Mountainous regions host globally unique biodiversity, but face growing threats from climate and land-use change. The Alps stand out as a key mountain range in Europe, where the ski industry is extensive and impacts ecosystems and their associated biodiversity. However, climate change is projected to reduce natural snow precipitation, thus understanding snow dynamics and the ski industry’s role is crucial for developing effective conservation strategies. Ski-piste creation generally has detrimental consequences for mountain biodiversity, yet pistes often retain substantial snow throughout spring that, when melting, may create favourable foraging conditions for mountain birds. This study investigates whether ski-pistes provide suitable foraging habitat and explores their broader importance for mountain avifauna. Field surveys in spring 2023 in the western Italian Alps recorded 17 bird species using the melting snow on ski-pistes as a foraging habitat. Snow presence was a significant factor influencing bird presence. Birds systematically selected areas with intermediate snow cover interspersed with muddy patches, a microhabitat that likely has a high availability of invertebrate prey emerging from the soil. Given that snow is retained on ski-pistes for longer than on the surrounding habitat, the pistes may represent a useful source of food for mountain birds in spring. However, this needs to be considered in relation to the negative impacts of skiing on alpine biodiversity, which may include a likely increased reliance on artificial snow in response to the projected decline in natural snow precipitation under climate change. Understanding these effects is essential to ensure that future conservation strategies support mountain bird communities without exacerbating the environmental costs associated with artificial snow production.

Invasive plants’ ability to extend their range depends upon their local environments and both positive and negative interactions with native species. Interactions between invasive and native plants may be indirectly linked to the soil fungal community, which may enhance or suppress invasion through mutualism or parasitism. Many invasive plants preferentially select fungal communities or change soil chemistry to gain a competitive advantage, and such changes can remain even after the invader is removed, known as legacy effects. Yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris Mill.) is an invasive forb that is aggressive in the western United States but is nonaggressive in the midwestern United States. We evaluated the relationship between soil abiotic properties, nitrogen (N) enrichment, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) community composition, and L. vulgaris invasion in aggressive (CO) and nonaggressive (IL) populations. We collected soil from uninvaded and invaded sites in Gothic, CO, and near Chicago, IL, and sequenced AMF community composition in each site. Using the same soil, we grew L. vulgaris and native species in pots for 120 d, with half of the pots receiving N fertilization, and harvested biomass. We also injected a 15N-labeled tracer in pots and analyzed plant tissue for 15N enrichment and net uptake rates (NUR). In CO soil, L. vulgaris rhizomes sprouted more in invaded soil, whereas in IL soil, L. vulgaris only sprouted in uninvaded soil. N fertilization had no impact on biomass, and NUR did not differ significantly between any treatments. AMF communities differed between the two sites but were not significantly influenced by invasion history. Our results suggest that L. vulgaris leaves legacy effects but that these effects are different between aggressive and nonaggressive populations. Legacy effects may facilitate reinvasion in CO, but we did not find conclusive evidence of legacy effects in IL, and differences between the sites could be shaped by endemic AMF communities.

Vultures are among the most threatened bird guilds on the planet and have a unique functional role within ecosystems. They are therefore subject to increasing research interest, calling for standardised study approaches and monitoring methods. The use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) is rapidly gaining popularity in ecological research due to technological advances, affordability, and accessibility. This study reviews the existing peer-reviewed publications and grey literature on the responses of European vultures and other comparable species to UASs, and summarises the types of UAS use, their potential disturbance effects on vultures, and the resulting inter- and intra-specific interactions. Our goal was to assess the potential effects of UASs and to provide practical recommendations to optimise their safe use in vulture conservation and research. We acknowledge the potential of UASs to increase research efficiency and reduce research effort, time, and financial cost. Owing to the absence of sufficient data on long-term disturbance effects, we advocate the precautionary principle and offer a set of species-tailored practical recommendations to limit the potential negative effects of UASs and maximise their value in conservation management. We urge that the physiological and long-term impacts on vulture reproduction are considered and call for standardised monitoring protocols and controls on UAS use. Our conclusions and recommendations are particularly aimed at researchers working on vulture conservation and restoration projects worldwide.

Within two London parks, Richmond and Bushy, both subject to high public visitor pressure, behavioural observations were undertaken to investigate patterns of habitat use by red and fallow deer populations, and to determine the response of the deer to human disturbance. Potentially disturbing events were considered as: i. people present within a distance of < 50m; ii. people present within 50m accompanied by a dog on a lead; iii dogs within 50m off the lead; iv. people ‘crowding’ the deer - approaching directly and deliberately for photographs or closer observation; v. actual chases by a dog of the deer group or a member of that group.

All the above levels of disturbance caused a measurable change in the immediate behaviour patterns of the deer - reflected in increased levels of vigilance. Females responded more strongly than males of either species. However, the effects were relatively minor and transient in the great majority of cases, with animals resuming their normal activity very quickly after the encounter.

