Detect: Designing Post-Border Surveillance Schemes
Pre-border and border controls reduce (but do not eliminate) the risk of biosecurity threats entering a country, so regulators must prepare for the eventuality of pests and disease incursions. Post-border surveillance is the primary tool used to detect new outbreaks, delimit and manage existing outb…
Insights into the invasion of the moth catcher vine, Araujia sericifera (Apocynaceae), in South Africa
The moth catcher vine, Araujia sericifera Brotero (Apocynaceae), is a prevalent invader in many countries worldwide, where it has been reported to be a significant threat to biodiversity and agriculture. However, limited knowledge exists surrounding the ecology, invasion and impacts of A. sericifera…
Ecology and geography of Cache Valley virus assessed using ecological niche modeling
Background Cache Valley virus (CVV) is an understudied Orthobunyavirus with a high spillover transmission potential due to its wide geographical distribution and large number of associated hosts and vectors. Although CVV is known to be widely distributed throughout North America, no studies have exp…
Report on the observed climate, projected climate, and projected biodiversity changes for Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin under differing…
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge is among the top 20% of all non-marine protected areas, globally. This refuge is projected to be largely resilient to climate change with warming to 2°C. With 3°C of warming the resiliency drops with some additional adaptation effort needed. At warming levels above…
Geospatial analysis for strategic wildlife disease surveillance: African swine fever in South Korea (2019–2021)
Since the confirmation of African swine fever (ASF) in South Korea in 2019, its spread, predominantly in wild boars, has been a significant concern. A key factor in this situation is the lack of identification of risk factors by surveillance bias. The unique orography, characterized by high mountain…
Local climate change velocities and evolutionary history explain multidirectional range shifts in a North American butterfly assemblage
Species are often expected to shift their distributions either poleward or upslope to evade warming climates and colonise new suitable climatic niches. However, from 18‐years of fixed transect monitoring data on 88 species of butterfly in the midwestern United States, we show that butterflies are sh…
Global predictive invasion modeling of Asian wood-wasp Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura) (Hymenoptera: Siricidae): insights gained from Pinus L. occur…
Biological invasions are significant threats to biodiversity and are often exacerbated by human activities. This study consolidates occurrence data of Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura) (Hymenoptera: Siricidae), models its ecological niche, and analyzes spatial congruence with global Pinus L. occurre…
Impact of whole-genome duplications on structural variant evolution in Cochlearia
Polyploidy, the result of whole-genome duplication (WGD), is a major driver of eukaryote evolution. Yet WGDs are hugely disruptive mutations, and we still lack a clear understanding of their fitness consequences. Here, we study whether WGDs result in greater diversity of genomic structural variants …
Climate correlates of bluetongue incidence in southern Portugal
Model forecasts of the spatiotemporal occurrence dynamics of diseases are necessary and can help understand and thus manage future disease outbreaks. In our study, we used ecological niche modelling to assess the impact of climate on the vector suitability for bluetongue disease, a disease affecting…
An update for Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855) (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) distribution in Belgium
The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, represents an important insect pest and subsequently an important agricultural threat due to its polyphagous feeding habits and adaptability to diverse climates. Native from East Asia, its recent establishment in various regions, including North Ame…
Half of global islands have reached critical area thresholds for undergoing rapid increases in biological invasions
Biological invasions are among the threats to global biodiversity and social sustainability, especially on islands. Identifying the threshold of area at which non-native species begin to increase abruptly is crucial for early prevention strategies. The small-island effect (SIE) was proposed to quant…
Buffalo-bur (Solanum rostratum Dunal) invasiveness, bioactivities, and utilization: A review
Solanum rostratum Dunal, belongs to the Solanaceae family and has drawn attention for its intricate interplay of invasiveness, phytochemical composition, and potential bioactivities. Notably invasive, S. rostratum employs adaptive mechanisms during senescence, featuring thorn formation on leaves, fr…
Integrating citizen science and multispectral satellite data for multiscale habitat management
Habitat management is necessary for the conservation of threatened species, yet best practices in fragmented human-dominated landscapes have remained difficult to generalise. We show that multi-scale vegetation management decisions in heathlands can be supported by integrating opportunistic citizen …
Connected impacts: combining migration tracking data with species distribution models reveals the complex potential impacts of climate change on Europ…
Climate change is a key driver of biodiversity loss in multiple ecosystems, which can act at multiple stages of a species life- and annual cycle. Identifying where, when, and how these impacts may happen is key to understanding, and planning for, the population-level effects of climate change. This …
Can species climate niche predict canopy growth, functional traits and phenotypic plasticity in urban trees?
There is much uncertainty in how climate change will impact the performance of urban trees. Climate niche modelling predicts that many urban tree species may become unsuitable in future climates, but this has rarely been tested in cities. Broad planting of diverse tree species in different cities pr…
The global diversity and biogeography of Isopoda
The order Isopoda is a species-rich and morphologically diverse taxon of peracarid crustaceans. They not only occur in marine environments but have also successfully conquered freshwaters and the terrestrial realm. This thesis examines the global diversity and biogeographic patterns of isopods wi…
Environmental sympatry through time: spatio-temporal distribution and conservation status of two sympatric anuran species (Leptodactylidae) in South A…
Introduction: Leptodactylus latinasus and Physalaemus cuqui are sympatric anuran species with similar environmental requirements and contrasting reproductive modes. Climatic configuration determines distribution patterns and promotes sympatry of environmental niches, but specificity/selectivity dete…
Sat-SINR: High-Resolution Species Distribution Models Through Satellite Imagery
Abstract. We propose a deep learning approach for high-resolution species distribution modelling (SDM) at large scale combining point-wise, crowd-sourced species observation data and environmental data with Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. What makes this task challenging is the great variety of contro…
Species Distribution Modelling Using Bioclimatic Variables on Critically Endangered Endemic Species (Macrocephalon Maleo) in Sulawesi
The island of Sulawesi isolates migratory fauna from Asia and Australia and creates animal combinations such as the Maleo (Macrocephalon Maleo). The Maleo population is experiencing a downward trend due to habitat fragmentation, deforestation and threats by humans. This study aims to model the poten…
New departmental and noteworthy records of mammals (Mammalia, Theria) from Nicaragua
AbstractAbstract. neighboring countries. Recently, an increase in biological surveys and access to natural preserves has led to a better understanding of species distributions in Nicaragua and across Central America. Here, we provide new departmental records for three species of didelphid, 18 chirop…
Supporting early detection of biological invasions through short-term spatial forecasts of detectability
Early detection of invasive species is crucial to prevent biological invasions. To increase the success of detection efforts, it is often essential to know the phenological stages in which the invasive species are found. This includes knowing, for example, if invasive insect species are in their adu…
Phylogeography and bioclimatic models revealed a complicated genetic structure and future range shifts of Lymantria monacha L.
The phylogeography of economically important forest pests is important for understanding their demographic and evolutionary history. Linking the genetic data obtained with the bioclimatic models helps reveal future demographic trends of the pest species studied. Lymantria monacha is a polyphagous sp…
Big‐brained alien birds tend to occur climatic niche shifts through enhanced behavioral innovation
Identifying climatic niche shift and its influencing factors is of great significance in predicting the risk of alien species invasions accurately. Previous studies have attempted to identify the factors related to the niche shift of alien species in their invaded ranges, including changes in introd…
Predicting the spatial distribution of three Ephedra species under climate change using the MaxEnt model
In the context of global warming, the habitats of Ephedra, including Ephedra sinica Stapf, Ephedra intermedia Schrenk ex Mey, and Ephedra equisetina Bunge, have been substantially threatened and deteriorated in recent years. Little is known about the potential geographic dynamics of economically ren…
Observing Shifts In Global Tropical Flowering Phenology
Shifts in flowering phenology have cascade effects across entire ecosystems and are indicative of more severe effects of climate change. Studies investigating flowering phenology at large geographic and taxonomic scales have been limited to temperate and boreal latitudes. Here, we employ a global-sc…