scholarly journals Conservation Implications of Spatiotemporal Variation in the Terrestrial Ecology of Western Spadefoots

Author(s):  
Brian J. Halstead ◽  
Katherine L. Baumberger ◽  
Adam R. Backlin ◽  
Patrick M. Kleeman ◽  
Monique N. Wong ◽  
...  
2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 339
Author(s):  
Gao Tian ◽  
Xu Bin ◽  
Yang Xiu-Chun ◽  
Jin Yun-Xiang ◽  
Ma Hai-Long ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 207 ◽  
pp. 105556
Author(s):  
Hai-Yan Wu ◽  
Shi-Feng Fu ◽  
Jian Wu ◽  
Xiao-Qiong Cai ◽  
Qing-Hui Chen

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Yongfang Xu ◽  
Zhaohui Lin ◽  
Chenglai Wu

Central Asia is prone to wildfires, but the relationship between wildfires and climatic factors in this area is still not clear. In this study, the spatiotemporal variation in wildfire activities across Central Asia during 1997–2016 in terms of the burned area (BA) was investigated with Global Fire Emission Database version 4s (GFED4s). The relationship between BA and climatic factors in the region was also analyzed. The results reveal that more than 90% of the BA across Central Asia is located in Kazakhstan. The peak BA occurs from June to September, and remarkable interannual variation in wildfire activities occurs in western central Kazakhstan (WCKZ). At the interannual scale, the BA is negatively correlated with precipitation (correlation coefficient r = −0.66), soil moisture (r = −0.68), and relative humidity (r = −0.65), while it is positively correlated with the frequency of hot days (r = 0.37) during the burning season (from June to September). Composite analysis suggests that the years in which the BA is higher are generally associated with positive geopotential height anomalies at 500 hPa over the WCKZ region, which lead to the strengthening of the downdraft at 500 hPa and the weakening of westerlies at 850 hPa over the region. The weakened westerlies suppress the transport of water vapor from the Atlantic Ocean to the WCKZ region, resulting in decreased precipitation, soil moisture, and relative humidity in the lower atmosphere over the WCKZ region; these conditions promote an increase in BA throughout the region. Moreover, the westerly circulation index is positively correlated (r = 0.53) with precipitation anomalies and negatively correlated (r = −0.37) with BA anomalies in the WCKZ region during the burning season, which further underscores that wildfires associated with atmospheric circulation systems are becoming an increasingly important component of the relationship between climate and wildfire.


Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shakti Prajapati

AbstractPopulations of endangered Ganges and Indus river dolphins have been under severe threat from diversion of river water by dams, barrages, and canal networks across the Indus and Ganges–Brahmaputra river basins. River dolphins prefer deep water and might enter irrigation canals in the dry-season, getting stranded there. Stranding can cause mortality and local population declines, and poses an emerging challenge to river dolphin conservation efforts. In Pakistan’s Indus river basin, stranding rates of Indus dolphins in irrigation canals are high, and well-coordinated rescue-release operations are undertaken. Despite commendable river dolphin rescue efforts in some parts of India, stranding cases are not always reported. From open-access media reports (2007–08 to 2017–18), I found 26 stranding cases of Ganges river dolphins from the Ghaghara–Sharada canal network across seven districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Of these, 62% reports were from 2015 to 2016. Most cases occurred in secondary and tertiary canal branches. Interviews with fishers, farmers, and government officials revealed low awareness of stranding cases. Stranded dolphins might have no chance of returning to their source habitat, unless rescued. From my results, I discuss how current barrage-canal operations could influence dolphin stranding risk, and their implications for flow management in the Ghaghara–Sharada river basin.


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