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Tassin de Montaigu C, Goulson D. Factors influencing butterfly and bumblebee richness and abundance in gardens. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 908:167995. [PMID: 37939959 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Gardens are often depicted as green sanctuaries, providing refuges for wildlife displaced from the countryside due to intensive farming. While gardens have been recognized for their positive impact on biodiversity conservation, few studies have investigated the impact of pesticide usage in domestic gardens. In this study, we explored how butterfly and bumblebee populations in gardens across the UK are influenced by habitat quality, urbanisation level and pesticide use. To achieve this, we engaged with participants in Garden BirdWatch, a weekly garden wildlife recording scheme operated by the British Trust for Ornithology. Participants in the study provided data on the attributes of their garden and surrounding area and were asked to complete a questionnaire about their pesticide practices. Of the 417 gardens from which we obtained useful data, we found that 32.6 % had pesticides applied to. Urbanisation and garden quality were the main factors influencing insect populations. Butterfly richness was lower in suburban and urban gardens and butterfly abundance lower only in suburban gardens when compared to rural gardens, but this relationship did not hold for bumblebees. Abundance of butterflies and bumblebees, but not their species richness, increased with the habitat quality of gardens. Butterflies were lower in abundance and richness in more northerly gardens, which was not the case for bumblebees. Effects of pesticides were relatively weak, but butterfly richness was 7 % lower in gardens applying any pesticide. Overall, our study shows that garden butterfly and bumblebee abundance and richness are strongly influenced by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors, and that garden management can have an important positive effect on insect population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cannelle Tassin de Montaigu
- School of Life Sciences, Department of Evolution, Behaviour & Environment, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
| | - Dave Goulson
- School of Life Sciences, Department of Evolution, Behaviour & Environment, University of Sussex, Falmer, East Sussex, United Kingdom
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Balčiauskas L, Kučas A, Balčiauskienė L. Mammal Roadkills in Lithuanian Urban Areas: A 15-Year Study. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3272. [PMID: 37893996 PMCID: PMC10603749 DOI: 10.3390/ani13203272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2023] [Revised: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated roadkills in urban areas in Lithuania from 2007 to 2022, including two periods with COVID-19 restrictions on people's movement. We analyzed the proportions of wild and domestic animals in roadkill, annual trends, the predominant species involved, and monthly changes during the restrictions. Urban roads were characterized by a low species diversity of roadkilled mammals, with roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) dominating. Total numbers increased exponentially during the study period. The proportion of domestic animals, 12.2%, significantly exceeded that on non-urban roads in the country. The proportion of domestic animals decreased from over 40% in 2007-2009 to 3.7-5.4% in 2020-2022, while the proportion of wild mammals increased from 36.1-39.6% to 89.9-90.6%, respectively. During the periods of COVID-19 restrictions, the number of roadkills in urban areas was significantly higher than expected based on long-term trends. Compared to 2019, the number of roadkilled roe deer in 2020-2021 almost doubled from 700 to 1281-1325 individuals. These anthropause effects were, however, temporary. The imbalance between the roadkill number and transport intensity might require new mitigation strategies to sustain mammal populations in urban areas, at least through improving driver awareness on the issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linas Balčiauskas
- Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania;
| | - Andrius Kučas
- Territorial Development Unit (B3), European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Via Fermi 2749, 21027 Ispra, Italy;
| | - Laima Balčiauskienė
- Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania;
