Hasil untuk "General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution"

M. Huseyinoglu, G. Tari, V. Demir et al.

D. Yuzyk

The paper presents the results of long-term monitoring of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) population in the National Nature Park Cheremoskyi (Chernivtsi Region, Ukraine). The study was carried out during 2012–2025 using systematic phenological observations, SMART monitoring, snow and soil track registration, and camera trapping. Population size fluctuated between 4 and 12 individuals, stabilizing at 6–9 in recent years. The species maintains a consistent presence across various habitat types, primarily in remote forested areas characterized by minimal human disturbance. The application of SMART monitoring and camera traps enabled the identification of the species’ distribution range, core activity zones, and migration routes, including transboundary movements from Romania. Observations of pairs and family groups provide evidence of successful breeding. Effective conservation of the species is supported by the implementation of a local Lynx Conservation Plan, regular anti-poaching patrols, collaboration with local communities, and extensive environmental education activities conducted by the park administration.

A. Muneza, M. Brown, S. Fennessy et al.

Aneesha Fernando, Surangika Ranathunga, Kristin Stock et al.

Georeferencing text documents has typically relied on either gazetteer-based methods to assign geographic coordinates to place names, or on language modelling approaches that associate textual terms with geographic locations. However, many location descriptions specify positions relatively with spatial relationships, making geocoding based solely on place names or geo-indicative words inaccurate. This issue frequently arises in biological specimen collection records, where locations are often described through narratives rather than coordinates if they pre-date GPS. Accurate georeferencing is vital for biodiversity studies, yet the process remains labour-intensive, leading to a demand for automated georeferencing solutions. This paper explores the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) to georeference complex locality descriptions automatically, focusing on the biodiversity collections domain. We first identified effective prompting patterns, then fine-tuned an LLM using Quantized Low-Rank Adaptation (QLoRA) on biodiversity datasets from multiple regions and languages. Our approach outperforms existing baselines with an average, across datasets, of 65% of records within a 10 km radius, for a fixed amount of training data. The best results (New York state) were 85% within 10km and 67% within 1km. The selected LLM performs well for lengthy, complex descriptions, highlighting its potential for georeferencing intricate locality descriptions.

Zhongsheng Zhang, Zhongsheng Zhang, Zhongsheng Zhang et al.

Light strongly influences the carbon (C) metabolism of seaweed through both algal carbon content and organic carbon release, thereby driving the carbon cycling of coastal oceans. However, the response of seaweed organic carbon release to varying light intensities remains an underexplored area of research. This study aimed to fill this gap by analyzing the effects of four different light intensities (5, 50, 200, and 500 μmol m–2 s–1) on the growth, carbon content, and organic carbon release of two strains (W28–42 and WO15-4) of Pyropia haitanensis. The results showed that as light intensity increased, both strains experienced an initial rise in growth rate followed by a decline, with the highest growth observed at 200 μmol m–2 s–1. Simultaneously, tissue C content increased with light intensity, whereas the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contents exhibited decreasing trends. This led to increases in the C:N and C:P ratios, indicating that high light intensity may enhance C fixation and suppress the absorption of N and P. Of particular interest was the difference in organic carbon release between the two strains. The W28–42 strain’s rate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) release increased significantly with light intensity, whereas the WO15–4 strain’s DOC release rate remained unaffected by variations in light intensity. The particulate organic carbon (POC) release rates of both strains increased under higher light intensity, with the W28–42 strain showing a more substantial increase than the WO15–4 strain. This study demonstrates that the release of DOC by P. haitanensis exhibits distinct strain-specific responses to variations in light intensity, a result that may be attributed to differences in photosynthetic physiology and genetic makeup. These insights provide a foundation for enhancing the efficiency of fishery carbon sinks through the manipulation of light intensity.

Øivind Bergh, Elisabeth Ytteborg, Lynne Falconer

D. A. Cossey, M. Urbańska, Ronaldo Sousa et al.

Mass mortality events (MMEs) are decimating populations and compromising key ecosystem functions around the globe. One taxon particularly vulnerable to MMEs is freshwater bivalve mollusks. This group has important ecosystem engineering capacities and includes highly threatened and highly invasive taxa. Thus, MMEs of freshwater bivalves have important implications for conservation and ecosystems. Despite this, little is known about the magnitude, frequency, duration, distribution, and causes of freshwater bivalve MMEs. Using a questionnaire, we compiled data from 239 reports describing freshwater bivalve MMEs across 22 European countries since 1960. With these data, we analyzed trends in MME timing, location, and magnitude; identified the species affected; and evaluated the suggested causes (including reporter certainty). We found that the frequency of reports of MMEs increased each year, MMEs affected a broad range of species, clear geographical patterns linking certain causes to specific locations were lacking, factors related to drying and habitat destruction predominated suggested causes, and considerable uncertainty surrounded the causes of many MMEs, particularly those associated with potential pollutants and disease agents. Based on our findings, we recommend the standardization of many aspects of MME research (e.g., reporting and recovery assessment protocols), increased surveying for MMEs, further investigation into the causes of MMEs, especially those with significant uncertainty, and immediate actions to improve waterbody management, mitigate the effects of high temperatures, and further protect freshwater bivalves through the development and implementation of appropriate management actions and legislation.

