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Kunberger JM, Price TJ, Crawford C, Vestal‐Laborde AA, Long AM. Potential effects of traffic noise on anuran call characteristics in Louisiana, USA during winter. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11679. [PMID: 38952649 PMCID: PMC11214969 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2024] [Revised: 06/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Urban environments expose wildlife to levels of anthropogenic noise they would not experience in rural areas (e.g., traffic noise), and research suggests that many species adjust their acoustic signals for optimal transmission in urban soundscapes. However, our understanding of anuran (order Anura) responses to noise pollution in urban environments of the southeastern United States is limited, particularly for species that can breed during winter. Our goal was to examine how vocal anuran advertisement call characteristics during winter varied with increasing distance from roadways in bottomland hardwoods of Louisiana, USA. We deployed acoustic recording units at two sites (i.e., rural and urban) perpendicular to Interstate 10 at 200-, 400-, and 600-m intervals (i.e., close, middle, and far) from November 2019 to January 2020. We detected Cajun Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris fouquettei) and Cricket Frogs (Acris spp.) at our rural site, and only detected Cricket Frogs at our urban site. At the rural site, Cajun Chorus Frogs produced longer duration notes at the far location compared to the middle location. At the urban site, Cricket Frogs produced higher dominant frequency calls at the close location compared to the far and middle locations and longer duration notes at the far location compared to the close location. We were unable to account for additional factors in our models (e.g., temperature, noise levels), but our results generally align with previous research. Our study provides baseline data for future research to examine the potential effects of traffic noise on winter advertisement calls in locations with similar environmental conditions and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane M. Kunberger
- Agricultural Center and School of Renewable Natural ResourcesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLouisianaUSA
| | - Ty J. Price
- Agricultural Center and School of Renewable Natural ResourcesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLouisianaUSA
| | - Chloe Crawford
- Agricultural Center and School of Renewable Natural ResourcesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLouisianaUSA
| | - Allison A. Vestal‐Laborde
- Agricultural Center and School of Renewable Natural ResourcesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLouisianaUSA
| | - Ashley M. Long
- Agricultural Center and School of Renewable Natural ResourcesLouisiana State UniversityBaton RougeLouisianaUSA
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2
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Haugen H, Dervo BK, Østbye K, Heggenes J, Devineau O, Linløkken A. Genetic diversity, gene flow, and landscape resistance in a pond-breeding amphibian in agricultural and natural forested landscapes in Norway. Evol Appl 2024; 17:e13633. [PMID: 38283603 PMCID: PMC10810167 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Genetic diversity is a key part of biodiversity, threatened by human activities that lead to loss of gene flow and reduction of effective population sizes. Gene flow is a result of both landscape connectivity and demographic processes determining the number of dispersing individuals in space and time. Thus, the effect of human impact on processes determining the level of genetic diversity must be interpreted in the context of basic ecological conditions affecting survival and recruitment. When the intensity of human impact and habitat suitability correlate, the effect on genetic diversity and gene flow may be challenging to predict. We compared genetic diversity, gene flow and landscape resistance in two contrasting landscapes in Norway for the pond-breeding amphibian Triturus cristatus: a highly human-impacted, agricultural landscape with ecologically productive habitats, and a forested landscape with less productive habitats and lower levels of human impact. Our results show that genetic diversity was higher and gene flow lower within the forested landscape. Microclimatic moisture conditions and vegetation cover were important determinants of landscape resistance to gene flow within both landscapes. There were indications that landscape resistance was increased by minor roads in the forested landscape, which was not the case for the agricultural landscape, suggesting a higher vulnerability to human interference within the landscape matrix for the populations in less productive habitats. Our findings suggest that the effect of human impact on genetic diversity may not be straightforward but modulated by the ecological conditions underlying local demographic processes. Populations within both landscapes seem to be vulnerable to loss of genetic diversity, but due to different mechanisms. This has implications for the choice of relevant management actions, that is, increasing population stability may be more relevant within an agricultural landscape still permeable for dispersal, while conserving dispersal corridors may be more appropriate in the forested landscape, to avoid isolation and increased genetic drift.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanne Haugen
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesHamarNorway
| | - Børre K. Dervo
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)OsloNorway
