572 research outputs found
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Translating land cover/land use classifications to habitat taxonomies for landscape monitoring: a Mediterranean assessment
No full textPeriodicmonitoring of biodiversity changes at a landscape scale constitutes a key issue for conservation managers. Earth observation (EO) data offer a potential solution, through direct or indirect mapping of species or habitats. Most national and international programs rely on the use of land cover (LC) and/or land use (LU) classification systems. Yet, these are not as clearly relatable to biodiversity in comparison to habitat classifications, and provide less scope for monitoring. While a conversion from LC/LU classification to habitat classification can be of great utility, differences in definitions and criteria have so far limited the establishment of a unified approach for such translation between these two classification systems
Disaggregated economic impact analysis incorporating ecological and social trade-offs and techno-institutional context: A case from the Western Ghats of India
No full textEconomic valuation of ecosystem benefits and their aggregation in a benefit–cost analysis (BCA) framework is the norm in mainstream environmental economics. But valuation and BCA have also attracted criticisms. ‘Internal’ criticisms point to the absence of alternative scenarios in valuation, overlooking of ecological trade-offs and dis-services, and inattention to context. Others criticize aggregation across diverse stakeholders and the problem of non-monetizable benefits, and dismiss BCA as fatally flawed. They suggest approaches such as deliberative decision-making and multi-criteria analysis. We propose a middle path that uses the strengths of economic analysis for decision support while avoiding the pitfalls. We disaggregate economic impacts by stakeholder groups, link ecosystem changes to benefits as well as dis-benefits, and examine how socio-technological context shapes the magnitude of economic impact. We illustrate this approach by studying the impact of creating the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple wildlife sanctuary in the Western Ghats forests of southern India. Our analysis shows that while some stakeholders are net beneficiaries, others are net losers. Changes in forest rights, irrigation technologies, and ecosystem dynamics influence the magnitude of benefits and sometimes convert gainers into losers. Such disaggregated analysis can provide useful information for deliberative decision-making and important academic insights on how economic value is generated
Potential of social network and internet media for biodiversity mapping and conservation
Get PDFInternet and digital technology has revo-lutionized the rate and efficiency with which data and knowledge are transmit-ted and shared among people. In particu-lar, the social media such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Flickr, e-mail discus-sion groups, etc.1, has shrunk the com-munication space like never before and has turned out to be powerful agents for obtaining rapid news updates. Their rela-tively easy access through computers, mobile phones and a host of other gad-gets have made these very user friendly so much so they are probably the most frequently used technologies today. No wonder then an army of social network-ing sites are set afoot that transmit and share information on almost infinite number of issues ranging from archae-ology to zoology or from sighting traffic offenders to stars in the night sky. Here, I discuss a specific case of how social network and Internet media can effec-tively be used in biodiversity mapping and conservation
Importance of Native Grassland Habitat for Den-Site Selection of Indian Foxes in a Fragmented Landscape
No full textFragmentation of native habitats is now a ubiquitous phenomenon affecting wildlife at various scales. We examined selection of den-sites (n = 26) by Indian foxes (Vulpes bengalensis) in a highly modified short-grassland landscape in central India (Jan-May, 2010). At the scale of the home-range, defined by an 800 m circular buffer around den sites, we examined the effect of land-cover edges and roads on selection of sites for denning using a distance-based approach. At the smaller den-area scale, defined by a 25 m x 25 m plot around den and paired available sites, the effect of microhabitat characteristics was examined using discrete-choice models. Indian foxes selected den-sites closer to native grasslands (t = -9.57, P < 0.001) and roads (t = -2.04, P = 0.05) than random at the home-range scale. At the smaller scale, abundance of rodents and higher visibility increased the odds of selection of a site by eight and four times respectively, indicating resource availability and predator avoidance to be important considerations for foxes. Indian foxes largely chose to den in human-made structures, indicated by the proportion of dens found in earthen bunds (0.69) and boulder piles (0.27) in the study area. With agricultural expansion and human modification threatening native short-grassland habitats, their conservation and effective management in human dominated landscapes will benefit the Indian fox. The presence of some human-made structures within native
grasslands would also be beneficial for this den dependent species. We suggest future studies examine the impact of fragmentation and connectivity of grasslands on survival and reproductive success of the Indian fox
Remote sensing for conservation monitoring: Assessing protected areas, habitat extent, habitat condition, species diversity, and threats
No full textMonitoring protected areas and their surrounds at local to regional scales is essential given their vulnerability
to anthropogenic pressures, including those associated with climatic fluctuation, and important for management and fulfilment of national and international directives and agreements. Whilst monitoring has commonly revolved around field data, remote sensing can play a key role in establishing baselines of the extent and condition of habitats and associated species diversity as well as quantifying losses, degradation or recovery associated with specific events or processes. Landsat images constitute a major data source for habitat monitoring, capturing broad scale information on changes in habitat extent and spatial patterns of fragmentation that allow disturbances in protected areas to be identified. These data are, however, less able to provide information on changes in habitat quality, species distribution and
fine-scale disturbances, and hence data from other space borne optical sensors are increasingly being considered. Very High Resolution (VHR) optical data sets have been exploited to a lesser extent, partly because of the relative recency of space borne observations and challenges associated with obtaining and routinely extracting information from airborne multi-spectral and hyperspectral datasets. The lack of a shortwave infrared band in many VHR datasets and provision of too much detail (e.g., shadows within and from landscape objects) also present challenges in some cases. Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, particularly when used synergistically with optical data, have benefited the detection of changes in the three-dimensional structure of habitats. This review shows that remote sensing has a strong, yet under exploited potential to assist in the monitoring of protected areas. However, the data generated need to be utilized more effectively to enable better management of
the condition of protected areas and their surrounds, prepare for climate change, and assist planning for
future landscape management
Death in the Hills: Mithun Calves, Arunachal Pradesh's hill symbols, are threatened by an epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease.
