Urban ecology on Air!

Álvaro Luna at "Balears Fa Ciència" (here, min 27) speaking on Urban Ecology and Urban Evolution. Álvaro is finishing his PhD at the University of Sevilla, co-supervised by M. Carrete from the University of Sevilla and A. Sanz-Aguilar from the GEDA (IMEDEA -CSIC/UIB). 
His research is focussing on the adaptation and the ecology of urban fauna. Here is a previous post on Alvaro's book, with an interview by E. Soto.

New Publication on poaching related mortality !

Corlatti, L., Sanz-Aguilar, A., Tavecchia, G., Giugiatti A., and Pedrotti, L., 2019 Unrevelling the sex- and age-specific impact of poaching mortality with multievent modeling Frontiers in Zoology, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-019-0321-1

Abstract:  Poaching is a prominent source of ‘hidden hurdles’, cryptic impacts of human activities that may hinder the conservation of animal populations. Estimating poaching mortality is challenging, as the evidence for illegal killing is not outwardly obvious. Using resighting and recovery data collected on 141 marked red deer Cervus elaphus within the Stelvio National Park (central Italian Alps), we show how multievent models allow to assess the direct impacts of illegal harvesting on age- and sex-specific survival, accounting for uncertainty over mortality causes.

Mortality caused by poaching was consistently higher for males than for females in all age classes. In males, the probability of dying from poaching was higher for extreme age classes, while in females all age classes showed fairly similar values of poaching mortality. The strong bias in sex-specific poaching mortality was possibly due to trophy killing in adult males and ‘bushmeat-like’ killing for private or commercial gain in young males and in females.

A robust assessment of age- and sex-specific prevalence of poaching in wildlife populations is pivotal when illegal killing is of conservation concern. This provides timely information on what segment of the population is most likely to be affected. Besides obvious demographic consequences on small populations, age- and sex-biased poaching prevalence may contrast with the need to maintain ecosystem complexity and may alter behavioral responses to human presence. The information provided by multievent models, whose flexibility makes them adaptable to many systems where individual-based data is part of population monitoring, offers a support to design appropriate strategies for the conservation of wildlife populations.

New publication on Lilfordi's lizard !

Santamaría, S., Enoksen, C. A., Olsen, J., Tavecchia, G., Rotger, A., Igual, J.M. and Traveset A. 2019.Diet composition of the lizard Podarcis lilfordi (Lacertidae) on two small islands: an individual-resource network approach. Current Zoology, https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoz028

Abstract: Despite it is widely accepted that intrapopulation variation is fundamental to ecological and evolutionary processes, this level of information has only recently been included into network analysis of species/population interactions. When done, it has revealed non-random patterns in the distribution of trophic resources. Nestedness in resource use among individuals is the most recurrent observed pattern, often accompanied by an absence of modularity, but no previous studies examine bipartite modularity. We use network analysis to describe the diet composition of the Balearic endemic lizard Podarcis lilfordi in two islets at population and individual levels, based on the occurrence of food items in fecal samples.
Our objectives are to 1) compare niche structure at both levels, 2) characterize niche partition using nestedness and modularity, and 3) assess how size, sex, season, and spatial location influence niche structure. At population-level niche width was wide, but narrow at the level of the individual. Both islet networks were nested, indicating similar ranking of the food preferences among individuals, but also modular, which was partially explained by seasonality. Sex and body size did not notably affect diet composition. Large niche overlap and therefore possibly relaxed competition were observed among females in one of the islets and during spring on both islets. Likewise, higher modularity in autumn suggests that higher competition could lead to specialization in both populations, because resources are usually scarce in this season. The absence of spatial location influence on niche might respond to fine-grained spatio-temporally distribution of food resources. Behavioral traits, not included in this study, could also influence resource partitioning.

The Storm Petrel on the Virtual Encyclopedia of Vertebrates!

A. Sanz-Aguilar led a team of six researchers to write the chapter on the European Storm Petrel for the Virtual Encyclopedia of Spanish Vertebrates. The result is one of the richest and more accurate work available on this species, reporting findings from 170 references on Storm Petrel habitat, distribution, diet and demography. A work the summarizes information collected during many years of research at several European sites.

