Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity.
Despite the global significance of wetlands, conservation strategies often fall short in preserving these ecosystems due to failures in incorporating processes that sustain the ecosystem functioning, hydrological dynamics, ecological processes, and biodiversity of wetlands. Nature-based solutions, s...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175661 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39173747 |
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ftpubmed:39173747 2024-09-09T19:31:55+00:00 Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. Hooker, Jack Foxley, Thomas Stone, Emma L Lintott, Paul R 2024 Aug 21 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175661 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39173747 eng eng Elsevier Science https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175661 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39173747 Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Sci Total Environ ISSN:1879-1026 Volume:951 Ecosystem resilience Ecosystem services Nature-based solutions Rewilding Species reintroduction Wetland restoration Journal Article 2024 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175661 2024-08-29T16:03:00Z Despite the global significance of wetlands, conservation strategies often fall short in preserving these ecosystems due to failures in incorporating processes that sustain the ecosystem functioning, hydrological dynamics, ecological processes, and biodiversity of wetlands. Nature-based solutions, such as the reintroduction of beavers, have emerged as effective tools for promoting wetland restoration. Whilst the impact of beavers on wetland restoration is well known, their broader influence on ecosystem health, particularly in modifying habitats for other species, remains inadequately understood. Here we assess the impact that habitat modification through the reintroduction of beavers has on bat populations. There were significantly greater activity levels within beaver-modified wetland habitats for multiple bat species, including higher activity levels of 393 % for Barbastella barbastellus and 313 % for Plecotus spp.. Additionally, we observed positive effects on bat populations in the woodland habitat surrounding beaver-modified wetland for certain taxa. In the face of escalating challenges posed by climate change and habitat loss, addressing biodiversity loss necessitates a shift toward ecosystem-centric mitigation measures. Our study demonstrates that the reintroduction of keystone species like beavers can re-establish historical facilitative links between aquatic and terrestrial food webs, highlighting the importance of such interventions in fostering the resilience and sustainability of entire ecosystems. Article in Journal/Newspaper Barbastella barbastellus PubMed Central (PMC) Science of The Total Environment 951 175661 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecosystem resilience Ecosystem services Nature-based solutions Rewilding Species reintroduction Wetland restoration |
spellingShingle |
Ecosystem resilience Ecosystem services Nature-based solutions Rewilding Species reintroduction Wetland restoration Hooker, Jack Foxley, Thomas Stone, Emma L Lintott, Paul R Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. |
topic_facet |
Ecosystem resilience Ecosystem services Nature-based solutions Rewilding Species reintroduction Wetland restoration |
description |
Despite the global significance of wetlands, conservation strategies often fall short in preserving these ecosystems due to failures in incorporating processes that sustain the ecosystem functioning, hydrological dynamics, ecological processes, and biodiversity of wetlands. Nature-based solutions, such as the reintroduction of beavers, have emerged as effective tools for promoting wetland restoration. Whilst the impact of beavers on wetland restoration is well known, their broader influence on ecosystem health, particularly in modifying habitats for other species, remains inadequately understood. Here we assess the impact that habitat modification through the reintroduction of beavers has on bat populations. There were significantly greater activity levels within beaver-modified wetland habitats for multiple bat species, including higher activity levels of 393 % for Barbastella barbastellus and 313 % for Plecotus spp.. Additionally, we observed positive effects on bat populations in the woodland habitat surrounding beaver-modified wetland for certain taxa. In the face of escalating challenges posed by climate change and habitat loss, addressing biodiversity loss necessitates a shift toward ecosystem-centric mitigation measures. Our study demonstrates that the reintroduction of keystone species like beavers can re-establish historical facilitative links between aquatic and terrestrial food webs, highlighting the importance of such interventions in fostering the resilience and sustainability of entire ecosystems. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hooker, Jack Foxley, Thomas Stone, Emma L Lintott, Paul R |
author_facet |
Hooker, Jack Foxley, Thomas Stone, Emma L Lintott, Paul R |
author_sort |
Hooker, Jack |
title |
Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. |
title_short |
Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. |
title_full |
Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. |
title_fullStr |
Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: Beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. |
title_sort |
re-establishing historic ecosystem links through targeted species reintroduction: beaver-mediated wetlands support increased bat activity. |
publisher |
Elsevier Science |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175661 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39173747 |
genre |
Barbastella barbastellus |
genre_facet |
Barbastella barbastellus |
op_source |
Sci Total Environ ISSN:1879-1026 Volume:951 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175661 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39173747 |
op_rights |
Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175661 |
container_title |
Science of The Total Environment |
container_volume |
951 |
container_start_page |
175661 |
_version_ |
1809900741907709952 |