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Marks AJ, Goldingay RL. Are Urban Populations of a Gliding Mammal Vulnerable to Decline? Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2098. [PMID: 37443895 DOI: 10.3390/ani13132098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Small populations are at high risk of extinction, and they are likely to need management intervention. Successful management, however, relies on sufficient long-term demographic data in order to determine whether apparent declines are natural fluctuations or the product of threatening processes. In this study, we monitored a small urban population of squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) in Queensland, Australia, over a 16 year period. A reference population in a larger forest patch was also studied in order to investigate whether its demographic trends were similar. Using mark-recapture data to generate estimates of apparent survival and population size, we found evidence of a decline within the small population but not in the reference population over the monitoring period. We suggest that the influence of multiple factors may have led to the decline, but, ultimately, that the genetic condition of the small population may be responsible. Understanding demographic trends is an important context for management interventions of small populations, although causes of decline need to be identified for successful management. The squirrel glider provides a useful case study for small urban populations and particularly for arboreal mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anita J Marks
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, East Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
| | - Ross L Goldingay
- Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, East Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia
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Lee MB, Chen D, Zou F. Winter Bird Diversity and Abundance in Small Farmlands in a Megacity of Southern China. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.859199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Urban expansion often accompanies a loss of natural habitats and arable lands but an increase in urban population. In China, vegetable-dominant small farmlands are common in urban/peri-urban areas. Some farmlands are also associated with government policy that aims to enhance local farmers’ livelihoods as well as increase food availability for city citizens. While small urban farmlands create open greenery cover that may provide birds with resources such as food and shelter, little attention has been given to understanding bird diversity in urban farmlands. Using two hierarchical models (multi-species occupancy model and N-mixture model), we examined how species richness and abundance of birds were associated with environmental characteristics within and surrounding urban farmlands in Guangzhou, one of the largest cities in China. We conducted crop and bird surveys at urban farmlands during two winter seasons between December 2019 and January 2021. Species richness increased with non-woody (herbaceous) vegetation cover within a farmland. Abundance of three species was also positively associated with the local non-woody vegetation variable. Two species were more abundant at farmlands with higher crop diversity. Compositional features of matrix surrounding a farmland (a 500-m circular area) did not affect species richness. However, species richness and abundance of one species tended to decrease with increasing farmland fragmentation (patch density of farmlands) within a 1-km circular area. These findings suggest that (1) birds could be more influenced by environmental features within farmlands than matrix features surrounding farmlands, (2) local uncultivated herbaceous vegetation is an important environmental feature, and (3) diverse crops in farmlands may benefit some birds. They also indicate that the landscape pattern of farmlands, such as degree of fragmentation, could affect bird diversity in urban farmlands.
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Araguas RM, Vidal O, García S, Sanz N. Genetic diversity and population structure of the Western European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus: conservation status of populations in the Iberian Peninsula. Mamm Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s42991-022-00235-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAnthropogenic habitat fragmentation and roadkill mortality are considered important threats to European hedgehogs. Habitat fragmentation isolates hedgehog populations and, as a consequence, reduces their genetic diversity and leads the populations to vulnerable situations. The hedgehog populations in the Iberian Peninsula represent the southern limit of the species. We used microsatellite markers to estimate the genetic diversity and population structure of Erinaceus europaeus on the Iberian Peninsula. The obtained results indicated the presence of two differentiated groups, north-western and north-eastern, which coincided with the distribution of the two phylogeographic mitochondrial lineages described in the Peninsula. Moreover, in the north-eastern group, three genetically different clusters (Girona, Central Catalonia and Zoo) were identified. The highest genetic diversity (Hs = 0.696) was detected in the north-western region. Significant genetic differentiation (FST range = 0.072–0.224) was found among the clusters, indicating that these groups are well differentiated and present low gene flow. We concluded that the north-western group is genetically stable, whereas in the north-eastern region, despite some contact among groups, some populations are isolated and vulnerable.
