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McCluskey EM, Kuzma FC, Enander HD, Cole‐Wick A, Coury M, Cuthrell DL, Johnson C, Kelso M, Lee YM, Methner D, Rowe L, Swinehart A, Moore J. Assessing habitat connectivity of rare species to inform urban conservation planning. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11105. [PMID: 38444724 PMCID: PMC10912553 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11105] [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: 08/10/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Urbanization is commonly associated with biodiversity loss and habitat fragmentation. However, urban environments often have greenspaces that can support wildlife populations, including rare species. The challenge for conservation planners working in these systems is identifying priority habitats and corridors for protection before they are lost. In a rapidly changing urban environment, this requires prompt decisions informed by accurate spatial information. Here, we combine several approaches to map habitat and assess connectivity for a diverse set of rare species in seven urban study areas across southern Michigan, USA. We incorporated multiple connectivity tools for a comprehensive appraisal of species-habitat patterns across these urban landscapes. We observed distinct differences in connectivity by taxonomic group and site. The three turtle species (Blanding's, Eastern Box, and Spotted) consistently had more habitat predicted to be suitable per site than other evaluated species. This is promising for this at-risk taxonomic group and allows conservation efforts to focus on mitigating threats such as road mortality. Grassland and prairie-associated species (American Bumble Bee, Black and Gold Bumble Bee, and Henslow's Sparrow) had the least amount of habitat on a site-by-site basis. Kalamazoo and the northern Detroit sites had the highest levels of multi-species connectivity across the entire study area based on the least cost paths. These connectivity results have direct applications in urban planning. Kalamazoo, one of the focal urban regions, has implemented a Natural Features Protection (NFP) plan to bolster natural area protections within the city. We compared our connectivity results to the NFP area and show where this plan will have an immediate positive impact and additional areas for potential consideration in future expansions of the protection network. Our results show that conservation opportunities exist within each of the assessed urban areas for maintaining rare species, a key benefit of this multi-species and multi-site approach.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Faith C. Kuzma
- Biology DepartmentGrand Valley State UniversityAllendaleMichiganUSA
| | - Helen D. Enander
- Michigan Natural Features InventoryMichigan State University ExtensionLansingMichiganUSA
| | - Ashley Cole‐Wick
- Michigan Natural Features InventoryMichigan State University ExtensionLansingMichiganUSA
| | - Michela Coury
- Biology DepartmentGrand Valley State UniversityAllendaleMichiganUSA
| | - David L. Cuthrell
- Michigan Natural Features InventoryMichigan State University ExtensionLansingMichiganUSA
| | - Caley Johnson
- Biology DepartmentGrand Valley State UniversityAllendaleMichiganUSA
| | - Marianne Kelso
- Biology DepartmentGrand Valley State UniversityAllendaleMichiganUSA
| | - Yu Man Lee
- Michigan Natural Features InventoryMichigan State University ExtensionLansingMichiganUSA
| | - Diana Methner
- Biology DepartmentGrand Valley State UniversityAllendaleMichiganUSA
| | - Logan Rowe
- Michigan Natural Features InventoryMichigan State University ExtensionLansingMichiganUSA
| | - Alyssa Swinehart
- Biology DepartmentGrand Valley State UniversityAllendaleMichiganUSA
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Meng RL, Chow-Fraser P. Don't worry, be happy: Habitat selection of Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) living in a reference condition in Georgian Bay. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295067. [PMID: 38091326 PMCID: PMC10718438 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Few areas within the Great Lakes basin are currently free from impact of human activities, and it is important to study these reference conditions for comparison with degraded sites in those regions. Here, we use radio telemetry to investigate habitat use, movement, and habitat selection of a population of the endangered (Federally in Canada) Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii, BLTU) inhabiting a mostly undisturbed archipelago located at the northern shore of Mnidoo gamii (Georgian Bay), Ontario over two active seasons (May to September 2021 and 2022). We found a mean home range of 16.21 ha for females (n = 7) and 15.10 ha for males (n = 7). Of the five habitat classes (Marsh, Open Water, Rock, Peatland, and Forest), females used all except Peatland during the nesting season, and both sexes used all five habitat classes throughout both active seasons in 2021 and 2022. Disproportionate habitat use was detected at the landscape scale but not at the home range scale which was consistent with the hypothesis that adult Blanding's turtles residing in relatively undisturbed sites with abundant habitat types use all habitat types according to their availability. We also observed the use of open, deep water by Blanding's Turtles as travel corridors for nesting and mating. Effective future conservation strategies should prioritize the protection and connectivity of relatively undisturbed wetlands, forests, and rock barrens in this region and use this study as a reference condition to compare BLTU habitat use and movement across disturbance gradients within Georgian Bay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reta Lingrui Meng
