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American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a globally desired medicinal plant that is becoming increasingly difficult to study due to harvest-induced rarity. Thus, this species' conservation could be greatly improved via species distribution models, making it a model organism for studying sampling bias. In an attempt to refine a state-derived distribution model for ginseng in Virginia, we conducted additional surveys in a biologically diverse yet under-sampled region of the state—the Cumberland Mountains—thereby increasing the number of documented ginseng occurrences in this region thirteen-fold (N1 = 16, N2 = 214). Our surveys resulted in the model predicting an increased probability of American ginseng occurrence not only statewide (µ1 = 0.099, µ2 = 0.104) but particularly so in the Cumberland Mountains (µ1 = 0.170, µ2 = 0.278), highlighting a consistently overlooked hotspot for biodiversity in Southern Appalachia. We suggest that more geographically balanced surveys and reduced overrepresentation of heavily protected and managed areas such as National Parks—in addition to heeding local knowledge—can be an effective method of mitigating geographic bias in predictions from species distribution models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The NMC's rich natural assets are faced with rapidly evolving pressures. • We identify and value six key coastal and marine ecosystem services in the NMC. • Ecosystem service value flows are mapped at national and provincial level. • We investigate values in the broader context of 32 policy-relevant indicators. • Values and indicators are combined in a multi-criteria analysis for policy guidance. Abstract The Northern Mozambique Channel hosts one of the world's most outstanding terrestrial and marine biodiversity-rich areas. So far, the region has been only moderately impacted by human activities but rapidly evolving socio-economic pressures call for sustainable management of the region's ecosystem service flows, which play a key role in supporting coastal livelihoods. In this paper, economic valuation and geospatial analysis are first combined to provide estimates of the economic values of key coastal and marine ecosystem services in the region, which are then aggregated at the administrative level. This enables an assessment of not just absolute country performance with respect to the provision of the ecosystem service in question but relative performance compared to its peers. The investigated services are coastal tourism, coastal recreation, fishing, mariculture, carbon sequestration and coastal protection. Second, we use the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response framework and multi-criteria analysis to investigate the elicited economic values in the context of policy-relevant indicators of biodiversity, poverty, institutional responses, pressures and drivers of environmental change. The results demonstrate great diversity among provinces and countries in the region. Finally, the study's contribution to guide decision makers towards a sustainable growth path in the region is discussed, including the prioritization of areas for conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Ecosystem Services provision is, in part, closely linked to biodiversity and forest cover. • We analyse forest cover data for 4 countries that experience armed conflicts in the last 20 years. • The results show alarming forest loss right after armed conflicts end. • We propose adaptive co-management to address governance challenges during the transition period. Abstract Ecosystem Services are commonly understood as the goods and services people obtain from nature, such as carbon sequestration, provision of food and fibres, pollination, etc. The provision of these services is in part closely related to the level of biodiversity in a region. Since some forested regions are considered biodiversity hotspots, the loss of such forested areas would affect the provision of ecosystem services. Among others, expansion of the agricultural frontier, demand for timber, weak enforcement of environmental regulations, or illegal logging are some of the key factors contributing to forest loss. These factors can be supported or enhanced during or after periods of extreme social instability such as armed conflicts or wars. Analyzing forest cover data for four different countries that have experienced armed conflicts in the recent past (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast and Peru), we seek to understand the influence of armed conflicts in ecosystem services provision, aiming to identify social, political and institutional drivers. Our four case studies show that at the end of their armed conflicts, on an average there was a 68.08% increase of annual forest loss in the five years following the end of conflict, as compared to the worldwide 7.20% mean. We identified inappropriate governance and institutional arrangements as the key driver during the transition period. We argue that as part of a family of bottom-up approaches, the adaptiveco-management approach is a promising option to deal with similar situations in the future, helping to keep a sustainable provision of ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the accelerated rate of environmental degradation and climate change, there is an urgent need to protect biodiversity, especially endemic species with restricted ranges. However, which areas should be prioritized for protection remains a critical issue. A common approach to prioritizing conservation is to rank areas using species-level metrics. Nevertheless, biodiversity and threat patterns can become