Declining resilience of ecosystem functions under biodiversity loss

The composition of species communities is changing rapidly through drivers such as habitat loss and climate change, with potentially serious consequences for the resilience of ecosystem functions on which humans depend. To assess such changes in resilience, we analyse trends in the frequency of species in Great Britain that provide key ecosystem functions-specifically decomposition, carbon sequestration, pollination, pest control and cultural values. For 4,424 species over four decades, there have been significant net declines among animal species that provide pollination, pest control and cultural values. Groups providing decomposition and carbon sequestration remain relatively stable, as fewer species are in decline and these are offset by large numbers of new arrivals into Great Britain. While there is general concern about degradation of a wide range of ecosystem functions, our results suggest actions should focus on particular functions for which there is evidence of substantial erosion of their resilience.

A GIS Suitability Analysis of Wolf Habitat in Maine

The range of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus), once covering most of North America, has been drastically reduced by an estimated 95% due to habitat loss and extermination by humans. The wolf was extirpated from Maine in the 1800’s. Wolf reintroductions have been suggested for Maine, but there is some debate about how much land is suitable for wolves. I developed a wolf habitat suitability analysis using ArcGIS and data from the Maine Office of GIS and the United States National Atlas. The model incorporates land cover, presence of major roads and railways, conservation land, industrial, non-industrial, and public woodlot ownership, distance from major points of population, deer population, and slope. The model results show areas of high and low wolf suitability in Maine. The model suggests that the best potential habitat for wolves in Maine is situated in the northwest of the state. Possible future reintroductions or natural colonization from other areas would have the highest likelihood of survival in these areas.

Habitat split and the global decline of amphibians

The worldwide decline in amphibians has been attributed to several causes, especially habitat loss and disease. We identified a further factor, namely habitat split- defined as human- induced disconnection between habitats used by different life history stages of a species- which forces forest- associated amphibians with aquatic larvae to make risky breeding migrations between suitable aquatic and terrestrial habitats. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we found that habitat split negatively affects the richness of species with aquatic larvae but not the richness of species with terrestrial development ( the latter can complete their life cycle inside forest remnants). This mechanism helps to explain why species with aquatic larvae have the highest incidence of population decline. These findings reinforce the need for the conservation and restoration of riparian vegetation.

Habitat patch size modulates terrestrial mammal activity patterns in Amazonian forest fragments

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Densidade, seleção de micro-habitat e distribuição de Phylloscartes eximius (Aves: Tyrannidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeito da área, da quantidade de habitat e do tipo de matriz sobre dieta de gato-maracajá (Leopardus wiedii)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeitos da desconexão de habitat na diversidade funcional de anfíbios anuros (Amphibia: Anura) na Mata Atlântica

Amphibian populations worldwide have been suffering declines generated by habitat degradation, loss, fragmentation and habitat split. With habitat loss and fragmentation in the landscape comes habitat split, which is the separation between the adult anuran habitat and breeding sites, forcing individuals to move through matrix during breeding seasons. Thus, habitat split increases the chance of extinction of amphibians with aquatic larval development and acts as a filter in the selection of species having great influence on species richness and community structure. The use of functional diversity allows us to consider the identity and characteristics of each species to understand the effects of fragmentation processes. The objective of this study was to estimate the effects of habitat split, as well as habitat loss in the landscape, on amphibians functional diversity (FD) and species richness (S). We selected 26 landscapes from a database with anuran surveys of Brazilian Atlantic Forest. For each landscape we calculated DF, S and landscape metrics at multiple scales. To calculate the DF we considered traits that influenced species use and persistence in the landscape. We refined maps of forest remnants and water bodies for metrics calculation. To relate DF and S (response variables) to landscape variables (explanatory variables), we used a model selection approach, fitting generalized linear models (GLMS) and making your selection with AICc. We compared the effect of model absence and models with habitat split, habitat amount and habitat connectivity effects, as well as their interaction. The most plausible models for S were the sum and interaction between habitat split in 7.5 km scale. For anurans with terrestrial development, habitat amount was the only plausible explanatory variable, in the 5 km scale. For anurans with aquatic larvae habitat amount in larger scales and the addition of habitat amount and habitat split were plausible...

