| 1. |
- Downey, Harriet, et al.
(author)
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Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management
- 2021
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In: Ecological Solutions and Evidence. - : Wiley. - 2688-8319. ; 2:1
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis.2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice.3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses.4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.
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| 2. |
- Niemi, MEK, et al.
(author)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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| 3. |
- Albrecht, Matthias, et al.
(author)
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The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control, pollination services and crop yield : a quantitative synthesis
- 2020
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In: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 23:10, s. 1488-1498
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control (18 studies) and pollination services (17 studies) in adjacent crops in North America, Europe and New Zealand. Flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average. However, effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively. These findings provide promising pathways to optimise floral plantings to more effectively contribute to ecosystem service delivery and ecological intensification of agriculture in the future.
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| 4. |
- Foster, James J., et al.
(author)
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Polarisation vision : overcoming challenges of working with a property of light we barely see
- 2018
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In: Science of Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-1042 .- 1432-1904. ; 105:3-4
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In recent years, the study of polarisation vision in animals has seen numerous breakthroughs, not just in terms of what is known about the function of this sensory ability, but also in the experimental methods by which polarisation can be controlled, presented and measured. Once thought to be limited to only a few animal species, polarisation sensitivity is now known to be widespread across many taxonomic groups, and advances in experimental techniques are, in part, responsible for these discoveries. Nevertheless, its study remains challenging, perhaps because of our own poor sensitivity to the polarisation of light, but equally as a result of the slow spread of new practices and methodological innovations within the field. In this review, we introduce the most important steps in designing and calibrating polarised stimuli, within the broader context of areas of current research and the applications of new techniques to key questions. Our aim is to provide a constructive guide to help researchers, particularly those with no background in the physics of polarisation, to design robust experiments that are free from confounding factors.
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| 5. |
- Olsson, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Quantitative studies of animal colour constancy: using the chicken as model
- 2016
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In: Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences. - : The Royal Society. - 1471-2954. ; 283:1830
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Colour constancy is the capacity of visual systems to keep colour perceptionconstant despite changes in the illumination spectrum. Colour constancy hasbeen tested extensively in humans and has also been described in manyanimals. In humans, colour constancy is often studied quantitatively, butbesides humans, this has only been done for the goldfish and the honeybee.In this study, we quantified colour constancy in the chicken by training thebirds in a colour discrimination task and testing them in changed illuminationspectra to find the largest illumination change in which they were ableto remain colour-constant. We used the receptor noise limited model foranimal colour vision to quantify the illumination changes, and found thatcolour constancy performance depended on the difference between the coloursused in the discrimination task, the training procedure and the time thechickens were allowed to adapt to a new illumination before making achoice. We analysed literature data on goldfish and honeybee colour constancywith the same method and found that chickens can compensate forlarger illumination changes than both. We suggest that future studies oncolour constancy in non-human animals could use a similar approach toallow for comparison between species and populations.
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| 6. |
- Olsson, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Spatial summation improves bird color vision in low light intensities
- 2017
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In: Vision Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0042-6989. ; 130, s. 1-8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Color guides many important behaviors in birds. Previously we have shown that the intensity threshold for color discrimination in the chicken depends on the color contrast between stimuli and their brightness. The birds could discriminate larger color contrasts and brighter colors in lower light intensities. We suggested that chickens use spatial summation of cone signals to maintain color vision in low light levels. Here we tested this hypothesis by determining the intensity thresholds of color discrimination using similar stimuli, patterns of grey tiles of varying intensity interspersed with color tiles, adjusted for this specific aim. Chickens could discriminate stimuli with a larger single color tile, or with a larger proportion of small color tiles, in lower light intensities. This is in agreement with the hypothesis that spatial summation improves color discrimination in low light levels. There was no difference in the intensity threshold for discrimination of stimuli with a single 6 × 6 mm color tile, stimuli with 30% colored tiles and stimuli in which color filled the whole pattern. This gives a first indication to the degree of spatial summation that can be performed. We compare this level of spatial summation to predictions from mathematical model calculations.
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| 7. |
- Shepherd, Theodore G., et al.
