Jeremy Biggs - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Jeremy Biggs

Conservation Letters, 2018

Aquatic Conservation-marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2003

1.Ponds are a valuable resource for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, but are often ex... more 1.Ponds are a valuable resource for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, but are often extremely numerous in a given area, making assessment of the conservation value of individual sites potentially time consuming.2.The use of indicator taxa, the species richness of which is representative of total site species richness, may provide one way to improve the efficiency of survey work. However, such indicators are poorly developed for freshwater systems.3.A data set was used describing the occurrence of macroinvertebrate taxa in ponds in Oxfordshire, UK, to assess the extent to which variation in the species richness of selected taxa most consistently represented variation in all other taxa.4.Coenagriidae (Odonata) and Limnephilidae (Trichoptera) reflected the variation in species richness of other taxa most consistently, with Coenagriidae showing the best overall performance as an indicator taxon.5.For both suggested indicator taxa, selection of sites based solely on the presence of at least one species of indicator would represent over 95% of all species recorded across all sites.6.Further investigation in different geographical regions is necessary to establish whether these relationships are consistent over a wider area. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Ponds are a valuable resource for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, but are often extremely numerous in a given area, making assessment of the conservation value of individual sites potentially time consuming.The use of indicator taxa, the species richness of which is representative of total site species richness, may provide one way to improve the efficiency of survey work. However, such indicators are poorly developed for freshwater systems.A data set was used describing the occurrence of macroinvertebrate taxa in ponds in Oxfordshire, UK, to assess the extent to which variation in the species richness of selected taxa most consistently represented variation in all other taxa.Coenagriidae (Odonata) and Limnephilidae (Trichoptera) reflected the variation in species richness of other taxa most consistently, with Coenagriidae showing the best overall performance as an indicator taxon.For both suggested indicator taxa, selection of sites based solely on the presence of at least one species of indicator would represent over 95% of all species recorded across all sites.Further investigation in different geographical regions is necessary to establish whether these relationships are consistent over a wider area.

Aquatic Conservation-marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2005

1.The nature and extent of spatial pattern in communities has important implications for their dy... more 1.The nature and extent of spatial pattern in communities has important implications for their dynamics and conservation. Previous studies of pond ecosystems, over relatively small spatial scales, have found little evidence of spatial autocorrelation of community composition. Patterns in community composition over greater spatial distances have not been documented.2.Here, data on macroinvertebrate communities and physico-chemical characteristics of 102 ponds over a 60 × 60 km area of Oxfordshire, UK, were used to examine evidence for spatial autocorrelation in community composition and to separate the effects of environmental similarity and physical distance on community similarity.3.Overall similarity between communities was low, but showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation. There was evidence for both environmental and physical distance effects on spatial autocorrelation of community similarity. Community similarity was negatively related to differences in environmental conditions, but effects were only significant for large environmental differences.4.When environmental effects were accounted for, there was significant positive spatial autocorrelation of community composition over inter-site distances of up to 13 km. These results suggest that interactions between pond sites, potentially through dispersal, are evident over larger spatial scales than has previously been appreciated, and emphasize the need to consider spatial issues when developing strategies for pond conservation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.The nature and extent of spatial pattern in communities has important implications for their dynamics and conservation. Previous studies of pond ecosystems, over relatively small spatial scales, have found little evidence of spatial autocorrelation of community composition. Patterns in community composition over greater spatial distances have not been documented.Here, data on macroinvertebrate communities and physico-chemical characteristics of 102 ponds over a 60 × 60 km area of Oxfordshire, UK, were used to examine evidence for spatial autocorrelation in community composition and to separate the effects of environmental similarity and physical distance on community similarity.Overall similarity between communities was low, but showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation. There was evidence for both environmental and physical distance effects on spatial autocorrelation of community similarity. Community similarity was negatively related to differences in environmental conditions, but effects were only significant for large environmental differences.When environmental effects were accounted for, there was significant positive spatial autocorrelation of community composition over inter-site distances of up to 13 km. These results suggest that interactions between pond sites, potentially through dispersal, are evident over larger spatial scales than has previously been appreciated, and emphasize the need to consider spatial issues when developing strategies for pond conservation.

