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On the Ground • Multi-jurisdictional rangeland “mega-fires” are becoming more common. • Using interview data, we examined cross-boundary collaboration after the Soda Fire that burned approximately 113,312 ha (280,000 acres) of southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon. • We found relationships established in other management contexts were activated by individuals within agencies to share funding and resources to rehabilitate the landscape after the Soda Fire. • The fire's spatial proximity to Boise, Idaho, and temporal proximity to important federal policy decisions were primary collaboration drivers. • Barriers to collaborative efforts still exist; however, interviewees highlighted the importance of individual agency (bottom-up) changes in lessening top-down constraints.

Dans le présent article, les autrices examinent l’absence des femmes autochtones dans les régimes de gestion participative des ressources naturelles au Canada. Les autrices considèrent la pertinence juridique et politique des récits autochtones comme une source de savoir et comme une méthode pour traiter de l’actuelle absence de participation des femmes autochtones. La gestion participative est l’instrument règlementaire dominant sur lequel s’appuient les gouvernements provinciaux et territoriaux pour gérer les ressources naturelles de concert avec les peuples autochtones. Cependant, les recherches féministes autochtones ont soulevé de sérieuses questions sur l’exclusion des femmes autochtones de la gestion publique et privée, les paramètres de leur exclusion et les conditions de rectification de cette situation. Les autrices se fondent sur les recherches féministes autochtones et sur la gestion de l’eau pour dégager trois principes d’utilisation du récit à des fins participatives : (1) les récits favorisent l’échange et le dialogue ; (2) les récits revitalisent la responsabilité des femmes de s’engager dans la gestion ; (3) les récits pluralisent les normes de gestion des ressources. En s’appuyant sur ces trois principes, les autrices formulent des recommandations politiques visant à créer un espace règlementaire permettant d’inclure le savoir, les responsabilités et les capacités des femmes autochtones à l’égard des ressources naturelles. In this article, the authors explore the absence of Indigenous women in participatory natural resource governance regimes in Canada. The authors consider the legal and political relevance of Indigenous stories as a source of knowledge and as a method to address the participation gap currently experienced by Indigenous women. Participatory governance is the dominant regulatory arrangement relied upon by provincial and territorial governments to manage natural resources in concert with Indigenous peoples. However, Indigenous feminist scholarship has raised serious questions about the exclusion of Indigenous women from public and private governance, the method of their exclusion, and the conditions for rectification. The authors draw on Indigenous feminist and water governance scholarship to generate three principles of storying for the purposes of participation: (1) stories facilitate exchange and dialogue; (2) stories revitalize women’s responsibility to engage in governance; and (3) stories pluralize the norms of resource governance. Relying upon these three principles, the authors put forward policy recommendations with the aim of creating the regulatory space to include Indigenous women’s knowledge, responsibilities, and capabilities with respect to natural resources.

Competition is a driving factor in shaping ecological communities and may act directly or indirectly through apparent competition. We examined a classic example of parasite-mediated competition between northern (Glaucomys sabrinus) and southern flying squirrels (G. volans) via the intestinal nematode, Strongyloides robustus, and tested whether it could act as a species barrier in a flying squirrel hybrid zone. We live-trapped flying squirrels (G. sabrinus and G. volans), grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis), red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), and chipmunks (Tamias striatus) from June–September 2019 at 30 woodlots in Ontario, Canada. Fecal samples from squirrels were collected and analyzed for the presence of endoparasite eggs. For each individual, we calculated Scaled Mass Index (SMI) as a measure of body condition to assess the effect of S. robustus on squirrels. We found eggs of S. robustus in all species except chipmunks. Infection with S. robustus did not appear to affect body condition of southern flying squirrels and grey squirrels, but we did find a weak negative effect on northern flying squirrels and red squirrels. Despite a weak asymmetric effect of S. robustus on flying squirrels, we did not find any evidence that parasite-mediated competition could lead to competitive exclusion from woodlots. Furthermore, S. robustus eggs were common in feces of the red squirrel, a species largely sympatric with northern flying squirrel., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • Strongyloides robustus was detected in 4 squirrel species. • The highest prevalence of S. robustus was found in red squirrels and northern flying squirrels. • Body condition was lowest in red squirrels and northern flying squirrels infected with S. robustus. • No evidence of parasite-mediated competition between sympatric flying squirrels leading to competitive exclusion.

For Inuit in the subarctic transition zone of northeastern Canada, an intimate knowledge of the environment and local biodiversity is crucial for successful traditional activities. This study examines what kinds of landscape features and habitats Inuit of Nunatsiavut recognize and name. During interviews, community members (mostly Elders) were shown photographs from the region and were asked to describe and name salient types of places in Labrador Inuttitut. The most frequently reported geographical units dealt with the region’s topography (e.g., mountain, island, flat-place), hydrology (e.g., river, bay), and superficial characteristics (e.g., bedrock, permanent snow patch). Ecological considerations were also prominent, such as plant associations and animal habitats (e.g., shrubby-place, wetland, caribou-return-to-place). Areas were often characterized by a dominant species or substrate type, being named using the plural form of the species and (or)substrate (e.g., “napâttuk” meaning ‘tree’ and “napâttuit” meaning ‘forest’ or “siugak” meaning ‘sand’ and “siugalak” meaning ‘sandy-area’). Some types of places reported by Inuit were significant mainly for traditional activities (e.g., berry-patch, seal-place, dry-wood-place, danger-place), aiding navigation and resource finding. Integrating Inuit conceptions of ecosystems and their component landscape units with those of contemporary science can improve our understanding of subarctic ecology, benefit climate change adaptation strategies, and Inuit language as well as culture conservation initiatives.

On the Ground • Adaptive management should explicitly involve stakeholders, emphasize multiple iterations of identifying and prioritizing outcomes, and tightly link science-informed monitoring to decision-making benchmarks for effective feedback loops. • Short-term monitoring procedures should be simple, quick, and based on consistent methods that are focused on locations where meaningful change is expected or uncertainty is high. • Long-term monitoring procedures should emphasize consistent methodology across years that provides broader ecosystem context for multiple ecosystem services (e.g., watershed protection and grassland bird habitat). • Incorporating timely feedback from monitoring improves the capacity for rapid decision-making when benchmarks are attained and management should be modified.

The coevolution of predators and prey has been the subject of much empirical and theoretical research that produced intriguing insights into the interplay of ecology and evolution. To allow for mathematical analysis, models of predator–prey coevolution are often coarse-grained, focussing on population-level processes and largely neglecting individual-level behaviour. As selection is acting on individual-level properties, we here present a more mechanistic approach: an individual-based simulation model for the coevolution of predators and prey on a fine-grained resource landscape, where features relevant for ecology (like changes in local densities) and evolution (like differences in survival and reproduction) emerge naturally from interactions between individuals. Our focus is on predator–prey movement behaviour, and we present a new method for implementing evolving movement strategies in an efficient and intuitively appealing manner. Throughout their lifetime, predators and prey make repeated movement decisions on the basis of their movement strategies. Over the generations, the movement strategies evolve, as individuals that successfully survive and reproduce leave their strategy to more descendants. We show that the movement strategies in our model evolve rapidly, thereby inducing characteristic spatial patterns like spiral waves and static spots. Transitions between these patterns occur frequently, induced by antagonistic coevolution rather than by external events. Regularly, evolution leads to the emergence and stable coexistence of qualitatively different movement strategies within the same population. Although the strategy space of our model is continuous, we often observe the evolution of discrete movement types. We argue that rapid evolution, coexistent movement types, and phase shifts between different ecological regimes are not a peculiarity of our model but a result of more realistic assumptions on eco-evolutionary feedbacks and the number of evolutionary degrees of freedom.

