Eduardas Budrys

Advantages of Volunteer-Based Biodiversity Monitoring in Europe

Without robust and unbiased systems for monitoring, changes in natural systems will remain enigmatic for policy makers, leaving them without a clear idea of the consequences of any environmental policies they might adopt. Generally, biodiversity-monitoring activities are not integrated or evaluated across any large geographic region. The EuMon project conducted the first large-scale evaluation of monitoring practices in Europe through an on-line questionnaire and is reporting on the results of this survey. In September 2007 the EuMon project had documented 395 monitoring schemes for species, which represents a total annual cost of about 4 million euro, involving more than 46,000 persons devoting over 148,000 person-days/year to biodiversity-monitoring activities. Here we focused on the analysis of variations of monitoring practices across a set of taxonomic groups (birds, amphibians and reptiles, mammals, butterflies, plants, and other insects) and across 5 European countries (France, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland). Our results suggest that the overall sampling effort of a scheme is linked with the proportion of volunteers involved in that scheme. Because precision is a function of the number of monitored sites and the number of sites is maximized by volunteer involvement, our results do not support the common belief that volunteer-based schemes are too noisy to be informative. Just the opposite, we believe volunteer-based schemes provide relatively reliable data, with state-of-the-art survey designs or data-analysis methods, and consequently can yield unbiased results. Quality of data collected by volunteers is more likely determined by survey design, analytical methodology, and communication skills within the schemes rather than by volunteer involvement per se.

National responsibilities in European species conservation: a methodological review.

One particular challenge in reducing the loss of biodiversity by 2010, as agreed on at the Earth Summit in 2002, is to assign conservation tasks to geographic or administrative entities (e.g., countries or regions) on different geographical scales. To identify conservation tasks, it is imperative to determine the importance of a specific area for the global survival of a species. So far, these national or subnational responsibilities for the conservation of species have been included differently in methods prioritizing conservation. We reviewed how 12 European and 3 non-European methods determined national conservation responsibilities and evaluated the international importance of a biological population. Different countries used different methodologies, which made a direct comparison of assessments of national responsibilities among countries extremely difficult. Differences existed in the importance criteria used. Criteria included population decline, range reduction, rarity status, degree of isolation of a population, endemism, proportional distribution, and geographic location. To increase comparability, it is imperative to develop criteria for which data are generally available and to standardize the methodology among countries. A standardized method would allow conservation decisions to be based on the conservation status of a species and on the responsibility of a geographic or administrative entity for the survival of a species. We suggest that such a method should use a scalable index of proportional distribution, taxonomic status, and the distribution pattern of a taxon or species as key elements. Such a method would allow for the creation of hierarchical lists and would be highly relevant for parts of the world with multiple political jurisdictions or state unions and for nations with regional governmental structures. Conservation priorities could then be reasonably set by combining national responsibility assessments with the international conservation status of a species.

Determination of national conservation responsibilities for species conservation in regions with multiple political jurisdictions

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) commits its signatories to the identification and monitoring of biodiversity. The European Union has implemented this commitment into its legislation. Despite the legal requirement resources are scarce, requiring a prioritization of conservation actions, including e.g. monitoring. Red lists are currently the most prominent tool for priority setting in applied conservation, despite the fact that they were not developed for that purpose. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that they do not always reflect actual conservation needs. As a response, the concept of national responsibility as a complementary tool was developed during the last two decades. The existing methods are country specific and mainly incomparable on an international scale. Here, we present a newly developed method, which is applicable to any taxonomic group, adjustable to different geographic scales, with little data requirements and clear categorizations. We apply the new method to over 1,000 species in several countries of different size and report on the applicability of our method and discuss problems that derive from the currently available data. Our method has several major advantages compared to currently available methods. It is applicable to any geographic range, allows automatization, given database availability, and is readily adjustable to future data improvements. It further has comparably low data demands by exploiting one of the most commonly available information on biodiversity, i.e. distribution maps. We believe that our method allows the allocation of the limited resources in nature conservation in the most sensible way, e.g. the sharing of monitoring duties, effectively selecting networks of protected areas, improving knowledge on biodiversity, and closing information gaps in many species groups.

