scholarly journals Anthropogenic impacts in protected areas: assessing the efficiency of conservation efforts using Mediterranean ant communities

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Angulo ◽  
Raphaël Boulay ◽  
Francisca Ruano ◽  
Alberto Tinaut ◽  
Xim Cerdá
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Diversity Indices ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Similarity Indices ◽  
Degree Of Fragmentation

In countries with high levels of urbanization, protected areas are often subject to human disturbance. In addition to dealing with fragmentation, land managers also have to confront the loss of characteristic ecosystems due to biotic homogenization, which is the increasing similarity of species assemblages among geographically separate regions. Using ants as a model system, we explored whether anthropogenic factors negatively affect biodiversity of protected areas of a regional network. We first analysed the effect of fragmentation and human activity on ant biodiversity within protected areas. Secondly, we tested whether homogenization could occur among protected areas. We sampled 79 plots in the most common habitats of 32 protected areas in southern Spain and calculated ant community richness and diversity indices, endemic richness, and Bray–Curtis similarity indices (between pairs of plots). We related these indices with patch fragmentation and human disturbance variables, taking into account environmental, spatial and landscape covariates. We used ANOSIM to test for differences between similarity indices, specifically among levels of anthropogenic disturbance. Species richness was positively correlated with the distance from the border of the protected areas and the number of endemic species was negatively correlated with the degree of fragmentation. Ant communities were similar within each protected area but differed across regions. Human disturbance was not correlated with community similarity among sampling points. Our approach suggests how the ability of European protected areas to sustain biodiversity is limited because they remain susceptible to anthropogenic impacts. Although ant communities maintained their biological distinctiveness, we reveal how fragmentation within protected areas is important for community richness and endemism maintenance.

Effect of anthropogenic modifications on homogenization of ant community composition along elevational gradients in Cameroon

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
PAUL SERGE MBENOUN MASSE ◽  
RUTH MONY ◽  
GIOVANNI EBANGUE TITTI ◽  
GILLES LOIC MENDOUA EBOLO
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Anthropogenic Modifications ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Biological Differences

Anthropogenic modifications are recognized as one of the main factor threatening native fauna diversity and may lead to biotic homogenization. This ecological process has been described for some groups of organisms, but little is known in ants. In this study, we investigated the relationship between diversity, similarity and level of disturbance among ant communities in two mountain types (disturbed and less disturbed) from November 2017 to April 2019. Ants were sampled in four elevational levels (800 m, 900 m, 1000 m and 1,100m) using pitfall trapping and hand collection. Overall, 138 species corresponding to 2,445 occurrences were found in the two habitat types. In disturbed sites, ant species richness and occurrence were more than seven-fold higher in disturbed sites (131 species and 2,354 occurrences) than in less disturbed sites (19 and 91, respectively). Myrmicinae and Ponerinae were the most common subfamilies in disturbed and less disturbed sites respectively. The generalist ant Anoplolepis tenella was the most frequent ant species in disturbed sites whereas the specialist predator Paltothyreus tarsatus was the most common in less disturbed sites. Consistent with previous studies, this study demonstrates an increase in species richness and occurrence of generalist species with an increase in human disturbance. Likewise, our findings indicate that human disturbance is driving declines of dissimilarity among ant community thereby affecting the biological differences in ant communities. This study has implications for the management of montane forests and restriction of anthropogenic activities in these vulnerable tropical ecosystems.

STUDYING OF TERSKO-SULAKSKAYA LOWLAND VEGETATION UNDER THE RESULTS OF GROUND-BASED RESEARCH AND AUTOMATED INTERPRETATION

1970 ◽  
pp. 29-32
Author(s):  
M. I. Dzhalalova ◽  
A. B. Biarslanov ◽  
D. B. Asgerova
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Internet Resource

