Desolation comes from the sky: Invasive Hymenoptera species as prey of Chilean giant robber flies (Diptera: Asilidae) through field observations and citizen science

Robber flies (Asilidae) are the main predatory fly family feeding on beetles, butterflies, other flies for true flies, and even spiders; however, Hymenoptera is the most common prey. Invasive Hymenoptera species are common in central and southern Chile; however, few predators of these are known. The hunting behavior and prey of Chilean robber fly species are also poorly known. The aim of this study is to provide the first hunting behavior records of five Chilean giant robber fly species on invasive Hymenoptera. In addition, an updated distribution of these species is provided. Records of hunting behavior were based on fieldwork collections and citizen science observations. The historical distribution was compared with citizen science observations using chi-square analyzes. Twelve predation events were recorded. Obelophorus terebratus was the most common predator. Bombus terrestris was the invasive Hymenoptera most preyed upon. Both the extension of occurrence of Lycomya germainii as Obelophorus species showed changes in his distribution. Only O. landbecki shown changes in area of occupancy. Citizen science is playing a key role in the knowledge of biological interactions and distribution of endemic and native Chilean robber fly species.     

The role of botanical gardens in scientific research,conservation, and citizen science

Plant diversity is currently being lost at an unprecedented rate, resulting in an associated decrease in ecosystem services. About a third of the world's vascular plant species face the threat of extinction due to a variety of devastating activities, including, over-harvesting and over exploitation, destructive agricultural and forestry practices, urbanization, environmental pollution, land-use changes, exotic invasive species, global climate change, and more. We therefore need to increase our efforts to develop integrative conservation approaches for plant species conservation. Botanical gardens devote their resources to the study and conservation of plants, as well as making the world's plant species diversity known to the public. These gardens also play a central role in meeting human needs and providing well-being. In this minireview, a framework for the integrated missions of botanical gardens, including scientific research, in/ex situ conservation, plant resource utilization, and citizen science are cataloged. By reviewing the history of the development of Kunming Botanical Garden, we illustrate successful species conservation approaches (among others, projects involving Camellia, Rhododendron, Magnolia, Begonia, Allium, Nepenthes, medicinal plants, ornamental plants, and Plant Species with Extreme Small Populations), as well as citizen science, and scientific research at Kunming Botanical Garden over the past 80 years. We emphasize that Kunming Botanical Garden focuses largely on the ex situ conservation of plants from Southwest China, especially those endangered, endemic, and economically important plant species native to the Yunnan Plateau and the southern Hengduan Mountains. We also discuss the future challenges and responsibilities of botanical gardens in a changing world, including:the negative effects of outbreeding and/or inbreeding depression; promoting awareness, study, and conservation of plant species diversity; accelerating global access to information about plant diversity; increasing capacity building and training activities. We hope this minireview can promote understanding of the role of botanical gardens.     

The potential of military training areas for bird conservation in a central European landscape

European biodiversity has suffered from serious declines during the past few decades, with alterations of land use practices resulting in a loss of fine-scale habitat heterogeneity being a dominant driver. This heterogeneity was maintained by extensive landscape management, which has gradually been replaced by either intensive exploitation or land abandonment. It has been suggested that military training can generate habitat heterogeneity that may support the existence of species of conservation concern, but studies rigorously testing the real importance of military training areas for biodiversity are lacking. Here we address this issue by analyses of two datasets. First, we compared land cover classes between all large military training areas (MTAs) and surrounding control areas (CAs) of the same size in the Czech Republic using multivariate redundancy analysis. We found that the difference in land cover between MTAs and CAs was significant and represented the strongest gradient in land cover classes: from various farmland and artificial habitats typical for CAs to forest and scrubland-grassland mosaic typical for MTAs. Second, we selected one of these areas and compared bird species richness between the MTA and the nearby CA using generalized linear mixed effects models. We found that the number of species of conservation concern was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA. With respect to habitats, bird species richness was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA for open habitats, but not for forest habitats. Our results are thus consistent with the view that military training creates areas that are different from the surrounding landscape in terms of land cover, and that this difference translates to a suitability for species of conservation concern. It is remarkable that the positive influence of military training is confined to open habitats, which are subject to the most intensive military activities and also suffer the highest degree of deterioration in European landscapes.     

