CIBIO/InBIO – Laboratório Associado Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos

1. Forest certification, a proxy for sustainable forest management, covers more than 10\% of the world’s forests. Under forest certification, forest managers and landowners must comply with environmental, economic and social management standards aiming to promote forest conservation. Despite an increasing area of certified forests, there is a dearth of data on how forest certification is affecting the conservation of forest ecosystems and associated habitats. 2. Here, we assess the effects of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, one of the largest certification schemes in the world, on the ecological condition of streams crossing Mediterranean evergreen oak woodlands. 3. We used the Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP) to compare the ecological condi- tion of streams located in areas with 3 and 5 years of certification, in non-certified areas and in least disturbed streams. 4. Forest certification positively affected the ecological condition of the surveyed streams, but its effects were only measurable after 5 years of certification. Streams with 5 years of certification had more continuous, dense and diverse riparian vegetation when compared to streams located in non-certified areas. Moreover, the condition of streams located in areas with 5 years of forest certification was similar to the condition of least disturbed streams. 5. Synthesis and applications. Forest certification promotes the ecological condition of streams occurring within Mediterranean evergreen oak woodlands. This mainly happens because in areas under forest certification, managers and landowners have to comply with management practices that require them to remove or reduce the main causes for stream deg- radation, allowing riparian habitats to recover. Within landscapes with large and increasing areas under forest certification, such as the Mediterranean cork oak woodlands, the positive effects of certification on the ecological condition of streams may spread across the hydro- graphic network in the medium to long term.

Over the last four decades the world has been losing biodiversity at an alarming rate despite the increasing number of protected areas (PAs). Certified forest management may complement the role of PAs in protecting biodiversity. Forest certification aims to promote sustainable forest management and to maintain or enhance the conservation value of certified forests. The area of forest under certified forest management has grown quickly over the past decade. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, for example, cur- rently covers 148 million hectares, i.e., 3.7 \% of the world’s forests. In spite of such increase there is, however, a dearth of information on how forest certification is related to biodiversity. In this study we assessed if FSC certification is being applied in high bio- diversity areas in cork oak savannas in Portugal by comparing biodiversity values of certified and non-certified areas for birds, reptiles and amphibians. We calculated the relative species richness and irreplaceability value for each group of species in certified and non-certified areas and compared them using randomization tests. The biodiversity value of certified areas was not significantly greater than that of non-certified areas. Since FSC certification is expanding quickly in cork oak savannas it is important to consider the biodiversity value of these areas during this process. Prioritizing areas of high biodiversity value would enhance the conservation value of forest certification and facilitate integrating certification with other conservation initiatives.

The Boé sector in southeast Guinea-Bissau harbors a population of western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) that inhabits a mosaic of forest and savanna. The Boé sector contains a substantial bauxite deposit in a region called Ronde Hill, and there are plans for the construction of a mine, which may endanger the chimpanzee population. In 1-week survey in May 2013, we used the standing crop nest counts method to obtain the number of chimpanzee nests and from that estimate the density and abundance of chimpanzees. We carried out five 1-km line transects that covered the bauxite deposit and surrounding valleys. We used density surface modeling to analyze habitat preferences, then predicted chimpanzee nest density and distribution based on environmental variables. We found the projected location of the mine partially coincides with an area of high predicted abundances of chimpanzee nests and is surrounded by highly suitable areas for chimpanzees (northeast and southwest). We conclude the mine could have significant direct and indirect effects on this population of chimpanzees whose impacts must be carefully considered and properly mitigated if the mine is built.

Background
Despite the increasing worldwide use of global positioning system (GPS) telemetry in wildlife research, it has never been tested on any freshwater diving animal or in the peculiar conditions of the riparian habitat, despite this latter being one of the most important habitat types for many animal taxa. Moreover, in most cases, the GPS devices used have been commercial and expensive, limiting their use in low-budget projects.

Methodology/Principal Findings
We have developed a low-cost, easily constructed GPS GSM/GPRS (Global System for Mobile Communications/General Packet Radio Service) and examined its performance in stationary tests, by assessing the influence of different habitat types, including the riparian, as well as water submersion and certain climatic and environmental variables on GPS fix-success rate and accuracy. We then tested the GPS on wild diving animals, applying it, for the first time, to an otter species (Lutra lutra). The rate of locations acquired during the stationary tests reached 63.2%, with an average location error of 8.94 m (SD = 8.55). GPS performance in riparian habitats was principally affected by water submersion and secondarily by GPS inclination and position within the riverbed. Temporal and spatial correlations of location estimates accounted for some variation in the data sets. GPS-tagged otters also provided accurate locations and an even higher GPS fix-success rate (68.2%).

