Short-term Response of Breeding Barred Owls to Forestry in a Boreal Mixedwood Forest Landscape

Forestry and other activities are increasing in the boreal mixedwood of Alberta, with a concomitant decrease in older forest. The Barred Owl (Strix varia) is an old-growth indicator species in some jurisdictions in North America. Hence, we radio-tagged Barred Owls in boreal mixedwood in Alberta to determine whether harvesting influenced habitat selection. We used three spatial scales: nest sites, i.e., nest tree and adjacent area of 11.7 m radius around nests, nesting territory of 1000 m radius around nests, and home range locations within 2000 m radius of the home range center. Barred Owls nested primarily in balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) snags > 34 cm dbh and nest trees were surrounded by large, > 34 cm dbh, balsam poplar trees and snags. Nesting territories contained a variety of habitats including young < 80-yr-old, deciduous-dominated stands, old deciduous and coniferous-dominated stands, treed bogs, and recent clear-cuts. However, when compared to available habitat in the study area, they were more likely to contain old conifer-dominated stands and recent cutblocks. We assumed this is because all of the recent harvest occurred in old stands, habitat preferred by the owls. When compared with random sites, locations used for foraging and roosting at the home range scale were more likely to be in young deciduous-dominated stands, old conifer-dominated stands and cutblocks > 30 yr old, and less likely to occur in old deciduous-dominated stands and recent cutblocks. Hence, although recent clearcuts occurred in territories, birds avoided these microhabitats during foraging. To meet the breeding requirements of Barred Owls in managed forests, 10–20 ha patches of old deciduous and mixedwood forest containing large Populus snags or trees should be maintained. In our study area, nest trees had a minimum dbh of 34 cm. Although cut areas were incorporated into home ranges, the amount logged was low, i.e., 7%, in our area. Hence more research is required to determine harvest levels tolerated by owls over the long term.

Movement of Juvenile Songbirds in Harvested Boreal Forest: Assessing Residency Time and Landscape Connectivity

Little is known about juvenile songbird movement in response to timber harvest, particularly in the boreal forest. If clearcut land cover facilitates movement, the availability of resources may increase. However, if clearcut land cover impedes movement, important post-fledging resources may be rendered inaccessible. Using radio telemetry, we tested the hypothesis that regenerating clearcut land cover would affect the movement of recently independent Yellow-rumped Myrtle Warblers (Dendroica coronata coronata) and Blackpoll Warblers (Dendroica striata) differently than forested land cover owing to intrinsic differences in each land-cover type or in how they are perceived. We found that both species moved extensively before migration. We also found that Blackpoll Warblers were quick to exit local areas composed of clearcut land cover and that both species were quick to exit neighborhoods composed of large proportions of clearcut land cover. However, if individuals encountered clearcut land cover when exiting the neighborhood, movement rate was slowed. Effectively, residency time decreased in clearcut neighborhoods and landscape connectivity was impeded by clearcut land cover. Our results suggest that clearcut land cover may represent low-quality habitat for both species during the post-fledging period. Further research is needed to determine if changes in movement behavior associated with landscape structure affect individual condition and higher-level ecological processes.

Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus minimus) distribution and habitat use in a montane forest landscape of western Newfoundland, Canada

Once abundant, the Newfoundland Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus minimus) has declined by as much as 95% since 1975. Underlying cause(s) of this population collapse are not known, although hypotheses include loss of winter habitat and the introduction of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) to Newfoundland. Uncertainties regarding habitat needs are also extensive, and these knowledge gaps are an impediment to conservation. We investigated neighborhood (i.e., within 115 m [4.1 ha]) and landscape scale (i.e., within 1250 m [490.8 ha]) habitat associations of Gray-cheeked Thrush in a 200-km² study area in the Long Range Mountains of western Newfoundland, where elevations range from 300-600 m and landcover was a matrix of old growth fir forest, 6- to 8-year-old clearcuts, coniferous scrub, bogs, and barrens. Thrushes were restricted to elevations above ~375 m, and occurrence was strongly positively related to elevation. Occurrence was also positively related to cover of tall scrub forest at the neighborhood scale, and at the landscape scale showed curvilinear relations with the proportion of both tall scrub and old growth forest that peaked with intermediate amounts of cover. Occurrence of thrushes was also highest when clearcuts made up 60%-70% of neighborhood landcover, but was negatively related to cover of clearcuts in the broader landscape. Finally, occurrence was highest in areas having 50% cover of partially harvested forest (strip cuts or row cuts) at the neighborhood scale, but because this treatment was limited to one small portion of the study area, this finding may be spurious. Taken together, our results suggest selection for mixed habitats and sensitivity to both neighborhood and landscape-scale habitat. More research is needed on responses of thrushes to forestry, including use of older clearcuts, partially harvested stands, and precommercially thinned clearcuts. Finally, restriction of thrushes to higher elevations is consistent with the hypothesis that they have been impacted by squirrels, because squirrels were rare or absent at these elevations.

