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Riva F, Haddad N, Fahrig L, Banks-Leite C. Principles for area-based biodiversity conservation. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14459. [PMID: 38877751 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Recent international agreements have strengthened and expanded commitments to protect and restore native habitats for biodiversity protection ("area-based biodiversity conservation"). Nevertheless, biodiversity conservation is hindered because how such commitments should be implemented has been strongly debated, which can lead to suboptimal habitat protection decisions. We argue that, despite the debates, there are three essential principles for area-based biodiversity conservation. These principles are related to habitat geographic coverage, amount, and connectivity. They emerge from evidence that, while large areas of nature are important and must be protected, conservation or restoration of multiple small habitat patches is also critical for global conservation, particularly in regions with high land use. We contend that the many area-based conservation initiatives expected in the coming decades should follow the principles we identify, regardless of ongoing debates. Considering the importance of biodiversity for maintenance of ecosystem services, we suggest that this would bring widespread societal benefits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Riva
- Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Nick Haddad
- Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan, USA
| | - Lenore Fahrig
- Geomatic and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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2
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Passy SI, Larson CA, Mruzek JL, Budnick WR, Leboucher T. A new perspective on the spatial, environmental, and metacommunity controls of local biodiversity. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 926:171618. [PMID: 38467253 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171618] [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: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Influential ecological research in the 1980s, elucidating that local biodiversity (LB) is a function of local ecological factors and the size of the regional species pool (γ-diversity), has prompted numerous investigations on the local and regional origins of LB. These investigations, however, have been mostly limited to single scales and target groups and centered exclusively on γ-diversity. Here we developed a unified framework including scale, environmental factors (heterogeneity and ambient levels), and metacommunity properties (intraspecific spatial aggregation, regional evenness, and γ-diversity) as hierarchical predictors of LB. We tested this framework with variance partitioning and structural equation modeling using subcontinental data on stream diatoms, insects, and fish as well as local physicochemistry, climate, and land use. Pure aggregation + regional evenness outperformed pure γ-diversity in explaining LB across groups. The covariance of the environment with aggregation + regional evenness rather than with γ-diversity generally explained a much greater proportion of the variance in diatom and insect LB, especially at smaller scales. Thus, disregarding aggregation and regional evenness, as commonly done, may lead to gross underestimation of the pure metacommunity effects and the indirect environmental effects on LB. We examined the shape of the local-regional species richness relationship, which has been widely used to infer local vs. regional effects on LB. We showed that this shape has an ecological basis, but its interpretation is not straightforward. Therefore, we advocate that the variance partitioning analysis under the proposed framework is adopted instead. In diatoms, metacommunity properties had the greatest total effects on LB, while in insects and fish, it was the environment, suggesting that larger organisms are more strongly controlled by the environment. Broader use of our framework may lead to novel biogeographical insights into the drivers of LB and improved projections of its trends along current and future environmental gradients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia I Passy
- Department of Biology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA.
| | - Chad A Larson
- Washington State Department of Ecology, Environmental Assessment Program, Lacey, WA, USA.
| | - Joseph L Mruzek
- Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
| | - William R Budnick
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
| | - Thibault Leboucher
- Laboratory for Continental Environments, National Scientific Research Center, University of Lorraine, Metz, France.