Get PDFThe two-month-old mithun calf lay by the side of the road. Its lifeless glassy eyes stared into nothingness, but its feet twitched occasionally in spasms before death finally came. The young mother stood unsurely beside the calf, licking it at intervals, Scenes like this played out virtually every day in the last few months, reminding us of the epidemic that had besieged this remote corner of Arunachal Pradesh. The killer was a virus (Aphthae epizooticae) belonging to the picornaviridae family, causing the dreaded foot and mouth disease
Consistent response of vegetation dynamics to recent climate change in tropical mountain regions
No full textGlobal climate change has emerged as a major driver of ecosystem change. Here, we present evidence for globally
consistent responses in vegetation dynamics to recent climate change in the world’s mountain ecosystems located in the pan-tropical belt (30°N–30°S). We analyzed decadal-scale trends and seasonal cycles of vegetation greenness
using monthly time series of satellite greenness (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and climate data for the period 1982–2006 for 47 mountain protected areas in five biodiversity hotspots. The time series of annual maximum NDVI for each of five continental regions shows mild greening trends followed by reversal to stronger browning trends around the mid-1990s. During the same period we found increasing trends in temperature but only marginal change in precipitation. The amplitude of the annual greenness cycle increased with time, and was strongly associated with the observed increase in temperature amplitude. We applied dynamic models with time-dependent regression parameters to study the time evolution of NDVI–climate relationships. We found that the relationship between vegetation greenness and temperature weakened over time or was negative. Such loss of positive temperature sensitivity has been documented in other regions as a response to temperature-induced moisture stress. We also used dynamic models to extract the trends in vegetation greenness that remain after accounting for the effects of temperature and precipitation. We found residual browning and greening trends in all regions, which indicate that factors other than temperature and precipitation also influence vegetation dynamics. Browning rates became progressively weaker with increase in elevation as indicated by quantile regression models. Tropical mountain vegetation is considered sensitive to climatic changes, so these consistent vegetation responses across widespread regions indicate persistent global-scale effects of climate warming and associated moisture stresses
Owls of the forest’s edge
Get PDFIt looked like just a few random vertical poles stuck in between carefully-planted paddy fields adjoining the Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. The poles were crudely
fashioned and topped with flattened pads of hay, stuffed into polythene or white cloth bags
Ecosystem Services: Origins, Contributions, Pitfalls, and Alternatives
Get PDFThe concept of ecosystem services (ES) has taken the environmental science and policy literature by storm, and has become almost the approach to thinking about and assessing the nature-society relationship. In this review, we ask whether and in what way the ES concept is a useful way of organising research on the nature-society relationship. We trace the evolution of the different versions of the concept and identify key points of convergence and divergence. The essence of the concept nevertheless is that the contribution of biotic nature to human well-being is unrecognised and undervalued, which results in destruction of ecosystems. We discuss why this formulation has attracted ecologists and summarise the resultant contributions to research, particularly to the understanding of indirect or regulating services. We then outline three sets of weaknesses in the ES framework: confusion over ecosystem functions and biodiversity, omission of dis-services, trade-offs and abiotic nature, and the use of an economic valuation framework to measure and aggregate human well-being. Underlying these weaknesses is a narrow problem frame that is unidimensional in its environmental concern and techno-economic in its explanation of environmental degradation. We argue that an alternative framing that embraces broader concerns and incorporates multiple explanations would be more useful, and outline how this approach to understanding the nature-society relationship may be implemente
Endophytic fungi from Miquelia dentata Bedd., produce the anti-cancer alkaloid, camptothecine
No full textCamptothecine (Campothecin, CPT), a quinoline alkaloid, is a potent inhibitor of eukaryotic topoisomerase
I. Several semi-synthetic derivatives of CPT are in clinical use against ovarian, small lung and refractory
ovarian cancers. While CPT is produced by several plant species belonging to the Asterid clade, in recent
years, efforts have been made to isolate endophytic fungi from some of these plants as possible alternative
sources of CPT. In this study we report the isolation of three endophytic fungi from fruit and seed regions of
Miquelia dentata (Icacinaceae), that produce CPT, 9-methoxy CPT (9-MeO-CPT) and 10-hydroxy CPT (10-
OH-CPT). All the three fungi identified as, Fomitopsis sp. P. Karst (MTCC 10177), Alternaria alternata (Fr.)
Keissl (MTCC 5477) and Phomposis sp. (Sacc.) produced CPT, 9-MeO-CPT and 10-OH-CPT in mycelial mats
in shake flasks containing potato dextrose broth. Methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of these fungal
species were cytotoxic to colon and breast cancer cell lines. We discuss these results in the context of the
recent interest in endophytic fungi as possible alternative sources of plant secondary metabolites