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Communicating results and ideas to a wider audience has been an important, but challenging component of scientists working in an academic environment. Particularly in recent decades, various social media platforms have become increasingly important to facilitate this. In addition, many scientists have used blogging platforms to communicate and discuss their work. Although the online dynamics of science communication are continuously changing, blogging has been used in a remarkably stable form for several decades. For this work, we brought several ecology bloggers to reflect on blogging as a science communication medium. We argue that blogging can be a powerful way to present new ideas and discuss them with a wide audience. Although blogs are not the same as scientific articles, they often serve as the initial brainstorm session. Importantly, we argue that blogs are most effective when bloggers and readers actively engage in conversations. We believe that blogging will be here to stay in science communication because of its unique and independent form of outreach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Highlight discussing: Runnel, K., Lõhmus, P., Küngas, K., Marmor‐Ohtla, L., Palo, A., Pütsepp, G., Tamm, H., Tammekänd, I., & Lõhmus, A. (2024). Aerial eDNA contributes vital information for fungal biodiversity assessment. Journal of Applied Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2664.14691. Fungi play key roles in ecosystems, yet it is not clear how best to capture their diversity or monitor their presence, especially for those species of particular conservation concern. In this issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology Runnel et al. address this problem by comparing different methodologies to estimate the diversity of lichen‐forming fungi and wood‐inhabiting basidiomycetes at a forest stand scale. Pairing aerial eDNA sampling with visual observation‐based surveys better captured the full spectrum of fungal diversity, including cryptic species and those of particular conservation interest. Certain fungal groups that are underrepresented in air samples might be better captured by sampling eDNA directly from wood or soil, but visual surveys should be considered as a more cost‐effective complementary method at least at a local scale. Their results highlight the importance of using multiple methods simultaneously in biodiversity assessments and the need for standardized methods to study and monitor fungal diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meeting report discusses the challenges and importance of monitoring plants and pollinators in a changing world. It emphasizes the need for systematic surveys and monitoring using plot-based methods to gather quantitative data on abundance and distributions. The report highlights the scarcity of monitoring data, lack of support for monitoring programs in many countries, and the need for coordinated efforts and improved statistical tools. It also mentions the development of a standardized EU pollinator monitoring scheme and the potential for technological innovations. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of policy and international collaboration in conservation efforts, particularly in relation to the EU's Nature Restoration Law. The text acknowledges the funding sources and contributions of citizen scientists to monitoring efforts. [Extracted from the article]

The article explores the use of artificial sentinel prey in studying predation rates. It highlights the importance of predation in ecosystems and its benefits for humans. The article critiques a study that compared predation rates using different types of prey, concluding that artificial sentinel prey is not suitable for comparing predation rates across sites. However, the authors argue that relative estimates of predation can still be useful for comparing rates within sites or among specific predator groups. They suggest using real prey for estimating predation rates on a specific species and conducting laboratory experiments to better understand predator behavior. The authors believe that the sentinel prey method is valuable for quantifying predation rates and gaining insights into ecosystems. [Extracted from the article]

Research Highlight discussing: Fajardo, A., Moreno‐Meynard, P. & Soto, D. P. (2024). Forest stand dynamics of a short‐stature tree species: Ecological knowledge for sustainable forest management. Journal of Applied Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2664.14662.Oliver stand dynamics conceptual model of tree stand succession was designed for tall trees but is not necessarily applicable to short‐stature tree species, which represent a large proportion of forests/woodlands worldwide.The South American short tree/shrub Nothofagus antarctica is a persuasive example of a short tree species that can benefit from an alternative conceptual model on stand dynamics. It also illustrates the high variability in stand dynamics observed in many short‐stature trees.Stand dynamics of short‐stature trees remain generally understudied, hindering their management and silvicultural use. Although generalisations may not be feasible due to the continuum of growth forms and succession dynamics of short trees, there is an urgent need to increase our knowledge for their sustainable management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: DNA recovered from predator faeces (scats) can be used to determine the presence of fauna and shed light on their life histories and inter-species interactions. DNA metabarcoding, which involves concurrent amplification and sequencing of DNA from multiple taxa, represents an important advance by enabling the simultaneous detection of multiple species from such samples. Although an attractive proposition, metabarcoding requires 'universally' applicable genetic markers that can discriminate among a broad range of taxa, while also targeting sequences that are sufficiently short to be amplified from degraded DNA. Aims: To identify, evaluate, and test metabarcoding DNA markers suitable for the detection of marsupials and other Australian fauna from terrestrial predator scats found in nature. Methods: We apply a bioinformatic approach using publicly available DNA databases and a locally derived and marker-specific reference-DNA database to evaluate the diagnostic ability and likelihood of amplification of candidate metabarcoding markers for marsupials and other taxa that may be consumed by predators. Key results: We identify two markers (12SV5 and 16SMam) that are suitable for use and successfully identify marsupial sequences at a high level of resolution. These markers work best in combination because they bring complementary levels of primer specificity and diagnostic ability in detecting multiple prey species as well as the predator. We also show that these samples work well in predator scats sampled from the wild in Tasmania. Conclusions: These markers provide a useful tool for surveying mammalian predators and their prey and could also be applied to eDNA analyses from other sample types. Improvements to the reference database and further development of markers targeting different taxonomic groups will improve the resolution and usefulness of this approach. Implications: Metabarcoding of predator scats provides a potent approach to non-invasive wildlife survey that offers the opportunity for the detection of multiple species across all vertebrates. DNA recovered from predator faeces can be used to determine the presence of fauna and shed light on their life histories and inter-species interactions. We identified two markers (12SV5 and 16SMam) that, in combination, are suitable for successfully identifying marsupial sequences at a high level of resolution. We also showed that these samples work well in predator scats sampled from the wild, providing a potent approach to non-invasive wildlife survey, and therefore management, through the detection of multiple species across all vertebrates. Photograph by Anna MacDonald. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steroid hormones play a pivotal role in shaping arthropod phenotypes, with 20‐hydroxyecdysone (20E) serving as a key regulator of molting, a vulnerable period in an insect's lifecycle. Despite its critical role in arthropod growth and development, the influence of 20E on arthropod behavior, particularly defensive strategies, remains poorly understood. We investigated the impact of 20E on the bioacoustic characteristics of hisses in the Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa), a social species with multiple complex acoustic signals. With increased 20E, we predicted that hiss production would be more likely and more defensive (i.e., longer hisses with greater intensity (dB) and reduced frequency (Hz)). We injected male G. portentosa with either a low‐ (35 μg) or high‐dose (70 μg) of 20E or a control (0 μg 20E), and we measured the presence/absence of hissing responses and their bioacoustic characteristics following a standardized tactile stimulus. Contrary to our prediction, there was no difference in the likelihood of hissing or hiss duration with 20E administration. However, administering 20E resulted in reduced hiss intensity and increased hiss frequency (as measured by peak and center frequencies), suggesting potential shifts from defensive to aggressive signaling. Our study contributes to the limited knowledge of the behavioral effects of 20E, suggesting that some arthropods may experience increased aggression or energetic limitations to defense during molting. Behavioral changes elicited by hormones have important implications for both fundamental ecology and applied pest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroecological research has an important role in supporting evidence‐based land management to ensure food production is achieved whilst minimising the impacts on biodiversity and its associated ecosystem processes and services.This nexus between often competing priorities of optimal production and sustainability requires greater knowledge of management decisions to enact more sustainable and transformative practice change and to better conserve biodiversity.We highlight three key knowledge gaps in this area: (i) The use of appropriate indicators to measure dependencies and impacts on biodiversity; (ii) Methods to improve the management of resources to support the "health" of biodiversity within agroecosystems; (iii) Greater understanding of the ecosystem processes, and services generated and received across terrestrial and aquatic habitats.Synthesis and applications. Ecological research and robust science will play a vital role in supporting more sustainable food production. We see Journal of Applied Ecology playing a key role in promoting agricultural research that goes beyond a narrow focus on increasing output, and encourage more submissions at the interface of agriculture, ecology and biodiversity conservation, considering social and economic aspects for a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyculture is a relevant practice for improving the sustainability of aquaculture, which raises interest in implementing it in a variety of production systems. However, polyculture is a complex approach that can result not only in complementarity among species but also competition among them and animal welfare issues. Potential polyculture benefits can be expected provided that compatibility and complementarity occur among the combined species. This places a premium on identifying the best species combinations for a given aquaculture system. Here, we developed a conceptual integrative workflow to standardise and plan the development of new fish polycultures. This workflow is designed to screen all possible combinations in a set of species based on three successive steps of assessment. Overall, these steps consider the compatibility and complementarity of co‐farmed species as well as stakeholder demands, sustainability and fish welfare. Step 1 consists of selecting the most promising compatible species combinations (i.e., 'prospective combinations') as a function of stakeholder opinion and expectations using databases and surveys. Step 2 validates the effectiveness of prospective combinations based on bioassays by considering species complementarity and animal welfare. Step 3 implements the best species combination(s) in aquaculture production, during which prototyping allows the sustainability of the resulting commercial production system to be studied. In conclusion, the workflow aims at being a valuable tool to innovate in aquaculture by exploiting the opportunities and the strengths of polyculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Highlight: Birch, B. D. J., Mills, S. C., Socolar, J. B., Martínez‐Revelo, D. E., Haugaasen, T., & Edwards, D. P. (2024). Land sparing outperforms land sharing for Amazonian bird communities regardless of surrounding landscape context. Journal of Applied Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2664.14596. Tropical forests are globally threatened by agricultural activities, including cattle farming. The land sharing versus land sparing debate has often been used as a means of addressing the trade‐off between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation, without finding a consensus within the scientific community. Moving forward, recent studies suggest combining both land allocation strategies, where wildlife‐friendly habitats within farmlands could allow movements of species within the agricultural matrix and connect natural habitats such as forest blocks, though this has rarely been demonstrated with empirical studies. In their study, Birch et al. tested how wildlife‐friendly habitats within and around cattle pastures could rescue the negative effects of converting forest to farmland on Amazon bird communities. To do so, they modelled bird species occupancies and simulated different land sharing versus land sparing scenarios with varying amount of landscape‐scale wildlife‐friendly habitat and levels of production. They found that the land sparing strategy outperformed land sharing in all scenarios, with limited benefits of landscape‐scale wildlife‐friendly habitat. This result was mostly driven by forest‐dependent species that cannot persist in farmlands. As these species are highly sensitive, preserving large blocks of primary forest is critical for their conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outcomes of meta-analyses are increasingly used to inform evidence-based decision making in various research fields. However, a number of recent studies have reported rapid temporal changes in magnitude and significance of the reported effects which could make policy-relevant recommendations from meta-analyses to quickly go out of date. We assessed the extent and patterns of temporal trends in magnitude and statistical significance of the cumulative effects in meta-analyses in applied ecology and conservation published between 2004 and 2018. Of the 121 meta-analyses analysed, 93% showed a temporal trend in cumulative effect magnitude or significance with 27% of the datasets exhibiting temporal trends in both. The most common trend was the early study effect when at least one of the first 5 years effect size estimates exhibited more than 50% magnitude difference to the subsequent estimate. The observed temporal trends persisted in majority of datasets once moderators were accounted for. Only 5 datasets showed significant changes in sample size over time which could potentially explain the observed temporal change in the cumulative effects. Year of publication of meta-analysis had no significant effect on presence of temporal trends in cumulative effects. Our results show that temporal changes in magnitude and statistical significance in applied ecology are widespread and represent a serious potential threat to use of meta-analyses for decision-making in conservation and environmental management. We recommend use of cumulative meta-analyses and call for more studies exploring the causes of the temporal effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The decline of the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), or Ngarlgumirdi (Yawuru), like other critical-weight range Australian mammals, is believed to be primarily due to the synergetic impacts of predation by feral cats and foxes, habitat disturbance caused by large introduced herbivores, and increases in the frequency and intensity of wildfires. Although it has been demonstrated that low-intensity prescribed burning mosaics in some habitats have the potential to benefit mammals, including Ngarlgumirdi, by creating habitat with sufficient vegetation cover, the contributions of specific fire-mosaic attributes to Ngarlgumirdi persistence remain unclear. Aims: To elucidate the impacts of fire-mosaic attributes on the occupancy of Ngarlgumirdi on the Dampier Peninsula. Methods: We used 2-ha sign-plot data collected by four Indigenous Ranger groups, in combination with 20 years of satellite-derived fire-history information to investigate the multiscale impacts of fire attributes on Ngarlgumirdi and feral cats (Felis catus) on the Dampier Peninsula in the West Kimberley region, a large, unfenced landscape in the most fire-prone section of the Ngarlgumirdi's current range. Key results: We found that Ngarlgumirdi was more common in areas that had a higher proportion of habitat that had not burnt for at least 3 years, whereas feral cats were less prevalent in these areas. Similarly, Ngarlgumirdi was less likely to occur in landscapes affected by frequent fires, whereas cats were more common there. Conclusions: Our findings have highlighted the importance of decreasing fire frequency and increasing the extent of long-unburnt habitats (>3 years) for preserving Ngarlgumirdi on the Dampier Peninsula and mitigating ecological damage inflicted by feral cats. Findings