Long-term Monitoring: The key to unlocking effective Marine Protected Area Management?

Christopher Honeyman talks us through recently published work which compared three Marine Protected Area (MPA) monitoring techniques, along with colleagues. Interestingly, each technique was shown to survey distinct groundfish community assemblages with varying levels of species diversity and richness. Therefore, combining multiple techniques may better allow managers to create the most comprehensive, effective and inclusive MPA monitoring regimes. A global phenomenon In response to human-caused … Continue reading Long-term Monitoring: The key to unlocking effective Marine Protected Area Management?

Biodiversity in landscape mosaics: Local land use, landscape and dung beetle assemblages

Raquel Carvalho and Ellen Andresen explain new research that evaluates the impact of land use, landscape structure, and their interactions, on dung beetles, a group of insects that provides many ecosystem services. Carvalho et al demonstrated that both factors act together to shape biodiversity patterns, and that the effect of landscape structure often depends on the specific land use studied. The problem Understanding the impact … Continue reading Biodiversity in landscape mosaics: Local land use, landscape and dung beetle assemblages

Taxonomic and functional diversity in Mediterranean pastures: Insights on the biodiversity – productivity trade-off

In this post Victor Rolo discusses his recent paper ‘Taxonomic and functional diversity in Mediterranean pastures: Insights on the biodiversity – productivity trade-off ‘ There is a shepherds’ saying in Spain that goes: “below a shrub, you can raise a lamb”. But, if that were true, why is the presence of semi-natural features perceived as a negative element for herbage productivity in grasslands? The answer … Continue reading Taxonomic and functional diversity in Mediterranean pastures: Insights on the biodiversity – productivity trade-off