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Roberts HP, Willey LL, Jones MT, Akre TSB, King DI, Kleopfer J, Brown DJ, Buchanan SW, Chandler HC, deMaynadier P, Winters M, Erb L, Gipe KD, Johnson G, Lauer K, Liebgold EB, Mays JD, Meck JR, Megyesy J, Mota JL, Nazdrowicz NH, Oxenrider KJ, Parren M, Ransom TS, Rohrbaugh L, Smith S, Yorks D, Zarate B. Is the future female for turtles? Climate change and wetland configuration predict sex ratios of a freshwater species. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:2643-2654. [PMID: 36723260 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Climate change and land-use change are leading drivers of biodiversity decline, affecting demographic parameters that are important for population persistence. For example, scientists have speculated for decades that climate change may skew adult sex ratios in taxa that express temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), but limited evidence exists that this phenomenon is occurring in natural settings. For species that are vulnerable to anthropogenic land-use practices, differential mortality among sexes may also skew sex ratios. We sampled the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata), a freshwater species with TSD, across a large portion of its geographic range (Florida to Maine), to assess the environmental factors influencing adult sex ratios. We present evidence that suggests recent climate change has potentially skewed the adult sex ratio of spotted turtles, with samples following a pattern of increased proportions of females concomitant with warming trends, but only within the warmer areas sampled. At intermediate temperatures, there was no relationship with climate, while in the cooler areas we found the opposite pattern, with samples becoming more male biased with increasing temperatures. These patterns might be explained in part by variation in relative adaptive capacity via phenotypic plasticity in nest site selection. Our findings also suggest that spotted turtles have a context-dependent and multi-scale relationship with land use. We observed a negative relationship between male proportion and the amount of crop cover (within 300 m) when wetlands were less spatially aggregated. However, when wetlands were aggregated, sex ratios remained consistent. This pattern may reflect sex-specific patterns in movement that render males more vulnerable to mortality from agricultural machinery and other threats. Our findings highlight the complexity of species' responses to both climate change and land use, and emphasize the role that landscape structure can play in shaping wildlife population demographics.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Patrick Roberts
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lisabeth L Willey
- Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch University New England, Keene, New Hampshire, USA
- American Turtle Observatory, New Salem, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Michael T Jones
- Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Thomas S B Akre
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, Virginia, USA
| | - David I King
- U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
| | - John Kleopfer
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, Charles City, Virginia, USA
| | - Donald J Brown
- U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Amboy, Washington, USA
- School of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
| | - Scott W Buchanan
- Division of Fish and Wildlife, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, West Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Houston C Chandler
- The Orianne Society, Tiger, Georgia, USA
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Melissa Winters
- New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Concord, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Lori Erb
- The Mid-Atlantic Center for Herpetology and Conservation, Oley, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Katharine D Gipe
- Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Glenn Johnson
- Biology Department, State University of New York, Potsdam, New York, USA
| | - Kathryn Lauer
- Department of Environmental Studies, Antioch University New England, Keene, New Hampshire, USA
- American Turtle Observatory, New Salem, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Eric B Liebgold
- Department of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
| | - Jonathan D Mays
- Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | - Jessica R Meck
- Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Westborough, Massachusetts, USA
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, Virginia, USA
| | - Joshua Megyesy
- New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, Concord, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Joel L Mota
- U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Amboy, Washington, USA
| | - Nathan H Nazdrowicz
- Species Conservation and Research Program, Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife, Delaware, USA
| | - Kevin J Oxenrider
- West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, Romney, West Virginia, USA
| | - Molly Parren
- American Turtle Observatory, New Salem, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Tami S Ransom
- Environmental Studies Department, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland, USA
| | - Lindsay Rohrbaugh
- District of Columbia Department of Energy & Environment, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Scott Smith
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland, Wye Mills, USA
| | - Derek Yorks
- Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Augusta, Maine, USA
| | - Brian Zarate
- New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, Lebanon, New Jersey, USA
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