were consistent across spatial scales (1-, 3-, 5- and 10-km radius from each monitoring site). Implications: These results have demonstrated the potential of fire management to increase native species resilience in the absence of direct feral cat control methods. Further, they support a recent cross-tenure initiative led by Traditional Owners to implement fire management that aims to reduce large, frequent high-severity wildfires and increase areas of long-unburnt vegetation on the Dampier Peninsula. We studied the impacts of fire-mosaic attributes on the occurence of Ngarlgumirdi on the Dampier Peninsula. Ngarlgumirdi were more prevalent in areas with higher proportions of habitat that had not burnt for at least 3 years, or had burnt less frequently. Feral cats were less common in these habitats. These results emphasise the importance of reducing fire frequency and protecting long-unburnt habitats to maintain Ngarlgumirdi habitat, and supporta cross-tenure initiative to manage fire more effectively in the region. Gamba nalgumirdi, marlu manyja yagarrmurungun miliya, Manyjanyurdany gurdirdi warli yingarrbangngaran gangajunu, warligarra waranygabu buru yingarrarlin gangajunu gamba gurlju yirr jaril yagarraman ngarraya. Marlugarriny yagarralangan narlinyurdany jalaluyi janangarru nyamba miliya. Dampiergun juluburu yagarrabaran yirr yagarrabanggan gamba ngurru nalgumirdigarra burugun gamba jarriny ngurru marlu junggu yinganda gurdidiyi wula, buru junggu manyjan wubardujina yinganda yirr marlu manyjan gurdirdi minyaw nyambagun. Nyamba galwaragaja gamba jurrungu yingan yagarramaguran wubardu buruyi junggu yilurran yirr yagarrajalalan buru Marlu jungu yinganngany nalgumirdi, barndany yinamalyjan nganinya yagarragurndin jurrungu nyambagun buru. The translation of this short summary from English into Yawuru language was provided by the Mabu Yawuru Ngan-ga Language Centre. Yawuru language is a Western Nyulnyulan language spoken by people from the Broome region in Western Australia. Photograph by Harry Moore. This article belongs to the Collection Indigenous and cross-cultural wildlife research in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil recovery is a process aimed at reversing its degradability by incorporating favorable conditions (physical, chemical, and biological) to restructure life so that, through intervention, it can regenerate. This study aimed to analyze the potential combined use of leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) and vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) for the recovery of degraded soils in the Nhamurenguera area, Vandúzi District, Mozambique. The experimental method included soil study (physical-chemical analyses), area preparation (field and seedbed), field management, topographic survey, and qualitative and quantitative visual assessment of the developing seedlings. A total of 650 leucaena and 680 vetiver grass seedlings were planted in an area of 0.5 ha, with a spacing of 4 m between rows and 2 m between seedlings of both species in consort. Three months after planting, the survival and adaptability levels of the seedlings were evaluated. The results showed that 17% of the leucaena individuals and 12% of the vetiver grass died due to ant attacks and insufficient moisture, despite the use of mulching. Regarding the seedlings' reaction to soil conditions, 94% of leucaena and 79% of vetiver showed slow development in the first 3 months of planting due to soil compaction and low nutrient availability (leaching). After four years, soil chemical parameters were evaluated and compared with pre-leucaena/vetiver consortium soil data. The pH values, electrical conductivity, NPK contents, calcium, and magnesium increased, improving soil quality and indicating a soil recovery process to prepare it for subsequent agricultural use, especially for cereal and legume crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The certification of Ecological Conservation Areas (ECA) was carried out in the Mountain region of Guerrero state, as part of an initiative to promote a new paradigm for conservation, consisting of integrated management of ecosystems, with the Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM) Project in Three Priority Ecoregions, coordinated by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The objective of this study was to retrospectively analyze the certification process, in order to systematize the regional experience. The research followed a qualitative approach, applying the methodology of documentary research and the systematization of experiences in the researchers' own process. Results indicate that the project achieved ECA certification for 48,851.3 ha, of 18 agricultural nuclei; the certified area represents 57.5% of the total surface area, certified as Areas Voluntarily Destined for Conservation (AVDC) in the state of Guerrero. We conclude that considering the certified area, the ECA certification in the region represents a successful effort for the conservation of ecosystems, while also promoting processes of local and regional participation, organization for conservation and development and inter-institutional coordination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Highlight discussing: Heinen, J.; Dominguez, V.; Aguilera, G.; Malsher, G.; Vesterinen, E.; Roslin, T.; Bommarco, R.; Bartomeus, I. (2024). Diversified cropping strengthens herbivore regulation by providing seasonal resource continuity to predators. Journal of Applied Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2664.14674. Crop monocultures consist of homogenous agroecosystems highly dependent on pesticides for pest regulation and mineral fertilisation for maintaining plant nutrition, representing the least resilient system. Agricultural diversification practices can increase heterogeneity in agroecosystems, resulting in greater richness of arthropod predators and enhanced ecological services. Among natural enemies of pests, generalist predators are important for pest regulation as they prey on diverse arthropod pests and be present throughout the season. However, since they consume other predators (intraguild predation) and soil fauna, it is uncertain whether enhanced richness of generalist predators translates into improved pest regulation. The study by Heinen et al. examined how diversified crop rotation and organic fertilisation influenced predator–prey interactions throughout the cropping cycle in cereal fields. The predators' diet preference shifted over the growing season, indicating that soil fauna is an important resource for recruitment and maintenance of predators early in the season. Although intraguild predation was considerably high, it decreased across the season in fields with the greatest level of diversification, where predation of pests remained stable. This study demonstrated how diversified cropping is important for providing resource continuity with alternative prey (soil fauna and predators) over crop‐growing season, enhancing predator richness and herbivore regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper evaluates the first 15 editions of the European Countryside magazine in relation to the EURORURAL conferences and international projects of the Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology of the Mendel University in Brno. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite great promise for understanding the impacts and extent of climate change and extreme weather events on aquatic animals, their species, and ecological communities, it is surprising that electronic tagging and tracking tools, like biotelemetry and biologging, have not been extensively used to understand climate change or develop and evaluate potential interventions that may help adapt to its impacts. In this review, we provide an overview of methodologies and study designs that leverage available electronic tracking tools to investigate aspects of climate change and extreme weather events in aquatic ecosystems. Key interventions to protect aquatic life from the impacts of climate change, including habitat restoration, protected areas, conservation translocations, mitigations against interactive effects of climate change, and simulation of future scenarios, can all be greatly facilitated by using electronic tagging and tracking. We anticipate that adopting animal tracking to identify phenotypes, species, or ecosystems that are vulnerable or resilient to climate change will help in applying management interventions such as fisheries management, habitat restoration, invasive species control, or enhancement measures that prevent extinction and strengthen the resilience of communities against the most damaging effects of climate change. Given the scalability and increasing accessibility of animal tracking tools for researchers, tracking individual organisms will hopefully also facilitate research into effective solutions and interventions against the most extreme and acute impacts on species, populations, and ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction between plants and pollinators has intrigued scientists for centuries. While it continues to be [a] subject of ongoing research in basic and applied ecology, we tend to ignore that plant-pollinator interactions are largely driven by chemistry. For example, the amounts and composition of various chemical compounds determine flower colour, the attractiveness of scent and the nutritional value of floral rewards. In this perspective article, we focus on the chemistry of pollen and nectar. We discuss differences in the function, diversity and variation of compound groups that are considered macro- and micronutrients for pollinators as well as in non-nutritive plant secondary metabolites (PSM). We highlight that effects of and pollinator responses to different compounds vary strongly among pollinator species and (groups of) compounds. Moreover, we challenge the commonly applied separation between toxic (e.g. several PSMs) and beneficial (e.g. most nutrients) compounds and point to a dose-dependent toxicity across compounds. We finally provide a list of open questions for future research. We draw particular attention to the unknown effects that interactions between plant-produced compounds and externally applied compounds (e.g. pesticides, pollutants) may have on the plant-pollinator mutualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Understanding the circumstances under which insect herbivores will adopt a novel host plant is a longstanding question in basic and applied ecology. While geographic variation in host use can arise through differences in both herbivore preference and plant characteristics, there is a tendency to attribute geographic variation in host use to regional differences in herbivore preference alone. This is especially true for herbivores specialized to one or a few plant species. We compared how geographic variation in herbivore preference and host plant origin shape regional differences in host plant use by the specialized herbivore, Euphydryas phaeton. In parts of its range, E. phaeton uses only a native host, Chelone glabra, while in others, it also uses an introduced host, Plantago lanceolata. We offered female butterflies from each region the non-native host plant sourced from both regions and compared their oviposition behavior. The non-native host was almost universally rejected by butterflies in the region where only the native plant is used. In the region where butterflies use both hosts, females accepted non-native plants from their natal region twice as often as non-native plants from the other region where they are not used. Acceptance differed substantially among individual butterflies within regions but not among plants within regions. Thus, both individual preference and regional differences in both the insect and non-native host contributed to the geographic variation in different ways. These results highlight that, in addition to herbivore preference, regional differences in perceived plant suitability may be an important driver of diet breadth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Reflecting on two and a half decades of restoration ecology in Applied Vegetation Science (1998–2023)" discusses the evolution of restoration ecology since the inception of the journal in 1998. The initial focus of the journal was on reintroducing plant species to degraded sites and understanding large-scale processes linked to restoration. Over time, there has been a shift towards a more comprehensive examination of restoration success and the resilience of restored sites. The articles published in 2023 highlight the importance of functional traits and the challenges of returning all species in restoration projects. The field of restoration ecology continues to grapple with defining success and balancing plant diversity with complex ecosystems. [Extracted from the article]

A standing challenge in the study of animal movement ecology is the capacity to predict where and when an individual animal might occur on the landscape, the so‐called, utilisation distribution (UD). Under certain assumptions, the steady‐state UD can be predicted from a fitted exponential habitat selection function. However, these assumptions are rarely met. Furthermore, there are many applications that require the estimation of transient dynamics rather than steady‐state UDs (e.g. when modelling migration or dispersal). Thus, there is a clear need for computational tools capable of predicting UDs based on observed animal movement data.Integrated Step‐Selection Analyses (iSSAs), which integrates movement of the animal into habitat selection analyses, are widely used to study habitat selection and movement of wild animals, and result in a fully parametrised individual‐based model of animal movement, which we refer to as an integrated Step Selection Function (iSSF). An iSSF can be used to generate stochastic animal paths based on random draws from a series of Markovian redistribution kernels, each consisting of a selection‐free, but possibly habitat‐influenced, movement kernel and a movement‐free selection function. The UD can be approximated by a sufficiently large set of such stochastic paths.Here, we present a set of functions in R to facilitate the simulation of animal space use from fitted iSSFs. Our goal is to provide a general purpose simulator that is easy to use and is part of an existing workflow for iSSAs (within the amt R package).We demonstrate through a series of applications how the simulator can be used to address a variety of questions in applied movement ecology. By providing functions in amt and coded examples, we hope to encourage ecologists using iSSFs to explore their predictions and model goodness‐of‐fit using simulations, and to further explore mechanistic approaches to modelling landscape connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientifically informed approach to decision-making is key to ensuring the sustainable management of ecosystems, especially in the light of increasing human pressure on habitats and species. Protected areas, with their long-term institutional mandate for biodiversity conservation, play an important role as data providers, for example, through the long-term monitoring of natural resources. However, poor data management often limits the use and reuse of this wealth of information. In this paper, we share lessons learned in managing long-term data from the Italian Alpine national parks. Our analysis and examples focus on specific issues faced by managers of protected areas, which partially differ from those faced by academic researchers, predominantly owing to different mission, governance, and temporal perspectives. Rigorous data quality control, the use of appropriate data management tools, and acquisition of the necessary skills remain the main obstacles. Common protocols for data collection offer great opportunities for the future, and complete recovery and documentation of time series is an urgent priority. Notably, before data can be shared, protected areas should improve their data management systems, a task that can be achieved only with adequate resources and a long-term vision. We suggest strategies that protected areas, funding agencies, and the scientific community can embrace to address these problems. The added value of our work lies in promoting engagement with managers of protected areas and in reporting and analysing their concrete requirements and problems, thereby contributing to the ongoing discussion on data management and sharing through a bottom-up approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic and environmental impacts of wildlife are increasing in parallel with renewed public interest in non-lethal methods, such as fertility control, to manage these impacts. The Wildlife Research 2008 Special Issue on Fertility Control for Wildlife (Vol. 35) published following the 6th International Conference on Fertility Control for Wildlife held in 2007 in York, United Kingdom, reported studies on the effects of contraceptives on individual animals and populations, with most papers focusing on ungulates. In the past 15 years, significant progress has been made in developing novel contraceptives for wildlife and in designing methods to deliver these agents. Concurrently, the general debate on wildlife management has widened to include public attitudes and perceptions of novel and traditional methods, animal welfare issues, costs, feasibility, and regulatory and ethical issues. These developments have broadened our understanding of contexts and species for which fertility control could be employed, either as a stand-alone method or to complement other population management options. These topics were reflected in the presentations given at the 9th International Conference on Wildlife Fertility Control, held in Colorado Springs (USA) in 2022. Here, we introduce a special issue featuring selected presentations from the 2022 conference. These