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Disturbance Ecology: A New Emerging Field in Basic/Applied Ecology and Conservation

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A topical collection in Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This collection belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".

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Dr. Corrado Battisti

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Torre Flavia’ LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Station, Protected Areas–Regional Park Service, Città Metropolitana di Roma Capitale, Viale G. Ribotta 41, 00144 Rome, Italy
Interests: quantitative ecology; biogeography; problem solving in wildlife management; wetland ecology and management; habitat fragmentation and ecological network planning
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Prof. Dr. Luca Luiselli

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Institute for Development Ecology Conservation and Cooperation Via G. Tomasi di Lampedusa 33 I, 00144 Rome, Italy
Interests: community ecology; reptile biology and conservation; tropical reptile ecology; chelonian conservation; reptile population biology; reptile dietary habits and foraging ecology
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Dear Colleagues,

The effects of human activities are evident everywhere around our planet. Together with the modifying agents of natural origin (‘disturbances’), our species has heavily shaped the natural ecosystems and landscapes through historical and recent processes (‘threats’) characterized by different spatial and time regimes. Therefore, both academic basic/applied ecologists and conservation practitioners managing species and habitats must necessarily obtain critical information on extent, duration, frequency, intensity, predictability of a large set of natural disturbances and, overall, of human-induced threats pressing on conservation targets (populations, communities, ecosystems, and processes). All these data will be useful to develop strategies following logical problem-solving procedures and decision making approaches.

Nonetheless, although disturbance ecology (as a basic discipline) and threat analysis (as an applied conservation science discipline) are proving to be very ‘hot’ emerging arenas rich in new conceptual tools and operational approaches, they are still relatively little used in conservation project management.

Moreover, due to the transversal aspect of these disciplines (disturbances and threats are chemical, physical, and biological events and could be classified following many criteria), many papers are dispersed in journals belonging to different (and often ‘distant’) disciplinary fields (basic ecology, vegetation science, risk analysis, environmental sciences, pollution, chemistry, conservation, environmental impact assessment, etc.), making it difficult to define a disciplinary arrangement and evaluation of its progress.

Hereby, we want to propose a collection of original peer-reviewed papers written by experts with a specific background on a wide range of topics related to disturbance ecology and threat analysis, in both temperate and tropical regions.

Dr. Corrado Battisti
Prof. Dr. Luca Luiselli
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Anthropogenic threats
Disturbance
Magnitude
Impact
Ecological targets

Published Papers (9 papers)

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2024

Jump to: 2022, 2021, 2020

14 pages, 2499 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Light Environment on Adult Odonate Communities in Disturbed and Intact Forest: The Importance of Small-Scale Effects

by Wade B. Worthen and Meyer Guevara-Mora

Diversity 2024, 16(9), 557; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16090557 - 6 Sep 2024

Viewed by 693

Abstract

Deforestation in the tropics causes shifts in adult odonate community structure, from forests dominated by thermoconforming zygopteran specialists to open areas with higher representations of heliothermic anisopterans. We tested for these shifts in the Maquina and Cuecha rivers in Monteverde, Costa Rica. We compared adult odonate communities in 100 m plots (subdivided into twenty 5 m subplots) located in disturbed, partially open areas with those in 100 m plots located in intact forest and used general linear models to describe how odonate abundance, species richness, species diversity, and the Anisoptera/Zygoptera ratio varied among plots, subplots, habitat type (disturbed/forested), rivers, and as functions of percent canopy cover and light levels. Plots varied in light levels and percent canopy cover, but there were no significant differences in species richness or diversity. Community composition, however, varied across plots and subplots in NMDS and PERMANOVA analyses, largely as a consequence of the preference of Hetaerina cruentata and Paltothemis lineatipes for high light subplots and H. majuscula for low light subplots. NMDS axes were significantly correlated with percent canopy cover and light level in subplots, and the Anisoptera/Zygoptera ratio correlated with NMDS axes at both the plot and subplot scales, indicating that the relative abundance of anisopterans did increase with increasing light and decreasing canopy cover. Differences among plots and habitats can largely be attributed to species-specific differences in habitat selection at a small spatial scale, causing predicted shifts in the Anisoptera/Zygoptera ratio as dominance shifts from endemic forest species to wide-ranging generalists. This is one of the first studies that confirms these patterns for a cloud forest community. Full article

