The fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized felid, which uses various habitats including areas adjoining wetlands. This species is listed as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List 2016, Appendix 2 of CITES and under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. In spite of being mired with several threats, studies on fishing cats outside protected areas are scarce in West Bengal, and their confirmed presence has so far been reported only from the Howrah and Hooghly districts. This is the first published account of the presence of fishing cats in human-dominated landscapes of East Medinipur (West Bengal, India) through camera-trap evidence. We have observed that habitat alterations and disturbances associated with the construction of a brick kiln have possibly led to the displacement of fishing cats and other associated wildlife species from the study area. Similar surveys in yet unexplored areas of fishing cat distribution range are needed to identify remaining populations, threats to their survival and to initiate appropriate conservation initiatives. Our findings indicate that current anthropocentric land-use policies need to be reviewed to reduce anthropogenic disturbances and destruction of habitats sustaining fishing cats and other wildlife in human-dominated landscapes.

Spatial conservation tools usually focus on identifying areas having species groups of interest. Consequently, there is a need to identify the main factors influencing the concentration of species (hotspots) and their locations. We asked: whether existing strictly protected areas are efficient to cover the main regional biodiversity hotspots; what characteristics are associated with hotspot arrangement; what is the minimal distance from a biodiversity research center needed to cover the main biodiversity amount. We analyzed factors influencing the spatial arrangement of 164 threatened plant species in the Republic of Mordovia (European Russia). To quantify species distribution, we used a grid mapping approach using 100 km² quadrats. We identified four biodiversity research centers (BDRC) of threatened plant species in the study area, including two protected areas, the town of Saransk, and a regional key conservation area. About 50% of species and species locations were concentrated within a 24-km radius around BDRCs. From our results, buffer zones of protected areas should have a 5–10 km width and the establishment of new protected areas should be preceded by the identification of regional biodiversity hotspots. Additionally, the correctness of protected area arrangement with plant species richness in a region should be tested.

Although nearly half of all Magnolia species are threatened globally, human-assisted movement and cultivation of some species has led to their escape within non-indigenous ecosystems. The ongoing naturalization of select Magnolia taxa has been associated with climate change and variously characterized as assisted-migration, range shift/expansion, or biological invasion. This study documented recruitment patterns in space and time for two species of introduced ‘umbrella’ magnolias, which have become increasingly prolific in New England. A census was conducted that identified a total of 388 Magnolia macrophylla (SE US.) and M. obovata (Japan) individuals that escaped from cultivation and colonized an adjacent oak forest. Seedling recruitment occurred rapidly in response to forest disturbance, and mean tree age was significantly different as a function of three discrete disturbance events. M. obovata was a more successful colonizer overall, yielding more individuals (326 vs. 62), and recruiting further (90% quantile = 388 ± 91 vs. 228 ± 44 m) than M. macrophylla, given founding populations that were of identical size (n = 3) and similar age. This study represents the first documented escape of M. obovata in North America, while M. macrophylla has been documented elsewhere in New England and linked to increased temperature and precipitation patterns.

Rhus typhina L., an exotic plant that is widely distributed in China, is harmful to native ecosystems; however, little is known about its effects on soil microbial communities. Therefore, we investigated the effects of R. typhina on soil bacterial communities by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and compared the effects of R. typhina and native (Rhus chinensis Mill.) and non-invasive exotic species (Amorpha fruticosa L. and Robinia pseudoacacia L.) on soil bacterial communities via a greenhouse experiment. R. typhina decreased the diversity of the soil bacterial community compared with R. chinensis, and A. fruticosa. R. typhina soil was characterized by more Actinobacteria and lesser Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria than the other soils. Among Actinobacteria members, there was a difference in the relative abundance of Nocardioides and Streptomyces, and this could be advantageous for the growth of R. typhina. However, there was no significant difference in the soil bacterial community structure associated with R. typhina and other species. Moreover, the concentrations of total carbon, potassium, and nitrate were found to be the major soil factors influencing the relative abundance of soil bacteria.

