Unsustainable trade in big cats affects all species in the genus, Panthera, and is one of the foremost threats to their conservation. To provide further insight into the impact of policy ...interventions intended to address this issue, we examine the case study of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), which in the early 1990s was one of the world's largest importers of tiger (Panthera tigris) bone and a major manufacturer of tiger-derived medicinal products. In 1993, South Korea became a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and introduced a ban on commercial trade in CITES Appendix I-listed big cats a year later. We used an expert-based questionnaire survey and an exploration of the CITES trade database to investigate what has since happened to big cat trade in South Korea. Expert opinion suggested that big cat trade has likely substantially reduced since the early 1990s, as a result of the trade ban and broad socioeconomic changes. However, illegal trade has not been eradicated entirely and we were able to confirm that products reportedly derived from big cats were still publicly available for sale on a range of Korean online marketplaces, sometimes openly. The items most commonly reported by respondents from post-1994 trade and supported by expert-led evidence were tiger and leopard (Panthera pardus) skins and tiger bone wine. Although South Korea may provide a useful case study of a historically significant consumer country for tiger which has made strong progress in addressing unsustainable levels of big cat trade within a short period of time, there remains a need to address recalcitrant small-scale, illegal trade. We also recommend further investigation regarding reports of South Korean nationals being involved in illegal trade in tiger-derived products in Southeast Asia.
Invasive species cause serious environmental and economic harm and threaten global biodiversity. We set out to investigate how quickly invasive plant species are currently spreading in China and how ...their resulting distribution patterns are linked to socio-economic and environmental conditions. A comparison of the invasive plant species density (log species/log area) reported in 2008 with current data shows that invasive species were originally highly concentrated in the wealthy, southeastern coastal provinces of China, but they are currently rapidly spreading inland. Linear regression models based on the species density and turnover of invasive plants as dependent parameters and principal components representing key socio-economic and environmental parameters as predictors indicate strong positive links between invasive plant density and the overall phytodiversity and associated climatic parameters. Principal components representing socio-economic factors and endemic plant density also show significant positive links with invasive plant density. Urgent control and eradication measures are needed in China's coastal provinces to counteract the rapid inland spread of invasive plants. Strict controls of imports through seaports need to be accompanied by similarly strict controls of the developing horticultural trade and underpinned by awareness campaigns for China's increasingly affluent population to limit the arrival of new invaders. Furthermore, China needs to fully utilize its substantial native phytodiversity, rather than relying on exotics, in current large-scale afforestation projects and in the creation of urban green spaces.
•Epigeal spider abundance is significantly higher in semi-natural habitats than fields.•Soil Ntot levels are negatively linked to carabid species richness and abundance.•Spider assemblages are ...significantly shaped by levels of Ntot and plant diversity.•Carabid assemblages are significantly shaped by plant diversity.•Mean patch size has a negligible influence on spider and carabid assemblages.
Agricultural intensification has resulted in major losses of biodiversity due to landscape homogenization and an increasing use of agrochemicals. It has often been assumed that associated changes in environmental conditions are impacting composition and diversity of two main ground-dwelling generalist predator taxa, carabid beetles and epigaeic spiders, in similar ways. Here, we test how variations in environmental conditions at local scales (plant diversity and total soil nitrogen, Ntot) and landscape-scale (mean patch size) affect species composition, richness and abundance of ground beetles and epigaeic spiders in semi-natural and cultivated habitats of an agricultural landscape. We specifically test the hypotheses that both taxa are more diverse in semi-natural than cultivated habitats, but that due to their weaker dispersal ability, ground beetles are more strongly linked to local factors than spiders. Our results indicate that in our study area, carabid diversity shows no significant difference between semi-natural habitats and cropland, while spider abundance is significantly enhanced in semi-natural habitats. Ntot significantly affected carabid species richness and abundance, but had a limited influence on spider abundances. The species composition of both carabids and spiders was influenced by plant diversity, while Ntot played a significant role in determining spider assemblages but not carabid composition. There was no significant effect of the mean patch size in the surroundings landscape on either spider or carabid species. Nonetheless, in landscapes with small patch sizes, spider abundance decreased with increasing Ntot, while in landscapes with large sized patches, this relationship was reversed. The differences in responses of these taxa to local and landscape-scale environmental factors suggests that scale- and taxon-specific targets need to be established to improve the efficiency of measures aimed at enhancing ecosystem services provisions by these key pest control agents.
