Tag: conservation

Research summaries

Differences in the shape of wildlife population declines can guide conservation action

In this post Martina Di Fonzo discusses her paper ‘Patterns of mammalian population decline inform conservation action‘ published in Issue 4 of Journal of Applied Ecology, online today. Wildlife monitoring programmes play a key role in understanding ecological systems and this information forms the basis of many management decisions and conservation actions. Monitoring population declines, in particular, is an important step in tackling biodiversity loss, … Continue reading Differences in the shape of wildlife population declines can guide conservation action

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Research summaries

Maintaining diverse bee communities on farmland: the importance of floristic diversity

In this post Thomas Wood discusses his recent paper ‘Providing foraging resources for solitary bees on farmland: current schemes for pollinators benefit a limited suite of species‘ Farmland biodiversity was negatively affected across most European nations throughout the 20th century, predominantly due to a period of rapid agricultural intensification following the Second World War. Flowery hay meadows were ploughed up and herbicides, fertilisers and other … Continue reading Maintaining diverse bee communities on farmland: the importance of floristic diversity

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Research summaries

The rise and fall of a simple solution

In this post Anna-Sara Liman discusses her recent paper ‘Predator refuges for conservation biological control in an intermediately disturbed system: the rise and fall of a simple solution‘ The first so called willow “energy forests” were planted in Sweden (and the UK) in the early nineties and represent among the first steps towards development of a bioenergy sector and a future bioeconomy. Willows are fast-growing … Continue reading The rise and fall of a simple solution

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Research summaries

More accurate mapping of coastal wetlands is vital for their management and conservation

In this post, Associate Editor Nathalie Butt discusses a recent paper ‘Habitat mapping of coastal wetlands using expert knowledge and Earth Observation data’ by Maria Adamo, Cristina Tarantino, Valeria Tomaselli, Guiseppe Veronico, Harini Nagendra and Palma Blonda. Habitats at risk What do we usually think of when we hear ‘wetland’ or ‘coastal wetland’? A flat marshy area by the sea somewhere, perhaps with a bird … Continue reading More accurate mapping of coastal wetlands is vital for their management and conservation

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Desert and semi-arid, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Understanding the distribution of a terrestrial mammal community

Associate Editor Matt Hayward discussed the importance of the recent paper from Lindsey Rich and colleagues ‘Using camera trapping and hierarchical occupancy modelling to evaluate the spatial ecology of an African mammal community’ with his PhD student, Lilian Sales (supervised by Rafael Loyola of the Conservation Biogeography Lab at the Federal University of Goias, Brazil) and below are her views on this paper. Monitoring wildlife … Continue reading Understanding the distribution of a terrestrial mammal community

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Research summaries

Adapting to realistic constraints of eradications: an ‘action-portfolio’ framework that improves ecological benefit and reduces cost

This post by Melissa Wynn, discusses the recent paper by Kate Helmstedt, Justine Shaw, Michael Bode, Aleks Terauds, Keith Springer, Susan Robinson and Hugh Possingham ‘Prioritizing eradication actions on islands: it’s not all or nothing‘ Melissa is a PhD Candidate in the Fenner School of Environment and Society, at the Australian National University, (Twitter: @melissalwynn) One of the greatest threats facing Australia’s unique fauna today … Continue reading Adapting to realistic constraints of eradications: an ‘action-portfolio’ framework that improves ecological benefit and reduces cost

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Research summaries

Are models useful? – Predicting intertidal seagrass habitats

In this post Associate Editor Yolanda Wiersma discusses a paper she recently handled by Eelke Folmer and colleagues ‘Consensus forecasting of intertidal seagrass habitat in the Wadden Sea‘ “All models are wrong, but some are useful” The above quote, from British statistician George E.P. Box, has become something of an aphorism in modelling. Upon discovery of the quote, graduate students immediately take comfort from it, … Continue reading Are models useful? – Predicting intertidal seagrass habitats

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Research summaries

New spatio-temporal model improves the ability of fishery managers to set sustainable catch limits

In this post Associate Editor Andre Punt discusses a paper he recently handled by James T. Thorson, Jason Jannot and Kayleigh Somers ‘Using spatio-temporal models of population growth and movement to monitor overlap between human impacts and fish populations‘ In many jurisdictions, including the U.S., conservation management of fish stocks involves comparing catches with estimates of an overfishing limit (OFL). The OFL is a catch … Continue reading New spatio-temporal model improves the ability of fishery managers to set sustainable catch limits

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Forests, Practitioners, Research summaries

We may be underestimating the negative impacts of logging on the biodiversity of tropical forests

In this post Filipe França & Hannah Griffiths discuss their recent paper ’Do space-for-time assessments underestimate the impacts of logging on tropical biodiversity? An Amazonian case study using dung beetles The difficulty in developing strong researcher-practitioner relationships is a central ‘stumbling block’ in conservation science. Unfortunately this means that more often than not the policy implications of ecological research don’t reach the people responsible for … Continue reading We may be underestimating the negative impacts of logging on the biodiversity of tropical forests

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