Rarity types among plant species with high conservation priority in Switzerland

We investigated the ecogeographic characteristics of 118 Swiss plant species listed as those deserving highest conservation priority in a national conservation guide and classified them into the seven Rabinowitz' rarity types, taking geographic distribution, habitat rarity and local population size into account. Our analysis revealed that species with high conservation priority in Switzerland mostly have a very restricted geographic distribution in Switzerland and generally occur in rare habitats, but do not necessarily constitute small populations and are generally not endemics on a global scale. Moreover, species that are geographically very restricted on a regional scale are not generally restricted on a global scale. By analysing relationships between rarity and IUCN extinction risks for Switzerland, we demonstrated that species with the highest risk of extinction are those with the most restricted geographic distribution; whereas species with lower risk of extinction (but still high conservation priority) include many regional endemics. Habitat rarity and local population size appeared to be of minor importance for the assessment of extinction risk in Switzerland, but the total number of fulfilled rarity criteria still correlated positively with the severity of extinction risk. Our classification is the first preliminary assessment of the relative importance of each rarity type among endangered plant species of the Swiss flora and our results underline the need to distinguish between a regional and a global responsibility for the conservation of rare and endangered species.

Conservation assessments and Red Listing of the endemic Moroccan flora (monocotyledons)

Morocco constitutes an important centre of plant diversity and speciation in the Mediterranean Basin. However, numerous species are threatened by issues ranging from human activities to global climatic change. In this study, we present the conservation assessments and Red Listing of the endemic Moroccan monocotyledons according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria and categories. For each species, we include basic taxonomic information, local names and synonyms, uses, a distribution map, extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, population size and trend, a description of habitats and ecological requirements, and a discussion of the threats affecting the species and habitats. We assessed the threatened status of the endemic Moroccan monocotyledons at the species level (59 species) using the IUCN Red List criteria and categories (Version 3.1). This study shows the high extinction risk to the Moroccan monocotyledon flora, with 95% of threatened species (20% Critically Endangered, 50% Endangered, 25% Vulnerable) and only 5% not threatened (2% Near Threatened and 3% Least Concern). The flora is thus of conservation concern, which is poorly recognized, both nationally and internationally. The study presents the first part and so far the only national IUCN Red Data List for a large group of Moroccan plants, and thus provides an overview of the threatened Moroccan flora. This IUCN Red List is an important first step towards the recognition of the danger to Moroccan biodiversity hotspots, conservation of threatened species and the raising of public awareness at national and international levels.

Status of Early 19th-Century Names Authored in Parallel by Wied and Schinz for South American Reptiles and Amphibians, with Designations of Three Nomina Protecta

Prince Maximilian zu Wied's great exploration of coastal Brazil in 1815-1817 resulted in important collections of reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, many of which were new species later described by Wied himself The bulk of his collection was purchased for the American Museum of Natural History in 1869, although many ""type specimens"" had disappeared earlier. Wied carefully identified his localities but did not designate type specimens or type localities, which are taxonomic concepts that were not yet established. Information and manuscript names on a fraction (17 species) of his Brazilian reptiles and amphibians were transmitted by Wied to Prof. Heinrich Rudolf Schinz at the University of Zurich. Schinz included these species (credited to their discoverer ""Princ. Max."") in the second volume of Das Thierreich ... (1822). Most are junior objective synonyms of names published by Wied. However, six of the 17 names used by Schinz predate Wied's own publications. Three were manuscript names never published by Wied because he determined the species to be previously known. (1) Lacerta vittata Schinz, 1822 (a nomen oblitum) = Lacerta striata sensu Wied (a misidentification, non Linnaeus nec sensu Merrem) = Kentropyx calcarata Spix, 1825, herein qualified as a nomen protectum. (2) Polychrus virescens Schinz, 1822 = Lacerta marmorata Linnaeus, 1758 (now Polychrus marmoratus). (3) Scincus cyanurus Schinz, 1822 (a nomen oblitum) = Gymnophthalmus quadrilineatus sensu Wied (a misidentification, non Linnaeus nec sensu Merrem) = Micrablepharus maximiliani (Reinhardt and Lutken, ""1861"" [1862]), herein qualified as a nomen protectum. Qualifying Scincus cyanurus Schinz, 1822, as a nomen oblitum also removes the problem of homonymy with the later-named Pacific skink Scincus cyanurus Lesson (= Emoia cyanura). The remaining three names used by Schinz are senior objective synonyms that take priority over Wied's names. (4) Bufo cinctus Schinz, 1822, is senior to Bufo cinctus Wied, 1823; both, however, are junior synonyms of Bufo crucifer Wied, 1821 = Chaunus crucifer (Wied). (5) Agama picta Schinz, 1822, is senior to Agama picta Wied, 1823, requiring a change of authorship for this poorly known species, to be known as Enyalius pictus (Schinz). (6) Lacerta cyanomelas Schinz, 1822, predates Teius cyanomelas Wied, 1824 (1822-1831) both nomina oblita. Wied's illustration and description shows cyanomelas as apparently conspecific with the recently described but already well-known Cnemidophorus nativo Rocha et al., 1997, which is the valid name because of its qualification herein as a nomen protectum. The preceding specific name cyanomelas (as corrected in an errata section) is misspelled several ways in different copies of Schinz's original description (""cyanom las,"" ""cyanomlas,"" and cyanom""). Loosening, separation, and final loss of the last three letters of movable type in the printing chase probably accounts for the variant misspellings.

