Does logging help or harm Borneo’s bats?

Natalie Yoh and Dave Seaman discuss their recently published research article that uses remote sensing to investigate the effects of logging on aerial insectivorous bats in Southeast Asia. Findings indicate that logged forests can provide an important refuge and several species that respond predictably to logging could be targeted for biodiversity monitoring using acoustic and capture-based methods. “Bats make up around 40% of Borneo’s mammal … Continue reading Does logging help or harm Borneo’s bats?

Editor’s Choice 57:12 – Best-practice forestry management delivers diminishing returns for coral reefs with increased land-clearing

Associate Editor, Dr Kiran Dhanjal-Adams, introduces the December Editor’s Choice paper, which demonstrates that sediment runoff from industrial logging can affect food security and livelihoods in the Solomon Islands. Kolombangara is an island in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands in the South West Pacific. The island harbors a large variety of ecosystems, ranging from mangrove ecosystems at sea level to cloud forest ecosystems along the crater, … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 57:12 – Best-practice forestry management delivers diminishing returns for coral reefs with increased land-clearing

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

How to keep the mycorrhizae? The more hosts you leave, the more symbionts you get

How can tree retention mediate the effects of human-introduced disturbance on ectomycorrhizal fungi? Nahuel Policelli  and Senior Editor, Martin Nuñez discuss the recent article, The significance of retention trees for survival of ectomycorrhizal fungi in clear‐cut Scots pine forests. One of the most important above-belowground interactions is that between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. Acting as symbionts, mycorrhizal fungi are involved in plants’ nutrient uptake and … Continue reading How to keep the mycorrhizae? The more hosts you leave, the more symbionts you get

Editor’s Choice 56:1 – If a tree is felled in the forest, does anybody hear?

Investment in post-logging interventions may be the way to show people have heard, and perhaps more importantly, are acting. Jennifer Firn provides our first Editor’s Choice of Volume 56. The selected article is the Review, Actively restoring resilience in selectively logged tropical forests by Gianluca R. Cerullo and David P. Edwards. I think it’s safe to say you would be hard pressed to find an ecologist … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 56:1 – If a tree is felled in the forest, does anybody hear?

Demographic response to patch destruction in an endangered amphibian

Is rehabilitation always a good thing? Hugo Cayuela suggests alternative approaches for forest managers following the recently published article, Demographic response to patch destruction in a spatially structured amphibian population. Economic activities such as logging and mineral extraction can result in the creation of new anthropogenic habitats (e.g. temporary aquatic habitats) that may host specific biodiversity, including protected species. However, legislation in many Western European … Continue reading Demographic response to patch destruction in an endangered amphibian