Evaluating tramway infrastructure on biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Tramways in urban areas for mass transit has been suggested to have a lower environmental footprint than roads. However, studies on the impact of tramways and the surrounding infrastructure on biodiversity is extremely rare despite the potential ecological effects associated with this anthropogenic feature. Surprisingly, we found fewer than 10 papers published on tramway-wildlife interactions, which is significantly lower (vs dozens of thousands) than that of other transportation methods.

Little Owl Aggression and Territory in Urban and Rural Landscapes.

Urbanization is a major land use change across the globe with vast effects on wildlife. In this paper, we studied (1) the territorial displays of Little Owls in urban and rural landscapes, analyzing also (2) the size and habitat composition of the territories, and (3) the factors affecting territory size in both landscapes. To do that, we used -tests, Principal Components Analysis, and General Linear mixed model procedures.

Multiple invasive species affect germination, growth, and photosynthesis of native weeds and crops in experiments.

Alien plant species regularly and simultaneously invade agricultural landscapes and ecosystems; however, the effects of co-invasion on crop production and native biodiversity have rarely been studied. Secondary metabolites produced by alien plants may be allelopathic; if they enter the soil, they may be transported by agricultural activities, negatively affecting crop yield and biodiversity. It is unknown whether substances from different alien species in combination have a greater impact on crops and wild plants than if they are from only one of the alien species.

Social information modifies the associations between forest fragmentation and the abundance of a passerine bird.

Habitat loss and fragmentation are the main factors driving the occurrence and abundance of species in the landscape. However, the local occurrence and abundance of species may also depend on conspecific and heterospecific social information e.g.

COVID-19 in Memes: The Adaptive Response of Societies to the Pandemic?

COVID-19 expanded rapidly throughout the world, with enormous health, social, and economic consequences. Mental health is the most affected by extreme negative emotions and stress, but it has been an underestimated part of human life during the pandemic. We hypothesized that people may have responded to the pandemic spontaneously with increased interest in and creation of funny internet memes.

Congruence between the prioritisation of conservation problems at the local and national scale: an evaluation by environmental scientists in Poland.

The anthropogenic pressure on the environment depends on the spatial scale. It is crucial to prioritise conservation actions at different spatial scales to be cost-efficient. Using horizon scanning with the Delphi technique, we asked what the most important conservation problems are in Poland at local and national scales.

Small things are important: the value of singular point elements for birds in agricultural landscapes.

Farmland birds belong to the most endangered group of vertebrates in Europe. They are an important component of farmland biodiversity considering the numerous functions they perform (e.g.

Genome size versus geographic range size in birds.

Why do some species occur in small, restricted areas, while others are distributed globally? Environmental heterogeneity increases with area and so does the number of species. Hence, diverse biotic and abiotic conditions across large ranges may lead to specific adaptations that are often linked to a species' genome size and chromosome number. Therefore, a positive association between genome size and geographic range is anticipated.

Different response of the taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of birds to forest fragmentation.

Habitat fragmentation is considered as major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Biodiversity can be described as taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity. However, the effect of forest fragmentation on taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity is barely understood.

Misinformation, internet honey trading and beekeepers drive a plant invasion.

Biological invasions are a major human induced global change that is threatening global biodiversity by homogenizing the world's fauna and flora. Species spread because humans have moved species across geographical boundaries and have changed ecological factors that structure ecosystems, such as nitrogen deposition, disturbance, etc. Many biological invasions are caused accidentally, as a byproduct of human travel and commerce driven product shipping.

The macroecology of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Anthropocene.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has expanded rapidly throughout the world. Thus, it is important to understand how global factors linked with the functioning of the Anthropocene are responsible for the COVID-19 outbreak. We tested hypotheses that the number of COVID-19 cases, number of deaths and growth rate of recorded infections: (1) are positively associated with population density as well as (2) proportion of the human population living in urban areas as a proxies of interpersonal contact rate, (3) age of the population in a given country as an indication of that population's susceptibility to COVID-19; (4) net migration rate and (5) number of tourists as proxies of infection pressure, and negatively associated with (5) gross domestic product which is a proxy of health care quality.

The associations among the breeding performance of Osmia bicornis L. (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), burden of pathogens and nest parasites along urbanisation gradient.

