Biodiversity Solutions

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You are viewing all research activities in the Biodiversity Solutions theme. Names shown indicate authors or co-authors involved from the Centre of Conservation and Restoration Science.

View a specific ecosystem: Freshwater | Terrestrial | Marine

Conservation

Conservation refers to the preservation and management of natural habitats and ecosystems, and to the enabling of the survival and evolution of species. More recently, conservation action is also sometimes considered for novel habitats and their inhabitants, such as substrate discarded from mining.

Projects

West of Scotland Herring Hunt (WOSHH)

The effects of parasites on food web structure and dynamics: new ways to improve accuracy and ecological realism

Local Roots and Global Branches: Protecting Blue Carbon Ecosystems under Community-based Management

Incorporating seagrass conservation and restoration into community based PES project

Improving Science-Informed Crab Fisheries Management in Brazil

Conservation of threatened smooth-coated otters in a heavily modified landscape in western India

Incorpo

The Open Argumentation PLatform (OAPL) (2020), ; (Wells)

What, and Who, Is Social Tourism? The Roles of the Public, Private and Voluntary Sector in Social Tourism Provision in Flanders, Belgium (2021), ; (Minnaert)

rating seagrass conservation and restoration into community-based PES projects

Production of final version smartphone application and data queries for citizen science research in Brazil to improve mangrove crab fisheries management

Publications

Mammalian predators and vegetated nesting habitat drive reduced protected area nesting success of Kentish plovers, Yellow Sea region, China (2023), Ecology and Evolution; (Pagani-Nunez)

The coastal conservation narrative is shifting from crisis to ecosystem services (2023), Marine Biodiversity; (Huxham)

An evidence-based approach to identifying resting sites of Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra) from camera-trap and field-sign data (2023), Wildlife Biology; (White, Briers)

Safeguarding Imperiled Biodiversity and Evolutionary Processes in the Wallacea Center of Endemism (2022), Bioscience; (Diele, Fusi)

Linking agri-environment scheme habitat area, predation and the abundance of chick invertebrate prey to the nesting success of a declining farmland bird (2022), Ecological Solutions and Evidence; (White, Briers)

Habitat selection of smooth-coated otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) in the peri-coastal, urbanised landscape of Goa, India (2022), Mammal Research; (White)

Trade-offs between economic development and biodiversity conservation on a tropical island (2022), Conservation Biology; (Pagani-Nunez)

Expert range maps of global mammal distributions harmonised to three taxonomic authorities (2022), Journal of Biogeography; (Gilchrist)

Pond ecology and conservation: research priorities and knowledge gaps (2021), Ecosphere; (Briers)

A comparison of trends in population size and life history features of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and anadromous and non-anadromous Brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a single catchment over 116 years (2022), Hydrobiologia; (Dodd)

Multi-scale habitat selection and spatial analysis reveals a mismatch between the wintering distribution of a threatened population of Taiga Bean Geese Anser fabalis and its protected area (2022), Bird Study; (Briers, White)

Allelic losses and gains during translocations of a high conservation value fish, Coregonus lavaretus (2021), Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems; (Dodd)

The Mixed Methods Practical Sustainability Research Framework: An Illustration From Research on the Creeping Problem of Coastal Complexity and Mangrove Management (2022), Journal of Mixed Methods Research; (Dencer-Brown)

Genetic diversity of the Nubian ibex in Oman as revealed by mitochondrial DNA (2021), Royal Society Open Science; (White)

Local contributions to beta-diversity in urban pond networks: implications for biodiversity conservation and management (2021), Diversity and Distributions; (Briers)

Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management (2021), Ecological Solutions and Evidence; (Dodd)

Public perceptions of mangrove forests matter for their conservation (2020), Frontiers in Marine Science; (Huxham)

COVID-19: ban 'orientalism' by critics of wildlife trade (2020), Nature; (Pagani-Nunez)

Mangroves give cause for conservation optimism, for now (2020), Current Biology; (Diele)

Component processes of detection probability in camera-trap studies: understanding the occurrence of false-negatives (2020), Mammal Research; (White, Briers)

A test of the cumulative effect of river weirs on downstream migration success, speed and mortality of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts: An empirical study (2019), Ecology of Freshwater Fish; (Dodd)

Density- and species-dependent errors in single-pass timed electrofishing assessment of riverine salmonids (2018), Ecology of Freshwater Fish; (Dodd)

Assessment of the accuracy of counting large ungulate species (red deer Cervus elaphus) with UAV mounted thermal infrared cameras during night flights (2023), Wildlife Biology; (White)

Restoration/Rehabilitation/Rewilding/Enhancement

Solutions to the biodiversity crisis need to include not only conservation, but also restoration, rehabilitation and/or rewilding of ecosystems, given the magnitude of destruction caused. The term restoration has traditionally been used to describe actions which aimed to return a system to its original state, re-establishing the species that have been lost, and ecosystem functions and services. More recently, it has also been applied to attempts to restore ecosystem functionality and services even when species cannot return (sometimes also called rehabilitation). Rewilding also focuses on key ecological functions but emphasises relinquishment of human control. Ecological enhancement aims to improve the environmental conditions for species, for example, by installing a bird box or a green wall, whilst protecting human health and the environment.