studies showcase the wide spectrum of topics that covered novel contraceptives tested on several species, ranging from mice to elephants. They also illustrate new methods to deliver contraceptives, models on the impact of fertility control on populations, feasibility, cost of practical applications of fertility control, discussions on animal welfare and human dimension of these approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Efficient monitoring of herpetofauna can prove challenging to agencies and NGOs responsible for their management. Wildlife cameras have been proposed as a method to monitor herpetofauna; however, estimates of detection rates and factors affecting detection by cameras are generally lacking and therefore limiting their application. Aims. We determined the effect of body size and temperature differential on the detection of snakes and frogs by passive infrared (PIR) wildlife cameras. We hypothesised that detection would differ among models and be positively correlated with body size and surface-temperature differential between the animal and substrate. We then conducted a field study to compare the detection of herpetofauna by a traditional method with PIR cameras. Methods. We tested 10 cameras of seven models on five snakes and one camera on six frogs. Photographs were downloaded to determine the detection rate of each species by each camera. We then chose a camera model to compare two herpetofauna survey methods, namely, drift fences equipped with cameras and visualencounter surveys. Surveys were conducted monthly over 12 months in Irwin County, GA, USA. Key results. The highest mean detection rates of snakes were 0.65 (s.e. = 0.33), 0.50 (s.e. = 0.34), and 0.49 (s.e. = 0.34) for the Browning Dark Ops, Reconyx Hyperfire 2, and Mossy Oak Covert Scouting Camera respectively. The detectability of larger snakes was greater than that of smaller snakes and increased as the absolute temperature differences between the snake and the substrate increased. The detectability of frogs was influenced by absolute temperature differential alone. PIR cameras generated five times more observations, documented more herpetofauna species, and were seven times more efficient than traditional surveys. Conclusions. The effectiveness of PIR cameras to detect herpetofauna varies among models and depends on the likelihood that the animal will have a body temperature significantly different from the temperature of the substrate. PIR cameras generated observations far more efficiently than traditional sampling methods. Implications. PIR wildlife cameras may be most effective at detecting larger, diurnal herpetofauna and least effective at detecting smaller, nocturnal species. Wildlife cameras have the potential to efficiently monitor some herpetofauna, providing a means to better evaluate management objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil recovery is a process aimed at reversing its degradability by incorporating favorable conditions (physical, chemical, and biological) to restructure life so that, through intervention, it can regenerate. This study aimed to analyze the potential combined use of leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala) and vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) for the recovery of degraded soils in the Nhamurenguera area, Vandúzi District, Mozambique. The experimental method included soil study (physical-chemical analyses), area preparation (field and seedbed), field management, topographic survey, and qualitative and quantitative visual assessment of the developing seedlings. A total of 650 leucaena and 680 vetiver grass seedlings were planted in an area of 0.5 ha, with a spacing of 4 m between rows and 2 m between seedlings of both species in consort. Three months after planting, the survival and adaptability levels of the seedlings were evaluated. The results showed that 17% of the leucaena individuals and 12% of the vetiver grass died due to ant attacks and insufficient moisture, despite the use of mulching. Regarding the seedlings' reaction to soil conditions, 94% of leucaena and 79% of vetiver showed slow development in the first 3 months of planting due to soil compaction and low nutrient availability (leaching). After four years, soil chemical parameters were evaluated and compared with pre-leucaena/vetiver consortium soil data. The pH values, electrical conductivity, NPK contents, calcium, and magnesium increased, improving soil quality and indicating a soil recovery process to prepare it for subsequent agricultural use, especially for cereal and legume crops.

Information on tropical Asian vertebrates has traditionally been sparse, particularly when it comes to cryptic species inhabiting the dense forests of the region. Vertebrate populations are declining globally due to land‐use change and hunting, the latter frequently referred as "defaunation." This is especially true in tropical Asia where there is extensive land‐use change and high human densities. Robust monitoring requires that large volumes of vertebrate population data be made available for use by the scientific and applied communities. Camera traps have emerged as an effective, non‐invasive, widespread, and common approach to surveying vertebrates in their natural habitats. However, camera‐derived datasets remain scattered across a wide array of sources, including published scientific literature, gray literature, and unpublished works, making it challenging for researchers to harness the full potential of cameras for ecology, conservation, and management. In response, we collated and standardized observations from 239 camera trap studies conducted in tropical Asia. There were 278,260 independent records of 371 distinct species, comprising 232 mammals, 132 birds, and seven reptiles. The total trapping effort accumulated in this data paper consisted of 876,606 trap nights, distributed among Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Bhutan, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Nepal, and far eastern India. The relatively standardized deployment methods in the region provide a consistent, reliable, and rich count data set relative to other large‐scale pressence‐only data sets, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) or citizen science repositories (e.g., iNaturalist), and is thus most similar to eBird. To facilitate the use of these data, we also provide mammalian species trait information and 13 environmental covariates calculated at three spatial scales around the camera survey centroids (within 10‐, 20‐, and 30‐km buffers). We will update the dataset to include broader coverage of temperate Asia and add newer surveys and covariates as they become available. This dataset unlocks immense opportunities for single‐species ecological or conservation studies as well as applied ecology, community ecology, and macroecology investigations. The data are fully available to the public for utilization and research. Please cite this data paper when utilizing the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cover image: Ecological research and robust science will play a vital role in supporting more sustainable food production. We see Journal of Applied Ecology playing a key role in promoting agricultural research that goes beyond a narrow focus on increasing output, and encourage more submissions at the interface of agriculture, ecology and biodiversity conservation, considering social and economic aspects for a sustainable future. (pp.1142–1146).Photo: © Dave Hoefler.. [Extracted from the article]

Metabarcoding is revolutionizing fundamental research in ecology by enabling large‐scale detection of species and producing data that are rich with community context. However, the benefits of metabarcoding have yet to be fully realized in fields of applied ecology, especially those such as classical biological control (CBC) research that involve hyperdiverse taxa. Here, we discuss some of the opportunities that metabarcoding provides CBC and solutions to the main methodological challenges that have limited the integration of metabarcoding in existing CBC workflows. We focus on insect parasitoids, which are popular and effective biological control agents (BCAs) of invasive species and agricultural pests. Accurately identifying native, invasive and BCA species is paramount, since misidentification can undermine control efforts and lead to large negative socio‐economic impacts. Unfortunately, most existing publicly accessible genetic databases cannot be used to reliably identify parasitoid species, thereby limiting the accuracy of metabarcoding in CBC research. To address this issue, we argue for the establishment of authoritative genetic databases that link metabarcoding data to taxonomically identified specimens. We further suggest using multiple genetic markers to reduce primer bias and increase taxonomic resolution. We also provide suggestions for biological control‐specific metabarcoding workflows intended to track