In the European Union, natural habitat 62CO* Ponto-Sarmatian steppes is limited in its range and occurs only in two member states—Bulgaria and Romania. This grassland habitat was a subject to various ...impacts over the years and suffers on a decrease in its area, changes in species composition and occurance of invasive and ruderal species. The most significant threats to the habitat are related to intensive or excessive grazing of livestock, abandonment of grassland management (e.g., cessation of grazing or mowing), afforestation, plowing, conversion into agricultural land, conversion to other land uses (tourism, recreation, urbanization, construction of infrastructure), construction of energy plants and natural succession. In the present study we provide a comparative analysis of the actions aiming to protect the priority natural habitat 62CO* Ponto-Sarmatian steppes on the territory of EU. In addition, we investigated and compared the species composition of defined sites from 62CO* in Romania and Bulgaria to obtain up to date information and to confirm the current presence of the habitat. We discuss on the necessary measures for effective management of this protected habitat, as well as on the needed efforts to achieve favourable conservation status.
In pre-colonial and colonial times Côte d’Ivoire probably hosted one of the largest elephant populations in West Africa, resulting in the country’s name Côte d’Ivoire (in English Ivory Coast) by ...French settlers. Numbers declined and by the early 90s it was estimated that the total number of both savannah and forest elephants had reached 63 to 360 elephants in the entire country. Here we present updated information on the distribution and conservation status of forest elephant in Côte d’Ivoire based on multiple sources—dung counts on line transects, records of human–elephant conflict, media reports, sign and interview surveys—obtained during the period 2011–2017. We used Pearson correlation to determine the correlation between the presence of forest elephant and site variables (size of the forest, percentage of area converted into plantation, size of the forest left, size of human population inside the PA, poaching index, distance to the nearest road, population density in the Department, level of protection of the PA). To examine the effect of ecological traits on elephant extirpation, we used Principal Components Analysis (PCA) to check for multicollinearity among variables. Based on dung count elephant presence was confirmed in only 4 of the 25 protected areas surveyed. PAs with higher level of protection have higher probability to be home of elephant population. The viability of these populations is uncertain, since they have a small size and are isolated. Aggressive conservation actions including law enforcement for the protection of their remaining habitat and ranger patrolling are needed to protect the remaining forest elephant populations.
Deep‐sea exploration relies on cutting‐edge technology, which generally requires expensive instruments, highly specialized technicians and ship time. The increasing need to gather large‐scale data on ...the distribution and conservation status of deep‐sea benthic species and habitats could benefit from the availability of low‐cost imaging tools to facilitate the access to the deep sea world‐wide.
Here we describe the Azor drift‐cam, a cost‐effective video platform designed to conduct rapid appraisals of deep‐sea benthic habitats. Built with off‐the‐shelf components, the Azor drift‐cam should be regarded as an effective, affordable, simple‐to‐assemble, easy‐to‐operate, resilient, operational and reliable tool to visually explore the deep sea to 1,000 m depth.
Its performance was assessed during the MapGES_2019 cruise, where 135 successful dives between 100 and 800 m depth were carried out in 22 working days, providing over 100 hr of images for almost 80 km of seabed, mostly in areas that had never been explored before.
The system does not aim to become a substitute for more sophisticated underwater video and photography platforms, such as ROVs, AUVs or manned submersibles. Rather, it aims to provide the means to perform quick assessments of deep‐sea benthic habitats in a simple and affordable manner.
This drift‐cam system has the potential to make deep‐sea exploration more accessible, playing an important role in the Deep‐Ocean Observing Strategy and measuring some of the Essential Ocean Variables for deep‐sea monitoring and conservation strategies.
Resumo
A exploração dos ecossistemas do mar profundo requer equipamentos e meios tecnológicos complexos, embarcações oceanográficas de grandes dimensões e tripulações especializadas, o que normalmente representa um elevado custo financeiro. Os novos e mais ambiciosos compromissos internacionais para proteger a biodiversidade marinha criou a necessidade de recolher novos dados científicos sobre a distribuição e o estado de conservação das espécies bentónicas de profundidade. Estes objetivos serão mais facilmente atingidos se for possível recorrer a ferramentas de baixo custo para a recolha sistemática de imagens do mar profundo em todo o planeta.
Neste artigo descrevemos o sistema de recolha de imagens do mar profundo denominada Azor drift‐cam. Esta plataforma de registo de vídeo de baixo custo foi desenhada para realizar avaliações expeditas dos habitats bentónicos de profundidade. Construída com componentes acessíveis e disponíveis comercialmente, a Azor drift‐cam é uma ferramenta eficiente, acessível, simples de montar, fácil de operar, resiliente e fiável para explorar o fundo do oceano até cerca de 1000 m de profundidade.
