Category: Research summaries

Agriculture, Forests, Research summaries

The hidden benefits of chocolate: cacao agroforests offer a conservation solution that supports biodiversity and livelihoods.

New work by Arnold and colleagues shows that sustainably grown cacao is a conservation solution which can support both people and nature, and that cacao agroforests and secondary forest can enrich regional biodiversity. Conservation initiatives have traditionally focused on protecting untouched natural areas. While this is important, we also need to understand how biodiversity can be promoted not as an alternative to human use of … Continue reading The hidden benefits of chocolate: cacao agroforests offer a conservation solution that supports biodiversity and livelihoods.

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Coastal and marine, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Simple, low-cost tools can mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on incubating sea turtle clutches.

Successful incubation and production of male sea turtle hatchlings is threatened by increased global temperatures. In their latest research, Clarke and colleagues test the efficacy of two potential nest intervention approaches in reducing nest incubation temperatures in a nesting loggerhead turtle population in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Sea Turtles Are Vulnerable to Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts increases in global mean … Continue reading Simple, low-cost tools can mitigate the negative impacts of climate change on incubating sea turtle clutches.

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Editor's Choice, Practitioners, Research summaries

ESE Editor’s Choice 2:1 – Answering the call for evidence-based conservation science teaching

Is conservation science failing to prepare students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice? Associate Editor Costanza Rampini introduces our latest Editor’s Choice article by Downey et al. calling for a wider teaching of evidence-based conservation. Although the past 20 years have seen a huge increase in the amount of scientific information available to conservationists, conservation practitioners and land managers still too often rely … Continue reading ESE Editor’s Choice 2:1 – Answering the call for evidence-based conservation science teaching

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Grasslands, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Fire is a globally important driver of ecosystem composition, structure and function

In fire-prone landscapes, appropriate fire management may help bring native mammals back from the brink of extinction. In a new paper, Shaw et al. use prescribed burning to understand how small mammal populations recover after fire, so that recovery mechanisms can be incorporated into management strategies. Fire plays a pivotal role in ecosystems around the world, influencing where species are found, their abundance in the … Continue reading Fire is a globally important driver of ecosystem composition, structure and function

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Monitoring and methods, Practitioners, Research summaries, Video

Seeing in the dark: Detecting and protecting cryptic nesting species using UAV thermal cameras

Authors Mike Shewring and Jim Vafidis share a video summary of their latest From Practice article using UAV-mounted thermal imaging to detect cryptic nesting European Nightjars in Wales, UK. Confirming the presence and location of cryptic nesting species is a significant fieldwork challenge in ecological monitoring. Nest sites can be located through direct observation or capture and radio tracking of breeding individuals; however, such work … Continue reading Seeing in the dark: Detecting and protecting cryptic nesting species using UAV thermal cameras

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Agriculture, Forests, Research summaries

Do birds like African chocolate (farms)?

In their latest research, Jarrett and colleagues report the first in‐depth investigation into avian diversity and community composition in African cocoa farms, by assembling a dataset of 9,566 individual birds caught across 83 sites over 30 years in Southern Cameroon. Cocoa, the primary ingredient in all our beloved chocolate products, is grown across the tropics using a range of agricultural practices. Originating in the understory of … Continue reading Do birds like African chocolate (farms)?

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Coastal and marine, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research Stories: A mission to tag giant mantas in northern Peru

Authors Kerstin Forsberg and Samantha Andrzejaczek recall their team’s efforts working with NGOs and local government, scientists and community to produce their latest research on the behaviour and conservation of manta rays in northern Peru. It was a sunny day in May 2018, and we were out in the waters of Tumbes, northern Peru, searching for endangered giant oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris). Our team … Continue reading Research Stories: A mission to tag giant mantas in northern Peru

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Grasslands, Invasive species, Research summaries, Restoration, Translation

በኬንያ ባሪንጎ ካውንቲ የፕሮሶፒስ ጁሊፍሎራ መቆጣጠር የአከባቢዉን መሀበረሰብ የኑሮ ሁኔታን በከፍተኛ ማሻሻሉን ያሳያል

This post is also available in English (here) and Swahili (here) የአየር ንብረት ለውጥ፣ የመሬት መበላሸትና እንደ ፕሮሶፒስ ጁሊፍሎራ ያሉ ወራሪ የባዕድ ዝርያዎች  በደረቅ እና ከፊል-ደረቅ አካባቢዎች ለባህላዊ የሰዎች  ኑሮ ዋና አደጋዎች ናቸው።እነዚህ ምክንያቶች በአርብቶ አደር እና በከፍል-አርብቶ አደሮች ዋና ሀብት የሆነውን የእጽዋት ባዮማስን ጨምሮ በስነ-ምህዳር አገልግሎቶች ላይ አሉታዊ ተፅእኖዎች አላቸው። በዶ/ር ሬኔ ኤሽቼን እና ባልደረቦቻቸው የተደረገ ጥናት እንደሚያመለክተው ወራሪ እንጨት የሆነዉን ፕሮሶፒስ ጁሊፍሎራን በማፅዳት … Continue reading በኬንያ ባሪንጎ ካውንቲ የፕሮሶፒስ ጁሊፍሎራ መቆጣጠር የአከባቢዉን መሀበረሰብ የኑሮ ሁኔታን በከፍተኛ ማሻሻሉን ያሳያል

Unknown's avatarJournal of Applied Ecology2 Comments
Grasslands, Invasive species, Research summaries, Restoration, Translation

Mikakati madhubuti ya kudhibiti Mathenge (Prosopis juliflora) yaonyesha mafanikio makubwa katika kuboresha maisha ya wananchi wa Kaunti ya Baringo, Kenya

This post is also available in English (here) and Amharic (here).   Mabadiliko ya tabia ya nchi, uharibifu wa mazingira na ueneaji wa mimea vamizi kama Mathenge (Kitaalamu Prosopis juliflora) ni tishio kubwa kwa upatikanaji endelevu wa kipato kwa jamii zinazoishi maeneo makame. Changamoto hizi pia zinaathiri mifumo ya kiikolojia katika kutoa huduma kama malisho kwa mifugo ambayo ni rasilimali muhimu kwa wafugaji na wakulima. … Continue reading Mikakati madhubuti ya kudhibiti Mathenge (Prosopis juliflora) yaonyesha mafanikio makubwa katika kuboresha maisha ya wananchi wa Kaunti ya Baringo, Kenya

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Grasslands, Invasive species, Research summaries, Restoration

Spatially explicit scenarios for management of an invasive woody weed in Baringo County, Kenya, reveal significant livelihood benefits

This post is also available in Amharic (here) and Swahili (here). A new study by Eschen and colleagues suggests that clearing the invasive woody weed, Prosopis julifora, and subsequently restoring this land into grassland may have significant financial benefits for local stakeholders and contribute to climate change mitigation in Baringo County, Kenya. Climate change, land degradation, and invasive alien species (IAS), such as Prosopis julifora, … Continue reading Spatially explicit scenarios for management of an invasive woody weed in Baringo County, Kenya, reveal significant livelihood benefits

Unknown's avatarJournal of Applied Ecology2 Comments