FSC is a worldwide recognized forest certification scheme, that aims to promote the environmentally responsible management and conservation of the world's forests. Despite its broad application, ...there is little evidence of its effect on biodiversity. To address this important knowledge gap, here we conducted a systematic review and a hierarchical meta-analysis of the effects of FSC on biodiversity worldwide. Our review yielded 57 studies spanning 2004-2022. Most studies were in the Americas and Europe (31 % and 28 %, respectively), and largely focused on vascular plants (41 %). Half (51 %) of the studies aimed to determine the effect of FSC certification on biodiversity. There were 15 studies with sufficient information for meta-analysis, resulting in 231 effect sizes for mammal, bird, and vascular plant abundance and 10 for vascular plant richness. Overall, there is a neutral effect of certification on taxa abundance, with only a positive effect on mammal assemblages. Responses varied considerably between mammals' traits. Threatened species, individuals with reduced body weight, and omnivorous species benefit from management under the FSC scheme. Vascular plant richness exhibited significantly higher values in FSC-certified areas. Moreover, the abundance of vascular plants also differs among traits, with shrubs and adult trees benefiting from FSC certification. Our systematic review and meta-analysis revealed strong variation in biodiversity responses to FSC, and major geographic and taxonomic knowledge gaps. The overall neutral effect and the divergent responses of taxa and species traits suggest that taxa/species-specific management and improvement of FSC criteria are required.
The growing needs for agricultural expansion and intensification will likely continue to reduce and fragment the terrestrial habitats fundamental to mammalian carnivores. Recent research identified ...benefits of agroecosystems to carnivores recognizing their multifunctionality, mostly for common species. However, the variability of carnivore ecology investigated in agroecosystems, biases in agriculture types and species targeted, and methodological approaches may affect the available knowledge to reconcile conservation and agricultural production. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic literature review to identify which aspects of and how is carnivore spatial ecology being investigated within agroecosystems. Of the 110 reviewed studies, most focused on agricultural crops (55%) and grasslands (47%) and half referred to monocultures. We found that 61% of the studies were conducted in Europe and North America. Eighty-four carnivore species were studied, 73% classified as Least Concern, with 67% of the studies targeting a single species and 30% focused on only seven common species. Almost all studies included some form of habitat use analysis and species’ home-range and its attributes (e.g. size, resource selection), the most common spatial ecology aspects studied. Most studies suggested that agriculture functions as food provisioning (69%) but few used direct food availability measures. Our results highlight that studies tend to be descriptive and geographically biased towards northern hemisphere and to non-forested agricultural types. We suggest that future carnivore spatial ecology research in agroecosystem should be hypotheses-driven, with greater focus on the mechanisms and processes through which agroecosystems might affect carnivore spatial ecology in particular for areas with high priority for carnivore conservation.
Wild ungulates are increasing in several regions of the world, recolonizing the empty niche left by previous livestock systems. Due to their important role as ecosystem engineers, wild ungulates can ...modify and change vegetation structure, as well as modulate soil ecological processes, affecting the remaining components of communities and posing new management challenges. Several studies have evaluated the effects of wild ungulates on other guilds, but the results are taxonomically biased. Thus, our goal is to synthesise the overall effects of wild ungulates on smaller mammals on a broad scale.
Due to the complexity of assessing these impacts throughout the ecological network, we focused on mammals since they occupy different trophic levels and are key taxa in food webs. We conducted a review of the documented effects of wild ungulates on the guild's abundance of mammals with less than 10 kg, which revealed a gap in the literature regarding how higher trophic levels respond to wild ungulate disturbances. Using a hierarchical meta‐analytic approach, we assessed, on a subset of articles, whether the presence of wild ungulates affects the guild of small mammals and whether these effects were associated with biome, wild ungulates' body mass and foraging strategy, and small mammals' body mass.
A quantitative meta‐analysis was possible only for small mammals (Rodentia/Soricomorpha/Macroscelidea <1 kg) and revealed that their abundance tended to decrease with increasing abundance of wild ungulates. The magnitude of this impact, however, was modulated by body mass, being greater for larger small mammals than for smaller ones.
The impacts of wild ungulates might result in changes in the abundance of small mammals through direct and indirect pathways. Our results motivate a more holistic evaluation of rewilding projects and the correct assessment of the effects concerning wild ungulates' reintroductions.
