Forest Fragmentation

Identifying the main factors that shape biological communities in human-modified tropical landscapes has key ecological and conservation implications. In these emerging landscapes, the maintenance of biodiversity may depend on both forest patch and landscape attributes, but this topic has been poorly investigated. Here we assessed the landscape (forest cover, degree of fragmentation, and matrix composition) and patch metrics (tree basal area, patch size, and isolation) that best predicted the abundance and diversity of small terrestrial rodents in the Lacandona rainforest, Mexico. In 2011 and 2012, we sampled rodent communities in 12 sites (9 patches and 3 areas within a continuous forest). We assessed the landscape characteristics within a 100-ha buffer from the center of each site. In total, we captured 78 individuals in 2011 and 82 individuals in 2012 from four species: Desmarest's Spiny Pocket Mouse (Heteromys desmarestianus), Rice Rat (Oryzomys sp.), Mexican Deermouse (Peromyscus mexicanus), and Toltec Cotton Rat (Sigmodon toltecus). Only the abundance of rodents was strongly associated with forest patch and landscape attributes, but the best predictors differed between years. The degree of fragmentation, matrix composition, and patch isolation showed the lowest impact on rodents, probably because the region is dominated by a highly heterogeneous anthropogenic matrix. Community composition was weakly related to patch and landscape attributes in both years. Overall, our findings suggest that almost a half-century of land use in the region has not led to significant changes at the community level, but additional longterm studies including arboreal species are needed before a strong conclusion can be drawn.

1. Land-use intensification is increasing dramatically in production systems world-wide. Livestock production is an important component of production land use, and increases in livestock densities have had a wide range of negative consequences. The off-site effects of livestock grazing and trampling on native vegetation adjacent to pastoral land have received less attention than on-farm effects. Moreover, where significant ecological effects of livestock spillover have been identified, the mechanistic determinants of these effects have not typically been investigated.

Amazonian forests are experiencing rapid, structure, composition and microclimate, and are highly vulnerable to droughts and fires -alterations unprecedented changes that are having major impacts on wildlife, regional hydrology and the global climate.

Habitat Reintroduction Tourism A B S T R A C T Brown bears (Ursus arctos) are threatened by habitat loss, habitat fragmentation by infrastructure and human settlements, and have been hunted to local extinction in large areas of their former range. We analyzed the habitat use during the non denning period of 106 radio-collared bears in an expanding bear population in Sweden in relation to resorts and towns, terrain ruggedness, sex and age of bears. Bear use increased substantially with increasing distance to towns and resorts for comparable habitat and terrain types, also for independent scat surveys using DNA-analyses. More than 74% of all female bear locations were in the 29% of the terrain classified as ''rugged'' and located >10 km from any town or resort, whereas similar habitat closer to towns or resorts was avoided. Bears closer to larger settlements and resorts (<10 km) were on average 27-51% younger than in areas beyond (mean 4.4 ± 0.4 versus 8.9 ± 0.8 years for males and 4.4 ± 0.4 versus 6.0 ± 0.2 years for females). Sub-adult bears (<4 years) comprised up to 52% of all bear use within 10 km from resorts and settlements, likely representing exploratory dispersing individuals. These areas, however, contained only 8% of the old males (>7 years), the remaining 92% located beyond 10 km from major resorts and settlements. Recreational resorts are developing rapidly, typically near national parks, and may thus limit expansion or fragment existing bear habitats. Together with active conservation, safeguarding undeveloped corridors of forest and rugged terrain may be important for successful recolonization of the brown bear into its original range.