Кадмій — важкий метал, віднесений до другого класу небезпечності, має виражену тенденцію до накопичення в організмі. Отруєння кадмієм відбувається при потраплянні його в шлунок або інгаляційним шляхом. Абсорбований кадмій накопичується в печінці та нирках у вигляді комплексу з металотіонеїном. В еритроцитах і м’яких тканинах кадмій зв’язується з α2-макроглобуліном та альбуміном. Кадмій зв’язується із сульфгідрильними групами білків, що веде до їх денатурації і до інактивації ферментів; пригнічується діяльність мітохондрій, підвищується вільнорадикальне окислення в клітинах. Концентрацію кадмію в нирках можна оцінити, досліджуючи нейтронно­активаційним методом отриманий субстрат сечі. Вплив кадмію на організм людини має місце на виробництві гальванічних елементів, при плавці металів, заняттях фотографією, у виробництві акумуляторів і батарейок, виготовленні добрив, цигарок, рентгенівських екранів, кінескопів, в автомобільній та літакобудівній промисловості. У зварників, паяльщиків і ювелірів, які працюють із кадмієвими сплавами, підвищений ризик гострого отруєння парами окису кадмію. Клініка гострого отруєння характеризується головним болем, запамороченням, нудотою, блідістю, епігастральним болем, солодким присмаком у роті. Приєднуються явища гострого трахеобронхіту й поширеного бронхіоліту з нападами болісного судомного кашлю з мокротинням, сильною задишкою і ціанозом. Можлива токсична бронхопневмонія і набряк легенів і смерть від них на 3–5-й день. Хронічне отруєння характеризується зниженням і втратою нюху, кадмієвим паркінсонізмом, кадмієвою облямівкою, астеновегетативним, астеноневротичним, неврастенічним, гіпоталамічним синдромами із вегетативними порушеннями. При подальшому розвитку інтоксикації з’являються носові кровотечі, виразки і перфорації носової перегородки, хронічні обструктивні захворювання легень із розвитком прогресуючого пневмосклерозу й емфіземи легень, шлунково-кишкові розлади, ураження печінки, гіпохромна анемія або компенсаторний еритроцитоз, збільшення ШОЕ до 70 мм/год, остеомаляція. Невідкладна допомога полягає у відновленні прохідності дихальних шляхів, підтриманні дихання і кровообігу, промиванні шлунково-кишкового тракту, рекомендований пероральний прийом сірководневої води 50–100 мл. Для промивання шлунка застосовують 200 мл сірководневої води на 800 мл води або 5% розчин унітіолу (до 15 мл на склянку теплої води), британський антилюїзит по 1 мл в/м 4–6 разів 3–4 дні. У разі хвороби ітай-ітай доцільно вводити великі дози вітаміну D при вживанні адекватної кількості кальцію та фосфору. Гранично допустима концентрація окису кадмію в повітрі робочих приміщень становить 0,1 мг/м3. Усі особи, які контактують із кадмієм, повинні проходити періодичні медичні огляди 1 раз на рік. При початковій стадії хронічного отруєння сполуками кадмію встановлюється тимчасова часткова втрата працездатності. При виражених стадіях — стійка часткова або повна втрата працездатності із встановленням відповідної групи інвалідності.

Producción Científica, En este artículo se realiza un estudio de los conflictos campesinos e indígenas (mapuches) que tuvieron lugar en la provincia de Cautín (Chile) durante el ciclo de conflictividad social que vivió el país entre 1967 y 1973. El objetivo es revisar las tradicionales visiones que han prevalecido sobre el tema en la historiografía chilena, basadas en perspectivas monolíticas del conflicto rural. A través de documentación archivística y periodística del ámbito regional se analizan las diversas manifestaciones de dicho conflicto, desde las tradicionales expresiones de rebeldía campesina (cuatrerismo) hasta las modernas formas de movilización colectiva (sindicalismo campesino). Con ello se podrán observar la diversidad, complejidad y heterogeneidad de dichos conflictos y sus protagonistas., Proyecto de investigación postdoctoral FONDECYT nº 3130314, titulado “Protesta social y cultura indígena en las comunidades rurales chilenas: La Araucanía entre 1967 y 1973”.

What connects the sci-fi book Dune with coastal dunes and geoengineering? The answer lies in humans and their world-making activities. This paper proposes an innovative approach to coastal dunes as hybrid environments by analyzing the dunes stabilization programs developed on the US Pacific Coast. It looks into the shifting sands of the Oregon coast and how they influenced Frank Herbert to write his novel, why local communities and federal authorities were interested in fixing the moving dunes and how these works ended up having unexpected consequences. It explores how human features acting as forcing mechanisms on beach-dune systems caused changes that turned into controlling influences in their own right, creating new environments and concerns. The paper ends with a reflection on how fiction and the history of dunes can be used to critically think about the anthropocentric hubris of building futures by geoengineering the planet for environmental repair.

Sacred groves have significance in socio-culture and biodiversity conservation. This study evaluated local people's perceptions regarding conservation of sacred groves for water services, through willingness-to-pay (WTP), willingness-to-accept (WTA) and willingness-to-labour-work (DLP). Data were collected through a pre-tested questionnaire from 107 randomly selected households in 18 villages of Uttarakhand. The villages were categorised into 3 classes (core, nearby, faraway) based on proximity to the forests. The contingent-valuation method was used to evaluate WTP [Rs 3,802 (≈$57)] and WTA [Rs 38,224 (≈$571)] for water as an ecosystem service and statistical analyses were performed to evaluate whether factors such as gender, age, household income and location explained differences in the parameters. It was found that gender had a significant impact on WTP, with women having higher WTP, and that location had significant impact on WTA. The result shows that WTA increased with increasing distance from the sacred groves (Rs 43,077 ± 21,139 in faraway villages and Rs 35,323 ± 10,483 in core villages). The results indicated that consideration of gender inequality and education status in villages should be included in planning and decision making about participatory forest management of sacred groves. These findings facilitate forest resource management in mountains and provide guidance for programmes and policies dealing with irrigation, drinking water and community development. HIGHLIGHTS Sacred groves have a role in biodiversity conservation.; Gender has a role in WTP, women especially are more willing to pay for conservation.; Distance from sacred grove has an important role in WTA.; In planning and decision making about participatory forest management of sacred groves, gender equality and status of education should be considered.; Identification of this aspect will facilitate forest resource management in mountains.