A utilização Azor drift‐cam foi testada na missão científica MapGES_2019, onde foram efetuados 135 mergulhos, durante 22 dias de trabalho, em áreas nunca exploradas, gerando mais de 100 horas de imagens do mar profundo entre os 100 e 800 m de profundidade, correspondendo a cerca de 80 km percorridos.
O sistema agora desenvolvido não pretende substituir as plataformas de recolha de imagem mais sofisticadas como ROVs, AUVs ou submersíveis tripulados. Pelo contrário, pretende criar a oportunidade de realizar avaliações rápidas dos habitats bentónicos de profundidade de uma forma simples e acessível.
A Azor drift‐cam tem o potencial de tornar a exploração do mar profundo acessível para todos, desempenhando um papel importante no desenvolvimento da Estratégia de Observação do Mar Profundo, medindo algumas das Variáveis Essenciais do Oceano, e para a implementação de estratégias de monitorização e conservação do mar profundo a nível global.
Hawaiian grouper (Hyporthodus quernus) is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands and is regionally important, yet little is known about its life history. This large species is managed within the Deep 7 ...bottomfish complex, which includes six snapper species that are assumed to have similar life history traits. Previous age estimates were not validated and suggested a maximum age of 34 years. To evaluate the preliminary study and provide a valid basis for life history parameters, we aged otoliths using bomb radiocarbon (
14
C) dating. Measured
14
C values provided ages for smallest to largest fish that differed from the original study. The fundamental information provided here when evaluating Hawaiian grouper conservation status is longevity (valid to 50 years and estimated to 76 years) — no male sampled was <80 cm total length (TL) and younger than 34 years — and age-at-sexual maturity and age-at-sex change, which were indirectly estimated and compared with prior published estimates for this and other groupers. Updated life history parameters (k = 0.078, L
∞
= 95.8 cm TL) should be used to improve future management and conservation assessments.
The Anthropocene is a time of unprecedented and accelerating rates of environmental change that includes press (e.g., climate change) and pulse disturbances (e.g., cyclonic storms, land use change) ...that interact to affect spatiotemporal dynamics in the density, distribution, and biodiversity of organisms. We leverage three decades of spatially explicit data on the density of a tropical folivore (
Lamponius portoricensis
Insecta, Phasmida) in a hurricane-mediated ecosystem (montane rainforest of Puerto Rico), along with associated environmental attributes, to disentangle the effects of interacting disturbances at multiple spatial scales. Spatiotemporal variation in density at a small spatial scale is affected by disturbance-related characteristics (hurricane severity, time after most recent major hurricane, ambient temperature, and understory temperature), legacies of previous land use, and understory habitat structure. Nonetheless, only a small proportion of spatiotemporal variation in density was related to those characteristics. In contrast, the majority of interannual variation in mean density at a larger scale was related to disturbance characteristics and understory habitat structure. These factors combine to affect a weak and declining trend in the density of
L
.
portoricensis
over time. The low resistance of
L
.
portoricensis
to Hurricane Hugo, as compared to Hurricanes Georges and Maria, likely arose because a drought followed Hurricane Hugo. The disturbance regime of the region is predicted to include increases in ambient temperatures, frequency of high-intensity storms, and frequency of droughts. Such trends may combine to threaten the conservation status of
L
.
portoricensis
, and other species with which it shares similar life history characteristics.
Sharks and rays are at risk of extinction globally. This reflects low resilience to increasing fishing pressure, exacerbated by habitat loss, climate change, increasing value in a trade and ...inadequate information leading to limited conservation actions. Artisanal fisheries in the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh contribute to the high levels of global fishing pressure on elasmobranchs. However, it is one of the most data-poor regions of the world, and the diversity, occurrence and conservation needs of elasmobranchs in this region have not been adequately assessed. This study evaluated elasmobranch diversity, species composition, catch and trade within the artisanal fisheries to address this critical knowledge gap. Findings show that elasmobranch diversity in Bangladesh has previously been underestimated. In this study, over 160000 individual elasmobranchs were recorded through landing site monitoring, comprising 88 species (30 sharks and 58 rays) within 20 families and 35 genera. Of these, 54 are globally threatened according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with ten species listed as Critically Endangered and 22 species listed as Endangered. Almost 98% juvenile catch (69-99% for different species) for large species sand a decline in numbers of large individuals were documented, indicating unsustainable fisheries. Several previously common species were rarely landed, indicating potential population declines. The catch pattern showed seasonality and, in some cases, gear specificity. Overall, Bangladesh was found to be a significant contributor to shark and ray catches and trade in the Bay of Bengal region. Effective monitoring was not observed at the landing sites or processing centres, despite 29 species of elasmobranchs being protected by law, many of which were frequently landed. On this basis, a series of recommendations were provided for improving the conservation status of the elasmobranchs in this region. These include the need for improved taxonomic research, enhanced monitoring of elasmobranch stocks, and the highest protection level for threatened taxa. Alongside political will, enhancing national capacity to manage and rebuild elasmobranch stocks, coordinated regional management measures are essential.
