Effect of land use, habitat suitability, and hurricanes on the population connectivity of an endemic insular bat

AbstractUrbanization and natural disasters can disrupt landscape connectivity, effectively isolating populations and increasing the risk of local extirpation particularly in island systems. To understand how fragmentation affects corridors among forested areas, we used circuit theory to model the landscape connectivity of the endemic bat Stenoderma rufum within Puerto Rico. Our models combined species occurrences, land use, habitat suitability, and vegetation cover data that were used either as resistance (land use) or conductance layers (habitat suitability and vegetation cover). Urbanization affected connectivity overall from east to west and underscored protected and rustic areas for the maintenance of forest corridors. Suitable habitat provided a reliable measure of connectivity among potential movement corridors that connected more isolated areas. We found that intense hurricanes that disrupt forest integrity can affect connectivity of suitable habitat. Some of the largest protected areas in the east of Puerto Rico are at an increasing risk of becoming disconnected from more continuous forest patches. Given the increasing rate of urbanization, this pattern could also apply to other vertebrates. Our findings show the importance of maintaining forest integrity, emphasizing the considerable conservation value of rustic areas for the preservation of local biodiversity.

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Effect of land use, habitat suitability, and hurricanes on the population connectivity of an endemic insular bat

10.1101/2020.12.18.423522 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Camilo A. Calderón-Acevedo ◽

Armando Rodríguez-Durán ◽

J. Angel Soto-Centeno

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Puerto Rico ◽

Habitat Suitability ◽

Landscape Connectivity ◽

Population Connectivity ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Population Declines ◽

Forest Patches ◽

Continuous Forest ◽

Forested Areas

AbstractHabitat loss and fragmentation are a leading cause of vertebrate population declines and extinction. Urbanization and natural disasters disrupt landscape connectivity, effectively isolating populations and increasing the risk of local extirpation particularly in island systems. Puerto Rico, one of the most isolated islands in the Caribbean, is home to 13 bat species that have been differentially affected by disturbance during the Anthropocene. We used circuit theory to model the landscape connectivity within Puerto Rico with the goal of understanding how fragmentation affects corridors among forested areas. Models combined species occurrences, land use, habitat suitability, and vegetation cover data to examine connectivity in the endemic bat Stenoderma rufum, and also at the bat community level across the island. Urbanization in Puerto Rico affected bat connectivity overall from east to west and underscored protected and rustic areas for the maintenance of forest corridors. Suitable habitat provided a reliable measure of connectivity among potential movement corridors that connected more isolated areas. We found that intense hurricanes can disrupt forest integrity and affect connectivity of suitable habitat. Some of the largest protected areas in the east of Puerto Rico are at an increasing risk of becoming disconnected from more continuous forest patches. The disruption of corridors that maintain connectivity on the island could explain previous findings of the slow post-hurricane population recovery of S. rufum. Given the increasing rate of urbanization, this pattern could also apply to other vertebrates not analyzed in this study. Our findings show the importance of maintaining forest integrity, emphasizing the considerable conservation value of rustic areas for the preservation of local biodiversity.

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Prediction of leopard habitat suitability in Taman Negara main forest complex, Malaysia

Journal of Environmental Biology ◽

10.22438/jeb/42/3(si)/jeb-11 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (3(SI)) ◽

pp. 806-811

Author(s):

N.F. Khodri ◽

◽

T. Lihan ◽

M.A. Mustapha ◽

T.M. Taher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Habitat Suitability ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Environmental Parameters ◽

Geographical Information ◽

Urban Habitat ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Habitat Suitability Modeling ◽

Presence Data ◽

Gis Data

Aim: This research assessed the distribution of leopard to predict the habitat suitability in Taman Negara National Park and adjacent forest area. Methodology: Environmental factors for habitat suitability were derived from geographical information system (GIS) data such as elevation, slope, land-use, distance from urban and distance from river. Leopard presence data from 1993 to 2008 were integrated with the environmental parameters using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) modeling to assess habitat suitability across the study area. Results: The results showed that distance from river contributed the most (39.3%) in the habitat suitability modeling followed by distance from urban (31.4%), elevation (12.3%), land use types (10.1%), and slope (6.9%). Distance from river and urban showed highest contribution that influenced leopard distribution in which most suitable habitat occurred in proximity with river and further from urban. Habitat suitability of leopard were distributed among 48% over 2,218,389 ha of the study area. Interpretation: The findings of this study provides knowledge on how the species move and exploit different habitat niches for more effective conservation management. It provide models for future wildlife conservation and urban planning.

