scholarly journals Ecological Networks and Fluvial Corridors in Calabria (Southern Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
pp. 1296-1297
Author(s):  
Nicola Cantasano
Keyword(s):  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Ecological Networks ◽  
Terrestrial Biosphere ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Post Industrial ◽  
Anthropic Pressure

The anthropic pressure on natural systems is the main cause for the present process of biodiversity loss in terrestrial biosphere [1]. Really, the human disturbance on Earth affects the 74.1% of terrestrial and marine habitats, including 22.4% completely modified, 51.7% partially disturbed and just the 25.9% in natural and pristine conditions [2]. At the beginning of third millenium, in the middle of a post-industrial era, named “Anthropocene” [3], mankind is causing the greatest mass extinction of wildlife in terrestrial biosphere [4-6].

scholarly journals Possibilities of applying the concept of “winter city” in the Russian Arctic (on the example of the city of Nadym)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-303
Author(s):  
R.Y. Fedorov ◽  
◽  
O.S. Sizov ◽  
V.V. Kuklina ◽  
A.A. Lobanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Ecosystems ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Spatial Mobility ◽  
Public Places ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Post Industrial ◽  
The City

On example of the city of Nadym, located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, the authors consider the socio-ecological problems of the development of green, blue and white open urban spaces. The research approach presented in the article is based on the study of a multifaceted complex of urban social and natural systems in their integrated unity, not just as public places, but as biomes — highly integrated urban ecosystems. A posteriori the reserchers based on the materials of interviews conducted in 2020 with experts who in different years took part in the study or planned the development of the open urban spaces in Nadym, as well as on the analysis of available publications on this topic and publicly available data. The study found that factors such as the short summer, during which many residents leave the city, as well as the prevalence of freezing temperatures for almost eight months, in fact, transform the green and blue spaces of Nadym into white. This situation indicates the advisability of a more active appeal to the concept of a “winter city” in the development of the city urban environment. The application of the concept principles can be in demand in the process of creating more comfortable living conditions and spatial mobility of the Nadym residents, as well as for developing the recreational opportunities of the city open spaces and integrating them into the natural environment surrounding the city, which in general can be considered as one of the factors for the sustainable development of the city and the formation of post-industrial features in its socio-economic life.

scholarly journals Habitat Protection Indexes - new monitoring measures for the conservation of coastal and marine habitats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy A Kumagai ◽  
Fabio Favoretto ◽  
Sara Pruckner ◽  
Alex David Rogers ◽  
Lauren V Weatherdon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal ◽  
Development Goal ◽  
Habitat Protection ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Freshwater Habitats ◽  
National Jurisdiction ◽  
Global Biodiversity ◽  
Do So

A worldwide call to implement habitat protection aims to halt biodiversity loss. To monitor the extent of coastal and marine habitats within protected areas (PAs) in a standardized, open source, and reproducible way, we constructed the Local and the Global Habitat Protection Indexes (LHPI and GHPI, respectively). The LHPI pinpoints the jurisdictions with the greatest opportunity to expand their own PAs, while the GHPI showcases which jurisdictions contribute the most in area to the protection of these habitats globally. Jurisdictions were evaluated to understand which have the highest opportunity to contribute globally to the protection of habitats by meeting a target of 30% coverage of PAs with Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) having the greatest opportunity to do so. While we focus on marine and coastal habitats, our workflow can be extended to terrestrial and freshwater habitats. These indexes are useful to monitor aspects of Sustainable Development Goal 14 and the emerging post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, to understand the current status of international cooperation on coastal and marine habitats conservation.

scholarly journals A new paleoecological look at the Dinwoody Formation (Lower Triassic, western USA): intrinsic versus extrinsic controls on ecosystem recovery after the end-Permian mass extinction

2013 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 854-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Hofmann ◽  
Michael Hautmann ◽  
Hugo Bucher
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Beta Diversity ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Ecosystem Recovery ◽  
Diversity Pattern ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
Permian Mass Extinction