Marine invasive species: validation of citizen science and implications for national monitoring networks

Approximately 1,000 volunteers assessed the presence of invasive (Carcinus maenas and Hemigrapsus sanguineus) and native crabs within the intertidal zone of seven coastal states of the US, from New Jersey to Maine. Identification of crab species and determination of the gender of the observed crabs was documented at all 52 sites across a 725-km coastal transect. Using quantitative measures of accuracy of data collected by citizen scientists, a significant predictor of a volunteer’s ability was determined and eligibility criteria were set. Students in grade three and seven had the ability to differentiate between species of crabs with over 80% and 95% accuracy, respectively. Determination of gender of the crabs was more challenging and accuracy exceeded 80% for seventh grade students, while 95% accuracy was found for students with at least 2 years of university education. We used the data collected by citizen scientists to create a large-scale standardized database of the distribution and abundance of the native and invasive crabs. Hemigrapsus sanguineus dominated the rocky intertidal zone from Sandy Hook, New Jersey to Boston Harbor, Massachusetts while C. maenas dominated the northern extent of the sampled coastline. A citizen scientist of this monitoring network detected a range expansion of H. sanguineus. We identified obstacles to creating a national monitoring network and proposed recommendations that addressed these issues.     

An artificial bird nest experiment in urban environments: Lessons from a school‐based citizen science programme

Maintaining suitable vegetation within urban environments is crucial for wildlife conservation in the face of anthropogenic habitat change. Here, we report on a citizen science project, involving students from seven schools across south‐eastern Australia, that investigated the effectiveness of urban vegetation as habitat for bird nests. The ‘nest concealment hypothesis’ posits that vegetation should obscure the nest from predator detection, thus reducing the likelihood of predation. To test this, participating school‐aged citizen scientists constructed artificial nests, which were placed in garden trees within school grounds and monitored for signs of predation. We found no evidence to support the nest concealment hypothesis, with no relationship between the density of vegetation immediately surrounding a nest and its likelihood of predation (binomial model:  = 1.714, P = 0.190). It was observed that 80% of the nests experienced predation. This aligns with mounting evidence suggesting that other factors, such as olfaction and adult defence, may be more important factors in the protection of bird nests. It is important to note that artificial nests are unreliable, and therefore, the veracity of the overall conclusions is limited. However, in conducting this experiment, we demonstrate the suitability of this method as a school‐based citizen science activity. This study exemplifies that field‐based experiments can used to engage future generations with conservation science.     

Analysis of digitized herbarium records and community science observations provides a glimpse of downy mildew species diversity of North America,reveals potentially undescribed species,and documents the need for continued digitization and collecting

Downy mildew diseases caused by Peronosporaceae cause significant crop losses globally, with several emerging and resurgent threats in recent decades. Biodiversity data from digitized herbarium specimens provide an opportunity to develop a baseline census of species diversity, however, these resources may represent aggregations of nonrandom and opportunistic collecting efforts, which could lead to spurious results. Here, the MyCoPortal census of digitized herbarium records for downy mildew species collected from North America 1800 to present were analyzed. From 9838 unique records, 196 species were identified, reflecting ∼28% of known species diversity. Temporal and geographic collecting biases were observed, with 90% of the collections made prior to 1960 and the efforts of six “super-collectors” accounting for 25% of the collections. The presence of 50–100 undescribed species in North America was inferred from the records. Together, these results highlight the need for continued downy mildew collections, taxonomic research and digitization efforts.     

Equivalence of citizen science and scientific data for modelling species distribution of birds from a tropical savanna

The Wallacean deficit continues to be a challenge to species distribution modelling. Although some authors have suggested that data collected by citizen scientists can be relevant for a better understanding of biodiversity, to our knowledge, no work has quantitatively tested the equivalence between scientific and citizen science data. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that data collected by citizen scientists can be equivalent to data collected by professional scientists when generating species spatial distribution models. For 42 bird species in the Cerrado region we generated and compared species distribution models based on three data sources: (1) scientific data, (2) citizen science data and (3) sample size corrected citizen science data. To test our hypothesis, we compared the equivalence of these datasets. We rejected the hypothesis of equivalence for about one-third (38%) of the evaluated species, revealing that, for most of the species considered, the models generated were equivalent irrespective of the data set used. The distances between centroids of the models that were equivalent were on average smaller than the distances between non-equivalent models. Also, the direction of change in the models showed no pattern, with no trend towards more populated regions. Our results show that the use of data collected by citizen scientists can be an ally in filling the Wallacean deficit gap. In fact, the lack of use of this wide range of data collected by citizen scientists seems to be an unjustified caution. We indicate the potential of using citizen science data for modelling the distribution of species, mainly due to the large set of data collected, which is impracticable for scientists alone to collect. Conservation measures will be favoured by the union of professional and amateur data, aiming for a better understanding of species distribution and, consequently, biodiversity conservation.     