To better account for how social–ecological legacies of social and ecological systems jointly shape the current composition, the quality and quantity of nature’s contribution to people (NCPs), we integrate the concept of NCP co-production into social–ecological system thinking. Our expanded framework highlights how NCP co-production is frequently entangled within its social–ecological context, such as legacies, current resources and social activities. Additionally, we underline the relevance of non-material and material dimensions of resources in NCP co-production. To illustrate the potential of this expanded framework, we explore its application to an agricultural system of the French Northern Alps. We conclude that this framework (1) facilitates the understanding of society–ecosystem interactions in a specific regional social–ecological context; (2) helps to better conceptualise the interdependencies between resources and social activities; (3) demonstrates how current rule sets to organise social–ecological legacies affect the entire NCP co-production chain. The framework’s further implementation requires more research to better understand the complex interlinkages between the social and the ecological subsystems that underpin socioeconomic activities.

International audience; Aim: Species introductions have reshaped island faunas for the last 200 years, often threatening native biodiversity. Approximately equal numbers of native and alien species currently co-occur in the New Zealand avifauna, but they show distinct habitat use. Antagonistic interactions, habitat affinities and legacies of introduction history may concur to explain their segregation along habitat gradients. To investigate these processes, we explored how habitat, ecological traits and introduction history relate with the current composition of bird assemblages.Location New Zealand, Taxon BirdsMethods: We analysed 917 bird point counts spread along habitat and elevation gradients in the Canterbury region, South Island and related 10 ecological traits to landscape composition using a three-table ordination method known as “RLQ analysis”, accounting for spatial autocorrelation and phylogeny. We tested whether alien species’ positions in the RLQ were related to proxies of introduction history.Results: Eighteen endemic, 11 native and 19 alien species were distributed along a gradient from forest to open-habitat assemblages, in relation to foraging mode, nesting site and body size. A second gradient segregated species between native and exotic forests according to territoriality, sedentarity and diet. Traits accounted for the separation of native and alien bird species in forests, but not in open habitats. Phylogenetic signals emerged from the separation of native and alien species by forest type, and spatial structures suggested a landscape-level, rather than regional or local determinism. These correlations were independent of introduction history, although open-habitat assemblages tended to host alien species introduced later in time.Main conclusions: Habitat type and resource availability explain the spatial partitioning of New Zealand bird assemblages between native and alien species more consistently than competitive exclusion. We conclude that trait-mediated ecological differences among species have likely played a predominant role in species’ segregation among landscapes, while maintaining endemic bird assemblages in native forests.

Although the role played by phylogeny in the assembly of plant communities remains as a priority to complete the theory of species coexistence, experimental evidence is lacking. It is still unclear to what extent phylogenetic diversity is a driver or a consequence of species assembly processes. We experimentally explored how phylogenetic diversity can drive the community level responses to drought conditions in annual plant communities. We manipulated the initial phylogenetic diversity of the assemblages and the water availability in a common garden experiment with two irrigation treatments: average natural rainfall and drought, formed with annual plant species of gypsum ecosystems of Central Spain. We recorded plant survival and the numbers of flowering and fruiting plants per species in each assemblage. GLMMs were performed for the proportion of surviving, flowering, fruiting plants per species and for total proportion of surviving species and plants per pot. In water limited conditions, high phylogenetic diversity favored species coexistence over time with higher plant survival and more flowering and fruiting plants per species and more species and plants surviving per pot. Our results agree with the existence of niche complementarity and the convergence of water economy strategies as major mechanisms for promoting species coexistence in plant assemblages in semiarid Mediterranean habitats. Our findings point to high phylogenetic diversity among neighboring plants as a plausible feature underpinning the coexistence of species, because the success of each species in terms of surviving and producing offspring in drought conditions was greater when the initial phylogenetic diversity was higher. Our study is a step forward to understand how phylogenetic relatedness is connected to the mechanisms determining the maintenance of biodiversity.

International audience; Life history traits are adaptations to specific environmental conditions, but are also phylogenetically constrained. We studied life history traits of free-living bush Karoo rats (Otomys unisulcatus) that are endemic to the semi-arid regions of South Africa. They show behavioural, rather than physiological, adaptations to arid environments, which might affect life history traits compared to their mesophyllic otomyine relatives. We studied the reproduction and lifespan of bush Karoo rats over two and a half years. Mean litter size was 1.7, and was not dependent on the month of birth. Males were larger and had higher disappearance rates than females. Age and mass at reproductive maturity did not differ between the sexes. Individuals born earlier (May-July) in the breeding season reached reproductive maturity in the year of their birth whereas those born later (August-November) reached maturity in the following year. Mass at maturity was dependent on timing of birth; individuals born earlier were lighter than those born later. Growth rate of all males was double that of all females, and male post-weaning growth rates were greater than that of females, but not affected by the timing of birth. Lifespan, which was shorter in males than females, was not dependent on timing of birth. Compared to other members of the tribe Otomyini, bush Karoo rats had a slow pace of life, possibly because of the energy constraints in their arid habitat. Litter size, mass at maturity and lifespan are assumed to be phylogenetically constrained in the tribe Otomyini.

Sexual selection is central to many theories on mate selection and individual behavior. Relatively little is known, however, about the impacts that human-induced rapid environmental change are having on secondary sexually selected characteristics. Honest signals function as an indicator of mate quality when there are differences in nutrient acquisition and are thus potentially sensitive to anthropogenically altered nutrient inputs. We used the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae (L.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), to investigate differences in color and testes size in a system that is often exposed to agricultural landscapes with nitrogen addition. We collected individuals from four sites in California and Nevada to investigate variation in key traits and the possibility that any relationship between wing color and a reproductive trait (testes size) could vary among locations in the focal butterfly. Coloration variables and testes size were positively albeit weakly associated across sites, consistent with the hypothesis that females could use nitrogen-based coloration in the cabbage white as an indicator for a male mating trait that has the potential to confer elevated mating success in progeny. However, variation in testes size and in the relationship between testes size and wing color suggest complexities that need exploration, including the possibility that the signal is not of equal value in all populations. Thus these results advance our understanding of complex relationships among environmental change and sexual selection in the wild.

Facultative sexual organisms must allocate resources to both asexual and sexual reproduction. Optimal patterns of investment in sex depend on the relative costs and benefits of each reproductive mode, and may consequently be context- and condition-dependent. Two proposed explanations for the observed variation in investment in sex among facultative sexual lineages invoke alternative condition-dependent scenarios. Under the fitness-associated sex hypothesis, sex is predicted when individuals are in poor condition or experience stressful environments. Under the resource-demanding sex hypothesis, sex is only affordable to individuals in good condition experiencing favourable environments. Direct tests of these contrasting hypotheses are rare; moreover, investment in different components of sexual reproduction responds differently to cues promoting sex, and may be subject to different energetic constraints. Using genotypes of facultative sexual Daphnia carinata that differ in their level of investment in sex, we manipulated resource availability while accounting for day length (a seasonal cue for sex) to evaluate these hypotheses. The sexual response to day length depended on resource availability: increased day lengths and reduced food availability increased the production of sexual eggs, and relative investment in males, in a manner consistent with the fitness-associated sex hypothesis. The pattern of condition-dependence was specific to each component of reproductive investment – while male production covaried with asexual fecundity across genotypes, increased sexual egg production was associated with reduced asexual reproduction. Our results suggest that investment in sex is determined largely by its context-dependent advantages, and that this investment is not moderated by immediate costs to asexual reproduction.