Unplanned large scale developmental projects in recent times have been causing alterations in land use land cover [LULC] at spatial and temporal scales with the substantial changes in the landscape. Uttara Kannada district has the distinction of having highest forest cover in India. Forest ecosystems in the district have witnessed major transformations due to industrialization during the post-independence. Impact of developmental activities during the post-independence era, is evident from barren hill tops due to deforestation. The analysis of temporal spatial data acquired through space borne sensors highlights the decline of evergreen-semi evergreen forest cover from 67.73% (1973) to 32.08% (2013). The ad-hoc approaches adopted in the implementation of developmental projects in the ecologically sensitive regions has impaired the ecosystem services affecting the people's livelihood. The changes in the landscape structure with LULC changes have altered the functional abilities of an ecosystem evident from lowered hydrological yield, disappearing perennial streams, higher instances of human–animal conflicts, declined ecosystem goods, etc. About 64355 Ha of forest land is diverted for various non-forestry activities during the last four decades by the government apart from encroachment of 7072 Ha of forest area for agriculture, horticulture activities, etc. Encroachment of forest land has resulted in the land degradation leading to reduced productivity. Alterations in bio-geo chemical and hydrological cycles have necessitated the restoration of native forests in the region to ensure water and food security, and livelihood of the local people. Monitoring and visualization of landscape dynamics helps in evolving appropriate management strategies. LULC dynamics analyses considering agents (developmental projects) through fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) integrated with Markov cellular automata (CA) indicate

Habitat destruction and fragmentation are the root causes of many conservation problems. We conducted a literature survey and canvassed the ecological community to identify experimental studies of terrestrial habitat fragmentation and to determine whether consistent themes were emerging from these studies. Our survey revealed 20 fragmentation experiments worldwide. Most studies focused on effects of fragmentation on species richness or on the abundance(s) of particular species. Other important themes were the effect of fragmentation in interspecific interactions, the role of corridors and landscape connectivity in individual movements and species richness, and the influences of edge effects on ecosystem services. Our comparisons showed a remarkable lack of consistency in results across studies, especially with regard to species richness and abundance relative to fragment size. Experiments with arthropods showed the best fit with theoretical expectations of greater species richness on larger fragments. Highly mobile taxa such as birds and mammals, early-successional plant species, long-lived species, and generalist predators did not respond in the "expected" manner. Reasons for these discrepancies included edge effects, competitive release in the habitat fragments, and the spatial scale of the experiments. One of the more consistently supported hypotheses was that movement and species richness are positively affected by corridors and connectivity, respectively. Transient effects dominated many systems; for example, crowding of individuals on fragments commonly was observed after fragmentation, followed by a relaxation toward lower abundance in subsequent years. The three long-term studies ( у 14 years) revealed strong patterns that would have been missed in short-term investigations. Our results emphasize the wide range of species-specific responses to fragmentation, the need for elucidation of behavioral mechanisms affecting these responses, and the potential for changing responses to fragmentation over time.

An structural characterization of the Quercus súber forests and its derived formations is defined for ihe Chefchaouen basin in NE. Morocco. Fonr structural types identified from aerial photographs interpretation were related to site conditions defined by three variables (lithology, slope and aspect) by means ola GIS. Five patterns resulted from the cluster analysis of the percenlages of the área -per site conditioncovered by each structural type. Forests on numidian sandstones lithologies, oriented to the east or north. and slopes from 15% to 50% were the most susceptible to complete deforestation. On the detailed description of 15 stands the deforestation process of the cork oak (Quercus súber) forests is discussed. Suggestion for more sustainable management practices were stated after comparation with other similar systems.

A B S T R A C T Defaunation, invasive species and forest fragmentation are considered to be the major drivers for the disruption of key ecological processes, particularly those related to plant animal-interactions such as seed dispersal and predation. The disruption of critical phases in the plant life cycle may ultimately have negative impacts on plant recruitment and the survival of plant populations. Here, for the first time we compared the seed removal and recruitment of Araucaria angustifolia, a critically endangered and relictual gymnosperm species, in multiple sites, including continuous and fragmented forest areas in the Brazilian Atlantic subtropical forest. Our sampling included seed removal experiment monitored by camera traps and surveys of A. angustifolia recruitment. We found that seed survival and recruitment were related to the density of adult A. angustifolia. Therefore the formation of large and dense groves, which is a characteristic of pristine Araucaria moist fo...

