The Eurasian lynx is a large carnivore widely distributed across Eurasia. However, our understanding of population status is heterogeneous across their range, with some populations isolated that are ...at risk of reduced genetic variation and a complete lack of information about others. In many European countries, Eurasian lynx are monitored through demographic studies crucial for their conservation and management. Even so, there are only rough and fragmented population assessments from Ukraine and Belarus, despite strict protection in both countries and their importance for lynx connectivity across Europe. We monitored lynx from October 2020 to March 2021 and used camera trapping in combination with spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods in a Bayesian framework to provide the first SCR density estimation of three lynx populations across Ukraine and Belarus, including the Ukrainian Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, southern Belarus and the Ukrainian Carpathians. Our density estimates varied within our study areas ranging from 0.45 to 1.54 individuals/100 km2. This work provides a substantial scientific component to the overall understanding of lynx conservation for a region where only broad information is available and opens the doors for further large‐scale monitoring and trend assessments. The crucial information we provide can greatly enhance the range‐wide assessments of the status of this protected species. We also discuss the implications for Eurasian lynx conservation, despite the geopolitical realities impacting species monitoring in the region. Our work serves as a baseline, not only for future conservation interventions but also to evaluate the effects of disturbance and threats to these protected populations.
Анотація
Рись євразійська (Lynx lynx) — велика хижа тварина, широко поширена в Євразії. Проте наше розуміння статусу популяції є різнорідним щодо їх поширення – деякі популяції ізольовані та страждають від генетичного дрейфу, а про деякі – немає жодної інформації. У багатьох європейських країнах моніторинг рисі євразійської здійснюється за допомогою демографічних досліджень, які мають вирішальне значення для її збереження та управління. Незважаючи на це, існують лише приблизні та фрагментовані оцінки популяцій в Україні та Білорусі, незважаючи на строгий захист в обох країнах та їх важливість для зв’язку рисі по всій Європі. Ми спостерігали за риссю з жовтня 2020 року по березень 2021 року та використовували фотопастки у поєднанні з методами «spatial capture‐recapture» (SCR; просторового захоплення‐перехоплення) за Баєсовим підходом, щоб надати першу оцінку щільності SCR трьох популяцій рисі в Україні та Білорусі, включно з українською Чорнобильською зоною відчуження, Південною Білорусю та Українськими Карпатами. Наші оцінки щільності варіювалися в межах досліджуваних територій від 0,45 до 1,54 особин/100 км2. Ця робота забезпечує суттєвий науковий компонент для загального розуміння збереження рисі в регіоні, де доступна лише загальна інформація, і відкриває двері для подальшого широкомасштабного моніторингу та оцінки тенденцій. Важлива інформація, яку ми надаємо, може значно покращити оцінку статусу цього охоронюваного виду в масштабах його поширення. Ми також обговорюємо наслідки для збереження рисі євразійської, незважаючи на геополітичні реалії, що впливають на моніторинг видів у регіоні. Наша робота є основою не тільки для майбутніх природоохоронних втручань, але й для оцінки наслідків порушень та загроз для цих популяцій, які охороняються.
We estimated density of three lynx populations in previously unsurveyed areas in Ukraine and Belarus, including the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, using camera trapping and spatial capture–recapture (SCR) methods. Our results can help the range‐wide assessments of the species status and serve as a baseline for future conservation interventions, as well as to evaluate the effects of disturbance and threats to these protected populations.
In 2000–2021, 150 various types of bridge structures were examined in different regions of Ukraine, where 742 individuals of 13 bat species were found: Myotis dasycneme, Myotis daubentonii, Myotis ...brandtii, Myotis mystacinus, Myotis aurascens, Myotis nattereri, Nyctalus noctula, Plecotus auritus, Plecotus austriacus, Pipistrellus pygmaeus, Pipistrellus nathusii, Pipistrellus kuhlii, and Eptesicus serotinus. The occupancy rate was 30.7%. M. daubentonii and P. auritus were observed in most of the studied regions. The frequency of observations of M. daubentonii was 50% of inhabited bridges (n = 23) and almost 65% of the number of individuals, with a concentration of localities in the western and north-western parts of the country. P. auritus (frequency 32.6%) dominated the bridges of the Dnipro Lowland and the Western Polissia. M. aurascens (Azov Sea region), M. mystacinus and M. brandtii (Western Polissia), P. austriacus (Black Sea region), and P. kuhlii (Azov Sea region) were found singly or only in some regions. Nursery colonies of M. daubentonii were found in the Western Polissia, Volynian–Podolian Upland, and Dnipro Lowland, N. noctula in the Dnipro region, P. auritus in the Western Polissia and the Black Sea region, and M. aurascens in the Azov Sea region. In a geographical aspect, the number of species in bridges is the highest in the regions of Western Polissia and Azov Sea (7 species each), and slightly lower in the Dnipro Lowland (n = 6). The highest percentage of inhabited bridges (64.3%) was found in the Dnipro Lowland; in other regions it was 37.8–10.5%. Bridges play an important role as summer roosts for bats (both for single individuals and breeding colonies), as well as in late summer–autumn (after the disbandment of breeding colonies) and as spring roosts (during seasonal migrations). Bridge structures can be important for the settlement of bats in regions with no underground cavities of natural or anthropogenic origin. We assume that this is the reason why the maximum number of species and abundance of bats in bridges was found in the Western Polissia and Dnipro Lowland, which are characterised by flat topography and lack of abundant and various underground cavities.
