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7,849 results for “Conservancy”
FIGURE 73 in The marine ichthyofauna of Lebanon: an annotated checklist, history, biogeography, and conservation status
FIGURE 73. Sarpa salpa (Linnaeus 1758), Batroun, 5 Augst 2000, AUBM (OS1547).
FIGURE 5. Galeus melastomus Rafinesque 1810 in The marine ichthyofauna of Lebanon: an annotated checklist, history, biogeography, and conservation status
FIGURE 5. Galeus melastomus Rafinesque 1810, Beirut, 20 April 2010, AUBM (CH0026).
FIGURE 1 in The marine ichthyofauna of Lebanon: an annotated checklist, history, biogeography, and conservation status
FIGURE 1. Carcharhinus altimus (Springer 1950), Jounieh, 11 January 2017, photograph: Ziad Samaha.
FIGURE 87 in The marine ichthyofauna of Lebanon: an annotated checklist, history, biogeography, and conservation status
FIGURE 87. Mola mola (Linnaeus 1758), Tripoli, 5 February 2017.
Data from: Bird diversity and endemism along a land-use gradient in Madagascar: the conservation value of vanilla agroforests
<div> <div> <p>Land-use change is the most important driver of biodiversity loss worldwide and particularly so in the tropics, where natural habitats are transformed into large-scale monocultures or heterogeneous landscape mosaics of largely unknown conservation value. Using birds as an indicator taxon, we evaluated the conservation value of a landscape mosaic in north-eastern Madagascar, a biodiversity hotspot and the center of global vanilla production. We assessed bird species richness and composition by conducting point counts across seven prevalent land-use types (forest- and fallow-derived vanilla agroforests, woody and herbaceous fallow that are part of a shifting cultivation system, rice paddy, forest fragment and contiguous old-growth forest). We find that old-growth forest had the highest species richness, driven by a high share of endemics. Species richness and community composition in forest-derived vanilla agroforest was similar to forest fragment, whereas fallow-derived vanilla agroforest was most comparable to woody fallow. The open land-use types herbaceous fallow and rice paddy had fewest species. Across forest fragment, vanilla agroforests and woody fallow, endemic bird species richness was positively correlated to landscape-scale forest cover. We conclude that both fallow- and forest-derived vanilla agroforests play an important but contrasting role for bird conservation in the landscape: Fallow-derived agroforests are less valuable but take fallow land out of the shifting cultivation cycle, possibly preventing further degradation. Conversely, forest-derived agroforests contribute to forest degradation but may avoid total loss of forest fragments. Considering the land-use history of agroforests may thus be a promising avenue for future research beyond the case of vanilla.</p> </div> </div>
Chromonomer: a tool set for repairing and enhancing assembled genomes through integration of genetic maps and conserved synteny
<p class="BodyAA">The pace of the sequencing and computational assembly of novel reference genomes is accelerating. Though DNA sequencing technologies and assembly software tools continue to improve, biological features of genomes such as repetitive sequence as well as molecular artifacts that often accompany sequencing library preparation can lead to fragmented or chimeric assemblies. If left uncorrected, defects like these trammel progress on understanding genome structure and function, or worse, positively mislead this research. Fortunately, integration of additional, independent streams of information, such as a marker-dense genetic map and conserved orthologous gene order from related taxa, can be used to scaffold together unlinked, disordered fragments and to restructure a reference genome where it is incorrectly joined. We present a tool set for automating these processes, one that additionally tracks any changes to the assembly and to the genetic map, and which allows the user to scrutinize these changes with the help of web-based, graphical visualizations. Chromonomer takes a user-defined reference genome, a map of genetic markers, and, optionally, conserved synteny information to construct an improved reference genome of chromosome models: a "chromonome". We demonstrate Chromonomer's performance on genome assemblies and genetic maps that have disparate characteristics and levels of quality.</p>
Data from: Variation and conservation implications of the effectiveness of anti-bear interventions
<p>Human-bear conflicts triggered by nuisance behaviour in public places and damage to livestock, crops, beehives and trees are among the main threats to bear populations globally. The effectiveness of interventions used to minimize bear-caused damage is insufficiently known and comparative reviews are lacking. We conducted a meta-analysis of 77 cases from 48 publications and used the relative risk of damage to compare the effectiveness of non-invasive interventions, invasive management (translocations) and lethal control (shooting) against bears. We show that the most effective interventions are electric fences (95% confidence interval = 79.2-100% reduction in damage), calving control (100%) and livestock replacement (99.8%), but the latter two approaches were applied in only one case each and need more testing. Deterrents varied widely in their effectiveness (13.7-79.5%) and we recommend applying these during the peak periods of damage infliction. We found shooting (-34.2 to 100%) to have a short-term positive effect with its effectiveness decreasing significantly and linearly over time. We did not find relationships between bear density and intervention effectiveness, possibly due to differences in spatial scales at which they were measured (large scales for densities and local fine scales for effectiveness). We appeal for more effectiveness studies and their scientific publishing in regard to under-represented conflict species and regions.</p>
Conservation in post-industrial cities: how does vacant land management and landscape configuration influence urban bees?
