1
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Etard A, Newbold T. Species-level correlates of land-use responses and climate-change sensitivity in terrestrial vertebrates. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024; 38:e14208. [PMID: 37855148 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
Land-use and climate change are major pressures on terrestrial biodiversity. Species' extinction risk and responses to human pressures relate to ecological traits and other characteristics in some clades. However, large-scale comparative assessments of the associations between traits and responses to multiple human pressures across multiple clades are needed. We investigated whether a set of ecological characteristics that are commonly measured across terrestrial vertebrates (ecological traits and geographic range area) are associated with species' responses to different land-use types and species' likely sensitivity to climate change. We aimed to test whether generalizable patterns in response to these pressures arise across both pressures and across vertebrate clades, which could inform assessments of the global signature of human pressures on vertebrate biodiversity and guide conservation efforts. At the species level, we investigated associations between land-use responses and ecological characteristics with a space-for-time substitution approach, making use of the PREDICTS database. We investigated associations between ecological characteristics and expected climate-change sensitivity, estimated from properties of species realized climatic niches. Among the characteristics we considered, 3 were consistently associated with strong land-use responses and high climate-change sensitivity across terrestrial vertebrate classes: narrow geographic range, narrow habitat breadth, and specialization on natural habitats (which described whether a species occurs in artificial habitats or not). The associations of other traits with species' land-use responses and climate-change sensitivity often depended on species' class and land-use type, highlighting an important degree of context dependency. In all classes, invertebrate eaters and fruit and nectar eaters tended to be negatively affected in disturbed land-use types, whereas invertebrate-eating and plant- and seed-eating birds were estimated to be more sensitive to climate change, raising concerns about the continuation of ecological processes sustained by these species under global changes. Our results highlight a consistently higher sensitivity of narrowly distributed species and habitat specialists to land-use and climate change, which provides support for capturing such characteristics in large-scale vulnerability assessments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrienne Etard
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tim Newbold
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
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2
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O'Connor LMJ, Cosentino F, Harfoot MBJ, Maiorano L, Mancino C, Pollock LJ, Thuiller W. Vulnerability of terrestrial vertebrate food webs to anthropogenic threats in Europe. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17253. [PMID: 38519878 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Vertebrate species worldwide are currently facing significant declines in many populations. Although we have gained substantial knowledge about the direct threats that affect individual species, these threats only represent a fraction of the broader vertebrate threat profile, which is also shaped by species interactions. For example, threats faced by prey species can jeopardize the survival of their predators due to food resource scarcity. Yet, indirect threats arising from species interactions have received limited investigation thus far. In this study, we investigate the indirect consequences of anthropogenic threats on biodiversity in the context of European vertebrate food webs. We integrated data on trophic interactions among over 800 terrestrial vertebrates, along with their associated human-induced threats. We quantified and mapped the vulnerability of various components of the food web, including species, interactions, and trophic groups to six major threats: pollution, agricultural intensification, climate change, direct exploitation, urbanization, and invasive alien species and diseases. Direct exploitation and agricultural intensification were two major threats for terrestrial vertebrate food webs: affecting 34% and 31% of species, respectively, they threaten 85% and 69% of interactions in Europe. By integrating network ecology with threat impact assessments, our study contributes to a better understanding of the magnitude of anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise M J O'Connor
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, Grenoble, France
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Programme, International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Francesca Cosentino
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Michael B J Harfoot
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
- Vizzuality, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luigi Maiorano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Mancino
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies "Charles Darwin", University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy
| | - Laura J Pollock
- Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Wilfried Thuiller
- Laboratoire d'Écologie Alpine, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, LECA, Grenoble, France
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3
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Ding C, Newbold T, Ameca EI. Assessing the global vulnerability of dryland birds to heatwaves. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17136. [PMID: 38273501 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
As global average surface temperature increases, extreme climatic events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense, which can drive biodiversity responses such as rapid population declines and/or shifts in species distributions and even local extirpations. However, the impacts of extreme climatic events are largely ignored in conservation plans. Birds are known to be susceptible to heatwaves, especially in dryland ecosystems. Understanding which birds are most vulnerable to heatwaves, and where these birds occur, can offer a scientific basis for adaptive management and conservation. We assessed the relative vulnerability of 1196 dryland bird species to heatwaves using a trait-based approach. Among them, 888 bird species are estimated to be vulnerable to heatwaves (170 highly vulnerable, eight extremely vulnerable), of which ~91% are currently considered non-threatened by the IUCN, which suggests that many species will likely become newly threatened with intensifying climate change. We identified the top three hotspot areas of heatwave-vulnerable species in Australia (208 species), Southern Africa (125 species) and Eastern Africa (99 species). Populations of vulnerable species recorded in the Living Planet Database were found to be declining significantly faster than those of non-vulnerable species (p = .048) after heatwaves occurred. In contrast, no significant difference in population trends between vulnerable and non-vulnerable species was detected when no heatwave occurred (p = .34). This suggests that our vulnerability framework correctly identified vulnerable species and that heatwaves are already impacting the population trends of these species. Our findings will help prioritize heatwave-vulnerable birds in dryland ecosystems in risk mitigation and adaptation management as the frequency of heatwaves accelerates in the coming decades.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenchen Ding