complex when the amounts of data increase. Here, we analyzed the distribution of 1570 Argentinean endemic plants using clustering of spatially associated species to disentangle distribution and threat patterns. We explored vulnerability levels in each cluster using mean values of species-level metrics of vulnerability, relating values obtained to the regions and environments they occupy. For each cluster we also identified its hotspots and evaluated the effectiveness of the current protected area network for their conservation. Results yielded nine main clusters, mostly differentiated by their geographic distribution and by the ecoregions they occupy. Metrics revealed disparity in vulnerability levels among clusters, with the highest values recorded for clusters related to the Central Puna in northwestern Argentina, to the Espinal, Humid Pampas, and Low Monte in the east of the country, and to the Patagonian steppe in the south. Likewise, coverage by protected areas was low for most hotspots, with the lowest values recorded for the Patagonian cluster. In particular, for hotspot of this cluster, located along the Patagonian steppe in southern Chubut and northeastern Santa Cruz provinces, analyses showed that it has both high levels of vulnerability and low levels of protection, giving it the highest conservation priority of the entire pool analyzed. Our findings identify gaps in the current protected area network and highlight key areas in need of conservation policies and strategies, both in situ and ex situ, to protect the endemic plants of Argentina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Caribbean Ornithology is the property of Society for the Conservation & Study of Caribbean Birds and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• Camera trapping is an increasingly popular mammal monitoring technique. • We lack assessments on how the spatial distribution of camera trapping efforts responds to knowledge gaps. • There is a poor relationship between camera trapping studies and areas with high species richness and threat of mammals. • Coordinated efforts are needed to take full advantage of camera trapping to increase its impact on mammal conservation. The magnitude of human impact on biodiversity makes producing information on the conservation status of wildlife an urgent matter. Despite the increasingly widespread use of camera trapping for mammal monitoring, there are no assessments on how this tool helps fill specific knowledge gaps. We reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2018 in Mexico, a country with very high mammalian diversity, and analysed their spatial distribution. Specifically, we looked at how the number of studies at the level of the country's states related to a) each state's medium/large mammalian species richness and b) each state's proportion of mammalian species classified as threatened at the national and global level. Moreover, we assessed the occurrence of studies within protected areas, terrestrial ecoregions, and mammal geographic provinces. Finally, we recorded the proportion of studies focused on estimating mammal population density and community richness that incorporated measures of variability and completeness, respectively. Based on a compilation of 191 papers published in 48 journals, we found a weak relationship between the number of studies and mammalian species richness and no clear evidence of a relationship between the number of studies and the proportion of threatened species. The studies concentrated on a few mammalian species, protected areas, forested ecoregions, and mammal geographic provinces in the country's southern region. More than half of the studies that conducted population density estimations included measures of variability, but only one-third of the studies estimating species richness included completeness assessments. There is a need for more coordinated efforts to take full advantage of camera traps in order to produce more comprehensive and standardised surveys of the status of mammalian fauna at the country level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate and land-use changes are among the most important drivers of biodiversity loss and, moreover, their impacts on biodiversity are expected to increase further in the 21st century. In this study, the future impact of climate and land-use changes on Anatolian ground squirrels (Spermophilus xanthoprymnus) was assessed. Accordingly, a hierarchical approach with two steps was used. First, ecological niche modelling was used to assess the impact of climate change in areas accessible to Anatolian ground squirrels through dispersal (i.e. the impact of climate change). Second, based on the habitat preferences of ground squirrels, land-use data were used to assess the impact of land-use change in suitable bioclimatic areas for Anatolian ground squirrels under present and future conditions (i.e. the combined impact of both changes). Also, priority areas for the conservation of Anatolian ground squirrels were identified based on in-situ climate change refugia. This study represents a first attempt to combine niche modelling and land-use data for a species in Anatolia, one of the most vulnerable regions to the drivers of biodiversity loss, because it is the region where three of biodiversity hotspots meet, and interact. Habitat suitability (i.e. suitable habitats across suitable bioclimatic areas) was projected to decline by 19–69% in the future (depending on the scenario), mainly due to the loss of suitable bioclimatic areas (47–77%, depending on the scenario) at lower elevations and in the western part of the central Anatolia and in the eastern Anatolia, suggesting that Anatolian ground squirrels