Overall daily time-budgets did not differ significantly between undisturbed days and days when disturbance levels were high; nor were any effects apparent on patterns of habitat use by the deer or in forcing the animals to change habitat more frequently. Further, throughout our studies there was no evidence that levels of disturbance caused by public access had any deleterious effects on body-weights or overwinter mortality.

A review of the literature was undertaken to consider the possible effects of human intervention (shepherding) at around the time of parturition in extensively farmed sheep. There is little clear empirical evidence to suggest that shepherding ensures either easy births or the integrity of ewe–lamb contact — factors closely linked to the welfare of the animals at this time. There is similarly no clear support for shepherding being harmful. However, the following suggestions are made: first, human presence can inhibit or delay parturition; second, extended parturition can increase the risk of, or is associated with, dystocia; and third, disturbance at birth can compromise ewe-lamb bonding and consequently lamb survival. Furthermore, sheep populations that have undergone rigorous selection for ease of lambing and minimal shepherding in extensive environments have well-documented physical and behavioural traits underlying their predisposition for enhanced lamb survival. Although our cultural legacy may impose a duty to intensively monitor animals at lambing, it is concluded that, at least in some situations, shepherding may not be entirely beneficial. The commonly held view of the necessity for some human intervention in extensive livestock systems is perhaps overly paternalistic, and requires a more comprehensive appraisal.

The Western Tragopan Tragopan melanocephalus is endemic to the Western Himalayas and currently listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List which also emphasizes a data deficiency regarding its distribution and population size. With this study we provide new data from the Palas Valley, northern Pakistan and deliver a range wide estimate of the species current, past, and future potential distribution as derived from environmental niche models. In the Palas Valley, Western Tragopans occupied different summer habitats on north-facing slopes and winter habitats on south-facing slopes. A quantitative estimate of local populations in six side valleys was inferred from individual call-count surveys during two breeding seasons (April and May 2017, 2018) and disturbance factors were evaluated from information of local people provided in questionnaires. Generalized-linear models (GLMs) showed a significant effect of disturbance factors on Western Tragopans, i.e. local abundances decreased with increasing disturbance from livestock, collectors and hunters visiting the area. This effect was visible across survey years and at both, south- as well as north-facing slopes. While the known distributional range of the Western Tragopan is small and fragmented, our niche models inferred climatically suitable space between Himachal Pradesh and northwestern Pakistan to be more continuous. Given the species sensitivity to disturbance, these findings indicate that the observed fragmentation of the current range might also be attributed to habitat transformation or anthropogenic disturbance rather than climatic suitability. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) T. melanocephalus was probably restricted to small forest refugia, whereas projections onto eleven future climate simulations were inconclusive with the majority suggesting that climatically suitable space for T. melanocephalus will likely expand in response to anthropogenic climate change. In conclusion, we recommend that future conservation measures should be planned with regard to the species’ sensitivity to anthropogenic disturbances.

Termites are essential components of tropical ecosystems, in which they provide fundamental ecosystem services, such as decomposition of dead plant material, fostering of soil mineralization and provisioning of new microhabitats. We investigated the termite communities of four habitats in two protected areas in West Africa, which differ in management effectiveness: the strictly protected Lamto Reserve (LR) and the Marahoué National Park (MNP), which suffers from anthropogenic disturbance despite its protection status. We tested the effect of disturbance on species composition, richness and abundance as well as on functional (feeding type) composition. The effect of disturbance was clearly visible in the termite communities. Compared to the LR, the MNP had less termite species overall and in all habitats except the shrub savannah. Also the abundance of termites was generally reduced and a decrease of soil feeders recorded. The latter is well-known to be sensitive to anthropogenic disturbance in forests. Comparing our results with other studies, we were able to identify suitable bioindicators of ecosystem health for West-African savannahs. Furthermore, we discuss the potential consequences of anthropogenic disturbance on ecosystem services provided by termites.

Invasive alien species are a major threat to global biodiversity due to the tremendous ecological and economic damage they cause in forestry, agriculture, wetlands, and pastoral resources. Understanding the spatial pattern of invasive alien species and disentangling the biophysical drivers of invasion at the forest stand level is essential for managing forest ecosystems and the wider landscape. However, forest-level and species-specific information on Invasive Alien Plant Species (IAPS) abundance and their spatial extent are largely lacking. In this context, we analysed the cover of one of the world’s worst invasive plants, Chromolaena odorata, in Sal (Shorea robusta) forest in central Nepal. Vegetation was sampled in four community forests using 0.01 ha square quadrats, covering the forest edge to the interior. C. odorata cover, floral richness, tree density, forest canopy cover, shrub cover, tree basal area, and disturbances were measured in each plot. We also explored forest and IAPS management practices in community forests. C. odorata cover was negatively correlated with forest canopy cover, distance to the road, angle of slope, and shrub cover. Tree canopy cover had the largest effect on C. odorata cover. No pattern of C. odorata cover was seen along native species richness gradients. In conclusion, forest canopy cover is the overriding biotic covariate suppressing C. odorata cover in Sal forests.