Dramatic declines in diurnal pollinators have created great scientific interest in plant-pollinator relationships and associated pollination services. Existing literature, however, is generally ...focused on diurnal pollinating insect taxa, especially on Apidae (Hymenoptera) and Syrphidae (Diptera) pollinators, while nocturnal macro-moths that comprise extremely species-rich flower-visiting families have been largely neglected. Here, we report that in agricultural landscapes, macro-moths can provide unique, highly complex pollen transport links, making them vital components of overall wild plant-pollinator networks in agro-ecosystems. Pollen transport occurred more frequently on the moths' ventral thorax rather than on their mouthparts that have been traditionally targeted for pollen swabbing. Pollen transport loads suggest that nocturnal moths contribute key pollination services for several wild plant families in agricultural landscapes, in addition to providing functional resilience to diurnal networks. Severe declines in richness and abundance of settling moth populations highlight the urgent need to include them in future management and conservation strategies within agricultural landscapes.
Anthropogenic climate change is altering precipitation regimes at a global scale. While precipitation changes have been linked to changes in the abundance and diversity of soil and litter ...invertebrate fauna in forests, general trends have remained elusive due to mixed results from primary studies. We used a meta‐analysis based on 430 comparisons from 38 primary studies to address associated knowledge gaps, (i) quantifying impacts of precipitation change on forest soil and litter fauna abundance and diversity, (ii) exploring reasons for variation in impacts and (iii) examining biases affecting the realism and accuracy of experimental studies. Precipitation reductions led to a decrease of 39% in soil and litter fauna abundance, with a 35% increase in abundance under precipitation increases, while diversity impacts were smaller. A statistical model containing an interaction between body size and the magnitude of precipitation change showed that mesofauna (e.g. mites, collembola) responded most to changes in precipitation. Changes in taxonomic richness were related solely to the magnitude of precipitation change. Our results suggest that body size is related to the ability of a taxon to survive under drought conditions, or to benefit from high precipitation. We also found that most experiments manipulated precipitation in a way that aligns better with predicted extreme climatic events than with predicted average annual changes in precipitation and that the experimental plots used in experiments were likely too small to accurately capture changes for mobile taxa. The relationship between body size and response to precipitation found here has far‐reaching implications for our ability to predict future responses of soil biodiversity to climate change and will help to produce more realistic mechanistic soil models which aim to simulate the responses of soils to global change.
Our meta‐analysis found that decreases in rainfall reduce the abundance and diversity of soil and litter invertebrates in forests and that increases had the opposite effect. Importantly, the effect of changes in rainfall were more pronounced for mesofauna than microfauna and macrofauna. The relationship we found between body size and response to precipitation will aid predictions of future responses of soil biodiversity to climate change as well as these impacts on soil functioning.
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•We constructed ecological network combining with semi-natural habitat planning.•Construct resistance surface was modified with ‘Cultivated Land Use Intensity’•Ecosystem services ...assessment were used to explore optimal ecological network design.•Optimizing vegetation configuration is critical to improve the benefits of ecological networks.•Forest network accounting 10% area of the region is optimal balancing ecosystem services with yield.