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3
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Hua F, Liu M, Wang Z. Integrating forest restoration into land-use planning at large spatial scales. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R452-R472. [PMID: 38714177 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
Forest restoration is being scaled up globally, carrying major expectations of environmental and societal benefits. Current discussions on ensuring the effectiveness of forest restoration are predominantly focused on the land under restoration per se. But this focus neglects the critical issue that land use and its drivers at larger spatial scales have strong implications for forest restoration outcomes, through the influence of landscape context and, importantly, potential off-site impacts of forest restoration that must be accounted for in measuring its effectiveness. To ensure intended restoration outcomes, it is crucial to integrate forest restoration into land-use planning at spatial scales large enough to account for - and address - these larger-scale influences, including the protection of existing native ecosystems. In this review, we highlight this thus-far neglected issue in conceptualizing forest restoration for the delivery of multiple desirable benefits regarding biodiversity and ecosystem services. We first make the case for the need to integrate forest restoration into large-scale land-use planning, by reviewing current evidence on the landscape-level influences and off-site impacts pertaining to forest restoration. We then discuss how science can guide the integration of forest restoration into large-scale land-use planning, by laying out key features of methodological frameworks required, reviewing the extent to which existing frameworks carry these features, and identifying methodological innovations needed to bridge the potential shortfall. Finally, we critically review the status of existing methods and data to identify future research efforts needed to advance these methodological innovations and, more broadly, the effective integration of forest restoration design into large-scale land-use planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Hua
- Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Mingxin Liu
- Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zhen Wang
- Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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4
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Malabet FM, Ramsay M, Chell C, Andriatsitohaina B, Radespiel U, Lehman S. Where the small things are: Modelling edge effects on mouse lemur population density and distribution in northwestern Madagascar. Am J Primatol 2024:e23621. [PMID: 38528343 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Edge effects result from the penetration to varying depths and intensities, of abiotic and biotic conditions from the surrounding non-forest matrix into the forest interior. Although 70% of the world's forests are within 1 km of a forest edge, making edge effects a dominant feature of most forest habitats, there are few empirical data on inter-site differences in edge responses in primates. We used spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) models to determine spatial patterns of density for two species of mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus and Microcebus ravelobensis) in two forest landscapes in northwestern Madagascar. The goal of our study was to determine if mouse lemurs displayed spatially variable responses to edge effects. We trapped animals using Sherman live traps in the Mariarano Classified Forest (MCF) and in the Ambanjabe Forest Fragment Site (AFFS) site within Ankarafantsika National Park. We trapped 126 M. murinus and 79 M. ravelobensis at MCF and 78 M. murinus and 308 M. ravelobensis at AFFS. For M. murinus, our top model predicted a positive edge response, where density increased towards edge habitats. In M. ravelobensis, our top model predicted a negative edge response, where density was lower near the forest edges and increased towards the forest interior. At regional and landscape-specific scales, SECR models estimated different density patterns between M. murinus and M. ravelobensis as a result of variation in edge distance. The spatial variability of our results using SECR models indicate the importance of studying the population ecology of primates at varying scales that are appropriate to the processes of interest. Our results lend further support to the theory that some lemurs exhibit a form of ecological flexibility in their responses to forest loss, forest fragmentation, and associated edge effects.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Malcolm Ramsay
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Coral Chell
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Bertrand Andriatsitohaina
- Planet Madagascar, Antananarivo, Madagascar
- Faculté des Sciences, de Technologies et de l'Environnement, Université de Mahajanga, Mahajanga, Madagascar
| | - Ute Radespiel
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Shawn Lehman
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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5
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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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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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Weeks TL, Betts MG, Pfeifer M, Wolf C, Banks-Leite C, Barbaro L, Barlow J, Cerezo A, Kennedy CM, Kormann UG, Marsh CJ, Olivier PI, Phalan BT, Possingham HP, Wood EM, Tobias JA. Climate-driven variation in dispersal ability predicts responses to forest fragmentation in birds. Nat Ecol Evol 2023; 7:1079-1091. [PMID: 37248334 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02077-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Species sensitivity to forest fragmentation varies latitudinally, peaking in the tropics. A prominent explanation for this pattern is that historical landscape disturbance at higher latitudes has removed fragmentation-sensitive species or promoted the evolution of more resilient survivors. However, it is unclear whether this so-called extinction filter is the dominant driver of geographic variation in fragmentation sensitivity, particularly because climatic factors may also cause latitudinal gradients in dispersal ability, a key trait mediating sensitivity to habitat fragmentation. Here we combine field survey data with a morphological proxy for avian dispersal ability (hand-wing index) to assess responses to forest fragmentation in 1,034 bird species worldwide. We find that fragmentation sensitivity is strongly predicted by dispersal limitation and that other factors-latitude, body mass and historical disturbance events-have relatively limited explanatory power after accounting for species differences in dispersal. We also show that variation in dispersal ability is only weakly predicted by historical disturbance and more strongly associated with intra-annual temperature fluctuations (seasonality). Our results suggest that climatic factors play a dominant role in driving global variation in the impacts of forest fragmentation, emphasizing the need for more nuanced environmental policies that take into account local context and associated species traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas L Weeks
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK.
