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Classical management has not been able to stop the 65% decrease in fishery production during the last 40 years in the Magdalena–Cauca River Basin. To analyze the effects of selective fishing of multiple species and small scale fisheries we addressed temporal changes at fishing level and the response of fishermen. The fishery reduced production and CPUE (catch per unit effort standardized), decreased the large sizes and growth rates of Prochilodus magdalenae and Pseudoplatystoma magdaleniatum, changed the abundance of trophic levels (decreased carnivores and increase of detritivores, omnivores), and increased exploitation rates. The fishermen have responded by implementing self-control measures, diversifying fishing gear and mesh size, including new species and sizes in the catch with a higher CPUE of small sized fish, adjusting the fishing effort to the abundance. We conclude that selective fishing has had ecological effects and fishermen have empirically self-regulated to optimize the cost–benefit ratio of their activity, developing a fishery that is more in line with ecosystemic structures. We address the balanced harvest strategy as a management alternative.

The modern tasks of fishing, as a process of carrying out fishing activities to achieve effective and rational use of biological resources in solving the problems of food security of the country, are complex in nature. The study of modern fishing and fishery systems and processes requires a new object-oriented framework for their formation and functioning. Such an unconditional advantage is possessed by the methodology of the systems approach, which makes it possible to classify and design newly created systems of the highest level, to study and establish their system characteristics, connections and requirements for subsequent modeling, to investigate intersystem connections and their interaction. Fishing activity in the fishing zone is formed by the systemic interaction of the raw material base of fishing, technical means for the extraction of aquatic biological resources, fishing technology, creating a new biotechnological system "fishing" with new qualifications in structure and content. The main stages of research and design were the process of identifying production processes of extraction carried out in the fishing zone with the designation of boundaries, composition of elements, establishing links with the environment, correlated with the aim of improving the quality of fishing; the process of the formation of the compositional structure and functions of the system - the production area, the properties of its elements that affect the system efficiency. System design of a biotechnological system - a fishing zone was carried out in stages with the designation of the composition of its classes (components) and sets of objects that formed the component composition of the system under study with an embedded fishing process, and the establishment of structural and functional dependencies and relationships. The designed model of the system is interconnected with its component composition through the imposition of three components established between the corresponding objects and sets: biological, technical and technological, as well as the establishment of inter-component structural and functional dependence and communication, linking all three components of the system with each other into a single mechanism and giving the entire system integrity in achieving a single goal.

Native bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are a multi-species complex that rank among the key disturbances of coniferous forests of western North America. Many landscape-level variables are known to influence beetle outbreaks, such as suitable climatic conditions, spatial arrangement of incipient populations, topography, abundance of mature host trees, and disturbance history that include former outbreaks and fire. We assembled the first open access data, which can be used in open source GIS platforms, for understanding the ecology of the bark beetle organism in Alaska. We used boosted classification and regression tree as a machine learning data mining algorithm to model-predict the relationship between 14 environmental variables, as model predictors, and 838 occurrence records of 68 bark beetle species compared to pseudo-absence locations across the state of Alaska. The model predictors include topography- and climate-related predictors as well as feature proximities and anthropogenic factors. We were able to model, predict, and map the multi-species bark beetle occurrences across the state of Alaska on a 1-km spatial resolution in addition to providing a good quality environmental dataset freely accessible for the public. About 16% of the mixed forest and 59% of evergreen forest are expected to be occupied by the bark beetles based on current climatic conditions and biophysical attributes of the landscape. The open access dataset that we prepared, and the machine learning modeling approach that we used, can provide a foundation for future research not only on scolytines but for other multi-species questions of concern, such as forest defoliators, and small and big game wildlife species worldwide.

Temperate mixedwoods (hardwood–softwood mixtures) in central and eastern United States and Canada can be classified into two overarching categories: those with shade-tolerant softwoods maintained by light to moderate disturbances and those with shade-intolerant to mid-tolerant softwoods maintained by moderate to severe disturbances. The former includes red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), or eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) in mixture with northern hardwood species; the latter includes pine (Pinus) – oak (Quercus) mixtures. Such forests have desirable socio-economic values, wildlife habitat potential, and (or) adaptive capacity, but management is challenging because one or more softwood species in each can be limited by depleted seed sources, narrow regeneration requirements, or poor competitive ability. Appropriate silvicultural systems vary among mixedwood compositions depending on shade tolerance and severity of disturbance associated with the limiting softwoods, site quality, and level of herbivory. Sustainability of mixedwood composition requires that stand structure and composition be managed at each entry to maintain vigorous trees of species with different growth rates and longevities and to encourage development of advance reproduction or seed-producing trees of desired species. Regardless of silvicultural system, maintaining seed sources of limiting softwoods, providing suitable germination substrates, and controlling competition are critical. Here, we describe commonalities among temperate mixedwoods in central and eastern North America and present a framework for managing them.

