Category: Research summaries

Forests, Research summaries

Cover stories: breeding songbirds alter their singing behaviour in selectively logged tropical forests

Song rates of male songbirds can serve as key indicators of territory quality for females. So what happens when intensive selective logging alters these rates? Rajeev Pillay and colleagues from the University of Florida and Universiti Malaysia Sabah summarise their recent research. *Update November 2019: following the publication of this blog post, the grey-headed canary-flycatcher photo below was selected as our November 2019 cover image. … Continue reading Cover stories: breeding songbirds alter their singing behaviour in selectively logged tropical forests

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Coastal and marine, Invasive species, Research summaries

Private boats in the Mediterranean have extremely high potential to spread alien species

British Ecological Society press release A Mediterranean-wide study has found that 71% of sampled recreational boats hosted alien marine species. Over half carried an alien species that was not yet present in the marina the boat was visiting. The research is published in the British Ecological Society Journal of Applied Ecology. This is the first study in the Mediterranean to combine boat and marina sampling data … Continue reading Private boats in the Mediterranean have extremely high potential to spread alien species

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Perspectives, Research summaries, Restoration

Rewilding needs a conceptual framework. Is the adaptive cycle the answer?

Johan T. du Toit and Nathalie Pettorelli explore the differences between rewilding and restoration. The authors have adapted this post from an article originally shared by ZSL. Rewilding means different things to different people but in applied ecology it is now broadly agreed that the concept means reorganizing, retooling, or regenerating wildness in a degraded ecosystem. Contrary to what many seem to think, rewilding is … Continue reading Rewilding needs a conceptual framework. Is the adaptive cycle the answer?

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Grasslands, Pollinators, Research summaries, Translation

Conservando flores conservamos polinizadores?

An English version of this post is available here. La mayoría de los esfuerzos para promover la conservación de polinizadores están enfocados en mantener o incrementar el rango de plantas con flores disponibles para ellos. La razón es simple: las plantas con flores proveen néctar y polen, recursos esenciales para su subsistencia. Sin embargo, los polinizadores dependen de otros recursos que probablemente también determinan su … Continue reading Conservando flores conservamos polinizadores?

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Grasslands, Pollinators, Research summaries

Are flowers enough for preserving pollinators?

Research from Buckles and Harmon-Threatt explores how prairie management strategies can affect pollinator communities both directly and indirectly, highlighting why we shouldn’t ignore what’s happening below ground. Associate Editor, Guadalupe Peralta elaborates. A Spanish version of this post is available here. Most efforts to preserve pollinators are focused on maintaining or increasing the range of flowering plants available. The reason behind this is clear: flowers … Continue reading Are flowers enough for preserving pollinators?

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Agriculture, Journal covers, Research summaries

Cover stories: is fallow management relevant to improving habitat suitability for steppe birds?  

Research by Ana Sanz‐Pérez et. al. shows how managing the vegetation structure of fallow fields with agricultural practices commonly used by farmers increases the occurrence of endangered steppe bird species. This work features as our September cover image, taken by Jordi Bas. Read a summary of the research and explore the promotion of fallow management in our latest cover story. And don’t forget to scroll … Continue reading Cover stories: is fallow management relevant to improving habitat suitability for steppe birds?  

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Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Using tracking data to guide research and conservation efforts in long-distance migratory birds

Developments in tracking data are uncovering important conservation sites, the significance of which had previously been unknown. Associate Editor, Chi-Yeung explains more about the recently published work of Ying‐Chi Chan and colleagues. An increasing number of tracking studies on animals over the last few decades have revealed interesting behaviour and habits that are otherwise impossible to observe in the field. This is particularly the case … Continue reading Using tracking data to guide research and conservation efforts in long-distance migratory birds

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Grasslands, Research summaries, Restoration

The context dependencies of how spillover from remnant grasslands enhances plant diversity in restorations

New research from Sperry et al. provides insights into prairie restoration practice. Associate Editor, Lars Brudvig explains more. Grasslands, including North American prairies, are widely restored through seed sowing onto abandoned agricultural lands. This approach to restoration holds great promise for promoting grassland biodiversity, yet restored prairies typically harbor fewer plant species than remnants without a history of agriculture, and plant diversity tends to decline … Continue reading The context dependencies of how spillover from remnant grasslands enhances plant diversity in restorations

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Coastal and marine, Research summaries, Themed collections

Identifying fishery risk zones for seabird populations

Part of our Spotlight, Management of wide-ranging species, Thomas A. Clay explains how advances in remote tracking technology are offering us a glimpse into the mysterious life of the albatross in the hope of developing conservation measures to protect seabirds from bycatch risks. The authors have adapted this post from an article they previously shared with BirdLife International. Albatrosses are iconic voyagers, well known for … Continue reading Identifying fishery risk zones for seabird populations

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Human-wildlife interactions, Pollinators, Research summaries

Protecting pollinators through better road verge management

In their recent study, Ben Phillips and colleagues reveal the importance of road verges as habitats for pollinators, as well as the negative impacts of current management actions. But how can we improve the situation? Most of us spend a good part of our days travelling on roads. The remains of the animals that stare back at us from the asphalt – the victims of … Continue reading Protecting pollinators through better road verge management

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