Predicting the impacts of climate change on genetic diversity in an endangered lizard species

Many endangered species persist as a series of isolated populations, with some populations more genetically diverse than others. If climate change disproportionately threatens the most diverse populations, the species' ability to adapt (and hence its long-term viability) may be affected more severely than would be apparent by its numerical reduction. In the present study, we combine genetic data with modelling of species distributions under climate change to document this situation in an endangered lizard (Eulamprus leuraensis) from montane southeastern Australia. The species is known from only about 40 isolated swamps. Genetic diversity of lizard populations is greater in some sites than others, presumably reflecting consistently high habitat suitability over evolutionary time. Species distribution modelling suggests that the most genetically diverse populations are the ones most at risk from climate change, so that global warming will erode the species' genetic variability faster than it curtails the species' geographic distributio

CAFF CBMP Report --- CBMP Partnership Workshop

Arctic Council's CAFF Working Group Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program Report - CBMP Partnership Worksho

Model View Controller dan Object Relational Mapping Data Borneo Biodiversity Information System

Pergeseran paradigma pengembangan Perangkat Lunak yang berskala enterprise. Permasalahan antara lingkungan Berorientasi Objek (OOP) dengan lingkungan RDBMS (Relational Database Management System) yang sering disebut dengan istilah impedance mismatch (Ketidak-sesuaian pendekatan OOP dan RDBMS). Penelitian ini bertujuan menerapkan konsep Object Relational Mapping (ORM) yang berfungsi menjembatani ketidaksesuaian dan memetakkan database relasional ke model objek, melakukan pengumpulan data tumbuhan (Pohon, Kayu, Tanaman Obat dan Bambu). Metode pengembangan menggunakan konsep design pattern Model-View-Controller (MVC) berbasis Framework. Metode penamaan dan taksonomi tumbuhan mengacu pada International Association for Plant Taxonomy. Penelitian ini telah menghasilkan sebuah produk perangkat lunak Sistem Informasi Keanekaragaman Hayati Borneo, telah tersimpan data dalam database sistem 1482 jenis pohon, 233 jenis tumbuhan hutan obat, 86 jenis kayu dan 80 jenis bambu. Relevansi penelitian ini sebagai bentuk sinergitas penelitian yang mengacu pada Pola Ilmiah Pokok (PIP)  Universitas Mulawarman sebagai Center of Excellence for Tropical Studies

Population dynamics of the proboscis monkey Nasalis larvatus in the Lower Kinabatangan, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

The Endangered proboscis monkey Nasalis larvatus is endemic to the island of Borneo. Habitat loss is a major threat to this species, and an understanding of long-term demographic trends is crucial for its conservation. We assessed the population trends and group sizes of proboscis monkeys over 10 years in the Lower Kinabatangan floodplain in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Comparisons of observed populations between 2004 and 2014 revealed significantly reduced group sizes, which is probably a result of forest fragmentation. Three long-term studies over 34–73 months in specific areas showed fluctuating estimated densities in each area, but no overall population increase or decrease. Riparian forests are the most important habitat for these monkeys, and one reason for the relatively stable population could be that there were only minor losses of forest along rivers during 2004–2014 because protected areas have been established in the region in 2005. However, proboscis monkey habitat remains under threat in areas allocated for oil palm, and protection of these areas is paramount to maintaining this population

Interaction between Coastal and Oceanic Ecosystems of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean through Predator-Prey Relationship Studies

The Western and Central Pacific Ocean sustains the highest tuna production in the world. This province is also characterized by many islands and a complex bathymetry that induces specific current circulation patterns with the potential to create a high degree of interaction between coastal and oceanic ecosystems. Based on a large dataset of oceanic predator stomach contents, our study used generalized linear models to explore the coastal-oceanic system interaction by analyzing predator-prey relationship. We show that reef organisms are a frequent prey of oceanic predators. Predator species such as albacore (Thunnus alalunga) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) frequently consume reef prey with higher probability of consumption closer to land and in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. For surface-caught-predators consuming reef prey, this prey type represents about one third of the diet of predators smaller than 50 cm. The proportion decreases with increasing fish size. For predators caught at depth and consuming reef prey, the proportion varies with predator species but generally represents less than 10%. The annual consumption of reef prey by the yellowfin tuna population was estimated at 0.8±0.40CV million tonnes or 2.17×1012±0.40CV individuals. This represents 6.1%±0.17CV in weight of their diet. Our analyses identify some of the patterns of coastal-oceanic ecosystem interactions at a large scale and provides an estimate of annual consumption of reef prey by oceanic predators