| | - Kjartan Østbye
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesHamarNorway
- Department of BiosciencesCenter for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES)University of OsloOsloNorway
| | - Jan Heggenes
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental HealthUniversity of South‐Eastern NorwayUniversity of South‐Eastern NorwayNotoddenNorway
| | - Olivier Devineau
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesHamarNorway
| | - Arne Linløkken
- Department of Forestry and Wildlife ManagementInland Norway University of Applied SciencesHamarNorway
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Ortiz-Rodríguez DO, Guisan A, Van Strien MJ. Sensitivity of habitat network models to changes in maximum dispersal distance. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293966. [PMID: 37930975 PMCID: PMC10627463 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Predicting the presence or absence (occurrence-state) of species in a certain area is highly important for conservation. Occurrence-state can be assessed by network models that take suitable habitat patches as nodes, connected by potential dispersal of species. To determine connections, a connectivity threshold is set at the species' maximum dispersal distance. However, this requires field observations prone to underestimation, so for most animal species there are no trustable maximum dispersal distance estimations. This limits the development of accurate network models to predict species occurrence-state. In this study, we performed a sensitivity analysis of the performance of network models to different settings of maximum dispersal distance. Our approach, applied on six amphibian species in Switzerland, used habitat suitability modelling to define habitat patches, which were linked within a dispersal distance threshold to form habitat networks. We used network topological measures, patch suitability, and patch size to explain species occurrence-state in habitat patches through boosted regression trees. These modelling steps were repeated on each species for different maximum dispersal distances, including a species-specific value from literature. We evaluated mainly the predictive performance and predictor importance among the network models. We found that predictive performance had a positive relation with the distance threshold, and that almost none of the species-specific values from literature yielded the best performance across tested thresholds. With increasing dispersal distance, the importance of the habitat-quality-related variable decreased, whereas that of the topology-related predictors increased. We conclude that the sensitivity of these models to the dispersal distance parameter stems from the very different topologies formed with different movement assumptions. Most reported maximum dispersal distances are underestimated, presumably due to leptokurtic dispersal distribution. Our results imply that caution should be taken when selecting a dispersal distance threshold, considering higher values than those derived from field reports, to account for long-distance dispersers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damian O. Ortiz-Rodríguez
- Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS), Institute for Spatial and Landscape Planning, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Antoine Guisan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Maarten J. Van Strien
- Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems (PLUS), Institute for Spatial and Landscape Planning, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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Hamer AJ, Czeglédi I, Gál B, Sály P, Szalóky Z, Preiszner B, Erős T. Hydrology is a major influence on amphibian abundance in a large European floodplain. FRESHWATER BIOLOGY 2023; 68:1303-1318. [PMID: 38516301 PMCID: PMC10952816 DOI: 10.1111/fwb.14104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
River-floodplain ecosystems play a crucial role in connecting landscape patches through hydrological connectivity, but they are among the most threatened ecosystems. Floodplains provide important habitat for amphibians by connecting aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Modifications to floodplain hydrology can impact amphibian communities, yet few studies have examined amphibian metacommunities in floodplain wetlands.In this study, we assessed patterns in amphibian breeding abundance in one of the largest floodplains of the Danube River, Hungary, relative to hydrological connectivity and multi-scale variables at 30 waterbody sites. Our aim was to determine whether these patterns aligned with the pond-permanence gradient hypothesis, where breeding amphibian abundance is predicted to be highest in ephemeral ponds without large predatory fish. We used Bayesian hierarchical modelling to estimate multi-species abundance from repeated survey (count) data collected over one breeding season.We detected the eggs and larvae of four amphibian species. The best model of abundance included covariates describing two principal component axes associated with waterbody hydrology and landscape composition within a 500-m radius of a site. There was a positive relationship between mean community abundance at a site and hydrological disconnection from the main river channel; however, the common toad (Bufo bufo) was associated with hydrologically connected waterbodies. There was a positive relationship between mean community abundance and a high proportion of forest cover and low cover of agricultural land within a 500-m radius around a site, although this relationship was clear for only two species. There