Roosting behaviour of house crow (Corvus splendens) in relation to enviromental variables

Evening roosting behaviour of house crow (Corvus splendens)w as monitored from 27 locations in the heavily urbanised mainland of Singapore. This paper describes thegeneral roosting behaviour of house crows. I analysed the relationships between crows' roosting times and environmental parameters (such as sunset time, temperature, light intensity and relative humidity). Sunset time was significantly correlated with all the roosting parameters: first arrival time, half arrival time, last arrival time and last vocalisation time. My study suggested that the roosting behaviour might be influenced by several environmental variables

A comparison of cultural ecosystem service survey methods within South England

AbstractAcross all societies, humans depend on goods received from nature, termed ecosystem services. However, cultural ecosystem services (CES), the non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems, are often overlooked in land-use decision making due to their intangible nature. This study aimed to evaluate three possible survey methods for site-based CES data collection; language-based supervised surveys (in which interviewers conduct surveys in real-time, recording verbal responses), language-based unsupervised surveys (respondents complete written surveys without an interviewer), and image-based unsupervised surveys (respondents complete surveys via image selection without an interviewer). Language-based supervised surveys were found to be more efficient in collecting CES data than language-/image-based unsupervised surveys, with a mean completion rate over 1.5-fold greater than either unsupervised survey; furthermore, survey completion was over twice as fast, and less than a sixth of the monetary cost per respondent compared to unsupervised surveys. The site-based assessment developed in this study provides robust data, and is shown to provide rapid and useful feedback to land-use decision makers. We recommend that rapid, site-based assessment methods are utilised to collect the information required to support CES-related decision making

Does governance play a role in the distribution of invasive alien species?

Invasive alien species (IAS) constitute a major threat to global biological diversity. In order to control their spread, a detailed understanding of the factors influencing their distribution is essential. Although international trade is regarded as a major force structuring spatial patterns of IAS, the role of other social factors remains unclear. Despite studies highlighting the importance of strong governance in slowing drivers of biodiversity loss such as logging, deforestation, and agricultural intensification, no study has yet analyzed its contribution to the issue of IAS. Using estimates of governance quality and comprehensive spatiotemporal IAS data, we performed multiple linear regressions to investigate the effect of governance quality upon the distribution of species listed under "100 of the worst" IAS in 38 Eurasian countries as defined by DASIE. Our model suggested that for countries with higher GDP, stronger governance was associated with a greater number of the worst IAS; in contrast, for the lowest GDP countries under analysis, stronger governance was associated with fewer of these IAS. We elucidate how the quality of governance within a country has implications for trade, tourism, transport, legislation, and economic development, all of which influence the spread of IAS. While our findings support the common assumption that strengthening governance benefits conservation interventions in countries of smaller economy, we find that this effect is not universal. Stronger governance alone cannot adequately address the problem of IAS, and targeted action is required in relatively high-GDP countries in order to stem the influx of IAS associated with high volumes of trade

Correlates of elevational specialisation in Southeast Asian tropical birds

The understanding of elevational selectivity in extremely rich tropical biotas is critical to the study of accelerating human-mediated environmental changes (e.g., deforestation and global climate warming). This paper explores the characteristics of Southeast Asian birds that are altitudinal specialists (i.e., lowland specialists and montane specialists) by assessing the relative importance of various species traits (e.g., breeding phenology and clutch size) in determining the altitudinal specialisation of these tropical birds. After controlling for phylogeny, we found that habitat specificity, breeding phenology, and clutch size were significant correlates of lowland specialisation. The most parsimonious model predicting lowland specialisation included the first of these only. Breeding phenology was the significant phylogeny-independent correlate of montane specialisation. Thus, species were confined to altitudinal niches by different constraints. By analysing the altitudinal distribution of Southeast Asian birds, we provide insights on why altitudinal confinement exists in lowland and montane specialists. Understanding such constraints may be important for the conservation of tropical birds

Economic Value of Cultural Ecosystem Services from Recreation in Popa Mountain National Park, Myanmar: A Comparison of Two Rapid Valuation Techniques

Protected areas offer diverse ecosystem services, including cultural services related to recreation, which contribute manifold to human wellbeing and the economy. However, multiple pressures from other human activities often compromise ecosystem service delivery from protected areas. It is thus fundamental for effective management to understand the recreational values and visitor behaviors in such areas. This paper undertakes a rapid assessment of the economic value of cultural ecosystem services related to recreation in a national park in Myanmar using two valuation techniques, the individual travel cost method (TCM) and the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-based Assessment (TESSA v.1.2). We focus on the Popa Mountain National Park, a protected area visited by approximately 800,000 domestic and 25,000 international tourists annually. Individual TCM estimates that each domestic visitor spent USD 20–24 per trip, and the total annual recreational value contributed by these visitors was estimated at USD 16.1–19.6 million (USD 916–1111 ha−1). TESSA estimated the annual recreational expenditure from domestic and international visitors at USD 15.1 million (USD 858 ha−1) and USD 5.04 million (USD 286 ha−1), respectively. Both methods may be employed as practical approaches to assess the recreational values of protected areas (and other land uses with recreational value), and they have rather complementary approaches. We recommend that both techniques be combined into a single survey protocol.</jats:p

Predation on Multiple Prey Types Across a Disturbance Gradient in Tropical Montane Forests of Peninsular Malaysia