Inshore fisheries are an important source of employment and income across Europe. However, their sustainability and management efficacy are relatively understudied, particularly in a multispecies context. Management of these data-limited fisheries can be informed by assessments of standardized catch and landings per unit effort (CPUE and LPUE) data from fishery-dependent surveys. We demonstrate the utility of this approach in the first robust assessment of the sustainability and management of a multispecies inshore fishery for live wrasse (Labridae) in southern England. Our findings have wider ramifications for assessment and management of inshore fisheries, including international live wrasse fisheries, many of which are intensely exploited but have less stringent management than the fishery studied here. Using generalized linear models, we identified ecologically relevant drivers of variation in CPUE and LPUE, alongside interspecific variation in responses to fishing pressure during 2017–2019. We also highlight robust evidence of declines in the primary target species, a protogynous hermaphrodite, that are suggestive of fishery impacts driven by management-enabled selective removal of mature females. We demonstrate the need to consider ecologically similar species separately for management purposes, and account for ecogeographical variables in assessments; a failure to do so risks erroneous conclusions regarding inshore fisheries’ sustainability.

In 1855, as a result of decades of controversy, the Smithfield Livestock Market was relocated from the historic center of London to Islington in north London. Taking on board post-humanist critique...

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In the realm of multi-species ecologies and relationships, there are often unseen dynamics, unheeded threats and unacknowledged suppressions. The objectives of the research were to develop an exper...

The article describes the effectiveness of commercial fishing as a biotechnological production process dependent on opening up the resource potential of multi-species fishing systems - fishing zones in fishery basins – by fishing vessels. Currently, the science-based approach to developing such systems with intra-production subsystems is not formed. All processes occurring in the systems are logistic, and the system as a whole is a complex industrial system. An assessment of its efficiency or inefficiency should be made in terms of the use of fishery resources, including production resources and the resource base of fishing, while the minimization of costs (expenses) at all stages of the production and technological process should be the assessment criterion. The process of studying and developing fishing organization schemes including intra-system flow (logistic) processes is carried out in several stages, the result being the improved organizational schemes with the distribution of a group of fishing units in the object-oriented fishing zones working in optimal forms of fishing organization. Taking the Far Eastern sardine (Iwashi) fishing in the South Kuril zone as an example, a multifactorial analysis and accounting of the entire composition of restrictions, conditions, the nature of each component, their influence at each stage of the movement of material flows in the industrial logistic system functioning in the fishing zone was carried out. The design of end-to-end material-conducting circuits and schemes of fishing activities has been carried out. The logistic approach to the processes and systems of commercial fishing used in the design process is a universal scientifically grounded research method and a methodological approach to the design of complex fishing systems.

Повышение эффективности отечественного рыболовства, как совокупности промышленных биотехнологий, создающих индустриальные системы высшего уровня, является одной из основных задач при реализации стратегии развития рыбохозяйственного комплекса страны в долгосрочной перспективе. В этой связи, базисным объектом системного исследования является промысловая зона рыбохозяйственного бассейна как многовидовая промысловая система взаимосвязанных и взаимообусловленных компонентов: ресурсного потенциала и рыбодобывающих единиц, образующих внутреннюю среду системы, совокупности условий ведения промысла, составляющих ее внешнюю среду. Исследование производственных процессов при статическом состоянии названной системы является основополагающим процессом, опирающемся на учете ее двуединой природы – биотехнологического дуализма. Обязательный его учет лежит в основе формирования оптимальных схем расстановки промысловых усилий в промысловых зонах при организации рыболовства, планировании и управлении производственно-технологическим процессом добычи водных биоресурсов на основе рациональной их эксплуатации и с целью повышения эффективности работы добывающего флота за счет повышения их эксплуатационного времени при годовом и рейсовом планировании. Решение оптимизационной задачи в статике в процессе моделирования таких производственно-технологических систем в статическом их состоянии направлено на проведение оптимизации рыбодобывающей деятельности с учетом биотехнологического дуализма, присущего многовидовым промысловым системам – промысловым зонам. Целью оптимизации является получение оптимального количества промысловых единиц, основанное на альтернативном принципе использования судов определенного типа. Improving the efficiency of domestic fisheries, as a set of industrial biotechnologies that create industrial systems of the highest level, is one of the main tasks in implementation of strategy for development of the country's fishery complex in the long term. In this regard, the basic object for a systemic study is the catching area of the fishery basin as a multi-species fishery system of interrelated and interdependent components: resource potential and fishery units that form internal environment of the system along with a set of conditions for catching activities that make up its external environment. The study of industrial processes in a static state of the named system is a fundamental process based on consideration of its dual nature: bio-inspired dualism. Its mandatory consideration underlies formation of optimal schemes for arrangement of fishery efforts in catching zones when organizing fishery industry, planning and managing the industrial process of harvesting aquatic biological resources based on rational operation thereof, and in order to increase efficiency of catching fleet by increasing its operating time during the annual and voyage planning. The solution for optimization problem in statics in the process of modeling such industrial-process systems in their static state is aimed at optimizing fishery activities taking into account the bio-inspired dualism inherent in multi-species fisheries: catching areas. The aim of optimization is to obtain an optimal number of fishery units based on an alternative principle of using vessels of a certain type.

