Showing papers in "Biological Conservation in 2002"

TL;DR: It is shown that a set of ponds of small size has more species and has a higher conservation value than a single large pond of the same total area, and that large ponds harbour species missing in the smaller ponds.

TL;DR: In this paper, an integrative approach combining historical and socio-economic issues is proposed to maintain and to redevelop calcareous grasslands in Europe, which is one of the most species-rich habitats and a central issue in nature conservation management.

TL;DR: The main constraints for a successfully integrated conservation management presently consist of a limited availability and exchange of information, and an insufficient organisation of research and management at an international level.

TL;DR: Insect diversity increased across the four treatments in the following order: intensively grazed, extensively grazing, short-term and long-term ungrazed grassland, and intensively and extensively grazed pastures.

TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the palaeoecological evidence regarding vegetation openness in past oceanic interglacials and the pre-agricultural Holocene is presented.

TL;DR: The responses of arthropods to fragmentation suggest that changes in fire regimes and the degradation of habitats resulting from urbanisation may have a role in altering arthropod assemblages, particularly affecting those species belonging to higher trophic levels.

TL;DR: In this paper, the behavior of domestic cats and coyotes was examined in a fragmented urban area northwest of Los Angeles, California, from July 1998 to October 1999. And the authors found that both species tended to cross over roads rather than use culverts.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assessed patterns of dive frequency, diver behavior, and coral damage on selected reefs at Eilat, in order to determine impacts of divership tourism.

TL;DR: In this paper, a tract of continuous forest, forest fragments and a habitat island consisting of a mosaic of forest and arboreal crops in Los Tuxtlas, southern Mexico was sampled with baited pitfall traps to compare species richness and species composition.

TL;DR: After 25 years of management, the treatments mowing and mulching resulted in a species composition similar to that from grazing by sheep, indicating that mowingand mulching can be useful management alternatives to grazing.

TL;DR: In this article, the extent of plant invasions in 302 nature reserves located in the Czech Republic, central Europe, was studied using general linear models, which made it possible to identify the effects of particular variables.

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that, contrary to recent assertions, optimisation tools can be used to maximise PD in the context of complementary reserve selection, and that the spatial overlap between sets of sites maximising genus diversity and PD cannot be used as evidence that the first measure is a good surrogate for the second.

TL;DR: It is shown that sown field margins can rapidly produce substantial biodiversity benefits on arable land, with the resulting fauna influenced by the type of field margin created.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared the lichen and bryophyte communities of spruce and pine plantations in different parts of Britain compared to those of semi-natural pine and oak woodlands.

TL;DR: There is a gradual but predictable increase in the number of woody plant species relying on vertebrate-mediated seed dispersal in increasingly older plots, and shifts in the relative importance of dispersal strategies during the regeneration process of Atlantic montane forest appear to be related to the balance between early successional and shade-tolerant species associated with particular life forms and plant families.

TL;DR: Cattle grazing was shown to be preferable to both sheep grazing and the absence of any management, although the timing and intensity of such grazing was important, and small-scale disturbances caused by vehicle activity were of value in producing locally abundant forage resources in less intensively managed grasslands.

TL;DR: Five case studies in Western Australia demonstrate that the fox is an efficient predator that restricts medium-sized marsupials to refugia at low densities, supporting the supporting the latter cause as a major factor.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the effects of agricultural abandonment on birds during the breeding and non-breeding seasons in the Mediterranean and Eurosiberian regions of Spain using a successional gradient.

TL;DR: In this article, a case study on birds from two landscapes in southeastern Australia was analyzed to examine the conservation value of small habitat patches and found that small patches contributed strongly to species accumulation curves.

TL;DR: It is concluded from the few well-designed and replicated studies that there is a bias towards modelling approaches and small-scale fragmentation experiments, so more large-scale studies on a community level are needed to quantify the functional roles of insects and their dependence on fragmented calcareous grasslands in the landscape mosaic.

TL;DR: In this paper, the degree of grizzly bear response to various human developments as a function of multiple interacting variables based on observed median distances to roads, trails and development features in a landscape where human presence is widespread.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined road density, landscape structure, and edge habitat created by roads for eight land cover types at two ecological extents within a 78,752 km 2 landscape.

TL;DR: It is shown that calcareous grasslands rank as the most species-rich habitat in Europe with 274 species reported and a similar proportion of threatened and unthreatened species is present but the proportion of endemics is comparatively low.

TL;DR: It is suggested that surplus killing by foxes may have been a feature of, and major contributor to, the rapid mainland extinction or contraction in range of many native species in Australia.

TL;DR: The result indicates that iguanas are physiologically affected by tourism, although it is presently unknown whether these changes are ultimately beneficial or harmful.

TL;DR: Ability to move among fragments was not related to abundance in the matrix; nevertheless, such ability helps to explain the persistence of species in fragments otherwise too small to support viable populations.

TL;DR: The results show that small-scale habitat fragmentation can affect plant pollination at two levels both relevant for plant fitness and changes in pollinator behaviour might reduce pollen dispersal among flowers, increase inbreeding and hence reduce genetic variability in populations of this bumblebee pollinated plant.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the effects of past timber management practices on the vegetation structure and bird community of Kibale National Park, Uganda and compared four forest treatments: unlogged native forest (UL), two that were selectively logged at low (LL) and high (HL) intensities in the 1960s, and a conifer plantation (PL).

TL;DR: In this paper, topsoils sampled at 462 sites in temperate lowland grasslands in England, UK, were analysed for pH, extractable phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg), total nitrogen (N), organic matter (OM), and estimated available water capacity.

TL;DR: There was a significant excess of males in the clutches of females provided with supplementary food, suggesting that changes need to be made to the feeding regime to increase recruitment of females in the kakapo.