The state of plant communities in areas located in the Tersko-Sulak lowland was studied by assessing phytocenotic indicators: the structure of vegetation cover, projective cover, species diversity, species abundance and elevated production, as well as automated decoding methods. There are almost no virgin soils and natural phytocenoses here; all of them have been transformed into agrocenoses (irrigated arable lands and hayfields, rice-trees and pastures). The long-term impact on pasture ecosystems of natural and anthropogenic factors leads to significant changes in the indigenous communities of this region. Phytocenoses are formed mainly by dry-steppe types of cereals with the participation of feather grass, forbs and ephemera, a semi-desert haloxerophytic shrub - Taurida wormwood. At the base of the grass stand is common coastal wormwood and Taurida wormwood - species resistant to anthropogenic influences. Anthropogenic impacts have led to a decrease in the number of species of feed-rich grain crops and a decrease in the overall productivity of pastures. Plant communities in all areas are littered with ruderal species. The seasonal dynamics of the land cover of the sites was estimated by the methods of automatic decoding of satellite images of the Landsat8 OLI series satellite for 2015, dated by the periods: spring - May 20, summer - July 23, autumn - October 20. Satellite imagery data obtained by Landsat satellite with a resolution in the multispectral image of 30 m per pixel, and in the panchromatic image - 10 m per pixel, which correspond to the requirements for satellite imagery to assess the dynamics of soil and vegetation cover. Lower resolution data, for example, NDVI MODIS, does not provide a reliable reflection of the state of soil and vegetation cover under arid conditions. In this regard, remote sensing data obtained from the Internet resource https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ was used.

Effectiveness of Protected Areas in Conserving the Highly Hunted Mammal Species as Bushmeat in Southern Benin

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-24
Author(s):  
Chabi A.M.S. Djagoun ◽  
Etotépé A. Sogbohossou ◽  
Barthélémy Kassa ◽  
Christian B. Ahouandjinou ◽  
Hugues A. Akpona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Protected Areas ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Occupancy Model ◽  
Habitat Occupancy ◽  
Anthropogenic Habitat ◽  
Lama Forest

Background: The habitat degradation together with fragmentation and illegal hunting represent a major threat for biodiversity conservation in Lama protected areas. Method: We used a combination of questionnaire survey with local communities for ranking the hunted mammal species as bushmeat and track surveys in gridded-cell system of 500x500 m2 (n=268) to assess at what extend the management design, the anthropogenic factors and habitat type affect the occupancy model of those mammal species. Results: Twenty mammal species have been predominantly reported by the local inhabitants to consume bushmeat species and 5 of them have been identified as the most preferable as hunted game mammals. The selection of the preferred habitat among the swampy forest, the dense forest, the tree plantations and cropland for the prioritized game species varies between species but looks similar when grouping in different orders. Some bushmeat species were found to select the more secure habitat (natural forest); suggesting the zoning system in the Lama forest can passively protect those species. However, some species such as T. swinderianus although highly hunted showed preference to anthropogenic habitat, avoiding the well secured core zone in Lama Forest. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the importance of the zoning system with different management objectives in the habitat occupancy model of the highly hunted wildlife species.

Ant community structure along an extended rain forest–savanna gradient in tropical Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 445-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura T. van Ingen ◽  
Ricardo I. Campos ◽  
Alan N. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Ant Communities ◽  
Savanna Woodland ◽  
Ant Community ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Forest Regrowth ◽  
Tropical Australia ◽  
Ant Community Structure

AbstractIn mixed tropical landscapes, savanna and rain-forest vegetation often support contrasting biotas, and this is the case for ant communities in tropical Australia. Such a contrast is especially pronounced in monsoonal north-western Australia, where boundaries between rain forest and savanna are often extremely abrupt. However, in the humid tropics of north-eastern Queensland there is often an extended gradient between rain forest and savanna through eucalypt-dominated tall open forest. It is not known if ant community structure varies continuously along this gradient, or, if there is a major disjunction, where it occurs. We address this issue by sampling ants at ten sites distributed along a 6-km environmental gradient from rain forest to savanna, encompassing the crest and slopes of Mt. Lewis in North Queensland. Sampling was conducted using ground and baited arboreal pitfall traps, and yielded a total of 95 ant species. Mean trap species richness was identical in rain forest and rain-forest regrowth, somewhat higher in tall open forest, and twice as high again in savanna woodland. The great majority (78%) of the 58 species from savanna woodland were recorded only in this habitat type. MDS ordination of sites based on ant species composition showed a continuum from rain forest through rain-forest regrowth to tall open forest, and then a discontinuity between these habitat types and savanna woodland. These findings indicate that the contrast between rain forest and savanna ant communities in tropical Australia is an extreme manifestation of a broader forest-savanna disjunction.