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum London, London, UK.
| | - Matthew G Betts
- Forest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Marion Pfeifer
- School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Christopher Wolf
- Forest Biodiversity Research Network, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | | | - Luc Barbaro
- Dynafor, University of Toulouse, INRAE, Castanet-Tolosan, France
- CESCO, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne-University, Paris, France
| | - Jos Barlow
- Lancaster Environmental Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Alexis Cerezo
- Foundation for Ecodevelopment and Conservation (FUNDAECO), Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala
| | - Christina M Kennedy
- Global Protect Oceans, Lands and Waters Program, The Nature Conservancy, Fort Collins, CO, USA
| | - Urs G Kormann
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach, Switzerland
| | - Charles J Marsh
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, and Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Pieter I Olivier
- M.A.P Scientific Services, Pretoria, South Africa
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Benjamin T Phalan
- Centre for Conservation of Atlantic Forest Birds, Parque das Aves, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil
| | - Hugh P Possingham
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Eric M Wood
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State University Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Joseph A Tobias
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
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Pigot AL. Biodiversity: What makes a city bird? Curr Biol 2023; 33:R369-R371. [PMID: 37160097 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity varies greatly across species. A new study shows how the intrinsic species properties underlying urban tolerance vary globally according to environmental context. This has important implications for conserving biodiversity in a rapidly urbanising world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex L Pigot
- Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research, Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
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9
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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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10
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Curd A, Chevalier M, Vasquez M, Boyé A, Firth LB, Marzloff MP, Bricheno LM, Burrows MT, Bush LE, Cordier C, Davies AJ, Green JAM, Hawkins SJ, Lima FP, Meneghesso C, Mieszkowska N, Seabra R, Dubois SF. Applying landscape metrics to species distribution model predictions to characterize internal range structure and associated changes. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:631-647. [PMID: 36394183 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16496] [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: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Distributional shifts in species ranges provide critical evidence of ecological responses to climate change. Assessments of climate-driven changes typically focus on broad-scale range shifts (e.g. poleward or upward), with ecological consequences at regional and local scales commonly overlooked. While these changes are informative for species presenting continuous geographic ranges, many species have discontinuous distributions-both natural (e.g. mountain or coastal species) or human-induced (e.g. species inhabiting fragmented landscapes)-where within-range changes can be significant. Here, we use an ecosystem engineer species (Sabellaria alveolata) with a naturally fragmented distribution as a case study to assess climate-driven changes in within-range occupancy across its entire global distribution. To this end, we applied landscape ecology metrics to outputs from species distribution modelling (SDM) in a novel unified framework. SDM predicted a 27.5% overall increase in the area of potentially suitable habitat under RCP 4.5 by 2050, which taken in isolation would have led to the classification of the species as a climate change winner. SDM further revealed that the latitudinal range is predicted to shrink because of decreased habitat suitability in the equatorward part of the range, not compensated by a poleward expansion. The use of landscape ecology metrics provided additional insights by identifying regions that are predicted to become increasingly fragmented in the future, potentially increasing extirpation risk by jeopardising metapopulation dynamics. This increased range fragmentation could have dramatic consequences for ecosystem structure and functioning. Importantly, the proposed framework-which brings together SDM and landscape metrics-can be widely used to study currently overlooked climate-driven changes in species internal range structure, without requiring detailed empirical knowledge of the modelled species. This approach represents an important advancement beyond predictive envelope approaches and could reveal itself as paramount for managers whose spatial scale of action usually ranges from local to regional.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amelia Curd
