scholarly journals The demise of a wonder: Evolutionary history and conservation assessments of the Wonder Gecko Teratoscincus keyserlingii (Gekkota, Sphaerodactylidae) in Arabia

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244150
Author(s):  
Karin Tamar ◽  
Johannes Els ◽  
Panagiotis Kornilios ◽  
Pritpal Soorae ◽  
Pedro Tarroso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Abu Dhabi Emirate ◽  
Conservation Assessments

Effective biodiversity conservation planning starts with genetic characterization within and among focal populations, in order to understand the likely impact of threats for ensuring the long-term viability of a species. The Wonder Gecko, Teratoscincus keyserlingii, is one of nine members of the genus. This species is distributed in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, with a small isolated population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where it is classified nationally as Critically Endangered. Within its Arabian range, anthropogenic activity is directly linked to the species’ decline, with highly localised and severely fragmented populations. Here we describe the evolutionary history of Teratoscincus, by reconstructing its phylogenetic relationships and estimating its divergence times and ancestral biogeography. For conservation implications of T. keyserlingii we evaluate the genetic structure of the Arabian population using genomic data. This study supports the monophyly of most species and reveals considerable intraspecific variability in T. microlepis and T. keyserlingii, which necessitate broad systematic revisions. The UAE population of T. keyserlingii likely arrived from southern Iran during the Pleistocene and no internal structure was recovered within, implying a single population status. Regional conservation of T. keyserlingii requires improved land management and natural habitat restoration in the species’ present distribution, and expansion of current protected areas, or establishment of new areas with suitable habitat for the species, mostly in northern Abu Dhabi Emirate.

scholarly journals Hydrogeologic framework and simulation of predevelopment groundwater flow, eastern Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack R. Eggleston ◽  
Thomas J. Mack ◽  
Jeffrey L. Imes ◽  
Wade Kress ◽  
Dennis W. Woodward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Abu Dhabi ◽  
Abu Dhabi Emirate ◽  
Hydrogeologic Framework

scholarly journals Species Distribution Modeling of Sassafras Tzumu and Implications for Forest Management

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keliang Zhang ◽  
Yin Zhang ◽  
Diwen Jia ◽  
Jun Tao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Characteristic Curve ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Deciduous Tree ◽  
Change Scenario ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Rule Set ◽  
Present Distribution

Sassafras tzumu (Chinese sassafras) is an economically and ecologically important deciduous tree species. Over the past few decades, increasing market demands and unprecedented human activity in its natural habitat have created new threats to this species. Nonetheless, the distribution of its habitat and the crucial environmental parameters that determine the habitat suitability remain largely unclear. The present study modeled the current and future geographical distribution of S. tzumu by maximum entropy (MAXENT) and genetic algorithm for rule set prediction (GARP). The value of area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), Kappa, and true skill statistic (TSS) of MAXENT was significantly higher than that of GARP, indicating that MAXENT performed better. Temperate and subtropical regions of eastern China where the species had been recorded was suitable for growth of S. tzumu. Relative humidity (26.2% of permutation importance), average temperature during the driest quarter (16.6%), annual precipitation (12.6%), and mean diurnal temperature range (10.3%) were identified as the primary factors that accounted for the present distribution of S. tzumu in China. Under the climate change scenario, both algorithms predicted that range of suitable habitat will expand geographically to northwest. Our results may be adopted for guiding the preservation of S. tzumu through identifying the habitats susceptible to climate change.

scholarly journals Substantial reduction in thermo-suitable microhabitat for a rainforest marsupial under climate change

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 20180189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Meade ◽  
Jeremy VanDerWal ◽  
Collin Storlie ◽  
Stephen Williams ◽  
Arnaud Gourret ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Temperature Extremes ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Evaporative Water ◽  
Extreme Temperature Events ◽  
Species Response ◽  
Potential Applicability

