Towards an ecological index for tropical soil quality based on soil macrofauna

The objective of this work was to construct a simple index based on the presence/absence of different groups of soil macrofauna to determine the ecological quality of soils. The index was tested with data from 20 sites in South and Central Tabasco, Mexico, and a positive relation between the model and the field observations was detected. The index showed that diverse agroforestry systems had the highest soil quality index (1.00), and monocrops without trees, such as pineapple, showed the lowest soil quality index (0.08). Further research is required to improve this model for natural systems that have very low earthworm biomass

Politiky genderové nerovnosti mužů a žen v Evropské unii z hlediska analýzy rámců

This article deals with the political problematisation of gender inequalities in the context of the European Union’s gender equality policies on a supranational level. Based on the concept of transnational advocacy networks (TAN), the first part of the article presents the European Women’s Lobby and units at the European Commission dealing with gender equality policies as two key actors in TAN that promote gender equality issues within the structures of the EU. The article then moves on to describe policy frame analysis as an approach to analysing the way in which the gender inequalities addressed by these actors are politically problematised in three policy documents connected to the European Commission’s ‘Roadmap for Equality between Women and Men 2006–2010’. The analysis focuses on the main frames in these documents that legitimise the existence of an independent policy field concerned with gender equality at the EU level and discusses the ramifications of these frames for the promotion of gender equality; for example, how certain policy measures might lead to different outcomes when promoted within different frames

Large-Scale Changes in Community Composition: Determining Land Use and Climate Change Signals

Human land use and climate change are regarded as the main driving forces of present-day and future species extinction. They may potentially lead to a profound reorganisation of the composition and structure of natural communities throughout the world. However, studies that explicitly investigate both forms of impact—land use and climate change—are uncommon. Here, we quantify community change of Dutch breeding bird communities over the past 25 years using time lag analysis. We evaluate the chronological sequence of the community temperature index (CTI) which reflects community response to temperature increase (increasing CTI indicates an increase in relative abundance of more southerly species), and the temporal trend of the community specialisation index (CSI) which reflects community response to land use change (declining CSI indicates an increase of generalist species). We show that the breeding bird fauna underwent distinct directional change accompanied by significant changes both in CTI and CSI which suggests a causal connection between climate and land use change and bird community change. The assemblages of particular breeding habitats neither changed at the same speed and nor were they equally affected by climate versus land use changes. In the rapidly changing farmland community, CTI and CSI both declined slightly. In contrast, CTI increased in the more slowly changing forest and heath communities, while CSI remained stable. Coastal assemblages experienced both an increase in CTI and a decline in CSI. Wetland birds experienced the fastest community change of all breeding habitat assemblages but neither CTI nor CSI showed a significant trend. Overall, our results suggest that the interaction between climate and land use changes differs between habitats, and that comparing trends in CSI and CTI may be useful in tracking the impact of each determinant

Svět pro děti do tří let

Title in English: A World for Children Under Three: Insights into the Current Form of Early Childhood Education and Care in the CR The book “A World for Children Under Three. Insights Into the Current Form of ECEC in the CR“ is the first pedagogical-sociological book in the CR dealing with current facilities for children under three years of age – children’s groups / micro-creches, kindergarten classes for two-year-olds, and children’s centres. It is addressed to professionals, students, parents and everyone else interested in bringing the worlds of parents, caregivers and children who meet in these facilities closer together. It presents key research findings of the project ECEC in Day Care Facilities in the CR, relating to children’s collective everyday life, the work of (head) teachers and nannies, and the experiences and expectations of parents, and relates them to the current system framework

Em busca de um índice ecológico para a qualidade de solo tropical com base na macrofauna edáfica