<p>1. Rich pollinator assemblages are documented in some cities despite habitat fragmentation and degradation, suggesting that urban areas have potential as pollinator refuges. To inform urban bee conservation, we assessed local and landscape scale drivers of bee community composition and foraging within vacant lots of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. Cleveland is a shrinking city, a type of urban area that has an over-abundance of vacated greenspaces as a result of population loss and subsequent demolition of abandoned infrastructure. As such, Cleveland represents over 350 post-industrial cities worldwide, that are all promising locations for bee conservation.</p> <p>2. Across a network of 56 residential vacant lots (each ~30m x 12m), we established seven unique habitats, including seeded native prairies, to investigate how vegetation management and landscape context at a 1500m radius influenced urban bee communities. We assessed the distribution of several bee functional traits, diversity, and abundance with pan and malaise traps. Foraging frequency was determined with plant-pollinator interaction networks derived from vacuum collections of bees at flowers.</p> <p>3. We observed higher bee richness and increased abundance of smaller sized bees as the size of surrounding greenspace patches increased within a 1500m radius landscape buffer. Within habitats, greater plant biomass positively influenced bee community richness and abundance whereas taller vegetation was a negative influence. Plant-pollinator interaction networks were dominated by spontaneous non-native vegetation, illustrating that this forage supports urban bees.</p> <p>4. Synthesis and applications: Our study indicates that proximity to larger greenspaces within an urban landscape promotes overall bee richness and increased occurrence of smaller bee species within residential vacant lots. While we did not observe our seeded native plants enhancing the bee community, native wildflowers were still establishing during the study and may have a greater influence when blooming at higher densities. Importantly, spontaneous non-native vegetation provided the majority of urban bee's forage. Thus, vacant land that is minimally managed and vegetated with what many consider undesirable "weeds", provides valuable habitat for bee conservation in cities.</p>
Data from: Integrating population genetics to define conservation units from the core to the edge of Rhinolophus ferrumequinum western range
The greater horseshoe bat (<i>Rhinolophus ferrumequinum</i>) is among the most widespread bat species in Europe but it has experienced severe declines, especially in Northern Europe. This species is listed Near Threatened in the European IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals and it is considered to be highly sensitive to human activities and particularly to habitat fragmentation. Therefore, understanding the population boundaries and demographic history of populations of this species is of primary importance to assess relevant conservation strategies. In this study, we used 17 microsatellite markers to assess the genetic diversity, the genetic structure and the demographic history of <i>R. ferrumequinum</i> colonies in the western part of its distribution. We identified one large population showing high levels of genetic diversity and large population size. Lower estimates were found in England and northern France. Analyses of clustering and isolation by distance suggested that the Channel and the Mediterranean seas could impede <i>R. ferrumequinum</i> gene flow. These results provide important information to improve the delineation of <i>R. ferrumequinum</i> management units. We suggest that a large management unit corresponding to the population ranging from Spanish Basque country to northern France must be considered. Particular attention should be given to mating territories as they seem to play a key role in maintaining the high levels of genetic mixing between colonies. Smaller management units corresponding to English and northern France colonies must also be implemented. These insular or peripheral colonies could be at higher risk of extinction in a near future.
