1,721,168 research outputs found
A golden cage for the European red squirrel in Italy? Proposal for a targeted control of the grey squirrel
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Urban biological invasions: when vertebrates come to town.
No full textUrban biodiversity is an increasingly popular topic among researchers. Worldwide, thousands of research projects are unravelling how urbanisation impacts the biodiversity of cities and towns, as well as its benefits for people and the environment through ecosystem services. Exciting scientific discoveries are made on a daily basis. However, researchers often lack time and opportunity to communicate these findings to the community and those in charge of managing, planning and designing for urban biodiversity. On the other hand, urban practitioners frequently ask researchers for more comprehensible information and actionable tools to guide their actions.
This book is designed to fill this cultural and communicative gap by discussing a selection of topics related to urban biodiversity, as well as its benefits for people and the urban environment. It provides an interdisciplinary overview of scientifically grounded knowledge vital for current and future practitioners in charge of urban biodiversity management, its conservation and integration into urban planning. Topics covered include pests and invasive species, rewilding habitats, the contribution of a diverse urban agriculture to food production, implications for human well-being, and how to engage the public with urban conservation strategies.
For the first time, world-leading researchers from five continents convene to offer a global interdisciplinary perspective on urban biodiversity narrated with a simple but rigorous language. This book synthesizes research at a level suitable for both students and professionals working in nature conservation and urban planning and management
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Behavioural and population responses of ground-dwelling rodents to forest edges
Full text linkForest edges can affect the behaviour, physiology and demography of small mammals. We tested whether there was a response in abundance, distribution, personality selection or foraging behaviour of ground-dwelling rodents to a forest–meadow edge in two study areas in Northern Italy over a 1-year period. We used capture-mark-recapture to evaluate species distribution, abundance, survival and personality, while Giving-up Density was used to test their foraging behaviour and the cost associated to it. All tests were carried out on the forest edge and at 50 and 100 m from the edge along three parallel transects 90 m long. We detected two species in both areas: Apodemus sylvaticus and Myodes glareolus. We found a neutral effect of the edge on species number, survival and on individual’s personality (activity/exploration tendency). Bank voles occurred more along the edge and both taxa took more seeds from trays along the edge. The hypothesis of edge avoidance was not confirmed in any of the variables examined. Our study supports evidence that edge effects can be species-specific and that populations should be studied with a multiple test approach to investigate different eco-ethological responses to the edge when trying to reveal the functioning of ecotonal systems
Dangerous neighbours: Birds and bird-eating bats sharing tree cavities
No full textMounting evidence indicates the non-consumptive effects of predators significantly impact prey physiology, ecology and behaviour. Passerine birds experience adverse effects on nesting and reproductive success when in proximity to predators. Fear of predators is context-dependent and influenced by hunting habitats and foraging strategies. While some bat species prey on birds, the greater noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus) stands out by specialising in avian prey, especially during peak bird migration. N. lasiopterus is thought to seize avian prey in flight, but direct evidence is lacking. If birds were taken from nests, they would likely avoid nesting near these bats. However, no observations support this view. This study documents the successful reproduction of Eurasian blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) nesting alongside a colony of approximately 25 greater noctules. This bird species is a prey species for greater noctules in Italy. Over about 1 month (April-May 2023), we observed parent birds provisioning food to chicks, with at least two chicks alive and fed outside the tree cavity by the end of the period. While acknowledging the limitations of a single observation, we propose that this previously unknown behaviour indirectly supports the idea that greater noctules only capture avian prey in flight, not within confined spaces. This observation challenges the perception that these bats pose a threat when sharing roosting spaces in trees, as evidenced in our observed case. We hope this novel observation inspires future research on variations in bird nesting behaviour and reproductive success in the presence of bird-eating bats, as well as an assessment of the long-term impact on population dynamics and reproductive success of nesting birds sharing such roosting spaces.Greater noctules feed on birds, including Eurasian blue tits, with the presumed strategy being in-flight capture, yet no direct observations confirming this holds true. We recorded the successful nesting of blue tits in a tree cavity shared with around 25 greater noctules and recorded no predatory interactions over the whole nesting period. Our observation supports the hypothesis that roosting bats are not perceived as a threat, indirectly endorsing the 'aerial hawking' predation theory.imag
Interspecific competition mediated by climate change: Which interaction between brown and mountain hare in the Alps?
No full textCO2 levels and consequently temperatures are expected to increase in the next years. Such quick and
drastic changes in climate are likely to affect species distribution. According to future climate scenarios
some species will have the possibility to colonise new areas, mainly due to expansion of suitable habitat
conditions, whereas other species could be negatively affected due to habitat reduction. In this study,
we analysed, in the perspective stated above, the distribution of two hare species: the mountain hare
(Lepus timidus) and the brown hare (Lepus europaeus), across Central Italian Alps. Mountain hare on the
Alps is a relict species, while brown hare is widespread all over Italy and also across the Alps at lower
elevations. We applied future climate scenarios to both hare species to understand how climate change
could affect their distribution in the next 70 years. Mountain hare distribution surface area is predicted
to decrease in the next few years at its southern edge, but the species should expand its range in northern
areas. Interestingly, brown hare distribution seems to be unaffected by climate changes, since no evident
“area of substitution” appeared in our simulations. Hence, contrary to one’s expectations based on the
two species different niches, while we were able to predict a reduction in mountain hare distribution,
our simulations did not show a substitution of the mountain hare by the more generalist brown hare at
the southern margins of its distribution
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