Prior reproduction and weather affect berry crops in central Ontario, Canada

Populations of many perennial plants intermittently produce large seed crops—a phenomenon referred to as mast seeding or masting. Masting may be a response to spatially correlated environmental conditions (the Moran effect), an adaptive reproductive strategy reflecting economies of scale, or a consequence of the internal resource budgets of individual plants. Fruit production by endozoochorous plants representing eight genera varied synchronously over much of central Ontario, Canada, 1998–2009. We tested for effects of weather and prior reproduction on fruit production by comparing AIC_c values among regression models fit to time series of fruit production scores and partitioning contributions by different predictors to multiple R ² into independent and joint contributions. Fruit production by mountain ash (Sorbus spp.), juneberry (Amelanchier spp.), dogwoods (Cornus spp.), nannyberry (Viburnum lentago), and possibly cherries (Prunus spp.) was inversely related to production in the previous year. These effects were independent of weather conditions, suggesting that intrinsic factors such as internal resource budgets or an adaptive strategy of variable reproductive output influenced fruit production. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of masting in members of the genera Cornus, Viburnum, and Amelanchier, and in members of Prunus and Sorbus in North America. All species produced fewer fruits when weather conditions were dry, so the Moran effect could have synchronized fruit production both within and among species. Patterns and causes of variation in berry crops have implications for ecosystem dynamics, particularly in boreal and subArctic environments where berry crops are important wildlife foods.     

基于不同网格尺度福州主城区鸟类多样性与景观特征的关系研究

理解城市鸟类多样性与景观特征的关系对城市生物多样性保护和可持续发展具有重要意义。通过爬取中国观鸟记录中心网站2020年福州主城区436份观鸟报告数据计算鸟类丰富度指数(S)、Shannon-Wiener多样性指数(H)和Simpson多样性指数(D);基于谷歌地球引擎和高分辨率Worldview影像量化景观特征因子;在此基础上,采用Mann-Whitney U检验了两个网格尺度(300 m和1000 m)下S、H和D指数的差异性;运用广义线性模型探究了两个尺度下影响鸟类多样性指数的关键景观因子及其重要性。结果表明：(1)2020年研究区内共观测到242种鸟类,隶属19目59科,雀形目鸟类为优势种;数量占比从高到低依次为留鸟、冬候鸟、旅鸟和夏候鸟,分别为63.53%、25.83%、6.71%和3.93%;(2)两个尺度下鸟类多样性指数差异明显,1000 m尺度下S和H指数均显著高于300 m尺度(0.05相似文献   

Different facets of the same niche: Integrating citizen science and scientific survey data to predict biological invasion risk under multiple global change drivers

Citizen science initiatives have been increasingly used by researchers as a source of occurrence data to model the distribution of alien species. Since citizen science presence-only data suffer from some fundamental issues, efforts have been made to combine these data with those provided by scientifically structured surveys. Surprisingly, only a few studies proposing data integration evaluated the contribution of this process to the effective sampling of species' environmental niches and, consequently, its effect on model predictions on new time intervals. We relied on niche overlap analyses, machine learning classification algorithms and ecological niche models to compare the ability of data from citizen science and scientific surveys, along with their integration, in capturing the realized niche of 13 invasive alien species in Italy. Moreover, we assessed differences in current and future invasion risk predicted by each data set under multiple global change scenarios. We showed that data from citizen science and scientific surveys captured similar species niches though highlighting exclusive portions associated with clearly identifiable environmental conditions. In terrestrial species, citizen science data granted the highest gain in environmental space to the pooled niches, determining an increased future biological invasion risk. A few aquatic species modelled at the regional scale reported a net loss in the pooled niches compared to their scientific survey niches, suggesting that citizen science data may also lead to contraction in pooled niches. For these species, models predicted a lower future biological invasion risk. These findings indicate that citizen science data may represent a valuable contribution to predicting future spread of invasive alien species, especially within national-scale programmes. At the same time, citizen science data collected on species poorly known to citizen scientists, or in strictly local contexts, may strongly affect the niche quantification of these taxa and the prediction of their future biological invasion risk.     

