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Conservation ecology and biodiversity research

Section edited by Josef Settele

This section considers studies into the conservation of species or ecosystems alongside research into the biodiversity of plants, animals and microbes.

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  1. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a conspicuous insect that has experienced a drastic population decline over the past two decades. While there are several factors contributing to dwindling monarch popu...

    Authors: Matthew Z. Brym, Cassandra Henry, Shannon P. Lukashow-Moore, Brett J. Henry, Natasja van Gestel and Ronald J. Kendall

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2020 20:33

    Content type: Research article

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  2. The long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) was categorized as ´Vulnerable` by the IUCN after a study revealed a rapid wintering population decline of 65% between 1992–1993 and 2007–2009 in the Baltic Sea. As knowle...

    Authors: Thiemo Karwinkel, Ingrid L. Pollet, Sandra Vardeh, Helmut Kruckenberg, Petr Glazov, Julia Loshchagina, Alexander Kondratyev, Benjamin Merkel, Jochen Bellebaum and Petra Quillfeldt

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2020 20:31

    Content type: Research article

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  3. Chlorops oryzae is an important pest of rice crops. There have been frequent outbreaks of this pest in recent years and it has become the main rice pest in some regions. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of fr...

    Authors: Ailin Zhou, Ping Tian, Zhongcai Li, Xinwen Li, Xiaoping Tan, Zhengbing Zhang, Lin Qiu, Hualiang He, Wenbing Ding and Youzhi Li

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2020 20:22

    Content type: Research article

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  4. Occurrences in land use, human activities and climate change have both direct and indirect influences on the environment. Of interest for this study is mining; a common activity in developing countries such as...

    Authors: Adegbite A. Adesipo, Sehinde Akinbiola, Olusegun O. Awotoye, Ayobami T. Salami and Dirk Freese

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2020 20:9

    Content type: Research article

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  5. Assessing wildlife movements and habitat use is important for species conservation and management and can be informative for understanding population dynamics. The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) population of ...

    Authors: Annette Roug, Epaphras A. Muse, Deana L. Clifford, Randy Larsen, Goodluck Paul, Daniel Mathayo, Donald Mpanduji, Jonna A. K. Mazet, Rudovick Kazwala, Halima Kiwango and Woutrina Smith

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2020 20:6

    Content type: Research article

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  6. In recent decades, a decrease of passerine densities was documented in Mediterranean shrublands. At the same time, a widespread encroachment of Aleppo pines (Pinus halepensis) to Mediterranean shrubland occurred....

    Authors: Asaf Ben-David, Hila Shamon, Ido Izhaki, Ronny Efronny, Roi Maor and Tamar Dayan

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:52

    Content type: Research article

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  8. In light of the biodiversity crisis and our limited ability to explain variation in biodiversity, tools to quantify spatial and temporal variation in biodiversity and its underlying drivers are critically need...

    Authors: Ane Kirstine Brunbjerg, Hans Henrik Bruun, Lars Brøndum, Aimée T. Classen, Lars Dalby, Kåre Fog, Tobias G. Frøslev, Irina Goldberg, Anders Johannes Hansen, Morten D. D. Hansen, Toke T. Høye, Anders A. Illum, Thomas Læssøe, Gregory S. Newman, Lars Skipper, Ulrik Søchting…

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:43

    Content type: Research article

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  9. The Yangtze River is the third largest river in the world and suffers from extensive anthropogenic impacts. The fishes in the Yangtze River are essential for the sustainable development of freshwater fisheries...

    Authors: Xiao Xie, Hui Zhang, Chengyou Wang, Jinming Wu, Qiwei Wei, Hao Du, Junyi Li and Huan Ye

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:42

    Content type: Research article

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  10. Understanding how traditional agriculture systems have been maintained would help design sustainable agriculture. In this study, we examined how farmers have used two types of local trees (Torreya grandis) for st...

    Authors: Jian Zhang, Liangliang Hu, Liang Guo, Weizheng Ren, Lufeng Zhao, Ningjing Wang, Entao Zhang, Jianjun Tang and Xin Chen

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:41

    Content type: Research article

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  12. Marine soft sediments are some of the most widespread habitats in the ocean, playing a vital role in global carbon cycling, but are amongst the least studied with regard to species composition and ecosystem fu...

    Authors: Belinda J. Vause, Simon A. Morley, Vera G. Fonseca, Anna Jażdżewska, Gail V. Ashton, David K. A. Barnes, Hendrik Giebner, Melody S. Clark and Lloyd S. Peck

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:27

    Content type: Research article

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  13. Local communities in the South Eastern Lowveld of Zimbabwe have adopted the feeding of livestock with Neorautanenia brachypus (Harms) C.A. tuber to mitigate against climate change. Differences within Neorautaneni...

    Authors: Trish. O. Nyarumbu, Tinotenda Kaseke, Vimbai Gobvu, Chrispen Murungweni, Arnold. B. Mashingaidze and Zedias Chikwambi

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:13

    Content type: Research article

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  15. The marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) is a monoclonal, parthenogenetically reproducing freshwater crayfish species that has formed multiple stable populations worldwide. Madagascar hosts a particularly la...