In modern agricultural landscapes, constructing ‘ecological networks’ is regarded as an efficient way to conserve biodiversity and maintain ecosystem services. Here we aimed to develop an approach to design ecological corridor by employing the ecological source - resistance surface - ecological corridor framework in combination with semi-natural habitat planning and ecosystem service trade-off assessment. ‘Ecological source patches’ were identified based on a ‘Remote Sensing Ecological Index’ (RSEI) to objectively classify ecological and environmental conditions. Our resulting spatial resistance surface was further modified used based on the ‘Cultivated Land Use Intensity’ index, to derive a high accuracy and rationality of ecological corridor extraction in agriculture landscape. While planning the ecological network, key nodes and resulting semi-natural habitat (SNH) distribution were identified using Linkage Mapper tools and circuit theory. We constructed ecological network scenarios with different amounts of semi-natural habitats and calculated resulting regional ecosystem service values (ESV) using an equivalence factor method to explore optimal spatial layouts. The results showed, while regional ecosystem service values generally increased in line with semi-natural habitat area contained within the ecological network, ecological networks with forests covering 10% of the total area were predicted as an optimal scenario balancing ecosystem services with agricultural yield in the study region. Networks with mixed forest and grassland cover totaling 20% of the area represented an alternative choice that strongly enhanced regional ecosystem services while may still allowing for high agricultural productivity. In constructing corridors, identifying, restoring and protecting key ecological nodes using targeted management and habitat restoration, while protecting existing wetlands and other water bodies that support regional water cycle and supply services, should be prioritized. Regional policy measures furthermore need to promote targeted ecological network planning to help improve the overall sustainability of agricultural production.
Although illegal wildlife trade (IWT) represents a serious threat to biodiversity, research into the prevalence of illegal plant collection and trade remains scarce. Because cacti and succulents are ...heavily threatened by overcollection for often illegal, international ornamental trade, we surveyed 441 members of the cacti and succulent hobbyist collector community with a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach. We sought to understand collector perspectives on the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) and on the threats IWT poses to cactus and succulent conservation. Most respondents (74% of 401 respondents) stated that illegal collection in cacti and succulents represents a “very serious problem” and that the problem of wild plant collection is increasing (72% of 319 respondents). Most forms of illegal collection and trade were seen as very unacceptable by respondents. Self‐reported noncompliance with CITES rules was uncommon (11.2% of 418 respondents); it remains a persistent problem in parts of the cacti and succulent hobbyist community. People engaging in rule breaking, such as transporting plants without required CITES documents, generally did so knowingly. Although 60.6% of 381 respondents regarded CITES as a very important tool for conservation, sentiment toward CITES and its efficacy in helping species conservation was mixed. Collectors in our survey saw themselves as potentially playing important roles in cactus and succulent conservation, but this potential resource remains largely untapped. Our results suggest the need for enhanced consultation with stakeholders in CITES decision‐making. For challenging subjects like IWT, developing evidence‐based responses demands deep interdisciplinary engagement, including assessing the conservation impact of species listings on CITES appendices.
Resumen
Aunque el mercado ilegal de especies (MIE) representa una amenaza seria para la biodiversidad, son escasas las investigaciones sobre la prevalencia del intercambio y la colecta ilegal de plantas. Ya que las cactáceas y suculentas están amenazadas seriamente por la sobrecolección, generalmente para el mercado ornamental internacional e ilegal, encuestamos mediante una estrategia cualitativa y cuantitativa a 441 miembros de la comunidad de aficionados a coleccionar estas plantas. Buscamos entender las perspectivas que tienen los coleccionistas sobre la Convención sobre el Comercio Internacional de Fauna y Flora Silvestres (CITES) y sobre las amenazas que el MIE representa para la conservación de las cactáceas y las suculentas. La mayoría de los respondientes (74% de 401) mencionaron que la recolección ilegal de estas plantas representa un “problema muy serio” y que el problema de la recolección de plantas silvestres está en aumento (72% de 319 respondientes). Casi todas las formas de mercado y colecta ilegal fueron consideradas como inaceptables por los respondientes. El no cumplimiento autoreportado de las reglas de la CITES no fue recurrente (11.2% de 418 respondientes), pero permanece como un problema persistente en algunos sectores de la comunidad de aficionados a la colección de estas plantas. Las personas que rompieron las reglas, como con el transporte de plantas sin los documentos CITES requeridos, en su mayoría lo hicieron conscientemente. Aunque el 60.6% de los 381 respondientes consideraron la CITES como una herramienta muy importante para la conservación, los sentimientos hacia ella y su eficiencia en el apoyo a la conservación de especies fueron encontrados. Los coleccionistas de nuestra encuesta se reconocieron como actores potencialmente importantes en la conservación de las cactáceas y las suculentas, pero este recurso potencial permanece desaprovechado en su mayoría. Nuestros resultados sugieren que es necesaria una consulta reforzada con los actores en las decisiones de la CITES. Para temas exigentes como el MIE, el desarrollo de respuestas basadas en evidencias demanda una participación interdisciplinaria profunda, incluyendo la evaluación del impacto de conservación que tienen los listados de especies en los apéndices de CITES. Prevalencia y perspectivas del mercado ilegal de cactáceas y plantas suculentas en la comunidad de coleccionistas.