International audience; Biological communities may be assembled by both niche-based and dispersal-based (= historic) processes with the relative importance of these processes in community assembly being scale- and context-dependent. To infer whether (a) niche-based or dispersal-based processes play the main role in the assembly of flea communities parasitic on small mammals and whether (b) the main processes of flea community assembly are scale-dependent, we applied a novel permutation-based algorithm (PER-SIMPER) and the dispersal-niche continuum index (DNCI), to data on the species incidence of fleas and their hosts at two spatial scales. At the larger (continental) scale, we analysed flea communities in four biogeographic realms across adjacent continental sections. At the smaller (local) scale, we considered flea communities across two main regions (lowlands and mountains) and seven habitat types within Slovakia. Our analyses demonstrated that species composition of fleas and their small mammalian hosts depended predominantly on historical processes (dispersal) at both scale. This was true for the majority of biogeographic realms at continental scale (except the Nearctic) and both regions at local scale. Nevertheless, strong niche-based assembly mechanism was found in the Nearctic assemblages. At local scale, the intensity of dispersal processes was weaker and niche-driven processes were stronger between habitats within a region than between mountain and lowland regions. We provide historical and ecological explanations for these patterns. We conclude that the assembly of compound flea communities is governed, to a great extent, by the dispersal processes acting on their hosts and, to a lesser extent, by the niche-based processes.

Fauna of North America’s Great Plains evolved strategies to contend with the region’s extreme spatiotemporal variability in weather and low annual primary productivity. The capacity for large-scale movement (migration and/or nomadism) enables many species, from bison to lark buntings, to track pulses of productivity at broad spatial scales (> 1 000 km2). Furthermore, even sedentary species often rely on metapopulation dynamics over extensive landscapes for long-term population viability. The current complex pattern of land ownership and use of Great Plains grasslands challenges native species conservation. Approaches to managing both public and private grasslands, frequently focused at the scale of individual pastures or ranches, limit opportunities to conserve landscape-scale processes such as fire, animal movement, and metapopulation dynamics. Using the US National Land Cover Database and Cropland Data Layers for 2011−2017, we analyzed land cover patterns for 12 historical grassland and savanna communities (regions) within the US Great Plains. On the basis of the results of these analyses, we highlight the critical contribution of restored grasslands to the future conservation of Great Plains biodiversity, such as those enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. Managing disturbance regimes at larger spatial scales will require acknowledging that, where native large herbivores are absent, domestic livestock grazing can function as a central component of Great Plains disturbance regimes if they are able move at large spatial scales and coexist with a diverse array of native flora and fauna. Opportunities to increase the scale of grassland management include 1) spatial prioritization of grassland restoration and reintroduction of grazing and fire, 2) finding creative approaches to increase the spatial scale at which fire and grazing can be applied to address watershed to landscape-scale objectives, and 3) developing partnerships among government agencies, landowners, businesses, and conservation organizations that enhance cross-jurisdiction management and address biodiversity conservation in grassland landscapes, rather than pastures.

Oak (Quercus robur L.) forest stands are among the most common forest formations in the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine. Investigations of the patterns of distribution of trees by diameter and the dynamics of the commodity structure of mature oak stands of coppice origin were carried out based on the forest survey data from 28 temporary sample plots, on the sites designated for the final felling in the Left-Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine (Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava Regions). We distributed trees by diameter classes and technical suitability categories. To establish the commodity structure of the stand, we selected model trees that corresponded to the average size of trees in terms of diameter classes and their qualitative characteristics. Then, we constructed a model tree stem profile using Institute of Forest Ecosystems Research (IFER)’s method of “6 points”. Based on stands’ structure and quality condition as well as on the growth tables, the commodity structure dynamics table for the changes in the commodity structure for the coppice oak stands in the Left-Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine has been developed. The results of the analysis of wood stock dynamics showed that the maximum average increment of class A and B wood is 90–100 years. Therefore, the age of technical maturity and the associated age for the final felling in commercial oak forests of second site class and above should be assigned to 91–100 years.

Biological soil crusts (BSCs), or biocrusts, are composed of fungi, bacteria, algae, and bryophytes (mosses, etc.) that occupy bare soil, entwining soil particles with filaments or rootlike structures and/or gluing them together with polysaccharide exudates to form a consolidated surface crust that stabilizes the soil against erosion. BSCs are common in arid and semiarid regions where vascular plant cover is naturally sparse, maximizing the exposure of surface-dwelling organisms to direct sunlight. Although less prominent and less studied there, BSC organisms are also present in more mesic areas such as the Great Plains where they can be found in shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie, in the badlands of several states, where burrowing animals have created patches of bare soil, on damaged road-cuts, strip-mines, gas and oil drill pads, military training areas, heavily grazed areas, and burn scars. Even where BSCs are not readily visible to the naked eye, many of the organisms are still present. BSC organisms are passively dispersed to the Great Plains as airborne organismal fragments, asexual diaspores, or sexual spores that accompany wind-blown dust from as far away as northern China and Mongolia. BSCs can best be studied and managed by 1) acknowledging their presence; 2) documenting their diversity, abundance, and functional roles; and 3) minimizing unnecessary disturbance, particularly when the soils are dry. This paper describes the current knowledge of Great Plains BSCs in an effort to heighten awareness of these cryptic but crucial ecosystem components and to encourage new research initiatives to better understand and manage them in this biome. Some specific actions may include refined taxonomic and ecologic studies of BSC organisms in underexplored areas, particularly those previously less or not recognized as BSC habitat, and incorporation of techniques to sample airborne organisms.

Detecting small mammal species for wildlife research and management typically depends on animals deciding to engage with a device, for instance, by entering a trap. While some animals engage and are detected, others do not, and we often lack a mechanistic understanding of what drives these decisions. As trappability can be influenced by traits of personality, personality has high potential to similarly influence detection success for non-capture devices (chew-track cards, tracking tunnels, etc.). We present a conceptual model of the detection process where animal behaviours which are detected by different devices are grouped into tiers based on the degree of intimacy with a device (e.g., approach, interact, enter). Each tier is associated with an increase in the perceived danger of engaging with a device, and an increase in the potential for personality bias. To test this model, we first surveyed 36 populations of free-living black rats (Rattus rattus), a global pest species, to uniquely mark individuals (n = 128) and quantify personality traits. We then filmed rat behaviour at novel tracking tunnels with different risk-reward treatments. As predicted, detection biases were driven by personality, the bias increased with each tier and differed between the risk treatments. Our findings suggest that personality biases are not limited to live-capture traps but are widespread across devices which detect specific animal behaviours. In showing that biases can be predictable, we also show biases can be managed. We recommend that studies involving small mammal sampling report on steps taken to manage a personality-driven bias.