the long‐term effectiveness of introduced BCAs. Finally, we use the example of an invasive pest, Drosophila suzukii, in a reflective "what if" thought experiment to explore the potential power of community metabarcoding in CBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Evaluating connectivity and identifying corridors for protection is a central challenge in applied ecology and conservation. Rigorous validation and comparison of how approaches perform in capturing biological processes is needed to guide research and conservation action. Objectives: We aim to compare the ability of connectivity surfaces optimised using home range and dispersal data to accurately capture lion movement during dispersal, using cost-distance and circuit theory approaches. Methods: We delineate periods of dispersal in African lions (Panthera leo) to obtain movement trajectories of dispersing individuals across the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, southern Africa. We use these trajectories to assess comparative measures of connectivity values at dispersal points across surfaces and the ability of models to discriminate between observed and randomised paths. Results: Encouragingly, results show that on average, all connectivity approaches and resistance surfaces used perform well in predicting movements of an independent set of dispersing lions. Cost-distance approaches were generally more sensitive to resistance input than circuit theory, but differences in performance measures between resistance inputs were small across both approaches. Conclusions: Findings suggest that home range data can be used to generate resistance surfaces for connectivity maps in this system, with independent dispersal data providing a promising approach to thresholding what is considered as "connected" when delineating corridors. Most dispersers traversed through landscapes that had minimal human settlement and are likely highly connected by dispersal. Research into limiting factors and dispersal abilities will be critical to understanding how populations will respond to increasing habitat fragmentation and human expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space use, estimated based on location data, provides fundamental knowledge in the basic and applied ecology of wild animals. There is a trade-off between sampling frequency and duration in location data which are collected from a tracking device attached to an animal because the battery of the device has a limited life. In this study, we assessed how different combinations of sampling frequency and duration would affect estimates for home-range size and maximum utilization area (MUA) of Japanese macaques, using datasets subsampled by reducing frequency and/or duration from the original dataset. Estimates of MUA were likely to be overestimated if the sampling duration was shorter than 80 days for Japanese macaques. Reductions in sampling frequency and duration had opposite effects on estimates of home-range size: the estimated area decreased with decreasing sampling duration, while it increased with decreasing sampling frequency. Moreover, these opposite effects can be offset when the sampling frequency and duration are simultaneously reduced. We discussed the applicability of our results to animals other than Japanese macaques and how to design the sampling frequency and duration in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1)We recently demonstrated efficacy of automated curtailment of wind turbines in reducing fatalities of eagles at a study site in Wyoming, USA. Huso and Dalthorp criticize our work, asserting that there are several 'major errors' that render our previous work as providing 'no meaningful support' for automated curtailment. As we show here, our data do indeed provide support for the efficacy of automated curtailment.2)The purported major errors they identify include: having only 1 year of post‐treatment data, having only one control and one treatment site, using the control site for inference, choosing an arbitrary demarcation date between the 'before' and 'after' periods, analysing the number, rather than the rate, of fatalities, and not including data they consider pertinent. These claims are unsupported because all result from misreading our study, ignoring realities of causal inference in field ecology, or are matters of preference.3)Most importantly, we did not fail to include pertinent data and we provided sufficient criteria in the manuscript to explain inclusion of carcasses in our study. As stated in our previous study, the eagle carcasses we did not include were found either outside of search areas or incidentally, and thus did not meet criteria for inclusion. Further, Huso and Dalthorp present a standard for spatial and temporal replication that is inconsistent with their own recent work and many other studies in this field. Finally, their reanalysis of our data ignores the control site while including inappropriate data and thus is not suitable for inference.4)We appreciate the unusually thorough critique of our work provided by Huso and Dalthorp. Despite the major errors in their argument, this discussion provides a platform for further evaluation of our original work.5)Synthesis and applications. We show that incorporating control site data and using our a priori demarcation of before and after periods into Huso and Dalthorp's reanalysis returns meaningful support for automated curtailment. We also direct the reader to an updated analysis that uses components of the approach Huso and Dalthorp suggest, along with additional data and a number of other analytical improvements, to validate and strengthen our original conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal habitat selection—central in both theoretical and applied ecology—may depend on behavioural motivations such as foraging, predator avoidance, and thermoregulation. Step‐selection functions (SSFs) enable assessment of fine‐scale habitat selection as a function of an animal's movement capacities and spatiotemporal variation in extrinsic conditions.If animal location data can be associated with behaviour, SSFs are an intuitive approach to quantify behaviour‐specific habitat selection. Fitting SSFs separately for distinct behavioural states helped to uncover state‐specific selection patterns. However, while the definition of the availability domain has been highlighted as the most critical aspect of SSFs, the influence of accounting for behaviour in the use‐availability design has not been quantified yet.Using a predator‐free population of high‐arctic muskoxen Ovibos moschatus as a case study, we aimed to evaluate how (1) defining behaviour‐specific availability domains, and/or (2) fitting separate behaviour‐specific models impacts (a) model structure, (b) estimated selection coefficients and (c) model predictive performance as opposed to behaviour‐unspecific approaches. To do so, we first applied hidden Markov models to infer different behavioural modes (resting, foraging, relocating) from hourly GPS positions (19 individuals, 153–1062 observation days/animal). Using SSFs, we then compared behaviour‐specific versus behaviour‐unspecific habitat selection in relation to terrain features, vegetation and snow conditions.Our results show that incorporating behaviour into the definition of the availability domain primarily impacts model structure (i.e. variable selection), whereas fitting separate behaviour‐specific models mainly influences selection strength. Behaviour‐specific availability domains improved predictive performance for foraging and relocating models (i.e. behaviours with medium to large spatial displacement), but decreased performance for resting models. Thus, even for a predator‐free population subject to only negligible interspecific competition and human disturbance we found that accounting for behaviour in SSFs impacted model structure, selection coefficients and predictive performance.Our results indicate that for robust inference, both a behaviour‐specific availability domain and behaviour‐specific model fitting should be explored, especially for populations where strong spatiotemporal selection trade‐offs are expected. This is particularly critical if wildlife habitat preferences are estimated to inform management and conservation initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A central challenge in applied ecology is understanding how organisms are spatially and temporally distributed and how management might be tailored to maintain or restore species distributions. The niche concept is central to understanding species distributions, but the diversity of niche definitions requires that multiple dimensions be considered. For example, the Grinnellian niche concept focuses on environmental conditions that allow species to persist, the Eltonian niche concept stresses the influence of biotic interactions, and the fundamental niche concept considers both abiotic and biotic environmental features to define spaces