The representation potential of raptors for globally important nature conservation areas

Stemming from a pervasive lack of knowledge on biodiversity, important areas for conservation are typically identified using a subset of well known species, commonly termed surrogate or indicator groups. Birds have been commonly used as biodiversity surrogates due to the good level of knowledge on their taxonomy, ecology and distribution. Raptors in particular have been often proposed as an effective surrogate for other biodiversity based on their dietary diversity, being at the top of the food chain, their preference for highly productive areas, their generally threatened status and high public appeal. However, so far the surrogacy effectiveness of raptors has been largely studied locally or using a narrow selection of surrogate and surrogated taxa. Here we use a spatial conservation planning tool to quantify the surrogacy performance of raptors, overall and by different raptor groups (hawks and eagles, falcons, vultures, owls) to represent important biodiversity areas (such as IUCN protected areas and key biodiversity areas), wilderness areas and the worlds ecoregions. We compared the above surrogacy performance with that of all other non-raptor avian species. We show that raptors perform marginally worse than all other avian species in representing important biodiversity areas and ecoregions. However, raptors representation for wilderness areas was similar or slightly better compared to that of using all non-raptor birds. We also report a large variation in the representation performance by the four raptor groups. Falcons had a particularly high potential in representing protected areas and wilderness areas, equaling or largely surpassing the representation potential provided by all raptors and all other non-raptor birds. Overall, the results suggest that raptors, and particularly falcons, can perform relatively well in representing some important areas for conservation, such as protected areas and wilderness areas, but are relatively poor surrogates for key biodiversity areas and ecoregions. These rather contrasting results call for caution on the use of raptors as global surrogates of wider biodiversity.Peer reviewe

Butterfly abundance in a warming climate: patterns in space and time are not congruent

We present a model of butterfly abundance on transects in England. The model indicates a significant role for climate, but the direction of association is counter to expectation: butterfly population density is higher on sites with a cooler climate. However, the effect is highly heterogeneous, with one in five species displaying a net positive association. We use this model to project the population-level effects of climate warming for the year 2080, using a medium emissions scenario. The results suggest that most populations and species will decline markedly, but that the total number of butterflies will increase as communities become dominated by a few common species. In particular, Maniola jurtina is predicted to make up nearly half of all butterflies on UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) transects by 2080. These results contradict the accepted wisdom that most insect populations will grow as the climate becomes warmer. Indeed, our predictions contrast strongly with those derived from inter-annual variation in abundance, emphasizing that we lack a mechanistic understanding about the factors driving butterfly population dynamics over large spatial and temporal scales. Our study underscores the difficulty of predicting future population trends and reveals the naivety of simple space-for-time substitutions, which our projections share with species distribution modelling

Potential and progress of studying mountain biodiversity by means of butterfly genetics and genomics

ABSTRACT: Mountains are rich in biodiversity, and butterflies are species-rich and have a good ecological and evolutionary research foundation. This review addresses the potential and progress of studying mountain biodiversity using butterflies as a model. We discuss the uniqueness of mountain ecosystems, factors influencing the distribution of mountain butterflies, representative genetic and evolutionary models in butterfly research, and evolutionary studies of mountain biodiversity involving butterfly genetics and genomics. Finally, we demonstrate the necessity of studying mountain butterflies and propose future perspectives. This review provides insights for studying the biodiversity of mountain butterflies as well as a summary of research methods for reference.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Understanding, quantifying and mapping the use of poison by commercial farmers in Namibia - Implications for scavengers' conservation and ecosystem health

Effective nature conservation in human-dominated landscapes requires a deep understanding of human behaviors, perceptions and values. Human-wildlife conflicts represent relatively well-studied, global-scale conservation challenges. In Africa, vulture populations are collapsing as they fall victim to poison used by livestock farmers to kill predators, but our understanding of the prevalence of this practice is still very poor. We gathered data on the prevalence of poison use in Namibia by means of questionnaires completed by commercial farmers. The data were collected and analyzed with ad-hoc quantitative methods. We quantified prevalence of poison use, determined factors associated with this practice and derived a map of its prevalence. We found that 20% of commercial farmers in Namibia used poison; farmers that owned high numbers of small stock and on large farms, and those who had suffered high livestock losses to predators, were most likely to admit to using poison. We pinpoint areas of high prevalence of reported poison use, which are largely concentrated in the south of the country. Furthermore, we report a generally positive perception of commercial farmers towards vultures, which may indicate future potential to implement bottom-up approaches for vulture conservation. Overall, the findings have important implications for prioritizing efforts to effectively tackle the African vulture crisis and preserve healthy ecosystems for the wellbeing of humans and wildlife. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Balancing plant conservation and agricultural production in the Ecuadorian Dry Inter-Andean Valleys