will contract their range in the future, mainly due to climate change. Thus, in-situ climate change refugia were projected mainly in the eastern and southeastern parts of the central Anatolia, suggesting these regions as priority areas for the conservation of Anatolian ground squirrels. • Anatolia is the region where three biodiversity hotspots meet, and interact • This study is the first to combine niche modelling and land-use data in Anatolia • The species will contract its range in the future, mainly due to climate change • In-situ climate change refugia were projected mainly in the central Anatolia • Future studies should focus on hotspots of in-situ climate change refugia in Anatolia [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ecosystem services are those resources and processes provided by ecosystems that improve human well-being. Emergy is the amount of solar energy embedded in the resources consumed by a system. In this paper we produced a ranking among nations, based on emergy (expressed in seJ/yr) and ecosystem service values (in $/yr). We document a significant correlation between the renewable emergy and ecosystem service values aggregated at the national scale. This suggests that ecosystem services are somehow dependent on energy and natural resource concentration in ecosystems. We also compare the ability of each ecosystem mosaic and economy, within national boundaries, to translate energy and matter inputs into economically valuable goods and services. For ecosystems this is calculated using the ratio between renewable emergy and ecosystem service value. In the case of national economies, it can be estimated using a ratio of the emergy use by the national economy and the GDP of the nation (called Emergy to Money Ratio). In almost all cases the ecosystems in a national territory provide a unit of monetary output using less emergy inputs than the national economy. Further comparison was performed for tropical and equatorial nations, continents, biodiversity hotspots, and biogeographical regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Biota Neotropica is the property of Biota Neotropica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Highlights: [•] Global conservation hotspots were examined for their robustness to climate change. [•] We developed the climate similarity index by applying ecological niche overlap. [•] Substantial differences among hotspots correlate with their site selection rules. [•] Risk of a certain selection rule with regard to climate change is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hotspots are the world's most biologically rich areas hence recognized as important ecosystems not important only for the rich biodiversity but equally important for the human survival as these are the homes for more than 20% of the world's population. India got recognition of one of the mega-diversity countries of world as the country is home of the two important biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya in north and the Western Ghats in the southern peninsula. Policy makers and decision takers have recognized the importance of biodiversity (flora and fauna) and this has resulted to segregate (in the form of protected areas) the rich and diverse landscape for biodiversity conservation. An approach which leads towards conservation of biological diversity is good efforts but such approaches should deal with humans equally who are residing in biodiversity hotspots since time immemorial. In this endeavor, a study was conducted in Nagarahole National Park of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, in Karnataka. Our empirical studies reveal that banning all the human activities in this ecosystem including agriculture, animal husbandry has produced the results opposite to the approach multiple values' of national park. To monitor the impact, existing policies have been tested from an economic and ecological view-point. Unfortunately, the local livelihoods (most of them belongs to indigenous tribes) in the area have received setbacks due to the implementation of the policies, though unintentionally. However, the ecological perspective is also not showing support for the approach and framework of the current policies in the hotspots. Satellite data showed that the temporal pattern of ecosystem processes has been changing. An integrated approach for ecosystem conservation and strengthening local institutions for sustainable ecosystem management in such areas is therefore supported by this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The Mediterranean Basin, possessing 4.3% of all plants of the world, is considered one of the biodiversity hotspots at global scale. Several forms of impact on biodiversity are currently taking place in European Mediterranean countries as a result of the abandonment of traditional extensive production systems in areas of particular value for nature conservation. In this study we investigated the effects of the cessation of agro-sylvo-pastoral activities on Centaurea horrida Badarò, a very rare sea-cliff plant, endemic to North-Western Sardinia (Italy) and listed by the IUCN as vulnerable. In a similar way to other cliff species, Centaurea horrida can expand its range when unsuitable surrounding habitats are disturbed. The analysis of aerial photos indicates that about 88.5% of a surface previously occupied by a Centaurea horrida dwarf community was replaced by juniper scrub over a 50-year period. In the juniper scrub Centaurea horrida density is at present 1/5 of that observed in the dwarf community. The spatial distribution of Centaurea horrida individuals was not random but concentrated in open microhabitats, more abundant in the dwarf