Search for: All records

Abstract AimTwo important environmental hazards for nocturnally migrating birds are artificial light at night (ALAN) and air pollution, with ambient fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) considered to be especially harmful. Nocturnally migrating birds are attracted to ALAN during seasonal migration, which could increase exposure to PM_2.5. Here, we examine PM_2.5concentrations and PM_2.5trends and the spatial correlation between ALAN and PM_2.5within the geographical ranges of the world’s nocturnally migrating birds. LocationGlobal. Time period1998–2018. Major taxa studiedNocturnally migrating birds. MethodsWe intersected a global database of annual mean PM_2.5concentrations over a 21‐year period (1998–2018) with the geographical ranges (breeding, non‐breeding and regions of passage) of 225 nocturnally migrating bird species in three migration flyways (Americas,n = 143; Africa–Europe,n = 36; and East Asia–Australia,n = 46). For each species, we estimated PM_2.5concentrations and trends and measured the correlation between ALAN and PM_2.5, which we summarized by season and flyway. ResultsCorrelations between ALAN and PM_2.5were significantly positive across all seasons and flyways. The East Asia–Australia flyway had the strongest ALAN–PM_2.5correlations within regions of passage, the highest PM_2.5concentrations across all three seasons and the strongest positive PM_2.5trends on the non‐breeding grounds and within regions of passage. The Americas flyway had the strongest negative air pollution trends on the non‐breeding grounds and within regions of passage. The breeding grounds had similarly negative air pollution trends within the three flyways. Main conclusionsThe combined threats of ALAN and air pollution are greatest and likely to be increasing within the East Asia–Australia flyway and lowest and likely to be decreasing within the Americas and Africa–Europe flyways. Reversing PM_2.5trends in the East Asia–Australia flyway and maintaining negative PM_2.5trends in the Americas and Africa–Europe flyways while reducing ALAN levels would likely be beneficial for the nocturnally migrating bird populations in each region. 

Abstract Urban areas are foci for the introduction of non‐native plant species, and they often act as launching sites for invasions into the wider environment. Although interest in biological invasions in urban areas is growing rapidly, and the extent and complexity of problems associated with invasions in these systems have increased, data on the composition and numbers of non‐native plants in urbanized areas remain scattered and idiosyncratic.We assembled data from multiple sources to create the Global Urban Biological Invasions Compendium (GUBIC) for vascular plants representing 553 urban centres from 61 countries across every continent except Antarctica.The GUBIC repository includes 8140 non‐native plant species from 253 families. The number of urban centres in which these non‐native species occurred had a log‐normal distribution, with 65.2% of non‐native species occurring in fewer than 10 urban centres.Practical implications: The dataset has wider applications for urban ecology, invasion biology, macroecology, conservation, urban planning and sustainability. We hope this dataset will stimulate future research in invasion ecology related to the diversity and distributional patterns of non‐native flora across urban centres worldwide. Further, this information should aid the early detection and risk assessment of potential invasive species, inform policy development and assist in setting management priorities. 

Abstract SNAPSHOT USA is a multicontributor, long‐term camera trap survey designed to survey mammals across the United States. Participants are recruited through community networks and directly through a website application (https://www.snapshot-usa.org/). The growing Snapshot dataset is useful, for example, for tracking wildlife population responses to land use, land cover, and climate changes across spatial and temporal scales. Here we present the SNAPSHOT USA 2021 dataset, the third national camera trap survey across the US. Data were collected across 109 camera trap arrays and included 1711 camera sites. The total effort equaled 71,519 camera trap nights and resulted in 172,507 sequences of animal observations. Sampling effort varied among camera trap arrays, with a minimum of 126 camera trap nights, a maximum of 3355 nights, a median 546 nights, and a mean 656 ± 431 nights. This third dataset comprises 51 camera trap arrays that were surveyed during 2019, 2020, and 2021, along with 71 camera trap arrays that were surveyed in 2020 and 2021. All raw data and accompanying metadata are stored on Wildlife Insights (https://www.wildlifeinsights.org/), and are publicly available upon acceptance of the data papers. SNAPSHOT USA aims to sample multiple ecoregions in the United States with adequate representation of each ecoregion according to its relative size. Currently, the relative density of camera trap arrays varies by an order of magnitude for the various ecoregions (0.22–5.9 arrays per 100,000 km²), emphasizing the need to increase sampling effort by further recruiting and retaining contributors. There are no copyright restrictions on these data. We request that authors cite this paper when using these data, or a subset of these data, for publication. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the US Government.