Effects of rainforest fragmentation and shade-coffee plantations on spider communities in the Western Ghats, India

Amphibian communities in three different coffee plantation regimes in the Western Ghats, India

“…Given the Indian scenario, creating more inviolate spaces in the Western Ghats is unlikely to win much support in the present economic and political context. This study coupled with other independent studies (Gray et al 2004;Pineda et al 2005;Bali et al 2006;Kapoor 2007;Dolia et al 2008) suggest that, promoting organic coffee plantation practices can have a greater positive impact on biodiversity conservation. It is important to consider that these coffee dominated landscapes might be the last refuge in modified landscapes for some highly endemic species.…”

“…Therefore, prospects of conservation in structurally complex habitats like these should be given preference. Natural-shade coffee plantations are one of the classic examples of such a system (Perfecto et al 1995(Perfecto et al , 1996Moguel & Toledo 1999;Rice & Greenberg 2000;Kapoor 2007;Dolia et al 2008).…”

Spiders are not less diverse in small and isolated grasslands, but less diverse in overgrazed grasslands: A field study (East Hungary, Nyírség)

“…Other investigations contrary to the classical theory of island biogeography reported that there was a significant negative correlation between the total number of species and area or isolation of habitat islands Webb and Hopkins, 1984;Balkenhol et al, 1991;Usher et al, 1993). Other studies found that the number of species was unrelated to both the habitat size and isolation (Balkenhol et al, 1991;Pajunen et al, 1995;Steffan-Dewenter and Tscharntke, 2000;Magura et al, 2001;Bonte et al, 2002;Gibb and Hochuli, 2002;Pearce et al, 2005;Kapoor, 2008). We also found no significant relationship between the number of species and the area or the isolation of the grassland fragments.…”

Beyond the “General Public”: Implications of Audience Characteristics for Promoting Species Conservation in the Western Ghats Hotspot, India

“…Surrounded by the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Valparai has a highly fragmented landscape characterized by numerous tea, coffee, cardamom, and eucalyptus plantations interspersed with rainforest fragments (Kapoor 2008). These rainforest fragments support a rich biodiversity including many species of conservation concern (Raman 2006;Sridhar et al 2008).…”