We conducted a mesocosm restoration experiment to test the efficacy of early summer sowing of seed mixtures for inhibiting the emergence, growth and/or survival of giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum) seedlings. H. mantegazzianum is invasive in Europe and North America, where it has a negative effect on plant diversity and represents a serious health hazard, due to the photodermatitis it may cause. We tested five plant mixtures comprising a selection of North American native or naturalized non-invasive plant species. Compared to the unseeded control mesocosm, all plant covers reduced seedling emergence, growth and survival of H. mantegazzianum. There were large differences between mixtures regarding inhibition effects. The nature of the effects depended on species composition, with one mixture more effective in preventing establishment, another essentially affecting seedling growth and survival. Total plant cover, irrespective of seed mixtures, appeared to have a major effect on H. mantegazzianum. Other factors that may have played a role included the litter from the seeded plants and the allelopathic effect of Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis). Our study adds to the growing body of evidence promoting the restoration of a plant cover as a means to prevent reinfestation by invasive species following a control operation.

Most potential habitat models have been built from WorldClim using low resolution variables, even for areas of high heterogeneity with few weather stations. The resulting models can be too general and lead to erroneous decisions when used for conservation purposes. Sciurus aberti is a tree squirrel inhabiting highlands in the SW US and the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) in Mexico, where it is considered a species of low concern. We examined the effect of resolution, variables, and algorithms on the predicted potential habitat of S. aberti in Mexico and compared the resulting models against a previous one created from WorldClim variables using GARP (Genetic Algorithm for Rule Set Production). Our best model, using Maxent, 30 m spatial resolution and topographic variables, predicted a fragmented distribution in pine and pine–oak forests, consistent with what is known about the species' natural history. The area represented only 2% of the SMO (compared to 28% for the GARP model), of which only 0.33% lies within protected areas. The model suggests that the habitat is highly fragmented, which threatens population continuity. Therefore, we propose that the conservation status of Sciurus aberti must be reassessed and that forest management better consider the conservation of arboreal species.

Mound-building termites are ecosystem engineers whose abundance and spatial ecology are not adequately addressed in many forest ecosystems. We studied Odontotermes obesus mounds at two moist tropical deciduous forests (pure Sal and Sal-Teak mixed) in the Doon valley, northern India. Mound abundance, spatial pattern and termite population density were determined by direct count, nearest neighbour analyses and destructive sampling, respectively. Relations between mound attributes and stand characteristics such as woody vegetation diversity, density and tree stumps (representing food quality, quantity, open-space availability and disturbance) were tested at fine spatial scale using regression analyses. Active mounds were more abundant in the pure Sal stand (∼8.0 mounds/ha) than in the mixed stand (∼5.0 mounds/ha). Mean population density (both sites combined) was 2.01 × 10⁵ individuals per mound. Population density was strongly correlated with mound volume. Predominance of young colonies was indicated by high occurrence (≥ = 65%) of small mounds (< 1.25 m³). Mounds were predominantly randomly distributed. However, the pure Sal stand showed a partial tendency towards aggregation. Our results revealed that woody species richness is an important, site-specific regulatory factor. Local-scale variations should be cautiously considered while up-scaling the contribution of O. obesus mounds to various ecosystem processes.

Adult caddisfly (Trichoptera) community assemblages were studied in nine streams located in the transitional zone of the Ozarks and tallgrass prairie ecoregions. Seventy-two species, 36 genera, and 15 families were collected from among these streams. Cluster analysis showed taxa similarity among sites was grouped by geographic proximity rather than stream type, but, within the primary clusters, there also was separation among the streams. Predominantly spring-fed streams were less closely related to the other streams in those clusters. Among streams within a park, there were distinct differences among their respective faunas, which is likely due to local physical and chemical differences in those streams. An NMDS analysis was consistent with the similarity analysis with streams ordinating primarily based on geographic proximity (stress = 0.07, R² = 0.76) and not stream type (multiresponse permutation procedure: A = 0.289, p = 0.003). Results from free permutation testing showed half of the environmental variables included in the model were significant (p ≤ 0.05). The most important findings of this study are that highest taxa similarities were among streams in the same park (local scale) as opposed to similar stream types among parks (regional scale), but there also was substantial variation among stream types within parks due to local factors.