Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Justin J. Van Ee, Jacob S. Ivan, Mevin B. Hooten
Summary: Joint species distribution models are commonly used to study species-environment relationships and species dependence. This study introduces a method for measuring community confounding and demonstrates how to orthogonalize the environmental and random species effects in joint species distribution models. The results show that community confounding can lead to computational difficulties, but orthogonalizing the effects can alleviate these difficulties. The implications of community confounding and orthogonalization are discussed through a case study on mammalian responses to a bark beetle epidemic.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Graziella V. DiRenzo, David A. W. Miller, Blake R. Hossack, Brent H. Sigafus, Paige E. Howell, Erin Muths, Evan H. C. Grant
Summary: First-order dynamic occupancy models (FODOMs) capture ecological dynamics caused by covariates, but can be extended with a second-order Markov process to incorporate site memory when covariates are not available. This modeling framework allows for reliable inference on site occupancy, colonization, extinction, turnover, and detection probabilities.
Article
Ecology
Jeffrey W. Doser, Andrew O. Finley, Sudipto Banerjee
Summary: Determining the spatial distributions of species and communities is important in ecology and conservation efforts. We developed a spatial factor multi-species occupancy model to explicitly account for species correlations, imperfect detection, and spatial autocorrelation. Ignoring these complexities leads to inferior model predictive performance, and our proposed model had the highest predictive performance among the alternative models.
Article
Ecology
Mason Fidino, Elizabeth W. Lehrer, Cria A. M. Kay, Nicholas T. Yarmey, Maureen H. Murray, Kimberly Fake, Henry C. Adams, Seth B. Magle
Summary: Understanding where and when human-wildlife conflict occurs is crucial for mitigation. Existing methods often fail to consider how species distribution affects conflict occurrence. This study used an integrated species distribution model combining wildlife complaints and camera trapping data to predict occupancy and conflict potential of coyotes, opossums, and raccoons in Chicago. The results showed that conflict was most likely to occur where human and wildlife habitats overlap, and that conflict in high-income neighborhoods was prevalent despite lower occupancy of the two species in those areas. These findings highlight the importance of considering species distribution in wildlife management and suggest the potential for collaboration with wildlife management agencies.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jolien Wevers, Natalie Beenaerts, Jim Casaer, Fridolin Zimmermann, Tom Artois, Julien Fattebert
Summary: Habitat selection is scale-dependent and understanding the characteristic scale of environmental factors influencing species distribution is essential. Using camera trap data in the Swiss Jura Mountains, this study optimized characteristic scales of explanatory variables to construct multivariable, multiscale occupancy models for wild boar and roe deer. The findings suggest that the interaction between elevation, forest cover, ruggedness, and open landscape significantly influence species occupancy in the study area.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Shaykhah Aldossari, Dirk Husmeier, Jason Matthiopoulos
Summary: Predictive species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly important in ecology, especially in the context of rapid environmental change. This study focuses on the Generalised Functional Response (GFR) framework, which formulates SDM coefficients as functions of habitat availability. The study proposes several refinements to the GFR approach, including the use of local radial basis functions (RBF) and ensemble approaches such as random forests (RFs) and extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). The results indicate that these refined methods consistently outperform traditional SDMs and the original GFR model in terms of predictive performance.
ECOLOGICAL INFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Laura E. D'Acunto, Leonard Pearlstine, Stephanie S. Romanach
Summary: The restoration of the Florida Everglades is one of the largest ongoing ecosystem restoration projects in the world, with decision-makers relying on ecological models to predict wildlife response to changes in water management. By using a joint species distribution model, researchers were able to improve the accuracy and applicability of wading bird distribution models in the Everglades, considering the impact of annual hydrologic conditions and landscape characteristics on multiple species simultaneously.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Owen G. Osborne, Henry G. Fell, Hannah Atkins, Jan van Tol, Daniel Phillips, Leonel Herrera-Alsina, Poppy Mynard, Greta Bocedi, Cecile Gubry-Rangin, Lesley T. Lancaster, Simon Creer, Meis Nangoy, Fahri Fahri, Pungki Lupiyaningdyah, I. Made Sudiana, Berry Juliandi, Justin M. J. Travis, Alexander S. T. Papadopulos, Adam C. Algar
Summary: This study introduces an algorithm for generating simulated species occurrence points that mimic the spatial structure of real datasets, applicable to any geographic domain and any number of species. Testing reveals that many species distribution models may fit well with the data but are not significantly better than null expectations, with few cases of high niche divergence.
Article
Ecology
Stephanie Elizabeth Hogg, Yan Wang, Lewi Stone
Summary: Joint species distribution models (JSDMs) that explicitly account for imperfect detection can accurately estimate intrinsic correlation between species with sufficient survey sites and replications. However, reducing the number of survey sites decreases precision of estimates, while reducing the number of survey replications can lead to biased estimates. For low detection probabilities, a large number of survey replications may be required to remove bias from estimates. JSDMs not explicitly accounting for detection have limited ability to disentangle detection from occupancy, reducing their ability to accurately infer species distribution spatially.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Graziella DiRenzo, David A. W. Miller, Evan H. C. Grant
Summary: The study highlights the importance of distinguishing between availability and detectability in occupancy models. When species availability is low, single-scale occupancy models underestimate occupancy and provide poor parameter coverage, while high availability leads to similar performance between single-scale and multi-scale occupancy models. The results emphasize the impact of unaccounted for availability in species distribution estimates using single-scale occupancy models.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jose M. Zamora-Marin, Antonio Zamora-Lopez, Jose F. Calvo, Francisco J. Oliva-Paterna
Summary: Understanding biodiversity distribution is crucial for effective conservation actions. Choosing an appropriate sampling method is key for obtaining accurate information. This study in the province of Murcia, one of the most arid regions in Europe, applied multi-method occupancy models to common bird species, showing that combined method and direct observation were most effective for detecting species occupancy.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Raquel Ponti, Marco Sannolo
Summary: Species distribution models have become more complex by incorporating fine-scale variables, but has often overlooked the importance of including data related to time, especially species phenology. This literature review examines how neglecting phenological aspects can bias distribution projections and provides guidance on evaluating and improving models.
