Current status and distribution of golden jackals Canis aureus in Europe

• 1 The golden jackal Canis aureus is one of the most widespread canid species with a range covering areas of central, eastern and southern Europe, northern Africa and parts of Asia. Distribution of the golden jackal in Europe has been dynamic, including dramatic declines (until the 1960s), recovery (1960s and 1970s) and expansion (from the early 1980s onwards).
• 2 We present up‐to‐date information on golden jackal status in Europe and range expansion.
• 3 For data collection we reviewed the scientific literature and contacted scientists from the relevant countries. We distinguished between vagrant animals and established populations.
• 4 In the last decade, there has been an increase in jackal records in areas where the species has not been reported before. Increased presence is recorded northwards and westwards of the distribution range of the golden jackal, specifically in Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. In Austria, the first case of reproduction was confirmed in 2007; reproduction has also recently been reported in Italy.
• 5 Results indicate an ongoing expansion in Europe's jackal population, with a particular spread of the Balkan populations towards central Europe. Although there are numerous reports of sightings, only few originate from confirmed sources and in many areas status is unknown or vague. There is a general lack of ecological data and almost no information on ecological consequences associated with the golden jackal expansion.

     

喜马拉雅山东段鸟类多度-垂直分布幅关系:特有种与非特有种的对比

物种多度与分布幅之间的正相关被认为是一种普遍的规律。但近年在热带山地和岛屿的研究发现多度-分布幅关系会出现不相关或负相关的现象;该现象可能是由于当地多度高且分布幅小的特有种比例较高所导致。在喜马拉雅山东段的勒布沟沿海拔2350—4950 m开展研究：1)记录了当地鸟类多度垂直分布格局;2)验证了该区繁殖鸟总体多度-垂直分布幅关系,并对比了特有种和非特有种分组子集多度-垂直分布幅关系、平均多度和垂直分布中心的差异。研究发现勒布沟鸟类多度垂直分布格局为驼峰格局。该区繁殖鸟类与非特有种的多度-垂直分布幅关系均为正相关,但特有种的多度-垂直分布幅关系为不相关。特有种的多度及海拔分布中心位置均高于非特有种。结果表明区域的鸟类特有性对多度-垂直分布幅关系存在着重要的影响;地理隔离导致的区域物种组成差异,是造成多度-分布幅关系模式变化的重要原因之一。     

Population and geographic range dynamics: implications for conservation planning

Continuing downward trends in the population sizes of many species, in the conservation status of threatened species, and in the quality, extent and connectedness of habitats are of increasing concern. Identifying the attributes of declining populations will help predict how biodiversity will be impacted and guide conservation actions. However, the drivers of biodiversity declines have changed over time and average trends in abundance or distributional change hide significant variation among species. While some populations are declining rapidly, the majority remain relatively stable and others are increasing. Here we dissect out some of the changing drivers of population and geographic range change, and identify biological and geographical correlates of winners and losers in two large datasets covering local population sizes of vertebrates since 1970 and the distributions of Galliform birds over the last two centuries. We find weak evidence for ecological and biological traits being predictors of local decline in range or abundance, but stronger evidence for the role of local anthropogenic threats and environmental change. An improved understanding of the dynamics of threat processes and how they may affect different species will help to guide better conservation planning in a continuously changing world.     

Abundance–occupancy relationships

1.  The abundance and distribution of species tend to be linked, such that species declining in abundance often tend also to show declines in the number of sites they occupy, while species increasing in abundance tend also to be increasing in occupancy. Therefore, intraspecific abundance–occupancy relationships are commonly positive.
2.  The intraspecific pattern is mirrored by more general positive interspecific abundance–occupancy relationships: widespread species tend to be abundant, and narrowly distributed species rare.
3.  Here, we review recent research on these patterns based on the flora and fauna of the British Isles. We assess their generality, describe what is currently known about their structure, and summarize the results of tests of the several hypotheses proposed to explain their existence.
4.  The positive form generally exhibited by abundance–occupancy relationships, intraspecific or interspecific, has consequences for several areas of applied ecology, including conservation, harvesting, biological invasions and biodiversity inventorying. These implications are discussed briefly.     

The ‘abundant centre’ distribution: to what extent is it a biogeographical rule?