【摘要】
虽然野生动植物非法贸易对生物多样性构成了严重威胁, 但对植物非法采集与贸易普遍性的研究仍然很缺乏。由于仙人掌和多肉植物受到了过度采集的严重威胁, 且通常是由于观赏目的的非法国际贸易, 因此, 本研究利用定量和定性混合方法调查了441名仙人掌和多肉植物爱好者收藏家社群的成员。我们试图了解收藏者对《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》(CITES)的看法, 以及野生动植物非法贸易对仙人掌和多肉植物保护构成的威胁。大多数受访者(401名受访者中的74%)表示, 非法采集仙人掌和多肉植物是一个“非常严重的问题”, 且野生植物采集的问题正日益严峻(319名受访者中的72%)。大多数形式的非法采集和贸易都被受访者认为是非常不可接受的。自我报告的违反CITES条例的情况并不常见(418名受访者中的11.2%), 但仍是仙人掌和多肉植物爱好者群体中持续存在的问题。违反条例的人一般都是在知情的情况下进行操作的, 例如在不具备必需的CITES文件的情况下运输植物。尽管381名受访者中有60.6%认为CITES是一项非常重要的保护工具, 但人们对CITES及其在帮助物种保护方面有效性的看法却十分复杂。在我们的调查中, 采集者认为他们在仙人掌和多肉植物的保护中可能发挥着重要作用, 但这种潜在资源在很大程度上还没有被开发。我们的结果表明, 在CITES决策中需要加强与利益相关者的协商。对于像野生动植物非法贸易这样具有挑战性的问题, 制定以证据为基础的对策需要深入的跨学科交流, 包括评估列入CITES附录对物种保护的影响。【翻译:胡怡思;审校:聂永刚】
1. Extensive habitat destruction and pollution have caused dramatic declines in aquatic biodiversity at local to global scales. In rivers, the reintroduction of large woody debris is a common method ...aimed at restoring degraded ecosystems through "rewilding." However, causal evidence for its effectiveness is lacking due to a dearth of replicated before-after control-impact field experiments. 2. We conducted the first replicated experiment of large woody debris rewilding across multiple rivers and organisational levels, from individual target species populations to entire food webs. 3. For the first time, we demonstrate causal links between habitat restoration, biodiversity restoration and food web responses. Populations of invertebrates and an apex predator, brown trout (Salmo trutta), increased, and food web analysis suggested increased biomass flux from basal resources to invertebrates and subsequently fishes within restored reaches. 4. Synthesis and applications. This study contributes significant new evidence demonstrating that large woody debris rewilding can help to restore human-impacted river ecosystems, primarily through altering the abundance and biomass of consumers and resources in the food web. We also outline a means to gauge the magnitude of ecological responses to restoration, relative to environmental Stressors, which could help to prioritise the most effective conservation efforts.
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