Management Philosophy and Practices of Habitat Conservation for Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China

Starting from the pressure on habitat of Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve broughtabout by traveling activity, this paper puts forward such philosophy of community co-management ofconservation-based tourism development for Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve. According to this philosophy,emphasis is laid on the analysis of the mission of habitat protection, functional division, habitatmaintenance, community construction, scientific study and management organization system. The studyshows that the close relation and significance of rights and interests shared between nature reserveand residents in community, as well as the value of community co-management philosophy ofconservation-based tourism development in sustainable management of nature reserve, have set anexemplary example for other nature reserves.

Structural effects of reedbed grazing and its cessation on reed-nesting songbird densities

Reedbeds are crucial breeding habitats for vulnerable songbird species.Irrespective of their protection status,these habitats may be threatened by organic matter accumulation,progressively leading to structural homoge-nization and habitat succession towards woodland.Managers prevent excessive litter build-up with various in-terventions opening-up the reedbeds,such as grazing,which may be detrimental or suitable for some reed bird species.We assessed the effects of extensive grazing by horses and its cessation in the medium and long terms on reedbed structure,and the consequences on reed-nesting songbird densities in Estagnol Nature Reserve,a pro-tected wetland near the French Mediterranean coast.We compared reedbed structural features between grazed,newly ungrazed and old-ungrazed plots.During nine years,we censused four songbird species in spring and collected water level data in the same survey plots.Grazing reduced reedbed extent,rejuvenated the vegetation with more short green stems on a thinner litter,and produced higher structural heterogeneity and discontinuity compared to long-lasting non grazing.Newly ungrazed plot showed intermediate effects.All surveyed songbird total densities were similar among plots while species numbers and densities differed.Grazed reedbed was more attractive to Moustached Warblers(Acrocephalus melanopogon)and Great Reed Warblers(Acrocephalus arundi-naceus),likely due to the large edges and the high vegetation structural heterogeneity.However,Moustached Warblers were more negatively affected by higher water level in grazed reedbed,presumably because flooding prevents litter foraging.The newly ungrazed reedbed was not preferred by any species.All warbler species were found under low density in the old-ungrazed reedbed,where Reed Buntings(Emberiza schoeniclus)were exclu-sively found.Food availability related to thick litter layer may explain this predilection.Common Reed Warblers(Acrocephalus scirpaceus)were found everywhere in similar densities.We conclude that reedbed management by extensive horse grazing and also its long-term cessation may benefit several songbird species.Within a context of wetland degradation and disappearance,both management strategies are useful to establish and maintain suitable habitats for reed-nesting songbird communities.

Kentish Plover(Charadrius alexandrinus) and Little Tern(Sternula albifrons) prefer shells for nesting:A field experiment

Shorebird populations are declining worldwide,mainly due to human disturbances and loss of coastal wetlands.However,supratidal habitats as saltpans could play a role in buffering human impact.Saltpans have shown to be important as feeding or breeding sites of some shorebird species.A potential conservation strategy to increase shorebird populations in saltpans is to manipulate the cues that birds use to select optimal breeding habitat.Here it is hypothesized that shorebirds are attracted to bivalve shells due to the advantages they offer.Following this hypothesis,we supplemented a restored saltpan in 2019 and 2021 with bivalve shells,expecting an increase in the number of breeding birds’ nests.More than 75% of Kentish Plover(Charadrius alexandrinus) and Little Tern(Sternula albifrons) nests were found in patches with shells in both years.The best model for both species indicates that the presence of shells is the factor that most correlates with the location of nests.The probability of choosing one place over another to settle their nest increases in areas with an abundance of shells,double in the case of the Kentish Plover and triple in the case of the Little Tern.The result of this study may constitute a valuable tool for attracting birds to restored saltpans and could contribute to the success of expensive restoration projects where time is usually a constraint.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of ecological variation of waterbird habitats in Dongtan area of Chongming Island

Based on Landsat TM images, we explored the pattern of variation of suitable waterbird habitats from 1990 to 2008 in the Dongtan area of Chongming Island at the Changjiang (Yangtze) River mouth. By applying our highly accurate indicator model (R=0.999, P<0.01), we quantified the variations of fluctuation intensity for local waterbird habitats during 1990-2008, and for the main waterbird groups (Anatidae, Charadriidae, Ardeidae and Laridae) from 2006 to 2008, to evaluate the impact of habitat quantity change on the waterbird habitat status and the population dynamics of the different waterbird groups. The results show that the aquaculture ponds (AP) and the Scirpus mariqueter zone (SMZ) underwent drastic habitat changes during certain periods (AP: 1997-2000, 2000-2003, 2005-2008; SMZ: 1997-2000), and the fluctuation intensity differed among habitat types in the order AP>SMZ>TSH (total suitable habitat)>BSA (bare mud flat and shallow water area). The abandonment of tracts of aquaculture ponds in Dongtan in mid-2006 brought about an intensive population fluctuation, caused by rapidly changing habitat with the population expanding to adjacent areas. At present, Anatidae and Ardeidae are threatened in the Dongtan area with declining populations because of their very "picky" habitat requirements (i.e., high reliance on AP). The Charadriidae experienced enormous population declines in the late 1990s, however, they have since recovered to normal levels as habitat change has stabilized. Our findings suggest that the current challenges for habitat management are the protection and stabilization of AP and SMZ habitats.

Modeling Habitat Suitability of the Red-backed Shrike(Lanius Collurio)in the Irano-Anatolian Biodiversity Hotspot

Identifying suitable habitats of species is essential knowledge to conserve them successfully.Human activities cause the reduction of population size and habitat suitability of many species.Red-backed Shrike is widespread in western Palearctic.However,the population of this specie has declined in its geographical range due to the loss of suitable habitats.Therefore,it is necessary to identify its suitable habitats and factors affecting species habitat suitability and to protect its reduction population size.The aim of the present study was to identify the suitable habitat of the Red-backed Shrike and determine the most important predictors of its suitable habitat in Irano-Anatolian biodiversity hotspot.To achieve this goal,species presence points were first collected and seven environmental variables related to climate,topography and anthropogenic activities,were used to construct the species habitat suitable model.Models were built using five distribution modeling methods:Maxent,GAP,GLM,RF and GBM in sdm package.Then the models were ensemble from 5 different models and the final model was constructed.The results of this study showed that the most suitable habitats of this species are in the western and northern parts of the area of study.The mean annual temperature with 41%contribution was the most important variable in constructing the habitat suitability model for this specie.In addition,climate variables with 75%contribution were identified as the most important habitat suitability factor for this specie.Also in relation to conservation of the Red-backed Shrike species in the Irano-Anatolian region,it can be stated that the extent of distribution and presence of this specie has been extended to the northern latitudes due to climate change.As a result,the temperature and climate factor should be given special attention in the management of bird habitats in this area.

Effects of crop species richness on pest-natural enemy systems based on an experimental model system using a microlandscape

The relationship between crop richness and predator-prey interactions as they relate to pest-natural enemy systems is a very important topic in ecology and greatly affects biological control services.The effects of crop arrangement on predator-prey interactions have received much attention as the basis for pest population management.To explore the internal mechanisms and factors driving the relationship between crop richness and pest population management,we designed an experimental model system of a microlandscape that included 50 plots and five treatments.Each treatment had 10 repetitions in each year from 2007 to 2010.The results showed that the biomass of pests and their natural enemies increased with increasing crop biomass and decreased with decreasing crop biomass;however,the effects of plant biomass on the pest and natural enemy biomass were not significant.The relationship between adjacent trophic levels was significant(such as pests and their natural enemies or crops and pests),whereas non-adjacent trophic levels(crops and natural enemies) did not significantly interact with each other.The ratio of natural enemy/pest biomass was the highest in the areas of four crop species that had the best biological control service.Having either low or high crop species richness did not enhance the pest population management service and lead to loss of biological control.Although the resource concentration hypothesis was not well supported by our results,high crop species richness could suppress the pest population,indicating that crop species richness could enhance biological control services.These results could be applied in habitat management aimed at biological control,provide the theoretical basis for agricultural landscape design,and also suggest new methods for integrated pest management.

Use of ryegrass strips to enhance biological control of aphids by ladybirds in wheat fields

Non-crop habitats may play a vital role in conservation biological control. This study tested the effect of ryegrass （Lolium multiflorum L.） strips on aphid and la- dybird populations in adjacent winter wheat fields. The field experiment was conducted in three ryegrass-margin wheat plots and three control plots in 2010 in North China. In spring, the same aphid species, Sitobion miscanthi （Takahashi）, was found in both the ryegrass strips and wheat plots. The population density of ladybirds in the ryegrass strips （3.5 4- 0.9/m2） was significantly higher than in the wheat plots （1.5 4- 0.5/m2）. We cut the ryegrass, forcing the ladybirds to migrate to the wheat fields. Three and eight days after cutting the ryegrass, the aphid numbers in the ryegrass-margin wheat plots decreased significantly： they were 19.9% and 53.6%, respectively, lower than in control plots. In the early period of ladybird population development, the percentage of larvae was greater in the ryegrass-margin wheat plots than in controls, and the peak number of pupae in the ryegrass-margin wheat plots occurred 5 days earlier than in the control plots. The results suggest that ryegrass strips may promote the development of ladybird populations. Cutting ryegrass can manipulate ladybirds to enhance biological aphid control in wheat fields. The efficiency of this management approach is discussed.