Tropical forests support immense biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services for billions of people. Despite this value, tropical deforestation continues at a high rate. Emerging evidence... Show moreTropical forests support immense biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services for billions of people. Despite this value, tropical deforestation continues at a high rate. Emerging evidence suggests that elections can play an important role in shaping deforestation, for instance by incentivising politicians to allow increased utilisation of forests in return for political support. Nevertheless, the role of elections as driver of deforestation has not yet been comprehensively tested at broad geographic scales. Here, we created an annual database from 2001 to 2018 on political elections and forest loss for 55 tropical nations and modelled the effect of elections on deforestation. In total, 1.5 million km2 of forest was lost during this time period, especially in the Amazon, the Congo Basin and in Southeast Asia. The annual rate of deforestation increased in 37 (67 %) of the analysed countries. Deforestation was significantly lower in years with uncompetitive lower chamber elections compared to competitive election years (i.e. when the opposition can participate in elections and has a legitimate chance to gain governmental power). Our results show a pervasive loss of tropical forests and suggest that competitive elections can be potential drivers of deforestation. Future analyses at higher resolution (intra-annual deforestation and sub-national governance) and simultaneous collection of data on additional mechanisms (legislative changes, financial investments, and binding term limits) will likely provide additional insights into the impacts of elections. We therefore recommend that organisations monitoring election transparency and fairness should also monitor environmental impacts such as forest loss, habitat destruction and resource exploitation. Show less
Wildlife trade is a threat to species survival and wild collected orchids are a notable component of it. In the first systematic patent review of any wild species, we find many innovative and... Show moreWildlife trade is a threat to species survival and wild collected orchids are a notable component of it. In the first systematic patent review of any wild species, we find many innovative and industrial uses of orchids, using the example of traditional product salep made with wild harvested Mediterranean and Central Asian terrestrial orchids. Despite considerable interest in the conservation of these orchids, no systematic analysis of innovation and technology transfer had been conducted for natural products using them. Our systematic review on salep found 244 patent applications, of which 89 were granted, spanning 163 years from 1855 to 2018. Uses included industrial materials and contemporary medicine formulations. This recalibration of the value of salep using patent analysis shows that, rather than being restricted to two specific products of limited regional circulation, these orchids are a rich source of unique materials with myriad applications around the world. In order to conserve wild terrestrial orchids collected for salep, conservation science must engage with the full extent of the utility of and commercial interest in these particular orchids. Additionally we demonstrate how conservationists can use patents as a source of information on incipient commercial interest in wild species. Show less
Hooykaas, M.J.D.; Schilthuizen, M.; Aten, C.; Hemelaar, E.M.; Albers, C.J.; Smeets, I. 2019
Biodiversity is in worldwide decline and it is becoming increasingly important to expand biodiversity awareness and achieve broad-based support for conservation. We introduce the concept of species... Show moreBiodiversity is in worldwide decline and it is becoming increasingly important to expand biodiversity awareness and achieve broad-based support for conservation. We introduce the concept of species literacy, as knowledge about species can be a good starting point for engaging people in biodiversity. However, concern has been raised about a general lack of knowledge about native species. We explored species literacy via a species identification test in the Netherlands, and we investigated potential drivers of it. The dataset included 3210 general public participants, 602 primary school children aged 9/10, and 938 biodiversity professionals.A considerable gap in species literacy was found between professionals and laypeople. Knowledge about common, native animals was particularly low in children, who on average identified only 35% of the species correctly. Mammals received relatively high identification scores as compared to birds. Laypeople's species literacy increased with age and educational level, and was associated with positive attitudes towards nature and animals, media exposure and having a garden.The results indicate that a considerable part of the Dutch lay public is disconnected from native biodiversity. This points to a separation between people and nature that could hinder future efforts to preserve biodiversity. Our assessment can help bridge the gap between laypeople and professionals, as it can help set up communication and education strategies about native biodiversity that fit prior knowledge. Show less
The relative impact of climate change and land use change on biodiversity loss is still under discussion. To alleviate drawbacks related to the use of observed species distributions, we introduce a... Show moreThe relative impact of climate change and land use change on biodiversity loss is still under discussion. To alleviate drawbacks related to the use of observed species distributions, we introduce a novel approach to separate the effects of climate change and land use change, the latter split into fragmentation, agricultural intensification and reforestation. This approach, coined the Attribute Importance Analysis (AIA), uses the ability of species attributes to explain population declines. Through the a priori association between attributes and individual drivers, the relative importance of the drivers in causing the species decline can be assessed. We tested this approach on the population decline of vertebrate, insect, vascular plant, and fungi species in the Netherlands since the 1950s. Fragmentation was clearly the strongest driver of species decline for vertebrates and plants, and this may also be true for insects. For fungi, climate change seems the only driver. We found a weak signal of the importance of agricultural intensification for the decline of vertebrates only. We ascribe this unexpected low importance of agricultural intensification to our partitioning of agricultural effects into fragmentation and intensification. Our generic approach can offer valuable quantitative information on the relative importance of drivers that change local community composition without the need for spatial explicit information. Without data on temporal trends in drivers, including local climate and land use change, accurate information on species decline, species attribute values and association of attributes with drivers can give insights into the causes of species decline, which, in turn, can be used to adapt nature management accordingly. Show less
