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Oil palm research in context: Identifying the need for biodiversity assessment
February 13, 2008Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) cultivation has expanded dramatically in recent decades and is frequently cited as a major threat to tropical biodiversity. This is because oil palm is grown in lowland tropical regions and so impacts on the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats: tropical rainforests. Analysis of the published literature by scientists led by Edgar Turner at the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge has revealed significant changes in the focus of oil palm research over the last 30 years. The findings are published in PLoS ONE on February 13.
Recent years have seen a broadening in the scope of the research with a slight increase in research focusing on the environment and a dramatic increase in research focusing on biofuel. Despite this, hardly any oil palm publications focused on biodiversity and species conservation. Of these publications, the majority were related to mammals and birds. Although these larger animals are important flagships for the state of the tropical environment, they are not good indicators of oil palm biodiversity. The vast majority of the species worldwide are insects and it is they that carry out the lion's share of the ecosystem function.
Head of the Insect Ecology Research Group, Dr William Foster said: "Much more research must be carried out to determine the impacts of habitat conversion on insect biodiversity. We need to move on from merely cataloguing biodiversity impacts, to understanding how all aspects of ecosystem services are affected by agricultural expansion."
Public Library of Science
Public Library of Science
Biodiversity News and Current Biodiversity Events RSSA bitter pill to swallow
Two reports from TRAFFIC, the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network, on traditional medicine systems in Cambodia and Vietnam suggest that illegal wildlife trade, including entire tiger skeletons, and unsustainable harvesting is depleting the region's rich and varied biodiversity and putting the primary healthcare resource of millions at risk.
Ancient Mexican maize varieties
Maize was first domesticated in the highlands of Mexico about 10,000 years ago and is now one of the most important crop plants in the world.
Looming tropical disaster needs urgent action
A major review by University of Adelaide researchers shows that the world is losing the battle over tropical habitat loss with potentially disastrous implications for biodiversity and human well-being.
Diversity among bird populations found to reduce threat of West Nile virus
A biologist and undergraduate student have discovered that what's good for an area's bird population is also good for people living nearby.
Climate change could severely impact California's unique native plants
The native plants unique to California are so vulnerable to global climate change that two-thirds of these "endemics" could suffer more than an 80 percent reduction in geographic range by the end of the century.
Dry Tortugas show positive trends: Protected area slowly rebounding
A team of 38 research divers from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, NOAA Fisheries Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the National Park Service, REEF, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington recently completed a successful 20-day biennial census to measure how the protected status of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Tortugas Ecological Reserve and Dry Tortugas National Park's Research Natural Area are helping the regional ecosystem rebound from decades of overfishing and environmental changes.
Database shows effects of acid rain on microorganisms in Adirondack Lakes
Prior to the federal Clean Air Act, unhindered industrial emissions were released into the air throughout the Midwestern and Eastern United States for decades. Many of those harmful chemicals came right back down to earth in the form of acid rain, a chemical concoction that includes nitric and sulfuric acid.
Newly Compiled Online Bee Checklist Allows Biologists To Link Important Information About All Bee Species
n time for National Pollinator Week, June 22 through June 28, biologists have completed an online effort to compile a world checklist of bees. They have identified nearly 19,500 bee species worldwide, about 2,000 more than previously estimated.
Plan to conserve forests may be detrimental to other ecosystems
Conserving biodiversity must be considered when developing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, researchers warn in today's edition of Science.
Study of guanacos launched in Chile
The Wildlife Conservation Society has launched a study in Chile's Karukinka reserve on Tierra del Fuego to help protect the guanaco - a wild cousin of the llama that once roamed in vast herds from the Andean Plateau to the steppes of Patagonia.
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 | Corridor Ecology: The Science and Practice of Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation by Jodi Hilty, William Z. Lidicker Jr., Adina Merenlender |
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