Threshold Responses of Forest Birds to Landscape Changes around Exurban Development

Low-density residential development (i.e., exurban development) is often embedded within a matrix of protected areas and natural amenities, raising concern about its ecological consequences. Forest-dependent species are particularly susceptible to human settlement even at low housing densities typical of exurban areas. However, few studies have examined the response of forest birds to this increasingly common form of land conversion. The aim of this study was to assess whether, how, and at what scale forest birds respond to changes in habitat due to exurban growth. We evaluated changes in habitat composition (amount) and configuration (arrangement) for forest and forest-edge species around North America Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) stops between 1986 and 2009. We used Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis to detect change points in species occurrence at two spatial extents (400-m and 1-km radius buffer). Our results show that exurban development reduced forest cover and increased habitat fragmentation around BBS stops. Forest birds responded nonlinearly to most measures of habitat loss and fragmentation at both the local and landscape extents. However, the strength and even direction of the response changed with the extent for several of the metrics. The majority of forest birds’ responses could be predicted by their habitat preferences indicating that management practices in exurban areas might target the maintenance of forested habitats, for example through easements or more focused management for birds within existing or new protected areas

Environmental Differences between Migratory and Resident Ungulates—Predicting Movement Strategies in Rocky Mountain Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus) with Remotely Sensed Plant Phenology, Snow, and Land Cover

Migration is a valuable life history strategy for many species because it enables individuals to exploit spatially and temporally variable resources. Globally, the prevalence of species’ migratory behavior is decreasing as individuals forgo migration to remain resident year-round, an effect hypothesized to result from anthropogenic changes to landscape dynamics. Efforts to conserve and restore migrations require an understanding of the ecological characteristics driving the behavioral tradeoff between migration and residence. We identified migratory and resident behaviors of 42 mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) based on GPS locations and correlated their locations to remotely sensed indicators of forage quality, land cover, snow cover, and human land use. The model classified mule deer seasonal migratory and resident niches with an overall accuracy of 97.8% and cross-validated accuracy of 81.2%. The distance to development was the most important variable in discriminating in which environments these behaviors occur, with resident niche space most often closer to developed areas than migratory niches. Additionally, snow cover in December was important for discriminating summer migratory niches. This approach demonstrates the utility of niche analysis based on remotely sensed environmental datasets and provides empirical evidence of human land use impacts on large-scale wildlife migrations

Stadt.Geschichte.Basel: Gesamtkonzept für eine neue Basler Stadtgeschichte

Die neue, fundierte Gesamtdarstellung ist ein Kompass für alle, die Basel tagtäglich beleben und mitgestalten – als Einwohnerin und Pendler, als Arbeitnehmer und Unternehmerin, als Fasnächtler, Durchreisende oder Rheinschwimmerin. Die Stadt.Geschichte.Basel schliesst eine Lücke für die vielen Geschichtsinteressierten und Mitglieder der historischen Vereinigungen, für Lehrerinnen, Kulturschaffende und Politiker. Und sie ist ein unentbehrliches Arbeitsinstrument für alle, die sich genauer mit der Stadt und ihrer Vergangenheit befassen und ihr Wissen weitergeben wollen: für Frauen und Männer in Archiven, Museen, Bibliotheken und Universitäten

Einfluss von Habitatmanagement auf die Reduktion von Schadlepidopteren im Kohl

Beneficials can prevent or reduce outbreaks of pest species. To strengthen the populations of beneficials, their food sources must be improved in cultivated areas. The effects of habitat management for augmenting beneficial population on parasitism and predation rates of three lepidopteran pest species were investigated on two organic fields in Alten (Switzerland). The aim was to improve pest regulation through wild flower strips along fields and by planting Centaurea cyanus as companion plant within the crop. Strips of Centaurea cyanus and Fagopyrum esculentum increased parasitsm on the lepidopteran pests. C. cyanus planted as companion plant furthermore increased predation on the eggs and parasitism of the larvae of Mamestra brassicae. Several technical and methodological aspects still need to be improved before the approach is ready for practical use

Achieving conservation through cattle ranching: The case of the Brazilian Pantanal

Cattle ranching in the ~140,000 km2 Brazilian Pantanal is considered one of the most important cases of sustainable use of natural resources in the global south. The region has had a successful history of balancing environmental protection with the production of >3.8 million cattle. However, global change, infrastructure projects, and deforestation, threaten the sustainable use of the Pantanal. Here, using Ostrom's design principles as a framework, we interviewed 49 local stakeholders and conducted a review of secondary information aiming to evaluate the sustainability of cattle ranching practices across the region and the threats to it. We show that well-defined property boundaries, congruence between appropriation and provision rules through low-intensity cattle ranching, and co-management of resources, are all key components for achieving sustainability in the Pantanal. However, we documented shortcomings in satisfying critical aspects of Orstrom's design principles. Specifically, we argue that the Pantanal needs better biodiversity and behavior monitoring, the creation of platforms or mechanisms to solve local conflicts around resource access and use, recognition by governments and international bodies of the local efforts to promote local sustainability, and the creation of networks effectively connecting existing sustainability initiatives

