World Aquarium News
Reconciling pest control, nature conservation, and recreation in coniferous forests
Abstract Protected areas are not only crucial for biodiversity and natural processes but also for recreation. Although a benign neglect strategy of dealing with natural disturbances in protected areas is beneficial for nature, public debate on avoiding increased pest population growth has intensified. We evaluated the effect of mechanical pest control measures in decreasing populations of insect pests, maintaining nontarget biodiversity, retaining high recreational value, and keeping economic costs low. Debarking and bark scratching or gouging effectively prevented infestation of felled trees by European spruce bark beetles (Ips typographus) and controlled the beetles in recently infested trees. Bark scratching or gouging [...]
Thu, Nov 15, 2018
Source Conservation Letters
Limited open access in socioecological systems: How do communities deal with environmental unpredictability?
Abstract Classical theory on the commons holds that rules are fundamental to sustainability. However, open access may be present in many sustainable socioecological systems. Here, we explore the interaction between environmental unpredictability and cooperation in a fishery in the Pantanal wetland, Brazil. We show that a variable annual flood pulse combined with channel blockages results in a high turnover in fishing grounds. To counter this variability, fishers openly share information about fishing areas with all community members, but are highly territorial with neighboring communities. We argue that this open access within communities but common property between communities represents a system of [...]
Thu, Nov 15, 2018
Source Conservation Letters
Rising sea levels may build, rather than destroy, coral reef islands
Rising global sea levels may actually be beneficial to the long-term future of coral reef islands, such as the Maldives, according to new research. Low-lying coral reef islands are typically less than three meters above sea level, making them highly vulnerable to rising sea levels associated with climate change. However, research has found new evidence that the Maldives -- the world's lowest country -- formed when sea levels were higher than they are today. [...]
Tue, Nov 13, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
Individual shark profiling: An innovative and environmentally responsible approach for selectively managing human fatalities
Abstract Most shark‐induced human fatalities are followed by widespread and unselective culling campaigns that have limited effectiveness and may have high ecological costs for threatened species. The blanket culling strategy implicitly assumes that incident risk is directly correlated with shark density, an assumption that has yet to be demonstrated. We present the alternative hypothesis that incidents are more likely to be caused by behavioral variability among individual sharks than due to shark density. Throughout their ontogenetic development, large species of sharks opportunistically establish a diet that is rarely, if ever, inclusive of humans as a food source. We propose that, some [...]
Sun, Nov 11, 2018
Source Conservation Letters
An experimental translocation identifies habitat features that buffer camouflage mismatch in snowshoe hares
Abstract Conservation for species impacted by climate change often occurs at scales impractical for local land managers. Snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) are one of the most well‐documented species declining from climate change–specifically a reduction in snowcover–yet clear management strategies have yet to emerge. To test whether camouflage mismatch is reducing hare survival we translocated 96 hares to a site recently extirpated of snowshoe hares, and monitored coat color change, mismatch with snow, habitat use, and weekly survival in winter‐spring of 2017. Hare survival was low during periods of camouflage mismatch, and mismatched hares were 3.2 × less likely to survive, but [...]
Fri, Nov 09, 2018
Source Conservation Letters
Study tracks severe bleaching events on a Pacific coral reef over past century
A new study has uncovered the history of bleaching on a reef in the epicenter of El Nino, revealing how some corals have been able to return after facing extreme conditions. [...]
Thu, Nov 08, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
The secret behind coral reef diversity? Time, lots of time
One of the world's premier diving destinations owes its reputation as a hot spot of marine biodiversity to being undisturbed over millions of years, according to ecologists. The researchers conclude that patterns of high diversity may take tens of millions of years to arise, but can be wiped out in a few years by human impacts. [...]
Thu, Nov 08, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
A changing climate necessitates rethinking tropical marine conservation, researchers say
In a new article, researchers are calling for a rethink on tropical marine conservation efforts, as people who previously relied on coral reefs for food and income are increasingly looking to alternative habitats which is putting pressure on the animals that inhabit seagrass meadows. [...]
Tue, Nov 06, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
'Robust' corals primed to resist coral bleaching
A world-first study reveals that 'robust' reef-building corals are the only known organisms in the animal kingdom to make one of the 'essential' amino acids, which may make them less susceptible than other corals to global warming. [...]
Fri, Nov 02, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
Unique immunity genes in one widespread coral species
A new study has found that a common coral species might have evolved unique immune strategies to cope with environmental change. [...]
Thu, Nov 01, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
Scientists describe 17 new species of sea slugs
This National Sea Slug Day, celebrate the addition of 17 new species of nudibranch to the tree of life. Adorned in lavish patterns and colors that range from yellow polka dots to shades of mauve and neon blue, the new marine invertebrates hail from coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific region. The team also identified a number of distant relatives that have independently evolved the same color pattern -- a first-ever genetic confirmation that color mimicry is widespread in the sea slug world. [...]
Mon, Oct 29, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
Diverse knowledge systems reveal social–ecological dynamics that inform species conservation status
Abstract Understanding changes over historical timescales is essential to gauge conservation status of a species. Modern ecological data typically neglect past magnitudes of change, which fortunately can be evaluated by bridging disparate knowledge sources. We synthesized zooarchaeological, historical, traditional, and western science knowledge to document changes in relative abundance of key species in Canada's northern abalone social–ecological system (SES) from the Holocene to present. Integrated models fit to traditional and western science data revealed 3.7% annual population decline from 1940s to 2010s for large abalone, although traditional knowledge density estimates were 9.5× higher than those derived from western science. Abalone are [...]
Fri, Oct 26, 2018
Source Conservation Letters
Tracing the evolutionary origins of fish to shallow ocean waters
Coral reefs are envisioned as the seats of great biodiversity, but they may not be where all that diversity got its start. Paleobiologists reveal that the earliest fish may have diversified in shallower waters near shore. [...]
Thu, Oct 25, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
Fish give up the fight after coral bleaching
Researchers found that when water temperatures heat up for corals, fish 'tempers' cool down, providing the first clear evidence of coral bleaching serving as a trigger for rapid change in reef fish behavior. Researchers show how the iconic butterflyfish, considered to be sensitive indicators of reef health, can offer an early warning sign that reef fish populations are in trouble. [...]
Mon, Oct 22, 2018
Source Coral Reef News from Science Daily
Armed conflicts and wildlife decline: Challenges and recommendations for effective conservation policy in the Sahara‐Sahel
Abstract Increasing conflicts and social insecurity are expected to accelerate biodiversity decline and escalate illegal wildlife killing. Sahara‐Sahel megafauna has experienced recent continuous decline due to unsustainable hunting pressure. Here, we provide the best available data on distribution and population trends of threatened, large vertebrates, to illustrate how escalating regional conflict (565% growth since 2011) is hastening population decline in areas that were formerly refugia for megafauna. Without conservation action, the unique and iconic biodiversity of Earth's largest desert will be forever lost. We recommend: (1) establishing strong commitments for change in global attitude toward nature; (2) engraining a culture of [...]
Wed, Oct 10, 2018
Source Conservation Letters

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