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Terrestrial flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, and Geoplanidae) belong to what is known as cryptic soil fauna of humid forests and are animals not easily found or captured in traps. Nonetheless, they have been demonstrated to be good indicators of the conservation status of their habitat as well as a good model to reconstruct the recent and old events affecting biodiversity. This is mainly due to their delicate constitution, their dependence on the integrity of their habitat, and their very low dispersal capacity. At present, little is known about their communities, except for some studies performed in Brazil. In this work, we analyze for the first time in Europe terrestrial flatworm communities. We have selected two protected areas belonging to the Red Española de Parques Nacionales. Our aims include performing a first study of the species richness and community structure for European terrestrial planarian species at regional and local scale. We evaluate the effect of type of forests in the community composition and flatworms' abundance, but also have into account the phylogenetic framework (never considered in previous studies) analyzed based on molecular data. We find differences in the species composition among parks, with an astonishingly high diversity of endemic species in the Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa and an extremely low diversity of species in the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido. These divergent patterns cannot be attributed to differences in physical variables, and in addition, the analyses of their phylogenetic relationships and, for a few species, their genetic structure, point to a more probable historical explanation.

Terrestrial flatworms (Platyhelminthes, Tricladida, and Geoplanidae) belong to what is known as cryptic soil fauna of humid forests and are animals not easily found or captured in traps. Nonetheless, they have been demonstrated to be good indicators of the conservation status of their habitat as well as a good model to reconstruct the recent and old events affecting biodiversity. This is mainly due to their delicate constitution, their dependence on the integrity of their habitat, and their very low dispersal capacity. At present, little is known about their communities, except for some studies performed in Brazil. In this work, we analyze for the first time in Europe terrestrial flatworm communities. We have selected two protected areas belonging to the Red Española de Parques Nacionales. Our aims include performing a first study of the species richness and community structure for European terrestrial planarian species at regional and local scale. We evaluate the effect of type of forests in the community composition and flatworms' abundance, but also have into account the phylogenetic framework (never considered in previous studies) analyzed based on molecular data. We find differences in the species composition among parks, with an astonishingly high diversity of endemic species in the Parque Nacional de Picos de Europa and an extremely low diversity of species in the Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido. These divergent patterns cannot be attributed to differences in physical variables, and in addition, the analyses of their phylogenetic relationships and, for a few species, their genetic structure, point to a more probable historical explanation.

Hispaniola once had a large and diverse endemic rodent community. Today, a single species, Plagiodontia aedium, survives alongside invasive murids. Ecological adaptations and resource competition among species have not been previously studied. Here, we undertake the first investigation of the foraging ecology of the endemic taxa using estimated body mass and carbon and oxygen isotope values in incisor enamel. Our sample includes nine endemic taxa, eight of which are extinct, from two Holocene cave assemblages in southern Haiti. We also measured isotopic signatures for the invasive genus Rattus to explore potential niche overlap and competition between introduced and endemic fauna. We expected to detect isotopic evidence for niche partitioning among phylogenetically related rodents with similar morphological adaptations. We find clear differences in body mass and isotope values among rodent taxa. The combination of carbon and oxygen isotopes suggests that some taxa lived in the forest understory, whereas others likely frequented the canopy or open habitats. We may also be able to distinguish dietary preferences (e.g., folivory, frugivory, and potentially trophic omnivory). Small individuals attributed to an undescribed species of Isolobodon are isotopically distinct from their congeners, I. montanus and I. portoricensis, and appear to have relied to a modest degree on C4 foods. Rattus had a broad generalist niche, which coincided with several endemics, including extant P. aedium. Although preliminary, these data shed light on how a closely related community of island rodents partitions resources and provide context for understanding the ecological role that invasive species may play in extinction processes and future conservation efforts.

Doñana National Park wetlands are located in southwest Spain, on the right bank of the Guadalquivir River, near the Atlantic Ocean coast. The wetlands dry out completely every summer and progressively flood again throughout the fall and winter seasons. Given the flatness of Doñana’s topography, the wind drag action can induce the flooding or emergence of extensive areas, detectable in remote sensing images. Envisat/ASAR scenes acquired before and during strong and persistent wind episodes enabled the spatial delineation of the wind-induced water displacement. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of Doñana wetlands was built in 2006 with the aim to predict the effect of proposed hydrologic restoration actions within Doñana’s basin. In this work, on-site wind records and concurrent ASAR scenes are used for the calibration of the wind-drag modeling by assessing different formulations. Results show a good adjustment between the modeled and observed wind drag effect. Displacements of up to 2 km in the wind direction are satisfactorily reproduced by the hydrodynamic model, while including an atmospheric stability parameter led to no significant improvement of the results. Such evidence will contribute to a more accurate simulation of hypothetic or design scenarios, when no information is available for the atmospheric stability assessment.

This book describes tourism planning and management in national parks and protected areas. It also provides guidelines for best practice in tourism operations. Topics addressed include: ecological and cultural goals of national parks and protected areas; social roles of park-based tourism; tourism services and infrastructure; tourism in marine protected areas; park finance through tourism; and park tourism policy. The book has 14 chapters and a subject index.

National parks are one of the most important and successful institutions in global environmentalism. Since their first designation in the United States in the 1860s and 1870s they have become a global phenomenon. The development of these ecological and political systems cannot be understood as a simple reaction to mounting environmental problems, nor can it be explained by the spread of environmental sensibilities. Shifting the focus from the usual emphasis on national parks in the United States, this volume adopts an historical and transnational perspective on the global geography of protected areas and its changes over time. It focuses especially on the actors, networks, mechanisms, arenas, and institutions responsible for the global spread of the national park and the associated utilization and mobilization of asymmetrical relationships of power and knowledge, contributing to scholarly discussions of globalization and the emergence of global environmental institutions and governance.

The environmental managers, in Brazil, try to up-to-date themselves in order to adapt to the news times. Being so, they are searching news initiatives to facilitate the management of a conservation unit. The system of partenership has been transformed in one effectif instrument used to manage national parks. The use of new approachs is helping to improve the concep of environmental management. The shered management is the modern pattern used by the managers to administrate national parks. The Parque Nacional da Serra da Capivara is the only, among others, using shared management pattern. This approach of environmental management has enabled the identification of many of its actual problems and the adoption of several sustainable mesures.

This documentary, directed by Jean-Marc Dauphin, is about Europe's major natural parks.

The National Park system in Costa Rica protects over a million acres in more than 20 parks and reserves. The country supports 150 species of reptiles and amphibians and over 12,000 species of plants. Serious problems such as rapid population growth and wasteful exploitation of Natural Resources are threatening the continued existence of the national parks. With a faltering economy and an increase in gold prices, mining of au deposits in parks has intensified. Elimination of game animals and aquatic ecosystem degradation have resulted. Plans are underway to integrate conservation and development in corcovado, a park experiencing adverse pressures from mining and deforestation.