Quantifying the distribution of animals and identifying underlying characteristics that define suitable habitat are essential for effective conservation of free-ranging species. Prioritizing areas for conservation is important in managing a geographic extent that has a high level of disturbance and limited conservation resources. We examined the potential use of a species distribution model ensemble for multi-species conservation in marine habitats. Using satellite telemetry locations during foraging as input data, and ensemble ecological niche models, we predicted foraging areas for 2 nesting marine turtle species within the Gulf of Mexico (GoM): Kemp’s ridley Lepidochelys kempii (n = 63) and loggerhead Caretta caretta (n = 63). We considered 7 geophysical, biological, and climatic variables and compared contributing factors for each species’ foraging habitat selection. For both species, predicted suitable foraging habitats encompassed large areas along the GoM coast, but only intersected with each other in relatively small areas. Highly parameterized models resulted in overall greater fits, suggesting that multiple factors influence habitat selection by these species. Model validation results were mixed: cross-validation resulted in high prediction accuracy for both species, but an evaluation against independent data resulted in a low omission rate (5%) for Kemp’s ridleys and a high omission rate (72%) for loggerheads. The relatively small intersection of model-predicted foraging areas for these 2 species within the study area may indicate possible niche differentiations. The high omission rate for loggerheads indicates our samples likely underrepresent the population and illustrates the challenges in predicting suitable foraging extents for species that make dynamic movements and have greater individual variability.

Foraging by hyperabundant Arctic-nesting geese has significant impacts on vegetation of Arctic and subarctic coastal lowlands, but long-term data sets documenting these changes are rare. We undertook intensive surveys of plant communities at East Bay and South Bay, Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada, in July 2010. Lesser Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, Cackling Geese, and Brant nest and rear young at these sites; the first three have experienced up to 10-fold increases since the 1970s. At East Bay, we found significant declines in graminoids over the 31-year span, as well as significant declines in lichen and willow cover, and significant increases in rock cover. Transect data indicated graminoids were present at only 15%–36% of points at East Bay, whereas at South Bay, graminoids were present at 28%–90% of points. Moss was more prominent in transects at South Bay than at East Bay (40%–85% vs. 19%–42%), but quadrat data indicated much more of the moss cover at South Bay apparently was dead than at East Bay. Puccinellia phryganodes (Trin.) Scribn. & Merr. exceeded 1% in only two transects. Our data demonstrate a striking decline of preferred forage species and increases in non-forage cover, consistent with the hypothesis that changes resulted from persistent long-term foraging by the four species of breeding geese between spring arrival and late summer departure.

Tree-ring chronologies from different sites of western Himalaya have been used in this study to examine the climate variability/change over the region. The 1st principal component (PC1) which has been computed by multi species tree ring chronologies of western Himalaya is negatively correlated with heat index (HT), temperature (TM) and potential evapotranspiration (PET) but positively with the rainfall of the region during spring season. However, HT and PET showed the stronger influence on tree growth than temperature which has been used to reconstruct the spring season PET back to A.D. 1779. The extended periods of low PET have been found at ending phase of Little Ice Age (LIA) during 1827–1845. The reconstructed PET showed that the advance of the glaciers over the western Himalaya might have influence on reduction of downward shortwave radiation on the earth's surface; which may in turn cause low temperature and low PET over the region. The result indicates that longer tree ring chronologies from the western Himalaya are very useful to get valuable information on PET and glacier fluctuation during the last few centuries. The highest PET in the entire reconstruction was noticed during the year 1921 in the 20th century, which has been associated with lowest trees growth in the entire western Himalaya.

