Temporal variation of patch connectivity determines biodiversity recovery from recurrent disturbances

Understanding the capacity of ecological systems to withstand and recover from disturbances is a major challenge for ecological research in the context of environmental change. Disturbances have multi-scale effects: they can cause species extinctions locally and alter connectivity between habitat patches at the metacommunity level. Yet, our understanding of how disturbances influence landscape connectivity remains limited. To fill this gap, we develop a novel connectivity index that integrates the temporal variation of patch connectivity induced by disturbances, which can be applied to any spatially-structured habitat. We then combine this index with a metacommunity model to specifically investigate biodiversity recovery from drying events in river network metacommunities. We demonstrate that patch connectivity explains variations of species richness between groups of organisms with contrasting dispersal modes and captures the effect of drying intensity (i.e., fraction of patches that dry-up) and drying location on community recovery. As a general rule, loss of patch connectivity decreases community recovery, regardless of patch location in the river network, dispersal mode, or drying intensity. Local communities of flying organisms maintained higher patch connectivity in drying river networks compared to organisms with strictly aquatic dispersal, which explained the higher recovery capacity of this group from drying events. The general relationship between patch connectivity and community recovery we found can be applied to any spatial network subject to temporal variation of connectivity, thus providing a powerful tool for biodiversity management in dynamic landscapes.

Download Full-text

Multi-scale temporal variation in methane emission from an alpine peatland on the Eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and associated environmental controls

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology ◽

10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107616 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 276-277 ◽

pp. 107616 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Haijun Peng ◽

Qian Guo ◽

Hanwei Ding ◽

Bing Hong ◽

Yongxuan Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tibetan Plateau ◽

Temporal Variation ◽

Methane Emission ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Environmental Controls ◽

Alpine Peatland

Download Full-text

Multi-scale temporal variation in bird-window collisions in the central United States

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-89875-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Corey S. Riding ◽

Timothy J. O’Connell ◽

Scott R. Loss

Keyword(s):

Temporal Variation ◽

Early Morning ◽

Quantitative Information ◽

Similar Amount ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Central United States ◽

Monthly Total ◽

Residency Status ◽

Bird Mortality ◽

Avian Populations

AbstractExpansion of urbanization and infrastructure associated with human activities has numerous impacts on wildlife including causing wildlife-structure collisions. Collisions with building windows represent a top bird mortality source, but a lack of research into timing of these collisions hampers efforts to predict them and mitigate effects on avian populations. In Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA, we investigated patterns of bird-window collisions at multiple temporal scales, from within-day to monthly and seasonal variation. We found that collisions peaked during overnight and early morning hours, a pattern that was consistent across seasons. Further, temporal variation in fatal collisions was explained by an interaction between season and avian residency status. This interaction illustrated the expected pattern that more migrant individuals than residents collided in fall, but we also documented unexpected patterns. For example, the highest monthly total of collisions occurred in spring migration during May. We also found similarly high numbers of resident and migrant collisions in spring, and a roughly similar amount of migrant mortality in spring and fall migration. These findings, which provide unprecedented quantitative information regarding temporal variation in bird-window collisions, have important implications for understanding mechanisms by which birds collide and improving timing of measures to reduce this major bird mortality source.

Download Full-text

Assessing the Impact of Urban Expansion on Surrounding Forested Landscape Connectivity across Space and Time

Land ◽

10.3390/land10040359 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (4) ◽

pp. 359

Author(s):

Zhouqiao Ren ◽

Jianhua He ◽

Qiaobing Yue

Keyword(s):

Landscape Connectivity ◽

Urban Expansion ◽

Landscape Fragmentation ◽

Sustainable Urban Development ◽

Delayed Response ◽

Conservation Practices ◽

Rapid Urbanization ◽

Dynamic Landscapes ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

Landscape connectivity is important for all organisms as it directly affects population dynamics. Yet, rapid urbanization has caused serious landscape fragmentation, which is the primary contributor of species extinctions worldwide. Previous studies have mostly used spatial snap-shots to evaluate the impact of urban expansion on landscape connectivity. However, the interactions among habitats over time in dynamic landscapes have been largely ignored. Here, we demonstrated that overlooking temporal connectivity can lead to the overestimation of the impact of urban expansion. How much greater the overestimation is depends on the amount of net habitat loss. Moreover, we showed that landscape connectivity may have a delayed response to urban expansion. Our analysis shifts the way to understand the ecological consequences of urban expansion. Our framework can guide sustainable urban development and can be inspiring to conservation practices under other contexts (e.g., climate change).