Spatiotemporal dynamics of wild herbivore species richness and occupancy across a savannah rangeland:Implications for conservation

Private lands are critical for maintaining biodiversity beyond protected areas. Across Kenyan rangelands, wild herbivores frequently coexist with people and their livestock. Human population and livestock numbers are projected to increase dramatically over the coming decades. Therefore, a better understanding of wildlife-livestock interactions and their consequences for biodiversity conservation on private lands is needed. We used a Bayesian hierarchical, multi-species and multi-year occupancy model on aerial survey data of 15 wild-herbivore species, spanning 15 years (2001–2016) to investigate a) spatiotemporal trends in species occurrence and richness across a mosaic of properties with different land uses in Laikipia County, central Kenya; and b) the effects of distance to water, vegetation and livestock relative abundance on species occurrence and richness. Although mean herbivore species richness varied little over time, we observed high spatial variation in species occurrence across Laikipia, mainly driven by negative effects of high livestock relative abundance. As expected, ‘wildlife friendly’ properties had higher herbivore species richness than other areas. However, high variability suggests that some pastoral properties support rich herbivore communities. The area occupied by five species with global conservation concerns (reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, Beisa Oryx, Defassa waterbuck and gerenuk) and for which Laikipia County is one of the last refuges was <50% across years. We conclude that ‘wildlife friendly’ properties remain crucial for conservation, although some pastoralist areas offer suitable habitats for wild herbivores. Effective management of stocking rates is critical for maintaining ecosystems able to sustain livestock and wildlife on private lands, ensuring protection for endangered species

Demographic Tipping Points as Early Indicators of Vulnerability for Slow-Breeding Megafaunal Populations

Decisions based on trends in population abundance and distribution may fail to protect populations of slow-breeding, long-lived megafauna from irrevocable decline if they ignore demographic constraints. For such taxa, we urge that effort be directed at understanding the interactions among vital rates governing population growth rates, rather than on predicting probabilities of extinction. The proximity of a population to demographic tipping points, i.e., where growth rate switches from positive to negative, can signal vulnerability to perturbation long before numbers drop below a point of no return. We define the “demographic safe space” as the combination of key vital rates that support a non-negative growth rate and illustrate this approach for Asian elephants. Through simulations, we find that even with optimal reproduction, Asian elephant populations cannot tolerate annual female mortality rates exceeding 7.5%. If adult mortality is very low (3%/year), populations can tolerate high annual mortality in calves below age 3 (up to 31.5%/year), or slow female reproduction (primiparity at 30 years or average inter-birth interval of up to 7.68 years). We then evaluate the potential impact of current threats, showing that near-optimal reproduction and high calf survival is necessary to offset even modestly increased mortality among adult female age classes. We suggest that rather than rely on simple counts or “viability” assessments, conservation planners for slow-breeding megafauna should consider demographic tipping points and strive to keep populations within their safe spaces

Integrating movement ecology with biodiversity research - exploring new avenues to address spatiotemporal biodiversity dynamics

Movement of organisms is one of the key mechanisms shaping biodiversity, e.g. the distribution of genes, individuals and species in space and time. Recent technological and conceptual advances have improved our ability to assess the causes and consequences of individual movement, and led to the emergence of the new field of ‘movement ecology’. Here, we outline how movement ecology can contribute to the broad field of biodiversity research, i.e. the study of processes and patterns of life among and across different scales, from genes to ecosystems, and we propose a conceptual framework linking these hitherto largely separated fields of research. Our framework builds on the concept of movement ecology for individuals, and demonstrates its importance for linking individual organismal movement with biodiversity. First, organismal movements can provide ‘mobile links’ between habitats or ecosystems, thereby connecting resources, genes, and processes among otherwise separate locations. Understanding these mobile links and their impact on biodiversity will be facilitated by movement ecology, because mobile links can be created by different modes of movement (i.e., foraging, dispersal, migration) that relate to different spatiotemporal scales and have differential effects on biodiversity. Second, organismal movements can also mediate coexistence in communities, through ‘equalizing’ and ‘stabilizing’ mechanisms. This novel integrated framework provides a conceptual starting point for a better understanding of biodiversity dynamics in light of individual movement and space-use behavior across spatiotemporal scales. By illustrating this framework with examples, we argue that the integration of movement ecology and biodiversity research will also enhance our ability to conserve diversity at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels