scholarly journals Animal occurrence in fragmented forest habitats – important factors at the patch and landscape scale

2018 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-100
Author(s):  
Rafał Banul ◽  
Agnieszka Kosewska ◽  
Jakub Borkowski
Keyword(s):  
Edge Effects ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Forest Patch ◽  
Island Area ◽  
Fragmented Forests ◽  
Forest Island ◽  
Forest Islands

Abstract To date, in research, the main determinants influencing animal assemblages in fragmented forests have been considered to be forest island area and degree of isolation. Such a simplistic approach may have detrimental effects on the obtained results and conclusions, since there are a large number of other factors determining animal persistence in forest islands. In order to identify these factors and evaluate their importance, we reviewed the scientific literature on the topic. In addition to the island area, also patch shape, edge effects and local plant community structure are crucial factors affecting animal assemblages at the forest island scale. At the landscape scale, the total number of forest islands and their combined area, matrix permeability, occurrence of wide ecological corridors as well as isolated trees and woodlands appear to be the most significant factors. Our review further indicates that many of these elements also tend to interact. For instance, edge effects may reduce the area of suitable habitat in a forest patch. Furthermore, some fragmentation effects may be masked by species traits e.g. mobility, food preferences or habitat specialisation. The landscape context also plays a crucial role in animal persistence in fragmented forests. We thus conclude that there is a strong need to investigate the above-mentioned components of habitat fragmentation at the local and landscape scale using appropriate bio-indicators.

scholarly journals Arthropod functional traits shaped by landscape-scale field size, local agri-environment schemes and edge effects

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 102-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Róbert Gallé ◽  
Costanza Geppert ◽  
Rita Földesi ◽  
Teja Tscharntke ◽  
Péter Batáry
Keyword(s):  
Functional Traits ◽  
Edge Effects ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Field Size ◽  
Scale Field

Responses of Mammals to Rainforest Fragmentation in Tropical Queensland: a Review and Synthesis

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 603 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. Laurance
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Fragmentation ◽  
Edge Effects ◽  
Ecological Traits ◽  
Fragmented Landscapes ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Wet Tropics ◽  
Rainforest Fragmentation ◽  
Fragmented Forests ◽  
Kinetics Of

Research during the past decade in the wet tropics region of Queensland has yielded important insights into the responses of rainforest mammals to habitat fragmentation. These findings are synthesised by assessing key processes in fragmented landscapes, such as nonrandom deforestation patterns, edge effects, dramatic shifts in predator assemblages, and the kinetics of local extinction. Studies aimed at identifying ecological traits that affect the vulnerability of mammal populations in fragmented forests are also reviewed. Collectively, these investigations suggest that the composition and dynamics of fragment biotas are strongly influenced by edge effects and by the matrix of modified habitats surrounding fragments. Some implications of these findings for the management of fragmented landscapes are considered.

Acid frogs can stand the heat: amphibian resilience to wildfire in coastal wetlands of eastern Australia

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Lowe ◽  
J. Guy Castley ◽  
Jean-Marc Hero
Keyword(s):  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Moderate Intensity ◽  
Adaptive Responses ◽  
Coastal Heath ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Temperature Ranges ◽  
In Fire

Fire has varying effects on species ecology. Knowledge of amphibian responses to fire is particularly limited, with variable responses reported amongst studies. Variability is attributed to differences in fire regimes, sampling methodologies, historical exposure to fire and species traits. Acid frogs, a group of amphibians restricted to acidic coastal heath wetlands of eastern Australia, occupy a discrete ecological niche that is exposed to regular and intense fires. Visual encounter surveys conducted monthly over 2 years revealed different short- and long-term responses to fire in three threatened acid frog species (Litoria olongburensis, Litoria freycineti and Crinia tinnula). Fires altered the thermal properties of habitats by increasing substrate temperature and widening daily temperature ranges. Acid frog populations did not suffer adversely from moderate intensity fires as suitable refuges, including standing water, were available. All species were present shortly after fire with subsequent successful reproduction occurring once wetlands were sufficiently inundated. Time since fire was a strong predictor of landscape scale differences in average relative abundance of acid frogs, yet the relationships varied among species. This highlights the importance of assessing community-wide responses to fire at the landscape scale. The dynamic and adaptive responses observed within acid frog populations demonstrate substantial resilience to fire processes in these fire prone environments.