EU biodiversity conservation policy is based on the Habitats Directive (92/43/EC), which aims that habitat types and species of Community interest should reach 'favourable conservation status'. To ...this end, Member States are obliged to perform periodic assessment of species and habitat conservation status through biodiversity monitoring, which, in almost all cases, was performed by experts implementing standardized field protocols. Here, we examine the quality of data collected in the field by non-experts (citizen scientists) for the conservation status assessment of habitat types, and specifically for the criteria 'typical species', 'specific structures and functions', and 'pressures and threats'. This task is complicated and demands different types of field data. We visited two Natura 2000 sites and investigated four habitat types (two in each site) with non-experts and compared their data to the data collected by experts for accuracy, completeness and spatial arrangement. The majority of the non-expert data were accurate (i.e. non-experts recorded information they observed in the field), but they were incomplete (i.e. non-experts detected less information than the experts). Also, non-experts chose their sampling locations closer to the edge of the habitat, i.e. in more marginal conditions and thus in potentially more degraded conditions, than experts.
Abstract Nomenclatural, taxonomic, and distribution novelties concerning Evolvulus chrysotrichos (Convolvulaceae): a rare and endangered species from Brazil. Evolvulus chrysotrichos is a rare and ...threatened species, known from its type collection and a few old specimens. New records closer to the type locality are reported 150 years after its first collection reported by literature. We present here a complete description of this species, its first illustration and photographs in the field, distribution and phenological data, and a reassessment of its conservation status. We also designate a second-step lectotype of the name E. chrysotrichos and the lectotypification of its synonym, E. guaraniticus.
Resumo Evolvulus chrysotrichos é uma espécie rara e ameaçada, conhecida a partir de sua coleção tipo e poucos espécimes antigos. Novos registros próximo a sua localidade tipo foram reportados 150 anos após sua primeira coleta relatada na literatura. Apresentamos aqui uma descrição completa para essa espécie, sua primeira ilustração e fotografias em campo, distribuição, dados fenológicos e a reavaliação de seu status de conservação. Também designamos um lectótipo de segundo-passo para E. chrysotrichos e a lectotipificação de seu sinônimo, E. guaraniticus.
Species shift their distribution in response to climate and land‐cover change, which may result in a spatial mismatch between currently protected areas (PAs) and priority conservation areas (PCAs). ...We examined the effects of climate and land‐cover change on potential range of gibbons and sought to identify PCAs that would conserve them effectively. We collected global gibbon occurrence points and modeled (ecological niche model) their current and potential 2050s ranges under climate‐change and different land‐cover‐change scenarios. We examined change in range and PA coverage between the current and future ranges of each gibbon species. We applied spatial conservation prioritization to identify the top 30% PCAs for each species. We then determined how much of the PCAs are conserved in each country within the global range of gibbons. On average, 31% (SD 22) of each species’ current range was covered in PAs. PA coverage of the current range of 9 species was <30%. Nine species lost on average 46% (SD 29) of their potential range due to climate change. Under climate‐change with an optimistic land‐cover‐change scenario (B1), 12 species lost 39% (SD 28) of their range. In a pessimistic land‐cover‐change scenario (A2), 15 species lost 36% (SD 28) of their range. Five species lost significantly more range under the A2 scenario than the B1 scenario (p = 0.01, SD 0.01), suggesting that gibbons will benefit from effective management of land cover. PA coverage of future range was <30% for 11 species. On average, 32% (SD 25) of PCAs were covered by PAs. Indonesia contained more species and PCAs and thus has the greatest responsibility for gibbon conservation. Indonesia, India, and Myanmar need to expand their PAs to fulfill their responsibility to gibbon conservation. Our results provide a baseline for global gibbon conservation, particularly for countries lacking gibbon research capacity.