    Authors: Ranja Andriantsoa, Sina Tönges, Jörn Panteleit, Kathrin Theissinger, Vitor Coutinho Carneiro, Jeanne Rasamy and Frank Lyko

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:8

    Content type: Research article

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  16. Understanding the variation in distribution and abundance of non-timber forest products (NTFP) species is a crucial step in achieving their conservation and sustainable use. At the northern periphery of the Bo...

    Authors: T. Marlène Ngansop, Elvire H. Biye, F. Evariste Fongnzossie, Preasious F. Forbi and D. Cédric Chimi

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2019 19:3

    Content type: Research article

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  17. Land use changes and related land management practices significantly alter soil physicochemical properties; however, their effects on the soil microbial community structure are still unclear. In this study, we...

    Authors: Yoseph T. Delelegn, Witoon Purahong, Hans Sandén, Birru Yitaferu, Douglas L. Godbold and Tesfaye Wubet

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:58

    Content type: Research article

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  19. Intensively cultivated agricultural landscapes often suffer from substantial pollinator losses, which may be leading to decreasing pollination services for crops and wild flowering plants. Conservation measure...

    Authors: Constanze Buhk, Rainer Oppermann, Arno Schanowski, Richard Bleil, Julian Lüdemann and Christian Maus

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:55

    Content type: Research article

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  20. Fungal endophytes are the living symbionts which cause no apparent damage to the host tissue. The distribution pattern of these endophytes within a host plant is mediated by environmental factors. This study w...

    Authors: Riyaz Ahmad Rather, Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan and Mumtaz Anwar

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:52

    Content type: Research article

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  21. Phytoplankton species identification and counting is a crucial step of water quality assessment. Especially drinking water reservoirs, bathing and ballast water need to be regularly monitored for harmful speci...

    Authors: Susanne Dunker, David Boho, Jana Wäldchen and Patrick Mäder

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:51

    Content type: Research article

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  22. Old-growth and primeval forests are passing through a natural development cycle with recurring stages of forest development. Several methods for assigning patches of different structure and size to forest deve...

    Authors: Jonas Glatthorn, Eike Feldmann, Vath Tabaku, Christoph Leuschner and Peter Meyer

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:47

    Content type: Research article

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  23. Understanding the relationship between great apes and their habitat is essential for the development of successful conservation strategies. The chimpanzee Pan troglodytes ellioti is endemic to Nigeria and Cameroo...

    Authors: Serge Alexis Kamgang, Kadiri Serge Bobo, Fiona Maisels, Ruffin Dupleix Delarue Ambahe, Désiré Edgar Ambassa Ongono, Mary Katherine Gonder, Paul Johnson, Jorgelina Marino and Brice Sinsin

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:40

    Content type: Research article

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  24. Predicting the patterns of range expansion of alien species is central to develop effective strategies for managing potential biological invasions. Here, we present a study on the potential distribution of the...

    Authors: Carlo Polidori, Marcella Nucifora and David Sánchez-Fernández

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:36

    Content type: Research article

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  25. Biotic interactions are ubiquitous and require information from ecology, evolutionary biology, and functional genetics in order to be understood. However, study systems that are amenable to investigations acro...

    Authors: Gavin C. Woodruff and Patrick C. Phillips

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:26

    Content type: Research article

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  26. The exotic fish Poecilia reticulata is promoted in the tropics as a biological control agent for aquatic pathogenic carriers, such as mosquitoes. Such control measures are often adopted blindly, ignoring the pote...

    Authors: G. K. Achini W. Fernando, Sevvandi Jayakody, W. M. Hiranya K. Wijenayake, Gawrie N. L. Galappaththy, Mangala Yatawara and Jeevanie Harishchandra

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:25

    Content type: Research article

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  27. The Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris, also known as A. lusitanicus) is considered one of the most invasive species in agriculture, horticulture and private gardens all over Europe. Although this slug has been problem...

    Authors: Daniel Dörler, Matthias Kropf, Gregor Laaha and Johann G. Zaller

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:23

    Content type: Research article

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  28. We challenge the oft-repeated claim that the beetles (Coleoptera) are the most species-rich order of animals. Instead, we assert that another order of insects, the Hymenoptera, is more speciose, due in large p...

    Authors: Andrew A. Forbes, Robin K. Bagley, Marc A. Beer, Alaine C. Hippee and Heather A. Widmayer

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:21

    Content type: Correspondence

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  33. The effects of grazing on soil methane (CH4) uptake in steppe ecosystems are important for understanding carbon sequestration and cycling because the role of grassland soil for CH4 uptake can have major impacts a...

    Authors: Shiming Tang, Yujuan Zhang, Xiajie Zhai, Andreas Wilkes, Chengjie Wang and Kun Wang

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:11

    Content type: Research article

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  34. Mixed forests are believed to enhance ecosystem functioning and sustainability due to complementary resource use, environmental benefits and improved soil properties. The facilitation between different species...