Anukul Nath, Shrishti Joshi, Bhim Singh et al.

Many endangered species are specialists of threatened habitats with poorly understood species–habitat relationships. Hence, knowledge of their habitat selection becomes vital for effective conservation management. We investigated habitat selection of the endangered hispid hare Caprolagus hispidus using a hierarchical multiscale analysis, from geographical range to microsites. We conducted surveys in eight protected areas (PAs) covering the entire Terai region along the foothills of Indian Himalayas. We examined the effects of climatic, landscape, topographic, and anthropogenic variables on the species' occurrence using ensemble presence‐only models at range level and generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) at population and microsite levels. We examined the effects of the above variables alongside grass‐species assemblage, height, and cover on hare habitat use at microsite level using GLMM. We found that hispid hare distribution is highly fragmented and restricted to tall successional grasslands within the PAs. At the range level, the percentage of tall grassland cover, fire intensity, distance from a PA, and mean temperature influenced hare occurrence. At the population level, habitat selection was scale‐dependent: occurrence probability responded unimodally to fire intensity at a broad scale (700 m), positively to the percentage of tall grassland cover and negatively to human footprint at finer scales (100 m). At the micro‐sites, the species selected tall grass‐species assemblages dominated by Narenga porphyrocoma (syn: Saccharum narenga). Our findings on the species–habitat relationships for the hispid hare emphasize the need for rotational (instead of complete) burning, eradication of invasive weeds, and regulation of cattle grazing for the restoration of the remaining habitats of hispid hare, totalling ~300 sq.km area. Finally, (trans)national policies on hydroelectric projects, which shape riverine grassland communities, need to accommodate the conservation needs of grassland obligatory fauna, including the endangered hispid hare.

Xuan Guo, Qingwen Min, Wenjun Jiao

M. Menatizadeh, P. Ataei, Hamid Karimi et al.

A. Nemésio, F. G. de Sousa, Daniel de Paiva Silva

Jing Luan, Binduo Xu, Y. Ji et al.

Ravinder Jangra, Etender Singh, Sunil Manglaw et al.

پیشینه: ارزیابی ظرفیت ، جزء مهمی در حفظ پایداری در بخش گردشگری است. تمام نگرانی‌ها در گردشگری به تعداد گردشگرانی که از یک مکان خاص بازدید می‌کنند، مرتبط است. منطقه مورد مطالعه دارای مناظر زیبا در اکوسیستم بیابان سرد و همچنین ویژگی‌های متمایز بودایی است که گردشگری انبوه را جذب می‌کند. امروزه، توسعه گردشگری نگرانی‌هایی را در مورد پایداری و ایجاد استانداردهایی برای قابلیت‌های مقصد گردشگری ایجاد کرده است. اهداف: مطالعه حاضر با هدف تجزیه و تحلیل اهداف زیر انجام می‌شود: 1) ارزیابی ظرفیت برد فیزیکی (PCC)، ظرفیت برد واقعی (RCC) و ظرفیت برد مؤثر (ECC) نقاط گردشگری منتخب در روستای ناکو و 2) محاسبه ظرفیت پارکینگ صومعه. روش شناسی: روش‌های مشخص‌شده در اتحادیه بین‌المللی حفاظت از طبیعت و منابع طبیعی (IUCN) برای اندازه‌گیری ظرفیت برد مقاصد گردشگری خاص در ناکو استفاده شد. تکنیک‌های سه سطحی برای ارزیابی ظرفیت برد فیزیکی (۲۸۱۶۱ نفر)، ظرفیت برد واقعی (۴۱۶۲ نفر) و ظرفیت برد مؤثر (۲۹۶۸ نفر) به کار گرفته شد. نتایج: نتایج نشان می‌دهد که ظرفیت برد مؤثر (ECC) مناسب‌ترین روش برای تخمین است و وضعیت فعلی گردشگری در منطقه مورد مطالعه کمتر از ظرفیت خود بهره‌برداری شده است. نتیجه‌گیری: سیستم‌های بسیار کوچک تا بزرگ در ناکو یافت می‌شوند و این سیستم‌ها از انواع مختلف فعالیت‌ها نیز پشتیبانی می‌کنند. گردشگری یک فعالیت بسیار رایج است و تأثیرات زیست‌محیطی، اجتماعی، فرهنگی و اقتصادی دارد. این تأثیرات به پارامترهای مختلفی وابسته بوده و با تغییر ماهیت تعامل نیز تغییر می‌کنند. مشخص شده است که وضعیت فعلی فعالیت گردشگری در منطقه مورد مطالعه در مقایسه با ظرفیت برد آن، بسیار کمتر از حد بهره‌برداری قرار گرفته است.