Inter-specific hunting associations can occur across a range of marine species to facilitate prey capture through co-operative behaviour. Here we describe multiple transient cross-phyla association...

Introduction The objective of this study is to show the importance of interspecies links and temporal network dynamics of a multi-species livestock movement network. Although both cattle and sheep networks have been previously studied, cattle-sheep multi-species networks have not generally been studied in-depth. The central question of this study is how the combination of cattle and sheep movements affects the potential for disease spread on the combined network. Materials and methods Our analysis considers static and temporal representations of networks based on recorded animal movements. We computed network-based node importance measures of two single-species networks, and compared the top-ranked premises with the ones in the multi-species network. We propose the use of a measure based on contact chains calculated in a network weighted with transmission probabilities to assess the importance of premises in an outbreak. To ground our investigation in infectious disease epidemiology, we compared this suggested measure with the results of disease simulation models with asymmetric probabilities of transmission between species. Results Our analysis of the temporal networks shows that the premises which are likely to drive the epidemic in this multi-species network differ from the ones in both the cattle and the sheep networks. Although sheep movements are highly seasonal, the estimated size of an epidemic is significantly larger in the multi-species network than in the cattle network, independently of the period of the year. Finally, we demonstrate that a measure based on contact chains allow us to identify around 30% of the key farms in a simulated epidemic, ignoring markets, whilst static network measures identify less than 10% of these farms. Conclusion Our results ascertain the importance of combining species networks, as well as considering layers of temporal livestock movements in detail for the study of disease spread.

While there is increasing evidence of the sustainability benefits of diversified systems in the organic cropping sector, this has been much less investigated with organic livestock farming. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed a sample of 128 European organic multi-species livestock farms located across seven countries – Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland – and covering a large range of livestock species combinations. We recorded 1574 variables as raw data out of which we calculated 107 indicators describing farm structure, management and several sustainability dimensions: resource use efficiency and conservation, animal, land and work productivities, animal and human welfare. After technical validation of the data, we withdrew 26 farms and the database covers 102 farms. This database is well suited to unveil relationships between various dimensions of organic multi-species livestock farm sustainability and their structure and management. It can help reveal sustainable strategies for organic multi-species livestock farming systems and understand levers or barriers to their development.

We use the General Equilibrium Ecosystem Model (GEEM) parameterized to Wyoming sagebrush to explore the impact of two common simplifications in bio-economic policy frameworks on species conservation decisions. First, we compare conservation policies based on 2-species food web models to those based on a more complex food web. We find that using the simpler model can miss opportunities for more conservation benefits in the presence of species interactions. Second, we define the impact of species dispersal costs on population distributions in a heterogenous landscape and explore conservation policies to reduce those costs to enable species to move away from disturbed areas. Conservation actions that reduce dispersal costs for all species reflect species interactions and thresholds that determine which species disperse.

The aim of the present study is to investigate themes related to visitors’ perceptions of captive wildlife in particular, attitudes towards non-human primates (henceforth, primates). This research took place in free-roaming, multi-species primate sanctuary, Monkeyland (South Africa), where 400 visitors were interviewed using an anonymous survey both before and after attending a guided tour. The answers were divided into different categories, in order to standardize the motivations behind tourists’ choices. The results of the survey demonstrated that most visitors agree that a primate would not be a good companion animal. Visitors’ desire to touch primates was found to be positively correlated with desire for companion primates and inversely associated with visitor age. In response to: “would you like to touch a monkey?”, the majority of tourists who expressed this desire seemed aware that such interactions are not appropriate, with concern for animal welfare and human health. Of the various primate species present in the sanctuary, visitors preferred the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) and, generally speaking, expressed appreciation for primates’ “cuteness”. Our results indicate a general awareness by the visitors on the importance of animal welfare in the human interactions with captive wildlife, in agreement with the “hands-off” policy of Monkeyland primate sanctuary. We discuss the findings from a general to zooanthropological point of view, proposing some reflections on the attitudes of visitors toward non-human primates.

Grazing in small-scale dairy systems reduces costs and enhances sustainability. However, binary pastures (BP) have low persistency, which may be increased by including more species given their flexibility to withstand different agroecological and management situations. The objective was to assess a multi-species (MS) pasture of perennial ryegrass (RG), tall fescue (TF), bromegrass (BG), red clover (RC) and white clover (WC) in comparison to a BP of perennial ryegrass (RG) - WC grazed by six Holstein dairy cows during the dry season in an on-farm double cross-over experiment, with three 14-day each experimental periods for animal variables, and a split-plot design for pasture variables at 3 cow/ha. There were differences (P 0.05) between pastures for sward height (MS 5.0 vs. BP 4.0 ± 0.10 cm, both MS and BP) and net herbage accumulation (MS 902 vs BP 228 ± 172.4 kg DM/ha, both MS and BP) and differences (P 0.05) for chemical composition among periods. There were differences (P 0.01) among periods for estimated DM intake, but no differences (P 0.05) for milk yield (mean 16.8 kg/cow/day), milk fat or protein content (mean 31.8 and 28.8 g/kg). Multi-species pastures are a viable alternative for SSDS in the highlands of central Mexico, being more resistant to harsh environment and to weed and kikuyu grass invasion.