Abundance and distribution of American beaver, Castor canadensis (Kuhl 1820), in Tierra del Fuego and Navarino islands, Chile

Castor canadensis specimens were imported from Canada and released in the wilderness on the Argentinean part of Tierra del Fuego (TDF) in the year 1946. First studies on the development of the beaver population and subsequent environmental changes were conducted four decades later and indicated a strong expansion of these animals, with negative effects on the forest, especially the dominant Nothofagus sp. Between 1999 and 2001, we investigated the density of the beaver population in the Chilean part of TDF and the southern adjacent island Navarino (NAV). Data were mapped into a geographical information system. The mean colony density was 1.03 (range: 0.15–1.91) and 1.1 per km watercourse for 75% of the area of TDF (mainly south and central region) and the total NAV island, respectively. The average number of individuals estimated per colony was five. Based on these findings, the number of beavers in the Chilean part of TDF and on NAV was estimated at 61,300 individuals. The population is increasing and expanding in the Northern region, with a linear rate of 2.6–6.3 km/year.     

Threat spots and environmental determinants of red-listed plant,butterfly and bird species in boreal agricultural environments

The aims of this study were (1) to examine the geographic distribution of red-listed species of agricultural environments and identify their national threat spots (areas with high diversity of threatened species) in Finland and (2) to determine the main environmental variables related to the richness and occurrence patterns of red-listed species. Atlas data of 21 plant, 17 butterfly and 11 bird species recorded using 10 km grid squares were employed in the study. Generalized additive models (GAMs) were constructed separately for species richness and occurrence of individual species of the three species groups using climate and land cover predictor variables. The predictive accuracy of models, as measured using correlation between the observed and predicted values and AUC statistics, was generally good. Temperature-related variables were the most important determinants of species richness and occurrence of all three taxa. In addition, land cover variables had a strong effect on the distribution of species. Plants and butterflies were positively related to the cover of grasslands and birds to small-scale agricultural mosaic as well as to arable land. Spatial coincidence of threat spots of plants, butterflies and birds was limited, which emphasizes the importance of considering the potentially contrasting environmental requirements of different taxa in conservation planning. Further, it is obvious that the maintenance of various non-crop habitats and heterogeneous agricultural landscapes has an essential role in the preservation of red-listed species of boreal rural environments.     

Respiratory virus infection and risk of invasive meningococcal disease in central Ontario, Canada

Background

In temperate climates, invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) incidence tends to coincide with or closely follow peak incidence of influenza virus infection; at a seasonal level, increased influenza activity frequently correlates with increased seasonal risk of IMD.

Methods

We evaluated 240 cases of IMD reported in central Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2006. Associations between environmental and virological (influenza A, influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)) exposures and IMD incidence were evaluated using negative binomial regression models controlling for seasonal oscillation. Acute effects of weekly respiratory virus activity on IMD risk were evaluated using a matched-period case-crossover design with random directionality of control selection. Effects were estimated using conditional logistic regression.

Results

Multivariable negative binomial regression identified elevated IMD risk with increasing influenza A activity (per 100 case increase, incidence rate ratio = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 1.31). In case-crossover models, increasing weekly influenza A activity was associated with an acute increase in the risk of IMD (per 100 case increase, odds ratio (OR)  = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.28 to 3.23). Increasing weekly RSV activity was associated with increased risk of IMD after adjusting for RSV activity in the previous 3 weeks (per 100 case increase, OR = 4.31, 95% CI: 1.14, 16.32). No change in disease risk was seen with increasing influenza B activity.

Conclusions

We have identified an acute effect of influenza A and RSV activity on IMD risk. If confirmed, these finding suggest that influenza vaccination may have the indirect benefit of reducing IMD risk.     