Background Conserving both biodiversity and ecosystem services is a major goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Hotspots for biodiversity in the Andes significantly overlap with areas with dense human populations that sustain their economy through agricultural production. Therefore, developing management forms that reconcile food provisioning services—such as agriculture—with biodiversity conservation must be addressed to avoid social conflicts and to improve conservation in areas where biodiversity co-occurs with other ecosystem services. Here, we present a high-resolution conservation plan for vascular plants and agriculture in the Ecuadorian Dry Inter-Andean Valleys (DIAV) hotspot. Trade-offs in conserving important areas for both biodiversity and agriculture were explored. Methods We used a dataset containing 5,685 presence records for 95 plant species occurring in DIAVs, of which 14 species were endemic. We developed habitat suitability maps for the 95 species using Maxent. Prioritization analyses were carried out using a conservation planning framework. We developed three conservation scenarios that selected important areas for: biodiversity only, agriculture only, and for both biodiversity and agriculture combined. Results Our conservation planning analyses, capture 33.5% of biodiversity and 11% of agriculture under a scenario solely focused on the conservation of biodiversity. On the other hand, the top 17% fraction of the agriculture only scenario captures 10% of biodiversity and 28% of agriculture. When biodiversity and agriculture were considered in combination, their representation varied according to the importance given to agriculture. The most balanced solution that gives a nearly equal representation of both biodiversity and agriculture, was obtained when agriculture was given a slightly higher importance over biodiversity during the selection process. Discussion This is the first evaluation of trade-offs between important areas for biodiversity and agriculture in Ecuadorian DIAV. Our results showed that areas with high agricultural productivity and high biodiversity partly overlapped. Our study suggests that a land-sharing strategy would be appropriate for conserving plant diversity and agriculture in the DIAV. Overall, our study reinforces the idea that friendly practices in agriculture can contribute to biodiversity conservation

Importance of complementary approaches for efficient vulture conservation : reply to Efrat et al

Non peer reviewe

Global warming and human impacts of heat and cold extremes in the EU

During intense heatwaves in June and July 2019, all-time temperature records were broken in many locations in Europe. These events are projected to happen more frequently and become more intense with climate change. Projections show that the number of citizens in the EU and UK exposed to heatwaves will grow from 10 million/year (average 1981-2010) to nearly 300 million/year, or more than half the EU population, in a scenario with 3°C global average warming by the end of this century. In case of no adaptation this could result in 96,000 fatalities/year from extreme heat, compared to 2,750 annual deaths at present. Curbing global warming to 1.5°C would limit mortality from extreme heat to around 30,000 fatalities/year. The rise in exposure to and projected fatalities from extreme heat is most pronounced in southern Europe. Milder winters will reduce significantly exposure to and fatalities from extreme cold, nearly 10-fold with 3°C global average warming by the end of this century.JRC.E.1-Disaster Risk Managemen

Stronger response of farmland birds than farmers to climate change leads to the emergence of an ecological trap

Climate change is triggering adaptation by people and wildlife. The speed and magnitude of these responses may disrupt ecological equilibria and potentially cause further biodiversity losses, but this has rarely been studied. Species inhabiting human-dominated landscapes may be particularly negatively affected by human adaptations to climate change. This could be, for example, the case of ground-nesting farmland birds, a group of highly vulnerable species that may be impacted by shifts in the timing of mechanical farming operations in response to climate change. Here we aim to explore whether trends in phenology of breeding ground-nesting birds differ from those of farming practices, and whether differences lead to the emergence of phenological mistiming with detrimental consequences to the birds. To achieve our objective, we tan linear mixed effects models using a 38 year dataset on onset of farming practices (i.e. sowing dates) and laying date of two endangered ground-nesting farmland birds (Northern lapwing and Eurasian curlew) in Finland. We found that timing of farming practices advanced slower than birds nesting phenology, with birds progressively starting nesting before fields are sown. These nests are at high risk of destruction from incoming sowing operations. The results highlight the importance of considering human adaptation responses, in addition to those of wildlife, for implementing species conservation in managed landscapes under climate change.Peer reviewe