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437 results for “threatened species”
Science to inform policy: linking population dynamics to habitat for a threatened species in Canada
<p>Abstract</p> <p>1. Boreal forests provide numerous ecological services, including the ability to store large amounts of carbon, and are of significance to global biodiversity. Increases in industrial activities in boreal landscapes since the mid-20th century have added to concerns over biodiversity loss and climate change. Boreal forests are home to dwindling populations of boreal caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in Canada, a species at risk that requires large, undisturbed landscapes for persistence. In 2012, the Canadian government defined critical habitat for boreal caribou by relating calf recruitment to disturbances. Some have questioned whether the recruitment-relationship can be extrapolated beyond the environmental conditions represented in the analysis.</p> <p>2. We examined the effects of human disturbances and fire (alone and in combination) on variation in recruitment and adult female survival using data from 58 study areas in Canada. Top models were used in aspatial scenarios of landscape change to evaluate the efficacy of the critical habitat definition in achieving the recovery objectives for boreal caribou in two contrasting landscapes: Little Smoky, dominated by high levels of human disturbances, and SK1, dominated by fire.</p> <p>3. The top recruitment model suggested the negative effect of fire was 3-4 times smaller than human disturbances. The top adult female survival model included human disturbances only. These results re-affirm that human disturbances are the primary factor contributing to boreal caribou declines.</p> <p>4. Our aspatial scenarios suggested that undisturbed habitat would have to increase to ≥68% for Little Smoky to maintain a self-sustaining population of boreal caribou with some degree of certainty. In contrast, the SK1 population was self-sustaining with 40% undisturbed habitat when fire disturbance predominates, but could become vulnerable with increases in human disturbances (8–9%). 5. Policy implications: Our results suggest that the 65% undisturbed critical habitat designation may serve as a reasonable proxy for achieving boreal caribou recovery in landscapes dominated by human disturbances. However, some populations may be less or more vulnerable, as illustrated by the SK1 scenarios. Continued population monitoring will be essential to assessing the effectiveness of land management strategies developed for boreal caribou recovery, especially with climate change.</p>
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
<p>The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. From its small beginning, the IUCN Red List has grown in size and complexity and now plays an increasingly prominent role in guiding conservation activities of governments, NGOs and scientific institutions. The introduction in 1994 of a scientifically rigorous approach to determine risks of extinction that is applicable to all species, has become a world standard. In order to produce the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, the IUCN Species Programme working with the IUCN Survival Commission (SSC) and with members of IUCN draws on and mobilizes a network of scientists and partner organizations working in almost every country in the world, who collectively hold what is likely the most complete scientific knowledge base on the biology and conservation status of species.</p>
Interpreting past trophic ecology of a threatened species, kea (Nestor notabilis), from museum specimens
<p>When ecosystems are under severe pressure or environments change, trophic position and intraspecific niche width may decrease or narrow, signalling that conservation action is required. In New Zealand, alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems have been extensively modified through farming since 19th century European settlement, with consequences for indigenous species such as the kea (Nestor notabilis). We investigated feather stable isotope values in the kea and predicted a lower trophic position in modern kea populations, to reflect reduced lowland habitat and a mixed diet with more plant material. We predicted that size and sex would influence trophic values in this sexually dimorphic species, with larger birds more likely to have a high protein diet. We examined potential dietary changes in 68 museum collected kea from 1880s to 2000s, first recording accession details including provenance and sex, and measuring culmen length. We used bulk carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes analyses (BSIA) of feathers and a further feather subset using compound-specific stable isotopes analyses of amino acids (CSIA-AA) to obtain isotopic values and estimate trophic position. BSIA showed δ15N values in kea feathers declined through time, and could indicate that early century kea were highly omnivorous, with δ15N values on average higher than in modern kea. Variance in δ15N values was greater after 1950, driven by a few individuals. Few differences between males and females were evident, although females in the south region had lower δ15N values. There was a tendency for large male birds to have higher trophic values, perhaps reflecting dominant male bird behaviour noted in historical records. Nonetheless, CSIA-AA performed on a subset of the data suggested that variation in BSIA is likely due to baseline changes rather than relative trophic position which may be more homogenous than these data indicate. Although there was more variability in modern kea, we suggest caution in interpretation. Stable isotope data, particularly CSIA-AA, from museum specimens can reveal potential change in ecological networks, as well as sexually dimorphic feeding patterns within species. The data can reveal temporal and regional variation in species trophic position and changes in ecosystem integrity to inform conservation decision-making.</p>
