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Anderson C, Zuckerwise A, Wallace RB, Ayala G, Viscarra M, Schmitz OJ. Small Felids Coexist in Mixed-Use Landscape in the Bolivian Amazon. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:697. [PMID: 38473081 DOI: 10.3390/ani14050697] [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: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 02/04/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
In the face of global species loss, it is paramount to understand the effects of human activity on vulnerable species, particularly in highly diverse, complex systems. The Greater Madidi Landscape in the Bolivian Amazon includes several biodiverse protected areas that were created with the goal of sustaining healthy and diverse ecosystems while not impeding the livelihoods of local indigenous peoples. In this study, we sought to use camera trap data and single-species occupancy analysis to assess the impacts of different forms of human activity on four species of small felids: ocelots (Leopardus pardalis), margays (Leopardus wiedii), jaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi), and oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus). We modeled both human variables (proximity to indigenous communities, roads, and tourist camps) and non-human variables (terrain ruggedness, proximity to rivers, canopy height, prey availability, and large cat abundance). Margay occupancy was unaffected by any of these human variables and ocelots showed only weak evidence of being affected by tourism. Ocelots were particularly pervasive throughout the study area and were consistently estimated to have high occupancy probability. We did not obtain sufficient data on jaguarundi or oncilla to reliably model these effects. Our results indicate that small cats successfully coexist both with each other and with the surrounding human activity in this unique landscape, which serves as a model for global protected area management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney Anderson
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Amelia Zuckerwise
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | | | - Guido Ayala
- Wildlife Conservation Society, La Paz, Bolivia
| | | | - Oswald J Schmitz
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
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Venier-Cambron C, Malek Ž, Verburg PH. Avoiding an unjust transition to sustainability: An equity metric for spatial conservation planning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2216693120. [PMID: 37844239 PMCID: PMC10614950 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2216693120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The need for rapid and ambitious conservation and restoration is widely acknowledged, yet concern exists that the widespread reallocation of land to nature would disproportionately affect the world's poor. Conservation and restoration may limit nutrition and livelihood options and thus negatively affect social development objectives. Although much research looks into global-scale scenarios and planning of conservation and restoration, spatial evaluations of these trade-offs in terms of equity remain limited. We fill this gap by identifying areas where conservation or restoration under different future scenarios and prioritization maps expand nature into landscapes that likely support land-dependent communities in their local food security. By contrasting the expansion of nature into areas supporting land-dependent communities vs. places where the food system is supported by regional to global markets, we highlight the need for disaggregated indicators that reflect the diversity of human land-use needs in order to identify more equitable pathways. Conservation prioritizations were found to result in more equitable land-use outcomes than the land-use outcomes of widely used socioeconomic scenarios. Accounting for differentiated social impacts in model-based conservation and restoration planning and global scale scenario assessment can help achieve a more inclusive transition to sustainability as well as reduce barriers to meaningful change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Venier-Cambron
- Department of Environmental Geography, Instituut voor Milieuvraagstukken, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HVAmsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Žiga Malek
- Department of Environmental Geography, Instituut voor Milieuvraagstukken, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HVAmsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter H. Verburg
- Department of Environmental Geography, Instituut voor Milieuvraagstukken, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HVAmsterdam, The Netherlands
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3
