Fragmentation Ecology

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

Se analizan conceptos fundamentales de la biología de la conservación y se proponen principios para ser aplicados en estrategias que permitan abordar problemas de manejo y conservación de los recursos naturales en el Sitio Ramsar Jaaukanigás. Se discuten y analizan procesos y conceptos fundamentales como los distintos modelos del uso de la tierra regionales y sus implicancias en la conservación; los procesos de fragmentación del hábitat, sus consecuencias sobre la biodiversidad y principios generales que permiten disminuir sus impactos; y por último la necesidad de enfoques multidisciplinarios que permitan abordar las problemáticas ambientales regionales con mayores posibilidades de éxito.

In this thesis I use carabid beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae) and vascular plants to investigate the ecological effects of urbanization on forested and dry meadow habitats in the city of Helsinki, Finland. I also investigate factors that affect species
diversity and the occurrence of rare and sensitive species in particular, in order to draft recommendations for habitat management for the enhancement of urban biodiversity. Urbanization gradient analyses are conducted using multivariate ordination analyses to elucidate assemblage level responses, ANOVA is applied to determine the assemblage level response of spruce forest carabid assemblages and GLMM is used to model individual species responses. The results suggest that, in contrast to Gray’s suggestion, Preston’s log-normal does not accurately describe the species distributions of carabid beetles in the studied habitats but rather they follow the predictions of Fisher’s log series and Hubbell’s unified neutral theory. I conclude that fragmentation, isolation and homogenization are the main problems regarding maintenance of urban biodiversity, and that biodiversity strategies should focus on the conservation of stenotopic species. In particular, habitats and ecologically important microhabitat conditions should be retained in as large and contiguous a form as possible. For instance, spruce forest habitats need to be managed to maintain shady, cool and moist conditions and dry meadows should be mown late in the season and the cut vegetation removed. Additionally, supplementation of habitat
networks should be implemented, by habitat restoration and habitat creation, such as the construction of dry meadows on landfills and noise abatement banks.

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse ...

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The deforestation of eastern Paraguay is a relatively recent phenomenon, starting as early as the 1940s. Assuming that larger forest fragments retain mechanisms and patterns of biodiversity resembling the original forests, understanding these patterns is valuable for comparative,
management, and conservation purposes. In this study, I document diversity patterns in four of the largest reserves of subtropical rainforest in eastern Paraguay as part of a 3-year field study. Forty grids, totaling 31,600 trap nights per reserve, resulted in 19 captured species. Spearman correlations were used to understand effects of distance to edge, and various diversity metrics and multivariate analyses were implemented to compare assemblages between remnants. Trapping revealed an increase in biodiversity toward forest edges. Medium-sized remnants showed the highest diversity (D) and evenness (J). Statistically significant differences were found between and among forest fragments. Given that biodiversity includes both richness and abundances, high biodiversity metrics are not the best indicator for ecosystem “ health, ” as population explosions closer to edges result in greater biodiversity.
More edge, more biodiversity. Thus, more emphasis needs to be given to understanding the natural history of native fauna and common assemblage patterns when addressing conservation and management strategies.

We synthesize findings from one of the world's largest and longest-running experimental investigations, the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP). Spanning an area of ∼1000 km 2 in central Amazonia, the BDFFP was initially designed to evaluate the effects of fragment area on rainforest biodiversity and ecological processes. However, over its 38-year history to date the project has far transcended its original mission, and now focuses more broadly on landscape dynamics, forest regeneration, regional-and global-change phenomena, and their potential interactions and implications for Amazonian forest conservation. The project has yielded a wealth of insights into the ecological and environmental changes in fragmented forests. For instance, many rainforest species are naturally rare and hence are either missing entirely from many fragments or so sparsely represented as to have little chance of long-term survival. Additionally, edge effects are a prominent driver of fragment dynamics, strongly affecting forest microclimate, tree mortality, carbon storage and a diversity of fauna. Even within our controlled study area, the landscape has been highly dynamic: for example, the matrix of vegetation surrounding fragments has changed markedly over time, succeeding from large cattle pastures or forest clearcuts to secondary regrowth forest. This, in turn, has influenced the dynamics of plant and animal communities and their trajectories of change over time. In general, fauna and flora have responded differently to fragmentation: the most locally extinction-prone animal species are those that have both large area requirements and low tolerance of the modified habitats surrounding fragments, whereas the most vulnerable plants are those that respond poorly to edge effects or chronic forest disturbances, and that rely on vulnerable animals for seed dispersal or pollination. Relative to intact forests, most fragments are hyperdynamic, with unstable or fluctuating populations of species in response to a variety of external vicissitudes. Rare weather events such as droughts, windstorms and floods have had strong impacts on fragments and left lasting legacies of change. Both forest fragments and the intact forests in our study area appear to be influenced by larger-scale environmental drivers operating at regional or global scales. These drivers are apparently increasing forest productivity and have led to concerted, widespread increases in forest dynamics and plant growth, shifts in tree-community composition, and increases in liana (woody vine) abundance. Such large-scale drivers are likely to interact synergistically with habitat fragmentation, exacerbating its effects for some species and ecological phenomena. Hence, the impacts of fragmentation on Amazonian biodiversity and ecosystem processes appear to be a consequence not only of local site features but also of broader changes occurring at landscape, regional and even global scales.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