The objective of this work was to construct a simple index based on the presence/absence of different groups of soil macrofauna to determine the ecological quality of soils. The index was tested with data from 20 sites in South and Central Tabasco, Mexico, and a positive relation between the model and the field observations was detected. The index showed that diverse agroforestry systems had the highest soil quality index (1.00), and monocrops without trees, such as pineapple, showed the lowest soil quality index (0.08). Further research is required to improve this model for natural systems that have very low earthworm biomass ( < 10 g m-2) and a high number of earthworm species (5–7), as it is in the tropical rain forest, whose soil quality index was medium (0.5). The application of this index will require an illustrated guide for its users. Further studies are required in order to test the use of this index by farmers.O objetivo deste trabalho foi construir um índice simples com base na presença/ausência de diferentes grupos da macrofauna edáfica para auxiliar na determinação da qualidade ecológica dos solos. O índice foi testado com dados de 20 locais do sul e centro do Estado de Tabasco, México, e foi observada uma correlação positiva entre o dados gerados pelo modelo e pelas observações de campo. O índice de qualidade de solo mostrou que diversos sistemas agroflorestais tiveram a mais alta qualidade de solo (1,0) e que os monocultivos sem árvores, como o de abacaxi, apresentaram a qualidade de solo mais baixa (0,08). Este modelo precisa ser melhor desenvolvido para ser aplicado eficientemente em sistemas que apresentam naturalmente baixas densidades de minhocas ( < 10 g m-2) e número elevado de espécies de minhocas (5–7), como ocorre em solos de floresta tropical, cujo índice de qualidade de solo apresentou valores médios (0,5). A aplicação desse índice precisará de um guia ilustrado para os seus usuários. Mais estudos são necessários para testar o seu emprego por fazendeiros

Love thy neighbour?-Spatial variation in density dependence of nest survival in relation to predator community

Aim: In many species, density-dependent effects on reproduction are an important driver of population dynamics. However, it is rarely considered that the direction of density dependence is expected to vary over space and time depending on anti-predator behaviour and predator community. Aggregation may allow for effective group mobbing against avian nest predators while aggregation may also attract mammalian predators, causing negative density dependence. We aim to quantify spatial variation in the effect of conspecific breeding density on nest survival in a mobbing bird species (Eurasian oystercatcher; Haematopus ostralegus) and identify whether this variation in density dependence can be explained by the predator community. Location: Country-wide (The Netherlands). Methods: We integrated reproductive data with breeding territory maps of Eurasian oystercatchers and occupancy maps of avian and mammalian predator species across the Netherlands for a 10-year period. Results: Spatial variation in the composition of the predator community explained the effects of neighbour density, showing decreasing nest survival when both conspecific density and mammalian dominance increased. Also, heterospecific density (from breeding godwits and lapwing) has an additional effect on the oystercatcher nest survival. Strikingly, this pattern did not extend to mammal-free island populations. Main conclusions: Our study provides evidence that both the strength and sign of density dependence can vary spatially within species, implying that it is dangerous to generalize results from a single local population to large-scale management implications and modelling exercises. The study also suggests that conservation actions that aim to attract breeding birds should be prioritized in areas with fewer mammalian predators, but this idea requires further testing on island populations

Ensambles de aves diurnas a través de un gradiente de perturbación en un paisaje en el sureste de México