Throughout the Great Plains, aboveground annual net primary productivity (ANPP) is a critical ecosystem service supporting billions of dollars of commerce and countless stakeholders. Managers and producers struggle with high interannual change in ANPP, which often varies 40% between years due to fluctuating precipitation and drought. To quantify ANPP trends and evaluate interannual and spatial variation, we created the Rangeland Production Monitoring Service (RPMS), a spatially explicit database with automatic annual updates of ANPP for all rangelands in the conterminous United States. The RPMS establishes relationships between normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from remote sensing data and ANPP from soil ecological site descriptions. These relationships were applied to NDVI data in each year from 1984 to present, although the present assessment focuses on the period from 1984 to 2017. Validation metrics include an r2 of 89% between predicted and observed ANPP at three locations in the Great Plains. For this special issue, we assess data from the RPMS to quantify trends and variation of ANPP in the Great Plains region for four major grassland types, smaller-scale ecological subsections, and national grassland units. Significant (α ≤ 0.05) increases in ANPP since 1984 were observed across all major grassland types in the Great Plains, particularly the northern mixed-grass prairie, which also had the greatest interannual variation (21%) from 1984 to 2017. Corresponding significant increases (P

Significant interest exists in the potential for specialized grazing systems, including adaptive multipaddock (AMP) grazing, to enhance grassland health and function. However, specific pasture management practices associated with AMP grazing at the ranch level remain poorly understood in comparison with more regionally representative management systems. As part of a larger study examining grazing effects on soil carbon, greenhouse gases, and other ecosystem attributes, here we report on differences in disturbance history and grazing management practices on a sample of AMP operators and their neighboring (n-AMP) ranches at 32 paired sites across the prairie provinces of western Canada. Most ranches studied (77.5%) relied on pastures composed of introduced (seeded) forage. On average, the AMP ranches surveyed were larger in size, supported greater animal numbers, and were more likely to use seeded forages comprising diverse mixes. Relative to n-AMP ranches, AMP ranches used 18.6-fold higher average stock densities in smaller paddocks (22.3 vs. 120.7 ha) while grazing over a grazing season that was 76 d longer, although computed stocking rates remained similar (P ≥ 0.10). AMP operators specifically used much shorter grazing periods (2.8 d) during the early growing season (i.e., before August 1) that were followed by a prolonged rest period (69 d) and could be used to compute a rest-to-grazing ratio for the first half of the grazing season for all ranches. This ratio, along with cattle stock density computed at the pasture scale, exhibited the greatest potential to differentiate the two groups of ranchers. Finally, both groups, and in particular ranchers within the AMP group, demonstrated high variability in management practices among individual operators, highlighting the importance of using specific management metrics rather than generalized descriptors of “grazing system type” to interpret their influence.

Recent global declines of pollinator populations have highlighted the importance of pollinators, which are undervalued despite essential contributions to ecosystem services. To identify critical knowledge gaps about pollinators, we describe the state of knowledge about responses of pollinators and their foraging and nesting resources to historical natural disturbances and new stressors in Great Plains grasslands and riparian ecosystems. In addition, we also provide information about pollinator management and research needs to guide efforts to sustain pollinators and by extension, flowering vegetation, and other ecosystem services of grasslands. Although pollinator responses varied, pollinator specialists of disturbance-sensitive plants tended to decline in response to disturbance. Management with grazing and fire overall may benefit pollinators of grasslands, depending on many factors; however, we recommend habitat and population monitoring to assess outcomes of these disturbances on small, isolated pollinator populations. The influences and interactions of drought and increasingly variable weather patterns, pesticides, and domesticated bees on pollinators are complex and understudied. Nonetheless, habitat management and restoration can reduce effects of stressors and augment floral and nesting resources for pollinators. Research needs include expanding information about 1) the distribution, abundance, trends, and intraregional variability of most pollinator species; 2) floral and nesting resources critical to support pollinators; 3) implications of different rangeland management approaches; 4) effects of missing and reestablished resources in altered and restored vegetation; and 5) disentangling the relative influence of interacting disturbances and stressors on pollinator declines. Despite limited research in the Great Plains on many of these topics, consideration of pollinator populations and their habitat needs in management plans is critical now to reduce future pollinator declines and promote recovery.

Plateau zokor (Eospalax baileyi) is a native subterranean rodent living in alpine rangeland on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The zokors excavate soil in their tunnels and push it out to form the zokor mound, which is secondary bare land on the ground. In the alpine rangeland ecosystem, the bare lands emit greenhouse gases and reduce carbon sequestration. However, little is known about the greenhouse gas emissions from the zokor mounds with bare soil. In this study, we used a gas analyzer in situ combined with a closed static chamber to monitor the emissions of CO2 and CH4 from new mounds, seminew mounds, old mounds, and the pasture without mounds. The biomass bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes in the 0- to 20-cm soil layer of the mounds and the pasture without mounds were simultaneously investigated. To explore the source of the CO2 and CH4 emissions, we compared the differences of CO2 and CH4 flux in the zokors’ active tunnels, tunnel-free soil, and mound-free pasture. The results showed that 1) the highest flux of CO2 and CH4 emissions in the same month was from new mounds, followed by seminew mounds, old mounds, and the pasture without mounds; 2) CO2 and CH4 emissions from the different mounds in 4 mo were significantly influenced by months and mound types, although there was no significant interaction between these factors; and 3) the flux of CO2 and CH4 emissions from the zokor mounds were significantly positively correlated with their total biomass of microbes and the flux of CO2 and CH4 inside the zokor active tunnels. The CO2 and CH4 inside the zokor active tunnels had more contributions to CO2 and CH4 emissions from the zokor mounds than the soil microbes’ biomass in the mounds.

The Great Plains is a mixture of cropland and grassland mainly used for agricultural purposes, with grasslands under continual threat of conversion to cropland. Agriculturists are advocating for the integration of crop-livestock systems (ICLS) to recouple nutrient cycles, improve biodiversity, and increase resilience of agricultural operations. We address the benefits of ICLS in the Great Plains, contending that focus on improving soil health and financial stability of agricultural operations should reduce the conversion of grasslands to cropland. Using US Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service Census of Agriculture survey data from the 1925−2017 category “cropland used only for pasture or grazing,” which represents land that had been cropped but converted to annual/perennial pasture and grazed, we showcase that the number of farms and the land area in this category is a reasonable proxy of ICLS. As expected, ICLS dramatically decreased in the entire United States from 1925 to 1945, but from 1945 to 2002 in the Great Plains ICLS remained relatively constant, providing evidence of sustained crop-livestock integration. Consistent high numbers of beef cows during this period and the wide availability of forages and crop residues for ruminants facilitated opportunities for producers to use ICLS on their individual operations (within farm) or among operations where row crop farmers and forage-based producers integrated beef cattle use across the landscape (among farms). This integration, however, was decoupled from 2006 to 2013, a period of high grain prices. As a result, economic value of grasslands was decreased and conversion to cropland was increased. Thus, conservation efforts in the Great Plains for grasslands should focus on keeping grasslands intact for provision of multiple ecosystem goods and services by emphasizing incorporation of ICLS within and among farms to reduce the risk of converting grassland to cropland.

