Translating statistical species-habitat models to interactive decision support tools.

Understanding species-habitat relationships is vital to successful conservation, but the tools used to communicate species-habitat relationships are often poorly suited to the information needs of conservation practitioners. Here we present a novel method for translating a statistical species-habitat model, a regression analysis relating ring-necked pheasant abundance to landcover, into an interactive online tool. The Pheasant Habitat Simulator combines the analytical power of the R programming environment with the user-friendly Shiny web interface to create an online platform in which wildlife professionals can explore the effects of variation in local landcover on relative pheasant habitat suitability within spatial scales relevant to individual wildlife managers.

Assessing landscape constraints on species abundance: does the neighborhood limit species response to local habitat conservation programs?

Landscapes in agricultural systems continue to undergo significant change, and the loss of biodiversity is an ever-increasing threat. Although habitat restoration is beneficial, management actions do not always result in the desired outcome. Managers must understand why management actions fail; yet, past studies have focused on assessing habitat attributes at a single spatial scale, and often fail to consider the importance of ecological mechanisms that act across spatial scales.

Differences among antimicrobial properties of carrion beetle secretions reflect phylogeny and ecology.

Carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) consist of two subfamilies in North America. Members of the Silphinae arrive at carcasses during the mid-stage of decay and their larvae feed on developing maggots, while members of the Nicrophorinae bury and tend carcasses upon which their developing larvae feed. The Nicrophorinae maintain the condition of the carcass by applying oral and anal secretions that reduce carcass decay apparently through bacterial inhibition, although quantification has not been made.