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2022

Jump to: 2024, 2021, 2020

14 pages, 1500 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fish Diversity and Ichthyofauna of Areas Adjacent to the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea

by Hyeongsu Kim, Hyungsoo Seo, Suhwan Kim, Hyunmac Kim and Myeonghun Ko

Diversity 2022, 14(12), 1011; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14121011 - 22 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1882

Abstract

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established in 1953 during the cessation of the Korean War, which divided the Korean Peninsula into North and South Korea. The DMZ is a representative biodiversity resource because it limits human activities. The current status of faunal diversity in adjacent areas of the DMZ was investigated in five regions at 91 sites from 2015 to 2019. A total of 19,562 individuals were collected and identified, including 81 species, 19 families, and 11 orders. Zacco koreanus was the most abundant fish species (relative abundance of 21.9%), while other key species were Zacco platypus (18.2%), Rhynchocypris oxycephalus (5.2%), Rhynchocypris steindachneri (4.9%), and Pungtungia herzi (3.7%). Notably, twenty-nige endemic and seven Red Data Book species were recorded, and three exotic species, Carassius cuvieri, Micropterus salmoides, and Lepomis macrochirus were found at five sites. Human activities and disturbances were found at 34.0% of all sampling sites, and the highest disturbance factors were river dredging and agricultural use (seven sites), sewage (five sites), and fisheries and development (two sites). We recommend that the governments of South and North Korea collaboratively manage the DMZ to protect ecological diversity and maintain its status as a symbol of peace. Full article

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11 pages, 519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Conservation Project on Two Threatened Birds: Applying Expert-Based Threat Analysis and Threat Reduction Assessment in a Mediterranean Wetland

by Pietro Giovacchini, Corrado Battisti and Letizia Marsili

Diversity 2022, 14(2), 94; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14020094 - 28 Jan 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2940

Abstract

We applied two recent approaches largely used in biological conservation: Threat Analysis (TAN) and Threat Reduction Assessments (TRAs), assessing the effectiveness of a project focused on two water-related bird species (common tern, Sterna hirundo and little tern, Sternula albifrons), commonly breeding in some wetlands of Italy. We used the IUCN standardized lexicon for the classification of threats, utilizing a panel of experts to assess a set of regime attributes (extent, severity and magnitude) of each human-induced disturbance. Our aims were: (i) through the TAN approach, to carry out an arrangement and quantification of the main threats acting on our focal species and select the priority ones; (ii) through the TRA approach, to test the effectiveness of an operational project focused on mitigating the threats and improving the breeding success of species (i.e., building rafts and floating islands to encourage their nesting). Using the TAN approach, experts identified the following human-induced threats (IUCN code): 6.1—Generic disturbance; 7.2—Water stress; 7.3—Salinization; 8.8—Vagrant dogs; 8.8—Mediterranean gulls; 8.8—Wild boars, all significantly different in their magnitude. Among them, wild boars and Mediterranean gulls appeared the priority threats with the greatest extent, intensity and magnitude. Using the TRA approach, after the project, we assessed an overall decrease in the threat magnitude of 23.08% (21.42% when considering only the threats directly affected by our project). These data suggest that further efforts should be devoted to achieving greater effectiveness of conservation actions focused on our target species. With limited time and resources to quantify threats, expert-based approaches could be useful for rapidly assessing the effectiveness of small conservation projects by providing a range of scores obtained following an analytical procedure. In this regard, Threat Analysis and Threat Reduction Assessment could be considered useful tools to support adaptive management in project management cycles. Full article

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2021

Jump to: 2024, 2022, 2020

16 pages, 857 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses and Indicators of Composition, Diversity, and Productivity of Plant Communities at Different Levels of Disturbance in a Wetland Ecosystem

by Tingting Duan, Jing Zhang and Zhengjun Wang

Diversity 2021, 13(6), 252; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13060252 - 8 Jun 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2687