Limestone karst landscapes are important for biodiversity yet are increasingly threatened by development activities such as mining. Furthermore, karsts are often scattered and isolated by agriculture, and are rarely considered in landscape planning because of a paucity of biodiversity data. We determined the conservation significance of an isolated limestone karst outcrop for insectivorous bats by quantifying the influence of this roosting resource on local assemblage structure across a fragmented landscape in peninsular Malaysia. Using a combination of rank abundance, gradient and randomisation analyses, we demonstrate that bat assemblages at nine forest sites are structured following a spatial gradient of increasing distance from a karst roosting resource. The assemblage at our karst site was dominated by a superabundance of three cave-roosting species, two of which were also found to dominate assemblages up to 11 km away. Cave-roosting bats exhibited a significant decay in abundance related to the distance from karst, with sites closest to karst also characterised by a rarity of tree cavity/foliage-roosting species that were otherwise common. Gradient analysis revealed that differences in assemblage composition were largely associated with the distance from the karst and, to a lesser extent, forest isolation and area. Our findings suggest that isolated karst outcrops can serve as important population reservoirs for caveroosting bats, which subsidise diversity levels in forest fragments that might otherwise be expected to decline over time. While conservation efforts need to focus on maintaining large areas of connected forest, landscape management needs to ensure protection of karsts as point resources for cave-roosting bats.

This study evaluates the impact of hunting on mammalian and avian species in Atlantic forest fragments of the Mata de Planalto in the State of SaÄ o Paulo, Brazil. Colonists who farm on the edge of fragments also hunt for subsistence within fragments. Hunters commonly take the two peccary species, tapir, brocket deer, armadillos and agoutis. Primates are rarely hunted in this region. Eects of hunting on species were measured by changes in relative abundance of species between four sites with similar sizes (approximately 2000 ha each), but dierent hunting pressures (two slightly hunted and two heavily hunted). In addition, one large protected area (35 000 ha) was also censused. Species abundances were measured during 18 months along 2287 km of line transects. Abundances of tapirs, brocket deer, white-lipped peccaries, armadillos and coatis decreased between slightly hunted and heavily hunted sites. Abundances of collared peccaries, agoutis, primates and guans did not show any trends with hunting pressure. Extirpations of tapirs and white-lipped peccaries at heavily hunted sites suggest that in forest remnants encroached by people, hunting exacerbates eects of fragmentation, such as genetics and demographics, and is probably the most important factor in emptying these forests of large species over the short-term. #

The fragmentation of forests is a dominant human impact worldwide with major implications for the conservation and management of ecosystems. Although many studies have assessed the effects of fragmentation on biodiversity at local scales, our understanding of the ecological implications for different functional groups of organisms remains limited, particularly at global scales. Here, we use linear mixed models to explore patterns of occurrence and ecological function of 2844 bird species at 293 localities spanning five continents. We show that sensitivity to fragmentation varies according to functional group and body mass, with the prevalence of insectivores and large frugivores declining in relation to fragment size, particularly under 100 ha. However, the most severe effects were restricted to the tropics, whereas fragmentation had no significant impact on the basic ecological structure of temperate bird communities. We conclude that land-use change in tropical systems is likely to disrupt biotic processes, including seed dispersal and the control of insect herbivores. Our findings highlight the importance of latitude in mediating the impacts of habitat loss, and offer general guidelines for the minimum size of fragments required to prevent the collapse of key ecosystem processes in sensitive regions.

We report two recent sightings of the White- winged Duck from the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary—an isolated tropical rainforest fragment, dominated by Dipterocarpus-Mesua-Vatica forest, located close to the foothills of Nagaland in Jorhat District, Assam— with a photographic record.

