The importance of ecological scale for wildlife conservation in naturally fragmented environments: A case study of the Brush-Tailed Rock-Wallaby (Petrogale Penicillata)

Determining the ecologically relevant spatial scales for predicting species occurrences is an important concept when determining species–environment relationships. Therefore species distribution modelling should consider all ecologically relevant spatial scales. While several recent studies have addressed this problem in artificially fragmented landscapes, few studies have researched relevant ecological scales for organisms that also live in naturally fragmented landscapes. This situation is exemplified by the Australian rock-wallabies’ preference for rugged terrain and we addressed the issue of scale using the threatened brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) in eastern Australia. We surveyed for brush-tailed rock-wallabies at 200 sites in southeast Queensland, collecting potentially influential site level and landscape level variables. We applied classification trees at either scale to capture a hierarchy of relationships between the explanatory variables and brush-tailed rock-wallaby presence/absence. Habitat complexity at the site level and geology at the landscape level were the best predictors of where we observed brush-tailed rock-wallabies. Our study showed that the distribution of the species is affected by both site scale and landscape scale factors, reinforcing the need for a multi-scale approach to understanding the relationship between a species and its environment. We demonstrate that careful design of data collection, using coarse scale spatial datasets and finer scale field data, can provide useful information for identifying the ecologically relevant scales for studying species–environment relationships. Our study highlights the need to determine patterns of environmental influence at multiple scales to conserve specialist species such as the brush-tailed rock-wallaby in naturally fragmented landscapes.

Predictive distribution models and their application in wildlife conservation

Wildlife managers are often faced with the difficult task of determining the distribution of species, and their preferred habitats, at large spatial scales. This task is even more challenging when the species of concern is in low abundance and/or the terrain is largely inaccessible. Spatially explicit distribution models, derived from multivariate statistical analyses and implemented in a geographic information system (GIS), can be used to predict the distributions of species and their habitats, thus making them a useful conservation tool. We present two such models: one for a dasyurid, the Swamp Antechinus (Antechinus minimus), and the other for a ground-dwelling bird, the Rufous Bristlebird (Dasyornis broadbenti), both of which are rare species occurring in the coastal heathlands of south-western Victoria. Models were generated using generalized linear modelling (GLM) techniques with species presence or absence as the independent variable and a series of landscape variables derived from GIS layers and high-resolution imagery as the predictors. The most parsimonious model, based on the Akaike Information Criterion, for each species then was extrapolated spatially in a GIS. Probability of species presence was used as an index of habitat suitability. Because habitat fragmentation is thought to be one of the major threats to these species, an assessment of the spatial distribution of suitable habitat across the landscape is vital in prescribing management actions to prevent further habitat fragmentation.

Waterfowl decline in the Mississippi Flyway [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, One Hundredth Congress, second session, on the decline of waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway and the loss of wintering habitat in the Mississippi Flood Plain, September 22, 1988.

"Serial no. 100-91."

Fish and wildlife conservation in river basin development.

Mode of access: Internet.

Fish and wildlife conservation act of 1980 and authorizations for wildlife refuges [microform] : hearing before the Subcommittee on Resource Protection of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session, on S. 2181 ... February 4, 1980.

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.

Aquaculture : joint hearings before the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment and the Subcommittee on Oceanography of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, first and second sessions ....

Mode of access: Internet.

Fishery conservation and management act [microform] : hearings before the Subcommittee on Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation and the Environment of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session ....

Reuse of record except for individual research requires license from Congressional Information Service, Inc.

Development and expansion of the natural resource data and information systems in support of the Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan : annual segment report 2005 /

Submitted to Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Development and expansion of the natural resource data and information systems in support of the Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Plan : final project completion report 2006, project 5-02-P-001, 1 February 2003 to 30 September 2006 /

Submitted to Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Priorities for the Nongame Wildlife Conservation Fund : conference proceedings : December 3, 1983, Brookens Auditorium, Sangamon State University /

Cover title.

The Illinois Wildlife Action Plan : as prescribed by the Wildlife Conservation & Restoration Program and State Wildlife Grants Program.

Includes CD-ROM supplement with title : Illinois Comprehensive Wildlife Action Plan - strategy.