    Authors: Weiwei Shu, Xiaoxiao Shen, Pifeng Lei, Wenhua Xiang, Shuai Ouyang and Wende Yan

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:9

    Content type: Research Article

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  35. A crucial step in conserving biodiversity is to identify the distributions of threatened species and the factors associated with species threat status. In the biodiversity hotspot of the Himalaya, very little ...

    Authors: Prakash Kumar Paudel, Jan Sipos and Jedediah F. Brodie

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:6

    Content type: Research Article

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  36. Camellia nitidissima, a rare and endangered shrub is narrowly distributed in South China and North Vietnam occurring in forest understory. Their light tolerance mechanism is unclear. We measured photosynthesis an...

    Authors: Shengfeng Chai, Jianmin Tang, Azim Mallik, Yancai Shi, Rong Zou, Jitao Li and Xiao Wei

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:5

    Content type: Research Article

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  37. Understanding the effects of habitat modification on the feeding strategies of threatened species is essential to designing effective conservation management plans. Bale monkeys (Chlorocebus djamdjamensis) are en...

    Authors: Addisu Mekonnen, Peter J. Fashing, Afework Bekele, R. Adriana Hernandez-Aguilar, Eli K. Rueness and Nils Chr. Stenseth

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2018 18:4

    Content type: Research Article

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  39. Carnivores are re-establishing in many human-populated areas, where their presence is often contentious. Reaching consensus on management decisions is often hampered by a dispute over the size of the local car...

    Authors: Hanna Granroth-Wilding, Craig Primmer, Meri Lindqvist, Jenni Poutanen, Olaf Thalmann, Jouni Aspi, Jenni Harmoinen, Ilpo Kojola and Toni Laaksonen

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:44

    Content type: Research Article

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  40. The drivers of species co-existence in local communities are especially enigmatic for assemblages of morphologically cryptic species. Here we characterize the colonization dynamics and abundance of nine specie...

    Authors: Céline Ferrari, Romain Salle, Nicolas Callemeyn-Torre, Richard Jovelin, Asher D. Cutter and Christian Braendle

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:43

    Content type: Research Article

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  41. Endozoochory is, in grazing systems, a substantial vector for seed dispersal. It can play an important role in vegetation dynamics, especially in colonization processes through seed input on the vegetation and...

    Authors: Julia Tabea Treitler, Tim Drissen, Robin Stadtmann, Stefan Zerbe and Jasmin Mantilla-Contreras

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:42

    Content type: Research Article

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  43. Invasive ecosystem engineers can facilitate their invasions by modifying the physical environment to improve their own performance, but this positive feedback process has rarely been tested empirically except ...

    Authors: Shota Nishijima, Chisato Nishikawa and Tadashi Miyashita

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:37

    Content type: Research Article

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  44. The castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus) transmits infectious diseases such as Lyme borreliosis, which constitutes an important ecosystem disservice. Despite many local studies, a comprehensive understanding of the ...

    Authors: Steffen Ehrmann, Jaan Liira, Stefanie Gärtner, Karin Hansen, Jörg Brunet, Sara A. O. Cousins, Marc Deconchat, Guillaume Decocq, Pieter De Frenne, Pallieter De Smedt, Martin Diekmann, Emilie Gallet-Moron, Annette Kolb, Jonathan Lenoir, Jessica Lindgren, Tobias Naaf…

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:31

    Content type: Research Article

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  45. Long-distance migratory birds in North America have undergone precipitous declines over the past half-century. Although the trend is clear, for many migrating species underpinning the exact causes poses a chal...

    Authors: Andrew C. Huang, Christine A. Bishop, René McKibbin, Anna Drake and David J. Green

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:29

    Content type: Research Article

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  47. Species richness affects processes and functions in many ecosystems. Since management of temperate grasslands is directly affecting species composition and richness, it can indirectly govern how systems respon...

    Authors: Carsten F. Dormann, Lars von Riedmatten and Michael Scherer-Lorenzen

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:23

    Content type: Research Article

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  48. Human food subsidies can provide predictable food sources in large quantities for wildlife species worldwide. In the boreal forest of Fennoscandia, gut piles from moose (Alces alces) harvest provide a potentially...

    Authors: Gjermund Gomo, Jenny Mattisson, Bjørn Roar Hagen, Pål Fossland Moa and Tomas Willebrand

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:22

    Content type: Research article

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  49. Habitat fragmentation is considered to be a main reason for decreasing genetic diversity of plant species. However, the results of many fragmentation studies are inconsistent. This may be due to the influence ...

    Authors: Christoph Reisch, Sonja Schmidkonz, Katrin Meier, Quirin Schöpplein, Carina Meyer, Christian Hums, Christina Putz and Christoph Schmid

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:19

    Content type: Research Article

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  50. Rodents of the genus Rattus are among the most pervasive and successful invasive species, causing major vicissitudes in native ecological communities. A broad and flexible generalist diet has been suggested as ke...

    Authors: Melanie Dammhahn, Toky M. Randriamoria and Steven M. Goodman

    Citation: BMC Ecology 2017 17:16

    Content type: Research Article

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