The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

Demand for land to grow corn for ethanol increased in the United States by 4.9 million hectares between 2005 and 2008, with wide-ranging effects on wildlife, including habitat loss. Depending on how biofuels are made, additional production could have similar impacts. We present a framework for assessing the impacts of biofuels on wildlife, and we use this framework to evaluate the impacts of existing and emerging biofuels feedstocks on grassland wildlife. Meeting the growing demand for biofuels while avoiding negative impacts on wildlife will require either biomass sources that do not require additional land (e.g., wastes, residues, cover crops, algae) or crop production practices that are compatible with wildlife. Diverse native prairie offers a potential approach to hioenergy production (including fuel, electricity, and heat) that is compatible with wildlife. Additional research is required to assess the compatibility of wildlife with different composition, inputs, and harvest management approaches, and to address concerns over prairie yields versus the yields of other biofuel crops.

Using natural nests of eight bird species, we provide one of the first multispecies tests for edge effects on reproductive success in a forested landscape. Our primary objective was to assess whether distance to the edge of recent clearcuts was related to nesting success in intact northern hardwood forests. Estimated nest success was generally lower for the two ground‐nesting species than for the six canopy‐nesting species. Brood parasitism was <3% for species which typically accept eggs of the Brown‐headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), and nest predation was the most common cause of nest failure. Probability of nest failure was influenced by distance to forest edge for the ground‐nesting Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus) and Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus), but not for six canopy‐nesting species. For the Hermit Thrush and Ovenbird, nest success relative to decreasing distance to the edge was reduced during the nestling stage, but not the incubation stage. Nest density appeared to be higher in forest zones near the clearcut edge for ground‐nesting and for several canopy‐nesting species. Our data suggest that the effect of proximity to edge on nest success for ground‐nesting species may penetrate 300 m into intact forest, while the effect of proximity to edge on nest density may penetrate farther. These data suggest that the creation of openings in forested landscapes reduces nest success and increases nest density for some species of migratory birds in a zone adjacent to the opening. This pattern supports the notion that “ecological traps” may exist for ground‐nesting birds in areas near recently created forest openings. Because areas of contiguous forest (e.g., publicly owned forest) in the Upper Great Lakes remain relatively intact, they may serve as source habitat for regional songbird metapopulations.

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