Urban environments may negatively affect the development of organisms. In host-pathogen/parasite systems, this impact may lead to increased manifestations of pathogens that decrease the success of their hosts in urban environments compared to rural ones. We tested this hypothesis in the solitary bee Osmia bicornis L.

The effect of railways on bird diversity in farmland.

With a length exceeding 210,000 km in Europe, railways are common linear features dissecting landscapes. However, the impact of railway networks on biodiversity is equivocal. In this study, we investigated the effect of railway embankments on bird diversity components in an agricultural landscape in southern Poland.

Roads affect the spatial structure of butterfly communities in grassland patches.

Roads may have an important negative effect on animal dispersal rate and mortality and thus the functioning of local populations. However, road verges may be surrogate habitats for invertebrates. This creates a conservation dilemma around the impact of roads on invertebrates.

Shell colour, temperature, (micro)habitat structure and predator pressure affect the behaviour of Cepaea nemoralis.

Although shell colour polymorphism of the land snail Cepaea nemoralis is a well-known phenomenon, proximate and ultimate factors driving its evolution remain uncertain. Polymorphic species show variation in behavioural responses to selective forces. Therefore, we estimated effects of various environmental factors (temperature, humidity, food availability, (micro)habitat structure and predatory pressure) on behavioural response (frequency of locomotion, climbing and hiding) of C.

Experimentally evoked same-sex sexual behaviour in pigeons: better to be in a female-female pair than alone.

Same-sex sexual behaviour has been noted among social animals. However, because of the large number of observations necessary, data from controlled experiments are lacking. In this study, we performed experiments to evaluate the effects of male and female removal in colonies of the feral pigeon (Columba livia f.

The association of windmills with conservation of pollinating insects and wild plants in homogeneous farmland of western Poland.

Loss of suitable seminatural habitats and homogenization of crop types have led to the population decline of pollinating insects in farmland. As these insects support crop production, many practical efforts aim to sustain pollinator diversity which is especially challenging in intensively managed and homogeneous farmland. However, there are ongoing changes of the farmland toward its multifunctionality that includes, for example, wind farm development.

Sexual differences in food preferences in the white stork: an experimental study.

Sex differences in the foraging ecology of monomorphic species are poorly understood, due to problems with gender identification in field studies. In the current study, we used experimental conditions to investigate the food preferences of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, an opportunistic species in terms of food, but characterised by a low level of sexual dimorphism. During a 10-day experiment, 29 individuals (20 females and 9 males) were studied by means of a 'cafeteria test' in which the storks' diet consisted of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and earthworms.

Relative Contribution of Matrix Structure, Patch Resources and Management to the Local Densities of Two Large Blue Butterfly Species.

The type of matrix, the landscape surrounding habitat patches, may determine the distribution and function of local populations. However, the matrix is often heterogeneous, and its various components may differentially contribute to metapopulation processes at different spatial scales, a phenomenon that has rarely been investigated. The aim of this study was to estimate the relative importance of matrix composition and spatial scale, habitat quality, and management intensity on the occurrence and density of local populations of two endangered large blue butterflies: Phengaris teleius and P.

Constant and seasonal drivers of bird communities in a wind farm: implications for conservation.

Background. One of the most difficult challenges for conservation biology is to reconcile growing human demands for resources with the rising need for protecting nature. Wind farms producing renewable energy have been recognised to be a threat for birds, but clear directives for environmental planning are still missing.

Habitat preferences of two sparrow species are modified by abundances of other birds in an urban environment.

Every species has certain habitat requirements, which may be altered by interactions with other co-occurring species. These interactions are mostly ignored in predictive models trying to identify key habitat variables correlated with species population abundance/occurrence. We investigated how the structure of the urban landscape, food resources, potential competitors, predators, and interaction between these factors influence the abundance of house sparrow and the tree sparrow in sixty 25 ha plots distributed randomly across residential areas of the city of Poznań (Poland).

Distribution pattern and number of ticks on lizards.

The success of ectoparasites depends primarily on the site of attachment and body condition of their hosts. Ticks usually tend to aggregate on vertebrate hosts in specific areas, but the distribution pattern may depend on host body size and condition, sex, life stage or skin morphology. Here, we studied the distribution of ticks on lizards and tested the following hypothesis: occurrence or high abundance of ticks is confined with body parts with smaller scales and larger interscalar length because such sites should provide ticks with superior attachment conditions.