Increases in mean temperatures caused by anthropogenic climate change increase the frequency and severity of temperature extremes. Although extreme temperature events are likely to become increasingly important drivers of species' response to climate change, the impacts are poorly understood owing mainly to a lack of understanding of species’ physiological responses to extreme temperatures. The physiological response of Pseudochirops archeri (green ringtail possum) to temperature extremes has been well studied, demonstrating that heterothermy is used to reduce evaporative water loss at temperatures greater than 30°C. Dehydration is likely to limit survival when animals are exposed to a critical thermal regime of ≥30°C, for ≥5 h, for ≥4 consecutive days. In this study, we use this physiological information to assess P. archeri's vulnerability to climate change. We identify areas of current thermo-suitable habitat (validated using sightings), then estimate future thermo-suitable habitat for P. archeri , under four emission scenarios. Our projections indicate that up to 86% of thermo-suitable habitat could be lost by 2085, a serious conservation concern for the species. We demonstrate the potential applicability of our approach for generating spatio-temporally explicit predictions of the vulnerability of species to extreme temperature events, providing a focus for efficient and targeted conservation and habitat restoration management.

scholarly journals Assessing the Groundwater Quality in the Liwa Area, the United Arab Emirates

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2816 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alina Barbulescu ◽  
Yousef Nazzal ◽  
Fares Howari
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Quality ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Quality Index ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Water Parameters ◽  
The World ◽  
Abu Dhabi Emirate ◽  
Agricultural Use ◽  
Industrial Use ◽  
Drinkable Water

Last period groundwater quality raises big concerns all over the world since it is a limited source of drinkable water and for agricultural and industrial use. While the suitability of the groundwater of Liwa aquifer (Abu Dhabi Emirate) for agricultural use has been previously partially studied, not all the water parameters have been taken into account. Therefore, in this paper, we propose the study of 42 concentrations series of 19 groundwater parameters. We test the hypothesis that the water parameters series recorded at different locations are similar and group the samples in clusters. The main parameters that determine the differences between the clusters are determined by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Finally, we use a quality index for assessing the water suitability for drinking. The conclusions emphasize the necessity of using more than one technique to evaluate water quality for different purposes and to cross-validate the results.

Conservation implications of the evolutionary history and genetic diversity hotspots of the snowshoe hare

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 2929-2942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Cheng ◽  
Karen E. Hodges ◽  
José Melo-Ferreira ◽  
Paulo C. Alves ◽  
L. Scott Mills
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Snowshoe Hare ◽  
Conservation Implications

Secondary Succession and Natural Habitat Restoration in Abandoned Rice Fields of Central Korea

2002 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 306-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang-Seok Lee ◽  
Young-Han You ◽  
George R. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Succession ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Rice Fields

scholarly journals Protection alone may not promote natural recovery of biogenic habitats of high biodiversity damaged by mobile fishing gears

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose M. Fariñas-Franco ◽  
A. Louise Allcock ◽  
Dai Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Marine Bivalve ◽  
Natural Recovery ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Fishing Gears ◽  
Horse Mussel

The horse mussel Modiolus modiolus (L.) is a large marine bivalve that aggregates to create complex habitats of high biodiversity. As a keystone species, M. modiolus is of great importance for the functioning of marine benthic ecosystems, forming biogenic habitats used to designate Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The present study investigates the condition of M. modiolus beds historically subjected to intense scallop fishing using mobile fishing gears. The study, conducted seven years after the introduction of legislation banning all forms of fishing, aimed to establish whether natural habitat recovery occurs after protection measures are put in place. Lower biodiversity and up to 80% decline in densities of M. modiolus were recorded across the current dis- tributional range of the species in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland. The decline in biodiversity in most areas surveyed was consistent with that observed in biogenic reefs impacted by mobile fishing gears elsewhere. Epifauna, including sponges, hydroids and tunicates, experienced the most substantial decline in biodiversity, with up to 64% fewer taxa recorded in 2010 compared with 2003. Higher variability in community composition and a shift towards faunal assemblages dominated by opportunistic infaunal species typical of softer substrata were also detected. Based on these observations we suggest that, for biogenic habitats, the designation of MPAs and the introduction of fishing bans alone may not be sufficient to reverse or halt the negative effects caused by past anthropogenic impacts. Direct intervention, including habitat restoration based on translocation of native keystone species, should be considered as part of management strategies for MPAs which host similar biogenic reef habitats where condition and natural recovery have been compromised.

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