Our systematic review found 57 articles studying the effect of wild ungulates presence on smaller mammals, from rodents to lagomorphs and carnivores. Half of these studies were dedicated to rodents, and only one study quantified the direct impact of wild ungulates on carnivores, bringing light to this information gap. Our meta‐analysis on the effects of wild ungulates on small mammals (<1 kg) revealed a clear negative effect, with lower small mammal abundances in areas with higher wild ungulate presence. The detected impacts of wild ungulates might result in changes in the abundance of small mammals through direct and indirect pathways, such as reduction of food resources and habitat modification. Our results motivate a more holistic evaluation of rewilding projects and the correct assessment of the effects concerning wild ungulates reintroductions.
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) is the etiological agent of Johne's disease or paratuberculosis, a chronic infection affecting domestic ruminants worldwide. Despite sporadic reports ...of MAP occurrence in non-ruminants, information on the risk factors predisposing for infection is still scarce and evidence of transmission paths linking the livestock-wildlife-environment interfaces also remains lacking. In this study, we predicted that environmental, host-related, land use and human driven disturbance factors would modulate carnivore exposure to MAP. To test these hypotheses, we performed a retrospective survey, based on microbiological and molecular methods, in mainland Portugal including five sympatric species from the Herpestidae, Canidae, Viverridae, and Mustelidae families (n = 202) and examined 16 variables as putative predictors of MAP occurrence. Molecular evidence of MAP using IS900 as proxy was demonstrated in 7.43% (95%CI: 4.55-11.9) of surveyed carnivores, the highest proportions being registered for red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (10%; 95%CI: 4.0-23) and Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) (6.0%; 95%CI: 3.2-11). We demonstrate that important species of the Mediterranean carnivore guild, such as stone marten (Martes foina) and common genet (Genetta genetta), may also be exposed to MAP, being this the first time that occurrence in genet is reported. The high proportion of DNA-positive specimens, concurrent with the apparent lack of gastro-enteric lesions and molecular confirmation of IS900 in feces, argue for the presence of subclinical carriers that occasionally shed bacteria, potentially aiding as source of infection to susceptible species and possibly contributing for environmental contamination. Achievement of MAP isolation would prove beyond any doubt that MAP is present in this wildlife population. Ecological modelling results suggested that the probability of MAP infection using IS900 as proxy in mongoose is positively associated with higher altitude and temperature stability, as well as with lower annual rainfall. Density of livestock farms was found not to be a significant predictor, which may indicate that the livestock-wildlife interface is probably not important as an infection route for mongoose.
Agriculture and pastureland for cattle grazing are common land uses in Mediterranean landscapes. These activities significantly alter the habitat conditions, affecting the body conditions of wild ...communities, especially those with low vagility, such as small mammals. We aimed to evaluate how cattle grazing and the habitat composition affected the body condition of the wood mouse
Apodemus sylvaticus
in a southern Mediterranean agroforestry system using the Scale Mass Index (SMI) as an indicator of individuals condition. To assess variation in body condition, wood mice were live-trapped in a gradient of grazed sites with different stocking intensities, as well in sites excluded to grazing at different time periods (1998, 2004, and 2008). Wood mice body conditions were influenced by both microhabitat and macrohabitat drivers, with sex-biased patterns, while for the females, only the shrub species had an influence (a microhabitat variable); for the males, both the shrub species and the undercover density (and specifically their interaction) were the important drivers (microhabitat and macrohabitat variables). Unexpectedly, the physical condition variation detected between periods was not directly proportional to the exclusion period, but rather, a certain degree of similarity was found between the different sites (sites excluded since 2004 paired with grazed sites). These results suggest that the presence of food and shelter are determinants to the wood mouse’s physical condition: for females, securing food sources enhance the body condition, while for males, the degree of cover, and consequently refuge against predators, seems to be determinant. These results reinforce the need for sustainable landscape management to assure the maintenance of habitat heterogeneity.
Population density data on depleted and endangered wildlife species are essential to assure their effective management and, ultimately, conservation. The European wildcat is an elusive and threatened ...species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, with fragmented populations and living in low densities. We fitted spatial capture–recapture models on camera‐trap data, to provide the first estimate of wildcat density for Portugal and assess the most influential drivers determining it. The study was implemented in Montesinho Natural Park (NE Portugal), where we identified nine individuals, over a total effort of 3,477 trap‐nights. The mean density estimate was 0.032 ± 0.012 wildcat/km2, and density tended to increase with distance to humanized areas, often linked to lower human disturbance and domestic cat presence, with forest and herbaceous vegetation cover and with European rabbit abundance. Although, this density estimate is within the range of values estimated for protected areas elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula, our estimates are low at the European level. When put in context, our results highlight that European wildcats may be living in low population densities across the Iberian Mediterranean biogeographic region. No phenotypic domestic or hybrid cats were detected, suggesting potentially low admixture rates between the two species, although genetic sampling would be required to corroborate this assertion. We provide evidence that Montesinho Natural Park may be a suitable area to host a healthy wildcat population, and thus be an important protected area in this species' conservation context.