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Seitz B, Buchholz S, Kowarik I, Herrmann J, Neuerburg L, Wendler J, Winker L, Egerer M. Land sharing between cultivated and wild plants: urban gardens as hotspots for plant diversity in cities. Urban Ecosyst 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-021-01198-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
AbstractPlant communities in urban gardens consist of cultivated species, including ornamentals and food crops, and wild growing species. Yet it remains unclear what significance urban gardens have for the plant diversity in cities and how the diversity of cultivated and wild plants depends on the level of urbanization. We sampled plants growing within 18 community gardens in Berlin, Germany to investigate the species diversity of cultivated and wild plants. We tested species diversity in relation to local and landscape-scale imperviousness as a measure of urbanity, and we investigated the relationship between cultivated and wild plant species within the gardens. We found that numbers of wild and cultivated plant species in gardens are high – especially of wild plant species – independent of landscape-scale imperviousness. This suggests that all community gardens, regardless of their urban contexts, can be important habitats for plant diversity along with their role in urban food provision. However, the number of all species was negatively predicted by local garden scale imperviousness, suggesting an opportunity to reduce imperviousness and create more habitats for plants at the garden scale. Finally, we found a positive relationship between the number of cultivated and wild growing species, which emphasizes that community gardens present a unique urban ecosystem where land sharing between cultivated and wild flora can transpire. As the urban agriculture movement is flourishing worldwide with gardens continuously and spontaneously arising and dissipating due to urban densification, such botanical investigations can support the argument that gardens are places for the reconciliation of plant conservation and food production.
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Steven R, Van Helden BE, Tulloch AI, Barnes M, Close PG, Fuller RA. Exploring the ability of urban householders to correctly identify nocturnal mammals. Urban Ecosyst 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-021-01118-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Van Helden BE, Close PG, Stewart BA, Speldewinde PC. Managing gardens for wildlife: Features that predict mammal presence and abundance in gardens vary seasonally. Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Bronte E. Van Helden
- Centre for Natural Resource Management & UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia6330Australia
| | - Paul G. Close
- Centre for Natural Resource Management & UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia6330Australia
| | - Barbara A. Stewart
- Centre for Natural Resource Management & UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia6330Australia
| | - Peter C. Speldewinde
- Centre for Natural Resource Management & UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia6330Australia
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Van Helden BE, Close PG, Stewart BA, Speldewinde PC, Comer SJ. Critically Endangered marsupial calls residential gardens home. Anim Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bronte E. Van Helden
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany WA Australia
| | - Paul G. Close
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany WA Australia
| | - Barbara A. Stewart
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany WA Australia
| | - Peter C. Speldewinde
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany WA Australia
| | - Sarah J. Comer
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment The University of Western Australia Albany WA Australia
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions South Coast Region WA Australia
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Busschots MB, Close PG, Van Helden BE, Speldewinde PC. Is the presence of a threatened arboreal mammal in residential areas related to remnant habitats? AUSTRAL ECOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marie B. Busschots
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia Australia
- Bristol Veterinary School University of Bristol BristolBS40 5DUUK
| | - Paul G. Close
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia Australia
| | - Bronte E. Van Helden
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia Australia
| | - Peter C. Speldewinde
- Faculty of Science UWA School of Agriculture and Environment University of Western Australia Albany Western Australia Australia
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Chandler CJ, Van Helden BE, Close PG, Speldewinde PC. 2D or not 2D? Three-dimensional home range analysis better represents space use by an arboreal mammal. ACTA OECOLOGICA 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.actao.2020.103576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Mathieson TJ, Close PG, Van Helden BE, Speldewinde PC, Comer SJ. New evidence of unexpectedly high animal density and diet diversity will benefit the conservation of the Critically Endangered western ringtail possum. AUSTRAL ECOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12874] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Temika J. Mathieson
- Faculty of Science; UWA School of Biological Sciences; University of Western Australia; Perth Western Australia Australia
| | - Paul G. Close
- Faculty of Science; UWA School of Agriculture and Environment; University of Western Australia; Albany Western Australia 6330 Australia
| | - Bronte E. Van Helden
- Faculty of Science; UWA School of Agriculture and Environment; University of Western Australia; Albany Western Australia 6330 Australia
| | - Peter C. Speldewinde
- Faculty of Science; UWA School of Agriculture and Environment; University of Western Australia; Albany Western Australia 6330 Australia
| | - Sarah J. Comer
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions; South Coast Region; Albany Western Australia Australia
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