Map-A-Mole: greenspace area influences the presence and abundance of the European mole Talpa europaea in urban habitats

The European mole Talpa europaea is common across much of Britain. It has a unique fossorial lifestyle, and evidence of its presence is readily identified through the presence of characteristic molehills. Although molehills are often a common sight in urban greenspaces, moles are remarkably understudied, with very few studies to date exploring the urban ecology of moles. Here, we investigate if factors such as greenspace (largely urban parks and playing fields) area, intensity of management, distance to nearest patch, amount of time the patch had been isolated from other green patches, and the amount of urbanization (constructed surfaces) surrounding the patch, influence the distribution and abundance of urban moles. Mole signs (hills and surface runs) were counted in all discrete urban greenspaces (excluding domestic gardens and one private golf course) within an 89.5 km2 area in the UK town of Reading. We found that 17 out of 59 surveyed sites contained moles, with their presence being recorded in greenspaces with a minimum patch area of approximately 0.1 km2 (10 ha). Where present, the abundance of mole territories in the greenspaces was associated with both the area of greenspace and degree of urbanization within 150 m of the patch boundary. While the former was not surprising, the latter outcome may be a consequence of sites with an increased risk of flooding being home to fewer moles, and the surrounding area is also less likely to be built upon. This case study highlights how choices made in designing urban green infrastructure will determine which species survive in urban areas long into the future

Will Brazilian city dwellers actively engage in urban conservation? A case study with the charismatic neotropical Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna)

The Blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna) is a charismatic and easily recognized species. While they are classified as being of “least concern” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, their populations are declining. In Brazil, the accelerated destruction of one of its key habitats, the Cerrado biome, is a principal cause of their decreasing abundance. As with other species affected by loss of the Cerrado, active conservation measures are required. While usually rare in urban ecosystems, Ara ararauna occurs and breeds in small numbers in the city of Rondonópolis, a medium-sized city located in Mato Grosso, Central-West Region of Brazil. Blue-and-yellow macaw pairs nest in the tops of dead palm trees, but as the macaws are nest-site limited and suitable dead trees are scarce in urban areas, the installation of artificial nest sites in domestic backyards could help that urban population to thrive. To investigate whether local people would be willing to engage with conservation efforts and in particular to support macaw conservation, we surveyed the attitudes of Rondonópolis residents to measure: (1) citizens’ preferences among the bird species that occur in the city; (2) the average area of their yards, and (3) the willingness of residents to: (a) plant fruit trees to attract macaws to their yards and (b) to install artificial nests in their yards. Larger and more colorful birds (Ara ararauna, the Red-and-green macaw Ara chloropterus and Toco toucan Ramphastos toco) were the bird species most valued across all socio-economic groups, suggesting that the charismatic species would be more likely to be supported by urbanites. Overall, people had good biodiversity knowledge, with respondents being able to identify half of our sample of local bird species, on average, and almost half had seen a nest site. The great majority were willing to plant fruit trees (78%) and provide nest sites (70%) for macaws. This willingness to engage was not affected by socioeconomic differences. These data indicate that a municipal macaw conservation program could be successful in Rondonópolis, and we argue that macaws could be a flagship species which would benefit wider efforts to engage Brazilian urbanites in active engagement with nature

Ecología urbana y planificación: una convergéncia ineludible

La urbanización global y masiva de los territorios es el más importante fenómeno ecológico de la actualidad. Los estándares de crecimiento urbano son determinantes para la conservación de la diversidad biológica, y asimismo para el grado de calidad de vida aceptable de las poblaciones urbanas. Contrariamente a la percepción de los biólogos y de otros académicos, de las ciudades como ambientes estériles y opuestos a la naturaleza, el reciente desarrollo de la ecología urbana, ciencia ecesariamente interdisciplinaria, nos demuestra que ciudades son ecosistemas heterotróficos que necesitan ser planeados para que sus impactos en la biosfera sean disminuidos, y que en paralelo su capacidad de sostener la biodiversidad sea incrementada

Academic Standards or Academic Imperialism? Zimbabwean perceptions of hegemonic power in the global construction of knowledge

University cultures in the global north generate powerful definitions of what constitutes ‘knowledge’ and ‘good research’. When we ask who gets to represent the ‘African perspective’, we find it is decreasingly an African. This paper argues that resource inequalities alone cannot explain this exclusion of African scholarship. Hegemonic academic standards undervalue the more positivist research orientation found in southern African universities. The struggle is not over the validity of that orientation, but over who has the power to validate it. This analysis is based upon interviews with senior university research managers in Zimbabwe and on a public roundtable on Structural Inequalities in Global Academic Publishing

Marriage, perversion and power The construction of moral discourse in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) 1890-1930

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