Bolder science needed now for protected areas

Recognizing that protected areas (PAs) are essential for effective biodiversity conservation action, the Convention on Biological Diversity established ambitious PA targets as part of the 2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. Under the strategic goal to “improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity,” Target 11 aims to put 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine regions under PA status by 2020. Additionally and crucially, these areas are required to be of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative, and well‐connected and to include “other effective area‐based conservation measures” (OECMs). Whereas the area‐based targets are explicit and measurable, the lack of guidance for what constitutes important and representative; effective; and OECMs is affecting how nations are implementing the target. There is a real risk that Target 11 may be achieved in terms of area while failing the overall strategic goal for which it is established because the areas are poorly located, inadequately managed, or based on unjustifiable inclusion of OECMs. We argue that the conservation science community can help establish ecologically sensible PA targets to help prioritize important biodiversity areas and achieve ecological representation; identify clear, comparable performance metrics of ecological effectiveness so progress toward these targets can be assessed; and identify metrics and report on the contribution OECMs make toward the target. By providing ecologically sensible targets and new performance metrics for measuring the effectiveness of both PAs and OECMs, the science community can actively ensure that the achievement of the required area in Target 11 is not simply an end in itself but generates genuine benefits for biodiversity.     

Light at night reduces digestive efficiency of developing birds: an experiment with king quail

The Science of Nature - Gravity is very important for many organisms, including web-building spiders. Probably the best approach to study the relevance of gravity on organisms is to bring them to...     

Telomeric attrition with age and temperature in Eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki)

Telomeric attrition has repeatedly been found to correlate with the ageing of organisms; however, recent research is increasingly showing that the determinants of attrition dynamics are not well understood. This study examined the relative telomere lengths in Eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, kept at different temperatures and at different ages. Newly born fry were randomly selected for one of four treatment groups: 20, 30, 20–30, and 30–20 °C, where the third and fourth treatment groups were gradually changed from their starting temperature to their final temperature between days 10 and 14. Telomere length was measured, and it was found that length decreased with age and that fish exposed to the 20 °C treatment had significantly shorter telomeres than those that received the 30–20 °C treatment. Telomeric attrition with age agrees with results previously found in studies of telomeres; however, the variation in attrition with temperature was not simply predictable and may be the synergistic effects of temperature and some other factor.     

GEOMORPHIC ANALOGIES FOR ASSESSING PROBABLE CHANNEL RESPONSE TO DAM REMOVAL1

ABSTRACT: There is a pressing need for tools to predict the rates, magnitudes, and mechanisms by which sediment is removed from a reservoir following dam removal, as well as for tools to predict where this sediment will be deposited downstream and how it will impact downstream channel morphology. In the absence of adequate empirical data, a good initial approach is to examine the impacts of dam removal within the context of the geomorphic analogies of channel evolution models and sediment waves. Channel changes at two dam breaching sites in Wisconsin involved a succession of channel forms and processes consistent with an existing channel evolution model. Sediment transported downstream after removal of other dams suggests that reservoir sediment may be translated downstream either as a distinct wave or gradually eroded away. More extensive data collection on existing dam removals is warranted before undertaking the removal of a large number of dams. However, if removal is to proceed based on current knowledge, then geomorphic analogies can be used as the foundation for sediment management and stabilization schemes.     

No evidence that sperm morphology predicts paternity success in wild house wrens

Postcopulatory sexual selection (PCSS) in internally fertilizing vertebrates is a topic of great interest, yet relatively little is known about the characteristics of sperm and ejaculates that confer an advantage in PCSS. In this study, we investigated several measures of sperm morphology that potentially contribute to fertilization success under PCSS. We tested whether sperm morphology related to success in PCSS (via extra-pair paternity) in house wrens (Troglodytes aedon). We found no evidence that sperm morphology differed between extra-pair sires and the within-pair males they cuckolded, nor that sperm morphology correlated with the proportion of within-pair offspring sired, the number of extra-pair offspring sired, or the total annual reproductive success. Male behavioral strategies may affect the probability that their sperm compete with other males’ sperm and that their sperm succeed under competition. Effects of these behavioral strategies, as well as differences between males in sperm number, could mask the effects of sperm morphology on the outcome of PCSS. Despite moderate levels of extra-pair paternity, selection on sperm may be relatively weak in house wrens. Further work is needed to understand general patterns in how sperm morphology relates to fertilization success within species.