Anthropogenic habitats are increasingly prevalent in coastal marine environments. Previous research on sessile epifauna suggests that artificial habitats act as a refuge for nonindigenous species, which results in highly homogenous communities across locations. However, vertebrate assemblages that live in association with artificial habitats are poorly understood. Here, we quantify the biodiver...

1. Current views of anthropogenic environments emphasize the extreme novelty of urban and industrial ecosystems. Proponents of reconciliation ecology argue that we need to use such habitats to conserve biodiversity, given the inadequacy of natural reserve systems. 2. Some of the harshest anthropogenic ecosystems may be able to support indigenous biodiversity due to their structural or functiona...

Understanding the distribution and the extent of suitable habitats is crucial for wildlife conservation and management. Knowledge is limited regarding the natural habitats of the Chinese monal (Lophophorus lhuysii), which is a vulnerable Galliform species endemic to the high-montane areas of southwest China and a good candidate for being an umbrella species in the Qionglai Mountains. Using ecol...

A major conservation challenge in mosaic landscapes is to understand how trait-specific responses to habitat edges affect bird communities, including potential cascading effects on bird functions providing ecosystem services to forests, such as pest control. Here, we examined how bird species richness, abundance and community composition varied from interior forest habitats and their edges into...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Organismal evolution tends to be closely associated with ecological conditions. However, the extent to which this association constrains adaptation or diversification into new habitats remains unclear. We studied habitat evolution in the hyper-diverse angiosperm clade Saxifragales. METHODS We used species-level phylogenies for approx. 950 species to analyse the evolution o...

Analysis of a three-year bird survey in the pantanal of Poconé revealed that most of the resident and seasonal birds are habitat generalists, using two or more habitats. In this study, previously sampled habitats were ranked in relation to species richness and stability (as measured by the ratio of seasonal to resident species). In all, nine habitats were grouped into three categories; results ...

Given the highly stochastic nature of larval supply, coral reef fish may often settle in sub-optimal habitats with limited prey. This study examines the foraging and territorial habits of a cora/feeding butterfiyfish, Chaetodon baronessa, living in two contrasting habitats with markedly different coral prey. In exposed front reef habitats, where coral prey was highly abundant, C. baronessa was ...

Worldwide, urbanisation has resulted in extensive replacement of natural habitats with man-made habitats. In Sydney Harbour, Australia, approximately half of the natural foreshore has been replaced by seawalls. Many of these have wharves built over part of their length, which could affect intertidal assemblages on seawalls beneath the wharves. This was tested by sampling and comparing assemblag...

Natural breeding habitats of Aedes aegypti in the Caribbean region were reviewed by conducting larval surveys in Trinidad. Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and referring to records from the Mosquitoes of Middle America project. Twelve types of natural habitats were recorded: rock holes (9.7%), calabashes (2.4%), tree holes (19.5%), leaf axils (4.8%), bamboo joints (14.9%), papaya stumps...