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Elephant’s habitat suitability assessment through geo spatial quantification in Panchet forest division, West Bengal

Ecofeminism and Climate Change ◽

10.1108/efcc-05-2020-0012 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 127-140

Author(s):

Mrinmay Mandal ◽

Nilanjana Das Chatterjee

Keyword(s):

Habitat Suitability ◽

Satellite Image ◽

Good Condition ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Forest Patches ◽

Forest Patch ◽

Biological Behaviour ◽

Content Type ◽

Suitability Assessment ◽

Forest Division

Purpose Ecologically habitat is an area of a particular species wherefrom its play every relationship with the surrounding. Therefore, every species hold habitat that supports to survive its life. The large terrestrial herbivore animal elephant (Elephas maximus) requires deferent kind of habitat for their biological behaviour. Forest habitat one of the landscapes entire their home range is very much responsible for selecting suitable habitat. The nature of habitat selection by an elephant is deeply concerned with landscape attributes. Design/methodology/approach The present study started in this opinion. The study area Panchet Forest Division (PFD) has 28 forest patches are not in same size. Generally, forest patches are the most suitable habitat for elephant in every forest landscape as well as in PFD. But which forest patch will be highly suitable that depends on ecological function of other geospatial attributes like patch shape complexity, patch core, road intervention intensity, amount of water body and composition of the forest. The present study measures these attributes by different sequential steps such as field inquiry, satellite image processing and GIS application by using ERDAS 9.3 and ArcGIS 10.3 version software. Findings After measuring these attributes value, Habitat Suitability Index is assessed through combined weighted principle method and prepared a suitability map. This map signifies that Joypur-I and II, Upper Peardoba, Brindabanpur, Kalabagan forest patches have good condition for elephant to prefer as a suitable habitat in PFD. Originality/value Spatial classification of elephant habitat in PFD helps society and managing authority. It facilitates better management and reducing the chance of human – elephant frequent contact.

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Predicted declines in suitable habitat for greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) under future climate and land use change scenarios

10.22541/au.162261636.63962130/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ganesh Pant ◽

Tek Maraseni ◽

Armando Apan ◽

Benjamin Allen

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Habitat Suitability ◽

Environmental Variables ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

R Package ◽

Species Distribution Modelling ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Wildlife Species

Aim Rapidly changing climate is likely to modify the spatial distribution of both flora and fauna. Land use change continues to alter the availability and quality of habitat and further intensifies the effects of climate change on wildlife species. We used an ensemble modelling approach to predict changes in habitat suitability for an iconic wildlife species, greater one-horned rhinoceros due to the combined effects of climate and land use changes. Location Nepal. Methods We compiled an extensive database on current rhinoceros distribution and selected nine ecologically meaningful environmental variables for developing ensemble models of habitat suitability using seven different species distribution modelling techniques in the BIOMOD2 R package; and we did this under current climatic conditions and then projected them onto two possible climate scenarios (SSP1-2.6 and SSp5-8.5) and two different time frames (2050 and 2070). Results Out of seven algorithms, random forest performed the best, and four environmental variables — distance from grasslands, distance from wetlands, annual precipitation, and slope, contributed the most in the model. The ensemble model estimated the current suitable habitat of rhinoceros to be 1,875 km2, about 1.3% of the total area of Nepal. The future habitat suitability under the lowest and highest emission scenarios was estimated to be: (1) 1,637 km2 and 1,417 km2 in 2050; and (2) 1,562 km2 and 1,301 km2 in 2070, respectively. Main conclusions Our results suggest that nearly one-third of the current rhinoceros habitat would become unsuitable within a period of 50 years, with the predicted declines being influenced to a greater degree by climatic changes than land use changes. We have recommended several measures to moderate these impacts, including relocation of the proposed Nijgad International Airport given that a considerable portion of potential rhinoceros habitat will be lost if the airport is constructed on the currently proposed site.

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What is driving declines of montane endemic amphibians? New insights from Mount Bamboutos, Cameroon

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605318001448 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. M. Tchassem F. ◽