Local and landscape scale factors influencing edge effects on woodland salamanders

2008 ◽  
Vol 151 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 425-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurtis R. Moseley ◽  
W. Mark Ford ◽  
John W. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Edge Effects ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Scale Factors ◽  
Factors Influencing

Edge Effects on an Epiphytic Lichen in Fragmented Forests

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1307-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per-Anders Esseen ◽  
Karl-Erik Renhorn
Keyword(s):  
Edge Effects ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Fragmented Forests

Impacts of urbanization on plant and bird communities in forest ecosystems

1998 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 855-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyle Friesen
Keyword(s):  
Edge Effects ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Bird Communities ◽  
Edge Zone ◽  
Adverse Impacts ◽  
Development Levels ◽  
Extent Of Damage ◽  
Suburban Forests

Development is now a major cause of landscape-scale variation in ecosystems and it is imperative to know more precisely the nature of its impacts if we wish to preserve affected species and their habitats. Recent studies suggest that human impacts in suburban forests are "edge effects" analogous to microclimatic and vegetational edge zone phenomena although they exceed natural edge effects both in severity and spatial extent of damage. Studies of forest bird communities in California and Ontario indicate that some species are urban avoiders that decline or disappear as development levels increase. Research is urgently needed to better understand the mechanisms by which development undermines natural areas in order to prevent or minimize its adverse impacts.

scholarly journals Assessment of Habitat Quality and Landscape Connectivity for Forest-Dependent Cracids in the Sierra Madre del Sur Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, México

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 194008291987882 ◽  
Author(s):  
María C. Escobar Ocampo ◽  
Miguel Ángel Castillo Santiago ◽  
Susana Ochoa-Gaona ◽  
Paula L. Enríquez ◽  
Nicole Sibelet
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Landscape Connectivity ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Ecological Condition ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Secondary Forests ◽  
Coffee Agroforestry ◽  
Biological Corridor ◽  
High Resolution Map ◽  
Fragmented Forests

Assessing landscape connectivity allows us to identify critical areas that impede or facilitate the movement of organisms and their genes and to plan their conservation and management. In this article, we assessed landscape connectivity and ecological condition of the habitat patches of a highly biodiverse region in Chiapas, Mexico. We employed data of three cracid species with different characteristics in habitat use and mobility. The habitat map of each species was derived from a spatial intersection of the models of potential distribution and a high-resolution map of current land cover and land use. The ecological condition of vegetation types was evaluated using 75 field plots. Structure of landscape was estimated by fragmentation metrics, while functional connectivity was assessed using spatially explicit graph analysis. The extent of suitable habitat for Oreophasis derbianus, Penelopina nigra, and Penelope purpurascens correspond to 25%, 46%, and 55% of the study area (5,185.6 km2), respectively. Although the pine-oak forests were the most fragmented vegetation type, habitats of the three species were well connected, and only 4% to 9% of the fragments located on the periphery of the corridor had low connectivity. Landscape connectivity depends mainly on land uses with an intermediate and lower ecological condition (secondary forests and coffee agroforestry systems). Therefore, we suggest that in addition to promoting the improvement in connectivity in fragmented forests, conservation efforts should be aimed at preventing the conversion of mature forests into agricultural uses and maintaining agroforestry systems.

scholarly journals Diversity, Host Range and Distribution of Mistletoes along Steep Altitudinal Gradient of Tribhuvan Highway, Central Nepal

Our Nature ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-117
Author(s):  
G.P. Joshi ◽  
M.P. Devkota
Keyword(s):  
Host Range ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Altitudinal Distribution ◽  
Narrow Host Range ◽  
Central Nepal ◽  
The Family ◽  
Fragmented Forests ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
High Degree