We propose a protocol for assessing the ecological impacts of edge effects in fragments of natural habitat surrounded by induced (artificial) edges. The protocol involves three steps: (1) identification of focal taxa of particular conservation or management interest, (2) measurement of an 'edge function' that describes the response of these taxa to induced edges, and use of a 'Core-Area Model' to extrapolate edge function parameters to existing or novel situations. The Core-Area Model accurately estimates the total area of pristine habitat contained within fragments. Moreover, it can be used to predict the amount of unaltered habitat preserved within any hypothetical fragment, such as a planned park or nature reserve, regardless of its size or shape. The model is simple, requiring two edge function parameters and the area and perimeter length of the fragment. Model simulations revealed that for any edge-sensitive species and habitat type there exists a critical range of fragment sizes in which the impacts of edge effects increase almost exponentially. This critical size range cannot be predicted without empirical measurement of the edge function. * Present address: Centre for Rainforest Studies, Yungaburra, Queensland 4872, Australia. 77 Biol. Conserv. 0006-3207/90/$03.50

Forest fragmentation and habitat loss are two of the main drivers of wildlife population declines. Animals exposed to habitat disturbances must develop behavioral strategies to adapt to novel, rapidly fluctuating socioecological challenges. Understanding the behavioral flexibility of endangered primates as a response to ecological challenges, e.g., anthropogenic habitat disturbance, is a key element in the design of successful conservation initiatives for remaining populations. We studied the social behavior of a group of 11 adult and subadult brown spider monkeys (Ateles hybridus) living in a recently isolated and densely populated forest fragment in the Magdalena River Valley, Colombia, and compared their behavior to that of other wild spider monkey populations. From June 2009 to July 2010 we assessed diet, activity budgets, and the rates of affiliative and agonistic interactions initiated and received by adult male and female spider monkeys. The diet of our focal group was quite different from that in most previous studies of Ateles: leaves accounted for ca. 40% of their diet, and fruits represented barely half of their diet, suggesting that this population has had to adjust its feeding strategies to the local ecological challenges. We found no sex differences in the time males and females spent resting, moving, and socializing, but females tended to invest more time in feeding than males did. Male-to-female aggression was the most common agonistic interaction, and same-sex aggressions were almost absent. We found no significant differences in rates of grooming or embracing between the different types of dyads. The resemblance of our results to those of similar studies in less disturbed habitats suggests that spider monkeys might adapt to certain levels of ecological and social disturbance, at least initially, and are a Int J Primatol (2012) 33:769-783 starting point to understand better the initial effects of fragmentation on the behavioral repertoire of these primates.

Efecto de la interacción entre fragmentación y factores ambientales sobre la distribución potencial de psitácidos en la Península de Yucatán TESIS presentada como requisito parcial para optar al grado de Doctor en Ciencias en Ecología y Desarrollo Sustentable por Alexis Herminio Plasencia Vázquez 2014 A la memoria de mi padre † que estaría muy orgulloso de tener un doctor en la familia y que presumiría de este título como propio. A mi madre por su apoyo incondicional y por su preocupación desde la distancia.

Roads facilitate access by deforestation agents, being relevant in studies approaching conservationist matters in rainforests. It is important to understand the relationship between road distribution, relief, land use, and forest coverage in order to evaluate where forests are more vulnerable. This study aimed at: 1) understanding the relationship between relief and density and road connectivity in three moments in time; and 2) evaluating the relationship between distance from roads and forest coverage, farmlands and rural and urban facilities in a fragmented Atlantic Forest landscape in three moments in time. Maps of roads, altitude, and land use and coverage were used. Chi-square tests showed that: 1) density and road connectivity did not present significant relationship with the relief; and 2) forest areas occupy areas distant from the roads, while farmlands and rural and urban facilities occupy areas nearer the roads. Roads and land use, regardless of relief, influence forest coverage distribution. Thus, we suggest that roads are taken into account in conservationist strategies and environmental planning.