The Dinwoody Formation of the western United States represents an important archive of Early Triassic ecosystems in the immediate aftermath of the end-Permian mass extinction. We present a systematic description and a quantitative paleoecological analysis of its benthic faunas in order to reconstruct benthic associations and to explore the temporal and spatial variations of diversity, ecological structure and taxonomic composition throughout the earliest Triassic of the western United States. A total of 15 bivalve species, two gastropod species, and two brachiopod species are recognized in the study area. The paleoecological analysis shows that the oldest Dinwoody communities are characterized by low diversity, low ecological complexity and high dominance of few species. We suggest that this low diversity most likely reflects the consequences of the mass extinction in the first place and not necessarily the persistence of environmental stress. Whereas this diversity pattern persists into younger strata of the Dinwoody Formation in outer shelf environments, an increase in richness, evenness and guild diversity occurred around the Griesbachian–Dienerian boundary in more shallow marine habitats. This incipient recovery towards the end of the Griesbachian is in accordance with observations from other regions and thus probably represents an interregional signal. In contrast to increasing richness within communities (alpha-diversity), beta-diversity remained low during the Griesbachian and Dienerian in the study area. This low beta-diversity reflects a wide environmental and geographical range of taxa during the earliest Triassic, indicating that the increase of within-habitat diversity has not yet led to significant competitive exclusion. We hypothesize that the well-known prevalence of generalized taxa in post-extinction faunas is primarily an effect of reduced competition that allows species to exist through the full range of their fundamental niches, rather than being caused by unusual and uniform environmental stress.

Birds of the Outer Hebrides: waterfowl

1979 ◽  
Vol 77 ◽  
pp. 431-444
Author(s):  
P. G. Hopkins ◽  
P. Coxon
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Brackish Water ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Herring Gull ◽  
Sea Ducks ◽  
Hooded Crow ◽  
Marine Habitats ◽  
Conservation Measures ◽  
Outer Hebrides ◽  
Breeding Waterfowl

SynopsisWaterfowl habitats are briefly described. These consist of nutrient-poor moorland with peaty lochs and bogs; nutrient-rich machair wetland with calcareous lochs and marshes; brackish water and marine habitats of estuary, shore and off-shore islands. The breeding waterfowl populations for moorlands, machair wetlands (including the Balranald Reserve) and the off-shore islands are described by species. Migrating and wintering assemblies of waterfowl are described by species: divers and grebes, sea-ducks, geese and swans, ducks on machair wetlands. The paper concludes with a review of the factors of land use most affecting waterfowl: traditional crofting practice, reseeding and fertilizing of moorland and grassland, drainage, wildfowling, sheep husbandry, dumping of rubbish and human disturbance relative to predators such as the hooded crow and the herring gull. Such factors constitute a serious threat to the wellbeing of stocks of waterfowl in the Outer Hebrides which is not overcome by present conservation measures.

scholarly journals Sustainable human behaviours for combating sixth mass extinction

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatik Baran Mandal
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Net Primary Productivity ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
The People ◽  
Sixth Mass Extinction ◽  
The Commons

Background extinction is a natural phenomenon. Anthropogenic biodiversity loss has been addressed from the various view points. The debate is continuing to identify the root cause of the anthropogenic mass extinction, also called the sixth extinction. The present communication discusses various anthropogenic drivers of the biodiversity loss and explains the ongoing sixth mass extinction using Garrett Hardin's “the tragedy of the commons”. Such explanations provide options for policy makers and for us to save the precious biodiversity of our planet. It has been demonstrated that presently we share about one third of the Net Primary Productivity which must be reduced through reducing our food consumption and by reducing our utilization of energy. Promotion of sustainable human behaviours to ameliorate the problem of anthropogenic extinction or the sixth extinction has been discussed in the light of recent findings from neurobiology and molecular biology. Biodiversity conservation through providing benefit to the people may be effective conservation strategies which would save the interest of human civilizations as well as other life forms on the earth.

scholarly journals Integrating Economic dynamics into Ecological Networks: The case of fishery sustainability

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Glaum ◽  
Valentin Cocco ◽  
Fernanda S. Valdovinos
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Ecological Networks ◽  
Ecological Network ◽  
Ecological Dynamics ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Insight Into