The goal of this paper is to present a decolonising research methodology. The first section of this paper problematises western knowledge production, using Aníbal Quijano’s colonial matrix of power. The second section theorises how an epistemological pluralism that is critical, decolonising and performative could address western knowledge production and the colonial matrix of power. The third section discusses how this methodology has been applied to Butoh to develop Critical Butoh. The final section presents He rawe tona kakahu/ She wore a becoming dress, a Butoh performance exploring the intersection of gender and colonisation, as a practical application of this methodology. Résumé: Cet article vise à présenter une méthodologie de recherche décolonisatrice. La première section interroge la production du savoir occidental faisant usage du concept d’Anibal Quijano de matrice coloniale du pouvoir. La deuxième théorise la manière dont un pluralisme épistémologique critique, décolonisateur et performatif pourrait répondre à la production du savoir occidental et à la matrice coloniale du pouvoir. La troisième examine comment cette méthodologie a été appliquée à la danse butô pour développer le Butô Critique. La section finale présente He rawe tona kakahu / She wore a becoming dress, une performance butô qui explore l’intersection entre genre et colonisation en tant qu’application pratique de cette méthodologie. Resumo: O objetivo deste artigo é apresentar uma metodologia de pesquisa decolonizadora. A primeira seção problematiza a produção de conhecimento ocidental, usando a matriz colonial de poder de Aníbal Quijano. A segunda teoriza como um pluralismo epistemológico que seja crítico, decolonizador e performativo poderia responder à produção de conhecimento ocidental e à matriz colonial de poder. A terceira discute como esta metodologia foi aplicada ao butô para desenvolver o Butô Crítico. A seção final apresenta He rawe tona kakahu / She wore a becoming dress, uma performance butô que explora a interseção entre gênero e colonização como uma aplicação prática desta metodologia.

When faced with uncertainty, animals can benefit from using multiple sources of information in order to make an optimal decision. However, information sources (e.g., social and personal cues) may conflict, while also varying in acquisition cost and reliability. Here, we assessed behavioral decisions of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata), in situ, when presented with conflicting social and personal information about predation risk. We positioned foraging arenas within high- and low-predation streams, where guppies were exposed to a personal cue in the form of conspecific alarm cues (a known indicator of risk), a novel cue, or a control. At the same time, a conspecific shoal (a social safety cue) was either present or absent. When social safety was absent, guppies in both populations showed typical avoidance responses towards alarm cues, and high-predation guppies showed their typical avoidance of novel cues (i.e., neophobia). However, the presence of social safety cues was persuasive, overriding the neophobia of high-predation guppies and emboldening low-predation guppies to ignore alarm cues. Our experiment is one of the first to empirically assess the use of safety and risk cues in prey and suggests a threshold level of ambient risk which dictates the use of conflicting social and personal information.

Social innovation is critical in shaping human-forest relationships and how farmers and scientists engage with each other to design sustainability transitions. This paper reports on the outputs of a participatory stakeholders’ engagement platform that was designed to draw on local farmers’ knowledge and experience in identifying sustainable pathways for the development of multi-functional agroforestry in Guadeloupe. Two participatory workshops were organised that aimed to gain insights into the reality faced by farmers, in particular: (i) their vision of the future, needs and aspirations; (ii) their understanding of barriers and enablers in relation to the sustainability challenges they are confronted with and; (iii) their framing of human–environment relationships in socio-ecological systems. Outputs of the activities were synthetized by the research team and represented graphically for analysis. Results show that while farmers envision prosperous multifunctional forest farms in the future, they have to face complex challenges that require solutions at multiple scales and suggest different types of innovation: social, institutional, market-based and technical. Farmers saw themselves as being part of the socio-ecological system and as custodians of the natural environment. We discuss the implications of those results in the context of the absence of a system of innovation for agroforestry in Guadeloupe and highlight the opportunity for a innovation ecosystem thinking approach that integrates better the agricultural and forestry sectors, but also between actors and scales of governance. Implementation of a Stewardship status would enable farmers achieve their vision and embrace a custodian role vis-à-vis the agroforest. Embededment of the stakeholders’ engagement platform and its enabling processes in the innovation ecosystem is key to achieve those objectives.

Rangeland food systems around the world are increasingly facing complex and wicked problems with changing climate, environmental, and socioeconomic conditions. We must find socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable ways to optimize production of high-quality, accessible food to feed the world's growing population. Further, we need to do this in the face of multiple threats, including climate change, land-use change, and emerging invasive species, pests, and diseases. The “human dimensions” are central to solving critical challenges for working rangelands. We must actively build collaborative partnerships that span disciplines, knowledge areas, and backgrounds. Diverse perspectives as well as greater integration of the natural and social sciences will foster critically needed transformative rangeland science, learning, and management. A central component of transformative change is training the next generation of scientists, resource users, land managers, and policymakers to work beyond institutional, land ownership, and political boundaries to build broad-scale partnerships and solutions.

A well-studied predator–prey relationship between American mink (Neovison vison (Schreber, 1777); formerly known as Mustela vison Schreber, 1777) and muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766)) in Canada has advanced our understanding of population cycles including the influence of density dependence and lagged responses of predators to prey abundances. However, it is unclear if patterns observed in Canada extend across the southern half of their native range. We used data from the United States to create a 41-year time series of mink and muskrat harvest reports (1970–2011) for 36 states. After controlling for pelt-price effects, we used second-order autoregressive and Lomb–Scargle spectral density models to identify the presence and periodicity of muskrat population cycles. Additionally, we tested for evidence of delayed or direct density dependence and for predator-driven population dynamics. Our results suggest muskrat populations may cycle in parts of the United States; however, results varied by modeling approaches with Lomb–Scargle analyses providing more precise parameter estimates. Observed cycle lengths were longer than expected with weak amplitudes and we urge caution when interpreting these results. We did not detect evidence of a predator–prey relationship driven by a lagged numerical response of American mink. American mink and muskrat fur returns were largely correlated across the region suggesting extraneous factors likely synchronize both populations.

On the Ground • Knowledge is not in our heads but arises out of our relations with the environment we inhabit. This implies cognitive diversity in our knowledge systems. • Expertise is not enough for solving the major problems of the third millennium and difference (another way of thinking) is just as important. • Transdisciplinarity is achieved through collaborative and participatory research processes that cogenerate insights by communities of social practice working in tandem with communities of enquiry. • Time is a unique experience that reflects relationality and flexibility in its sociocultural context. • This framework may assist with climate change adaptation at the local level.

American black bears (Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780) are opportunistic foragers, and across most of their range in North America, their diet is predominantly vegetation with limited consumption of vertebrates and invertebrates. However, they are also predators of ungulates, especially neonates, with regional variation in the amount of predation pressure they exert. We used scat analysis to examine the diet of black bears during the calving season in a moose (Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758)) – woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou (Gmelin, 1788)) system in the Boreal forest of northern Ontario, Canada. Bears consumed herbaceous plants (46.5%), fruits and (or) seeds (20.0%), moose (3.3% adults; 4.3% calves), American beaver (Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820; 8.5%), and insects (mostly ants; 4.2%). Bears had the highest consumption of moose and beaver in early spring, before switching to a more vegetation-dominated diet. We did not detect evidence of caribou consumption. Based on our results, black bear consumption of moose, particularly neonates, may warrant further investigation.