In order to assess of a Mexican tropical landscape like birds shelter, in the 2008 we evaluated richness, abundance, distribution and foraging guilds of birds in eight landscape units, nested within two ecomosaics. Of 218 species identified, 207 were recorded during dry season and 119 in the rain season. Species composition differed between the two ecomosaics, (a) heterogeneous agriculture matrix and (b) rain forest remnant, and among their nested landscape units. Shannon-Wiener index was similar (from 3.20 to 4.44) among landscape units, and mean species richness varied from 76 to 118species, while avian communities were equally distributed (Pielou: 0.71 to 0.91). At the landscape scale, the two ecomosaics play complementary roles in maintaining high bird diversity, providing habitat for high value conservation species like Tinamus major, Crypturellus soui, Crax rubra, Amazona farinosa, Odonthophorus guttatus, Chondrohierax uncinatus, Platyrinchus cancrominus, Onycorhynchus coronatus and Manacus candei. Foraging guilds frequencies differ by landscape units. For example in pasturelandswith spare trees, perch hunters and cattle-associated birds were abundant, while insectivores gleaning from soil, bark and foliage were common into the forest. Species like Lipaugus unirufus, Pipramentalis and Shiffornis turdinus could be ecological indicators of conserved forest conditions while Sporophila americana, S. torqueola, Pitangus sulphuratus, Cyanocorax morio and Crotophaga sulcirostris favor disturbed native forest habitat. Current patterns of landscape management constitute a potential model of sustainable management for both agricultural production and bird conservation. However this management model is threatened by external and internal drivers of extensive cattle ranching, the abandonment of swidden systems and gradual extraction of wood from local forests.Con el objetivo de evaluar la diversidad de aves que se presentan en un paisaje del trópico mexicano, en el año 2008 se evaluó la riqueza, abundancia y distribución de las aves y sus gremios de forrajeo en ocho unidades del paisaje agrupadas en dos ecomosaicos. De las 218 especies identificadas, 207 estuvieron presentes en la estación seca y 119 en la de lluvias. Se encontró que la composición de avifauna difiere entre los ecomosaicos (a) matriz agropecuaria heterogénea y (b) bosque tropical perennifolio,así como entre las unidades de paisaje anidadas en ellos. La riqueza varió de 76 a 118 especies entre unidades del paisaje, mientras que el índice de diversidad de Shannon-Wiener resultó similar (de 3.20 a 4.44), y las comunidades de aves se distribuyeron equitativamente (Pielou: 0.71 a 0.91). En el paisaje se configura un escenario complementario entre ecomosaicos y una diversidad de aves muy alta, incluyendo especies importantes para la conservación como Tinamus major, Crypturellus soui, Crax rubra, Amazona farinosa, Odontophorus guttatus, Chondrohierax uncinatus, Platyrinchus cancrominus, Onycorhynchus coronatus y Manacus candei. Los gremios de forrajeo de aves se separan en función de las características ambientales de las unidades de paisaje por ejemplo, en los potreros con árboles dispersos predominan cazadoras desde percha y especies asociadas al ganado, mientras que en el bosquepredominan los insectívoros que buscan sus presas en el suelo, corteza y follaje. Algunas especies como Lipaugus unirufus, Pipra mentalis y Schiffornis turdinus pueden funcionar como indicadoras ecológicas del bosque conservado, mientras otras como Sporophila americana, S. torqueola, Pitangus sulphuratus, Myozetetes similis, Cyanocorax morio y Crotophaga sulcirostris lo son para el estado perturbado del bosque nativo. El paisaje actual conformado por remanentes de bosque y una matriz agropecuaria con arbolado, posibilita la conservación biológica de aves, constituyendo un modelo potencial para su refugio y manejo sustentable. Sin embargo, la expansión de la ganadería extensiva, el abandono del sistema de rotación milpa-acahual y la extracción gradual de madera del bosque en el ejido, pone en riesgo la diversidad de la avifauna en la zona de estudio.

Responses of soil cellulolytic fungal communities to elevated atmospheric CO 2 are complex and variable across five ecosystems

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86979/1/j.1462-2920.2011.02548.x.pd

Predicting the conservation status of data-deficient species.

There is little appreciation of the level of extinction risk faced by one-sixth of the over 65,000 species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Determining the status of these data-deficient (DD) species is essential to developing an accurate picture of global biodiversity and identifying potentially threatened DD species. To address this knowledge gap, we used predictive models incorporating species' life history, geography, and threat information to predict the conservation status of DD terrestrial mammals. We constructed the models with 7 machine learning (ML) tools trained on species of known status. The resultant models showed very high species classification accuracy (up to 92%) and ability to correctly identify centers of threatened species richness. Applying the best model to DD species, we predicted 313 of 493 DD species (64%) to be at risk of extinction, which increases the estimated proportion of threatened terrestrial mammals from 22% to 27%. Regions predicted to contain large numbers of threatened DD species are already conservation priorities, but species in these areas show considerably higher levels of risk than previously recognized. We conclude that unless directly targeted for monitoring, species classified as DD are likely to go extinct without notice. Taking into account information on DD species may therefore help alleviate data gaps in biodiversity indicators and conserve poorly known biodiversity

Large extents of intensive land use limit community reorganization during climate warming

Climate change is increasingly altering the composition of ecological communities, in combination with other environmental pressures such as high-intensity land use. Pressures are expected to interact in their effects, but the extent to which intensive human land use constrains community responses to climate change is currently unclear. A generic indicator of climate change impact, the community temperature index (CTI), has previously been used to suggest that both bird and butterflies are successfully ‘tracking’ climate change. Here, we assessed community changes at over 600 English bird or butterfly monitoring sites over three decades and tested how the surrounding land has influenced these changes. We partitioned community changes into warm- and cold-associated assemblages and found that English bird communities have not reorganized successfully in response to climate change. CTI increases for birds are primarily attributable to the loss of cold-associated species, whilst for butterflies, warm-associated species have tended to increase. Importantly, the area of intensively managed land use around monitoring sites appears to influence these community changes, with large extents of intensively managed land limiting ‘adaptive’ community reorganization in response to climate change. Specifically, high-intensity land use appears to exacerbate declines in cold-adapted bird and butterfly species, and prevent increases in warm-associated birds. This has broad implications for managing landscapes to promote climate change adaptation