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With the ever-increasing dependency on electric power, electrical grid networks are expanding worldwide. Bats exhibit a wide diversity of foraging and flight behaviours, and their sensitivity to anthropogenic stressors suggests this group is very likely to be affected by power lines in a myriad of ways. Yet the effects of power lines on bats remains unknown. Here we assessed the responses of insectivorous bats to very high voltage power lines (VHVPL; greater than 220 kV). We implemented a paired sampling design and monitored bats acoustically at 25 pairs, one pair consisting of one forest edge near to VHVPL matched with one control forest edge. Relative humidity mediates the effects of power lines on bats: we detected bat attraction to VHVPL at high relative humidity levels and avoidance of VHVPL by bats at low relative humidity levels. We argue that the former could be explained by insect attraction to the light emitted by VHVPL owing to corona discharges while the latter may be owing to the physical presence of pylons/cables at foraging height and/or because of electromagnetic fields. Our work highlights the response of bats to power lines at foraging habitats, providing new insight into the interactions between power lines and biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological restoration has a paradigm of re‐establishing 'indigenous reference' communities. One resulting concern is that focussing on target communities may not necessarily create systems which function at a high level or are resilient in the face of ongoing global change. Ecological complexity – defined here, based on theory, as the number of components in a system and the number of connections among them – provides a complementary aim, which can be measured directly and has several advantages. Ecological complexity encompasses key ecosystem variables including structural heterogeneity, trophic interactions and functional diversity. Ecological complexity can also be assessed at the landscape scale, with metrics including β diversity, heterogeneity among habitat patches and connectivity. Thus, complexity applies, and can be measured, at multiple scales. Importantly, complexity is linked to system emergent properties, e.g. ecosystem functions and resilience, and there is evidence that both are enhanced by complexity. We suggest that restoration ecology should consider a new paradigm to restore complexity at multiple scales, in particular of individual ecosystems and across landscapes. A complexity approach can make use of certain current restoration methods but also encompass newer concepts such as rewilding. Indeed, a complexity goal might in many cases best be achieved by interventionist restoration methods. Incorporating complexity into restoration policies could be quite straightforward. Related aims such as enhancing ecosystem services and ecological resilience are to the fore in initiatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Intergovernmental Science‐Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Implementation in policy and practice will need the development of complexity metrics that can be applied at both local and regional scales. Ultimately, the adoption of an ecological complexity paradigm will be based on an acceptance that the ongoing and unprecedented global environmental change requires new ways of doing restoration that is fit for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree planting is at the forefront of the current environmental agenda to mitigate climate change and tackle the biodiversity crisis. In the United Kingdom (UK), tree planting has been a priority for more than a century and has helped increase woodland cover from a historic low of 5 per cent at the beginning of the 20th century to a current figure of 13 per cent. However, we still know relatively little about the long-term development of woodland creation sites (particularly of native woodlands) over ecologically realistic timescales. We surveyed a chronosequence of 133 temperate woodland patches encompassing 106 woodland creation sites (10–160 years old) and 27 mature 'ancient' woodlands (>250 years old), using a combination of field surveys and remote sensing techniques to quantify vegetation structural changes associated with woodland development. Woodland creation sites displayed similar vegetation development patterns to those described for other woodland systems, i.e. a gradual transition as woodlands undergo 'stand initiation', 'stem exclusion' and 'understorey re-initiation' stages, and became more similar to 'ancient' woodlands over time. Structural heterogeneity, average tree size and tree density were the attributes that varied the most among woodland developmental stages. In general, structural heterogeneity and average tree size increased with woodland age, whilst tree density decreased as would be expected. Younger sites in stand initiation were strongly dominated by short vegetation, stem exclusion sites by taller trees and older sites had a more even vegetation height distribution. There was a large degree of overlap between the vegetation characteristics of woodlands in understorey re-initiation stages and older ancient woodlands (partly driven by a lack of regeneration in the understorey); these results suggest that it takes between 80 and 160 years for woodland creation sites to develop certain vegetation attributes similar to those of mature ancient woodlands included in this study. Woodland management practices to create canopy gaps and reducing grazing/browsing pressure to promote natural regeneration are likely to accelerate this transition, increase the structural heterogeneity and biodiversity value of woodland creation sites and enable adaptation and resilience to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, political parties engage with journalists to promote their agendas and claim issue ownership through publishing manifestos, holding public events and issuing statements, but the coverage that this interaction produces is determined by the editorial focus and decision making of each outlet. In a hybrid media age, political parties can engage in disintermediation by directly shaping their own agenda and communicating with the public using social media, which also facilitate populist messaging. In this article, we use a combination of traditional media and social media data to explore how key issues and parties were mediated during the battle to own 'change' and claim issue ownership in the 2020 election campaign in Ireland. The analysis draws upon coded articles from three mainstream outlets and Facebook posts from the three main parties, along with user engagement data from those Facebook posts. We find that newspaper coverage reflected the framing of a change election. While Fine Gael received the most coverage, both Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin show clear attempts to own change through social media, with Sinn Féin in particular 'owning' the most salient election issue of housing while also deploying substantial populist messaging which resulted in the most engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]