Yan Wang, Hao Zhang, Wei Huang et al.

The critical nature of passive ship-radiated noise recognition for military and economic security is well-established, yet its advancement faces significant obstacles due to the complex marine environment. The challenges include natural sound interference and signal distortion, complicating the extraction of key acoustic features and ship type identification. Addressing these issues, this study introduces DWSTr, a novel method combining a depthwise separable convolutional neural network with a Transformer architecture. This approach effectively isolates local acoustic features and captures global dependencies, enhancing robustness against environmental interferences and signal variability. Validated by experimental results on the ShipsEar dataset, DWSTr demonstrated a notable 96.5\% recognition accuracy, underscoring its efficacy in accurate ship classification amidst challenging conditions. The integration of these advanced neural architectures not only surmounts existing barriers in noise recognition but also offers computational efficiency for real-time analysis, marking a significant advancement in passive acoustic monitoring and its application in strategic and economic contexts.

Baoqi Li, Zhiguang Xu, Xiaotong Jiang et al.

In recent years, golden tides caused by floating Sargassum have induced severe ecological disasters globally. Eutrophication is a significant factor contributing to the massive spread of Sargassum golden tides. Furthermore, the thalli of Sargassum that float on the ocean surface are subjected to more ultraviolet radiation (UVR). The coupled impact of eutrophication and UVR on the photosynthetic physiology of golden tide species remains unclear. In this study, the thalli of Sargassum horneri, known to cause golden tide, were cultured and acclimated to three distinct nitrogen (N) conditions (natural seawater, NSW; NH4+-N enrichment; and NO3–N enrichment) for 6 days. Subsequently, the thalli were exposed to two different radiation treatments (photosynthetically active radiation (150 W m-2), PAR, 400–700 nm; PAR (150 W m-2) + UVR (28 W m-2), 280–700 nm) for 120 min, to investigate the photosynthetic effects of UVR and N on this alga. The findings demonstrated that exposure to UVR impeded the photosynthetic capacity of S. horneri, as evidenced by a decrease in the maximum photochemical quantum yield (Fv/Fm), photosynthetic efficiency (α) and chlorophyll content. Under diverse N-enrichment conditions, the alga tended to adopt various strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of UVR. NH4+-enrichment dissipated excess UVR energy through a greater increase in non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). While NO3–enrichment protected alga by enhancing N assimilation (higher nitrate reductase activity (NRA) and soluble protein content), and maintained a stable energy captured per unit reaction center for electron transfer (ET0/RC) and a higher net photosynthetic rate. Although different N enrichments could not completely offset the damage caused by UV radiation, they secured the photoprotective ability of S. horneri in several ways.

Christian Moisés Trujillo Córdova

La crisis ambiental por el cambio climático ha obligado a muchos Estados a dirigir esfuerzos hacia la transición medioambiental para reducir la probabilidad de ocurrencia de una situación con un impacto negativo sobre su población o medioambiente. El Perú no es la excepción. En tal sentido, surge la necesidad de identificar y categorizar sus distritos según un determinado riesgo socioambiental. Ante tal reto, se construyó e implementó una metodología cuantitativa multietápica, la cual hizo uso tanto del aprendizaje automatizado (supervisado y no supervisado) como de la econometría espacial. Los resultados de la metodología, visualizados a través de índices de riesgo emergentes, evidenciaron la existencia de 165 distritos considerados zonas con riesgo socioambiental (ZRS), ubicados en su mayoría en la franja costera. Finalmente, se concluye que el patrón y replicabilidad del modelo de desarrollo urbanístico en el Perú actualmente no es coherente con los esfuerzos de conservación y preservación del medioambiente.

Julianna Szulamit Szapu, József Lanszki, Péter Pongrácz et al.

