Tag: Invasive species

Human-wildlife interactions, Invasive species, Research summaries

Regulation is required to mitigate the high cumulative propagule pressure exerted by escaped pet parrots

Margaret Stanley, Ellery McNaughton, Rachel Fewster and Josie Galbraith talk us through their recent research that uses reports of lost pet birds to estimate the cumulative propagule pressure that the pet trade exerts on the establishment of introduced bird species. Although concerns about the billion-dollar global pet trade industry have usually focused on issues associated with the trade of endangered species, the pet trade also … Continue reading Regulation is required to mitigate the high cumulative propagule pressure exerted by escaped pet parrots

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Coastal and marine, Invasive species, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Apparently stable albatross population is actually decreasing due to mouse predation

Conservation organisations struggle to directly assist all threatened species, so deciding where to spend limited resources is a common problem. In a new paper, Oppel and colleagues show that, for long-lived species, a population may decrease long before this trend becomes evident in the part of the population that can be counted. Albatrosses are among the largest flying birds in the world, and they can … Continue reading Apparently stable albatross population is actually decreasing due to mouse predation

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Agriculture, Invasive species, Research summaries

Harnessing drainage canals for biodiversity conservation

A new paper led by Csaba Tölgyesi from the University of Szeged, Hungary, shows that drainage canals can be harnessed for biodiversity conservation in desiccated, heavily transformed regions by reconciling the interests of opposing stakeholders. Drainage and subsequent land cultivation have been a major threat to global wetland ecosystems for centuries. In Europe, most lowland fens have been drained; approximately 25% of the arable land … Continue reading Harnessing drainage canals for biodiversity conservation

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Careers, Research summaries, The Applied Ecologist community

A decision support tool to prioritize ballast water compliance monitoring by ranking risk of non-indigenous species establishment

Each year, Journal of Applied Ecology awards the Southwood Prize to the best paper in the journal by an author at the start of their career. In this post, Dr. Johanna Bradie (University of Windsor, Canada) discusses her shortlisted paper which reports the development of a decision support tool, known as a ballast water invasion probability tool, which automatically quantifies the risk of non-indigenous species associated with … Continue reading A decision support tool to prioritize ballast water compliance monitoring by ranking risk of non-indigenous species establishment

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Invasive species, Plant and soil ecology, Practitioners, Research summaries

How do you solve a problem like Molinia?

The increasing dominance of the invasive purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea) on blanket bogs is a growing threat to diversity and carbon storage. In this post, practitioners from Moors for the Future Partnership give their account of the team’s latest research attempting to reverse these effects. Reducing the domination of Molinia caerulea on blanket bogs to a more Sphagnum-rich, characteristically boggy landscape has been a … Continue reading How do you solve a problem like Molinia?

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Invasive species, Research summaries

A database of Indian alien vascular flora

Author Achyut Kumar Banerjee introduces his team’s latest Data Article describing ILORA: a database for alien vascular flora in India. India is a land of cultural, geological and biological diversity. Throughout its history, India has been invaded and occupied multiple times, and numerous plant species were introduced during this time. Botanical imperialism reached its zenith during British rule with the establishment of networks of botanical … Continue reading A database of Indian alien vascular flora

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Coastal and marine, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration

Calling all seabirds: restoring long-lost colonies on Desecheo Island

Lead author Jose Luis Herrera-Giraldo describes his team’s latest study using fake birds and loudspeakers to help conservationists restore the long-lost seabird colony of Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. For scientists and conservationists, life on Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico is harsh with the islands’ rugged terrain, blazing hot sun beating down year-round, and fire ant. But for seabirds the island is paradise – … Continue reading Calling all seabirds: restoring long-lost colonies on Desecheo Island

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Freshwater, Invasive species, Research summaries

Weighing-in: universally applicable biometric conversion equations to support comparative assessment of invasive freshwater bivalves

Invasive bivalves continue to detrimentally impact freshwater ecosystems worldwide, with their ecological effects often being standardised by body size or biomass measurements. In their latest research, Coughlan and colleagues aim to derive universally applicable conversion equations to support reliable comparative assessment of bivalve driven ecological effects. As dominant filter-feeders, most bivalves’ ecological impacts are a result of their filtration or particle clearance rates (i.e. the … Continue reading Weighing-in: universally applicable biometric conversion equations to support comparative assessment of invasive freshwater bivalves

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Human-wildlife interactions, Invasive species, Monitoring and methods, Podcast, Research summaries, Video

Research Stories: The hunt for arctic aliens

Authors Ronja Wedegärtner and Jesamine Bartlett recall their team’s expedition in the high-Arctic Svalbard to monitor alien flora and publish their latest research which presents the most comprehensive survey of alien vascular species in the archipelago to date. Whilst we do not hunt for extra-terrestrial aliens that may or may not be hidden under the ice (as some on the more unbridled sections of the … Continue reading Research Stories: The hunt for arctic aliens

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Citizen science, Research summaries, Themed collections, Urban ecosystems

Tanja Petersen: Uncovering biases in Citizen Science data

Photo © Andreas Frisch In this Q&A, we ask author Tanja Petersen about her team’s research on the GBIF database, and find out a little bit more about the author herself. This article is part of the BES cross-journal special feature on Citizen Science. The research What’s your article about? The article is about skews and biases in GBIF data. Specifically, how the origin of … Continue reading Tanja Petersen: Uncovering biases in Citizen Science data

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