Establishment of a cross-European field site network in the ALARM project for assessing large-scale changes in biodiversity

The field site network (FSN) plays a central role in conducting joint research within all Assessing Large-scale Risks for biodiversity with tested Methods (ALARM) modules and provides a mechanism for integrating research on different topics in ALARM on the same site for measuring multiple impacts on biodiversity. The network covers most European climates and biogeographic regions, from Mediterranean through central European and boreal to subarctic. The project links databases with the European-wide field site network FSN, including geographic information system (GIS)-based information to characterise the test location for ALARM researchers for joint on-site research. Maps are provided in a standardised way and merged with other site-specific information. The application of GIS for these field sites and the information management promotes the use of the FSN for research and to disseminate the results. We conclude that ALARM FSN sites together with other research sites in Europe jointly could be used as a future backbone for research proposals.

Determination of conservation priorities in regions with multiple political jurisdictions

Red lists serve as the most prominent tool for priority setting in applied conservation, even though they were not originally designed for this task. Hence, threat status does not always reflect actual conservation needs and can be very different from actual conservation priorities. Therefore, red lists may at best be a suboptimal tool for setting conservation priorities in a country or region. As a response, a range of alternative or complementary tools have been developed, with approaches, methods, and parameters such as population decline, population center etc. used, differing widely among countries. One recent development is the combination of conservation status with a measure of the international importance of a population in a focal region for the global survival of a species. Here, we provide a new method that integrates the two concepts while keeping them conceptually separate. The main benefit of this method is that it can be applied across variable geographical scales such as regions, countries, and even continents. Furthermore, it allows for better recommendations for applied conservation and conservation policy development than the two concepts in isolation. Our method, if applied internationally, would allow for a standardized priority setting in species conservation, would be highly comparable between countries, and would lead to a more efficient use of the limited financial and human resources for monitoring and conservation of biodiversity.

THE BIODIVERSITY DATABASE IN LITHUANIA—DISTRIBUTIONAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS

Abstract The DBMS software, currently being used for the Biodiversity database management, developed by the project group “Ecological diversity of Lithuania” and currently maintained at the Institute of Ecology (Vilnius, Lithuania), is Borland® Paradox®, mainly Paradox® for DOS ver. 4.5. The relational structure of the database contains minimum of coding and allows to perform data management and all basic outputs, using forms and reports of the standard interface, it does not require special programs or applications in DBMS environment. The database contains a taxonomic and literature citation blocks, species distribution data files (Budrys, 1998, in press). Particular data block of the database contains lists of geographic names, and habitat information. These files are linked to a master file with records related to 1×1 km grid of territory, designed as a raster database. For particular purposes of inexperienced user, a minimized regional version of the database (RBIDB) with a user-friendly interface wa...

Behavioural Elements Influencing Mating Success of Symmorphus Allobrogus (Hymenoptera: Eumeninae)

Elements of the predatory wasp Symmorphus allobrogus mating behaviour are described, their influence on mating success is assessed based on laboratory observations. The analysis revealed that in the premounting phase activities of males, abdomen extension and substrate antennation, in particular, play a decisive role in predetermining mating success. In the precopulatory phase, activities of both sexes are nearly equal in importance. Struggle of female individuals negatively affects mating success, while their shaking increases the likelihood of copulation. Antennation and stroking of the abdomen are the most important elements of male behaviour, stimulating copulation. In the copulatory phase of mating visible activities of males have little influence on the duration of copulation, whilst shaking and struggle of females induce an earlier termination of it.