WEGE: A new metric for ranking locations for biodiversity conservation
<p>Aim Effective policy making for biological conservation requires the identification and ranking of the most important areas for protection or management. One of the most frequently used systems for selecting priority areas is Key Biodiversity Areas (hereafter KBAs), developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, KBAs cannot be used to rank areas, potentially limiting their use when limited funding is available. To tackle this shortcoming and facilitate spatial prioritization, here we develop and validate the "WEGE index" (Weighted Endemism including Global Endangerment index), consisting of an adaptation of the EDGE score (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered). WEGE allows the ranking of any set of locations according to the KBA guidelines and on a continuous scale. Location Global. Methods We calculated the EDGE score, Weighted Endemism, Evolutionary distinctiveness, Extinction risk and our newly developed WEGE index for all terrestrial species of amphibians, mammals and birds accessed by IUCN. We then compared the performance of each of those five indices at prioritizing areas according to the KBA guidelines. Results We found that for all taxa surveyed, WEGE was consistently better at identifying areas that trigger KBA status. Main conclusions In our analyses, WEGE outperformed all other methods and metrics designed for similar purposes. It can therefore serve as a robust evidence-based methodology to prioritize among otherwise equally qualified sites according to the KBA categories. WEGE can therefore support transparent, evidence-based and biologically meaningful decision-making for conservation priorities.</p>
Data from: Historical demography of four gecko species specializing in boulder cave habitat – its implications in the evolutionary dead end hypothesis and conservation
Specialization in narrow ecological niches might not only help species to survive in competitive or unique environments but also contribute to their extermination over evolutionary time. Although the "evolutionary dead end" hypothesis has long been debated, empirical evidence from species with detailed information on niche specialization and evolutionary history is still rare. Here we used a group of four closely related Cnemaspis gecko species that highly depend on granite boulder caves in the Mekong Delta to illuminate the potential impact of ecological specialization on their evolution and population dynamics. Isolated by the unsuitable habitat of a flood plain, these boulder-dwelling geckos are among the most narrowly distributed Squamata species in the world. We applied several coalescence-based approaches combined with the RAD-seq technique to estimate their divergence times, gene flow and demographic fluctuations during the speciation and population differentiation processes. Our results showed long-term population shrinkage in the four geckos and limited gene flow during their divergence. The results suggest that the erosion and fragmentation of the granite boulder hills have had great impacts on these populations' divergences and population declines. We argue that the specialist gecko's habitat specialization has facilitated the fine-scaled speciation in these granite rocky hills; in contrast, specialization might also have pushed these species toward the edge of extinction. Our study also emphasizes the conservation urgency of these vulnerable, cave-dependent geckos.
Data From: Conservation planning in an uncertain climate: identifying projects that remain valuable and feasible across future scenarios
<p>Conservation actors face the challenge of allocating limited resources despite uncertainty about future climate. A key goal is to minimize the potential for negative outcomes under future scenarios. Thus, we address a global conservation challenge: how to allocate conservation investments given high uncertainty about future climate conditions. To that end, we present a method for identifying projects that remain valuable and feasible across climate scenarios and apply our framework to freshwater biodiversity conservation in the South-Central USA. We combine data from a recent high-resolution hydrologic planning tool and species distribution models to estimate the conservation feasibility and biodiversity value of river reaches below 38 major reservoirs in the Red River basin.We find that only 13% of sites have high conservation priority across all future climate scenarios and that spatial patterns of conservation priority largely reflect patterns of water availability and fish biodiversity.</p>
Taxonomic similarity does not predict necessary sample size for ex situ conservation: a comparison among five genera
<p>Effectively conserving biodiversity with limited resources requires scientifically informed and efficient strategies. Guidance is particularly needed on how many living plants are necessary to conserve a threshold level of genetic diversity in ex situ collections. We investigated this question for 11 taxa across five genera. In this first study analyzing and optimizing ex situ genetic diversity across multiple genera, we found that the percentage of extant genetic diversity currently conserved varies among taxa, from 40 to 95%. Most taxa are well below genetic conservation targets. Resampling datasets showed that ideal collection sizes vary widely even within a genus: one taxon typically required at least 50% more individuals than another (though Quercus was an exception). Still, across taxa, the minimum collection size to achieve genetic conservation goals is within one order of magnitude. Current collections are also suboptimal: they could remain the same size yet capture twice the genetic diversity with improved sampling design. We term this deficiency the "genetic conservation gap." Lastly, we show that minimum collection sizes are influenced by collection priorities regarding the genetic diversity target. In summary, current collections are insufficient (not reaching targets) and suboptimal (not efficiently designed), and we show how improvements can be made.</p>
