Editor’s Choice 60:6 Whale shark abundance forecast

Author Oscar Sosa-Nishizaki introduces Journal of Applied Ecology’s June Editor’s Choice research article which was identified by Editors for proposing strong applied ecological guidance. Sosa-Nishizaki et al’s studied whale shark abundance through modelling and photo identification, suggesting that local authorities apply the model each spring. Research conception The foundations of this study began around 2007 with the efforts of the Pejesapo community group from the … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 60:6 Whale shark abundance forecast

Adaptive staged-scale restoration practices for upland prairies

Claudia Muzychko shares her latest Practice Insights which documents current on-site activity on Violet Prairie, USA, and provides a management planning reference for prairie restoration. A version of this post is available in Italian. Sometimes in land management we can focus so intently on direct problems complicating our practices that we may not have the space or time to step back and review the overall … Continue reading Adaptive staged-scale restoration practices for upland prairies

Pratiche di restauro adattativo su scala progressiva per le praterie in altopiano

Claudia Muzychko condivide il suo ultimo studio sulle pratiche in cui viene documentata l’attuale attività in loco nella Violet Prairie, negli Stati Uniti, e fornisce un riferimento per la pianificazione gestionale del restauro delle praterie. Una versione di questo post è disponibile in inglese. A volte, nella gestione del territorio, possiamo concentrarci così tanto sui problemi diretti che complicano le nostre pratiche che non abbiamo … Continue reading Pratiche di restauro adattativo su scala progressiva per le praterie in altopiano

Using salt marshes for coastal protection: effective but hard to get where needed most

Beatriz Marin-Diaz talks about her and research colleagues’ latest article, where they monitored wave run-up on Dutch dikes over the course of 3 years. Through comparing different dike locations, some fronted by salt marshes and others fronted by bare tidal flats without vegetation, results could be linked to the long-term marsh development in the area. Introduction Salt marshes are wetlands in coastal areas that provide … Continue reading Using salt marshes for coastal protection: effective but hard to get where needed most

Research Stories: From wildlife-savers to citizen scientists

Johanna Kauffert and co-authors take us back to one early morning of a fawn rescue in June in order to demonstrate how opportunistically sampled field data of wildlife volunteers can be used to reconstruct birth distributions. It’s early morning (or rather still in the middle of the night) when I get up to drive to the countryside with my colleagues. Before the first rays of … Continue reading Research Stories: From wildlife-savers to citizen scientists

Forestry raises the predation risk to caribou – we found ways to reduce it

Tracy McKay and Laura Finnegan share their latest research investigating what affects ungulate occurrence  in forest harvest blocks in west-central Alberta, Canada. Five years ago, our research group developed an idea with forest companies to help conserve woodland caribou – Rangifer tarandus, the same species as the Eurasian reindeer – in western Canada. Summer after summer, our crews drove the mud and gravel roads spiderwebbing … Continue reading Forestry raises the predation risk to caribou – we found ways to reduce it

Towards environmentally friendly finfish farming: A potential for mussel farms to compensate fish farm effluents

Jonne Kotta explains new research which uses dynamic energy budget modelling to explore the potential of mussels for bioremediation at finfish farms. Kotta and colleagues suggest that environmentally sustainable finfish farming solutions may be possible in the eutrophic Baltic Sea region. The problem Global demand for fish has risen sharply in recent decades and will surely continue to rise during the next decade. However, this … Continue reading Towards environmentally friendly finfish farming: A potential for mussel farms to compensate fish farm effluents

Where and how do we manage for carbon in forestry in a changing world?

Lilli Kaarakka shares findings from her team’s review article assessing the evidence for the potential of specific improved forest management (IFM) practices to sequester carbon and enhance carbon storage in forests. Humans and forests share an infinite, intertwined history; forests have provided us with food, fuel and material for building homes, as well as a place of refuge and spirituality. In the most recent part … Continue reading Where and how do we manage for carbon in forestry in a changing world?

Does logging help or harm Borneo’s bats?

Natalie Yoh and Dave Seaman discuss their recently published research article that uses remote sensing to investigate the effects of logging on aerial insectivorous bats in Southeast Asia. Findings indicate that logged forests can provide an important refuge and several species that respond predictably to logging could be targeted for biodiversity monitoring using acoustic and capture-based methods. “Bats make up around 40% of Borneo’s mammal … Continue reading Does logging help or harm Borneo’s bats?

Seed additions facilitate herb-layer restoration in a temperate oak woodland

Originally posted and adapted from Natural History of Ecological Restoration blog. Andrew Kaul and colleagues present their latest research exploring whether seed additions can improve restoration outcomes in oak woodlands. Throughout most of the eastern United States, oak woodlands were once a widespread and dominant ecosystem. These woodlands experienced periodic fires, which prevented woody trees and shrubs from growing so densely that the overstory canopy … Continue reading Seed additions facilitate herb-layer restoration in a temperate oak woodland