Can fire-age mosaics really deal with conflicting needs of species? A study using population hotspots of multiple threatened birds
<p> Locations that support high densities of a species ("population hotspots") have a disproportionate influence on species' persistence. In fire-prone ecosystems, managers attempting to promote population hotspots of multiple species must understand how hotspot locations might shift with post-fire succession and how much overlap exists in the locations of population hotspots for multiple species. Mangers are then tasked with resolving fire-management conflicts in overlapping locations.</p> <p>We studied three co-occurring threatened bird species in a fire-prone 'mallee' region of south-eastern Australia. We undertook field surveys for each species (1508 surveys; 540 sites; 9-ha each). We used N-mixture models to determine (a) what factors affect species' density (including post-fire succession); (b) species' population sizes; (c) locations of species' current population hotspots and locations that may become population hotspots in the future as the post-fire successional state changes and (d) the degree of overlap in the current and possible future hotspots of species.</p> <p>We found substantial variation in the densities of the three species across the study area, with roughly half of each species' population occurring in only 20 percent of potential habitat (i.e. population hotspots). All species shared a preference for subtle depressions in the landscape, resulting in substantial overlap in their population hotspots. Two species had contrasting responses to post-fire succession in the subtle depressions. As a result, there was only a narrow post-fire period that supported population hotspots of both species, creating a challenge for fire managers in these shared locations.</p> <p><em>Synthesis and Applications.</em> Many studies make vague recommendations for fire-age mosaics that do not provide managers with the detail they need to implement appropriate fire-age mosaics. By contrast, we explicitly quantify, then balance the conflicting post-fire needs of species in locations that support population hotspots of multiple species. Using this approach, we develop principles to guide the implementation of fire-age mosaics in such locations. This approach represents a step towards applying fire-age mosaic theory to support effective species conservation.</p>
Climate change threatens the distribution of major woody species and ecosystem services provision in southern Africa
<p>Species occurrence points used in this study to investigate the effect of climate change on the distribution of eight tree species in 18 countries in southern Africa, covering 36% of the continent. We proposed a loser/winner ranking of the species based on the changes in climatic suitability within their historical distributions as well as future gains and losses of suitable areas. We interpreted these findings in terms of changes in the provision of key ES (timber, food, energy, and medicine), and identified hotspots of ES provision decline. We used species presence data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, climatic data from the AfriClim dataset, and the MaXent algorithm to project the changes in species' land suitability. </p>
How extreme drought events , introduced species, and disease interact to impact influence threatened amphibian populations
<p>Long term dataset of amphibian breeding in the Bay Area of California. We used this 7-y dataset (2013–2019) on amphibian breeding activity that encompassed a recent extreme drought event to assess 1) how breeding activities of these taxa differed during and after drought conditions and 2) the additive and interactive relationships of drought, chytrid fungal infection (Bd), and invasive species with the presence and abundance of larval amphibians.</p> <p> </p>
Relationship of woody species composition with edaphic characteristics in threatened riparian Atlantic Forest remnants in the upper Rio Doce basin, Brazil
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Studies on the composition, richness, and diversity of plant species in <span>tropical</span> communities are essential for understanding relevant ecological processes and for developing appropriate conservation policies. </span><span>Considering that areas subject to direct impacts due to dam breach may in the long-term present changes in species composition and in soil parameters, we evaluated the composition of the flora, described the current vegetation profile, and evaluated whether differences in species composition was influenced by soil variables of three areas along the Gualaxo River, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. In addition, we identified important plant species through occurrence and phytosociological parameters for ecological restoration projects in the affected region, serving as reference areas. We sampled plant species with DBH ≥ 5 cm (diameter at breast height – measured 1.30 m above ground level) in 77 plots distributed in three riparian forest areas. We calculated phytosociological parameters and related them to edaphic factors. </span><span>A total of 1579 individual plants belonging to 53 botanical families and 227 species were sampled in the three areas. The Fabaceae family was the most representative with 46 species. </span><span>Species composition and diversity among the sampled areas was similar and was associated with edaphic factors. Furthermore, some species (e.g. <em>Xylopia sericea</em>, <em>Cupania emarginata</em> and <em>Ocotea pulchalla</em>) showed an important relation with soil variables. Some species of the genera (e.g., <em>Byrsonima</em>, <em>Xylopia</em>, <em>Ocotea</em>, and <em>Croton</em>) and families (e.g., Fabaceae and Myrtaceae) found here, can be important species in the restauration process for the local and regional maintenance of floristic identity in the Rio Doce river.</span></p>
Fig. 11 in Endemism on a threatened sky island: new and rare species of herpetofauna from Cerro Chucantí, Eastern Panama
Fig. 11. Species richness across habitats, as average species per transect (#species/transect).