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Mills KL, Belant JL, Beukes M, Dröge E, Everatt KT, Fyumagwa R, Green DS, Hayward MW, Holekamp KE, Radloff FGT, Spong G, Suraci JP, Van der Weyde LK, Wilmers CC, Carter NH, Sanders NJ. Tradeoffs between resources and risks shape the responses of a large carnivore to human disturbance. Commun Biol 2023; 6:986. [PMID: 37848509 PMCID: PMC10582050 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05321-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Wide-ranging carnivores experience tradeoffs between dynamic resource availabilities and heterogeneous risks from humans, with consequences for their ecological function and conservation outcomes. Yet, research investigating these tradeoffs across large carnivore distributions is rare. We assessed how resource availability and anthropogenic risks influence the strength of lion (Panthera leo) responses to disturbance using data from 31 sites across lions' contemporary range. Lions avoided human disturbance at over two-thirds of sites, though their responses varied depending on site-level characteristics. Lions were more likely to exploit human-dominated landscapes where resources were limited, indicating that resource limitation can outweigh anthropogenic risks and might exacerbate human-carnivore conflict. Lions also avoided human impacts by increasing their nocturnal activity more often at sites with higher production of cattle. The combined effects of expanding human impacts and environmental change threaten to simultaneously downgrade the ecological function of carnivores and intensify human-carnivore conflicts, escalating extinction risks for many species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirby L Mills
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Jerrold L Belant
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Maya Beukes
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Nature Museum, Terrestrial Zoology, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Egil Dröge
- WildCRU, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Tubney, UK
- Zambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Zambia
| | - Kristoffer T Everatt
- Panthera, New York, NY, USA
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa
- Greater Limpopo Carnivore Programme, Limpopo, Mozambique
| | - Robert Fyumagwa
- Wildlife Conservation Initiative, Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania
| | - David S Green
- Institute for Natural Resources, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Matt W Hayward
- Conservation Science Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Science, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia
- Centre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela University, Qgeberha, South Africa
- Centre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Tshwane, South Africa
| | - Kay E Holekamp
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
- Program in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, MI, USA
| | - F G T Radloff
- Department of Conservation and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Göran Spong
- Molecular Ecology Group, SLU, 901 83, UMEÅ, Sweden
| | | | - Leanne K Van der Weyde
- Cheetah Conservation Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
- San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, Escondido, CA, USA
| | | | - Neil H Carter
- School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Nathan J Sanders
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Ghosh A, Sen A, Dutta K, Ghosh P. Falling "fortresses": Unlocking Governance Entanglements and Shifting Knowledge Paradigms to Counter Climate Change Threats in Biodiversity Conservation. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 69:305-322. [PMID: 34860280 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-021-01552-0] [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: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Biodiversity conservation is facing unprecedented challenges at the intersection of rapidly changing climates, widespread ecosystem degradation under the influence of global warming and resultant human tragedies over livelihood, habitation, adaptation and coping needs. These challenges are more acute across biodiversity hotspots in the Global South. This study disentangles the complex interplay to propose alternative paradigms of governance and policy thinking necessary for sustainable biodiversity conservation. Climate change impacts are exposing critical deficiencies of 'scientific forest management' pursued for over a century. For example, recurrent disasters and ecological shifts are increasingly obfuscating cognitive and physical boundaries between the reserve forest and human habitations; putting additional stress on livelihoods which in turn escalate pressures on the forest commons and fuel further conflicts between conservation governance and local communities. Instead of assisting in adaptation, the existing conservation governance mechanisms are producing further conflicts between humans and non-humans; livelihoods and conservation; disaster management and development. Conducted in the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve -world's largest mangrove forest ecosystem and a climate change hotspot located along the Bay of Bengal across India and Bangladesh -the study finds an urgent need of rethinking and recalibrating biodiversity conservation in the times of climate change. However, institutional and market-based approaches such as promoting ecotourism or mangrove plantations may have little impact in this regard, the study finds. Instead, integrating cultural ecosystem services and co-producing knowledge will be critical to tackle the entanglements of climate change and its impacts on local lives, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Ghosh
- Jindal School of Art and Architecture, Jindal Global University, Haryana, India.
- University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Leuphana University, Lüneburg, Germany.