The abundance and distribution of large carnivores in Europe have been historically reduced. Their recovery requires multilevel coordination, especially regarding transboundary populations. Here, we ...apply nuclear and mitochondrial genetic markers to test for admixture level and its impact on population genetic structure of contemporary brown bears (Ursus arctos) from the Eastern, Southern, and Western Carpathians. Carpathian Mountains (Europe). Nearly 400 noninvasive brown bear DNA samples from the Western (Poland) and Eastern Carpathians (Bieszczady Mountains in Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine) were collected. Together with DNA isolates from Slovakia and Romania, they were analyzed using the set of eight microsatellite loci and two mtDNA regions (control region and cytochrome b). A set of 113 individuals with complete genotypes was used to investigate genetic differentiation across national boundaries, genetic structuring within and between populations, and movement between populations. Transboundary brown bear subpopulations (Slovakia and Poland) did not show significant internal genetic structure, and thus were treated as cohesive units. All brown bears from the Western Carpathians carried mitochondrial haplotypes from the Eastern lineage, while the Western lineage prevailed in the brown bears from the Bieszczady Mountains. Despite similar levels of microsatellite variability, we documented significant differentiation among the studied populations for nuclear markers and mtDNA. We also detected male‐biased and asymmetrical movement into the Bieszczady Mountains population from the Western Carpathians. Our findings suggest initial colonization of the Western Carpathians by brown bears possessing mtDNA from the Eastern lineage. Genetic structuring among populations at microsatellite loci could be a result of human‐mediated alterations. Detected asymmetric gene flow suggests ongoing expansion from more abundant populations into the Bieszczady Mountains and thus supports a metapopulation model. The knowledge concerning this complex pattern can be implemented in a joint Carpathian brown bear management plan that should allow population mixing by dispersing males.
This study is focused on genetic differentiation among two transboundary Carpathian brown bear populations subjected to different conservation/management. We obtained results that are coherent for mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites, unveiling significant differentiation which is homogenized to some extent by male‐biased gene flow. These results can be implemented in a joint Carpathian brown bear management plan, pointing to retention of population connectivity via the Carpathian migratory corridor.
Habitat loss threatens large mammals worldwide, and their survival will depend on habitat in human-dominated landscapes. Conservation planners thus face the challenge to identify areas of least ...conflict with land use, yet broadscale species distribution models rarely incorporate real landscape patterns nor do they identify potential conservation conflicts. An excellent example of such conservation challenges is provided by European bison (
Bison bonasus
). Almost extinct by the early 20th century, bison can only survive in the wild if large metapopulations are established, but it is unclear where new herds can be reintroduced. Using European bison as an example we conducted a continental-scale habitat assessment based on real landscape patterns. Our specific aims here were to (1) map European bison habitat throughout the species' former range, (2) examine whether broadscale habitat suitability factors differ from previously reported fine-scale factors, and (3) assess where suitable habitat occurs in areas with low potential for conflict with land use. We assessed habitat suitability using herd range maps for all 36 free-ranging European bison herds as habitat use data. Habitat suitability maps were compared with maps of land cover, livestock density, agricultural constraints, and protected areas to assess potential conservation conflicts. Our models had high goodness of fit (AUC == 0.941), and we found abundant potential bison habitat. European bison prefer mosaic-type landscapes, with a preference for broad-leaved and mixed forests. European bison metapopulations do not appear to be limited by habitat availability. However, most potential habitat occurred outside protected areas and has substantial potential for conservation conflicts. The most promising areas for establishing large bison metapopulations all occur in Eastern Europe (i.e., the Carpathians, the Belarus-–Ukraine borderlands, and several regions in European Russia). The future of European bison and that of other large mammals in the wild thus clearly lies in Eastern Europe, because habitat there is most abundant and least fragmented, and because the potential for conflict with land use is lower. More generally we suggest that broadscale habitat assessments that incorporate land use can be powerful tools for conservation planning and will be key if large herbivore and carnivore conservation is to succeed in a human-dominated world.