Abstract The common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) occupies a controversial position among mammals inhabiting agricultural areas, as it is possibly the only critically endangered species that is legally targeted by lethal control methods, making it a conflict‐generating pest. We surveyed various stakeholders, agrarian consultants, wildlife rangers, and residents for the first time in Hungary, with two interrelated questionnaires to obtain accurate information about hamster populations, and to learn about the participants knowledge of, and attitude toward hamsters in order to provide fundamental information for planning and strengthening social embeddedness. Additionally, we prepared the current distribution map of the hamster. Based on the relatively wide distribution and locally high abundance of the species, Hungary has a key role in hamster conservation. We identified several factors, which can contribute to successful species protection. The results indicated that more than 60% of the respondent's liked hamsters. In contrast, only a few residents considered hamsters in their settlement to be beneficial. Our results suggest that the hamster's reputation is disproportionately negative due to vaguely known perceptions of harm as compared with actual reported damage. This imbalance could be rectified through enhanced communication efforts. Improving the species' reputation is integral to effective species conservation initiatives. Current pest control practices (poisons and snap traps) kill the hamsters, even though 82% of the residents would prefer to keep the hamsters alive, conforming to conservation efforts. The results also indicated that the hamster could be a flagship species in Hungary. Knowledge of the protected status of the hamster predicted a positive attitude toward the species and related to nature conservation consciousness. We conclude that requirements of residents should be included in the species action plan along with the experts' knowledge, as this could contribute to successful, long‐term conservation of the hamster.

Romy Zeiss, Maria J.I. Briones, Jérôme Mathieu et al.

Belowground biodiversity distribution does not necessarily reflect aboveground biodiversity patterns, but maps of soil biodiversity remain scarce because of limited data availability. Earthworms belong to the most thoroughly studied soil organisms and—in their role as ecosystem engineers—have a significant impact on ecosystem functioning. We used species distribution modeling (SDMs) and available data sets to map the spatial distribution of commonly observed (i.e., frequently recorded) earthworm species (Annelida, Oligochaeta) across Europe under current and future climate conditions. First, we predicted potential species distributions with commonly used models (i.e., MaxEnt and Biomod) and estimated total species richness (i.e., number of species in a 5 × 5 km grid cell). Second, we determined how much the different types of protected areas covered predicted earthworm richness and species ranges (i.e., distributions) by estimating the respective proportion of the range area. Earthworm species richness was high in central western Europe and low in northeastern Europe. This pattern was mainly associated with annual mean temperature and precipitation seasonality, but the importance of predictor variables to species occurrences varied among species. The geographical ranges of the majority of the earthworm species were predicted to shift to eastern Europe and partly decrease under future climate scenarios. Predicted current and future ranges were only poorly covered by protected areas, such as national parks. More than 80% of future earthworm ranges were on average not protected at all (mean [SD] = 82.6% [0.04]). Overall, our results emphasize the urgency of considering especially vulnerable earthworm species, as well as other soil organisms, in the design of nature conservation measures.

W. Flueck, J. Smith-Flueck, M. Escobar et al.

Conservation strategies for huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), listed as an endangered cervid by IUCN, have not helped to reverse its declining population trends. Recent evaluations of historical data revealed that they also inhabited lower valleys and grasslands as residents or only during winter. However, the dogma persists that huemuls do not need such habitats. To determine if more solid evidence exists to back up or refute our hypothesis that huemuls once inhabited lower valleys and grasslands, we researched the literature and discovered additional relevant historical sources on this species. These new findings substantiate that huemuls also occupied unforested areas, reaching the Atlantic coast, and resided on various islands including Tierra del Fuego, and that their co-occurrence with guanaco was frequent. Their extreme naivety towards humans resulted in their extirpation on winter ranges settled by humans, resulting in refugee huemuls year-round on remote mountain summer ranges. The ease by which indigenous people could kill them for subsistence and commercial export of hides to Europe, followed by the lowlands becoming modified by settlers and their exotic species facilitated the huemuls’ extirpation. The hypothesis of a dramatic modification of the original biogeographical distribution of huemuls is supported by anatomical and ecological features along with historical accounts. Sedentariness on only rugged summer ranges makes long-term survival of this species crucially challenging and requires sound conservation strategies that incorporate geographical areas of their former distribution.

Manijeh Alipour, Omid Alizadeh-Mousavi

Renewable energy productions and electrification of mobility are promising solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their effective integration in a power grid encounters several challenges. The uncertain nature of renewable energy productions as well as stochastic consumptions of electric vehicles introduce remarkable intermittency to a distribution grid and results in bi-uncertain characteristics of both supply and demand sides. One way to verify the secure grid operation within acceptable voltage and loading levels is to assess its required flexibility considering possible boundaries of uncertain variables. In this paper, first a comprehensive linear model of distribution grid considering all pertaining constraints is presented. Then, a flexibility estimation technique is proposed based on the feasibility study of the uncertain space of photovoltaic power productions and load containing electric vehicles. The proposed methodology uses grid monitoring data to determine grid state and to model uncertain parameters. The model is applied on a real low voltage (LV) system equipped with grid monitoring devices.