Author(s): Sinno S; MacInnis G; Lessard JP; Ziter CD;

Urbanization is a leading threat to biodiversity, but scientifically informed management of urban ecosystems can mitigate negative impacts. For wild bees, which are declining worldwide, careful consideration of flower choice in public and private green spaces could help preserve their diversity. While floral density and species richness are both linked to ...

Article GUID: 39609370

Author(s): Ruzzante DE; McCracken GR; Fraser DJ; MacMillan J; Buhariwalla C; Flemming JM;

Although efforts to estimate effective population size, census size and their ratio in wild populations are expanding, few empirical studies investigate interannual changes in these parameters. Hence, we do not know how repeatable or representative many estimates may be. Answering this question requires studies of long-term population dynamics. Here we to ...

Article GUID: 39582254

Author(s): Hutt-Taylor K; Bassett CG; Kinnunen RP; Frei B; Ziter CD;

Background: Urgent solutions are needed in cities to mitigate twin crises of global climate change and biodiversity loss. Urban nature-based solutions (actions that protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems while simultaneously providing human wellbeing and biodiversity benefits) are being advocated for as multi-functional tools capable of tackl ...

Article GUID: 39363382

Author(s): Bruce K; Mulrennan ME;

Parks Canada, in response to commitments undertaken towards reconciliation, has signaled its readiness to reassess the participation of Indigenous peoples in the co-management of national parks, national park reserves, and national marine conservation areas (NMCAs). However, the effectiveness of co-management, as the established framework underpinning the ...

Article GUID: 38960921

Author(s): Clarke SH; Lawrence ER; Matte JM; Gallagher BK; Salisbury SJ; Michaelides SN; Koumrouyan R; Ruzzante DE; Grant JWA; Fraser DJ;

Effective population size (Ne) is a particularly useful metric for conservation as it affects genetic drift, inbreeding and adaptive potential within populations. Current guidelines recommend a minimum Ne of 50 and 500 to avoid short-term inbreeding and to preserve long-term adaptive potential re ...

Article GUID: 38613250

Author(s): Flinte V; Pádua DG; Durand EM; Hodgin C; Khattar G; da Silveira LFL; Fernandes DRR; Sääksjärvi IE; Monteiro RF; Macedo MV; Mayhew PJ;

Understanding how biodiversity varies from place to place is a fundamental goal of ecology and an important tool for halting biodiversity loss. Parasitic wasps (Hymenoptera) are a diverse and functionally important animal group, but spatial variation in their diversity is poorly understood. We su ...

Article GUID: 37999060

Author(s): Vaz S; Manes S; Khattar G; Mendes M; Silveira L; Mendes E; de Morais Rodrigues E; Gama-Maia D; Lorini ML; Macedo M; Paiva PC;

Anthropic stressors are among the greatest concerns in nature conservation. Among these, deforestation and urban expansion are major drivers of habitat loss, which is a major threat to biodiversity. Insects, the largest and most abundant group of animals, are declining at alarming rates. However, ...

Article GUID: 37543317

Author(s): Sales LP; Pires MM;

Refugia-based conservation strategies offer long-term effectiveness and minimize uncertainty on strategies for climate change adaptation. Here, we use distribution modelling to identify climate change refugia for 617 terrestrial mammals and quantify the role of protected areas in safeguarding these zones across South America. Moist tropical forests locate ...

Article GUID: 36919472

Author(s): Schmidt C; Muñoz G; Lancaster LT; Lessard JP; Marske KA; Marshall KE; Garroway CJ;

Global biodiversity is organised into biogeographic regions that comprise distinct biotas. The contemporary factors maintaining differences in species composition between regions are poorly understood. Given evidence that populations with sufficient genetic variation can adapt to fill new habitats, it is surprising that more homogenisation of species asse ...

Article GUID: 35753949

Author(s): Sales LP; Galetti M; Carnaval A; Monsarrat S; Svenning JC; Pires MM;

Humans have reshaped the distribution of biodiversity across the globe, extirpating species from regions otherwise suitable and restricting populations to a subset of their original ranges. Here, we ask if anthropogenic range contractions since the Late Pleistocene led to an under-representation of the realized niches for megafauna, an emblematic group of ...

Article GUID: 35246902

Author(s): Atoba K; Newman G; Brody S; Highfield W; Kim Y; Juan A;

Rising flood damages have prompted local communities to implement buyout and property acquisition programmes to eliminate repetitive losses for at-risk properties. However, buyouts are often costly to implement and are reactionary solutions to flooding. This study quantifies the benefits of acquiring vacant private properties in flood-prone areas rather t ...

Article GUID: 34887609