T. M. Doherty-Bone ◽

M. M. Kameni N. ◽

W. P. Tapondjou N. ◽

J. L. Tamesse ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Historical Records ◽

Land Use Patterns ◽

Forest Patches ◽

Amphibian Species ◽

Use Patterns ◽

Amphibian Community ◽

Frog Species ◽

Forested Areas

Abstract Amphibians on African mountains are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, disease and climate change. In particular, there have been recent reports of declines of montane endemic frogs in Cameroon. Mount Bamboutos, although home to numerous species of endemic amphibians, has no official protection and its amphibian populations have so far not been studied quantitatively. We surveyed frog assemblages on this mountain along a gradient of forest modification over a 2-year period. Through visual encounter surveys stratified across forest and farmland, we found that threatened montane amphibian species are closely associated with forested areas, particularly the Critically Endangered Leptodactylodon axillaris and Endangered Leptodactylodon perreti, Astylosternus ranoides and Cardioglossa oreas. Using the updated inventory of amphibians, which includes species with broader ranges across Africa, we found 69% of amphibian species on Mount Bamboutos to be threatened. We did not record several species present in historical records, which suggests they may have disappeared from this mountain, including Cardioglossa pulchra, Phrynobatrachus steindachneri, Phrynobatrachus werneri, Sclerophrys villiersi, Werneria bambutensis and Wolterstorffina mirei. The pattern of change detected in the amphibian community is consistent with declines on other mountains in the country, with a loss of Phrynobatrachus, Werneria and Cardioglossa spp., but persistence of Astylosternus, Arthroleptis and Leptodacty-lodon. The observed relationships of land-use patterns and amphibian diversity suggest that ongoing land-use changes could extirpate the remaining montane endemic frog species, particularly L. axillaris and L. perreti. Preserving a network of connected forest patches is therefore critical to save the endemic amphibians of Mount Bamboutos.

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Landscape connectivity among remnant populations of guanaco (Lama guanicoe Müller, 1776) in an arid region of Chile impacted by global change

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.4429 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e4429 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mara I. Espinosa ◽

Nicolas Gouin ◽

Francisco A. Squeo ◽

David López ◽

Angéline Bertin

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Animal Movement ◽

Landscape Connectivity ◽

Global Scale ◽

Population Connectivity ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Stepping Stones ◽

Lama Guanicoe ◽

Study Region ◽

Norte Chico

Connectivity between populations plays a key role in the long-term persistence of species in fragmented habitats. This is of particular concern for biodiversity preservation in drylands, since water limited landscapes are typically characterized by little suitable habitat cover, high habitat fragmentation, harsh matrices, and are being rapidly degraded at a global scale. In this study, we modelled landscape connectivity between 11 guanaco Lama guanicoe populations in Chile’s arid Norte Chico, a region that supports the last remnant coastal populations of this emblematic herbivore indigenous to South America. We produced a habitat suitability model to derive a regional surface resistance map, and used circuit theory to map functional connectivity, investigate the relative isolation between populations, and identify those that contribute most to the patch connectivity network. Predicted suitable habitat for L. guanicoe represented about 25% of the study region (i.e., 29,173 km2) and was heterogeneously distributed along a continuous stretch along the Andes, and discontinuous patches along the coast. As a result, we found that high connectivity current flows in the mid and high Andes formed a wide, continuous connectivity corridor, enabling connectivity between all high Andean populations. Coastal populations, in contrast, were more isolated. These groups demonstrate no inter-population connectivity between themselves, only with higher altitude populations, and for two of them, animal movement was linked to the effectiveness of wildlife crossings along the Pan-American highway. Our results indicate that functional connectivity is an issue of concern for L. guanicoe in Chile’s Norte Chico, implying that future conservation and management plans should emphasize strategies aimed at conserving functional connectivity between coastal and Andean populations, as well as the protection of habitat patches likely to act as stepping stones within the connectivity network.

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Predicting bycatch hotspots based on suitable habitat derived from fishery-independent data

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13302 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 641 ◽

pp. 159-175

Author(s):

J Runnebaum ◽

KR Tanaka ◽

L Guan ◽

J Cao ◽

L O’Brien ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Suitability ◽

Mixed Model ◽

Linear Mixed Model ◽

Gulf Of Maine ◽

Homarus Americanus ◽

Management Tool ◽

American Lobster ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Suitability Index

Bycatch remains a global problem in managing sustainable fisheries. A critical aspect of management is understanding the timing and spatial extent of bycatch. Fisheries management often relies on observed bycatch data, which are not always available due to a lack of reporting or observer coverage. Alternatively, analyzing the overlap in suitable habitat for the target and non-target species can provide a spatial management tool to understand where bycatch interactions are likely to occur. Potential bycatch hotspots based on suitable habitat were predicted for cusk Brosme brosme incidentally caught in the Gulf of Maine American lobster Homarus americanus fishery. Data from multiple fisheries-independent surveys were combined in a delta-generalized linear mixed model to generate spatially explicit density estimates for use in an independent habitat suitability index. The habitat suitability indices for American lobster and cusk were then compared to predict potential bycatch hotspot locations. Suitable habitat for American lobster has increased between 1980 and 2013 while suitable habitat for cusk decreased throughout most of the Gulf of Maine, except for Georges Basin and the Great South Channel. The proportion of overlap in suitable habitat varied interannually but decreased slightly in the spring and remained relatively stable in the fall over the time series. As Gulf of Maine temperatures continue to increase, the interactions between American lobster and cusk are predicted to decline as cusk habitat continues to constrict. This framework can contribute to fisheries managers’ understanding of changes in habitat overlap as climate conditions continue to change and alter where bycatch interactions could occur.

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