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tim Newbold
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Eric I Ameca
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Climate Change Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland, Switzerland
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4
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Tourani M, Sollmann R, Kays R, Ahumada J, Fegraus E, Karp DS. Maximum temperatures determine the habitat affiliations of North American mammals. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2304411120. [PMID: 38048469 PMCID: PMC10723132 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304411120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis requires identifying the winners and losers of global change. Species are often categorized based on how they respond to habitat loss; for example, species restricted to natural environments, those that most often occur in anthropogenic habitats, and generalists that do well in both. However, species might switch habitat affiliations across time and space: an organism may venture into human-modified areas in benign regions but retreat into thermally buffered forested habitats in areas with high temperatures. Here, we apply community occupancy models to a large-scale camera trapping dataset with 29 mammal species distributed over 2,485 sites across the continental United States, to ask three questions. First, are species' responses to forest and anthropogenic habitats consistent across continental scales? Second, do macroclimatic conditions explain spatial variation in species responses to land use? Third, can species traits elucidate which taxa are most likely to show climate-dependent habitat associations? We found that all species exhibited significant spatial variation in how they respond to land-use, tending to avoid anthropogenic areas and increasingly use forests in hotter regions. In the hottest regions, species occupancy was 50% higher in forested compared to open habitats, whereas in the coldest regions, the trend reversed. Larger species with larger ranges, herbivores, and primary predators were more likely to change their habitat affiliations than top predators, which consistently affiliated with high forest cover. Our findings suggest that climatic conditions influence species' space-use and that maintaining forest cover can help protect mammals from warming climates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahdieh Tourani
- Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, MT59812
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
| | - Rahel Sollmann
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
- Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin10315, Germany
| | - Roland Kays
- Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC27607
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC27601
| | - Jorge Ahumada
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA22202
- Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Julia Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ85281
| | - Eric Fegraus
- Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA22202
| | - Daniel S. Karp
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA95616
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5
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Stark G, Ma L, Zeng ZG, Du WG, Levy O. Cool shade and not-so-cool shade: How habitat loss may accelerate thermal stress under current and future climate. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:6201-6216. [PMID: 37280748 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Worldwide habitat loss, land-use changes, and climate change threaten biodiversity, and we urgently need models that predict the combined impacts of these threats on organisms. Current models, however, overlook microhabitat diversity within landscapes and so do not accurately inform conservation efforts, particularly for ectotherms. Here, we built and field-parameterized a model to examine the effects of habitat loss and climate change on activity and microhabitat selection by a diurnal desert lizard. Our model predicted that lizards in rock-free areas would reduce summer activity levels (e.g. foraging, basking) and that future warming will gradually decrease summer activity in rocky areas, as even large rocks become thermally stressful. Warmer winters will enable more activity but will require bushes and small rocks as shade retreats. Hence, microhabitats that may seem unimportant today will become important under climate change. Modelling frameworks should consider the microhabitat requirements of organisms to improve conservation outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin Stark
- Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Liang Ma
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
| | - Zhi-Gao Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei-Guo Du
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ofir Levy
- Faculty of Life Sciences, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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6
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Valente JJ, Rivers JW, Yang Z, Nelson SK, Northrup JM, Roby DD, Meyer CB, Betts MG. Fragmentation effects on an endangered species across a gradient from the interior to edge of its range. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e14091. [PMID: 37021393 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how habitat fragmentation affects individual species is complicated by challenges associated with quantifying species-specific habitat and spatial variability in fragmentation effects within a species' range. We aggregated a 29-year breeding survey data set for the endangered marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) from >42,000 forest sites throughout the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, and northern California) of the United States. We built a species distribution model (SDM) in which occupied sites were linked with Landsat imagery to quantify murrelet-specific habitat and then used occupancy models to test the hypotheses that fragmentation negatively affects murrelet breeding distribution and that these effects are amplified with distance from the marine foraging habitat toward the edge of the species' nesting range. Murrelet habitat declined in the Pacific Northwest by 20% since 1988, whereas the proportion of habitat comprising edges increased by 17%, indicating increased fragmentation. Furthermore, fragmentation of murrelet habitat at landscape scales (within 2 km of survey stations) negatively affected occupancy of potential breeding sites, and these effects were amplified near the range edge. On the coast, the odds of occupancy decreased by 37% (95% confidence interval [CI] -54 to 12) for each 10% increase in edge habitat (i.e., fragmentation), but at the range edge (88 km inland) these odds decreased by 99% (95% CI 98 to 99). Conversely, odds of murrelet occupancy increased by 31% (95% CI 14 to 52) for each 10% increase in local edge habitat (within 100 m of survey stations). Avoidance of fragmentation at broad scales but use of locally fragmented habitat with reduced quality may help explain the lack of murrelet population recovery. Further, our results emphasize that fragmentation effects can be nuanced, scale dependent, and geographically variable. Awareness of these nuances is critical for developing landscape-level conservation strategies for species experiencing broad-scale habitat loss and fragmentation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathon J Valente
- Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
- U.S. Geological Survey, Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA
| | - James W Rivers
- Department of Forest Engineering, Resources, and Management, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Zhiqiang Yang
- U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ogden, Utah, USA
| | - S Kim Nelson
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | - Joseph M Northrup
- Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, and Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel D Roby
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
| | | | - Matthew G Betts
- Forest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, USA
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7
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Cornford R, Spooner F, McRae L, Purvis A, Freeman R. Ongoing over-exploitation and delayed responses to environmental change highlight the urgency for action to promote vertebrate recoveries by 2030. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230464. [PMID: 37072041 PMCID: PMC10113031 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2023] Open
Abstract
To safeguard nature, we must understand the drivers of biodiversity loss. Time-delayed biodiversity responses to environmental changes (ecological lags) are often absent from models of biodiversity change, despite their well-documented existence. We quantify how lagged responses to climate and land-use change have influenced mammal and bird populations around the world, while incorporating effects of direct exploitation and conservation interventions. Ecological lag duration varies between drivers, vertebrate classes and body size groupings-e.g. lags linked to climate-change impacts are 13 years for small birds, rising to 40 years for larger species. Past warming and land conversion generally combine to predict population declines; however, such conditions are associated with population increases for small mammals. Positive effects of management (>+4% annually for large mammals) and protected areas (>+6% annually for large birds) on population trends contrast with the negative impact of exploitation (<-7% annually for birds), highlighting the need to promote sustainable use. Model projections suggest a future with winners (e.g. large birds) and losers (e.g. medium-sized birds), with current/recent environmental change substantially influencing abundance trends to 2050. Without urgent action, including effective conservation interventions and promoting sustainable use, ambitious targets to stop declines by 2030 may already be slipping out of reach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Cornford
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London NW1 4RY, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK
| | - Fiona Spooner
- Our World in Data at the Global Change Data Lab, Oxford OX2 0DP, UK
| | - Louise McRae
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Andy Purvis
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Robin Freeman
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London NW1 4RY, UK
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8
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Lu M, Jetz W. Scale-sensitivity in the measurement and interpretation of environmental niches. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:554-567. [PMID: 36803985 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
Species environmental niches are central to ecology, evolution, and global change research, but their characterization and interpretation depend on the spatial scale (specifically, the spatial grain) of their measurement. We find that the spatial grain of niche measurement is usually uninformed by ecological processes and varies by orders of magnitude. We illustrate the consequences of this variation for the volume, position, and shape of niche estimates, and discuss how it interacts with geographic range size, habitat specialization, and environmental heterogeneity. Spatial grain significantly affects the study of niche breadth, environmental suitability, niche evolution, niche tracking, and climate change effects. These and other fields will benefit from a more mechanism-informed choice of spatial grain and cross-grain evaluations that integrate different data sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muyang Lu
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
| | - Walter Jetz
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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9
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Bassing SB, DeVivo M, Ganz TR, Kertson BN, Prugh LR, Roussin T, Satterfield L, Windell RM, Wirsing AJ, Gardner B. Are we telling the same story? Comparing inferences made from camera trap and telemetry data for wildlife monitoring. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2745. [PMID: 36107138 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Estimating habitat and spatial associations for wildlife is common across ecological studies and it is well known that individual traits can drive population dynamics and vice versa. Thus, it is commonly assumed that individual- and population-level data should represent the same underlying processes, but few studies have directly compared contemporaneous data representing these different perspectives. We evaluated the circumstances under which data collected from Lagrangian (individual-level) and Eulerian (population-level) perspectives could yield comparable inference to understand how scalable information is from the individual to the population. We used Global Positioning System (GPS) collar (Lagrangian) and camera trap (Eulerian) data for seven species collected simultaneously in eastern Washington (2018-2020) to compare inferences made from different survey perspectives. We fit the respective data streams to resource selection functions (RSFs) and occupancy models and compared estimated habitat- and space-use patterns for each species. Although previous studies have considered whether individual- and population-level data generated comparable information, ours is the first to make this comparison for multiple species simultaneously and to specifically ask whether inferences from the two perspectives differed depending on the focal species. We found general agreement between the predicted spatial distributions for most paired analyses, although specific habitat relationships differed. We hypothesize the discrepancies arose due to differences in statistical power associated with camera and GPS-collar sampling, as well as spatial mismatches in the data. Our research suggests data collected from individual-based sampling methods can capture coarse population-wide patterns for a diversity of species, but results differ when interpreting specific wildlife-habitat relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah B Bassing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Melia DeVivo