Conservation Letters, 2018

Aquatic Conservation-marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2003

1.Ponds are a valuable resource for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, but are often ex... more 1.Ponds are a valuable resource for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, but are often extremely numerous in a given area, making assessment of the conservation value of individual sites potentially time consuming.2.The use of indicator taxa, the species richness of which is representative of total site species richness, may provide one way to improve the efficiency of survey work. However, such indicators are poorly developed for freshwater systems.3.A data set was used describing the occurrence of macroinvertebrate taxa in ponds in Oxfordshire, UK, to assess the extent to which variation in the species richness of selected taxa most consistently represented variation in all other taxa.4.Coenagriidae (Odonata) and Limnephilidae (Trichoptera) reflected the variation in species richness of other taxa most consistently, with Coenagriidae showing the best overall performance as an indicator taxon.5.For both suggested indicator taxa, selection of sites based solely on the presence of at least one species of indicator would represent over 95% of all species recorded across all sites.6.Further investigation in different geographical regions is necessary to establish whether these relationships are consistent over a wider area. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Ponds are a valuable resource for the conservation of freshwater biodiversity, but are often extremely numerous in a given area, making assessment of the conservation value of individual sites potentially time consuming.The use of indicator taxa, the species richness of which is representative of total site species richness, may provide one way to improve the efficiency of survey work. However, such indicators are poorly developed for freshwater systems.A data set was used describing the occurrence of macroinvertebrate taxa in ponds in Oxfordshire, UK, to assess the extent to which variation in the species richness of selected taxa most consistently represented variation in all other taxa.Coenagriidae (Odonata) and Limnephilidae (Trichoptera) reflected the variation in species richness of other taxa most consistently, with Coenagriidae showing the best overall performance as an indicator taxon.For both suggested indicator taxa, selection of sites based solely on the presence of at least one species of indicator would represent over 95% of all species recorded across all sites.Further investigation in different geographical regions is necessary to establish whether these relationships are consistent over a wider area.

Aquatic Conservation-marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2005

1.The nature and extent of spatial pattern in communities has important implications for their dy... more 1.The nature and extent of spatial pattern in communities has important implications for their dynamics and conservation. Previous studies of pond ecosystems, over relatively small spatial scales, have found little evidence of spatial autocorrelation of community composition. Patterns in community composition over greater spatial distances have not been documented.2.Here, data on macroinvertebrate communities and physico-chemical characteristics of 102 ponds over a 60 × 60 km area of Oxfordshire, UK, were used to examine evidence for spatial autocorrelation in community composition and to separate the effects of environmental similarity and physical distance on community similarity.3.Overall similarity between communities was low, but showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation. There was evidence for both environmental and physical distance effects on spatial autocorrelation of community similarity. Community similarity was negatively related to differences in environmental conditions, but effects were only significant for large environmental differences.4.When environmental effects were accounted for, there was significant positive spatial autocorrelation of community composition over inter-site distances of up to 13 km. These results suggest that interactions between pond sites, potentially through dispersal, are evident over larger spatial scales than has previously been appreciated, and emphasize the need to consider spatial issues when developing strategies for pond conservation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.The nature and extent of spatial pattern in communities has important implications for their dynamics and conservation. Previous studies of pond ecosystems, over relatively small spatial scales, have found little evidence of spatial autocorrelation of community composition. Patterns in community composition over greater spatial distances have not been documented.Here, data on macroinvertebrate communities and physico-chemical characteristics of 102 ponds over a 60 × 60 km area of Oxfordshire, UK, were used to examine evidence for spatial autocorrelation in community composition and to separate the effects of environmental similarity and physical distance on community similarity.Overall similarity between communities was low, but showed significant positive spatial autocorrelation. There was evidence for both environmental and physical distance effects on spatial autocorrelation of community similarity. Community similarity was negatively related to differences in environmental conditions, but effects were only significant for large environmental differences.When environmental effects were accounted for, there was significant positive spatial autocorrelation of community composition over inter-site distances of up to 13 km. These results suggest that interactions between pond sites, potentially through dispersal, are evident over larger spatial scales than has previously been appreciated, and emphasize the need to consider spatial issues when developing strategies for pond conservation.