Several ecological and evolutionary hypotheses are based on the assumption that species reach their highest abundance in the centre of their range and decline in abundance toward the range edges. We reviewed empirical tests of this assumption, which we call the 'abundant centre' hypothesis. We found that of 145 separate tests conducted as part of 22 direct empirical studies, only 56 (39%) support the abundant centre hypothesis. More problematic than the percentage of studies that support the hypothesis is the finding that most studies inadequately sampled the species' ranges. Only two of the studies analysed data that were collected throughout the species' range. The remaining studies relied on data from a small number of points in their analysis, meaning that the range edges were severely under-sampled. Patterns of abundance across the entire range must be known to draw testable hypotheses about the consequences of species' geographical abundance distributions. Indirect tests of the abundant centre hypothesis, in which ecological or evolutionary expectations of abundant centre distributions were examined, did not support or reject the abundant centre hypothesis overall. We conclude that more exploration of species' abundance distributions is necessary and we suggest methods to use in future studies.     

Thermoregulatory traits combine with range shifts to alter the future of montane ant assemblages

Predicting and understanding the biological response to future climate change is a pressing challenge for humanity. In the 21st century, many species will move into higher latitudes and higher elevations as the climate warms. In addition, the relative abundances of species within local assemblages are likely to change. Both effects have implications for how ecosystems function. Few biodiversity forecasts, however, take account of both shifting ranges and changing abundances. We provide a novel analysis predicting the potential changes to assemblage‐level relative abundances in the 21st century. We use an established relationship linking ant abundance and their colour and size traits to temperature and UV‐B to predict future abundance changes. We also predict future temperature driven range shifts and use these to alter the available species pool for our trait‐mediated abundance predictions. We do this across three continents under a low greenhouse gas emissions scenario (RCP2.6) and a business‐as‐usual scenario (RCP8.5). Under RCP2.6, predicted changes to ant assemblages by 2100 are moderate. On average, species richness will increase by 26%, while species composition and relative abundance structure will be 26% and 30% different, respectively, compared with modern assemblages. Under RCP8.5, however, highland assemblages face almost a tripling of species richness and compositional and relative abundance changes of 66% and 77%. Critically, we predict that future assemblages could be reorganized in terms of which species are common and which are rare: future highland assemblages will not simply comprise upslope shifts of modern lowland assemblages. These forecasts reveal the potential for radical change to montane ant assemblages by the end of the 21st century if temperature increases continue. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating trait–environment relationships into future biodiversity predictions. Looking forward, the major challenge is to understand how ecosystem processes will respond to compositional and relative abundance changes.     

Responding to a Variable Environment: Home Range, Foraging Behavior, and Nest Relocation in the Costa Rican Rainforest Ant Aphaenogaster araneoides

We studied how the tropical wet forest ant Aphaenogaster araneoides adjusted its home range and foraging behavior in response to changes in the leaf litter and food environments. We decoupled litter abundance and food availability by creating a factorial treatment design including litter removal and food supplementation. Leaf litter removal caused a decrease in the number of foraging trips but an increase in their duration. Over a 2-week experimental period, about half of the colonies relocated their nests. We found a strong effect of nearest neighbor distance upon the home range areas of colonies after they relocated their nests. In summary, short-term manipulations of resources resulted in changes in home range area and foraging behaviors that differed depending upon nest relocation and the competitive environment.     

Rarity and abundance in a diverse African forest

We censused all trees ≥1 cm dbh in 50 ha of forest in Korup National Park, southwest Cameroon, in the central African coastal forest known for high diversity and endemism. The plot included 329,519 individuals and 493 species, but 128 of those taxa remain partially identified. Abundance varied over four orders of magnitude, from 1 individual per 50 ha (34 species) to Phyllobotryon spathulatum, with 26,741 trees; basal area varied over six orders of magnitude. Abundance patterns, both the percentage of rare species and the dominance of abundant species were similar to those from 50-ha plots censused the same way in Asia and Latin America. Rare species in the Korup plot were much less likely to be identified than common species: 42% of taxa with <10 individuals in the plot were identified to species, compared to 95% of the abundant taxa. Geographic ranges for all identified species were gleaned from the literature and online flora. Thirteen of the plot species are known only from Korup National Park (all discovered during the plot census), and 39 are restricted to the Nigeria–Cameroon coastal zone. Contrary to expectation, species with narrow geographic ranges were more abundant in the plot than average. The small number of narrow endemics (11% of the species), many locally abundant, mitigates short-term extinction risk, either from demographic stochasticity or habitat loss.     