Sanz-Aguilar, A., Zuberogoitia, I., Sallent, Á., Picorelli, V., Navedo, J.G., Garaita, R. (2019). Paíño europeo – Hydrobates pelagicus. En: Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles. López, P., Martín, J., González-Solís, J. (Eds.). Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid. http://www.vertebradosibericos.org/

 

New Publication on invasive species and social perception!

Luna,A., Edelaar, P., Shwartz, A. 2019. Assesment of social perception of an invasive parakeet using a novel visual survey method. NeoBiota, 46:71-89. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.42.31017

Photo: R. Kasambe, source: Wikipedia

Abstract:The perceptions of the general public regarding invasive alien species (IAS) are important in the prevention of future invasions and the success of management programmes. Here we use a novel visual method to investigate the perception of a charismatic IAS, the rose-ringed parakeet, across different stakeholders in Seville, Spain. Respondents were asked to select images of 10 bird species they would like to have present in their surroundings, out of 20 available images, including the parakeet and three other non-natives. This makes the survey easy, fast to take and attractive to potential participants, while prior and potentially biasing information of survey goals is minimised. Although more than 95% of the respondents recognised the parakeet, at least up to family level, only 34.8% selected it. Selection rates were even lower for three other IAS and even more so when the status of non-native species was indicated next to the images, suggesting that a social norm against IAS may be established. To validate our novel visual approach, we also assessed perception via a traditional questionnaire and the results of the two survey methods coincided. Finally parakeet selection differed importantly amongst pre-defined sectors of the public and people who had prior experience with the parakeet selected it less frequently (e.g. farmers, park managers). These results highlight the importance of studying different stakeholders to get the full picture when considering IAS management programmes. Our new visual survey method can thus serve as an excellent and user-friendly tool to study people’s perceptions regarding charismatic IAS and facilitate well-informed and sensible decision-making.

New Publication on scavangers in the Anthropocene!

Sebastián-González, E., [...], Cortés-Avizanda, A., [...] 2019. Scavenging in the Anthropocene: human impact drives vertebrate scavenger species richness at a global scale. Global Change Biology https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14708

Photo: Chris Johns, Nat. Geogr. Education

Abstract: Understanding the distribution of biodiversity across the Earth is one of the most challenging questions in biology. Much research has been directed at explaining the species latitudinal pattern showing that communities are richer in tropical areas; however, despite decades of research, a general consensus has not yet emerged. In addition, global biodiversity patterns are being rapidly altered by human activities. 

Here, we aim to describe large‐scale patterns of species richness and diversity in terrestrial vertebrate scavenger (carrion‐consuming) assemblages, which provide key ecosystem functions and services. We used a worldwide dataset comprising 43 sites, where vertebrate scavenger assemblages were identified using 2,485 carcasses monitored between 1991‐2018. First, we evaluated how scavenger richness (number of species) and diversity (Shannon diversity index) varied among seasons (cold vs. warm, wet vs. dry). Then, we studied the potential effects of human impact and a set of macroecological variables related to climatic conditions on the scavenger assemblages. Vertebrate scavenger richness ranged from species‐poor assemblages to species‐rich (4 ‐ 30 species). Both scavenger richness and diversity also showed some seasonal variation. However, in general, climatic variables did not drive latitudinal patterns, as scavenger richness and diversity were not affected by temperature or rainfall. Rainfall seasonality slightly increased the number of species in the community, but its effect was weak. Instead, the human impact index included in our study was the main predictor of scavenger richness. Scavenger assemblages in highly human‐impacted areas sustained the smallest number of scavenger species, suggesting human activity may be over‐riding other macroecological processes in shaping scavenger communities. Our results highlight the effect of human impact at a global scale. As species‐rich assemblages tend to be more functional, we warn about possible reductions in ecosystem functions and the services provided by scavengers in human‐dominated landscapes in the Anthropocene.

Wind Power and Biodiversity

A. Sanz-Aguilar has collaborated on the video "Wind Power and Biodiversity" (in Spanish) where vultures are sentinels of Wind Power mortality.

Caught on camera !

This year we planned camera-trapping (left) and photos by trigger-happy photographs (below) to increase recapture rate. 
Both methods resulted in additional readings to those made by telescope alone. After these encouraging results we will be probably using these techniques regularly. A special thanks to Miguel, Javi y Paco for the nice images.