Two series of hyper-cross-linked microporous polyacetylene networks containing either -CH=C(CH=O)- or -CH=C(CH2OH)- monomeric units are reported. Networks are prepared by chain-growth ...copolymerization of acetal-protected propargyl aldehyde and acetal-protected propargyl alcohol with a 1,3,5-triethynylbenzene cross-linker followed by hydrolytic deprotection/detemplating. Deprotection not only liberates reactive CH=O and CH2OH groups in the networks but also modifies the texture of the networks towards higher microporosity and higher specific surface area. The final networks with CH=O and CH2OH groups attached directly to the polyene main chains of the networks have a specific surface area from 400 to 800 m2/g and contain functional groups in a high amount, up to 9.6 mmol/g. The CH=O and CH2OH groups in the networks serve as active centres for the reversible capture of CO2 and water vapour. The water vapour capture capacities of the networks (up to 445 mg/g at 297 K) are among the highest values reported for porous polymers, making these materials promising for cyclic water harvesting from the air. Covalent modification of the networks with (R)-(+)-3-aminopyrrolidine and (S)-(+)-2-methylbutyric acid enables the preparation of porous chiral networks and shows networks with CH=O and CH2OH groups as reactive supports suitable for the anchoring of various functional molecules.
European Bison (
Bison bonasus) barely escaped extinction in the early 20th century and now only occur in small isolated herds scattered across Central and Eastern Europe. The species’ survival in ...the wild depends on identifying suitable habitat for establishing bison metapopulations via reintroductions of new herds. We assessed European Bison habitat across the Carpathian Mountains, a stronghold of European Bison and one of the only places where a viable bison metapopulation may be possible. We used maximum entropy models to analyze herd range maps and habitat use data from radio-collared bison to identify key habitat variables and map European Bison habitat across the entire Carpathian ecoregion (210,000
km
2). Forest cover (primarily core and perforated forests) and variables linked to human disturbance best predict bison habitat suitability. Bison show no clear preference for particular forest types but prefer managed grasslands over fallow and abandoned fields. Several large, suitable, but currently unoccupied habitat patches exist, particularly in the eastern Carpathians. This available suitable habitat suggests that European Bison have an opportunity to establish a viable Carpathian metapopulation, especially if recent trends of declining human pressure and reforestation of abandoned farmland continue. Our results also confirm the suitability of a proposed Romanian reintroduction site. Establishing the first European Bison metapopulation would be a milestone in efforts to conserve this species in the wild and demonstrate a significant and hopeful step towards conserving large grazers and their ecological roles in human-dominated landscapes across the globe.
A new method for the formation of permanent micropores in hyper-cross-linked networks is reported. This method is based on a template approach, using small molecules (4-methylaniline and ...4-methylbenzaldehyde) as templates. These molecules are covalently attached via azomethine links to parent non-porous hyper-cross-linked polyacetylene networks prepared by chain-growth homo and copolymerization of ethynylated monomers. Highly efficient and well-defined postpolymerization hydrolysis of the networks leads to (i) cleavage of azomethine links and (ii) removal of the template molecules from the networks. Although up to 40 wt % of the mass of the networks are removed via hydrolysis, the hyper-cross-linked scaffold of the networks is not collapsed and micropores are formed in the networks. In this way, the parent non-porous networks are transformed into networks with permanent micropores (diameter ∼1 nm) and a specific surface area up to 623 m2/g−1. Simultaneously with the formation of micropores, functional groups (NH2, CHO) are introduced into the networks. The prepared microporous networks adsorb the model adsorptives (up to 1.73 mmol CO2/g and up to 6.53 mmol I2/g.). The detemplating and micropores formation is confirmed by solid state NMR spectra and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms. The reported method of micropores formation could find a wider application for the preparation of microporous polymers with a well-defined texture and surface functionalization. Not only azomethine links but also many other groups with cleavable bonds could potentially be used for templating with covalently attached small molecules.
The template-assisted formation of permanent micropores (diameter ∼1 nm) in polymer networks is reported as a new method for the preparation of microporous polymers. The small template molecules covalently attached to non-porous hyper-cross-linked polyacetylene networks are hydrolytically released and removed with high efficiency and the networks are transformed to functionalized (NH2, CHO groups) microporous polymers with SBET ∼500 m2/g. Display omitted
•Synthesis of microporous hyper-cross-linked polyacethylene networks.•Introduction of microporosity exclusively by templating approach.•Micropores formed by removing Schiff-base linked molecules from non-porous networks.•Micropores formation accompanied by functionalization with CHO and NH2 groups.
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