full lines indicate data and outcomes; dash lines indicate intermediate steps. Data, variables and model addition (+) and subtraction (–) is identified.</p

Proportion of targets that were not met in each of the testing networks (A) and by species (B).

<p>Proportion of targets that were not met by the 100 runs in each of the testing networks (A) and by species (B) considering overall targets and targets set for each suitability class. Median, maximum and minimum values are presented. Species code as follow: <i>Barbastella barbastellus</i> (Bbar); <i>Eptesicus serotinus/isabellinus</i> (Eser); <i>Hypsugo savii</i> (Hsav); <i>Nyctalus leisleri</i> (Nlei); <i>Myotis daubentonii</i> (Mdau); <i>Pipistrellus kuhlii</i> (Pkuh); and <i>Tadarida teniotis</i> (Tten).</p

Minimum number of locations targeted in each monitoring network (MN1, MN2 and MN3) for each species suitability class (G – Likely Gain; M – Likely Maintain; L – Likely Loss) and for areas predicted as currently suitable in the full model (Full).

<p>Species code as follow: Myotis daubentonii (Mdau); Pipistrellus kuhlii (Pkuh); Hypsugo savii (Hsav); Nyctalus leisleri (Nlei); Eptesicus serotinus/isabellinus (Eser/isa); Barbastella barbastellus (Bbar) and Tadarida teniotis (Tten).</p

Current predicted species richness for full model (A) and climatic model (B).

<p>Current predicted species richness for full model (A) and climatic model (B).</p

Sampling stations for the proposed monitoring networks (MN1, MN2 and MN3).

<p>Sampling stations for the proposed monitoring networks (MN1, MN2 and MN3) showing the present predicted species richness according to climatic model and predicted variation in climatic space between the present and the future under two climatic scenarios (A2a and B2a) for the year 2080. Negative ▵Species values indicate loss of climatic suitable space while positive indicate species gain of climatic suitable space.</p

Sample Sheet

Sample sheet of the illumina sequencing data regarding Tadarida teniotis diet described in Mata et al

Regulations of stock stockbrokers's acting towards his clients

1 Regulations of stockbroker's acting towards his clients Abstract The purpose of my thesis is to define and analyze a scope of regulation of securities broker's acting toward his clients. These rules are set up by European law and regulation, which was brought by three legal documents. First is Directive no. 2004/39/EC on markets in financial instrument, also called MiFID (Markets in Financial Instrument Directive). Second rule is implementing regulation of European Commission no. 1287/2006. Third rule is implementing directive of Commission no. 2006/73/EC. The first rule crates so called LEVEL 1 and the last two rules create LEVEL 2. Legal rules in Czech Republic are set up by reception of above mentioned European rules into the Czech act no. 256/2004 Sb. about business activities on capital markets and implementing publication no. 237/2008 Sb. These all legal documents bring wide range of regulations and inside of this regulation; the significant group is created by rules about protection of the clients, which are the subject of my analyses in the thesis. The thesis is composed of introduction chapter and seven specific chapters. In introduction are presented objectives and goals and structure of the thesis. In this chapter is defined the basic terminology and sources of the law. First chapter is focused..

Bat responses to climate change: a systematic review

Understanding how species respond to climate change is key to informing vulnerability assessments and designing effective conservation strategies, yet research efforts on wildlife responses to climate change fail to deliver a representative overview due to inherent biases. Bats are a species-rich, globally distributed group of organisms that are thought to be particularly sensitive to the effects of climate change because of their high surface-to-volume ratios and low reproductive rates. We systematically reviewed the literature on bat responses to climate change to provide an overview of the current state of knowledge, identify research gaps and biases and highlight future research needs. We found that studies are geographically biased towards Europe, North America and Australia, and temperate and Mediterranean biomes, thus missing a substantial proportion of bat diversity and thermal responses. Less than half of the published studies provide concrete evidence for bat responses to climate change. For over a third of studied bat species, response evidence is only based on predictive species distribution models. Consequently, the most frequently reported responses involve range shifts (57% of species) and changes in patterns of species diversity (26%). Bats showed a variety of responses, including both positive (e.g. range expansion and population increase) and negative responses (range contraction and population decrease), although responses to extreme events were always negative or neutral. Spatial responses varied in their outcome and across families, with almost all taxonomic groups featuring both range expansions and contractions, while demographic responses were strongly biased towards negative outcomes, particularly among Pteropodidae and Molossidae. The commonly used correlative modelling approaches can be applied to many species, but do not provide mechanistic insight into behavioural, physiological, phenological or genetic responses. There was a paucity of experimental studies (26%), and only a small proportion of the 396 bat species covered in the examined studies were studied using long-term and/or experimental approaches (11%), even though they are more informative about the effects of climate change. We emphasise the need for more empirical studies to unravel the multifaceted nature of bats' responses to climate change and the need for standardised study designs that will enable synthesis and meta-analysis of the literature. Finally, we stress the importance of overcoming geographic and taxonomic disparities through strengthening research capacity in the Global South to provide a more comprehensive view of terrestrial biodiversity responses to climate change.</p