Definition of priority areas for forest conservation through the ordered weighted averaging method

The general objective of this study was to evaluate the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) method, integrated to a geographic information systems (GIS), in the definition of priority areas for forest conservation in a Brazilian river basin, aiming at to increase the regional biodiversity. We demonstrated how one could obtain a range of alternatives by applying OWA, including the one obtained by the weighted linear combination method and, also the use of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to structure the decision problem and to assign the importance to each criterion. The criteria considered important to this study were: proximity to forest patches; proximity among forest patches with larger core area; proximity to surface water; distance from roads: distance from urban areas; and vulnerability to erosion. OWA requires two sets of criteria weights: the weights of relative criterion importance and the order weights. Thus, Participatory Technique was used to define the criteria set and the criterion importance (based in AHP). In order to obtain the second set of weights we considered the influence of each criterion, as well as the importance of each one, on this decision-making process. The sensitivity analysis indicated coherence among the criterion importance weights, the order weights, and the solution. According to this analysis, only the proximity to surface water criterion is not important to identify priority areas for forest conservation. Finally, we can highlight that the OWA method is flexible, easy to be implemented and, mainly, it facilitates a better understanding of the alternative land-use suitability patterns. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does ecotourism contribute to sea turtle conservation? Is the flagship status of turtles advantageous?

There is little doubt that marine turtles are a flagship species for wildlife tourism. In some cases, this has turned out to be liability for sea turtle conservation, but in other cases, where for example turtle-based ecotourism has been developed, it has made a positive contribution to turtle conservation. Examples of both cases are given. Particular attention is given to the development of turtle-based ecotourism at Mon Repos Beach near Bundaberg, Australia. This development is set in its historical context and its contribution to conservation is discussed. Headstart projects for sea turtles in Sri Lanka are a tourist attraction. While they are promoted as having positive conservation consequences and a survey indicates that visitors are on the whole convinced of this, their effects on turtle conservation is uncertain. The farming of sea turtles provides a basis for tourism and can contribute to turtle conservation in ways outlined. It is argued that insufficient attention has been given to legends, culture and history associated with sea turtles in the promotion of turtle-based tourism. This is supported by Australian evidence. Insufficient use has been made of the connections of indigenous Australians with sea turtles in turtle-based tourism. Beneficial scope exist for developing connections between man and turtles further than at present in promoting turtle-based tourism. This could add further to the role of turtle-based tourism in promoting turtle conservation.

Biogeographical concordance and efficiency of taxon indicators for establishing conservation priority in a tropical rainforest biota

Prioritizing areas for conservation requires the use of surrogates for assessing overall patterns of biodiversity. Effective surrogates will reflect general biogeographical patterns and the evolutionary processes that have given rise to these and their efficiency is likely to lie influenced by several factors, including the spatial scale of species turnover and the overall congruence of the biogeographical history. We examine patterns of surrogacy for insects, snails, one family of plants and vertebrates from rainforests of northeast Queensland, an area characterized by high endemicity and an underlying history of climate-induced vicariance. Nearly all taxa provided some level of prediction of the conservation values For others. However, despite an overall correlation of the patterns of species richness and complementarity, the efficiency of surrogacy was highly asymmetric.. snails and insects were strong predictors of conservation priorities for vertebrates, but not vice versa. These results confirm predictions that taxon surrogates can be effective in highly diverse tropical systems where there is a strong history of vicariant biogeography, but also indicate that correlated patterns for species richness and/or complementarity do not guarantee that one taxon will be efficient as a surrogate for another. In our case, the highly diverse and narrowly distributed invertebrates were more efficient as predictors than the less diverse and more broadly distributed vertebrates.

