Biodiversity in human-modified landscapes : case studies, the state of research, and implications for conservation

Protected areas (PAs) cover 12.9% of Earth’s land, while just 5.8% has strict protection for biodiversity (Earth’s variety of ecosystems, species, and genetic variation). Constraints of size and configuration, mismanagement, anthropogenic pressure, and climate change hamstring the capacity of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Increasingly, studies of biodiversity in human-modified landscapes provide an evidence base to support policies to make land outside of PAs as amenable as possible for biodiversity persistence. I reviewed research on biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa’s human-modified landscapes within four ecosystem categorizations: rangelands, tropical forest, Cape Floristic Region, and urban and rural built environment. I found potential for humanmodified landscapes to contribute to conservation across ecosystems. Available research could guide policy-making; nonetheless, several issues require further investment, e.g. research deficiencies, implementation strategies, and conflict with biodiversity. I also conducted case studies that could support land-use planning in South Africa’s coastal forest, part of a biodiversity hotspot. By comparing herpetofaunal communities over a land-use gradient, I found old-growth forest harbored the highest richness and abundance. Richness was low in sugar cane cultivation and degraded forest but substantial in acacia woodland and eucalyptus plantation. Composition differed between natural and anthropogenic vegetation types. Functional group richness decreased monotonically along the gradient, driven by sensitivity of fossorial herpetofauna and vegetation-dwelling frogs. Environmental variables were good predictors of frog abundance, but less so for reptiles. Maintaining forest and preventing degradation is important for herpetofaunal conservation while restoration and plantations have more value than cultivation. Old-growth remnants and post-disturbance regenerating vegetation also provide habitat for birds. However, occurrence does not ensure persistence. I calculated population trends for 37 bird species and general trends in overall bird density in different vegetation types. Seventy-six percent of species assessed have declined, 57% significantly so at an average rate of 13.9% per year. Overall, bird density fell at 12.2% per year across vegetation types. Changes in rainfall, habitat area, and survey coverage may partly explain trends. However, species with larger range extents declined more sharply than others and may be responding to environmental changes on a broad scale. These results cast doubt on the future persistence of birds in this human-modified landscape and justify further study. Such studies can support sensible land-use management; however, biases in study topics should not lead to gaps in the evidence base. By reviewing the global literature, I demonstrated clear geographical bias among biomes and geopolitical regions and taxonomic bias among species groups. Furthermore, distribution of published papers did not generally reflect threats of low PA coverage, high land conversion, and high human population density. Forests were the subject of 87% of papers, and 75% focused on the Americas and Europe, while Africa and Asia were critically understudied. This thesis highlights that managing human-modified landscapes for biodiversity could contribute to conservation. However, responses to land uses are complex, locationand species-specific, and often poorly understood, hindering integration of information into policy recommendations. Further research is needed to elucidate what, where, and how biodiversity persists alongside humans to enhance conservation efficacy, especially in understudied regions.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014.gm2014Zoology and Entomologyunrestricte

Amphibian and reptile communities and functional groups over a land-use gradient in a coastal tropical forest landscape of high richness and endemicity