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Spokane Valley, Washington, USA
| | - Taylor R Ganz
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Brian N Kertson
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA
| | - Laura R Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Trent Roussin
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Colville, Washington, USA
| | - Lauren Satterfield
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Rebecca M Windell
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Aaron J Wirsing
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Beth Gardner
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
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10
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Ednie G, Kerr JT. High resolution thermal remote sensing and the limits of species' tolerance. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13911. [PMID: 36193435 PMCID: PMC9526402 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Extinction risks for many insect species, particularly across very broad spatial extents, have been linked to the growing frequency and severity of temperatures that exceed the boundaries of their realized niches. Measurement and mitigation of such impacts is hindered by the availability of high-resolution measurements of species-specific severity of extreme weather, especially temperature. While techniques enabling interpolation of broad-scale remote sensing metrics are vital for such efforts, direct remote sensing measurements of thermal conditions could improve habitat management by providing detailed insights that interpolative approaches cannot. Advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology have created opportunities to better evaluate the role of microclimates in local species extinctions. Here, we develop a method to create high-resolution maps of microclimates using UAV and thermal imaging technology that use species' realized niche boundaries to assess potential effects of severity of extreme temperatures. We generated air temperature maps (5 cm resolution) and canopy height maps (1 cm resolution) for 15 sites in a rare alvar ecosystem in eastern Ontario. We validated these remote sensing observations against independent, in situ temperature observations using iButtons. Temperature observations were accurate and related to physical heterogeneity in alvar habitats. We converted temperature measures into estimates of proximity of thermal niche boundaries for three butterfly species found during field surveys. This is the first time that this method has been applied to high resolution remote sensing observations and offers potential to assess the availability and adequacy of microclimates within habitats at resolutions relevant for conservation management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Ednie
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jeremy T. Kerr
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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11
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Williams JJ, Freeman R, Spooner F, Newbold T. Vertebrate population trends are influenced by interactions between land use, climatic position, habitat loss and climate change. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:797-815. [PMID: 34837311 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Rapid human-driven environmental changes are impacting animal populations around the world. Currently, land-use and climate change are two of the biggest pressures facing biodiversity. However, studies investigating the impacts of these pressures on population trends often do not consider potential interactions between climate and land-use change. Further, a population's climatic position (how close the ambient temperature and precipitation conditions are to the species' climatic tolerance limits) is known to influence responses to climate change but has yet to be investigated with regard to its influence on land-use change responses over time. Consequently, important variations across species' ranges in responses to environmental changes may be being overlooked. Here, we combine data from the Living Planet and BioTIME databases to carry out a global analysis exploring the impacts of land use, habitat loss, climatic position, climate change and the interactions between these variables, on vertebrate population trends. By bringing these datasets together, we analyse over 7,000 populations across 42 countries. We find that land-use change is interacting with climate change and a population's climatic position to influence rates of population change. Moreover, features of a population's local landscape (such as surrounding land cover) play important roles in these interactions. For example, populations in agricultural land uses where maximum temperatures were closer to their hot thermal limit, declined at faster rates when there had also been rapid losses in surrounding semi-natural habitat. The complex interactions between these variables on populations highlight the importance of taking intraspecific variation and interactions between local and global pressures into account. Understanding how drivers of change are interacting and impacting populations, and how this varies spatially, is critical if we are to identify populations at risk, predict species' responses to future environmental changes and produce suitable conservation strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica J Williams
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
| | - Robin Freeman
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Fiona Spooner
- Our World in Data at the Global Change Data Lab, Oxford, UK
| | - Tim Newbold
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK
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12
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Banks-Leite C, Betts MG, Ewers RM, Orme CDL, Pigot AL. The macroecology of landscape ecology. Trends Ecol Evol 2022; 37:480-487. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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13
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Oliveira-Silva AED, Piratelli AJ, Zurell D, da Silva FR. Vegetation cover restricts habitat suitability predictions of endemic Brazilian Atlantic Forest birds. Perspect Ecol Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2021.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
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