Niche, distribution and global change : modeling insights into biogeography and conservation biology Olivier Broennimann

RESUME Les évidences montrant que les changements globaux affectent la biodiversité s'accumulent. Les facteurs les plus influant dans ce processus sont les changements et destructions d'habitat, l'expansion des espèces envahissantes et l'impact des changements climatiques. Une évaluation pertinente de la réponse des espèces face à ces changements est essentielle pour proposer des mesures permettant de réduire le déclin actuel de la biodiversité. La modélisation de la répartition d'espèces basée sur la niche (NBM) est l'un des rares outils permettant cette évaluation. Néanmoins, leur application dans le contexte des changements globaux repose sur des hypothèses restrictives et demande une interprétation critique. Ce travail présente une série d'études de cas investiguant les possibilités et limitations de cette approche pour prédire l'impact des changements globaux. Deux études traitant des menaces sur les espèces rares et en danger d'extinction sont présentées. Les caractéristiques éco-géographiques de 118 plantes avec un haut degré de priorité de conservation sont revues. La prévalence des types de rareté sont analysées en relation avec leur risque d'extinction UICN. La revue souligne l'importance de la conservation à l'échelle régionale. Une évaluation de la rareté à échelle globale peut être trompeuse pour certaine espèces car elle ne tient pas en compte des différents degrés de rareté que présente une espèce à différentes échelles spatiales. La deuxième étude test une approche pour améliorer l'échantillonnage d'espèces rares en incluant des phases itératives de modélisation et d'échantillonnage sur le terrain. L'application de l'approche en biologie de la conservation (illustrée ici par le cas du chardon bleu, Eryngium alpinum), permettrait de réduire le temps et les coûts d'échantillonnage. Deux études sur l'impact des changements climatiques sur la faune et la flore africaine sont présentées. La première étude évalue la sensibilité de 227 mammifères africains face aux climatiques d'ici 2050. Elle montre qu'un nombre important d'espèces pourrait être bientôt en danger d'extinction et que les parcs nationaux africains (principalement ceux situé en milieux xériques) pourraient ne pas remplir leur mandat de protection de la biodiversité dans le futur. La seconde étude modélise l'aire de répartition en 2050 de 975 espèces de plantes endémiques du sud de l'Afrique. L'étude propose l'inclusion de méthodes améliorant la prédiction des risques liés aux changements climatiques. Elle propose également une méthode pour estimer a priori la sensibilité d'une espèce aux changements climatiques à partir de ses propriétés écologiques et des caractéristiques de son aire de répartition. Trois études illustrent l'utilisation des modèles dans l'étude des invasions biologiques. Une première étude relate l'expansion de la laitue sáuvage (Lactuca serriola) vers le nord de l'Europe en lien avec les changements du climat depuis 250 ans. La deuxième étude analyse le potentiel d'invasion de la centaurée tachetée (Centaures maculosa), une mauvaise herbe importée en Amérique du nord vers 1890. L'étude apporte la preuve qu'une espèce envahissante peut occuper une niche climatique différente après introduction sur un autre continent. Les modèles basés sur l'aire native prédisent de manière incorrecte l'entier de l'aire envahie mais permettent de prévoir les aires d'introductions potentielles. Une méthode alternative, incluant la calibration du modèle à partir des deux aires où l'espèce est présente, est proposée pour améliorer les prédictions de l'invasion en Amérique du nord. Je présente finalement une revue de la littérature sur la dynamique de la niche écologique dans le temps et l'espace. Elle synthétise les récents développements théoriques concernant le conservatisme de la niche et