Can site and landscape-scale environmental attributes buffer bird populations against weather events?

Projected impacts of climate change on the populations and distributions of species pose a challenge for conservationists. In response, a number of adaptation strategies to enable species to persist in a changing climate have been proposed. Management to maximise the quality of habitat at existing sites may reduce the magnitude or frequency of climate-driven population declines. In addition large-scale management of landscapes could potentially improve the resilience of populations by facilitating inter-population movements. A reduction in the obstacles to species’ range expansion, may also allow species to track changing conditions better through shifts to new locations, either regionally or locally. However, despite a strong theoretical base, there is limited empirical evidence to support these management interventions. This makes it difficult for conservationists to decide on the most appropriate strategy for different circumstances. Here extensive data from long-term monitoring of woodland birds at individual sites are used to examine the two-way interactions between habitat and both weather and population count in the previous year. This tests the extent to which site-scale and landscape-scale habitat attributes may buffer populations against variation in winter weather (a key driver of woodland bird population size) and facilitate subsequent population growth. Our results provide some support for the prediction that landscape-scale attributes (patch isolation and area of woodland habitat) may influence the ability of some woodland bird species to withstand weather-mediated population declines. These effects were most apparent among generalist woodland species. There was also evidence that several, primarily specialist, woodland species are more likely to increase following population decline where there is more woodland at both site and landscape scales. These results provide empirical support for the concept that landscape-scale conservation efforts may make the populations of some woodland bird species more resilient to climate change. However in isolation, management is unlikely to provide a universal benefit to all species.

Community resilience, climate change, sustainability & engagement : adventures in creative project-based education on the Eyre Peninsula

Teaching sustainability ethics and creative practical technological applications holistically, in a multi-disciplinary ethos, with real community engagement is fraught with pedagogical and logistical issues. This paper reviews a highly community-acclaimed tertiary course/project, offered at the School of Architecture, Landscape Architecture & Urban Design at the University of Adelaide, undertaken on the Eyre Peninsula in 1st semester 2009. The course successfully enhanced student appreciation of rural community capacity building and economic fragility issues while undertaking a project-based approach to interrogating and working with rural communities to devise and demonstrate potential micro-relevant design and planning initiatives that could strengthen community resilience, climate change adaptiveness, and validate natural resource management aims within townships. The project involved some 120 students in 6 host communities through 6 local municipalities with the full support of the Natural Resource Management (NRM) Board and Local Government Association (LGA).

The paper reviews the project, its historical evolution, aims, objectives, learning strategies, community aspirations and outcomes, and positions such against various professional education accreditation frameworks. The methodological learning process, including its philosophical, pedagogical and instruments outcomes are reviewed and interrogated. The student learning outcomes, University reputation impact, and community impact, professional practice knowledge and skill attributes, and instrumental outcomes are also reviewed drawing upon evidence derived from extensive meetings, questionnaire surveys, synergistic NRM-sponsored research projects, student evaluation of teachings (SELTS), and local media coverage of the project.

The project has received applause from the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) and Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA), and preliminary endorsement from the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), as being integral to the School’s curriculum that achieves their professional accreditation expectations of key learning experiences relevant to climate change, master planning and design, and community engagement. The project offers a possible educational model that enriches student experience and learning and addresses recent generic university community engagement policy expectations.