Information on the response of herpetofauna to different land uses is limited though important for land-use planning to support conservation in human-modified landscapes. Though transformation is dogmatically associated with extinction, species respond idiosyncratically to land-use change, and persistence of species in habitat fragments may depend on careful management of the human-modified matrix. We sampled herpetofauna over a vegetation-type gradient representative of regional land uses (old-growth forest, degraded forest, acacia woodland (i.e. new-growth forest), eucalyptus plantation, and sugar cane cultivation) in the forest belt skirting the southeastern coast of Africa, part of a biodiversity hotspot hosting many endemic herpetofaunal species in a highly transformed landscape. We categorized species into trait-derived functional groups, and assessed abundance and richness of groups and compared community metrics along the gradient. We further assessed the capacity of environmental variables to predict richness and abundance. Overall, old-growth forest harbored the highest richness and abundance, and frogs and reptiles responded similarly to the gradient. Richness was low in cultivation and, surprisingly, in degraded forest but substantial in acacia woodland and plantation. Composition differed between natural vegetation types (forest, degraded forest) and anthropogenic types (plantation, cultivation), while acacia woodland grouped with the latter for frogs and the former for reptiles. Functional group richness eroded along the gradient, a pattern driven by sensitivity of fossorial/ground-dependent frogs (F2) and reptiles (R2) and vegetationdwelling frogs (F4) to habitat change. Variables describing temperature, cover, and soil were good predictors of frog abundance, particularly of functional groups, but not for reptiles. Conserving forest and preventing degradation is important for forest herpetofaunal conservation, restoration and plantations have intermediate value, and cultivation is least beneficial. Our study demonstrates the utility of function-related assessments, beyond traditional metrics alone, for understanding community responses to transformation. Particularly, fossorial/ground-dependent frogs and reptiles and vegetation-dwelling frogs should be closely monitored.NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Research grants to Richards Bay Minerals, the South African Department of Trade & Industry, and the National Research Foundation.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1469-17952015-10-31hb201

Supporting conservation with biodiversity research in sub-Saharan Africa's human-modified landscapes

Protected areas (PAs) cover 12 % of terrestrial sub-Saharan Africa. However, given the inherent inadequacies of these PAs to cater for all species in conjunction with the effects of climate change and human pressures on PAs, the future of biodiversity depends heavily on the 88 % of land that is unprotected. The study of biodiversity patterns and the processes that maintain them in human-modified landscapes can provide a valuable evidence base to support science-based policy-making that seeks to make land outside of PAs as amenable as possible for biodiversity persistence. We discuss the literature on biodiversity in sub-Saharan Africa’s human-modified landscapes as it relates to four broad ecosystem categorizations (i.e. rangelands, tropical forest, the Cape Floristic Region, and the urban and rural built environment) within which we expect similar patterns of biodiversity persistence in relation to specific human land uses and land management actions. Available research demonstrates the potential contribution of biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes within all four ecosystem types and goes some way towards providing general conclusions that could support policy-making. Nonetheless, conservation success in human-modified landscapes is hampered by constraints requiring further scientific investment, e.g. deficiencies in the available research, uncertainties regarding implementation strategies, and difficulties of coexisting with biodiversity. However, information currently available can and should support efforts at individual, community, provincial, national, and international levels to support biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes.National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.Chair in Conservation Ecology at CERU.http://link.springer.com/journal/105312015-08-31hb201

A note on polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe traps for sampling vegetation-dwelling frogs in South Africa

No abstract available.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-20282015-09-30hb201

Fences are more than an issue of aesthetics

Licht and colleagues (BioScience 60: 147–153) identify South Africa’s pioneering efforts to reintroduce top predators to small, fenced protected areas as a conservation model America might be wise to follow. However, South African success at large predator reintroduction is largely the result of ubiquitous fencing that generally prevents predator conflict with people and livestock (see Gusset et al. 2008)

Men's perceptions of the impact of the physical consequences of radical prostatectomy on their quality of life: a qualitative systematic review protocol

The objective of this review is to explore men’s perceptions of the impact of the physical consequences of radical prostatectomy on their quality of lif

Experimental application to a water delivery canal of a distributed MPC with stability constraints

In this work, a novel distributed MPC algorithm, denoted D-SIORHC, is applied to upstream local control of a pilot water delivery canal. The D-SIORHC algorithm is based on MPC control agents that incorporate stability constraints and communicate only with their adjacent neighbors in order to achieve a coordinated action. Experimental results that show the effect of the parameters configuring the local controllers are presented

Abortion provision in Northern Ireland: the views of health professionals working in obstetrics and gynaecology units