Efeito da área, da quantidade de habitat e do tipo de matriz sobre dieta de gato-maracajá (Leopardus wiedii)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeitos da desconexão de habitat na diversidade funcional de anfíbios anuros (Amphibia: Anura) na Mata Atlântica

Amphibian populations worldwide have been suffering declines generated by habitat degradation, loss, fragmentation and habitat split. With habitat loss and fragmentation in the landscape comes habitat split, which is the separation between the adult anuran habitat and breeding sites, forcing individuals to move through matrix during breeding seasons. Thus, habitat split increases the chance of extinction of amphibians with aquatic larval development and acts as a filter in the selection of species having great influence on species richness and community structure. The use of functional diversity allows us to consider the identity and characteristics of each species to understand the effects of fragmentation processes. The objective of this study was to estimate the effects of habitat split, as well as habitat loss in the landscape, on amphibians functional diversity (FD) and species richness (S). We selected 26 landscapes from a database with anuran surveys of Brazilian Atlantic Forest. For each landscape we calculated DF, S and landscape metrics at multiple scales. To calculate the DF we considered traits that influenced species use and persistence in the landscape. We refined maps of forest remnants and water bodies for metrics calculation. To relate DF and S (response variables) to landscape variables (explanatory variables), we used a model selection approach, fitting generalized linear models (GLMS) and making your selection with AICc. We compared the effect of model absence and models with habitat split, habitat amount and habitat connectivity effects, as well as their interaction. The most plausible models for S were the sum and interaction between habitat split in 7.5 km scale. For anurans with terrestrial development, habitat amount was the only plausible explanatory variable, in the 5 km scale. For anurans with aquatic larvae habitat amount in larger scales and the addition of habitat amount and habitat split were plausible...

Influence of habitat and climate change on European bird communities

Die Fragmentierung von Waldgebieten, der Verlust geeigneter Habitate, die Invasion exotischer Arten und globale Klimaveränderung haben auf Artengemeinschaften erhebliche Auswirkungen. Vögel dienen in vielen Fällen als Indikatorarten für Umweltveränderungen und, besonders, für Veränderungen im Zusammenhang mit globaler Erwärmung. In meiner Arbeit habe ich zuerst einen Literaturüberblick über die Auswirkungen globaler Klimaveränderung auf die Verbreitungsgebiete, den Artenreichtum und die Zusammensetzung von Vogelgemeinschaften dargestellt. Zahlreiche Untersuchungen zeigen, daß die Grenzen der Verbreitungsgebiete der meisten Vogelarten mit klimatischen Faktoren korrelieren. Verschiebungen der Verbreitungsgebiete in nördliche Richtung oder in höhere Regionen im Gebirge konnten bereits für viele temperate Vogelarten beobachtet werden. Weiterhin wurde ein zunehmender Artenreichtum besonders in nördlichen Breiten und in höheren Lagen für viele temperate Vogelgemeinschaften vorhergesagt. In trockenen Gebieten ist dagegen mit einer Abnahme des Artenreichtums zu rechnen. Im zweiten Teil meiner Arbeit habe ich untersucht, ob beobachtete Veränderungen in der Zusammensetzung europäischer Vogelgemeinschaften tatsächlich durch aktuelle Klimaveränderungen beeinflußt werden. Das Zugverhalten der Arten war dabei ein Schwerpunkt der Untersuchung, weil zu erwarten war, daß Vogelarten mit verschiedenem Zugverhalten unterschiedlich auf Klimaveränderungen reagieren. Ich habe ein Regressionsmodell genutzt, welches die räumliche Beziehung zwischen dem Anteil von Langstreckenziehern, Kurzstreckenziehern und Standvögeln in europäischen Vogelgemeinschaften und verschiedenen Klimavariablen beschreibt. Für 21 Gebiete in Europa habe ich Daten über beobachtete Veränderungen in der Struktur der Vogelgemeinschaften und isochrone Klimaveränderungen zusammengetragen. Mit Hilfe dieser Klimaveränderungen und dem räumlichen Regressionsmodell konnte ich berechnen, welche Veränderungen in den Vogelgemeinschaften aufgrund der veränderten Klimabedingungen zu erwarten wären und sie mit beobachteten Veränderungen vergleichen. Beobachtete und berechnete Veränderungen korrelierten signifikant miteinander. Die beobachteten Veränderungen konnten nicht durch räumliche Autokorrelationseffekte oder durch alternative Faktoren, wie z.B. Veränderungen in der Landnutzung, erklärt werden. Im dritten Teil der Arbeit untersuchte ich für eine mitteleuropäische Vogelgemeinschaft welchen Einfluß Habitatveränderungen, die Invasion exotischer Arten und die Klimaveränderung auf Veränderungen der Häufigkeit und Verbreitungsgröße der 159 Vogelarten am Bodensee zwischen 1980-1981 und 2000-2002 hatten. Dabei konnte gezeigt werden, daß Veränderungen in der regionalen Abundanz sowohl durch Habitatveränderungen als auch durch Klimavänderungen hervorgerufen wurden. Exotische Arten schienen in dieser Zeit keinen bedeutenden Einfluß zu haben. Besonders bei Agrarlandarten, Arten mit nördlicheren Verbreitungsgebieten und bei Langstreckenziehern konnten signifikante Abnahmen in der Abundanz beobachtet werden. Vor allem die anhaltenden negativen Bestandsveränderungen bei Langstreckenziehern und die in den letzten zehn Jahren aufgetretenen Abnahmen nördlicher verbreiteter Vogelarten deuten darauf hin, daß die Klimaveränderung aktuell als der größte Einfluß für Vögel in Europa angesehen werden muß. Insgesamt zeigen die Ergebnisse dieser Arbeit, daß sich der anhaltende Druck auf die Umwelt in erster Linie durch Habitat- und Klimaveränderungen manifestiert.