Apes, protected areas and infrastructure in Africa

[Extract] Equatorial Africa sustains the continent's highest levels of biodiversity, especially in the wet and humid tropical forests that harbor Africa's apes. This equatorial region, like much of sub-Saharan Africa, is facing dramatic changes in the extent, number and environmental impact of large-scale infrastructure projects. A key concern is how such projects and the broader land use changes they promote will affect protected areas—a cornerstone of wildlife conservation efforts. This chapter assesses the potential impact of new and planned infrastructure projects on protected areas in tropical Africa, particularly those harboring critical ape habitats. It focuses on Africa not because tropical Asia is any less important, but because analyses of comparable detail are available only for certain parts of the Asian tropics (Clements et al., 2014; Meijaard and Wich, 2014; Wich et al., 2016). Such knowledge gaps underscore the importance of future work on infrastructure impacts in Asia

Towards more sustainable infrastructure: challenges and opportunities in ape range states of Africa and Asia

[Extract] We are living in one of the most dramatic eras of infrastructure expansion in human history. By 2050, an additional 25 million kilometers of paved roads are expected to crisscross the earth—enough to encircle the planet more than 600 times. In addition to the growth in road networks, work on other infrastructure projects—such as railroads, hydroelectric dams, power lines, gas lines and industrial mines—is expected to increase sharply over the next few decades (Laurance and Balmford, 2013; Laurance and Peres, 2006)

Percepção de educandos da rede pública urbana e rural sobre os mamíferos do Cerrado

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade UnB Planaltina, Curso de Licenciatura em Ciências Naturais, 2014.O bioma cerrado é considerado o segundo maior do Brasil e abriga uma grande diversidade de fauna e flora, porém, esse bioma vem sofrendo com o desmatamento e grandes áreas estão sendo utilizadas em atividades agropastoris. A conscientização individual e coletiva vinculada ao conhecimento dos recursos naturais são a chave para conservação do Cerrado. Por isso, o ensino de ciências é tão importante para ensinar e despertar o interesse dos educandos, das escolas, para a valorização da biodiversidade do cerrado. O objetivo desse trabalho foi analisar a capacidade dos educandos do ensino fundamental de Planaltina - DF e Sobradinho - DF, em reconhecer mamíferos que frequentam o Bioma Cerrado, avaliar se há diferenças de respostas, entre alunos que frequentam a escola rural e a escola urbana. Os dados foram obtidos através de pesquisa de campo exploratória quanti-qualitativa. Os alunos da área rural reconheceram o maior número de mamíferos que os da área urbana. Os mais reconhecidos foram o tatu e lobo guará, enquanto que os menos conhecidos foram os aquáticos, tais como a lontra e a ariranha. Em relação às imagens de mamíferos exóticos, o conhecimento dos alunos da área urbana foi maior do que os alunos da área rural, provavelmente, devido a influência dos meios de comunicação TV e internet. A intervenção foi positiva, pois além de proporcionar oportunidade dos alunos aprenderem sobre os mamíferos do Cerrado de forma divertida, de maneira geral evidenciou que os alunos conhecem pouco a fauna de mamíferos do cerrado. ____________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe Cerrado is considered the second largest biome in Brazil, sheltering a great diversity of fauna and flora. However, this biome has suffered the effects of deforestation. Furthermore, large areas are being used for agropastoral activities. However, the conservation of the Cerrado depends on the individual and collective awareness. Therefore, natural sciences education is so important to sharpen and enhance the knowledge on the biodiversity of the Cerrado by students of primary school in urban and rural areas. The objective of this study is to analyze the ability of the students of elementary school in Planaltina-DF and Sobradinho- DF, to recognizing mammals that belongs to Cerrado, evaluating whether there are differences in student’s answers from rural and urban schools. The data showed that rural area students recognized a greater number of mammals than students from urban area. Among the presented animals, the armadillo and maned wolf were more often recognized, while less recognized were the aquatic animals: otter and giant otter. Most cerrado mammals cited in the survey, in relation to the images of exotic mammals, the urban area students' knowledge was higher than in the rural area students to learn about the mammals of the Cerrado in a fun way, in general showed that students know little about the fauna of Cerrado mammals

Benthic habitat modelling and mapping as a conservation tool for marine protected areas: A seamount in the western Mediterranean

1. An ecologically representative, well‐connected, and effectively managed system of marine protected areas (MPAs) has positive ecological and environmental effects as well as social and economic benefits. Although progress in expanding the coverage of MPAs has been made, the application of management tools has not yet been implemented in most of these areas. 2. In this work, distribution models were applied to nine benthic habitats on a Mediterranean seamount within an MPA for conservation purposes. Benthic habitat occurrences were identified from 55 remotely operated vehicle (ROV) transects, at depths from 76 to 700 m, and data derived from multibeam bathymetry. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were applied to link the presence of each benthic habitat to local environmental proxies (depth, slope, backscatter, aspect, and bathymetric position index, BPI). 3. The main environmental drivers of habitat distribution were depth, slope, and BPI. Based on this result, five different geomorphological areas were distinguished. A full coverage map indicating the potential benthic habitat distribution on the seamount was obtained to inform spatial management. 4. The distribution of those habitats identified as vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) was used to make recommendations on zonation for developing the management plan of the MPA. This process reveals itself as an appropriate methodological approach that can be developed in other areas of the Natura 2000 marine networkEn prensa1,92