Tag: environment

Research summaries

Environmental DNA and crayfish management

In this post Matthew Dougherty discusses his recent paper ‘Environmental DNA (eDNA) detects the invasive rusty crayfish Orconectes rusticus at low abundances‘ Tangled buoy strings, lost traps, pinched fingers, sweaty brows, and boats smeared with beef liver: these images define the experiences of countless managers and scientists who use baited trapping to monitor crayfish invasions, especially in lakes of the upper Midwest, USA. While these … Continue reading Environmental DNA and crayfish management

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The evolutionary canary in the coal mine

In this post Executive Editor Marc Cadotte discusses a paper he recently handled by François Keck and colleagues ‘Linking phylogenetic similarity and pollution sensitivity to develop ecological assessment methods: a test with river diatoms‘ Like canaries in coal mines, species can provide important information about deteriorating environmental conditions. A whole sub-discipline of environmental biomonitoring has emerged to provide the necessary tools to evaluate biological responses … Continue reading The evolutionary canary in the coal mine

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The stage is set: Will expanding development be a sea change?

In this post Matthew Hethcoat discusses his recent paper, with Anna Chalfoun ‘Towards a mechanistic understanding of human-induced rapid environmental change: a case study linking energy development, nest predation and predators‘, which is published in Issue 52:6 of Journal of Applied Ecology, out today. North America’s sagebrush steppe, also known as the big empty, holds a secret. The sparrows, thrashers, and other songbirds that inhabit this … Continue reading The stage is set: Will expanding development be a sea change?

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A more natural method of biocontrol

In this post Associate Editor Yann Clough discusses a paper he recently handled by Mattias Jonsson and colleagues ‘Experimental evidence that the effectiveness of conservation biological control depends on landscape complexity’ Brassica crops worldwide are attacked by a range of herbivorous insects, and frequent insecticide use is common. New research shows that the natural biological control of pests can be achieved by establishing strips of … Continue reading A more natural method of biocontrol

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Harnessing the power of Google Earth

Minerva Singh is a PhD Candidate at the University of Cambridge and she is involved with the BES Conservation Ecology Special Interest Group. Her research focusses on using high resolution airborne data for mapping forest biophysical parameters and evaluating the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on them in the tropical ecosystems of the Greater Mekong region. In this post Minerva looks at harnessing the power of … Continue reading Harnessing the power of Google Earth

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Sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island iconic species dying out

In this post, Dana Bergstrom writes about her recent paper “Rapid collapse of a sub-Antarctic alpine ecosystem: the role of climate and pathogens”, which shows that the cushion plants, Azorella macquariensis, estimated to be hundreds of years old, are dying due to windier and drier conditions. Early in the austral summer of 2008/09, I was beginning my field season on remote sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island, a … Continue reading Sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island iconic species dying out

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Virtual Issue: Conservation evidence, decision-making and the role of scientific publications

At Journal of Applied Ecology, we’ve put together this Virtual Issue on Conservation evidence, decision making and the role of scientific publications to complement a one-day symposium on Conservation Evidence: informing decision making being held today by the British Ecological Society’s Conservation Special Interest Group and the Field Studies Council. All 16 papers are free to access and are brought together in an Editorial introduction by … Continue reading Virtual Issue: Conservation evidence, decision-making and the role of scientific publications

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Bringing land sparing and land sharing to the city

This post was written by Jonathan Rhodes, @j_r_rhodes, on the recent paper by Masa Soga et al. on land sharing and land sparing in urban systems. In agricultural landscapes the idea of choosing between strategies that intersperse intensive land-uses with areas set aside for biodiversity (land sparing) versus less intensive agriculture without set-asides (land sharing) to maximise biodiversity is relatively well developed (Green et al. … Continue reading Bringing land sparing and land sharing to the city

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Eyes in the sky see the secrets of the sea

This guest post is by Kylie L. Scales (@KylieScales) on her recent review paper “On the Front Line: frontal zones as priority at-sea conservation areas for mobile marine vertebrates.” The oceans may seem like Earth’s last remaining wilderness, but are in fact teeming with human activity as a result of intense and growing demand for marine resources. Consequently, large marine vertebrates such as seabirds, turtles, … Continue reading Eyes in the sky see the secrets of the sea

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