The importance of forest area and configuration relative to local habitat factors for conserving forest mammals: A case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia

The loss and fragmentation of forest habitats by human land use are recognised as important factors influencing the decline of forest-dependent fauna. Mammal species that are dependent upon forest habitats are particularly sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation because they have highly specific habitat requirements, and in many cases have limited ability to move through and utilise the land use matrix. We addressed this problem using a case study of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) surveyed in a fragmented rural-urban landscape in southeast Queensland, Australia. We applied a logistic modelling and hierarchical partitioning analysis to determine the importance of forest area and its configuration relative to site (local) and patch-level habitat variables. After taking into account spatial auto-correlation and the year of survey, we found koala occurrence increased with the area of all forest habitats, habitat patch size and the proportion of primary Eucalyptus tree species; and decreased with mean nearest neighbour distance between forest patches, the density of forest patches, and the density of sealed roads. The difference between the effect of habitat area and configuration was not as strong as theory predicts, with the configuration of remnant forest becoming increasingly important as the area of forest habitat declines. We conclude that the area of forest, its configuration across the landscape, as well as the land use matrix, are important determinants of koala occurrence, and that habitat configuration should not be overlooked in the conservation of forest-dependent mammals, such as the koala. We highlight the implications of these findings for koala conservation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What you find depends on where you look: responses to proximate habitat vary with landscape context

There is persistent interest in understanding responses of passerine birds to habitat fragmentation, but research findings have been inconsistent and sometimes contradictory in conclusions about how birds respond to characteristics of sites they occupy, such as habitat patch size or edge density. We examined whether these inconsistencies could result from differences in the amount of habitat in the surrounding landscape, e.g., for woodland birds, the amount of tree cover in the surrounding landscape. We compared responses of 22 woodland bird species to proximate-scale tree cover in open landscapes versus wooded landscapes. Our main expectation was that woodland birds would tolerate less suitable sites (less tree cover at the site scale) in open environments where they had little choice–where little tree cover was available in the surrounding area. We compared responses using logistic regression coefficients and loess plots in open and wooded landscapes in eastern North Dakota, USA. Responses to proximate-scale tree cover were stronger, not weaker, as expected, in open landscapes. In some cases the sign of the response changed from positive to negative in contrasting landscapes. We draw two conclusions: First, observed responses to proximate habitat measures such as habitat extent or edge density cannot be interpreted reliably unless landscape context is specified. Second, birds appear more selective, not less so, where habitat is sparse. Habitat loss and fragmentation at the landscape scale are likely to reduce the usefulness of local habitat conservation, and regional drivers in land-use change can have important effects for site-scale habitat use.