Sibling species in the Chrysis ignita complex: molecular, morphological and trophic differentiation of Baltic species, with a description of two new cryptic species (Hymenoptera: Chrysididae)

Cryptic species complexes cause major challenges for taxonomists and alter understanding of species diversity. In Northern Europe, the Chrysis ignita species group is one such complex with numerous sympatric sibling species. The objective of this paper is to assess the taxonomy of 15 species from this group using three different approaches: molecular, morphological and trophic differentiation. The analysed set of molecular markers included a 7400‐bp‐long sequence of the mitochondrial genome covering complete sequences of CO1, CO2, ATP8, ATP6, CO3, ND3, 16S and 12S rRNA, nine tRNAs and a partial sequence of CytB, as well as a 3880‐bp‐long sequence of the nuclear DNA covering a part of 18S rRNA, the ITS1, 5.8S rRNA, ITS2 and a part of 28S rRNA. Discrete diagnostic characters of each species sequence were retrieved using the Characteristic Attribute Organisation System algorithm and a molecular identification key was compiled. The study revealed a higher evolutionary rate of the genes ATP8, ATP6, CO3, ND3 and CytB compared to that of CO1, CO2 and 16S; the studied nuclear markers demonstrated a lower evolutionary rate than the mitochondrial markers. A consensus tree compiled based on the combined mtDNA and nuclear markers with a strongly supported topology resolved the position of the C. schencki – C. parietis sp.n. clade as sister to the C. ignita – C. impressa clade and supported the monophyly of the C. angustula – C. longula clade. We compiled a morphometric species identification key applying linear discriminant equations. The trophic differentiation was assessed using data on host preferences of ten Chrysis species reared from trap‐nests; the analysis demonstrated that most of them are specialists exploiting a single or a few taxonomically related host species. In most cases, all three approaches supported the distinct status of the included species. Moreover, two previously undescribed species were consistently supported by the molecular methods. Therefore, we describe these as new, namely C. horridula sp.n. and C. parietis sp.n. Only C. mediata and C. solida were not clearly distinguished using the molecular phylogeny reconstruction methods. However, based on distinctive niche divergence, the presence of molecular characters and morphometric differences, we consider them as phylogenetically young but distinct species. In view of the weak morphological and molecular differentiation, the widely overlapping distribution areas and often similar habitat preferences and the trophic specialization, the C. ignita complex presents a possible model for studies of sympatric cryptic speciation.

The Orthoptera (Insecta) of Lithuania.

This study summarises previously published and new faunal data on the Orthoptera of Lithuania based on recent collections and observations. The checklist comprises 45 species, of which 42 species are included based on the studied collection material; two of them (Modicogryllus frontalis and Barbitistes constrictus) are new to the Lithuanian fauna. Three species are added to the list based on the information of the Fauna Europaea online database. Two species have not been observed in Lithuania since the first half of the 20th century: Locusta migratoria (last collected in 1948) and Bryodemella tuberculata (last observed in 1924 and 1925), the latter species is considered locally extinct. Five species (Modicogryllus frontalis, Gryllus campestris, Stenobothrus stigmaticus, Chorthippus pullus and Psophus stridulus) are regarded as deserving protection.

EFFECT OF PREY SIZE AND NUMBER OF PREY SPECIMENS ON STINGING EFFORT IN PREDATORY WASPS

Eight species from three genera of predatory wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) were studied to establish how their stinging effort depends on prey weight, the number of prey specimens in a brood cell and the nesting cavity width as an indirect measure of wasp size. The number of delivered stings was weakly positively dependent on the victims weight, while the relative stinging effort (the number of stings per prey weight unit) depended negatively on its weight. However, the stinging effort per single offspring.s provision was positively dependent on the number of prey specimens per brood cell in most species. The relative stinging effort per provision of a single offspring mostly depended negatively on the average weight of prey. We conclude that provisioning of an offspring with a smaller number of relatively larger prey specimens requires a lesser relative stinging effort. In the long run, this may cause evolutionary pressure preventing wasps from preying on too small victims or stimulating the ...