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The neotropical Atlantic Forest supports one of the highest degrees of species richness and rates of endemism on the planet, but has also undergone a huge forest loss. However, there exists no broad-scale information about the spatial distribution of its remnants that could guide conservation actions, especially when systematic biodiversity data are not available. In this context, our objectives were to quantify how much of the forest still remains, and analyze its spatial distribution. We considered the entire Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and eight sub-regions, defined according to species distribution. The results revealed a serious situation: more than 80% of the fragments are <50 ha, almost half the remaining forest is <100 m from its edges, the average distance between fragments is large (1440 m), and nature reserves protect only 9% of the remaining forest and 1% of the original forest. On the other hand, our estimates of existing Atlantic Forest cover were higher than previous ones (7-8%), ranging from 11.4% to 16%. The differences among estimates are mainly related to our inclusion of intermediate secondary forests and small fragments (<100 ha), which correspond to approximately 32-40% of what remains. We suggest some guidelines for conservation: (i) large mature forest fragments should be a conservation priority; (ii) smaller fragments can be managed in order to maintain functionally linked mosaics; (iii) the matrix surrounding fragments should be managed so as to minimize edge effects and improve connectivity; and (iv) restoration actions should be taken, particularly in certain key areas. The clear differences in the amount remaining and its spatial distribution within each sub-region must be considered when planning for biodiversity conservation.

In recent years, land use (LU) and landscape structure in ecoregions around the world have been faced with enormous pressures, from rapid population growth to urban sprawl. A preliminary account of changes in land cover (LC) and landscape structure in the ecoregions of Ghana is missing from the academic and research literature. The study therefore provides a preliminary assessment of the changing LU and landscape structure in the ecoregions of Ghana, identifying the causes and assessing their impact on land-based resources, and on urban and agricultural development.
LU/LC maps produced from 30 m resolution Landsat TM5 in 1990 and ETM+ in 2000 were classified into
dominant land cover types (LCTs) and used to survey the changing landscape of Ghana. LC-changemap
preparation was done with change detection extension “Ver¨anderung” (v3) in an ArcGIS 10.1 environment. At the class level, Patch Analyst version 5.1 was used to calculate land use (LU) statistics and to provide landscape metrics for LU maps extracted from the satellite imagery. The results showed that commonly observed LCCs in the ecoregions of Ghana include conversion of natural forest land to various forms of cultivated lands, settlements, and open land, particularly in closed and open forest and savannah woodland. The dominant LU types in the ecoregions of Ghana are arable lands, which increased by 6168.98 km2. Forest and plantation LCTs decreased in area and were
replaced by agricultural land, forest garden, and open land. Afforestation rarely occurred except in the rainforests. The mean patch size (MPS), ameasure of fragmentation, was generally reduced consistently from 1990 to 2000 in all the ecoregions. Similar results that indicated increased fragmentation were an increased number of patches (NumP) and the Shannon diversity index (SDI). Habitat shape complexity inferred from mean shape index (MSI) decreased in all ecoregions except for rainforest and wet evergreen. The SDI and Shannon evenness index (SEI) showed that habitat diversity was highest in the coastal savannah and the deciduous forest ecoregions. The main drivers of
changes in the LUs and landscape structure are demand for land and land-based natural resources to
support competing livelihoods and developmental activities in the different ecoregions.

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international effort...

Bird conservation is a global mission but most
of the key battles are being played out in
the tropics. Tropical ecosystems are generally
under greater pressure than their temperate
counterparts from human population growth,
agricultural expansion and a host of related
factors. They also support 87% of bird species,
many of them highly susceptible to habitat loss
or climate change (Şekercioğlu et al. 2012). The
concern that many tropical species are therefore
destined for extinction has focused much effort
towards setting global conservation priorities
based on a minimum number of protected
areas, often one per species (e.g. Rodrigues
et al. 2004; Ricketts et al. 2005). However, this
approach is founded on traditional conservation
strategies developed in the temperate zone, and the extent to which it can be applied to
tropical birds remains unclear.
Here, we summarize the key attributes of
tropical ecosystems and implications for bird
conservation. First, we outline threats to key
tropical environments. Then we argue that
tropical species often differ from their
temperate-zone counterparts in ways that pose
novel challenges for conservation. We conclude
that sustainable conservation of tropical birds
and the ecosystem services they provide will be
achieved only if attention is focused not merely
on current snapshots of species distributions
and protected areas but on biotic processes and
interactions operating at larger spatial and temporal
scales. To support these ideas, we consider
(i) why and how tropical ecosystems work in
different ways from temperate systems, (ii) the
shortcomings of standard conservation strategies
when applied to the tropics, and (iii) the outstanding priorities for policy, practice and
future research. The strategies we propose have
broad relevance for the management of tropical
diversity because birds have long been viewed
as a model system for assessing conservation
priorities, and act as flagships for numerous
conservation programmes (Tobias et al. 2005).