Preserving global biodiversity depends upon designating many more large terrestrial and marine areas as strictly protected areas. Yet recent calls for addressing biodiversity loss by setting... Show morePreserving global biodiversity depends upon designating many more large terrestrial and marine areas as strictly protected areas. Yet recent calls for addressing biodiversity loss by setting aside more protected areas have been metwith hostility fromsomesocial scientists and even someconservation biologists. The main objections against the so-called 'nature needs half' movement include the following. First, setting aside protected areas implies that some vulnerable human communities will be displaced to make space for wildlife. Second, separating humans from their environment ignores the fact that humans have always been part of the environments around them, and creates a false dichotomy between nature and culture. Third, conservationists are said to put the blame for biodiversity loss on all humanity, rather than on those who are doing most of the damage. Fourth, many social justice proponents argue that human population growth is not related to biodiversity loss or other sustainability challenges. This article critically addresses these four objections, exposing their robust anthropocentric bias. Protected area critics reliably demand fairness for human beings at the expense of nonhuman beings, who they treat asmorally inconsequential. But justice is not only about just us. Conservation properly understood implies a fair division of Earth's resources between human and nonhuman beings. Justice demands setting aside at least half Earth's lands and seas for nature, free from intensive economic activities. Show less
Genetic pollution of a native species through hybridization with an invasive species poses an insidious conservation threat. To expose genetic pollution, molecular methods employing multilocus data... Show moreGenetic pollution of a native species through hybridization with an invasive species poses an insidious conservation threat. To expose genetic pollution, molecular methods employing multilocus data are required. We present a case study of genetic pollution via hybridization of a native crested newt species, Triturus cristatus, by the invasive Triturus carnifex on the Veluwe in the Netherlands. We sequenced 50 nuclear markers by next generation sequencing and one mitochondrial marker by Sanger sequencing for four populations from the native range of both parent species and eleven ponds on the Veluwe. We use three population genetic approaches (HIest, BAPS and Structure) to determine the genetic composition of the Veluwe newts based on all nuclear markers, a subset of 18 diagnostic markers and the complementary 32 non-diagnostic markers, with and without parental populations. BAPS underestimates genetic pollution, whereas Structure is comparatively accurate compared to HIest, although Structure's relative advantage decreases with the diagnosticity of the markers. Data simulation confirms these findings. Genetic composition of the Veluwe ponds ranges from completely native, via different degrees of genetic admixture, to completely invasive. The observed hybrid zone appears to be bimodal, suggesting negative selection against hybrids. A genetic footprint of the native species is present in invasive populations, evidencing that the invasive locally replaced the native species. Genetic pollution is currently confined to a small area, but the possibility of further expansion cannot be excluded. Removal of genetic pollution will not be easy. We emphasize the need for legal guidance to manage genetic pollution. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Show less
Insect pollinated mass flowering crops are becoming more widespread and there is a need to understand which insects are primarily responsible for the pollination of these crops so conservation... Show moreInsect pollinated mass flowering crops are becoming more widespread and there is a need to understand which insects are primarily responsible for the pollination of these crops so conservation measures can be appropriately targeted in the face of pollinator declines. This study used field surveys in conjunction with cage manipulations to identify the relative contributions of different pollinator taxa to the pollination of two widespread flowering crops, field beans and oilseed rape. Flower visiting pollinator communities observed in the field were distinct for each crop; while field beans were visited primarily by a few bumblebee species, multiple pollinator taxa visited oilseed, and the composition of this pollinator community was highly variable spatially and temporally. Neither pollinator community, however, appears to be meeting the demands of crops in our study regions. Cage manipulations showed that multiple taxa can effectively pollinate both oilseed and field beans, but bumblebees are particularly effective bean pollinators. Combining field observations and cage manipulations demonstrated that the pollination demands of these two mass flowering crops are highly contrasting, one would benefit from management to increase the abundance of some key taxa, whilst for the other, boosting overall pollinator abundance and diversity would be more appropriate. Our findings highlight the need for crop specific mitigation strategies that are targeted at conserving specific pollinator taxa (or group of taxa) that are both active and capable of crop pollination in order to reduce pollination deficits and meet the demands of future crop production. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Show less