We fitted spatial capture–recapture models on European wildcat camera‐trap data to provide the first estimate of wildcat density for Portugal (Western Europe). Mean density was 0.032 ± 0.012 wildcat/km2 and increased with distance to humanized areas, with European rabbit abundance and with forest and herbaceous vegetation cover. Our estimates are low at the European level and highlight that European wildcats may be living at low population densities across the Iberian Mediterranean biogeographic region.
Mediterranean European landscapes have been shaped by human activities for centuries, particularly by livestock and farming. Traditionally managed
montado
landscapes have been recognized as having a ...crucial role in biodiversity conservation, providing habitat complexity and thus, ecological conditions for a variety of species. Biodiversity associated with
montado
can only be maintained under specific agricultural practices, with the intensification or abandonment of such practices posing serious threats for wildlife. Despite the high number of reptile species endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, research on the influence of agroforestry management practices on these species has been scarce. The mediterranean lizard
Psammodromus algirus
is a generalist species that responds to changes in the structure and quality of microhabitats, specifically the shrub layer, which is greatly affects by changes in cattle grazing intensity. In this study, we assessed how grazing affects the frequency of occurrence of
P. algirus
in a Mediterranean landscape dominated by
montado
. We detected that areas of intermediate age regarding grazing exclusion support higher lizard abundance, with
P. algirus
abundance being limited by vegetation structure and solar radiation. Thus, we may infer that the vegetation structure regulatory role of cattle will affect this lizard’s abundance, limiting it indirectly. We suggest that the maintenance of adequate traditional management, allowing the grazing pressure at low to moderate levels, would be beneficial to this species and reptiles in general and conclude that reconciling grazing and reptile conservation is possible if done in a sustainable way.
Information regarding species' status at a regional scale is instrumental for effective conservation planning. Some regions of southwestern Europe, such as Portugal, albeit included in the ...Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, lack a detailed assessment of the distribution patterns of several taxonomic groups, such as carnivores. Moreover, information is scattered, often unreliable and biased towards some species or regions. This study aimed at reviewing the existing knowledge on mammalian terrestrial carnivores in Portugal, to analyse research trends, update the species checklist and assess their historical and current distribution patterns. We conducted a comprehensive review of 755 scientific studies to analyse several publication metrics and compiled 20,189 presence records of all mammalian terrestrial carnivores occurring in Portugal since historical times to evaluate their distribution patterns. Carnivore research in Portugal began in the 18th century, with a recent boost in the mid-1990s, and has been biased towards certain research topics and regionally threatened species. There are 15 extant species in Portugal, with nine occurring across the country, six showing a more limited range, as well as one additional species currently locally extinct (Ursus arctos). Over the last decades, the distribution ranges of seven species apparently remained stable, two expanded, two contracted, and three showed unclear trends. The presence of a new invasive carnivore, the raccoon (Procyon lotor), is also documented here. This study illustrates the relevance of a comprehensive analysis of non-systematic data to assess the historic and current status of mammalian terrestrial carnivores at a national level, and to identify knowledge gaps and research priorities.
Aim
The world's forested area has been declining, especially in developing countries. In contrast, forest plantations are increasing, particularly exotic Eucalyptus plantations, which cover nowadays ...over 20 million ha worldwide. This global landscape change affects native communities, especially those at higher trophic levels that are affected by bottom–up cascading effects, such as carnivores. We seek to identify the general life‐history traits of mammalian carnivore species that use exotic Eucalyptus plantations.
Location
We reviewed 55 studies reporting carnivore presence in Eucalyptus plantations worldwide.
Methods
We consider seven species life‐history traits (generation length, social behaviour, body mass, energetic trophic level, diet diversity, habitat generalist/specialist and locomotion mode) as candidate drivers. We used generalized linear mixed models, with life‐history traits as fixed factors, and study as well as carnivore species as random factors. We obtained the carnivore occurrence data from the literature (detection of 42 different species, from seven families). We considered non‐detected species those with an IUCN Red List of Threatened Species estimated distribution range overlapping with the study areas, but not recorded by the studies.
Results
While we found no evidence of an effect of any of the other life‐history traits tested, our modelling procedure indicated that habitat generalist species are more likely to use Eucalyptus forests than specialist species.
Main conclusions
Our results, therefore, confirm an impoverishment of predator communities in disturbed environments, with the exclusion of the most specialist predators, leading to fragmentation of their populations and, ultimately contributing to their local extinction. The local extinction of specialist carnivores may lead to “functional homogenization” of communities within plantations, modifying ecosystem functioning with a negative impact on plantations’ productivity, profitability and services.
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