| | - Amrita Sen
- Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
- Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, India
| | - Kaberi Dutta
- South Asia Institute, Department of Anthropology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Priyanka Ghosh
- VIT-AP School of Social Sciences and Humanities (VISH), VIT-AP University, Amravati, Vijayawada, India, Andhra Pradesh
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Carroll C, Ray JC. Maximizing the effectiveness of national commitments to protected area expansion for conserving biodiversity and ecosystem carbon under climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2021; 27:3395-3414. [PMID: 33852186 PMCID: PMC8360173 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Global commitments to protected area expansion should prioritize opportunities to protect climate refugia and ecosystems which store high levels of irrecoverable carbon, as key components of an effective response to biodiversity loss and climate change. The United States and Canada are responsible for one-sixth of global greenhouse gas emissions but hold extensive natural ecosystems that store globally significant above- and below-ground carbon. Canada has initiated a process of protected area network expansion in concert with efforts at reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and acknowledged nature-based solutions as a key aspect of climate change mitigation. The US, although not a party to global biodiversity conventions, has recently committed to protecting 30% of its extent by 2030 and achieving the UNFCCC Paris Agreement's mitigation targets. The opportunities afforded by these dual biodiversity conservation and climate commitments require coordinated national and regional policies to ensure that new protected areas maximize biodiversity-focused adaptation and nature-based mitigation opportunities. We address how global commitments can best inform national policy initiatives which build on existing agency mandates for regional planning and species conservation. Previous analyses of global conservation priorities under climate change have been tenuously linked to policy contexts of individual nations and have lacked information on refugia due to limitations of globally available datasets. Comparison and synthesis of predictions from a range of recently developed refugia metrics allow such data to inform planning despite substantial uncertainty arising from contrasting model assumptions and inputs. A case study for endangered species planning for old-forest-associated species in the US Pacific Northwest demonstrates how regional planning can be nested hierarchically within national biodiversity-focused adaptation and nature-based mitigation strategies which integrate refugia, connectivity, and ecosystem carbon metrics to holistically evaluate the role of different land designations and where carbon mitigation and protection of biodiversity's resilience to climate change can be aligned.
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7
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Kenyon C. Emergence of zoonoses such as COVID-19 reveals the need for health sciences to embrace an explicit eco-social conceptual framework of health and disease. Epidemics 2020; 33:100410. [PMID: 33152622 PMCID: PMC7577274 DOI: 10.1016/j.epidem.2020.100410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
An accurate understanding of why zoonoses such as SARS-CoV-2 are emerging at an increased rate, is vital to prevent future pandemics from the approximately 700,000 viruses with zoonotic potential. Certain authors have argued that the consumption of wildlife, or human contact with bats was responsible for the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. Others argue that a range of anthropogenic environmental degradations have played a vital role in the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonoses. In this opinion piece, I argue that these divergent viewpoints stem, in part, from different foundational conceptual frameworks - biomedical individualist and eco-social frameworks, respectively. Based on the fact that the eco-social framework provides a more complete account of the different types of causal factors underpinning the emergence of zoonoses, I propose that the COVID-19 pandemic provides an additional reason for the health sciences to ground its theory of health and disease in an eco-social conceptual framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris Kenyon
- HIV/STI Unit, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory 7700, South Africa.
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8
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Riggio J, Baillie JEM, Brumby S, Ellis E, Kennedy CM, Oakleaf JR, Tait A, Tepe T, Theobald DM, Venter O, Watson JEM, Jacobson AP. Global human influence maps reveal clear opportunities in conserving Earth's remaining intact terrestrial ecosystems. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:4344-4356. [PMID: 32500604 PMCID: PMC7383735 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Leading up to the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties 15, there is momentum around setting bold conservation targets. Yet, it remains unclear how much of Earth's land area remains without significant human influence and where this land is located. We compare four recent global maps of human influences across Earth's land, Anthromes, Global Human Modification, Human Footprint and Low Impact Areas, to answer these questions. Despite using various methodologies and data, these different spatial assessments independently estimate similar percentages of the Earth's terrestrial surface as having very low (20%-34%) and low (48%-56%) human influence. Three out of four spatial assessments agree on 46% of the non-permanent ice- or snow-covered land as having low human influence. However, much of the very low and low influence portions of the planet are comprised