Abstract

Grassland tourism is a very popular leisure activity in many parts of the world. However, the presence of people in these areas causes disturbance to the local environment and grassland resources. This study analyzes the composition, diversity, and productivity under different levels of disturbance of the plant communities in the Kangxi Grassland Tourist Area and the Yeyahu Wetland Nature Reserve of Beijing, China. It aims to identify indicators of plant communities and their responses to different levels of disturbance. Our analysis shows that the plant community density and coverage have a certain compensatory increase under disturbed conditions. With the increase in disturbances, more drought-tolerant species have appeared (increased by 5.7%), some of which have become the grazing-tolerance indicator species in the trampled grazed area (TGA). For plant community productivity, biomass and height are good indicators for distinguishing different disturbances (p < 0.05). In addition, several diversity indices reveal the change of plant communities from different perspectives (three of the four indices were significant at the p < 0.05 level). For soil parameters, soil water content and organic matter concentration help to indicate different disturbance levels (the former has a 64% change). Moreover, the standard deviation of the plant community and soil parameters is also a good indicator of their spatial variability and disturbance levels, especially for the TGA. Our analysis confirms that the indicators of productivity, diversity, and soil parameters can indicate the disturbance level in each subarea from different perspectives. However, under disturbed conditions, a comprehensive analysis of these indicators is needed before we can accurately understand the state of health of the plant community. Full article

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14 pages, 1963 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insects in the City: Does Remnant Native Habitat Influence Insect Order Distributions?

by Mani Shrestha, Jair E. Garcia, Freya Thomas, Scarlett R. Howard, Justin H. J. Chua, Thomas Tscheulin, Alan Dorin, Anders Nielsen and Adrian G. Dyer

Diversity 2021, 13(4), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13040148 - 30 Mar 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4599

Abstract

There is increasing interest in developing urban design principles that incorporate good ecological management. Research on understanding the distribution and role of beneficial pollinating insects, in particular, is changing our view of the ecological value of cities. With the rapid expansion of the built environment comes a need to understand how insects may be affected in extensive urban areas. We therefore investigated insect pollinator capture rates in a rapidly growing and densely urbanized city (Melbourne, Australia). We identified a remnant native habitat contained within the expansive urban boundary, and established study sites at two nearby populated urban areas. We employed standard pan trap sampling techniques to passively sample insect orders in the different environments. Our results show that, even though the types of taxonomic groups of insects captured are comparable between locations, important pollinators like bees and hoverflies were more frequently captured in the remnant native habitat. By contrast, beetles (Coleoptera) and butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera) were more frequently observed in the urban residential regions. Our results suggest that the maintenance of native habitat zones within cities is likely to be valuable for the conservation of bees and the ecosystem services they provide. Full article

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11 pages, 658 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Damage Effect Impacts on Natural Environment and Recreational Benefits in Bikeway

by Chun-Chu Yeh, Crystal Jia-Yi Lin, James Po-Hsun Hsiao and Chin-Huang Huang

Diversity 2021, 13(2), 52; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13020052 - 29 Jan 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2531

Abstract

Landscape is an important element in outdoor sports recreation. Cyclists’ perception of an environment reflects their interaction with the actual environment; they become aware of the recreation site through their primary receptive senses. As one popular bikeway in Taiwan, the landscape along Dong-Feng bikeway appeals to many cyclists. Nevertheless, the landscape was spoiled due to a soil conservation project. This study follows the theorem of planned behavior (TPB) and applies contingent behavior scenario to evaluate the recreational benefits and the damage effect of landscape. The empirical model uses travel cost method (TCM) to estimate the consumer surplus of cyclists. Under the scenario of damaged landscape, the number of trips went down 1.01 times and the recreational benefit dropped to NT$750, making the cost of damaging the landscape to NT$132 per person. The result indicates that the landscape of environment quality is crucial to cyclists, and it is important to preserve the natural environment of bike paths for developing the sport tourism sustainability. Full article

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2020

Jump to: 2024, 2022, 2021

19 pages, 3446 KiB

Open AccessReview

Microplastics in Freshwater: What Is the News from the World?

by Alessandra Cera, Giulia Cesarini and Massimiliano Scalici

Diversity 2020, 12(7), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12070276 - 9 Jul 2020