Changes in escape behaviour of black iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) over an anthropogenic disturbance gradient

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Pooja Panwar ◽  
Pilar Angélica Gómez-Ruiz ◽  
Matthew N. Zipple ◽  
Luis Sandoval
Keyword(s):  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Escape Behaviour ◽  
Human Presence ◽  
Disturbed Areas ◽  
Disturbance Gradient ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ctenosaura Similis ◽  
Flight Initiation

Abstract Studies on the impact of human activity on animal behaviour are critical for understanding the extent to which humans affect ecological dynamics. Previous studies have found that human presence alters antipredator behaviours, which can be measured by flight initiation distance (FID). We investigated escape behaviour of 96 black iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) across a gradient of human disturbance in six sites inside a protected area in Costa Rica. We used a field experiment to test for effect of human disturbance on FID. We found that individuals from higher disturbance sites had shorter FIDs, meaning that black iguanas from disturbed areas allow closer approaches. This finding is consistent with the prediction that some animals become more habituated to human presence as the degree of human disturbance increases. We propose that black iguanas’ ability to alter their behaviour in response to humans’ presence could make them especially adept at invading new environments.

scholarly journals Variation in Human Disturbance Differentially Affects Predation Risk Assessment in Western Gulls

The Condor ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolaas V. Webb ◽  
Daniel T. Blumstein
Keyword(s):  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Important Goal ◽  
Larus Occidentalis ◽  
Predation Risk Assessment ◽  
Santa Monica ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
A Site ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Flight Initiation

Abstract Many studies have demonstrated that birds behave differently in areas with different levels of human disturbance. Studies frequently characterize sites as having an overall level of human disturbance, and compare how birds respond at sites with high and low levels of disturbance. Doing so assumes that disturbance has a fairly constant effect on animals throughout a site. We measured the distance at which individual Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis) moved away from an approaching observer along a stretch of beach on both sides of the Santa Monica Pier, a heavily visited tourist attraction in southern California. We found that these flight initiation distances decreased in areas where more people visited the beach, and specifically in a small area near the pier. We found that flight initiation distance changed very rapidly within a short distance from the pier. Our results indicate that anthropogenic features may leave a “behavioral footprint.” Identifying the scale of such behavioral footprints should be an important goal of studies that seek to reduce anthropogenic impacts on birds. La Variación del Disturbio Humano Afecta Diferencialmente la Percepción del Riesgo de Depredación en Gaviotas Larus occidentalis Resumen. Muchos estudios han demostrado que las aves se comportan de modo diferente en áreas con distintos niveles de disturbio humano. Los estudios frecuentemente caracterizan sitios con base en su nivel general de disturbio y comparan las respuestas de las aves entre lugares con niveles altos y bajos de disturbio. Al hacer esto, se supone que el disturbio tiene un efecto aproximadamente constante sobre los animales a través de un sitio dado. En este estudio medimos la distancia a la cual gaviotas de la especie Larus occidentalis se desplazaron alejándose de un observador a lo largo de un tramo de playa en ambos lados del embarcadero de Santa Monica, una atracción turística muy visitada ubicada en el sur de California. Encontramos que las distancias al observador a las que las aves iniciaron el vuelo disminuyeron en áreas donde más personas visitaron la playa, y específicamente en un área cercana al embarcadero. Las distancias a las que las gaviotas iniciaron el vuelo cambiaron muy rá pidamente en una distancia muy corta desde el puerto, hasta alcanzar una distancia constante. Nuestros resultados indican que las estructuras antropogénicas podrian dejar una “huella comportamental”. Identificar la escala de dichas huellas debería ser un objetivo importante de estudios que tengan como fin reducir el impacto antrópico sobre las aves.

scholarly journals Invisible barriers: anthropogenic impacts on inter- and intra-specific interactions as drivers of landscape-independent fragmentation

2019 ◽  
Vol 374 (1781) ◽  
pp. 20180049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oded Berger-Tal ◽  
David Saltz
Keyword(s):  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Interspecific Interactions ◽  
Specific Interactions ◽  
Physical Transformation ◽  
Wildlife Populations ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Species Declines ◽  
Dynamics Of Populations