The catastrophic destruction of Central African rain forests occurring about 2500 years ago still exerts a major influence on the present distribution of vegetation formations. A phase of climatic disturbance and catastrophic destruction of Central African forests (in the region of south Cameroon, south Central African Republic, Gabon and Congo) occurred 2500 years BP (/4C). This synchronous event for the different sites studied was manifested in either a brutal extension of the savannas, especially for the sites near the north (West Cameroon) and towards the south (Mayombe) of the Forest Domain, or a brutal extension of pioneer vegetation. Forest rein vasion beganfrom 2000 years RP for some sites, or was a little later for others, according perhaps to the position of residual forests. This reinvasion still continues at the present time. Fires in the peripheral sa vannas can slow up this reinvasion, but in the long term theforests have continued to transgress into open regions. These major variations in the forest environment are illustrated by the history of two tree species of which numerous data have been able to be obtained: oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) and Okoumé (Aucoumea kJaineana). This massive disturbance which culminated about 2500 years RP is contextualised at the global and regional scale in the broader paleoclimatic framework of the upper Quaternary. Concerning climatic change and the dynamics of the monsoon on Central Africa, the key role which has always been played by Sea Surface Temperatures is shown. It is also shown that this vast disturbance which occurred alongside relatively "warm" regional and global conditions could be an "analog" to what could occur in Central Africa during the phase of "Global Warming" predictedfor the 21" century.

Conservation of biodiversity has been put to the highest priority throughout the world. The process of identifying threatened ecosystems will search for different drivers related to biodiversity loss. The present study aimed to generate spatial information on deforestation and ecological degradation indicators of fragmentation and forest fires using systematic conceptual approach in Telangana state, India. Identification of ecosystems facing increasing vulnerability can help to safeguard the extinctions of species and useful for conservation planning. The technological advancement of satellite remote sensing and Geographical Information System has increased greatly in assessment and monitoring of ecosystem-level changes. The areas of threat were identified by creating grid cells (5 × 5 km) in Geographical Information System (GIS). Deforestation was assessed using multi-source data of 1930, 1960, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2013. The forest cover of 40,746 km2, 29,299 km2, 18,652 km2, 18,368 km2, 18,006 km2, 17,556 km2 and 17,520 km2 was estimated during 1930, 1960, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2013, respectively. Historical evaluation of deforestation revealed that major changes had occurred in forests of Telangana and identified 1095 extinct, 397 critically endangered, 523 endangered and 311 vulnerable ecosystem grid cells. The fragmentation analysis has identified 307 ecosystem grid cells under critically endangered status. Forest burnt area information was extracted using AWiFS data of 2005 to 2014. Spatial analysis indicates total fire-affected forest in Telangana as 58.9 % in a decadal period. Conservation status has been recorded depending upon values of threat for each grid, which forms the basis for conservation priority hotspots. Of existing forest, 2.1 % grids had severe ecosystem collapse and had been included under the category of conservation priority hotspot-I, followed by 27.2 % in conservation priority hotspot-II and 51.5 % in conservation priority hotspot-III. This analysis complements assessment of ecosystems undergoing multiple threats. An integrated approach involving the deforestation and degradation indicators is useful in formulating the strategies to take appropriate conservation measures.