Data from: Genetic diversity and conservation status of Helianthus verticillatus, an endangered sunflower of the Southern United States
<p>Evaluating species diversity and patterns of population genetic variation is an essential aspect of conservation biology to determine appropriate management strategies and preserve the biodiversity of native plants. Habitat fragmentation and potential habitat loss are often an outcome of a reduction in naturally occurring wildfires and controlled prescribed burning, as seen in <i>Helianthus verticillatus</i> (whorled sunflower). This endangered, wild relative of the common sunflower, <i>Helianthus annuus</i>, is endemic to four locations in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee, United States. Despite its endangered status, there is no recovery plan for <i>H. verticillatus</i>, and knowledge related to its basic plant biology and importance in ecosystem services is mostly unknown. In this study, we utilized 14 microsatellite loci to investigate fine-scale population structure and genetic diversity of <i>H. verticillatus</i> individuals found on two sampling sites within the Georgia population. Our results indicated moderate genetic diversity and the presence of two distinct genetic clusters. Analyses of molecular variance indicated that the majority of variance was individually based, thus confirming high genetic differentiation and limited gene flow between <i>H. verticillatus</i> collection sites. The evidence of a population bottleneck in these sites suggests a recent reduction in population size that could be explained by habitat loss and population fragmentation. Also, high levels of linkage disequilibrium were detected, putatively suggesting clonal reproduction among these individuals. Our study provides a better understanding of fine-scale genetic diversity and spatial distribution of <i>H. verticillatus</i> populations in Georgia. Our results can underpin an original recovery plan for <i>H. verticillatus</i> that could be utilized for the conservation of this endangered species and to promote its persistence in the wild.</p>
Data from: Constrained optimization of landscape indices in conservation planning to support ecological restoration in New Caledonia
<p>1. Curbing habitat loss, reducing fragmentation, and restoring connectivity are frequent concerns of conservation planning. In this respect, the incorporation of spatial constraints, fragmentation, and connectivity indices into optimization procedures is an important challenge for improving decision support.</p> <p>2. Here we present a novel optimization approach developed to accurately represent a broad range of conservation planning questions with spatial constraints and landscape indices. Relying on constraint programming, a technique from artificial intelligence based on automatic reasoning, this approach provides both constraint satisfaction and optimality guarantees.</p> <p>3. We applied this approach in a real case study to support managers of the ``Côte Oubliée -- `Woen Vùù -- Pwa Pereeù'' provincial park project, in the biodiversity hotspot of New Caledonia. Under budget, accessibility, and equitable allocation constraints, we identified restorable areas optimal for reducing forest fragmentation and improving inter-patch structural connectivity, respectively measured with the effective mesh size and the integral index of connectivity.</p> <p>4. Synthesis and applications. Our work contributes to more effective and policy-relevant conservation planning by providing a spatially-explicit and problem-focused optimization approach. By allowing an exact representation of spatial constraints and landscape indices, it can address new questions and ensure whether the solutions will be socio-economically feasible, through optimality and satisfiability guarantees. Our approach is generic and flexible, thus applicable to a wide range of conservation planning problems such as ecological restoration planning, reserve or corridor design.</p>
Supplementary material for "A Partitioned Finite Element Method for power-preserving discretization of open systems of conservation laws"
<p>This archive contains supplementary material for the paper "A Partitioned Finite Element Method for power-preserving discretization of open systems of conservation laws", containing the source codes for the numerial results presented in the paper. An arXiv pre-print version of the paper is available <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/1906.05965">here</a>.</p> <p>The following codes are provided:</p> <ul> <li> <p><code>codes/simulation1D_small.jl</code>: small amplitudes (linear) 1D simulation</p> </li> <li> <p><code>codes/simulation1D_large.jl</code>: large amplitudes (nonlinear) 1D simulation</p> </li> <li> <p><code>codes/simulation1D_analytical_gradient</code>: large amplitudes 1D simulation, but using an analytical nonlinear Hamiltonian gradient expression</p> </li> <li> <p><code>codes/simulation2D.jl</code>: large amplitudes (nonlinear) 2D simulation</p> </li> <li> <p><code>codes/convergence1D.jl</code>: convergence analysis of the 1D linear case</p> </li> <li> <p><code>codes/convergence2D.m</code>: convergence analysis of the 2D linear case</p> </li> </ul> <p>A GitHub with the codes and a few instructions on usage is available <a href="http://github.com/flavioluiz/PFEM-article-supplementary-material">here</a>.</p> <p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p> <p>This work has been performed in the frame of the Collaborative Research DFG and ANR project INFIDHEM, entitled "Interconnected of Infinite-Dimensional systems for Heterogeneous Media", nº ANR-16-CE92-0028. Further information is available <a href="http://websites.isae-supaero.fr/infidhem/the-project">here</a>.</p>