Living in the city: resource availability, predation, and bird population dynamics in urban areas

This article explores factors that shape population structure in novel environments that have received scant theoretical attention: cities. Urban bird populations exhibit higher densities and lower diversity. Some work suggests this may result from lower predation pressure and more predictable and abundant resources. These factors may lead to populations with few winners and many losers regarding access to food, body condition, and reproductive success. We explore these hypotheses with an individual-energy-based competition model with two phenotypes of differing foraging ability. We show that low frequency resource fluctuations favor strong competitors and vice versa. We show that low predation skews equilibrium populations in favor of weak competitors and vice versa. Increasing the time between resource pulses can thus shift population structure from weak to strong competitor dominance. Given recent evidence for more constant resource input and lower predation in urban areas, the model helps understand observed urban bird population structure.     

Production and turnover of Hyalella azteca in central Ontario, Canada compared with other regions

• 1 Microprofiles of oxygen concentration were made in soft sediments of Lake Baikal, along three transects near the Selenga delta. This is the first time the available oxygen in the sediment has been measured in this lake.
• 2 The microprofiles had a similar and typical shape (a single exception was possibly caused by bioturbation). A positive correlation was found between the sediment oxygen penetration depth (SOP) and the bathymetric depth of the epilimnion, probably caused by a decrease in oxygen sediment consumption with increasing depth.
• 3 The observed SOP values are generally very high, which is an indication of oligotrophy. A single low SOP value, observed in the northern transect, appears to be linked to organic pollution caused by the Selenga River.

     

Expressing citizen preferences on endangered wildlife for building socially appealing species recovery policies: A stated preference experiment in Quebec,Canada

Over the past fifty years, the world's wildlife populations have drastically declined. This stems from multiple causes, including the loss of natural habitat, which plays a vital role. Effective strategies to help endangered wildlife species recovery requires broad public support to be politically viable. In this study, we conducted a randomized survey to elicit and describe the Quebec population’s preferences and concerns regarding endangered wildlife and estimate its willingness-to-pay (WTP) for their recovery. We used stated preference approaches, namely a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and best-worst scaling (BWS), to estimate WTP and rank respondent preferences towards categories of wildlife species and recovery program attributes. In the selection of animals listed, results also reveal strong public preferences for large mammals, more specifically the beluga whale and woodland caribou. Simulation exercises from our DCE results show that a quarter of respondents would be willing to pay $160 per year for a megafauna recovery program compared to $12 for birds, or insects, or fish and molluscs recovery programs. Despite respondents’ strong preferences for the protection of megafauna, BWS and DCE simulation results indicate that a broader multispecies approach would be favoured by a larger segment of the population than a single specie approach. The survey results also revealed that the public likes to spend time in nature and is both concerned about endangered wildlife and aware of the interdependence between humans and nature. Therefore, our findings suggest that policymakers have a social acceptance to use both flagship species and multispecies approaches to implement endangered species recovery strategies. Moreover, our findings and the related literature on the value of ecosystem services indicate that communication on wildlife conservation could be buttressed by emphasizing conservation’s contributions to ecosystem services.     

Population trends and calling phenology of anuran populations surveyed in Ontario estimated using acoustic surveys

Many acoustic surveys have been initiated to monitor anuran populations in North America. We used the Ontario Backyard Frog Survey to examine temporal and spatial trends, from 1994 to 2001. Our data suggest that there have been no consistent trends in site occupancy during this time period, but there were some differences among years. Both American toads and northern leopard frogs were more prevalent in 1995 than in 1994. Similarly, species richness was higher in 1995 and 1996 compared to most other years. Individual populations of species, however, often were not stable. Extinction and colonization rates varied among species, and ranged from 1.5 to 19.5% per year, and site occupancy was negatively correlated with extinction rates. Daily detection probabilities were often quite low, and were primarily driven by the perceived calling intensity. We recommend: (i) that monitoring programs attempt to preserve common survey routes, despite heavy turnover of volunteers, (ii) calling surveys be timed to maximize detection probabilities, and (iii) analyses based upon landscape features and GIS approaches should be used to determine localized changes in site occupancy or species richness.     

Ocean Tracking and Marine Species Protection in Australia and Canada: Science,Technology, and Knowledge Brokering

This article examines the promise and challenge of marine biotelemetry technologies, comparing the case of the Canadian Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) and the Australian Animal Tagging and Monitoring System (AATAMS). These technologies provide increased understanding of the marine environment and promise major advances in knowledge of species at risk. However, that utilization of marine biotelemetry raises challenges, including ensuring that knowledge obtained is translated into forms useful to and usable by decision makers. Knowledge brokering is a key to ensure that the advances seen in marine biotelemetry technologies lead to improved gover-nance of species at risk.