Conclusions/Significance
Our results suggest that GPS telemetry is reliably applicable to riparian and even diving freshwater animals. They also highlight the need, in GPS wildlife studies, for performing site-specific pilot studies on GPS functioning as well as for taking into account eventual spatial and temporal correlation of location estimates. The limited price, small dimensions, and high performance of the device presented here make it a useful and cost-effective tool for studies on otters and other aquatic or terrestrial medium-to-large-sized animals.

Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) have experienced
dramatic population declines that have resulted in the
extirpation of the species from several parts of their original distribution and have led most European countries to
initiate systematic monitoring and management efforts.
We present the results of a long-term study (2010–2012) of
this endangered species in northwestern Greece. Occurrence of otters at the Lakes Zazari and Himaditida was
assessed using standard sign surveys, dietary habits were
investigated through spraint analysis, and activity patterns were studied using automatic infrared cameras. Otter
occurrence was widespread throughout the study area and
continuous during the monitoring period and included
the presence of a family group. Otter diet included a high
proportion of birds, and activity was nocturnal. More systematic monitoring and management efforts and the development of a Species Action Plan are necessary to ensure
the survival of the Eurasian otter in Greece.

Freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened in the world, and downstream reaches of stream networks are often the most affected by multiple anthro-pogenic stressors. In these circumstances, many species currently restricted to stream headwaters may represent remnants of once larger populations, though this is generally difficult to ascertain due to limited historical data. Here, we document a case of range contraction into headwaters of the globally threatened Pyrenean desman Galemys pyrenaicus, a species endemic to Southwestern Europe, from surveys carried out in 1993–96 and 2014–15. Geostatistical logistic mixed models were used to relate the probabilities of desman occurrence and extinction to environmental variables in 74 sites within two watersheds in NE Portugal, while controlling for linear (Euclidean) and hydrologic spatial dependencies. In 1993–96, desmans were recorded at 85.1% of sites, and their presence was positively related to stream order and slope. In 2014–15, desmans were only found at 31.1% of sites, and their presence was positively related to slope steepness and negatively to stream order and maximum temperature of the warmest month. The extinction rate across periods was 63.5%, and the probability of extinction increased with stream order and declined with slope steepness. Maps of predicted distribution and extinction indicated that while the species was widely distributed in the first period, it largely disappeared thereafter from the main rivers and the largest tributaries, persisting mostly in stream headwaters in more mountainous areas. The severe decline found in ours and other studies suggests that the conservation status of the Pyre-nean desman may need to be upgraded, and highlights the importance of headwater streams for its conservation. Furthermore, this study supports the view that head-water streams may be increasingly important for biodiversity conservation in modified river systems, favouring the permanence of remnant, albeit fragmented populations.

Field research assessing the effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors on animal daily rhythms has been rare, particularly in carnivores and other medium-to-large mammals in hot environments (e.g., Mediterranean regions). This is a crucial knowledge gap, hindering the accurate prediction of how animals might react to widely-anticipated global environmental changes. To assess the behavioral plasticity of Mediterranean semiaquatic mammals in coping with harsh climatic conditions, we investigated the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the daily rhythms of a Mediterranean population of radio-tracked Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra). Multiple components cosinor population models revealed markedly nocturnal activity, affected by seasonality and air temperature. In particular, otters lowered their daylight activity and increased their nighttime activity during the dry season, being generally less active under higher air temperatures. Other extrinsic factors affecting otters' daily rhythms were moon phase, habitat type and wind, whereas differences in activity patterns according to intrinsic factors were mainly related to males' ranging behavior and females' reproductive status. This study provided detailed and population-mean data on Lutra lutra daily rhythms, including some insights into inter-individual variation. More importantly, it showed that otters are well adapted to the dry and wet season-cycle typical of Mediterranean regions, while highlighting potential vulnerability of otters to increasing air temperatures.

The Pyrenean desman (Galemys pyrenaicus) is a globally endangered semiaquatic mammal species restricted to Southwest Europe. It is thought to mostly predate on aquatic prey, particularly macroinvertebrates; yet anecdotal information and recent genetic-based findings suggest higher flexibility in its trophic niche. Here, we report on direct observations of wild-caught Pyrenean desmans attacking, killing and consuming live fish (trout – Salmo trutta fario) and amphibians Iberian frog – Rana iberica) in semi-captivity conditions providing unquestionable evidence (photos and videos) of vertebrate attack, killing, handling and consumption by the species. This illustrates the species’ ability to kill and eat vertebrates, corroborating recent evidence on its trophic flexibility.