Download Full-text

Relationship between landscape pattern and water quality of the multi-scale effects in the Yellow River Basin

Journal of Lake Sciences ◽

10.18307/2021.0310 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 737-748

Author(s):

Guo Yuyu ◽

◽

Li Siyue ◽

Liu Rui ◽

Zhang Jing

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

River Basin ◽

Landscape Pattern ◽

Yellow River ◽

Scale Effects ◽

Yellow River Basin ◽

The Yellow River ◽

Multi Scale ◽

The Yellow River Basin

Download Full-text

Nonaqueous Phase Liquid Dissolution in Porous Media: Multi-Scale Effects of Multi-Component Dissolution Kinetics on Cleanup Time

10.2172/1036838 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

W McNab ◽

S Ezzedine ◽

R Detwiler

Keyword(s):

Porous Media ◽

Scale Effects ◽

Dissolution Kinetics ◽

Nonaqueous Phase Liquid ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Phase Liquid

Download Full-text

Comparing Micro- and Macro-Level Rheological Properties of Polymeric and Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement-Modified Asphalt Binders

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/03611981211028874 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 036119812110288

Author(s):

Tandra Bagchi ◽

Zahid Hossain ◽

Mohammed Ziaur Rahaman ◽

Gaylon Baumgardner

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Scale Effects ◽

Asphalt Pavement ◽

Linear Trend ◽

Asphalt Binders ◽

Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement ◽

Reclaimed Asphalt ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Macro Scale ◽

Scale Properties

Multi-scale evaluation of the rheological and mechanical properties of asphalt binder has substantial importance in understanding the binder’s micro- and macro-scale properties. This study compares the macro- and micro-scale mechanistic properties of asphalt binders. Test samples used in this study include performance grade binders (PG 64-22) from two different sources along with their modified counterparts. The modifiers include polyphosphoric acid (PPA), styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), a combination of SBS and PPA, and reclaimed asphalt pavement. To achieve the goal of this study, atomic force microscope technology was utilized to estimate the asphalt binder’s micro-mechanical properties (e.g., Derjaguin, Muller, Toropov modulus and deformation). On the other hand, data on the macro-scale properties—such as rutting factor (G*/sinδ), consistency and penetration—of the selected binders were analyzed and compared with the aforementioned micro-level properties. The comparative analyses indicated that the micro-mechanical properties of asphalt binders followed a linear trend with the macro-scale properties. The findings of this study are expected to help researchers and pavement professionals in modeling asphalt materials when multi-scale effects are deemed to be necessary.

Download Full-text

Supporting Adaptive Connectivity in Dynamic Landscapes

Land ◽

10.3390/land9090295 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 295 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Megan K. Jennings ◽

Katherine A. Zeller ◽

Rebecca L. Lewison

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Landscape Connectivity ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Structural Connectivity ◽

Area Network ◽

Landscape Conservation ◽

Landscape Resistance ◽

Adaptive Planning ◽

Dynamic Landscapes ◽

Over Time

A central tenet of landscape conservation planning is that natural communities can be supported by a connected landscape network that supports many species and habitat types. However, as the planning environment, ecological conditions, and risks and stressors change over time, the areas needed to support landscape connectivity may also shift. We demonstrate an approach designed to assess functional and structural connectivity of an established protected area network that has experienced landscape and planning changes over time. Here we present an approach designed to inform adaptive planning for connectivity with a complementary suite of analytical techniques. Using existing occurrence, movement, and genetic data for six focal species, we create a spatially explicit connectivity assessment based on landscape resistance, paired with a landscape feature geodiversity analysis. Although factors such as cost, conservation goals, and land management strategies must be taken into account, this approach provides a template for leveraging available empirical data and robust analyses to evaluate and adapt planning for protected area networks that can preserve and promote both functional and structural connectivity in dynamic landscapes.

Download Full-text

HYPERstream: a multi-scale framework for streamflow routing in large-scale hydrological model

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ◽

10.5194/hess-20-2047-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (5) ◽

pp. 2047-2061 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sebastiano Piccolroaz ◽

Michele Di Lazzaro ◽

Antonio Zarlenga ◽

Bruno Majone ◽

Alberto Bellin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Climate Models ◽

Climate Model ◽

Transfer Functions ◽

Weather Forecasting ◽

Computational Grid ◽

River Network ◽

Multi Scale ◽

Continental Scale ◽

Routing Scheme

Abstract. We present HYPERstream, an innovative streamflow routing scheme based on the width function instantaneous unit hydrograph (WFIUH) theory, which is specifically designed to facilitate coupling with weather forecasting and climate models. The proposed routing scheme preserves geomorphological dispersion of the river network when dealing with horizontal hydrological fluxes, irrespective of the computational grid size inherited from the overlaying climate model providing the meteorological forcing. This is achieved by simulating routing within the river network through suitable transfer functions obtained by applying the WFIUH theory to the desired level of detail. The underlying principle is similar to the block-effective dispersion employed in groundwater hydrology, with the transfer functions used to represent the effect on streamflow of morphological heterogeneity at scales smaller than the computational grid. Transfer functions are constructed for each grid cell with respect to the nodes of the network where streamflow is simulated, by taking advantage of the detailed morphological information contained in the digital elevation model (DEM) of the zone of interest. These characteristics make HYPERstream well suited for multi-scale applications, ranging from catchment up to continental scale, and to investigate extreme events (e.g., floods) that require an accurate description of routing through the river network. The routing scheme enjoys parsimony in the adopted parametrization and computational efficiency, leading to a dramatic reduction of the computational effort with respect to full-gridded models at comparable level of accuracy. HYPERstream is designed with a simple and flexible modular structure that allows for the selection of any rainfall-runoff model to be coupled with the routing scheme and the choice of different hillslope processes to be represented, and it makes the framework particularly suitable to massive parallelization, customization according to the specific user needs and preferences, and continuous development and improvements.

Download Full-text