Big Manistee River Tributaries as Potential Arctic Grayling Habitat

The Big Manistee River was one of the most well known Michigan rivers to historically support a population of Arctic grayling (Thymallus arctics). Overfishing, competition with introduced fish, and habitat loss due to logging are believed to have caused their decline and ultimate extirpation from the Big Manistee River around 1900 and from the State of Michigan by 1936. Grayling are a species of great cultural importance to Little River Band of Ottawa Indian tribal heritage and although past attempts to reintroduce Arctic grayling have been unsuccessful, a continued interest in their return led to the assessment of environmental conditions of tributaries within a 21 kilometer section of the Big Manistee River to determine if suitable habitat exists. Although data describing historical conditions in the Big Manistee River is limited, we reviewed the literature to determine abiotic conditions prior to Arctic grayling disappearance and the habitat conditions in rivers in western and northwestern North America where they currently exist. We assessed abiotic habitat metrics from 23 sites distributed across 8 tributaries within the Manistee River watershed. Data collected included basic water parameters, streambed substrate composition, channel profile and areal measurements of channel geomorphic unit, and stream velocity and discharge measurements. These environmental condition values were compared to literature values, habitat suitability thresholds, and current conditions of rivers with Arctic grayling populations to assess the feasibility of the abiotic habitat in Big Manistee River tributaries to support Arctic grayling. Although the historic grayling habitat in the region was disturbed during the era of major logging around the turn of the 20th century, our results indicate that some important abiotic conditions within Big Manistee River tributaries are within the range of conditions that support current and past populations of Arctic grayling. Seven tributaries contained between 20-30% pools by area, used by grayling for refuge. All but two tributaries were composed primarily of pebbles, with the remaining two dominated by fine substrates (sand, silt, clay). Basic water parameters and channel depth were within the ranges of those found for populations of Arctic grayling persisting in Montana, Alaska, and Canada for all tributaries. Based on the metrics analyzed in this study, suitable abiotic grayling habitat does exist in Big Manistee River tributaries.

Regional habitat needs of a nationally listed species, Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis), in Alberta, Canada

Understanding factors that affect the distribution and abundance of species is critical to developing effective management plans for conservation. Our goal was to quantify the distribution and abundance of Canada Warbler (Cardellina canadensis), a threatened old-forest associate in Alberta, Canada. The Canada Warbler has declined across its range, including in Alberta where habitat loss and alteration from urban expansion, forestry, and energy development are changing the forest landscape. We used 110,427 point count survey visits from 32,287 unique survey stations to model local-level (150-m radius circular buffers) and stand-level (564-m radius circular buffers) habitat associations of the Canada Warbler. We found that habitat supporting higher densities of Canada Warblers was locally concentrated yet broadly distributed across Alberta’s boreal forest region. Canada Warblers were most commonly associated with older deciduous forest at the local scale, particularly near small, incised streams, and greater amounts of deciduous forest at the stand scale. Predicted density was lower in other forest types and younger age classes measured at the local scale. There was little evidence that local-scale fragmentation (i.e., edges created by linear features) influenced Canada Warbler abundance. However, current forestry practices in the province likely will reduce the availability of Canada Warbler habitat over time by cutting old deciduous forest stands. Our results suggest that conservation efforts aimed at Canada Warbler focus on retaining large stands of old deciduous forest, specifically stands adjacent to streams, by increasing the width of deciduous retention buffers along streams during harvest and increasing the size and number of old forest residual patches in harvested stands.