The neritic environment is rich in resources and as such plays a crucial role as foraging habitat for multi-species marine assemblages, including sea turtles. However, this habitat also experiences a wide array of anthropogenic threats. To prioritize conservation funds, targeting areas that support multi-species assemblages is ideal. This is particularly important in the Gulf of Mexico where restoration actions are currently ongoing following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. To better understand these areas in the Gulf of Mexico, we characterized two multi-species aggregations of sea turtles captured in different neritic habitats. We described species composition and size classes of turtles, and calculated body condition index for 642 individuals of three species captured from 2011 to 2019: 13.6% loggerheads (Caretta caretta), 44.9% Kemp’s ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii) and 41.4% green turtles (Chelonia mydas). Species composition differed between the two sites with more loggerheads captured in seagrass and a greater proportion of green turtles captured in sand bottom. Turtles in sand bottom were smaller and weighed less than those captured in seagrass. Although small and large turtles were captured at both sites, the proportions differed between sites. Body condition index of green turtles was lower in sand habitat than seagrass habitat; there was no difference for Kemp’s ridleys or loggerheads. In general, smaller green turtles had a higher body condition index than larger green turtles. We have identified another habitat type used by juvenile sea turtle species in the northern Gulf of Mexico. In addition, we highlight the importance of habitat selection by immature turtles recruiting from the oceanic to the neritic environment, particularly for green turtles.

A wide knowledge base regarding the ecological preferences of benthic macroinvertebrates is synthesized in public databases. This knowledge can assist in disentangling the influence of mult...

Prolonged and repetitive COVID-19 facility closures have led to an abrupt cessation of visitors within UK and Irish zoos for variable periods since March 2020. This study sought to increase understanding of the impact of closures and reopenings on animal behaviour, thereby broadening understanding of whether zoo animals habituate to visitors. Data were collected from June to August 2020 at two UK facilities on eight species (n = 1 Chinese goral, n = 2 Grevy’s zebra, n = 11 swamp wallaby, n = 2 Rothschild’s giraffe, n = 2 nyala, n = 4 Chapman’s zebra, n = 2 snow leopard and n = 3 Amur leopard). Behaviour change and enclosure use was variable across species but most changes were non-significant. Grevy’s zebra engaged in more comfort behaviour during closure periods than post-closure (p &lt, 0.05). Chinese goral engaged in more environmental interactions during closure periods (p &lt, 0.05). Grevy’s zebra spent longer than would be expected by chance closest to public viewing areas during closure periods (p &lt, 0.008). These results suggest variable impacts of covid-19 closures and reopenings, mirroring human-animal interaction literature. We highlight the potential for some species to take longer to re-habituate to the presence of zoo visitors. As facility closures/reopenings are ongoing, we advocate a longitudinal monitoring approach. Furthermore, we recommend incorporation of physical and physiological measures of welfare where possible, alongside behavioural responses, to enable a holistic approach to answering fundamental questions on whether zoo animals habituate to visitors.

Coral diseases contribute to the decline of reef communities, but factors that lead to disease are difficult to detect. In the present study, we develop a multi-species model of colony-scale risk for the class of coral diseases referred to as White Syndromes, investigating the role of current or past conditions, including both environmental stressors and biological drivers at the colony and community scales. Investigating 7 years of coral survey data at five sites in Guam we identify multiple environmental and ecological associations with White Syndrome, including a negative relationship between short-term heat stress and White Syndrome occurrence, and strong evidence of increasing size-dependent White Syndrome risk across coral species. Our findings result in a generalized model used to predict colony-scale White Syndrome risk for multiple species, highlighting the value of long-term monitoring efforts to detect drivers of coral disease.