Background: Landscapes consist of heterogeneous interacting dynamic elements with complex ecological, economic and cultural attributes. These complex interactions help in the sustenance of natural resources through bio-geochemical and hydrological cycling. The ecosystem functions are altered with changes in the landscape structure. Fragmentation of large contiguous forests to small and isolated forest patches either by natural phenomena or anthropogenic activities leads to drastic changes in forest patch sizes, shape, connectivity and internal heterogeneity, which restrict the movement leading to inbreeding among Meta populations with extirpation of species. Methods: Landscape dynamics are assessed through land use analysis by way of remote sensing data acquired at different time periods. Forest fragmentation is assessed at the pixel level through computation of two indicators, i.e., P f (the ratio of pixels that are forested to the total non-water pixels in the window) and P ff (the proportion of all adjacent (cardinal directions only) pixel pairs that include at least one forest pixel, for which both pixels are forested). Results: Uttara Kannada District has the distinction of having the highest forest cover in Karnataka State, India. This region has been experiencing changes in its forest cover and consequent alterations in functional abilities of its ecosystem. Temporal land use analyses show the trend of deforestation, evident from the reduction of evergreen-semi evergreen forest cover from 57.31 % (1979) to 32.08 % (2013) Forest fragmentation at the landscape level shows a decline of interior forests 64.42 % (1979) to 25.62 % (2013) and transition of non-forest categories such as crop land, plantations and built-up areas, amounting now to 47.29 %. PCA prioritized geophysical and socio variables responsible for changes in the landscape structure at local levels.

Forest fragmentation has become a global concern for conservation of important habitats as well as biodiversity. Protected areas that have been a cornerstone for safeguarding biological diversity are also facing enormous stress due to the increasing anthropogenic activities. This study estimates the degree of spatial fragmentation in the protected area system and landscape fragmentation in the State of Selangor, peninsular Malaysia using modern geo-spatial technology. Landsat TM 30 m satellite images of 1988 and 1996 and Landsat ETM+ 30 m satellite image of 2005 were used as base maps in this study. Results show forest fragmentation index (FI) in the entire extent of the state of Selangor was changed at a moderate rate from the year 1988 (34.33) to 1996 (36.33); however, it increased dramatically in 2005 and reached 41.58. Among nine of the protected areas in the study area, Fraser’s Hill wildlife protected area shows a relatively unchanged FI, which was lower than 1. Bukit Kutu wildlife protected area was relatively less fragmented in 1988 and 1996 (FI lower than 1.5), but became highly fragmented in 2005 (20.04). However, the other five protected areas have been fragmented at a great degree in all three experimented years and increased with the changes of time. These findings indicate how protected areas have been fragmenting inside their legislative boundaries. Thus, it is important to take necessary initiatives in order to improve the representativeness of ecosystems in the protected area system and to safeguard biodiversity in this mega diverse ecoregion.

Forest fragmentation is one of the most important threats to global biodiversity, particularly in tropical developing countries. Identifying priority areas for conservation within these forests is essential to their effective management. However, this requires current, accurate environmental information that is often lacking in developing countries. The Cockpit Country, Jamaica, contains forests of international importance in terms of levels of endemism and overall diversity. These forests are under severe threat from the prospect of bauxite mining and other anthropogenic disturbances. In the absence of adequate, up-to-date ecological information, we used satellite remote sensing data and fragmentation analysis to identify interior forested areas that have experienced little or no change as priority conservation sites. We classified Landsat images from 1985, 1989, 1995, 2002, and 2008, using an object-oriented method, which allowed for the inclusion of roads. We conducted our fragmentation analysis using metrics to quantify changes in forest patch number, area, shape, and aggregation. Deforestation and fragmentation fluctuated within the 23-year period but were mostly confined to the periphery of the forest, close to roads and access trails. An area of core forest that remained intact over the period of study was identified within the largest forest patch, most of which was located within the boundaries of a forest reserve and included the last remaining patches of closed-broadleaf forest. These areas should be given highest priority for conservation, as they constitute important refuges for endemic or threatened biodiversity. Minimizing and controlling access will be important in maintaining this core.