Introduction: Abortion became decriminalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019. Until that point there existed no evidence concerning the views of health professionals on decriminalisation or on their willingness to be involved in abortion care. The purpose of this study was to address this lack of evidence, including all categories of health professionals working in obstetrics and gynaecology units in Northern Ireland. Methods: The online survey was targeted at medical, nursing and midwifery staff working in the obstetrics and gynaecology units in each Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust in Northern Ireland. The survey was issued via clinical directors in each Trust using the REDCap platform. Results: The findings showed widespread support for decriminalisation of abortion up until 24 weeks’ gestation (n=169, 54%). The majority of clinicians stated they were willing to provide abortions in certain circumstances (which were undefined) (n=188, 60% medical abortions; n=157, 50% surgical abortions). Despite regional variation, the results show that there are sufficient numbers of clinicians to provide a service within each HSC Trust. The results indicate that many clinicians who report a religious affiliation are also supportive of decriminalisation (n=46, 51% Catholic; n=53, 45% Protestant) and are willing to provide care, countering the assumption that those of faith would all raise conscientious objections to service provision. Conclusions: The findings of this study are very encouraging for the development, implementation and delivery of local abortion care within HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland and should be of value in informing commissioners and providers about the design of a service model and its underpinning training programmes

Respectable Drinkers, Sensible Drinking, Serious Leisure: Single-Malt Whisky Enthusiasts and the Moral Panic of Irresponsible Others

In the public discourse of policy-makers and journalists, drinkers of (excessive) alcohol are portrayed either as irresponsible, immoral deviants or as gullible victims. In other words, the public discourse engenders a moral panic about alcohol-crazed individuals, who become what Cohen [1972. Folk devil and moral panics. London: Routledge] identifies as folk devils: the Other, abusing alcohol to create anti-social disorder. However, alcohol-drinking was, is and continues to be an everyday practice in the leisure lives of the majority of people in the UK. In this research article, I want to explore the serious leisure of whisky-tasting to provide a counter to the myth of the alcohol-drinker as folk devil, to try to construct a new public discourse of sensible drinking. I will draw on ethnographic work at whisky-tastings alongside interviews and analysis of on-line discourses. I show that participation in whisky-tasting events creates a safe space in which excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, yet the norms of the particular habitus ensure that such drinking never leads to misbehaviour. In doing so, however, I will note that the respectability of whisky-drinking is associated with its masculine, white, privileged habitus – the folk devil becomes someone else, someone Other

Psychological advocacy toward healing (PATH): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Domestic violence and abuse (DVA), defined as threatening behavior or abuse by adults who are intimate partners or family members, is a key public health and clinical priority. The prevalence of DVA in the United Kingdom and worldwide is high, and its impact on physical and mental health is detrimental and persistent. There is currently little support within healthcare settings for women experiencing DVA. Psychological problems in particular may be difficult to manage outside specialist services, as conventional forms of therapy such as counseling that do not address the violence may be ineffective or even harmful. The aim of this study is to assess the overall effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a novel psychological intervention tailored specifically for survivors of DVA and delivered by domestic violence advocates based in third-sector organizations. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: This study is an open, pragmatic, parallel group, individually randomized controlled trial. Women ages 16 years and older experiencing domestic violence are being enrolled and randomly allocated to receive usual DVA agency advocacy support (control) or usual DVA agency support plus psychological intervention (intervention). Those in the intervention group will receive eight specialist psychological advocacy (SPA) sessions weekly or fortnightly, with two follow-up sessions, 1 month and then 3 months later. This will be in addition to any advocacy support sessions each woman receives. Women in the control group will receive usual DVA agency support but no additional SPA sessions. The aim is to recruit 250 women to reach the target sample size. The primary outcomes are psychological well-being and depression severity at 1 yr from baseline, as measured by the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively. Secondary outcome measures include anxiety, posttraumatic stress, severity and frequency of abuse, quality of life and cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Data from a subsample of women in both groups will contribute to a nested qualitative study with repeat interviews during the year of follow-up. DISCUSSION: This study will contribute to the evidence base for management of the psychological needs of women experiencing DVA. The findings will have important implications for healthcare commissioners and providers, as well as third sector specialist DVA agencies providing services to this client group. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN58561170