propose des solutions pour améliorer la pertinence des prédictions d'impact des changements climatiques et des invasions biologiques. SUMMARY Evidences are accumulating that biodiversity is facing the effects of global change. The most influential drivers of change in ecosystems are land-use change, alien species invasions and climate change impacts. Accurate projections of species' responses to these changes are needed to propose mitigation measures to slow down the on-going erosion of biodiversity. Niche-based models (NBM) currently represent one of the only tools for such projections. However, their application in the context of global changes relies on restrictive assumptions, calling for cautious interpretations. In this thesis I aim to assess the effectiveness and shortcomings of niche-based models for the study of global change impacts on biodiversity through the investigation of specific, unsolved limitations and suggestion of new approaches. Two studies investigating threats to rare and endangered plants are presented. I review the ecogeographic characteristic of 118 endangered plants with high conservation priority in Switzerland. The prevalence of rarity types among plant species is analyzed in relation to IUCN extinction risks. The review underlines the importance of regional vs. global conservation and shows that a global assessment of rarity might be misleading for some species because it can fail to account for different degrees of rarity at a variety of spatial scales. The second study tests a modeling framework including iterative steps of modeling and field surveys to improve the sampling of rare species. The approach is illustrated with a rare alpine plant, Eryngium alpinum and shows promise for complementing conservation practices and reducing sampling costs. Two studies illustrate the impacts of climate change on African taxa. The first one assesses the sensitivity of 277 mammals at African scale to climate change by 2050 in terms of species richness and turnover. It shows that a substantial number of species could be critically endangered in the future. National parks situated in xeric ecosystems are not expected to meet their mandate of protecting current species diversity in the future. The second study model the distribution in 2050 of 975 endemic plant species in southern Africa. The study proposes the inclusion of new methodological insights improving the accuracy and ecological realism of predictions of global changes studies. It also investigates the possibility to estimate a priori the sensitivity of a species to climate change from the geographical distribution and ecological proprieties of the species. Three studies illustrate the application of NBM in the study of biological invasions. The first one investigates the Northwards expansion of Lactuca serriola L. in Europe during the last 250 years in relation with climate changes. In the last two decades, the species could not track climate change due to non climatic influences. A second study analyses the potential invasion extent of spotted knapweed, a European weed first introduced into North America in the 1890s. The study provides one of the first empirical evidence that an invasive species can occupy climatically distinct niche spaces following its introduction into a new area. Models fail to predict the current full extent of the invasion, but correctly predict areas of introduction. An alternative approach, involving the calibration of models with pooled data from both ranges, is proposed to improve predictions of the extent of invasion on models based solely on the native range. I finally present a review on the dynamic nature of ecological niches in space and time. It synthesizes the recent theoretical developments to the niche conservatism issues and proposes solutions to improve confidence in NBM predictions of the impacts of climate change and species invasions on species distributions.