In South-East Asia patterns of forest loss can predict the number of threatened birds. On the oceanic islands of Wallacea, small-scale agriculture, rather than commercial logging, is the main cause of forest loss and conversion, but few studies have directly examined their responses to land use. In 2001, I studied the birds of primary forest and anthropogenic gardens on the well-forested, and remote, Damar Island (198 km2) in the Banda Sea. Furthermore, I examined broad changes to the islands bird fauna by comparing baseline bird lists obtained in the 19th century with 2001 data. The conversion of primary forest to garden resulted in substantial changes in avifaunal composition, and to the abundance of individual bird species, particularly to frugivorous and globally restricted-range species. Of 15 common birds, four were significantly more abundant in primary forest (blue-tailed imperial pigeon Ducula concinna, northern fantail Rhipidura rufiventris, golden whistler Pachycephala pectoralis and red-chested flowerpecker Dicaeum maugei) and one (scaly-breasted honeyeater Lichmera squamata) was more abundant in garden habitat. Incidental observations provided further evidence that many forest specialists (including the island endemic Damar flycatcher Ficedula henrici) rarely, if ever, used garden habitats notwithstanding its relative proximity. The number of resident birds recorded in 2001 (39) was similar to the 1890s (38), but six forest-dependent passerines were extirpated between samples. These losses are associated with the conversion of 25% of the primary forest to modified habitat since the 1890s, but given the sparse species and environmental change data available it is impossible to definitively pinpoint this as the only cause underlying the species losses. This study demonstrates that remote and relatively well-forested islands are not immune to the threatening processes impacting bird populations elsewhere in South-East Asia.

Tropical mountain ranges are known to support high biodiversity. In addition to their role as refuge habitat, complex topography within these ecosystems promotes the development of diverse species traits and evolutionary divergence. However, species within these environments also face severe anthropological threats, most notably from habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, and climate change. A primary example is the Taita Hills in Kenya, which forms the northernmost portion of the biodiversity rich Eastern Arc Mountains. Despite the high biodiversity potential for the area, little is known regarding chiropteran diversity. In order to address this lack of knowledge, we conducted a rapid biological survey of bats during January-February 2016. Our trapping effort was focused on different habitat types (e.g. highland cloud rainforest fragments, lowland riverbeds and human structures) and diverse trapping methods were used (e.g. mist-netting and hand-netting). A total of 169 bats belonging to at least 19 species from 7 different families were captured across 16 sampling sites. We report 10 new species records for the Taita Hills region, including the first record of Miniopterus mossambicus for East Africa, with a major range expansion in its distribution, as well as the first echolocation call for Glauconycteris argentata in eastern Africa. Several cases of probable species complexes were also identified, which are the focus of ongoing molecular work. Together, our results demonstrate that the Taita Hills region is home to rich bat diversity, not yet completely assessed, and emphasizes the urgent need to conserve the remaining forest fragments.

Aim  We analysed presence/absence data for understorey bird species in rain forest fragments sampled from 1979 through 2001. Here we consider extinctions between 1992, when most fragments had been isolated for at least 8 years, and 2001. Our objectives were to determine whether high extinction rates documented soon after isolation continued through up to 20 years after isolation, and to examine fragment size and landscape effects on extinction.Location  Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, near Manaus, Brazil.Methods  Through 1992, birds were surveyed with standardized mist net sampling in ten 1- to 100-ha fragments. We repeated the mist net protocol in 2000–01. We also added remote taping of the dawn chorus and tape playback surveys for species captured in 1991–92 but not in 2000–01.Results  Between 1992 and 2001, 37 species went extinct in at least one fragment. As expected, extinction rate decreased with increasing fragment size. Over 30% of species went extinct in 1-ha fragments, compared to about 5% in 100-ha fragments. Extinction followed a predictable pattern: most species lost from 100-ha fragments between 1992 and 2001 had already gone extinct in smaller fragments before 1992. Despite extinctions, fragments gained species between 1992 and 2001, apparently due to species moving through the developing second growth matrix. Fragments surrounded by old second growth had lower extinction rates than predicted based on fragment size alone.Main conclusions  Sequential extinctions occurred for at least 20 years. Some additional species previously lost from smaller fragments may continue to go extinct in 100-ha fragments. At the same time, species assemblages in 1- and 10-ha fragments mostly reflect second-growth dynamics by 20 years after isolation. High species loss predicted from the first few years after isolation has not occurred, almost certainly because of recolonization.