Governance of tropical forests at both the international and the national level is more and more fragmented because of the large constellation of actors, ideas and interests influencing forestland policies for their conservation or change. In public policy area, fragmentation is to some extent the result of competing interests and objectives that lead to a power play in policy-making between actor groups (both public and private), i.e., state bureaucracies, Intergovernmental organisations, nongovernmental organisations and private companies. In this power relationship for the control of tropical forestlands, the hegemony of state bureaucracies in forest governance processes is increasingly contested because of the growing influence of external actor groups in forest governance. Our findings show that the fragmentation of forest governance, which might be considered specific to pluralistic systems, became banal even in tropical countries with a state-centred system like Cameroon where the state claims hegemonic ownership of forestlands. This fragmentation is particularly reinforced in limited statehood where state bureaucracies are attracted to/dependent on external resources for dealing with weak institutional capacity and to face the government's lack of ability to supply public goods and services. But despite the governance fragmentation constraints, this article reveals that some governments and sectoral bureaucracies in limited statehood are capable of using cunning behaviours to secure their own interests in domestic forestland policies and avoid pressure from external actors. In the case of Cameroon for example, the strategy being used relies on a wait-and-see game, uncertainty and recourse to sudden, ambiguous decisions; this is what we call “gecko politics”. Broadly, this article seeks to understand how a government or state bureaucracy in limited statehood with a state-centred system can try to impose its own interests in the context of forest governance fragmentation?

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The ability of animals to collect and use environmental information in fragmented landscapes may considerably  decrease as the spatial scale at which they search for feeding resources increases. Here, we used anindividual-based model to assess the scale-dependent movement patterns of woodpeckers when searching for their main foraging resources (wood-boring larvae). Two movement strategies for woodpeckers were compared in simulated landscapes where resources were spatially clustered at two hierarchical levels (trees and forest patches): (1) “top-down” foragers, whose movement decisions respond primarily to memorized information on forest patches; and (2) “bottom-up” foragers with random, purely exploratory movements that result from tree-scale foraging experiences. Top-down foragers were able to find more resources than bottom-up foragers, except in landscapes with very few and poor quality patches. Thus,the combined use of spatial memory and random exploration should considerably benefit woodpeckers that forage in landscapes with low fragmentation levels. Contrary to our expectations, bottom-up foragers had larger connectivity values by visiting more patches across the landscape. Thus, model results support the idea that as the landscape becomes fragmented the home-range size of woodpeckers increases. We conclude that landscape planning must aim at maintaining habitat quality and quantity above critical thresholds below which woodpeckers both lack enough resources and the ability to make efficient use of memory-based decisions.

Plant-animal interactions are a key component for biodiversity maintenance, but they are currently threatened by human activities. Habitat fragmentation might alter ecological interactions due to demographic changes, spatial discontinuities, and edge effects. Also, there are less evident effects of habitat fragmentation that potentially alter selective forces and compromise the fitness of the interacting species. Changes in the mutualistic and antagonistic interactions in fragmented habitats could significantly influence the plant reproductive output and the fauna assemblage associated with. Fragmented habitats may trigger contemporary evolution processes and open new evolutionary opportunities. Interacting parties with a diffuse and asymmetric relationship are less susceptible to local extinction but more prone to evolve towards new interactions or autonomy. However, highly specialized mutualisms are likely to disappear. On the other hand, ecological interactions may mutually modulate their response in fragmented habitats, especially when antagonistic interactions disrupt mutualistic ones. Ecoevolutionary issues of habitat fragmentation have been little explored, but the empiric evidence available suggests that the complex modification of ecological interactions in fragmented habitats might lead to nonanalogous communities on the long term.

Edge  effect  on  the  litter  layer  in  a  cerradão  area  of  Eastern  Mato  Grosso,  Brazil.  Vegetation
fragmentation causes edge effect, changing the microclimate, the species composition, and their biotic and abiotic
interactions. The litter layer is crucial for nutrient cycling in forests. This study aimed to check the influence of
vegetation edge on attributes of the litter layer in a cerradão area, testing the hypothesis that distance from the
edge is directly related to biomass and leaf proportion in the litter layer. Samples were collected from the litter
layer in 95m transects in 5 cerradão areas of eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil. We estimated a total of 6,724.44 kg/
ha -1  of litter, out of which 72.2% are leaves, 27.8% are branches, 0.07% is fruits, and 0.004% is flowers. Distance from the edge presented a positive and significant relation to thickness, dry weight, volume, and leaf fraction
mass of the litter. This information contributes to the understanding of a poorly studied component in cerradão
areas, showing that the fragmentation of these areas changes the structure of  litter layer, and this may cause
losses to ecosystem functions and services, with possible future reflexes on the species diversity

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

"Diversity of Orchids from a Cerrado fragment in Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso State, Brazil". The Orchidaceae family is the largest known botanical family, with about 25.000 species. This work, besides registering the occurrence of orchids in urban area, evaluated the impact caused for the advance of urban occupation of the land. The study of the orchids in the Loteamento Santa Cecília, Várzea Grande, MT, an area of remaining "Cerrado" ecosystem, surrounded by 4 surburbs, was carried out from September 1996 to March 2004. The search effort was 8 hours/day with two people, during two consecutive days per month. We registered 27 species and two varieties, representing 19 genera.