Resumen
Las especies modifican su distribución como respuesta a los cambios en el clima y el uso de suelo, lo que puede derivar en una disparidad espacial entre las áreas protegidas (AP) y las áreas de conservación prioritarias (ACP). Analizamos los efectos del cambio en el clima y el uso de suelo sobre la distribución potencial de los gibones para identificar las ACP que lograrían su conservación exitosa. Recopilamos puntos globales de presencia de gibones y modelamos (modelo de nicho ecológico) su distribución actual y potencial para la década de 2050 bajo diferentes escenarios de cambio climático y de uso de suelo. Después exploramos los cambios en la distribución y la cobertura de las AP entre la distribución actual y a futuro de cada especie de gibón y aplicamos la priorización de la conservación espacial para identificar el mejor 30% de ACP para cada especie. Posteriormente determinamos la extensión conservada de las ACP en cada país dentro de la distribución mundial de gibones. En promedio, el 31% (DS 22) de la distribución actual de cada especie está cubierta en las AP. La distribución actual de nueve especies tiene una cobertura de áreas protegidas menor al 30%. Como promedio, nueve especies perdieron el 46% (DS 29) de su rango potencial debido al cambio climático. Bajo un escenario de cambio climático con un cambio de suelo optimista (B1), doce especies perdieron el 39% (DS 28) de su distribución. Con un escenario pesimista (A2), 15 especies perdieron el 36% (DS 28) de su distribución. Cinco especies perdieron considerablemente más distribución bajo el escenario A2 en relación con el B1 (p = 0.01, SD 0.01), lo que sugiere que los gibones se beneficiarán con la gestión efectiva de la cobertura terrestre. La cobertura dentro de las AP de la distribución futura fue < 30% para once especies. En promedio, el 32% (DS 25) de las ACP estuvo cubierto dentro de las AP. Indonesia albergó más especies y más ACP, por lo que tuvo la mayor responsabilidad en la conservación de los gibones. Indonesia, India y Myanmar necesitan expandir sus AP para cumplir con su responsabilidad en la conservación de los gibones. Nuestros resultados proporcionan una línea base para la conservación mundial de los gibones, particularmente para aquellos países que carecen de los recursos para investigarlos.
摘要
在气候和土地利用变化影响下, 物种的分布将发生变化, 导致当前保护区和优先保护区之间出现空间不匹配。我们分析气候和土地利用变化对长臂猿潜在分布区变化的影响, 并识别了保护优先区以提升现有保护绩效。我们收集了全球长臂猿的出现位点, 并利用生态位模型模拟不同气候和土地利用变化情景下的当前和未来(2050年代)的潜在分布区。我们计算每种长臂猿当前和未来分布区的变化和保护地覆盖率的变化。我们基于空间保护规划, 将每个物种的不可替代性指数前30%的区域划为保护优先区, 并计算每个物种的保护优先区得到不同国家的保护地覆盖的比例。目前, 31% (SD 22)的长臂猿当前分布区被保护地覆盖, 其中9个物种的覆盖率低于30%。由于气候变化, 9个物种的分布区平均丧失46% (SD 29)。在乐观的土地利用变化情景下 (B1), 12个物种将失去平均39% (SD 28)的分布区。在悲观的土地利用变化情景 (A2)中, 15个物种将失去平均36% (SD 28)的分布区。在A2情景下, 有5种长臂猿的分布区丧失比例显著大于B1情景 (p = 0.01, SD 0.01), 表明长臂猿将受益于有效的土地利用管理。有11种长臂猿未来分布区的保护地覆盖比例 < 30%。保护优先区的平均保护地覆盖比例为32% (SD 25)。印度尼西亚拥有较多的长臂猿物种和较大的保护优先区, 对长臂猿保护负有最大责任。印度尼西亚、印度和缅甸需要扩大现有保护区。我们的研究结果将为全球长臂猿保护, 特别是缺乏长臂猿研究能力的国家提供理论参考。
Dactylorhiza hatagirea
(D. Don) Soo, also known as Himalayan Marsh Orchid or Salam Panja, belongs to the Orchidaceae family. It is found in sub-alpine to alpine regions at 2500–5000 m above sea ...level. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the botany, phytochemistry, medicinal uses, toxicity, and conservation status of
D. hatagirea
and to find the research gaps to promote progress in studies of this orchid. Secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolics, and saponins, were reported from the aerial and underground parts of this medicinal orchid. Several phytocompounds, such as dactylorhins A, B, C, D, and E and dactylose A and B, were isolated from the dried roots of
D. hatagirea.
A wide range of in vitro and in vivo assays was used to assess the biological properties of
D. hatagirea,
such as antirheumatic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, diuretic, neuroprotective, antioxidant, wound healing, hypoglycemic, antitumor, antimicrobial, antiviral, and anticancer activities. It was also reported to boost testosterone levels, improving sexual desire and arousal. Due to overexploitation and a restricted habitat range, this essential medicinal plant has reached the extinction stage; therefore, a conservation-friendly harvesting approach is needed for this medicinal herb. In vitro techniques such as micropropagation, synthetic seed generation, and hairy root technology can contribute to its conservation. This review provides comprehensive insights into the botanical features, traditional uses, phytochemicals, pharmacological importance, and toxicity evaluation of this medicinal orchid. This review also provides detailed information on the conservation status of
D. hatagirea
and strategies to overcome the exploitation of this orchid.
PDF