A total of 11 mistletoe species, eight belonging to five genera in the family Loranthaceae and three species belonging to two genera in the family Viscaceae were documented from 43 host species belonging to 24 unrelated host families along Tribhuvan highway, central Nepal. Wide host range of Scurrula species (Loranthaceae) showed that they were more generalist and successfully parasitized as many hosts as encountered, while Viscaceae mistletoes showed narrow host range and high degree of host specificity since they infected a limited number of hosts. The irregular and patchy distribution of mistletoe along the highway was governed by three major factors: forest structure, site mesoclimate and availability of suitable host species. Marginal fragmented forests located along the warm sunny slopes of highway were found as most suitable habitat. Warmer southern sunny slopes, between Sinbhanjyang to Bahise Dobhan, favoured wider altitudinal distribution range of mistletoe compared to cold and moist northern slopes.DOI: 10.3126/on.v8i1.4317

scholarly journals Population responses of the Endangered White-breasted Thrasher Ramphocinclus brachyurus to a tourist development in Saint Lucia – conservation implications from a spatial modelling approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
RACHEL L. WHITE ◽  
TIMOTHEUS JN. BAPTISTE ◽  
ALWIN DORNELLY ◽  
MATTHEW N. MORTON ◽  
MARK J. O’CONNELL ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Dry Forest ◽  
Golf Course ◽  
Encounter Rate ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Development Site ◽  
Tourist Development ◽  
Saint Lucia

SummaryTourism development is one of the main contemporary drivers of habitat loss and fragmentation within the Caribbean Islands biodiversity hotspot. In Saint Lucia, construction of a hotel and golf course within coastal dry forest is directly threatening the largest known subpopulation of the Endangered White-breasted Thrasher Ramphocinclus brachyurus. Understanding how the species is responding to ongoing landscape change and identifying priority sites for conservation are imperative for planning its long-term conservation. In this study, a four year White-breasted Thrasher monitoring dataset (2006–2009) and landscape-scale environmental variables were used to: a) identify, characterise and map spatio-temporal patterns of White-breasted Thrasher encounter rate (an abundance proxy) within and outside the tourist development site; b) determine landscape-scale environmental variables that influence such patterns, and c) produce an island-wide predictive map of potentially suitable habitat. Observed patterns in encounter rates within and outside the development site were consistent with thrashers being displaced from cleared areas of forest and crowding into intact forest patches to the north and west of the golf course. A year after the period of the most extensive habitat clearance, White-breasted Thrasher numbers declined markedly leading to a 55% reduction in encounter rate within the development site over the four years of the study. The habitat suitability model predicted that a range of sites outside of the known geographic range of the thrasher are potentially suitable, some of which merit further surveys for potentially undetected populations. Given these findings, it is vital that patches of suitable dry forest adjacent to the tourist development are protected and contiguous natural habitat inside the tourist development is preserved.

scholarly journals Plantations and biodiversity: A comment on the debate in New Brunswick

2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew G Betts ◽  
Antony W Diamond ◽  
Graham J Forbes ◽  
Kate Frego ◽  
Judy A Loo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Intensively Managed ◽  
The Impact

The importance of biodiversity has become widely recognized but the best methods for conserving forest biodiversity are still being debated. Central to this debate is the influence of plantations and managed stands on local and landscape-scale biodiversity. A recent paper by Erdle and Pollard in The Forestry Chronicle (2002), which concluded that few plantations are strict monocultures in terms of the total number of tree species, could be interpreted as making the case that plantations have relatively minor consequences for biodiversity. We argue that: (1) it is not only the number of species, but also the identities and relative abundances of species that are of ecological importance, and (2) defining biodiversity in terms of tree species alone is of limited applicability. Existing research in New Brunswick on the impact of plantations on biodiversity at the stand scale reveals potentially significant biodiversity losses, at least in certain taxa. The proposal that incorporating more structural elements (e.g., snags, coarse woody debris, vertical structure) and retaining greater tree species diversity to ameliorate negative consequences of plantations remains a hypothesis to be tested in this region. Scientific information gathered in the following areas will allow better decision making: (1) to what degree are older plantations used by native species? (2) are productivity and survivorship of vertebrates in intensively managed stands similar to those in unmanaged forest? (3) are intensively managed stands suitable habitat for non-vertebrates? (4) are there thresholds in the response of some species to landscape-scale habitat loss caused by intensive forest management? Key words: plantations, biodiversity, species composition, landscape scale, stand structures

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