Cited by 123 | Viewed by 14473

Abstract

Plastic has become a “hot topic” for aquatic ecosystems’ conservation together with other issues such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Indeed, plastics may detrimentally affect habitats and biota. Small plastics, called microplastics, are more easily taken up by freshwater organisms, causing negative effects on growth, reproduction, predatory performance, etc. Since available information on microplastics in freshwater are fragmentary, the aim of this review is twofold: (i) to show, analyse, and discuss data on the microplastics concentration in freshwater and (ii) to provide the main polymers contaminating freshwater for management planning. A bibliographic search collected 158 studies since 2012, providing the scientific community with one of the largest data sets on microplastics in freshwater. Contamination is reported in all continents except Antarctica, but a lack of information is still present. Lentic waters are generally more contaminated than lotic waters, and waters are less contaminated than sediments, suggested to be sinks. The main contaminating polymers are polypropylene and polyethylene for sediment and water, while polyethylene and polyethylene terephthalate are mainly found in biota. Future research is encouraged (1) to achieve a standardised protocol for monitoring, (2) to identify sources and transport routes (including primary or secondary origin), and (3) to investigate trophic transfer, especially from benthic invertebrates. Full article

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9 pages, 386 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Assessing the Nature Reserve Management Effort Using an Expert-Based Threat Analysis Approach

by Corrado Battisti, Giuliano Fanelli, Francesca Marini, Giovanni Amori and Luca Luiselli

Diversity 2020, 12(4), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12040145 - 6 Apr 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2839

Abstract

In this note, we suggest the adoption of expert-based approaches for threat analysis to allow an assessment of the magnitude of efforts of wildlife management actions. Similar to what is proposed for expert-based quantification of threat events, in wildlife management this approach can be applied by assigning a score to the extent of the areas affected by management, their frequency and intensity of action, supporting the decision-making process and optimizing the management strategies, both ordinary (for example, in the operational management of nature reserves) and extraordinary (for example, within specific target-oriented conservation projects). Quantifying and defining priority ranks among management events can be useful: (i) to compare managed areas with each other or the same areas in different times; (ii) to adjust the allocation of resources among alternative management actions (assigning more or less resources in terms of time, budget, operators, and technology). Finally, similar to what is done in the threat analysis approach, managers could compare the effort (magnitude) of management at different times. We report, as an example, a first quantification for a case study carried out in a coastal nature reserve. Full article

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16 pages, 2052 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Forest Composition and Disturbance on Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Spore Density, Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Root Colonization and Soil Carbon Stocks in a Dry Afromontane Forest in Northern Ethiopia

by Emiru Birhane, Kbrom Fissiha Gebretsadik, Gebeyehu Taye, Ermias Aynekulu, Meley Mekonen Rannestad and Lindsey Norgrove

Diversity 2020, 12(4), 133; https://doi.org/10.3390/d12040133 - 31 Mar 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4337

Abstract

We investigated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spore density and root colonization in three distinct dry Afromontane forest plant communities, representing differing levels of disturbance and soil properties. Soil and root samples were collected from sixty-five 50 × 50-m plots from four plant communities. We collected data for AMF spore density, AMF root colonization and soil organic carbon stocks in 0–25 and 25–50 cm soil depth ranges. AMF spore density, and root colonization differed significantly among plant communities. The least disturbed Juniperus procera–Maytenus senegalensis (Jupr-Mase) plant community, which contained high tree and shrub density, had the highest AMF spore density, root colonization and soil carbon stocks. The most disturbed Cadia purpurea–Opuntia ficus-indica (Capu-Opfi) community which contained the lowest tree and shrub density supported the lowest AMF spore density, root colonization and soil carbon stocks. There was no significant difference in spore density between the two soil depths, but AMF root colonization was significantly higher in the upper soil than in the subsoil (p < 0.001). The difference in soil properties was not uniform between plant communities. Conserving remnant dry Afromontane forests and restoring the degraded forests are critical to improve and maintain forest ecosystem functioning and sustain ecosystem services. Full article

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Disturbance Ecology: A New Emerging Field in Basic/Applied Ecology and Conservation

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Published Papers (9 papers)

2024

Jump to: 2022, 2021, 2020

2022

Jump to: 2024, 2021, 2020

2021

Jump to: 2024, 2022, 2020

2020

Jump to: 2024, 2022, 2021

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