Projects

Easter Beltie Ecological Restoration Monitoring Research

West of Scotland Herring Hunt (WOSHH)

Marine Soundscapes and eDNA for Assessing Biodiversity and Functioning of Re-establishing European Flat Oyster Reefs, Ostrea edulis

Incorporating seagrass conservation and restoration into community based PES project

Incorporating seagrass conservation and restoration into community-based PES projects

Tarland & Beltie Burn Restoration

As Good as (G)Old? Comparing Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services of Restored and Natural Mangrove Forests in the Wallacea Region

Mangroves as carbon sinks

Publications

When nature needs a helping hand: different levels of human intervention for mangrove (re-)establishment (2022), Frontiers in Forests and Global Change; (Huxham)

Strategic Design and Delivery of Integrated Catchment Restoration Monitoring: Emerging Lessons from a 12-Year Study in the UK (2022), Water; (Dodd)

Bioturbation Intensity Modifies the Sediment Microbiome and Biochemistry and Supports Plant Growth in an Arid Mangrove System (2022), Microbiology Spectrum; (Fusi, Diele)

Best Practices for Monitoring and Assessing the Ecological Response to River Restoration (2021), Water; (Dodd)

Assessing mangrove restoration practices using speciesinteraction networks (2022), Restoration Ecology; (Fusi, Diele)

Optimising recruitment in habitat creation for the native European oyster (2021), Marine Pollution Bulletin; (Diele)

Exceptionally high mangrove root production rates in the Kelantan Delta, Malaysia; An experimental and comparative study (2019), Forest Ecology and Management; (Huxham)

Rubber plantation ageing controls soil biodiversity after land conversion from cassava (2018), Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment; (Blaud)

The effects of salinity on growth and survival of mangrove seedlings changes with age (2018), Acta Botanica Brasilica; (Huxham)

Nature-Based Solutions & Grey-Green Solutions, Ecological Engineering, Circular Economy

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are inspired and supported by nature. They aim to provide a harmonised solution to benefit the environment, society and economy, ensuring resilience to future change. An example is to plant mangrove forests to reduce the impact of storm surges. A grey-green solution to the same issue would be the use of artificial structures and mangroves in concert. Ecological engineering has been defined as the imitation or design of ecosystems for the mutual benefit of humans and nature. Circular economy aims to stop the production of waste by a transition to renewable energy and reusable materials.

Projects

Evaluating the landscape-scale benefits of sustainable urban drainage systems for freshwater biodiversity

Holdfast: communities and blue carbon

Incorporating seagrass conservation and restoration into community based PES project

Words A thousand flowers will bloom: ensuring local initiatives to inform national and international climate commitments

From local roots to global branches: making NDCs work at three different levels

Incorporating seagrass conservation and restoration into community-based PES projects

Mangroves as carbon sinks

Publications

Strategic Design and Delivery of Integrated Catchment Restoration Monitoring: Emerging Lessons from a 12-Year Study in the UK (2022), Water; (Dodd)

Bioturbation Intensity Modifies the Sediment Microbiome and Biochemistry and Supports Plant Growth in an Arid Mangrove System (2022), Microbiology Spectrum; (Fusi, Diele)

Strength Grading of Timber in the UK and Ireland in 2021 (2022), International Wood Products Journal; (Ridley-Ellis)

The relationship between bending and tension strength of Irish and UK spruce and pine (2022), European Journal of Wood and Wood Products; (Ridley-Ellis)

Recent advances and public health implications for environmental exposure to Chlamydia abortus: from enzootic to zoonotic disease (2022), Veterinary Research; (Wheelhouse)

Best Practices for Monitoring and Assessing the Ecological Response to River Restoration (2021), Water; (Dodd)

Processing and characterisation of water hyacinth cellulose nanofibres-based aluminium-ion battery separators (2021), ; (Goh)

The sediment carbon stocks of intertidal seagrass meadows in Scotland (2021), Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science; (Diele, Huxham)

Climate and intertidal zonation drive variability in the carbon stocks of Sri Lankan mangrove forests (2021), Geoderma; (Huxham)

A guide to modeling the geotechnical behavior of soils using the discrete element method (2021), Modeling in geotechnical engineering; (Barreto Gonzales)

Investing in Blue Natural Capital to Secure a Future for the Red Sea Ecosystems (2021), Frontiers in Marine Science; (Diele)

Missing the full story: First estimates of carbon deposition rates for the European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis (2020), Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems; (Diele)

Introducing the Mangrove Microbiome Initiative: Identifying Microbial Research Priorities and Approaches To Better Understand, Protect, and Rehabilitate Mangrove Ecosystems (2020), mSystems; (Fusi)

Total alkalinity production in a mangrove ecosystem reveals an overlooked Blue Carbon component (2021), Limnology and Oceanography Letters; (Fusi)

The geoengineering approach to the study of rivers and reservoirs (2019), Geological Society Special Publications; (Barreto Gonzales)

Bacterial endophytes of mangrove propagules elicit early establishment of the natural host and promote growth of cereal crops under salt stress (2019), Microbiological Research; (Fusi)

Land use driven change in soil pH affects microbial carbon cycling processes (2018), Nature Communications; (Blaud)

Carbon in the coastal seascape: how interactions between mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes influence carbon storage (2018), Current Forestry Reports; (Huxham, Dencer-Brown)

Behavioural or Policy Change

Solutions to the biodiversity crisis will have to involve individual and collective behaviour change that overcomes psychological, cultural, economic, business, and political barriers. Regenerative tourism for example aims at proactively making an area ecologically better, as opposed to just sustaining it, whilst enriching local communities and offering transformative visitor experience. To help communicate science and achieve behavioural and transformative cultural change, the centre is using methods from the social sciences, psychology and the arts and creative industries.