BackgroundThe use and knowledge of medicinal plants play an essential role in community health in rural Mexico. Medicinal plants are part of the local heritage and provide a source of economic income. Nevertheless, knowledge of their use has declined due to factors like accelerated urbanization. Some authors have proposed that by reducing natural spaces, urbanization generates changes that impact the recognition, use, and management of natural resources. Here, we evaluate how urbanization affects the knowledge, use, and perception of medicinal plants in a Biosphere Reserve in Mexico.MethodsUsing a mixed methodology including quantitative and qualitative analyses, we generated a list of medicinal plants, methods of preparation, prevalence of illness, and use in two communities with different degrees of urbanization.ResultsA total of 217 medicinal plants were identified. The more urbanized community had greater knowledge of, and used, a larger number of introduced plant species, while the less urbanized community used and had more knowledge about wild plants. One of the factors explaining these differences was occupation, with people who work outdoors showing greater knowledge of wild plants.ConclusionsUrbanization can lead to a loss of knowledge of the use and management of local wild species, with implications for the conservation of biocultural heritage. Substitution of native medicinal plants by introduced species shows disinterest and disuse in the local medicinal flora, which could be reflected in their ecosystems.

On the Ground • More often than not, there is untapped potential for win-wins between livestock production and conservation. On the other hand, it is impossible to achieve every objective everywhere, all the time. Sometimes the tradeoffs are real. • We need to spend less time searching for general rules and more time embracing the complexity and context-dependence within rangeland science. • Rather than writing off findings that do not fit our current worldview, we should challenge ourselves to broaden our views in ways that reconcile multiple findings or multiple truths. It is possible we are all partly or mostly right, and we just need to figure out why, how, and in what contexts. • There is value in doing research in a way that focuses on really listening to and respecting multiple perspectives so that the results we produce not only qualify as facts, but also as truths that many people can buy into and get behind.

One species of the family Ctenodactylidae, the Common gundi, Ctenodactylus gundi, occupies a restricted area between the Saharan and Mediterranean domains where annual rainfall is between 50 and 400 mm. Its presence seems also conditioned by the vegetation, so its feeding ecology was investigated by the microhistological analysis of faeces collected in two stations (Baniane and Bazem) of the Aurès massif (Eastern Algeria) during two years from June 2015 to May 2017, and by the evaluation of the available food. The diet included a total of 34 plant species, 16 in Baniane and 20 in Bazem. Results show that in Baniane, Asteraceae were predominant with Artemisia herba-alba (relative abundance, A% = 33.13%), followed by Fabaceae with Argyrolobium uniflorum (A% = 20.32%) and Poaceae with Aristida sp. (A% = 14.95%). In Bazem, the most consumed plant species were Lamiaceae with Thymus ciliatus (A% = 42.77%) and Poaceae with Lolium rigidum (A% = 13.19%). Overall, C. gundi fed on a large number of plant species, and its diet appeared to be influenced more by the diversity than by the availability of vegetation. Seasonal variations in diet indicate that this rodent eats perennial vegetation throughout the year and opportunistically consumes annual plants to a lesser extent in the spring, with a certain time shifting between the two stations probably due to rainfall and temperature differences.

Objective - Singkawang City, which is located in the Province of West Kalimantan-Indonesia, is a city with a significant level of ethnic heterogeneity, making it very vulnerable to various conflicts. However, in 2018, Singkawang City was named the most tolerant city in Indonesia through an assessment from the Setara Institute. For this reason, this study was conducted to analyze the political form of harmony and social capital, E-government as a Tolerant City in Singkawang City. Methodology – The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative with literature study as a data collection method. Data analysis was carried out in stages, namely collecting data, summarizing data, and making conclusions. This study finds that the form of political harmony is the intense collaboration be-tween state actors, the Religious Harmony Forum, and the community. Findings – Interaction and commu-nicative relationships complement and strengthen each other. As the main actor, the people of Singkawang City have also seen and understood that they have diverse perspectives to avoid discrimination and intolerance. In addition, there are also forms of social capital created from the relationship between ethnic communities in Singkawang City, namely in the form of general norms and group characteristics.Therefore, it is concluded that the success of the Singkawang City government in making its area the most tolerant city in Indonesia from the Setara Institute in 2018 cannot be separated from the social capital owned by each tribe to live side by side in harmony with high values. spirit of tolerance. Novelty – In addition, e-government and knowledge management are also important points in the formation of a tolerant society in Singkawang City which has people from various backgrounds. Type of Paper - Review Keywords: political harmony; social capital; tolerant city; e-government JEL Classification: G32, H79. URI: http://gatrenterprise.com/GATRJournals/JFBR/vol6.1_2.html DOI: https://doi.org/10.35609/jfbr.2021.6.1(2) Pages 51 – 61

When colonizing new regions, invading species might compete strongly with phylogenetically related species native to the regions they are colonizing, eventually leading to coexistence or displacement. In the southeast of the United States, recently established coyotes (Canis latrans) compete with red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), although it remains unclear if competition is leading to resource partitioning or displacement by species. Using nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes, we tested the hypothesis that coyotes compete with foxes for food resources, with canids partitioning those resources to mitigate competition. We compared diets of canids in the southeast to those in the Plains region of the United States, a region where all three species historically have coexisted. We analyzed 217 hair samples from both regions pre-1960, prior to coyote colonization of the southeast, and post-2000, after coyotes were ubiquitous there, to assess differences in diet among species for both regions (southeast versus Plains and time periods, pre- versus postcolonization by coyotes). Modeling revealed significant dietary overlap among historical and contemporary populations in the southeast. Historically, all species partitioned resources in the Plains. Contemporarily, red fox and coyotes co-occurring in the Plains overlapped in diet; however, gray fox diet did not overlap with those of red fox and coyotes. Absence of partitioning in diet among co-occurring canids in the southeast indicates that interspecific competition could be strong in the region. Competition among canid populations in the southeast could lead to further resource partitioning among species that promotes coexistence or competitive exclusion of smaller fox species where coyote populations are abundant.

Monitoring of small nocturnal and arboreal rodents is difficult and often conducted using indirect techniques. Here, we measured the circadian activity of the fat dormouse (Glis glis) directly using camera traps. The study took place at the Spitzberg in SW Germany. Data were collected using six Bushnell Natureview cameras with a macro lens at baited feeding stations. At 14 out of 41 active camera locations, edible dormice occurred. We collected 301 events between 8th July and 5th October 2018. There were 21.5 events per camera trap (SD 30.4), ranging from 1 to 82. The edible dormouse showed a nocturnal pattern, with a mean activity around midnight at 24:15 h. The pattern shows a slightly bimodal activity. Feeding activity started around or even slightly before sunset and stopped right before sunrise. The study shows that circadian activity, in this respect feeding activity, can be captured by camera trapping, which is a non-invasive method, and can be applied easily in the field.

Traditional transect survey methods for forest antelopes often underestimate density for common species and do not provide sufficient data for rarer species. The use of camera trapping as a survey tool for medium and large terrestrial mammals has become increasingly common, especially in forest habitats. Here, we applied the distance sampling method to images generated from camera-trap surveys in Dja Faunal Reserve, Cameroon, and used an estimate of the proportion of time animals are active to correct for negative bias in the density estimates from the 24-hour camera-trap survey datasets. We also used multiple covariate distance sampling with body weight as a covariate to estimate detection probabilities and densities of rarer species. These methods provide an effective tool for monitoring the status of individual species or a community of forest antelope species, information urgently needed for conservation planning and action.