Island ecosystems - priorities for conservation?

In terms of their land area, many islands contain a disproportionate number of taxa for certain groups of organisms. Thus the IUCN/WWF Centres of Plant Diversity project, which identifies 234 first order sites that are globally most important from a botanical point of view, includes a considerable proportion of islands, and in Conservation International’s Hotspot programme, Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands, the Philippines, and the Caribbean are identified as three of the five “hottest of the hotspots”. Priority for conservation action is often assumed for islands because of the often dramatic losses already suffered and the serious level of threats to which plant or animal populations are subjected, largely as a result of direct or indirect human action. The practicalities of conservation are not, however, straightforward in many cases. In the conservation of island hotspots of biodiversity, in addition to the many scientific and technical issues involved, political, financial and socio-economic factors also have to be addressed. The priorities for conservation will be examined in the light of targets set by the recently approved CBD Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and in the wider context of sustainable development of island ecosystems and the needs and aspirations of the people who inhabit them. Particular attention will be given to the threats from invasive species and the resultant increasing homogenization of floras and faunas, leading to the ‘deinsularization’ of islands.

Comunidades tradicionais em áreas protegidas: convergências e lacunas da Política Urbana e Ambiental na Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Estadual Ponta do Tubarão/RN

This work presents a reflection on possibilities and boundaries of consolidation and expansion of human settlements characterized as traditional communities that are located within protected areas, using as study reference the State Sustainable Development Reserve Ponta do Tubarão, at Rio Grande do Norte state. The main topics highlight the conflict between the right to housing and the prevalence of fundamental rights of traditional populations, opposed to the diffuse right to environment, according to the regulatory framework of the Brazilian Urban and Environmental Policies. At the same time that these settlements, historically built, are substantiated by the principles of recognition of rights to traditional populations, they are in a condition of complexity to the resolution of conflicts in its urban dimension and lead to an impairment of natural sites. This work questions how the instruments of land use and occupation are defined and relate to environmental planning, especially considering that the settlements are located in Permanent Preservation Areas (APP). It aims to further the discussion of the urban dimension in settlements, characterizing its formation and growth process, to identify the gaps and convergences between the Urban and Environmental Policy, under the foundations of a socio-environmental approach. The results spotlights the conflicts between occupation and natural areas, inferring that the definition of Urban Policies instruments and its integration with Environmental Policies instruments account for essential and priority actions to the achievement to the rights to a sustainable city, as determined in the Cities Statute and environmental protection goals, defined for the Conservation Units

Morfologia de nectários em Leguminosae senso lato em áreas de caatinga no Brasil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Aplicação do processo hierárquico analítico (AHP) na priorização de áreas de risco geológico para a implantação de intervenções em assentamentos urbanos precários

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Abordagem multicriterial e indicadores ecológicos e econômicos utilizados na identificação de áreas prioritárias para a conservação da ictiofauna no estuário amazônico, Brasil

Este estudo foi dividido em três etapas: (1) caracterização da distribuição espaço temporal da ictiofauna na área de transição do ambiente limnico e marinho (capítulo 1); (b) utilização de descritores de comunidade como forma de determinar a estrutura da comunidade e o uso do habitat pela ictiofauna (capítulo 2) e (3) utilização dos descritores da comunidade estudados nos capítulos 1 e 2, como critérios na elaboração de indicadores (integrados em ambiente SIG) para definir áreas prioritárias e cenários para a conservação da ictiofauna (capítulo 3). As coletas da ictiofauna ocorreram no canal principal e nos canais de maré entre os anos de 2004 a 2011 nos períodos seco (julho a dezembro) e o chuvoso (janeiro a junho), utilizando-se, como artes de pesca, a rede de emalhe, rede de arrasto e tapagem, em três importantes zonas do estuário Amazônico: as baías de Guajará e Marajó e foz do rio Guamá. Foram capturados um total de 41.516 exemplares que corresponderam a uma ictiofauna composta de 136 espécies, 38 famílias e 12 ordens. A eficiência da amostragem foi consideravelmente boa, pois aproximadamente 90% da ictiofauna foi coletada em cada área de estudo. A distribuição espaço temporal da ictiofauna na área de transição do ambiente limnico e mesohalino, mostrou que a riqueza de espécies aumenta no sentido do rio Guamá em direção à baía do Marajó, juntamente com o aumento da salinidade. Em relação aos grupos funcionais tróficos, piscívoros (PV) e zoobentívoros (ZB) foram os dominantes em todas as áreas. Os descritores da comunidade revelaram para o canal principal, os maiores valores de abundância relativa em biomassa e número para a baía do Marajó. Em relação ao canal de maré, a abundância em biomassa foi maior para a baía do Guajará. O canal principal é utilizado para criadouro e crescimento de juvenil, com 90% dos indivíduos em estágio gonadal imaturo. Os indicadores diversidade do ambiente (DA), uso do habitat (UH), abundância relativa (CPUE), saúde do ambiente (SA) e relação com a pesca (RP), apresentaram prioridades de conservação considerada média e alta, ao longo da área de estudo. Assim como os cenários ecológicos e econômicos que, respectivamente, mostraram uma prioridade considerada média-alta e alta-muito alta de conservação da ictiofauna na porção mais ao norte da baía de Marajó e para o período seco. As metodologias aplicadas determinaram a importância ecológica da área de estudo, enfatizando a heterogeneidade entre as mesma e que portanto, não podem ser consideradas como um único ambiente. Quanto a abordagem multicriteral adotada, não há precedentes para o estuário amazônico. Esta metodologia mostrou-se eficaz ao oferecer, através dos diferentes cenários, uma gama de opções que permite ao tomador de decisões explorar a problemática da melhor forma possível ou então utilizá-la como parte integrante de um processo de tomada de decisão.