Population variability complicates the accurate detection of climate change responses

The rush to assess species’ responses to anthropogenic climate change (CC) has underestimated the importance of interannual population variability (PV). Researchers assume sampling rigor alone will lead to an accurate detection of response regardless of the underlying population fluctuations of the species under consideration. Using population simulations across a realistic, empirically based gradient in PV, we show that moderate to high PV can lead to opposite and biased conclusions about CC responses. Between pre‐ and post‐CC sampling bouts of modeled populations as in resurvey studies, there is: (i) A 50% probability of erroneously detecting the opposite trend in population abundance change and nearly zero probability of detecting no change. (ii) Across multiple years of sampling, it is nearly impossible to accurately detect any directional shift in population sizes with even moderate PV. (iii) There is up to 50% probability of detecting a population extirpation when the species is present, but in very low natural abundances. (iv) Under scenarios of moderate to high PV across a species’ range or at the range edges, there is a bias toward erroneous detection of range shifts or contractions. Essentially, the frequency and magnitude of population peaks and troughs greatly impact the accuracy of our CC response measurements. Species with moderate to high PV (many small vertebrates, invertebrates, and annual plants) may be inaccurate ‘canaries in the coal mine’ for CC without pertinent demographic analyses and additional repeat sampling. Variation in PV may explain some idiosyncrasies in CC responses detected so far and urgently needs more careful consideration in design and analysis of CC responses.     

白马雪山黑白仰鼻猴(Rhinopithecus bieti)垂直迁移

2000-2001年间,在白马雪山国家级自然保护区南任村附近,通过在四个山坡每隔海拔100米的样带(宽5.0米)内搜集黑白仰鼻猴的粪便来研究猴群不同季节的垂直迁移模式。同时,通过在每个地区山脊上和山沟内搜集2.5米宽垂直样带内的粪便,来研究猴群不同季节对山脊和山沟的选择性。结果表明:猴群在海拔3500-4300米的区域活动。虽然猴群全年集中利用3900-4200米的林带;但是具有季节性差异:夏季最高(4200米),依次是秋季(4100米)和冬季(4000米),夏季最低(3900米)。另外,冬季山沟中的粪便多于山脊说明猴群在沟中停留时间长,这与沟中少风且温度高有关。不同海拔带上的粪便密度和松萝量间正相关,这意味着食物资源的垂直分布是影响猴群垂直迁移的重要因素。春季,猴群会下到低海拔采食嫩芽/叶,而冬季则下到低海拔处躲避首次大雪,这很可能导致猴群集中利用第二个海拔带。     

Temporal variation in responses of species to four decades of climate warming

Many species are expanding at their leading‐edge range boundaries in response to climate warming. Species are known to respond individualistically to climate change, but there has been little consideration of whether responses are consistent over time. We compared responses of 37 southerly distributed British butterflies over two study periods, first between 1970–1982 and 1995–1999 and then between 1995–1999 and 2005–2009, when mean annual temperature increased regionally by 0.03 °C yr^?1 (a significant rate of increase) and 0.01 °C yr^?1(a nonsignificant increase) respectively. Our study species might be expected to benefit from climate warming. We measured three responses to climate to investigate this; changes in range margin, distribution area and abundance. In general, the responses of species were inconsistent over time. Species that increased their distribution areas during the first period tended to do so again during the second period, but the relationship was weak. Changes in range margins and abundance were not consistent. In addition, only 5/37 species showed qualitatively similar responses in all three response variables over time (three species increased and two species declined in all variables in both periods). Overall rates of range expansion and distribution area change were significantly greater in the second study period, despite the lower rate of warming, perhaps due to species exploiting climate‐distribution lags remaining from the earlier, warmer period. However, there was a significantly greater decline in abundance during the second study period, so range expansions northwards were not necessarily accompanied by increases in distribution area and/or abundance. Hence, species ranges have been thinning as they have expanded northwards. The idiosyncratic responses of these species likely reflect the balance of climatic and habitat drivers of species distribution and abundance changes.     

Physiological tolerances account for range limits and abundance structure in an invasive slug

Despite the importance of understanding the mechanisms underlying range limits and abundance structure, few studies have sought to do so. Here we use a terrestrial slug species, Deroceras panormitanum, that has invaded a remote, largely predator-free, Southern Ocean island as a model system to do so. Across Marion Island, slug density does not conform to an abundant centre distribution. Rather, abundance structure is characterized by patches and gaps. These are associated with this desiccation-sensitive species'' preference for biotic and drainage line habitats that share few characteristics except for their high humidity below the vegetation surface. The coastal range margin has a threshold form, rapidly rising from zero to high density. Slugs do not occur where soil-exchangeable Na values are higher than 3000 mg kg⁻¹, and in laboratory experiments, survival is high below this value but negligible above it. Upper elevation range margins are a function of the inability of this species to survive temperatures below an absolute limit of −6.4°C, which is regularly exceeded at 200 m altitude, above which slug density declines to zero. However, the linear decline in density from the coastal peak is probably also a function of a decline in performance or time available for activity. This is probably associated with an altitudinal decline in mean annual soil temperature. These findings support previous predictions made regarding the form of density change when substrate or climatic factors set range limits.