Showing papers in "Biological Conservation in 2004"

TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the potential synergetic effects between climate change and habitat fragmentation on biodiversity and argue that processes at two levels of spatial scale interact: the metapopulation level and the species range level.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared river, stream, ditch and pond biodiversity within an 80 km2 area of lowland British countryside and found that ponds contributed most to biodiversity, supporting considerably more species, more unique species and more scarce species than other waterbody types.

TL;DR: It is suggested that for many sampling situations, relationships between probability of detection and habitat covariates need to be established to correctly interpret results of wildlife–habitat models.

TL;DR: It is argued that nature conservation along with other fields of applied ecology, should exploit the concept of evidence-based practice developed and used in medicine and public health that aims to provide the best available evidence to the decision-maker on the likely outcomes of alternative actions.

TL;DR: Two alternative hypotheses to explain the success of exotic species in urban bushland on low fertility sandstone-derived soils in Sydney, Australia were assessed, finding that different plant attributes contribute to exotic species success under different disturbance types.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a critical review on the neoclassical economic framework, tools used for economic valuation of ecosystem services and the economic welfare approach to collective decision-making, from an ecological perspective.

TL;DR: There is an urgent need to understand the genetic basis of differences between domestic grazing animal species and to separate true breed effects from effects of rearing environment, and the economic implications of using different animal types.

TL;DR: In this article, a review of the techniques employed to restore and re-create semi-natural grasslands on agricultural land in the UK is presented, where extensive cutting and grazing management have been shown to diversify improved swards and facilitate re-colonisation on ex-arable soils, although rates of re-assembly of plant communities with affinity to existing semi natural grasslands have generally been slow.

TL;DR: In this paper, a boat-based focal follows of schools of bottlenose dolphins was conducted to determine the effect of boats on dolphin behaviour, and a CATMOD analysis showed that behaviour differed by boat number, in particular, resting behaviour decreased as boat number increased.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors measured species richness and abundance of birds within continuous blocks of habitat, within urban habitat fragments that varied in landscape and local habitat variables, and within the urban matrix at different distances from the wildland interface.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors observed 353 divers in St Lucia and noted all their contacts with the reef during entire dives to quantify rates of damage and seek ways of reducing it, and found that divers using a camera caused significantly more contacts with coral reefs than did those without cameras.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed attacks on livestock over a four-year period on two neighboring arid-land ranches adjoining Tsavo East National Park, Kenya and found that lions were responsible for 85.9% of the attacks; hyenas and cheetahs were the other predators responsible.

TL;DR: It is suggested that even just watching animals during breeding can threaten their survival, but a proper scientific management of off-limit zones and area-specific guidelines for wildlife observation could reduce harmful effects.

TL;DR: A review of the value for fauna of conifer and eucalypt plantations in Australia is presented in this article, highlighting a need for wildlife conservation as part of plantation management.

TL;DR: In this paper, a new entry-level agri-environment scheme, with low cost, low maintenance options, should address the quantity issue and specialist prescriptions, particularly for rare sedentary species, should form higher tier agreements targeted at existing populations.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed published literature to examine the effect of habitat fragmentation on avian nesting success at three spatial scales (i.e., edge, patch, and landscape scales) and found that the scale at which fragmentation is measured and the duration of the study did influence the probability that a study will detect a fragmentation effect.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between poverty and the use of wild foods, namely bushmeat, fish and wild plants, within a Congolese agricultural community and found that wild foods play a small role in household consumption but a major role in households' income.

TL;DR: In a one year study following construction, only 158 animals, excluding hylid treefrogs, were killed in the same area where 2411 road kills were recorded in the 12 months prior to the construction of the barrier wall-culvert system as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: In the current context of shady and CWD-deprived managed forests, windthrow gaps act as regional biodiversity hotspots by maintaining habitat continuity in a mosaic landscape, and by facilitating the breeding and population growth of clearing specialists and saproxylic species.

TL;DR: It is shown that the more generations a population has been in captivity, the less likely an individual is to take cover after seeing a predator and variance in predator-response behaviors increases with generations in captivity.

TL;DR: It is concluded that fine woody debris is important for diversity of wood-inhabiting fungi, especially ascomycetes, in this forest type, however, coarse Woody debris must also be provided to insure the occurrence of many species of basidiomycete.

TL;DR: With a dog population growth rate of 6.5% per annum, and the prevalence of canid diseases, the conservation threat posed by dogs is escalating on communal land–wildlife reserve boundaries in Zimbabwe.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors surveyed all 1694 private landowners living on three breeding bird survey (BBS) routes (120 km) that represent a continuum of rural-to-urban landscapes in Southeastern Michigan, where the majority (> 90%) of land is privately owned.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantify changes in the spatial patterns of land cover types at the southern edge of the seasonally dry, subtropical Chaco forest of South America during the second half of the 20th century using a vegetation map printed in 1969 and a Landsat TM based digital map produced 30 years later.

TL;DR: Population size and trend were clearly the best correlates of extinction risk in the authors' data set and should be the major focus in endangered species categorization and state of the environment reporting.

TL;DR: The system shows strong nestedness: amphibian persistence depends on the contemporary effects of species adaptability and mobility, and the richest communities live in fish-free, sunny wetlands near to occupied wetlands.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors used remotely triggered cameras and gypsum track stations to determine if underpasses and drainage culverts beneath highways are used by wildlife as movement corridors, and found that passages were used by a variety of species, including carnivores, mule deer, small mammals, and reptiles.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantify a model of the relationship between human population density and the number of threatened mammal and bird species by nation, and find that human density and species richness account for 88% of the variability in log-transformed densities of threatened species across 114 continental nations.

TL;DR: A significant increase in the amount of dead wood is needed in managed forests before they become suitable habitats for threatened polypores, as suggested by the results of a comparison between mature managed, overmature managed, and old-growth spruce-dominated forests in southern Finland.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors used collection records, environmental variables, maps of land cover and protected areas, and the Genetic Algorithm for Rule-Set Prediction (GARP) to estimate the historical, current and protected ranges of the spiny pocket mice present in Ecuador (Heteromys australis and H. teleus).