that organisms could occupy. Methods: We combined abiotic (A), biotic (B), and movement (M) information (collectively, BAM model) to map the multidimensional niche of Prairie Chub Macrhybopsis australis, a regionally endemic freshwater fish currently under review for listing under the Endangered Species Act. We estimated A using remotely sensed environmental riverscape variables, B using the spatial distribution of a hybridization zone between Prairie Chub and Shoal Chub M. hyostoma, and M using data from a mark–recapture study. Result: The BAM model estimated the spatial extent of multiple niches, including the Grinnellian (A; extent = 944 km of river), Eltonian (B; 2974 km), and fundamental niche (overlap of A + B; 645 km) niches. When A, B, and M components were combined, the estimated extent of the Prairie Chub niche was 645 km. Conclusion: Our work shows that the realized, multidimensional niche of Prairie Chub includes medium to large rivers with high habitat connectivity in the upper–middle Red River basin upstream of the distribution of Shoal Chub. The current Prairie Chub distribution could be maintained by preventing further habitat fragmentation and maintaining the environmental gradient separating Prairie Chub from Shoal Chub. Expansion of the species distribution may be possible through restoration of longitudinal fluvial connectivity. Impact statementManagement of imperiled fishes might be improved by integration of biological (B) interactions, abiotic (A) gradients in habitat, and fish movement (M). We provide an example of the BAM framework using a fish that is a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research Highlight: Lozano, Y. M., Gordillo, H., Waldmann, W., & Rillig, M. C. (2023). Photodegradation modifies microplastic effects on soil properties and plant performance. Journal of Applied Ecology, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365‐2664.14514. Plastics are omnipresent in daily life and so is plastic waste in the environment. Once there, plastic waste remains for a long time, slowly disintegrating into ever smaller particles including microplastics (particles <5 mm). Simultaneously, physical and chemical properties of these particles are modified due to aging processes. Although scientific awareness about microplastic effects on terrestrial ecosystems is recently increasing, current studies focused on the effects of pristine microplastics. However, modified properties due to aging could influence microplastic effects on terrestrial ecosystems and their components. In their current study, Lozano et al. provide first evidence that photodegradation can modify the effects of different microplastics on soil properties and plant performance, indicating that degradation could intensify microplastic effects on plant–soil systems. These results emphasise the need to better investigate how the global issue of plastic pollution affects ecosystems, also over the long term, and the need to stop the flow of plastics entering the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Прикладная экология – это важная сфера человеческой деятельности и знания, характеризующаяся наличием собственного терминологического пласта, практически не изученного с лингвистических позиций. В статье изучаются структурно-деривационные особенности современной англоязычной терминологии сферы прикладной экологии. Материалом для исследования послужил корпус терминов общим объемом 1100 единиц английского языка, отобранных методом сплошной выборки из различных печатных и электронных источников. В ходе работы определены компонентная структура и основные модели образования экологических терминов, такие как: морфологические, морфолого-синтаксические и синтаксические. Обнаружена значительная доля непроизводных терминологических единиц. В ходе работы выявлено количественное и процентное соотношение конкретных типов терминообразования в рамках данных моделей, определено преобладание синтаксического способа терминодеривации, частотно представленного моделями с сочетанием имен существительных, в том числе с участием предлогов, имен прилагательных и имен существительных.

The article explores the population dynamics of the backswimmer Notonecta maculata and its interaction with damselflies in a garden pond over two years. In 2022, the study reveals significant changes in the abundance, life cycles, and behavior of both species, including cannibalism among nymphs and reduced predation on adult damselflies. It mentions that the study also documents the presence of other aquatic insects and vertebrate predators in the pond ecosystem.

Societal Impact Statement: Given the rapidly increasing drought and temperature stresses associated with climate change, innovative approaches for food security are imperative. One understudied opportunity is using feral crops—plants that have escaped and persisted without cultivation—as a source of genetic diversity, which could build resilience in domesticated conspecifics. In some cases, however, feral plants vigorously compete with crops as weeds, challenging food security. By bridging historically siloed ecological, agronomic, and evolutionary lines of inquiry into feral crops, there is the opportunity to improve food security and understand this relatively understudied anthropogenic phenomenon. Summary: The phenomenon of feral crops, that is, free‐living populations that have established outside cultivation, is understudied. Some researchers focus on the negative consequences of domestication, whereas others assert that feral populations may serve as useful pools of genetic diversity for future crop improvement. Although research on feral crops and the process of feralization has advanced rapidly in the last two decades, generalizable insights have been limited by a lack of comparative research across crop species and other factors. To improve international coordination of research on this topic, we summarize the current state of feralization research and chart a course for future study by consolidating outstanding questions in the field. These questions, which emerged from the colloquium "Darwins' reversals: What we now know about Feralization and Crop Wild Relatives" at the BOTANY 2021 conference, fall into seven categories that span both basic and applied research: (1) definitions and drivers of ferality, (2) genetic architecture and pathway, (3) evolutionary history and biogeography, (4) agronomy and breeding, (5) fundamental and applied ecology, (6) collecting and conservation, and (7) taxonomy and best practices. These questions serve as a basis for ferality researchers to coordinate research in these areas, potentially resulting in major contributions to food security in the face of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As commonly perceived and pointed out, ecology is fragmented into many poorly integrated subdisciplines, resulting in recruiting, communication, and perspective meta-problems. To put together those fragments, solve those meta-problems, and integrate our efforts more efficiently we suggest a tentative Canonical Ecology Curriculum to be used for training the next generations of ecologists. Such a curriculum should be structured around a backbone of robust theories, classical case studies, and common methods, which we can expect to be taught in any graduate programme worldwide. This would minimise the ambiguity of what an ecologist learns in different countries and continents, strengthen our common vocabulary for internal communication, and help us bridge basic and applied Ecology more efficiently. This minimalistic backbone would leave plenty of room for the "free programme", so that each institution also teaches knowledge and skills relevant to its own reality. To achieve this aim, we propose to focus on eight spatiotemporal scales, very much in line with current textbooks, but in reverse order: from global to genetic. This would be consistent with our ability to understand and predict, as aggregated entities average out the idiosyncrasies of lower organisational levels. We close on a call for global collaboration to exchange experiences, define common goals, develop the curriculum, and operationalise its use for real-world teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper comments on five articles in the special issue "Circulating Images in the Life Sciences." It sees the papers as unified by two themes. The first is their attention to the processes of legitimation. The second is the embedding of the images in textual cultures, which changed over time from the mid‐nineteenth century to the very recent past, most notably with the recent advent of digital culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geodiversity, the abiotic heterogeneity of the Earth's surface and subsurface, is gaining recognition for its links to biodiversity and community assembly; however, geodiversity's relationship with trait diversity is poorly understood. The ecological niche is at the core of geodiversity–trait