Mapping the geographic origin of captive and confiscated Hermann's tortoises: a genetic toolkit for conservation and forensic analyses
<p>The illegal trade has been threatening tortoise populations worldwide for decades. Nowadays, however, DNA typing and forensic genetic approaches allow us to investigate the geographic origin of confiscated animals and to relocate them into the wild, providing that suitable molecular tools and reference data are available. Here we assess the suitability of a small panel of microsatellite markers to investigate patterns of illegal translocations and to assist forensic genetic applications in the endangered Mediterranean land tortoise <em>Testudo hermanni hermanni</em>. Specific allelic ladders were created for each locus and tested on several reference samples. We used the microsatellite panel to (i) increase our understanding of the population genetic structure in wild populations with new data from previously unsampled geographic areas (overall 461 wild individuals from 28 sampling sites); (ii) detect the presence of non-native individuals in wild populations; and (iii) identify the most likely geographic area of origin of 458 confiscated individuals hosted in Italian seizure and recovery centers. Our analysis initially identified six major genetic clusters corresponding to different geographic macro-areas along the Mediterranean range. Long-distance migrants among wild populations, due to translocations, were found and removed from the reference database. Assignment tests allowed us to allocate approximately 70% of confiscated individuals of unknown origin to one of the six Mediterranean macro-areas. Most of the assigned tortoises belonged to the genetic cluster corresponding to the area where the respective captivity center was located. However, we also found evidence of long-distance origins of confiscated individuals, especially in centers along the Adriatic coast and facing the Balkan regions, a well-known source of illegally traded individuals. Our results clearly show that the microsatellite panel and the reference dataset can play a beneficial role in reintroduction and repatriation projects when confiscated individuals need to be re-assigned to their respective macro-area of origin before release, and can assist future forensic genetic applications in detecting the illegal trade and possession of <em>Testudo hermanni</em> individuals.</p>
Changes in participant behaviour and attitudes are associated with knowledge and skills gained by using a turtle conservation citizen science app
Citizen science has become a popular way to collect biodiversity data and engage the wider public in scientific research. It has the potential to improve the knowledge and skills of participants, and positively change their behaviour and attitude towards the environment. Citizen science outcomes are particularly valuable for wildlife conservation, as they could help alleviate human impacts on the environment. We used an online questionnaire to investigate the consequences of participating in an Australian turtle mapping app, TurtleSAT, on skills and knowledge gain, and test for any association between these gains with behavioural or attitudinal changes reported by the participants. 148 citizen scientists completed our questionnaire, mostly from the states of New South Wales and Victoria. Participants listed TurtleSAT as the third most common source of knowledge about turtle ecology and conservation, after a talk about turtles and personal observations/research. Citizen scientists who participated more often were more knowledgeable about turtles than infrequent users. Self-reported gains in knowledge and skills were positively linked to attitudinal and behavioural changes, such as being more aware of turtles on roads. However, behaviour and attitude changes were not related to participation rate. Respondents also reported that after learning about the current decline in turtle populations, they adopted several turtle-friendly practices, such as habitat restoration or moving turtles out of harm's way, underlining the importance of increasing people's awareness on species declines. The reported changes in attitudes and behaviours are likely to positively impact the conservation of Australian freshwater turtles. Engagement with citizen science projects like TurtleSAT may result in participants being more interested in the natural world, by learning more about it and being more exposed to it, and therefore contribute more actively to its protection.
Code and data used in thesis Chapter 2 of 'Determining the biases and consistencies in the evidence for conservation'
<p>Code and data used in thesis Chapter 2 of 'Determining the biases and consistencies in the evidence for conservation'.</p>
AnnData files for "Human dermal fibroblast subpopulations are conserved across single-cell RNA sequencing studies"
<p>AnnData files for "Human dermal fibroblast subpopulations are conserved across single-cell RNA sequencing studies". </p> <p>Includes Joined dataset with all four datasets at once.</p>
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
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)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
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.