Almost every ecosystem on this planet is teeming with microbial communities made of diverse bacterial species. At a reductionist view, many of these bacteria form pairwise interactions, but, as the field of view expands, the neighboring organisms and the abiotic environment can play a crucial role in shaping the interactions between species. Over the years, a strong foundation of knowledge has been built on isolated pairwise interactions between bacteria, but now the field is advancing toward understanding how cohabitating bacteria and natural surroundings affect these interactions. Use of bottom-up approaches, piecing communities together, and top-down approaches that deconstruct communities are providing insight on how different species interact. In this review, we highlight how studies are incorporating more complex communities, mimicking the natural environment, and recurring findings such as the importance of cooperation for stability in harsh environments and the impact of bacteria-induced environmental pH shifts. Additionally, we will discuss how omics are being used as a top-down approach to identify previously unknown interspecies bacterial interactions and the challenges of these types of studies for microbial ecology.

Author(s): Matica, Zoltan | Abstract: This review serves as a guide to improve multi-species fish passage. Human development along waterways in California during the last 160 years has adversely affected fish populations in many watersheds. Conflicts in water usage will only intensify with modern developments and population growth. Since most past fish-passage improvement efforts in California have focused on salmonids, I summarize the published studies and considerations that affect multi-species fish passage. To be effective, conditions in fishways need to meet the specific hydraulic requirements, as well as abilities, behavior, and size consideration for all fish species being considered. Turbulence, water depth, velocity, passage location, and design of a passage facility are essential elements to successful fish passage. Because of a lack of research on most of the native species, species-specific passage criteria are not fully defined, and it may be helpful to use data for physically similar, surrogate species found in similar habitats.

Recent technological and methodological advances have revolutionized wildlife monitoring. Although most biodiversity monitoring initiatives are geared towards focal species of conservation concern, researchers are increasingly studying entire communities, specifically the spatiotemporal drivers of community size and structure and interactions among species. This has resulted in the emergence of multi-species occupancy models (MSOMs) as a promising and efficient approach for the study of community ecology. Given the potential of MSOMs for conservation and management action, it is critical to know whether study design and model assumptions are consistent with inference objectives. This is especially true for studies that are designed for a focal species but can give insights about a community. Here, we review the recent literature on MSOMs, identify areas of improvement in the multi-species study workflow, and provide a reference model for best practices for focal species and community monitoring study design. We reviewed 92 studies published between 2009 and early 2018, spanning 27 countries and a variety of taxa. There is a consistent under-reporting of details that are central to determining the adequacy of designs for generating data that can be used to make inferences about community-level patterns of occupancy, including the spatial and temporal extent, types of detectors used, covariates considered, and choice of field methods and statistical tools. This reporting bias could consequently result in skewed estimates, affecting conservation actions and management plans. On the other hand, comprehensive reporting is likely to help researchers working on MSOMs assess the robustness of inferences, in addition to making strides in terms of reproducibility and reusability of data. We use our literature review to inform a roadmap with best practices for MSOM studies, from simulations to design considerations and reporting, for the collection of new data as well as those involving existing datasets.

Organic farming is more environmentally friendly than conventional agriculture, promoting greater levels of habitat heterogeneity. Field borders could be more suitable for biodiversity in agricultural anthromes. Small mammals are crucial in these anthromes due to their contribution to food webs and seed consumption. We used hierarchical multi-season occupancy models to assess the effect of organic versus conventional farming on multiple small mammal species in agricultural anthromes of central Argentina. We modelled detectability and increased precision of estimates, overcoming deficiencies of previous studies. Small mammals were seasonally surveyed in 70 field borders (conventional) and 63 (organic) during two years. We were able to include less frequent specialist species, detecting a positive relationship with organic management possibly because of higher habitat quality of borders. Vegetation volume was the most important explanatory variable in both managements. Species' richness was greater under organic management mainly in spring when the habitat quality differences with conventional management were the greatest. Spring is key for the rodent assemblage because of the beginning of reproductive period, when resource demand is important. We suggest that maintaining high quality border habitats, as those supported by organic management, could allow farmers to obtain economic profit while also contributing to biodiversity conservation. Considering the positive role that native rodents may have in some agricultural anthromes, the maintenance of high population numbers may be important for biodiversity conservation. The approach used in this study shows the importance of modelling imperfect detection, reducing bias in parameter estimates, and it should be implemented in similar studies. Fil: Gomez, Maria Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina Fil: Goijman, Andrea Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Coda, José Antoni. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Serafini, Vanesa Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina Fil: Priotto, Jose Waldemar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina

Neolithic tells are traditionally considered synonymous to prolonged and persistent human activity. In this paper, micro-contextual examination of dung-related evidence at the Neolithic tell of Koutroulou Magoula, central Greece challenges this anthropocentric view. Thin section analysis demonstrates the abundance of dung indicators – including faecal spherulites, phytoliths, phosphatic impregnative features, and microlaminated fabrics – within a range of deposits and contexts across the site; such evidence was observed in built and unbuilt spaces, and enabled identification of possible penning areas and documentation of the use of dung as fuel source. Targeted archaeobotanical and phytolith analyses of dung-rich deposits point to diverse animal feeding practices and joint human-animal engagement with a range of ecological resources. Based on this integrated evidence which illustrates the significance of animals in co-creating and sharing living environments with humans at Koutroulou Magoula, we argue for the value of a multi-species perspective in Neolithic research.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is an increasingly popular method for rapid biodiversity assessment. As with any ecological survey, false negatives can arise during sampling and, if unaccounted for, lead to biased results and potentially misdiagnosed environmental assessments. We developed a multi-scale, multi-species occupancy model for the analysis of community biodiversity data resulting from eDNA metabarcoding; this model accounts for imperfect detection and additional sources of environmental and experimental variation. We present methods for model assessment and model comparison and demonstrate how these tools improve the inferential power of eDNA metabarcoding data using a case study in a coastal, marine environment. Using occupancy models to account for factors often overlooked in the analysis of eDNA metabarcoding data will dramatically improve ecological inference, sampling design, and methodologies, empowering practitioners with an approach to wield the high-resolution biodiversity data of next-generation sequencing platforms.

Artisanal fisheries are characterized by using a vast array of different fishing gears and target species. Such heterogeneity has traditionally complicated their management and the availability of accurate data on fishing effort and incomes. This study identifies and characterizes the metiers currently used by an artisanal fishing fleet based in a coastal Atlantic region in South-Europe (Asturias, Northwest Spain), by applying an integrated method of analysis which combines administrative data on fishing licenses, daily sales statistics and information from surveys. As a result, 21 artisanal fishing metiers have been identified, with special relevance of the trammel net (targeting Lophius spp.), the Merluccius longline and the Merluccius gillnet metiers. Spatio-temporal patterns of fishing effort have been also described, and outputs and inputs demands per metier have been quantified. It has been also found a high degree of alternation between different metiers during the fishing season and significant differences in terms of technical aspects and workforce. Finally, fishermen’s short- and long-term strategies (metier choice) are discussed, different comparisons are made on the basis of other South-European studies and main findings are linked to artisanal fisheries management.

In aerial wildlife counts, human observers often fail to detect animals. We conducted a multi-species sample-count in Tsavo National Park, Kenya, with traditional rear-seat-observers (RSOs) and an automated ‘oblique-camera-count’ (OCC) imaging system to compare estimates of 23 wildlife species derived from these two survey methods. An aerial Total Count of elephant, buffalo and giraffe, conducted a month previously, provided a further comparison. In the Tsavo Core (9560 km2), which harbours 80% of Tsavo’s elephants, the OCC system acquired 81 000 images for interpretation, of which 67 000 were obtained in parallel with RSO-counting along 3004 km of flight line. The Tsavo outer blocks (24 171 km2) were surveyed using the OCC system without RSOs to acquire a further 84 000 images. A random sample of 11 553 images were re-interpreted to derive species-specific probabilities of detection and correction factors. Using ‘Jolly II’, non-parametric and Bayesian analyses, and applying correction factors, we demonstrate that the RSOs did not detect 14% of elephants, 60% of giraffe, 48% of zebra and 66% of the large antelopes. For comparison, the Total Count observers did not detect 27% of elephant, 33% of buffalo, 57% of giraffe and 85% of carcasses. The OCC method raises the elephant population estimate to 16 681 ± 4047 (95% cl) from the 12 722 counted in the Total Count (Z = 1.917, p = .0276). These results suggest that RSO-based methods have significantly undercounted wildlife populations. To align with improved counting methods, previous results need to be re-calibrated.