Summary/AbstractUnderstanding and sustainably managing anthropogenic impact on ecosystems requires studying the integrated economic -ecological dynamics driving coupled human-natural systems. Here, we expand ecological network theory to study fishery sustainability by incorporating economic drivers into food-web models to evaluate the dynamics of thousands of single-species fisheries across hundreds of generated food-webs and two management strategies. Analysis reveals harvesting high population biomass species can initially support fishery persistence, but threatens long term economic and ecological sustainability by indirectly inducing extinction cascades in non-harvested species. This dynamic is exacerbated in open access fisheries where profit driven growth in fishing effort increases perturbation strength. Results demonstrate the unique insight into both ecological dynamics and sustainability garnered from considering economically dynamic fishing effort in the network.One Sentence SummaryIntegrating economic drivers into ecological networks reveal non-linear drivers of sustainability in fisheries.

scholarly journals Spreadsheets to expedite taxonomic publications by automatic generation of morphological descriptions and specimen lists

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4624 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-150
Author(s):  
IVAN L. F. MAGALHAES
Keyword(s):  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Automatic Generation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Taxonomic Descriptions ◽  
Extinction Event ◽  
Mass Extinction Event

It is now generally accepted that we are going through a major mass extinction event that is causing biodiversity loss at alarming rates (Barnosky et al. 2011). We also know that many species remain to be formally described (e.g. Huber 2014), and concerns have been raised as to whether we will be able to document these before they go extinct (Costello et al. 2013). On one hand, the number of recognized species increases exponentially (e.g. Agnarsson et al. 2013; Sangster & Luksenburg 2015). On the other, taxonomic descriptions are becoming more complete and detailed, which is necessarily more time-consuming, leading to an overall decline in the number of species described per taxonomist (Sangster & Luksenburg 2015). In this scenario, any method or protocol that increases efficiency in taxonomic descriptions is welcome. 

Planetary Disasters: Wildness and the Perennial Struggle for Control

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Paul Wapner
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
Global Level ◽  
Ongoing Relationship

This Forum article explains how many of today’s calamities—specifically, climate change, biodiversity loss, and COVID-19—are the result of humanity’s ongoing relationship to wildness. For millennia, humans have pushed unpredictability and discomfort out of their immediate surroundings in search of security and convenience. They have been remarkably successful. Today, many people, but especially the affluent, rarely encounter wild animals, suffer exposure to the elements, or even have to tolerate the capriciousness of other people. But wildness is akin to energy: it cannot be created or destroyed. As people craft havens of stability, they do not eradicate wildness but shove it into the lives of the less fortunate and onto the global level. These days, marginalized people face profound vulnerability, and key biophysical and social systems on Earth are spiraling out of control. This article demonstrates the dynamics of global wildness. It shows how trying to banish wildness from one’s surroundings leads directly to climate change, mass extinction, and COVID-19. It ends by advancing a strategy of rewilding as a way to address these challenges. It suggests that opening to greater uncertainty and a modicum of discomfort—both individually and collectively—can relieve some of the pressure generating global wildness and offer an ethically appropriate orientation for this moment of planetary intensification.

scholarly journals Limiting the loss of terrestrial ecosystems to safeguard nature for biodiversity and humanity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy S. Simmonds ◽  
Andres Felipe Suarez-Castro ◽  
April E. Reside ◽  
James E.M. Watson ◽  
James R. Allan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Multiple Goals ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
The People

ABSTRACTHumanity is on a pathway of unsustainable loss of the natural systems upon which we, and all life, rely. To date, global efforts to achieve internationally-agreed goals to reduce carbon emissions, halt biodiversity loss, and retain essential ecosystem services, have been poorly integrated. However, these different goals all rely on preserving natural ecosystems. Here, we show how to unify these goals by empirically deriving spatially-explicit, quantitative area-based targets for the retention of natural terrestrial ecosystems. We found that at least 67 million km2 of Earth’s natural terrestrial ecosystems (~79% of the area remaining) require retention – via a combination of strict protection but more prominently through sustainably managed land use regimes complemented by restoration actions – to contribute to biodiversity, climate, soil and freshwater objectives under four United Nations’ Resolutions. This equates to retaining natural ecosystems across ~50% of the total terrestrial (excluding Antarctica) surface of Earth. Our results show where retention efforts could be focussed to contribute to multiple goals simultaneously. The retention targets concept that we present explicitly recognises that such management can and should co-occur alongside and be driven by the people who live in and rely on places where natural and semi-natural ecosystems remain on Earth.

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