Anthropogenically induced fragmentation constitutes a major threat to biodiversity. Presently, conservation research and actions focus predominantly on fragmentation caused directly by physical transformation of the landscape (e.g. deforestation, agriculture, urbanization, roads, etc.). While there is no doubt that landscape features play a key role in fragmenting populations or enhancing connectivity, fragmentation may also come about by processes other than the transformation of the landscape and which may not be readily visible. Such landscape-independent fragmentation (LIF) usually comes about when anthropogenic disturbance alters the inter- and intra-specific interactions among and within species. LIF and its drivers have received little attention in the scientific literature and in the management of wildlife populations. We discuss three major classes of LIF processes and their relevance for the conservation and management of species and habitats: (i) interspecific dispersal dependency, in which populations of species that rely on other species for transport and propagation become fragmented as the transporting species declines; (ii) interspecific avoidance induction, where species are excluded from habitats and corridors owing to interspecific interactions resulting from anthropogenically induced changes in community structure (e.g. exclusions by increased predation pressure); and (iii) intraspecific behavioural divergence, where populations become segregated owing to anthropogenically induced behavioural differentiation among them. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Linking behaviour to dynamics of populations and communities: application of novel approaches in behavioural ecology to conservation'.

What do we know about parasites of wildlife in high biodiversity areas with anthropogenic disturbance? The special case of Mexico

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. I. Muñoz-García ◽  
E. Berriatua ◽  
C. Martínez-Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Anthropogenic Disturbance ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Interface ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Animal Pathogens ◽  
Health Concept ◽  
The One

AbstractThe continual rise of anthropogenic disturbance of ecosystems has been associated with an increasing incidence of emerging diseases. The largest amount of data on emerging diseases relates to bacterial and viral pathogens, but there is a lack of parasite data, especially from wildlife. Monitoring wildlife parasitic diseases should be considered a priority, especially in high biodiversity regions with strong anthropogenic impacts, like Mexico, where the wildlife/livestock/human interface is associated with increased risk of disease transmission. Mexico belongs to the top-ten megadiverse countries and is located between two biogeographic regions. This situation makes Mexico a favourable region for the spillover of animal pathogens to human beings, causing pandemics, such as the one recently caused by influenza virus A (H1N1). The current state of knowledge of Mexican wildlife parasites is scarce and focuses mainly in Neotropical fauna. Moreover, this knowledge is heterogeneous for different parasite groups, especially concerning their pathologic effects and epidemiology. The goals of this review are to compile information on Mexican wildlife parasites and to identify knowledge gaps in order to stimulate research on pending epidemiological, public health, ecological and pathological areas, and to encourage the creation of more specialized groups from the perspective of the One-Health concept.

scholarly journals Future Climate Change Will Have a Positive Effect on Populus davidiana in China

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Li ◽  
Guan Liu ◽  
Qi Lu ◽  
Yanru Zhang ◽  
Guoqing Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Degree Of Protection ◽  
Populus Davidiana ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Degree Of Fragmentation

Since climate change significantly affects global biodiversity, a reasonable assessment of the vulnerability of species in response to climate change is crucial for conservation. Most existing methods estimate the impact of climate change on the vulnerability of species by projecting the change of a species’ distribution range. This single-component evaluation ignores the impact of other components on vulnerability. In this study, Populus davidiana (David’s aspen), a tree species widely used in afforestation projects, was selected as the research subject under four future climate change scenarios (representative concentration pathway (RCP)2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5). Exposure components of range change as well as the degree of fragmentation, degree of human disturbance, and degree of protection were considered simultaneously. Then, a multicomponent vulnerability index was established to assess the effect of future climate change on the vulnerability of P. davidiana in China. The results show that the distribution range of P. davidiana will expand to the northwest of China under future climate change scenarios, which will lead to an increased degree of protection and a decreased degree of human disturbance, and hardly any change in the degree of fragmentation. The multicomponent vulnerability index values of P. davidiana under the four emission scenarios are all positive by 2070, ranging from 14.05 to 38.18, which fully indicates that future climate change will be conducive to the survival of P. davidiana. This study provides a reference for the development of conservation strategies for the species as well as a methodological case study for multicomponent assessment of species vulnerability to future climate change.

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