Figure. The location of the study area (black dot) near the Tisza River in East Hungary. in The first recording of the threatened species, the European weather loach, Misgurnus fossilis (Berg, 1949), in the diet of the pike
Figure. The location of the study area (black dot) near the Tisza River in East Hungary.
Predicting the competitive interactions and trophic niche consequences of a globally invasive fish with threatened native species
<p>1. Novel trophic interactions between invasive and native species potentially increase levels of inter-specific competition in the receiving environment. However, theory on the trophic impacts of invasive fauna on native competitors is ambiguous, as while increased inter-specific competition can result in the species having constricted and diverged trophic niches, the species might instead increase their niche sizes, especially in omnivorous species.</p> <p>2. The competitive interactions between an omnivorous invasive fish, common carp Cyprinus carpio, and a tropically analogous native and threatened fish, crucian carp Carassius carassius, were tested using comparative functional responses (CFRs). A natural pond experiment then presented the species in allopatry and sympatry, determining the changes in their trophic (isotopic) niche sizes and positions over four years. These predictive approaches were complemented by assessing their trophic relationships in wild populations.</p> <p>3. CFRs revealed that compared to crucian carp, carp had a significantly higher maximum consumption rate. Coupled with a previous cohabitation growth study, these results predicted that competition between the species is asymmetric, with carp the superior competitor.</p> <p>4. The pond experiment used stable isotope metrics to quantify shifts in the trophic (isotopic) niche sizes of the fishes. In allopatry, the isotopic niches of the two species were similar sized and diverged. Conversely, in sympatry, carp isotopic niches were always considerably larger than those of crucian carp and were strongly partitioned. Sympatric crucian carp had larger isotopic niches than allopatric conspecifics, a likely response to asymmetric competition from carp. However, carp isotopic niches were also larger in sympatry than allopatry. In the wild populations, the carp isotopic niches were always larger than crucian carp niches, and were highly divergent.</p> <p>5. The superior competitive abilities of carp predicted in aquaria experiments were considered to be a process involved in sympatric crucian carp having larger isotopic niches than in allopatry. However, as sympatric carp also had larger niches than in allopatry, this suggests other ecological processes were also likely to be involved, such as those relating to fish prey resources. These results highlight the inherent complexity in determining how omnivorous invasive species integrate into food-webs and alter their structure.</p>
Landscape-scale dynamics of a threatened species respond to local-scale conservation management
<p><span>Landscape-scale approaches are increasingly advocated for species conservation but ensuring landscape level persistence by enlarging the size of patches or increasing their physical connectivity is often impractical. Here, we test how such barriers can be overcome by management of habitat at the local (site-based) level, using a rare butterfly as an exemplar. We used four surveys of the entire UK distribution of the Lulworth Skipper (<em>Thymelicus</em> <em>acteon</em>) over 40 years to test how local habitat influences population density and colonization / extinction dynamics, and parameterized, validated and applied a metapopulation model to simulate effects of varying local habitat quality on regional persistence. We found the total number of populations in four distribution snapshots between 1978 and 2017 varied between 59–84, and from 1997 to 2017, 34% of local populations showed turnover (colonization or extinction). Population density was closely linked to vegetation characteristics indicative of management, namely height and food plant frequency, both of which changed through time. Simulating effects of habitat quality on metapopulation dynamics 40 years into the future suggests coordinated changes to two key components of quality (vegetation height and food plant frequency) would increase patch occupancy above the range observed in the past 40 years (50–80%). In contrast, deterioration of either component below threshold levels leads to metapopulation retraction to core sub-networks of patches, or eventual extirpation. Our results indicate that changes to habitat quality can overcome constraints imposed by habitat patch area and spatial location on relative rates of colonization and local extinction, demonstrating the sensitivity of regional dynamics to targeted in situ management. Local habitat management therefore plays a key role in landscape-scale conservation. Monitoring of population density, and the monitoring and management of local (site-level) habitat quality, therefore represent effective and important components of conservation strategies in fragmented landscapes.</span></p>
Data from: Are Mediterranean marine threatened species at high risk by climate change?
