Conservation optimism: applied ecologists lead the way

Linking to their upcoming summit in Oxford, UK, Conservation Optimism’s E.J. Milner-Gulland brings together a selection of recent research papers that celebrate conservation success and look for solutions. These are both difficult and hopeful times for applied ecologists. On the one hand, the scale and severity of the strain that our ecological systems are under is becoming more and more apparent; a look through the … Continue reading Conservation optimism: applied ecologists lead the way

Defining and delivering resilient ecological networks in England

Nick Isaac et al.’s new Policy Direction, Defining and delivering resilient ecological networks: nature conservation in England is available as an Accepted Article from today (Thursday 21st June). Read Nick’s comments on the development of this adaptive management framework in this post and watch a video here. The UK Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan (henceforth 25YEP) for England is an exciting opportunity to reframe the direction of nature conservation … Continue reading Defining and delivering resilient ecological networks in England

Resilience: advancing a deceptively simple concept

The latest in our series of blogs to accompany the Special Feature, Toward prediction in the restoration of biodiveristy, is written by Loralee Larios. Loralee’s article, Where and how to restore in a changing world: a demographic-based assessment of resilience, is published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. The unprecedented rates at which natural systems have been altered have prompted a parallel increase in restoration efforts to … Continue reading Resilience: advancing a deceptively simple concept

Bark beetle impacts on ecosystems and society

In this post Jesse Morris discusses his research, published today in Journal of Applied Ecology ‘Managing bark beetle impacts on ecosystems and society: priority questions to motivate future research‘ Forests provide many goods and services that have ecological, economic, and social value. Management agencies and scientists often refer to these benefits as ecosystem services. Some examples of ecosystem services include purifying air, controlling water runoff … Continue reading Bark beetle impacts on ecosystems and society

Early warning indicators in aquatic ecosystems

In this post Craig Allen and Hannah Birge discuss a paper from Sarah Burthe and colleagues ‘Do early warning indicators consistently predict nonlinear change in long-term ecological data?’ Complex systems of humans and nature rarely change in gradual, expected ways. Instead, changes often occur suddenly, with major, non-linear losses of human and ecological capital. Once these unexpected changes occur, it can be difficult to restore … Continue reading Early warning indicators in aquatic ecosystems

How network analyses can help to find out what happens to ostrich farming after an avian influenza outbreak

In this post Craig Allen and Hannah Birge discuss a paper from Christine Moore, John Grewar and Graeme S. Cumming ‘Quantifying network resilience: comparison before and after a major perturbation shows strengths and limitations of network metrics’ Humans are very good at creating mental models to simplify nature’s complexity, to make its many parts and interactions more understandable. Approaches that exemplify this include hierarchy theory, panarchy … Continue reading How network analyses can help to find out what happens to ostrich farming after an avian influenza outbreak

Resilience: buzzword or quantifiable theory with management application?

In this post, David Angeler discusses a paper he recently handled by Kirsty Nash and colleagues “Herbivore cross-scale redundancy supports response diversity and promotes coral reef resilience” This paper will appear as part of a forthcoming special profile ‘Quantifying Resilience’ in Journal of Applied Ecology. We are living in a time of spurious certitude. The unprecedented transformation of the biosphere is shown by rapid changes … Continue reading Resilience: buzzword or quantifiable theory with management application?

Costs of passive dispersal in fragmented landscapes

In this post, Brittany Teller (@brittzinator) describes her recent paper with co- authors Adam Miller & Katriona Shea “Conservation of passively dispersed organisms in the context of habitat degradation and destruction“ Leaving the natal location (hereafter, “dispersal”) can be a critical part of many species’ life cycles. If dispersing individuals help establish new populations, this colonization can help keep connected metapopulations viable in the face of disturbances … Continue reading Costs of passive dispersal in fragmented landscapes