diversity relationships; investigating patterns between geodiversity and trait diversity can provide mechanistic inferences relating to community assembly and, in turn, improve biodiversity predictions and ecological niche models. Modern data availability and analytical tools provide novel opportunities for nuanced and fuller characterisation of geodiversity–trait diversity relationships across broad extents. Current research indicates that specific geodiversity components are important drivers of multivariate trait diversity, whereas other components elicit strong trait-specific responses. Geodiversity – the abiotic heterogeneity of Earth's (sub)surface – is gaining recognition for its ecological links to biodiversity. However, theoretical and conceptual knowledge of geodiversity–trait diversity relationships is currently lacking and can improve understanding of abiotic drivers of community assembly. Here we synthesise the state of knowledge of these relationships. We find that some components of geodiversity (e.g., topographic heterogeneity) elicit strong trait responses, whereas other components (e.g., substrate heterogeneity) have marginal effects in driving trait distributions. However, current knowledge is lacking in key aspects, including geodiversity's effect on trait-specific diversity and intraspecific variation. We call for the explicit inclusion of geodiversity when relating environmental drivers to trait diversity, taking advantage of the increasing availability of trait and geodiversity data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishing cause and effect (i.e., causality) is a fundamental aim in science and important for wildlife management, as we need to know the cause of an event if we seek to reproduce, enhance, or diminish it. We review 13 alternative approaches for applying 12 criteria to establish causality. Strength of causal inference is greater when more causal criteria are applied so we propose a scaffolding set of criteria to clearly establish causality. We recommend validating predicted outcomes of wildlife management efforts when predictions are based on a unique mechanism and temporality, especially when manipulative experimental studies are not feasible. We use 3 case studies, namely of lamb predation by feral pigs (Sus scrofa), causes of trends in northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina), and causes of trends in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), to illustrate these topics, which are of wide relevance in wildlife management. We recommend greater use of causality and relative strength of causal inference to improve adaptive wildlife management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health researchers have long been aware of the importance of defining the human community associated with research on environmental health initiatives. However, the field community's human components where applied ecology research is conducted, e.g. diverse participants and perspectives, are often overlooked in environmental problem solving. We outline a framework for elevating the human dimension in defining the field community in applied ecology research and for teaching diverse undergraduate students the skills needed to address Anthropocene environmental concerns. We promote broadening participation and incorporating cultural and racial perspectives in ecology research planning, implementation, and teaching. We use the environmental research problem of concern to identify the diverse human community groups potentially connected to the problem and guide the strategies for incorporating their perspectives in the proposed research project. Which human community, whether local, ethnic, or visiting public community, affects the resource management strategy, i.e. people protect what they love, can change the outcomes of applied ecological research, as well as promote development of a diverse environmental workforce. Broadening participation and perspectives means that the people asking the research questions are also part of the social ecological community processes who choose which questions to pursue to manage the natural resources of the community. Here, we promote research and teaching practices that consider the long-standing multicultural connections to nature to allow all students to pursue their love of nature and its beauty in a safe, comfortable, and mentoring setting. We integrate current human diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused pedagogical knowledge into the Ecological Society of America-endorsed 4DEE multidimensional curricular framework. We provide a faculty action guide to engage and train diverse students in ecological practices that meet the needs of today's environmental problem-solving workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological changes are creating disruptions that often disproportionately impact communities of color and economically disadvantaged areas. Scientists who study the consequences experienced by these communities are uniquely suited to bring the public into their work as a way of setting conditions that enable impacted residents to empower themselves to advance environmental and community change. In addition to involving community stakeholders in the process of science, community science can be used to motivate learning and increase engagement of students. Here we highlight a case study of one way a historically Black college involved local communities and students in water quality monitoring efforts to examine the role of the environment in human health. Students in an introductory‐level environmental toxicology course collaborated with community members to track pollution and monitor conditions in an urban, impaired stream. Students participated in bi‐monthly water quality monitoring alongside community watershed researchers and an annual day‐long multisite sampling event with community residents and organizations. Through this engagement, students and community members contributed to the collection of data, learned about the significance of their results, and translated findings into strategies to advance watershed restoration, health, quality of life, and environmental justice goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing (RS) and geospatial sciences already amount to a long history of fostering research in topics related to ecology. Data and methods have mainly been subject to research and experiments, but trends are now emerging that suggest the use of RS in practical applications like nationwide monitoring programs and assisting global conservation goals. However, use of active remote sensing for ecological and conservation is in its infancy, and the implications of active sensor data, including light detection and ranging and radio detection and ranging that mostly deliver three‐dimensional (3D) information, are still relatively primitive and have largely been limited to indirect use of their extracted proxies for ecological modelling.This cross‐journal special feature between Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Journal of Animal Ecology, Journal of Applied Ecology and Journal of Ecology includes 18 papers that include full research papers, reviews and technical applications. They are mostly novel in either or both their interpretation of proxies derived from active RS data and the direct usage of 3D RS techniques (terrestrial, airborne, UAV borne and spaceborne) to address ecological topics.We categorized the published contributions into the following thematic groups, with some degree of overlap: (i) ecosystem structural analysis by active data (nine studies); (ii) response of animal populations to climate dynamics as shown by active data; (iii) interactive effects of forest structure and wildlife monitoring (five studies); (iv) forest inventories assisted by active data (one study) and (v) tree type classification by active data (one study).Synthesis. The studies in this Special Feature and trends shown by other recent works at the interface of ecology and active RS confirm the ongoing shift from indirect and solely proxy‐based approaches to direct and more data‐science driven methods in approaching ecology and conservation problems by means of active sensors. Relatively affordable and accessible drone and citizen science‐based on‐demand active RS data acquisition are becoming common practice, and the future of sensor development is hypothesized to go beyond the current domination of very high spatial resolution data and towards multiple spaceborne platforms. These tools and methods will support spatial upscaling, uncertainty analysis, large‐scale mapping and monitoring of wildlife dynamics, among other topics that can take advantage of multitemporal/time series data. Nevertheless, access to demanding and costly very high‐resolution data sources may still be maintained and optimized by establishing international and public–private partnered data pools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]