Social network analysis is an invaluable tool to understand the patterns, evolution, and consequences of sociality. Comparative studies over a range of social systems across multiple taxonomic groups are particularly valuable. Such studies however require quantitative social association or interaction data across multiple species which is not easily available. We introduce the Animal Social Network Repository (ASNR) as the first multi-taxonomic repository that collates 790 social networks from more than 45 species, including those of mammals, reptiles, fish, birds, and insects. The repository was created by consolidating social network datasets from the literature on wild and captive animals into a consistent and easy-to-use network data format. The repository is archived at https://bansallab.github.io/asnr/. ASNR has tremendous research potential, including testing hypotheses in the fields of animal ecology, social behavior, epidemiology and evolutionary biology., Design Type(s)species comparison design • network analysis objective • data integration objectiveMeasurement Type(s)social interaction measurementTechnology Type(s)digital curationFactor Type(s)Taxon • experimental condition • geographic locationSample Characteristic(s)Gasterosteus aculeatus • Poecilia reticulata • Hirundo rustica • Branta leucopsis • Gallus gallus • Haemorhous mexicanus • Zonotrichia atricapilla • Acanthiza • Philetairus socius • Aves • Camponotus fellah • Camponotus pennsylvanicus • Bolitotherus cornutus • Elephas maximus • Papio cynocephalus • Desmodus rotundus • Myotis sodalis • Bison bison • Bos taurus • Tursiops truncatus • Mirounga angustirostris • Crocuta crocuta • Macropus giganteus • Trichosurus cunninghami • Ateles geoffroyi • Macaca fuscata • Macaca mulatta • Macaca radiata • Macaca tonkeana • Pan paniscus • Pan troglodytes • Papio papio • Saguinus fuscicollis • Saguinus mystax • Trachypithecus johnii • Alouatta guariba • Brachyteles arachnoides • Sapajus apella • Cercopithecus campbelli • Colobus guereza • Erythrocebus patas • Macaca arctoides • Macaca assamensis • Procyon lotor • Ovis canadensis • Ateles hybridus • Microtus agrestis • Equus • Gopherus agassizii • Tiliqua rugosa Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)

vi GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Dissertation organization 3 Objectives 3 Description of the study site 4 References 6 LITERATURE REVIEW 8 General background 8 Effectiveness of sediment and nutrient trapping in buffers 11 References 18 NUTRIENT AND SEDIMENT REMOVAL BY SWITCHGRASS AND COOLSEASON GR.A.SS FILTERS IN CENTRAL IOWA. USA 24 Abstract 24 Introduction 25 Materials and Methods 27 Results and Discussion 30 Conclusions 34 References 35

In the original publication, the acknowledgment was published incorrectly. The correct version is given below.

Moist, high-altitude grasslands of eastern South African harbour rich avian diversity and endemism. This area is also threatened by increasingly intensive agriculture and land conversion for energy production. This conflict is particularly evident at Ingula, an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area located within the least conserved high-altitude grasslands and which is also the site of a new Pumped Storage Scheme. The new management seeks to maximise biodiversity through manipulation of the key habitat variables: grass height and grass cover through burning and grazing to make habitat suitable for birds. However, different species have individual habitat preferences, which further vary through the season. We used a dynamic multi-species occupancy model to examine the seasonal occupancy dynamics of 12 common grassland bird species and their habitat preferences. We estimated monthly occupancy, colonisation and persistence in relation to grass height and grass cover throughout the summer breeding season of 2011/12. For majority of these species, at the beginning of the season occupancy increased with increasing grass height and decreased with increasing grass cover. Persistence and colonisation decreased with increasing grass height and cover. However, the 12 species varied considerably in their responses to grass height and cover. Our results suggest that management should aim to provide plots which vary in grass height and cover to maximise bird diversity. We also conclude that the decreasing occupancy with increasing grass cover and low colonisation with increasing grass height and cover is a results of little grazing on our study site. We further conclude some of the 12 selected species are good indicators of habitat suitability more generally because they represent a range of habitat needs and are relatively easy to monitor.

The physical and chemical structure and the spatial evolution of volcanic plumes are of great interest since they influence the Earth’s atmospheric composition and the climate. Equally important is the monitoring of the abundance and emission patterns of volcanic gases, which gives insight into processes in the Earth’s interior that are difficult to access otherwise. Here, we review spectroscopic approaches (from ultra-violet to thermal infra-red) to determine multi-species emissions and to quantify gas fluxes. Particular attention is given to the emerging field of plume imaging and quantitative image interpretation. Here UV SO2 cameras paved the way but several other promising techniques are under study and development. We also give a brief summary of a series of initial applications of fast imaging techniques for volcanological research.

We undertake a multi-species comparison to investigate prehistoric human-animal interactions and changing environmental conditions, both natural and anthropogenic in origin. The differing vantage points offered by domesticated pigs (Sus scrofa) and dogs (Canis familiaris), and their human managers are considered. Initially, a framework for multi-species comparisons is developed, taking into account species-specific life histories, and aimed at understanding intra- and inter-species patterns of dental pathologies. Using a case study from the Marquesas Islands, we examine the frequency, distribution, and severity of dental calculus, caries, and enamel hypoplasia across these three species to identify changes in diet and non-specific stressors. We specifically assess the hypothesis that anthropogenic impacts on local environments over a ca. 600-year period of human occupation, combined with deteriorating climate conditions in late prehistory, led to a worsening of conditions for all three species. Re...