<p><span>Rapid anthropogenic climate change is driving threatened biodiversity one step closer to extinction. Effects on native biodiversity are determined by an interplay between species' exposure to climate change and their specific ecological and life-history characteristics that render them even more susceptible. Impacts on biodiversity have already been reported; however, a systematic risk evaluation of threatened marine populations is lacking. Here, we employ a trait-based approach to assess the risk of 90 threatened marine Mediterranean species to climate change, combining species' exposure to increased sea temperature and intrinsic vulnerability. One-quarter of the threatened marine biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea is predicted to be under elevated levels of climate risk, with </span><span>various traits </span><span>identified as key vulnerability traits</span><span>. Climate risk, vulnerability and exposure hotspots are distributed along the Western Mediterranean, Alboran, Aegean, and Adriatic Seas. At each Mediterranean marine ecoregion, 21% to 31% of their threatened species have high climate risk. All Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas host threatened species with high risk to climate change, with 90% having a minimum of 4 up to 19 species of high climate risk, making the objective of a climate-smart conservation strategy a crucial task for immediate planning and action. Our findings aspire to offer new insights for systematic, spatially strategic planning and prioritization of vulnerable marine life in the face of accelerating climate change.</span></p>
Map 1 in Impatiens banen and Impatiens etugei (Balsaminaceae), new threatened species from lowland of the Cross-Sanaga Interval, Cameroon
Map 1. Global distributions of Impatiens banen and I. etugei. BY XANDER VAN DER BURGT.
Data for: High focus on threatened species and habitats may undermine biodiversity conservation: evidence from the northern Baltic Sea
<p><span>Conservation policies and environmental impact assessments commonly target threatened species and habitats. Nevertheless, macroecological research provides reasons why also common species should be considered. </span><span>We investigate the consequences of focusing solely on legally protected species and habitats in a spatial conservation planning context using a comprehensive, benthic marine dataset from the northern Baltic Sea</span><span>. </span><span>Using spatial prioritization and surrogacy analysis, we </span><span>show that the common approach in conservation planning, where legally listed threatened species and habitats are the focus of conservation efforts, could lead to poor outcomes for common species (and therefore biodiversity as a whole), allowing them to decline in the future.</span> <span> </span><span>If conservation efforts were aimed solely at threatened species, common species would experience a loss of 62% coverage. In contrast, if conservation plans were based only on common species, threatened species would suffer a loss of 1%.</span><span> Threatened species are rare and their ecological niches distinct, making them poor surrogates for biodiversity. The best results are achieved by unified planning for all species and habitats. The minimal step towards acknowledging common species in conservation planning would be the inclusion of the richness of common species, complemented by information on indicator species or species of high importance for ecosystem functioning. The trade-off between planning for rare and common species should be evaluated, to minimize losses to biodiversity. </span></p>
Can fire-age mosaics really deal with conflicting needs of species? A study using population hotspots of multiple threatened birds
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Urbanisation is related to the prevalence of threatened species on islands across the globe
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Landscape-scale dynamics of a threatened species respond to local-scale conservation management
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Data for: High focus on threatened species and habitats may undermine biodiversity conservation: evidence from the northern Baltic Sea
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Interpreting past trophic ecology of a threatened species, kea (Nestor notabilis), from museum specimens
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Relationship of woody species composition with edaphic characteristics in threatened riparian Atlantic Forest remnants in the upper Rio Doce basin, Brazil
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.