of cold (e.g., boreal forests, montane grasslands and tundra) or arid (e.g., deserts) landscapes. Only four biomes (boreal forests, deserts, temperate coniferous forests and tundra) have a majority of datasets agreeing that at least half of their area has very low human influence. More concerning, <1% of temperate grasslands, tropical coniferous forests and tropical dry forests have very low human influence across most datasets, and tropical grasslands, mangroves and montane grasslands also have <1% of land identified as very low influence across all datasets. These findings suggest that about half of Earth's terrestrial surface has relatively low human influence and offers opportunities for proactive conservation actions to retain the last intact ecosystems on the planet. However, though the relative abundance of ecosystem areas with low human influence varies widely by biome, conserving these last intact areas should be a high priority before they are completely lost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Riggio
- National Geographic SocietyWashingtonDCUSA
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation BiologyMuseum of Wildlife and Fish BiologyUniversity of California, DavisDavisCAUSA
| | | | | | - Erle Ellis
- Department of Geography and Environmental SystemsUniversity of MarylandBaltimore CountyMDUSA
| | | | | | - Alex Tait
- National Geographic SocietyWashingtonDCUSA
| | | | | | - Oscar Venter
- Natural Resource and Environmental Studies InstituteUniversity of Northern British ColumbiaPrince GeorgeBCCanada
| | - James E. M. Watson
- School of Earth and Environmental ScienceThe University of QueenslandBrisbaneQldAustralia
- Global ConservationWildlife Conservation SocietyBronxNYUSA
| | - Andrew P. Jacobson
- National Geographic SocietyWashingtonDCUSA
- Department of Environment and SustainabilityCatawba CollegeSalisburyNCUSA
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9
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Arroyo-Rodríguez V, Fahrig L, Tabarelli M, Watling JI, Tischendorf L, Benchimol M, Cazetta E, Faria D, Leal IR, Melo FPL, Morante-Filho JC, Santos BA, Arasa-Gisbert R, Arce-Peña N, Cervantes-López MJ, Cudney-Valenzuela S, Galán-Acedo C, San-José M, Vieira ICG, Slik JWF, Nowakowski AJ, Tscharntke T. Designing optimal human-modified landscapes for forest biodiversity conservation. Ecol Lett 2020; 23:1404-1420. [PMID: 32537896 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2020] [Revised: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Agriculture and development transform forest ecosystems to human-modified landscapes. Decades of research in ecology have generated myriad concepts for the appropriate management of these landscapes. Yet, these concepts are often contradictory and apply at different spatial scales, making the design of biodiversity-friendly landscapes challenging. Here, we combine concepts with empirical support to design optimal landscape scenarios for forest-dwelling species. The supported concepts indicate that appropriately sized landscapes should contain ≥ 40% forest cover, although higher percentages are likely needed in the tropics. Forest cover should be configured with c. 10% in a very large forest patch, and the remaining 30% in many evenly dispersed smaller patches and semi-natural treed elements (e.g. vegetation corridors). Importantly, the patches should be embedded in a high-quality matrix. The proposed landscape scenarios represent an optimal compromise between delivery of goods and services to humans and preserving most forest wildlife, and can therefore guide forest preservation and restoration strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Víctor Arroyo-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Lenore Fahrig
- Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Marcelo Tabarelli
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil
| | | | - Lutz Tischendorf
- ELUTIS Modelling and Consulting Inc, Ottawa, ON, K2A 1X4, Canada
| | - Maíra Benchimol
- Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservação, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, 45662-900, Brazil
| | - Eliana Cazetta
- Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservação, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, 45662-900, Brazil
| | - Deborah Faria
- Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservação, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, 45662-900, Brazil
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Felipe P L Melo
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Jose C Morante-Filho
- Laboratório de Ecologia Aplicada à Conservação, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, Bahia, 45662-900, Brazil
| | - Bráulio A Santos
- Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraiba, Campus I, João Pessoa, Paraiba, 58051-900, Brazil
| | - Ricard Arasa-Gisbert
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Norma Arce-Peña
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Martín J Cervantes-López
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Sabine Cudney-Valenzuela
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Carmen Galán-Acedo
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Miriam San-José
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, 58190, Mexico
| | - Ima C G Vieira
- Coordenação de Botânica, Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, CP 399, Belém, Pará, 66040-170, Brazil
| | - J W Ferry Slik
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong BE1410, Brunei, Darussalam
| | - A Justin Nowakowski
- Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, K1S 5B6, Canada.,Working Land and Seascapes, Conservation Commons, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Agroecology, Dept. of Crop Sciences, Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use (CBL), University of Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
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