Predation plays a critical role in animal and plant survivorship, and can be highly sensitive to habitat loss and disturbance. Tropical montane forests in Southeast Asia are being modified rapidly by land-use change, and the consequences of this on predation likelihood are poorly understood. In Peninsular Malaysia, we conducted predation experiments at eight tropical montane forest sites along a disturbance gradient. We investigated whether (1) predation pressure in primary forests differs between different mountains; (2) predation probability is linked to habitat degradation; and (3) vegetation variables explain predation occurrence. At each forest site, we placed artificial nests with real and model quail eggs, dishes with real and artificial seeds of the cempedak (Artocarpus champeden), models resembling four-lined tree frogs (Polypedetes leucomystax) and models of the late instar caterpillar of the common Mormon (Papilio polytes) at points 100 m apart for three nights. Using Bayesian binomial simulations, we showed that predation likelihood in primary forests from different mountains can vary (e.g., probability of the difference in predation rate of artificial caterpillars between two primary forests was estimated at 82–100%). We also found that higher predation was not linked to habitat degradation for all artificial prey and seeds (e.g., comparing forests of varying degrees of disturbance from the same mountain, the probability that predation of an artificial caterpillar is lower at the primary forest was estimated at 2–20% only). Model selection and hierarchical partitioning showed that vegetation variables can explain predation occurrence, suggesting microhabitat characteristics may be influential. Conducting predation experiments by using artificial prey and seeds is useful for comparing predation likelihood at different sites, making ecological comparisons, and for informing conservation decisions. This novel approach of using multiple prey items also showed that predation for each can vary and thus caution against deploying a single prey type to draw broad inferences of predation in degraded systems

Do insectivorous bird communities decline on land-bridge forest islands in Peninsular Malaysia?

To assess the impact of habitat fragmentation on tropical avian communities, we sampled lowland forest birds on six land-bridge islands and two mainland forest sites in Lake Kenyir, Peninsular Malaysia using timed point counts, hypothesizing that insectivorous birds are the worst affected guild. We used an information-theoretic approach to evaluate the effects of area, isolation, primary dietary guild (omnivore, frugivore and insectivore) and their interactions in predicting species richness, abundance and diversity. Our analysis showed that a model that considered the effects of area, dietary guild and their interaction best explained observed patterns of species richness. But a model considering both area and dietary guild best explained the variation in abundance. Notably, insectivorous birds were singled out as the dietary guild most sensitive to fragmentation, followed by frugivorous and omnivorous birds and hence provide support for our hypothesis. Assemblages of insectivorous birds were clearly depauperate on anthropogenic forest islands in Lake Kenyir and are consistent with forest fragmentation studies in the Neotropics. Given their specialized foraging ecology and diversity, conservation of intact communities of insectivorous bird guilds in Malaysia will be critical for maintaining predator-prey interactions in lowland tropical forest

Impacts of Habitat Degradation on Tropical Montane Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Map for Identifying Future Research Priorities

Tropical montane forests (TMFs) are major centers of evolutionary change and harbor many endemic species with small geographic ranges. In this systematic map, we focus on the impacts of anthropogenic habitat degradation on TMFs globally. We first determine how TMF research is distributed across geographic regions, degradation type (i.e., deforestation, land-use conversion, habitat fragmentation, ecological level (i.e., ecosystem, community, population, genetic) and taxonomic group. Secondly, we summarize the impacts of habitat degradation on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and identify deficiencies in current knowledge. We show that habitat degradation in TMFs impacts biodiversity at all ecological levels and will be compounded by climate change. However, despite montane species being perceived as more extinction-prone due to their restricted geographic ranges, there are some indications of biotic resilience if the impacts to TMFs are less severe. Species richness and key species interactions can be maintained in mildly degraded sites, and gene flow can persist between TMF fragments. As such, minimally degraded areas such as secondary forests and restored areas could play a crucial role in maintaining the meta-community and ecosystem services of TMFs—either via resource provision or by linking patches of pristine forest. Research deficiencies highlighted include poor research representation in Asian and African TMFs, few assessments of population and genetic-level responses to fragmentation, and little assessment of the impacts of habitat fragmentation at all ecological levels. To address these concerns, we present a list of the top research priorities to urgently address the growing threat of habitat degradation in TMF

Impacts of Habitat Degradation on Tropical Montane Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Map for Identifying Future Research Priorities

Tropical montane forests (TMFs) are major centers of evolutionary change and harbor many endemic species with small geographic ranges. In this systematic map, we focus on the impacts of anthropogenic habitat degradation on TMFs globally. We first determine how TMF research is distributed across geographic regions, degradation type (i.e., deforestation, land-use conversion, habitat fragmentation, ecological level (i.e., ecosystem, community, population, genetic) and taxonomic group. Secondly, we summarize the impacts of habitat degradation on biodiversity and ecosystem services, and identify deficiencies in current knowledge. We show that habitat degradation in TMFs impacts biodiversity at all ecological levels and will be compounded by climate change. However, despite montane species being perceived as more extinction-prone due to their restricted geographic ranges, there are some indications of biotic resilience if the impacts to TMFs are less severe. Species richness and key species interactions can be maintained in mildly degraded sites, and gene flow can persist between TMF fragments. As such, minimally degraded areas such as secondary forests and restored areas could play a crucial role in maintaining the meta-community and ecosystem services of TMFs—either via resource provision or by linking patches of pristine forest. Research deficiencies highlighted include poor research representation in Asian and African TMFs, few assessments of population and genetic-level responses to fragmentation, and little assessment of the impacts of habitat fragmentation at all ecological levels. To address these concerns, we present a list of the top research priorities to urgently address the growing threat of habitat degradation in TMF