Las ventas de jurisdicciones en la España de los Austrias permitieron a multitud de acaudalados castellanos medrar en la pirámide social de la Edad Moderna, obteniendo el título de señores de vasallos. Este trabajo analiza el caso de uno de ellos: don Antonio Álvarez de Bohorques, I marqués de los Trujillos, quien trató de construir un gran territorio nobiliario a caballo entre Jaén y Granada a través de la compra de varios señoríos. The Habsburg sale of jurisdictions in Castile allowed a vast number of wealthy men to climb the Early Modern social pyramid by obtaining titles akin to those of feudal lords. This paper analyses the case of Antonio Álvarez de Bohorques, 1st Marquis of Los Trujillos, who tried to build a manorial state by buying up estates between the Kingdoms of Granada and Jaén.

Northwestern Argentina (NWA) is a region characterized by a complex geomorphology, and encompasses six ecoregions in a relatively small area. The environmental heterogeneity of NWA and the sensitivity of small mammals towards environmental and landscape changes constitute a good scenario to assess the factors that influence small mammal diversity patterns in the region. We studied small mammal communities obtained from pellet samples in 24 localities of NWA. We identified 50 non-volant small mammal species and obtained topographic, climate and land cover variables. Our results show that small mammal communities respond to environmental factors at a regional scale. Such variations were explained in different proportions by the geographic position of the collecting sites, landscape and climate. Furthermore, the combined effect of these factors was the main determinant of species abundance patterns. Our results support the need of large-scale approaches to study communities, since the explanations of the observed patterns are simpler and more general. We emphasize the importance of considering the combined effect of different environmental predictors, which allows determining the amount of species variation that is spatially structured, and within that, the amount of variation related to the influence of the measured environmental variables.

Currently, at least 10% of plant species and even more animals are threatened with extinction on the planet Earth. The rate of extinction of species is 50-100 times higher than the natural rate. This trend has continued over the past 20-25 years. There are 439 endangered species in the Kursk region. Of these, 160 species of fauna, 265 species of plants and 14 species of fungi. The problem of conservation of rare and endangered plant species can be solved by their timely detection, subsequent monitoring and protection in specific habitats. Based on this, the purpose of this study is to develop tools for creating the most complete databases of rare and endangered plant species in urban ecosystems based on crowdsourcing methods and modern information technologies. At the initial stage of the implementation of projects for the conservation of biodiversity, the main difficulty lies in the mass identification of the presence of plant and animal species that are subject to protection on the territory of the city. It is possible to solve this problem using crowdsourcing methods. The team of the Southwestern State University has developed an Environmental crowdsourcing portal of the Kursk Region. This portal is designed on a modular basis, it includes various modules, including a module designed to solve the problem of biodiversity conservation. The module is developed using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, PHP and functions in user and administrator modes. Additionally, the functional blocks of thematic databases are designed using MySQL. Based on the database tables and the Yandex Maps API documentation, blocks for loading and displaying information on an interactive map have been developed. The module ensures the involvement of a wide range of urban population to identify the presence of plant and animal species that are subject to protection on the territory of the city. The module of the Environmental Crowdsourcing Portal of the Kursk Region considered in the article provides not only a solution to the problem of filling the database of rare and endangered species of plants and animals, but, like all crowdsourcing environmental projects, contributes to improving the level of environmental education of citizens, forming their consciousness and active life position.

Tremarctos ornatus (F.G. Cuvier, 1825) is a tremarctine bear commonly known as the Andean bear. It is a medium-sized bear with black to dark red-brown pelage with dense, long, coarse fur; creamy white marks occur on the chin, neck, and chest, and often white to creamy marks occur on the face, around the muzzle, and eyes. It is distributed in the tropical Andes of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, and northern Argentina in South America. T. ornatus is catalogued as “Vulnerable” (VU) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and is included in CITES Appendix I. Main threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal killing, human–bear conflicts, and most likely climate change.

The influence of industrial low-frequency electromagnetic fields on the human body is currently insufficiently studied. However, such fields are quite common in modern automated production, where various electric drives are used, and they significantly affect the quality of human life. This is especially evident in the conditions of the North, where special ecological factors cause significant changes in the systems of regulation of the body's functions. This study examines the influence of such fields on the parameters of the cardiovascular system of female workers in the oil and gas industry in Russia. Four groups of women were studied, differing in age and electromagnetic field exposure. As a result, the effects of influence of the fields were revealed, especially for the older age group.

Implementation of SDGs is the unified goal of 193 UN Member States. FinTech plays a crucial role in achieving it. Therefore, the development of FinTech must be facilitated through proper policy-making and public finance, creating beneficial PEST conditions. However, the interaction of the FinTech PEST environment and achievement of SDGs is a topic that has not yet been addressed. The purpose of this study is to assess the link between these two indicators using statistical methods, indicate SDGs having the strongest link to FinTech PEST environment, and explain the interface to facilitate its useful application within government and financial regulations, as well as administration of the state and municipal financial entities. The results show that the economic and investment potential of Northern Europe is caused by the most favorable PEST environment for FinTech sector development, and demonstrate the existence of a statistical link between FinTech PEST environment and SDG4, SDG8, SDG9, SDG16. There is a clear trend – the more favorable the FinTech PEST environment, the better the achievement of SDGs, the better results of Sustainable Finance indicators, and the higher the Sustainable Finance typology assigned to the country. These results suggest that the goals, targets, and indicators of SDG4, SDG8, SDG9, and SDG16 contribute to the formation of a favorable environment and are conductive to the sustainable development of the FinTech industry in a country. Therefore, sustainability in the development of FinTech industry and finance, and the achievement of SDGs, is a circular process of three interacting factors.

Ohne massiven Ausbau der Photovoltaik lassen sich die Klimaziele nicht erreichen. Dafür werden auch Anlagen auf Landwirtschaftsflächen nötig sein. Wie viel Agrarfläche braucht es für den erforderlichen Photovoltaikausbau in Deutschland, welche Auswirkung hätte er auf den Agrarflächenbestand? Entscheidend, auch für das Erreichen der Flächenkreislaufwirtschaft, ist, ob dieser Ausbau mittels Agri-Photovoltaik oder mittels Freiflächenanlagen erfolgt.Germany’s Sustainable Development Strategy sets the goals to reduce “land take” for housing, industry, roads or recreational purposes to 30 hectares per day by 2030 and to “no net land take” by 2050 (“circular economy for land and soils”). Simultaneously Germany plans to increase the share of ground-mounted photovoltaics (PV-GM). Yet, PV-GM accounts to industry land take and thus the two targets are contradictory. The expected area of arable land taken for PV-GM till 2050 is simulated. For a second simulation, PV-GM diffusion is partially substituted by agrivoltaics. Finally, the arable land demand in both scenarios is compared and evaluated according to the German policy goals. Agri-PV dissemination, when replacing PV-GM, could preserve approximately 60,000 hectares of arable land and thus reduce land take increase significantly. Political recommendations for sustainable land management and Agri-PV implementation finalize the article.