Climate change research & responses on the Eyre Peninsula : Weaving natural resources management with community resilience planning

In the last 10 years climate change risk assessment has come to a head as a matter of discussion at all levels of governance. In an attempt to gain a co-ordinated appreciation, measure of scope and impact likelihood, and to better guide a holistic natural resources management strategy, the Eyre Peninsula Natural Resources Management Board has taken a comprehensive exclusive and coordinated approach at a regional level to this issue.

Water, agricultural sustainability, biodiversity enrichment and stabilisation, and community resilience planning are all integral features in this 'program' of research and engagement. The clear intent is to creatively drive change and socio-economic growth without compromising the significant aesthetic and biodiversity attributes of the landscape and its primary role as a dryland wheat producer. The 'program' involves clear practice-based research as to fact, fiction and perception, and the provision of scenarios as to vulnerability and resilience building to cater for climate change over the next 30 years but also to sensitively respond to propective mining growth for the Peninsula.

This paper reviews this 'program', the research and findings undertaken, the co-ordinated actions being taken, the importance of community engagement and resilence building, and the orchestration and propective execution of this 'program' by the Board.

The 'program' represents important case model in successful regional planning.

Spatial patterns, landscape genetics and post virus recovery of blacklip abalone, Haliotis rubra (Leach), in the western commercial fishing zone of Victoria

Historically, collecting nearshore habitat information has been problematic. Existing methods, such as aerial and satellite image interpretation are limited due to the attenuation of light in the water column obscuring the seabed structure. The advent of airborne bathymetric LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) systems (laser scanning of the seabed) now provides high-resolution seabed ‘images’ in areas that were previously difficult to survey. LiDAR imagery is available for the entire coastline of Victoria, Australia to depths of around 25 m, after being initially collected for climate change modelling by the Future Coasts Program (http://www.climatechange.vic.gov.au/adapting-to-climate-change/future-coasts). This dataset has provided the opportunity to test its applicability to inform fisheries management. Detailed geophysical information combined with spatially explicit AbTrack GPS located fisheries records and targeted genetic sampling is used in this study to provide a better understanding of the extent of available fishing grounds, direction of fishing effort and stock population structure within the Victorian western zone abalone fishery.
The species distribution modelling technique MaxEnt was used to produce a potential habitat suitability map for abalone in an attempt to capture the effective footprint of the  fishery. Also, by interrogating the spatially defined effort localities, we demonstrate an approach that may be used to identify areas where fishing effort is concentrated, and how this parameter changes temporally.
Despite barriers to adult dispersal (soft sediment barriers between reef patches), the genetic study indicates that larval movement is able to homogenize the gene pool over  large geographic distances. The western, central and eastern zone abalone stocks in Victoria were found to be a single large panmictic unit. This indicates high levels of stock connectivity and no obvious impacts of Abalone Viral Ganglioneuritis (AVG) on the genetic health of western zone stocks. We used detailed seafloor structure information interpreted from LiDAR to inform a replicated hierarchical fine scale genetic sampling design. We demonstrated that there may be extensive migration among abalone stocks across the Victorian abalone fishery.
This is contrary to previous studies that suggest recruitment is highly localised. In combination, these findings provide a valuable insight into the biology of H. rubra and immediate benefits for fisheries management. We discuss these results in the context of predicting resilience and adaptive potential of H. rubra stocks to environmental pressures and the spread of heritable diseases.
Adoption pathways are also provided to benefit future stock augmentation activities to catalyse the recovery of AVG affected reef codes. As larval dispersal is likely to be spatially and temporally variable, some AVG affected stocks are likely to recover through natural recruitment, while others will benefit from augmentation activities to ‘kick-start’ stock recovery. Evidence of neutral genetic homogeneity across Victorian reef codes suggests that the relocation of animals is unlikely to have significant genetic risks; however the potential for locally adaptive genetic differences may exist, and should be taken into consideration in future stock augmentation planning.
When combined, the spatial and genetic analyses provide valuable insights into stock productivity within the western zone fishery. Reefs appear to be expansive and support much available habitat, and the movement of larvae among reef structures is likely to be extensive in this region. Consequently, we propose that colonisation success and productivity is likely to be driven by ecological factors such as resources and/or competition, or physical factors such as wave exposure.

