Ecosystem services

editorial reviewedThe concept of ecosystem services links the conservation of biodiversity and human development. This concept is central to the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, which aims to combine conservation of ecosystems and sustainable development through the zonation of biosphere reserves and other approaches. Biosphere reserves are excellent learning sites to study the interactions between people and nature, especially how people benefit from nature (ecosystem services), stakeholders’ perceptions and use of nature, important anthropogenic pressures, etc. The concept of ecosystem services helps to structure and study all of these interactions

Communicating climate change and biodiversity loss with local populations: exploring communicative utopias in eight transdisciplinary case studies

Climate change and biodiversity loss trigger policies targeting and impacting local communities worldwide. However, research and policy implementation often fail to sufficiently consider community responses and to involve them. We present the results of a collective self-assessment exercise for eight case studies of communications with regard to climate change or biodiversity loss between project teams and local communities. We develop eight indicators of good stakeholder communication, reflecting the scope of Verran’s (2002) concept of postcolonial moments as a communicative utopia. We demonstrate that applying our indicators can enhance communication and enable community responses. However, we discover a divergence between timing, complexity and (introspective) effort. Three cases qualify for postcolonial moments, but scrutinising power relations and genuine knowledge co-production remain rare. While we verify the potency of various instruments for deconstructing science, their sophistication cannot substitute trust building and epistemic/transdisciplinary awareness. Lastly, we consider that reforming inadequate funding policies helps improving the work in and with local communities

Social-ecological assessment of Lake Manyara basin, Tanzania: A mixed method approach.

This research article published by Elsevier Ltd., 2020The social-ecological system of the Lake Manyara basin (Northern Tanzania), a UNESCO Biosphere reserve (BR) suffers from social-economic and environmental problems due to decreasing water levels, erosion and land and water use conflicts. We propose an integrated assessment of the social-ecological interactions of the area to support future sustainable management. Within the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework an integrated literature review and several methods of knowledge collection were combined to identify future management priorities and challenges. During focus groups with farmers and pastoralists, stakeholders confirmed the role played by land use changes as driver and pressure in the landscape, e.g. through increased erosion rates and siltation of the lake. Moreover, economic and social issues were identified as prominent factors being influenced by, or influencing these processes. These statements match the scientific literature. During participatory mapping exercises different spatial and resource allocation perceptions appeared amongst pastoralists and farmers. The multidisciplinary approach proved to be useful to acquire an integrated and comprehensive understanding of the state, challenges and opportunities of Lake Manyara BR, to feed into a decision support system in service of an integrated management plan. Our assessment suggests that improved water governance in a multi-actor approach (with a focus on distribution of benefits, rights, and a specific role of the water authorities) should be a priority for future integrated management strategies. Also, awareness raising amongst decision makers, scientists and local communities is needed to demonstrate the advantages of an integrated approach. And finally, visible and fair mechanisms to share conservation revenues should be designed in a way that local benefits can be obtained together with incentive mechanisms for co-management and conservation

The role of the freshwater shrimp atyaephyra desmarestii in leaf litter breakdown in streams

This version does not correspond to the published one. To access the final version go to: http://www.springerlink.com/content/a31518u452m03286/In aquatic ecosystems, microorganisms and invertebrates provide critical links between plant detritus and higher trophic levels. Atyaephyra desmarestii is an omnivorous decapod that inhabits freshwaters and exhibits high tolerance to temperature oscillations and high ability to colonize new habitats. Although A. desmarestii is able to ingest a variety of foods, few studies have been conducted to elucidate the role of this freshwater shrimp on detritus breakdown in streams. In this study, A. desmarestii was allowed to feed on conditioned or unconditioned alder and eucalyptus leaves in microcosms with or without access to its fecal pellets. At the end of the experiment, total body length of the animals was measured, and the remaining leaves and fecal pellets were used for dry mass quantification and assessment of bacterial and fungal diversity by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Cluster analyses of DGGE fingerprints indicated that the major differences in microbial communities on leaves were between leaf types, while on fecal pellets were between conditioned and unconditioned leaves. However, the consumption rate by the shrimp did not differ between leaf types, and was significantly higher on leaves conditioned by microorganisms and in treatments without access to feces. In treatments without access to feces, the production of feces and fine particulate organic matter was also significantly higher for conditioned leaves. Overall, our results support the feeding plasticity of A. desmarestii and its potential role in plant litter breakdown in streams. This might have implications for maintaining stream ecosystem functioning, particularly if more vulnerable shredders decline.The Portuguese Foundation for the Science and Technology supported S. Duarte (SFRH/BPD/47574/2008

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Data for: Social-ecological assessment of Lake Manyara basin, Tanzania: a mixed method approach

The social-ecological system of the Lake Manyara basin (Northern Tanzania), a UNESCO Biosphere reserve (BR) suffers from socio-economic and environmental problems due to decreasing water levels, erosion and land and water use conflicts. An integrated assessment of the social-ecological interactions of the area is required to support future sustainable management. Within the Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework an integrated literature review and several methods of knowledge collection were combined to identify future management priorities and challenges. Annex 1 provides original fragments of information found in the selected literature, and coded as COD1, both for problems and causes of problems and for solutions. Focus groups with farmers and pastoralists collected a comprehensive set of statements about the situation. Annex 2 provides maps drawn by members of the authorities, the scientists, the pastoralists and the smallholder farmers in a community mapping exercise. Annex 3 provides a list of the 26 ecosystem services assessed by the participants during Focus Group 2. Annex 4 provides the questions used in the key informants interviews. Annex 5 provides the initial codes (letters) and corresponding merged codes (numbers) from key informants interviews. Annex 6 provides benchmarking results from the literature review and key-informants interviews.THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Biosphere reserves. Living laboratories for sustainable development

editorial reviewedFor biosphere reserves stakeholders, this chapter functions as a good reminder of the objectives of the MAB Programme and the role and structure of biosphere reserves. This chapter also emphasizes the extensive range and diversity of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) in terms of ecosystems, social contexts and management types, and highlights its promotion of North-South and South-South collaboration as a unique tool for international cooperation through sharing knowledge, exchanging experiences, building capacity and promoting best practices. The chapter further underlines the importance of stakeholders and notes that other biosphere reserves both in Africa and worldwide face similar challenges and share common objectives. For non-MAB stakeholders, this chapter can help better understand the MAB Programme and its network of biosphere reserves, as well as their specificities