- IFREMER, Centre de Bretagne, DYNECO LEBCO, Plouzané, France
| | | | | | - Aurélien Boyé
- IFREMER, Centre de Bretagne, DYNECO LEBCO, Plouzané, France
| | - Louise B Firth
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK
| | | | | | - Michael T Burrows
- Scottish Association for Marine Science, Scottish Marine Institute, Oban, UK
| | - Laura E Bush
- FUGRO GB Marine Limited, Gait 8, Research Park South, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Céline Cordier
- IFREMER, Centre de Bretagne, DYNECO LEBCO, Plouzané, France
| | - Andrew J Davies
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, USA
- Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA
| | | | - Stephen J Hawkins
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK
- Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
- The Marine Biological Association of the UK, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK
| | - Fernando P Lima
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Claudia Meneghesso
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Nova Mieszkowska
- The Marine Biological Association of the UK, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Rui Seabra
- CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Vairão, Portugal
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11
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Amir Z, Moore JH, Negret PJ, Luskin MS. Megafauna extinctions produce idiosyncratic Anthropocene assemblages. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabq2307. [PMID: 36269822 PMCID: PMC9586473 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abq2307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The "trophic downgrading of planet Earth" refers to the systematic decline of the world's largest vertebrates. However, our understanding of why megafauna extinction risk varies through time and the importance of site- or species-specific factors remain unclear. Here, we unravel the unexpected variability in remaining terrestrial megafauna assemblages across 10 Southeast Asian tropical forests. Consistent with global trends, every landscape experienced Holocene and/or Anthropocene megafauna extirpations, and the four most disturbed landscapes experienced 2.5 times more extirpations than the six least disturbed landscapes. However, there were no consistent size- or guild-related trends, no two tropical forests had identical assemblages, and the abundance of four species showed positive relationships with forest degradation and humans. Our results suggest that the region's megafauna assemblages are the product of a convoluted geoclimatic legacy interacting with modern disturbances and that some megafauna may persist in degraded tropical forests near settlements with sufficient poaching controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Amir
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Jonathan H. Moore
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Pablo Jose Negret
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Matthew Scott Luskin
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
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Lewis ASL, Rollinson CR, Allyn AJ, Ashander J, Brodie S, Brookson CB, Collins E, Dietze MC, Gallinat AS, Juvigny‐Khenafou N, Koren G, McGlinn DJ, Moustahfid H, Peters JA, Record NR, Robbins CJ, Tonkin J, Wardle GM. The power of forecasts to advance ecological theory. Methods Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jaime Ashander
- U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Patuxent Research Refuge Laurel MD USA
| | - Stephanie Brodie
- Institute of Marine Science University of California Santa Cruz Monterey CA USA
- Environmental Research Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Monterey CA USA
| | - Cole B. Brookson
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada
| | - Elyssa Collins
- Center for Geospatial Analytics North Carolina State University Raleigh NC USA
| | - Michael C. Dietze
- Department of Earth & Environment Boston University Boston MA United States
| | | | - Noel Juvigny‐Khenafou
- iES—Institute for Environmental Sciences University of Koblenz‐Landau Landau i. d. Pfalz Germany
| | - Gerbrand Koren
- Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development Utrecht University Utrecht The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | - Caleb J. Robbins
- Department of Biology, Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research Baylor University Waco TX USA
| | - Jonathan Tonkin
- School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
- Te Pūnaha Matatini, Centre of Research Excellence in Complex Systems New Zealand
- Bioprotection Aotearoa, Centre of Research Excellence New Zealand
| | - Glenda M. Wardle
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
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