(author)
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Storylines : an alternative approach to representing uncertainty in physical aspects of climate change
- 2018
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In: Climatic Change. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0165-0009 .- 1573-1480. ; 151:3-4, s. 555-571
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As climate change research becomes increasingly applied, the need for actionable information is growing rapidly. A key aspect of this requirement is the representation of uncertainties. The conventional approach to representing uncertainty in physical aspects of climate change is probabilistic, based on ensembles of climate model simulations. In the face of deep uncertainties, the known limitations of this approach are becoming increasingly apparent. An alternative is thus emerging which may be called a ‘storyline’ approach. We define a storyline as a physically self-consistent unfolding of past events, or of plausible future events or pathways. No a priori probability of the storyline is assessed; emphasis is placed instead on understanding the driving factors involved, and the plausibility of those factors. We introduce a typology of four reasons for using storylines to represent uncertainty in physical aspects of climate change: (i) improving risk awareness by framing risk in an event-oriented rather than a probabilistic manner, which corresponds more directly to how people perceive and respond to risk; (ii) strengthening decision-making by allowing one to work backward from a particular vulnerability or decision point, combining climate change information with other relevant factors to address compound risk and develop appropriate stress tests; (iii) providing a physical basis for partitioning uncertainty, thereby allowing the use of more credible regional models in a conditioned manner and (iv) exploring the boundaries of plausibility, thereby guarding against false precision and surprise. Storylines also offer a powerful way of linking physical with human aspects of climate change.
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| 8. |
- Toomey, Matthew B., et al.
(author)
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Complementary shifts in photoreceptor spectral tuning unlock the full adaptive potential of ultraviolet vision in birds
- 2016
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In: eLife. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Color vision in birds is mediated by four types of cone photoreceptors whose maximal sensitivities (λmax) are evenly spaced across the light spectrum. In the course of avian evolution, the λmax of the most shortwave-sensitive cone, SWS1, has switched between violet (λmax > 400 nm) and ultraviolet (λmax < 380 nm) multiple times. This shift of the SWS1 opsin is accompanied by a corresponding short-wavelength shift in the spectrally adjacent SWS2 cone. Here, we show that SWS2 cone spectral tuning is mediated by modulating the ratio of two apocarotenoids, galloxanthin and 11',12'-dihydrogalloxanthin, which act as intracellular spectral filters in this cell type. We propose an enzymatic pathway that mediates the differential production of these apocarotenoids in the avian retina, and we use color vision modeling to demonstrate how correlated evolution of spectral tuning is necessary to achieve even sampling of the light spectrum and thereby maintain near-optimal color discrimination.
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| 9. |
- Wilby, David, et al.
(author)
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Hermit crabs (Pagurus bernhardus) use visual contrast in self-assessment of camouflage
- 2018
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In: Journal of Experimental Biology. - : The Company of Biologists. - 0022-0949 .- 1477-9145. ; 221:13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Animals can make use of camouflage to reduce the likelihood of visual detection or recognition and thus improve their chances of survival. Background matching, where body colouration is closely matched to the surrounding substrate, is one form of camouflage. Hermit crabs have the opportunity to choose their camouflage independently of body colouration as they inhabit empty gastropod shells, making them ideal to study their choice of camouflage. We used 3D-printed artificial shells of varying contrasts against a grey substrate to test whether hermit crabs prefer shells that they perceive as less conspicuous. Contrast-minimising shells were chosen for Weber contrasts stronger than −0.5. However, in looming experiments, animals responded to contrasts as weak as −0.2, indicating that while they can detect differences between shells and the background, they are only motivated to move into those shells when the alternatives contrast strongly. This suggests a trade-off between camouflage and vulnerability introduced by switching shells.
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| 10. |
- Wilby, David, et al.
(author)
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Optics of cone photoreceptors in the chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus).
- 2015
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In: Journal of the Royal Society Interface. - : The Royal Society. - 1742-5662 .- 1742-5689. ; 12:111
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Vision is the primary sensory modality of birds, and its importance is evident in the sophistication of their visual systems. Coloured oil droplets in the cone photoreceptors represent an adaptation in the avian retina, acting as long-pass colour filters. However, we currently lack understanding of how the optical properties and morphology of component structures (e.g. oil droplet, mitochondrial ellipsoid and outer segment) of the cone photoreceptor influence the transmission of light into the outer segment and the ultimate effect they have on receptor sensitivity. In this study, we use data from microspectrophotometry, digital holographic microscopy and electron microscopy to inform electromagnetic models of avian cone photoreceptors to quantitatively investigate the integrated optical function of the cell. We find that pigmented oil droplets primarily function as spectral filters, not light collection devices, although the mitochondrial ellipsoid improves optical coupling between the inner segment and oil droplet. In contrast, unpigmented droplets found in violet-sensitive cones double sensitivity at its peak relative to other cone types. Oil droplets and ellipsoids both narrow the angular sensitivity of single cone photoreceptors, but not as strongly as those in human cones.
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