was no support for models containing the number of large predatory fish species detected at a site.Although our results showed that amphibian abundance declined with hydrological connectivity, based on model selection we could not ascribe this relationship to an increased number of large predatory fish species detected in waterbodies close to the main river channel. Differences in life history and habitat requirements are likely to have explained interspecific responses to hydrological connectivity. Our results underscore the importance of addressing amphibian abundance at multiple spatial scales in floodplain wetlands, as landscape composition partly explained patterns in abundance.Application of multi-species abundance modelling allowed us to investigate environmental relationships for common and infrequently detected species. Habitat restoration programmes in floodplains should provide waterbodies disconnected from main river channels as potential amphibian breeding sites and protect or restore forest as terrestrial habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Hamer
- Balaton Limnological Research InstituteEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)TihanyHungary
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Centre for Ecological ResearchBudapestHungary
| | - István Czeglédi
- Balaton Limnological Research InstituteEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)TihanyHungary
- National Laboratory for Water Science and Water SecurityBalaton Limnological Research InstituteTihanyHungary
| | - Blanka Gál
- Balaton Limnological Research InstituteEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)TihanyHungary
- National Laboratory for Water Science and Water SecurityBalaton Limnological Research InstituteTihanyHungary
| | - Péter Sály
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Centre for Ecological ResearchBudapestHungary
- National Laboratory for Water Science and Water SecurityWater Ecological InstituteBudapestHungary
| | - Zoltán Szalóky
- Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Centre for Ecological ResearchBudapestHungary
- National Laboratory for Water Science and Water SecurityWater Ecological InstituteBudapestHungary
| | - Bálint Preiszner
- Balaton Limnological Research InstituteEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)TihanyHungary
- National Laboratory for Water Science and Water SecurityBalaton Limnological Research InstituteTihanyHungary
| | - Tibor Erős
- Balaton Limnological Research InstituteEötvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH)TihanyHungary
- National Laboratory for Water Science and Water SecurityBalaton Limnological Research InstituteTihanyHungary
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Covarrubias S, Gutiérrez-Rodríguez C, Rojas-Soto O, Hernández-Guzmán R, González C. Functional connectivity of an endemic tree frog in a highly threatened tropical dry forest in Mexico. ECOSCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/11956860.2021.1921935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Covarrubias
- Instituto de Investigaciones Sobre Los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás De Hidalgo, Michoacán, México
| | | | - Octavio Rojas-Soto
- Red de Biología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología AC (INECOL), Xalapa, Veracruz, México
| | - Rafael Hernández-Guzmán
- Instituto de Investigaciones Sobre Los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás De Hidalgo, Michoacán, México
| | - Clementina González
- Instituto de Investigaciones Sobre Los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás De Hidalgo, Michoacán, México
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A multi-scale, multi-species approach highlights the importance of urban greenspace and pond design for amphibian communities. Urban Ecosyst 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11252-021-01162-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Halstead BJ, Baumberger KL, Backlin AR, Kleeman PM, Wong MN, Gallegos EA, Rose JP, Fisher RN. Conservation Implications of Spatiotemporal Variation in the Terrestrial Ecology of Western Spadefoots. J Wildl Manage 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/jwmg.22095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brian J. Halstead
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station 800 Business Park Drive, Suite D Dixon CA 95620 USA
| | - Katherine L. Baumberger
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center San Diego Field Station—Santa Ana Sub‐station 1801 East Chestnut Avenue Santa Ana CA 92701 USA
| | - Adam R. Backlin
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center San Diego Field Station—Santa Ana Sub‐station 1801 East Chestnut Avenue Santa Ana CA 92701 USA
| | - Patrick M. Kleeman
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center Dixon Field Station—Point Reyes Sub‐station 1 Bear Valley Road Point Reyes Station CA 94956 USA
| | - Monique N. Wong
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center San Diego Field Station—Santa Ana Sub‐station 1801 East Chestnut Avenue Santa Ana CA 92701 USA
| | - Elizabeth A. Gallegos
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center San Diego Field Station—Santa Ana Sub‐station 1801 East Chestnut Avenue Santa Ana CA 92701 USA
| | - Jonathan P. Rose
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center Santa Cruz Field Station 2885 Mission Street Santa Cruz CA 95060 USA
| | - Robert N. Fisher
- U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center San Diego Field Station 4165 Spruance Road, Suite 200 San Diego CA 92101 USA
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