Resistance and resilience: Can the abrupt end of extreme drought reverse avifaunal collapse?

Aim: Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events, such as severe droughts and intense rainfall periods. We explored how the avifauna of a highly modified region responded to a 13-year drought (the 'Big Dry'), followed by a two-year period of substantially higher than average rainfall (the 'Big Wet'). Location: Temperate woodlands in north central Victoria, Australia. Methods: We used two spatially extensive, long-term survey programmes, each of which was repeated three times: early and late in the Big Dry, and in the Big Wet. We compared species-specific changes in reporting rates between periods in both programmes to explore the resistance (the ability to persist during drought) and resilience (extent of recovery post-drought) of species to climate extremes. Results: There was a substantial decline in the reporting rates of 42-62% (depending on programme) of species between surveys conducted early and late in the Big Dry. In the Big Wet, there was some recovery, with 21-29% of species increasing substantially. However, more than half of species did not recover and 14-27% of species continued to decline in reporting rate compared with early on in the Big Dry. Species' responses were not strongly related to ecological traits. Species resistance to the drought was inversely related to resilience in the Big Wet for 20-35% of the species, while 76-78% of species with low resistance showed an overall decline across the study period. Conclusions: As declines occurred largely irrespective of ecological traits, this suggests a widespread mechanism is responsible. Species that declined the most during the Big Dry did not necessarily show the greatest recoveries. In already much modified regions, climate extremes such as extended drought will induce on-going changes in the biota. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Site Selection for Restoration Planning: A Protocol With Landscape and Legislation Based Alternatives

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Effects of Landscape Segregation on Livelihood Vulnerability: Moving From Extensive Shifting Cultivation to Rotational Agriculture and Natural Forests in Northern Laos

This study investigates four decades of socio-economic and environmental change in a shifting cultivation landscape in the northern uplands of Laos. Historical changes in land cover and land use were analyzed using a chronological series of remote sensing data. Impacts of landscape change on local livelihoods were investigated in seven villages through interviews with various stakeholders. The study reveals that the complex mosaics of agriculture and forest patches observed in the study area have long constituted key assets for the resilience of local livelihood systems in the face of environmental and socio-economic risks. However, over the past 20 years, a process of segregating agricultural and forest spaces has increased the vulnerability of local land users. This process is a direct outcome of policies aimed at increasing national forest cover, eradicating shifting cultivation and fostering the emergence of more intensive and commercial agricultural practices. We argue that agriculture-forest segregation should be buffered in such a way that a diversity of livelihood opportunities and economic development pathways can be maintained.

Governance and the Capacity to Manage Resilience in Regional Social-Ecological Systems

The sustainability of regional development can be usefully explored through several different lenses. In situations in which uncertainties and change are key features of the ecological landscape and social organization, critical factors for sustainability are resilience, the capacity to cope and adapt, and the conservation of sources of innovation and renewal. However, interventions in social-ecological systems with the aim of altering resilience immediately confront issues of governance. Who decides what should be made resilient to what? For whom is resilience to be managed, and for what purpose? In this paper we draw on the insights from a diverse set of case studies from around the world in which members of the Resilience Alliance have observed or engaged with sustainability problems at regional scales. Our central question is: How do certain attributes of governance function in society to enhance the capacity to manage resilience? Three specific propositions were explored: ( 1) participation builds trust, and deliberation leads to the shared understanding needed to mobilize and self-organize; ( 2) polycentric and multilayered institutions improve the fit between knowledge, action, and social-ecological contexts in ways that allow societies to respond more adaptively at appropriate levels; and ( 3) accountable authorities that also pursue just distributions of benefits and involuntary risks enhance the adaptive capacity of vulnerable groups and society as a whole. Some support was found for parts of all three propositions. In exploring the sustainability of regional social-ecological systems, we are usually faced with a set of ecosystem goods and services that interact with a collection of users with different technologies, interests, and levels of power. In this situation in our roles as analysts, facilitators, change agents, or stakeholders, we not only need to ask: The resilience of what, to what? We must also ask: For whom?