(Press-News.org) Protected areas are generally seen as a triumph for the preservation of nature, yet the reality on the ground is more complex.
The world's largest protected areas encompass vast amounts of wilderness but do not extensively overlap the highest priority areas for conservation or include unusually large numbers of birds, amphibians, or mammals, according to an analysis published in the November issue of BioScience. The study, by Lisette Cantú-Salazar and Kevin J. Gaston of the University of Sheffield, United Kingdom, nonetheless describes anecdotal evidence that some very large protected areas play an important conservation role, by preserving natural species assemblages and populations of regional concern.
Cantú-Salazar and Gaston examined in detail the 63 protected areas that each extend over 25,000 square kilometers or more (about the area of Vermont). These huge areas are found in all continents except Antarctica, and are preferentially found in areas where there are few people. The findings thus seem to support the idea that such areas are created in places where they will least inconvenience people, rather than where they would do the most for conservation.
Yet very large protected areas are also likely to include particular land-cover types, such as snow and ice, bare areas, and areas with sparse vegetation. Examination of individual cases reveals that several ecoregions of high conservation priority are partly included in very large protected areas, including the Guianan Highlands Moist Forests, the Tibetan Plateau Steppe, and the Eastern Himalayan Alpine Meadows. Their preservation is therefore important. And many of the largest protected areas are vulnerable, Cantú-Salazar and Gaston conclude. Some have inadequate management. Others are threatened by incursions for logging, fishing, grazing, and mining, and the effects of climate change and political instability.
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By noon EST on 1 November 2010 and until early December, the full text of the article will be available for free download through the copy of this press release available at www.aibs.org/bioscience-press-releases/.
BioScience, published 11 times per year, is the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). BioScience publishes commentary and peer-reviewed articles covering a wide range of biological fields, with a focus on "Organisms from Molecules to the Environment." The journal has been published since 1964. AIBS is an umbrella organization for professional scientific societies and organizations that are involved with biology. It represents some 200 member societies and organizations with a combined membership of about 250,000.
The complete list of peer-reviewed articles in the November 2010 issue of BioScience is as follows:
Estimation of Light-use Efficiency of Terrestrial Ecosystems from Space: A Status Report by Nicholas C. Coops, Thomas Hilker, Forrest Hall, Caroline Nichol, and Guillaume Drolet
A Global Assessment of Amphibian Taxonomic Effort and Expertise by Ana S. L. Rodrigues, Claudia L. Gray, Ben J. Crowter, Robert M. Ewers, Simon N. Stuart, Tony Whitten, and Andrea Manica
Very Large Protected Areas and Their Contribution to Terrestrial Biological Conservation by Lisette Cantú-Salazar and Kevin J. Gaston
A Review of Ocean Acidification and America's Response by Cheryl A. Logan
Strong Site Fidelity and a Variety of Imaging Techniques Reveal Around-the-clock and Extended Activity Patterns in Crawfish Frogs (Lithobates areolatus) by Andrew S. Hoffman, Jennifer L. Heemeyer, Perry J. Williams, Joseph R. Robb, Daryl R. Karns, Vanessa C. Kinney, Nathan J. Engbrecht, and Michael J. Lannoo
From Publications to Public Action: When Conservation Biologists Bridge the Gap between Research and Action by Raphaël Arlettaz, Michael Schaub, Jérôme Fournier, Thomas S. Reichlin, Antoine Sierro, James E. M. Watson, and Veronika Braunisch
Science, Policy, and Species at Risk in Canada by Arne O. Mooers, Dan F. Doak, C. Scott Findlay, David M. Green, Chris Grouios, Azadeh Rashvand, Lisa M. Manne, Murray A. Rudd, and Jeannette Whitton
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Alexandria, VA — Racial and ethnic disparities among children with frequent ear infections (FEI) significantly influence access to affordable healthcare, according to new research published in the November 2010 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
Ear infections are one of the most common health problems for children, with most kids experiencing at least one by their third birthday. Annual costs in the United States alone are in the billions of dollars.
Despite changes that have occurred in healthcare to help low-income children, such as the Children's ...
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SEATTLE--Primary-care clinicians know teen depression is common, but they've lacked a reliable screening test for it. Now researchers at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle Children's, and Group Health report the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire - 9 item) is a good screening test for major depression in adolescents.
Led by Laura P. Richardson, MD, MPH, the team tested the PHQ-9 as a screening tool for depression in 442 teenage patients, age 13-17, at Group Health. The test is brief, available free of charge, easy to score and understand, and proven to find ...
LAWRENCE, Kan. – A little self-awareness can help people struggling in the world of relationships, says Jeffrey Hall, assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Kansas.
Hall recently completed a study into styles of flirting among dating adults, surveying more than 5,100 people regarding their methods of communicating romantic interest.
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Researchers have found that allergic infants may be at increased risk of peanut allergy if their mothers ingested peanuts during pregnancy. The data are reported in the November 1 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Led by Scott H. Sicherer, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, researchers at five U.S. study sites evaluated 503 infants aged three to 15 months with likely milk or egg allergies or with significant eczema and positive allergy tests to milk or egg, which are factors associated with ...
Researchers have developed an efficient method for extracting and archiving CT radiation dose information that can enable providers to keep track of estimated radiation dose delivered to each patient at a given facility, help providers make more informed health care decisions and improve patient safety, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org).
To facilitate access to and analysis of radiation dose information, researchers at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, designed, ...
An overwhelming majority of Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) facilities performing breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the U.S. are up-to-par with American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) and European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) technical standards and requirements, according to a study in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (www.jacr.org). The BCSC is a collaborative effort to improve breast cancer research. It consists of five mammography registries and two affiliated sites with linkages to pathology ...
DETROIT – The race of liver donors may affect recurrent hepatitis C in patients after liver transplant, according to a study by Henry Ford Hospital.
"Patients receiving white cadaveric donor grafts had significantly more aggressive recurrent hepatitis C than those receiving grafts from African-American donors regardless of recipient race," says Matthew Moeller, M.D., gastroenterology fellow at Henry Ford Hospital and lead author of the study.
"This difference was especially marked in African-American recipients and persisted on multivariate analysis."
The study ...
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The ultimate goal of the research, which will be presented Sunday ...
Argeron's creations showcase a broad range of talent. From the wildly creative to the classically simple, this range often includes a much-appreciated touch of each designer's personality and is what clients have come to expect in their work.
Argeron's founder, Samantha Howard, said: "I began this business 10 years ago with the sole purpose of providing excellent design services at reasonable prices, and it has become so much more than that. I now realize that we are providing something of great value and importance to each client: a designer that they can count on.
Five ...