community than in the juniper scrub. Juveniles were found mainly on bare soil; this being the only microhabitat where seedling emergence may occur. Furthermore, disturbance had a positive effect on the survival rates of saplings. Our data show that Centaurea horrida is a species that is linked to the initial stages of secondary succession, when patches of bare soil are available, but it is non-competitive with the late-succession species of the juniper scrub. Active management practices to maintain Centaurea horrida populations are therefore proposed and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study on the hypothesis which states that insectivorous birds indirectly defend oil palms from herbivorous insects. The study aimed to provide a research on how predator removal affects herbivory rates in agricultural systems. Methods of the study included the bird-exclosure experiment which resulted to an increased herbivory damage to oil palms. The results also showed that the size of the exclusion effect increased bird density suggesting that insectivorous birds render a natural pest control service for oil palm agriculture.

Abstract: The dytiscid beetle Rhantus sikkimensis, Regimbart, 1899 (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), a member of the freshwater insect communities of the Darjeeling Himalayas, were noted to predate on the coexisting larvae of Chironomus sp. Meigen. Evaluation of predation by R. sikkimensis on Chironomus sp. larvae, in the laboratory, revealed that a single adult morph of R. sikkimensis could kill and consume on an average 10–90 and 10–78 numbers of small and large Chironomus sp. larvae, respectively, per day, depending on the prey density. The attack rate ranged between 520 and 537, and the handling time ranged between 4.3 and 8.6 depending on the size of the preys. The predation varied with respect to predator density also, with a maximum of 151 larvae killed by three predators per day. Two indices of predation, ingestion rate (IR) ranging between 13.33 and 74.15 larvae/day/predator and clearance rate (CR) ranging between 19.67 and 39.99L prey/day/predator, varied with the prey size and predator density, significantly, when the predation was observed for 9 consecutive days, at two predator densities. It was also noted that R. sikkimensis predated on an average 9.8 larvae of Chironomus sp. and 1 larva of Culex sp., when the larvae of both the species are present together as preys, showing a preference for the Chironomus sp. larvae. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Deforestation often occurs as temporal waves and in localized fronts termed ‘deforestation hotspots’ driven by economic pulses and population pressure. Of particular concern for conservation planning are ‘biodiversity hotspots’ where high concentrations of endemic species undergo rapid loss and fragmentation of habitat. We investigate the deforestation process in Caquetá, a biodiversity hotspot and major colonization front of the Colombian Amazon using multi-temporal satellite imagery of the periods 1989–1996–1999–2002. The probabilities of deforestation and regeneration were modeled against soil fertility, accessibility and neighborhood terms, using logistic regression analysis. Deforestation and regeneration patterns and rates were highly variable across the colonization front. The regional average annual deforestation rate was 2.6%, but varied locally between −1.8% (regeneration) and 5.3%, with maximum rates in landscapes with 40–60% forest cover and highest edge densities, showing an analogous pattern to the spread of disease. Soil fertility and forest and secondary vegetation neighbors showed positive and significant relationships with the probability of deforestation. For forest regeneration, soil fertility had a significant negative effect while the other parameters were marginally significant. The logistic regression models across all periods showed a high level of discrimination power for both deforestation and forest regeneration, with ROC values >0.80. We document the effect of policies and institutional changes on the land clearing process, such as the failed peace process between government and guerillas in 1999–2002, which redirected the spread of deforestation and increased forest regeneration. The implications for conservation in biologically rich areas, such as Caquetá are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The island of Borneo suffers from one of the highest deforestation rates in the world, primarily due to agriculture, logging, and other human activities. This habitat loss may be partly mitigated by reforestation programs in degraded landscapes, especially anthropogenic grasslands that have little conservation or economic value. By monitoring native bird communities, we evaluated the success of two small (<20 ha) community reforestation projects in Gunung Palung National Park in Indonesian Borneo. Birds responded rapidly following reforestation, with species richness doubling over 7 years at one site, and increasing by 29% in just 3 years at the other. Final tallies (63–70 species per site) were comparable to those obtained in older secondary forests elsewhere in Borneo. Anthropogenic fire is the primary threat to reforestation success, but intensive fire prevention allows bird communities to recover from temporary setbacks. Absence of fire was thus the most important factor in recovery, and we detected no effect of replanted area on bird species richness. Our results suggest that by engaging local communities and ensuring long-term maintenance, even small reforestation sites in Borneo can provide immediate benefits for native biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]