Article
Ecology
Jamie M. Kass, Sarah Meenan, Nicolas Tinoco, Santiago F. Burneo, Robert P. Anderson
Summary: The study aims to improve range estimates for data-poor, parapatric species by masking out areas under inferred competitive exclusion. It focused on two South American spiny pocket mice species, Heteromys australis (Least Concern) and Heteromys teleus (Vulnerable). By using support vector machines (SVMs) with different data types, the study found that the SVM approaches had lower classification error and made more ecologically realistic delineations of the contact zone.
ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Studies
Mirko Di Febbraro, Ludovico Frate, Maria Carla de Francesco, Angela Stanisci, Francesco Pio Tozzi, Marco Varricchione, Maria Laura Carranza
Summary: Beach litter accumulation patterns are influenced by various factors, and the use of Species Distribution Models (SDMs) to predict litter accumulation probability shows promise. Accumulation hotspots were found to be mainly located along the beach, by beach accesses, and at river mouths.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Alienor Jeliazkov, Yoni Gavish, Charles J. Marsh, Jonas Geschke, Neil Brummitt, Duccio Rocchini, Peter Haase, William E. Kunin, Klaus Henle
Summary: Biodiversity conservation faces a methodological challenge in accurately predicting the distribution of rare species due to limited data and spatial bias. This article summarizes the different types of data and distribution models suitable for different categories of species rarity, providing a guide for improving the prediction of rare species distribution.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Marco Salvatori, Simone Tenan, Valentina Oberosler, Claudio Augugliaro, Philippe Christe, Claudio Groff, Miha Krofel, Fridolin Zimmermann, Francesco Rovero
Summary: The study found that the presence of livestock in protected areas in the Mongolian Altai Mountains caused snow leopards and ibex to avoid those areas, while wolves tended to coexist with livestock. There is a close predator-prey relationship between snow leopards and ibex. Therefore, it is recommended to enforce grazing limitations, incorporate wildlife conservation into government subsidies for pastoralists, and use prevention techniques to mitigate livestock depredation.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Blake R. Hossack, Julio Alberto Lemos-Espinal, Brent H. Sigafus, Erin Muths, Gerardo Carreon Arroyo, Daniel Toyos Martinez, David Hurtado Felix, Guillermo Molina Padilla, Caren S. Goldberg, Thomas R. Jones, Michael J. Sredl, Thierry Chambert, James C. Rorabaugh
Summary: Many aquatic species in the arid USA-Mexico borderlands region are endangered, but the lack of information on their distributions and threats hampers management. A study on the distribution of the Western Tiger Salamander in northern Sonora, Mexico revealed that they are more widespread than previously documented, possibly due to changes in land and water management practices. However, the inability to accurately distinguish between subspecies limits managers in taking appropriate interventions.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Valentina Oberosler, Simone Tenan, Claudio Groff, Miha Krofel, Claudio Augugliaro, Bayaraa Munkhtsog, Francesco Rovero
Summary: This study provides the first robust estimate of snow leopard population density in the Altai Mountains using camera trapping and SECR models. The estimated density of 1.31 individuals/100 km(2) falls within the mid-values of global estimates for the species and is positively correlated with terrain slope. The study also revealed significantly different activity range sizes for females and males, as well as a negative association between baseline encounter probability and anthropogenic activity.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jennifer F. Moore, Julien Martin, Hardin Waddle, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jill Fleming, Eve Bohnett, Thomas S. B. Akre, Donald J. Brown, Michael T. Jones, Jessica R. Meck, Kevin Oxenrider, Anthony Tur, Lisabeth L. Willey, Fred Johnson
Summary: Population projection models are crucial for conservation and management, especially when empirical data is limited. Expert elicitation can supplement existing data and improve the accuracy of these models by considering uncertainties. However, the choice of aggregation techniques for summarizing expert elicited values can have an impact on model estimates.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
J. Hardin Waddle, Landon R. Jones, Phillip L. Vasseur, Clint W. Jeske
Summary: The study utilized a multi-species Bayesian hierarchical occupancy model to estimate detection and occupancy probabilities of 11 secretive marsh bird species in low and high saline marshes in Louisiana, revealing different species preferences for marsh salinity levels.
Article
Biology
Alex Diana, Eleni Matechou, Jim Griffin, Todd Arnold, Simone Tenan, Stefano Volponi
Summary: Wildlife monitoring for open populations can be done using different survey methods. However, existing statistical models have limitations, and we propose a new Bayesian nonparametric framework for better modeling population patterns.
Article
Ecology
Andreu Rotger, Simone Tenan, Jose-Manuel Igual, Simon Bonner, Giacomo Tavecchia
Summary: Small island vertebrates, including lizards, are often larger in body size and have higher survival rates compared to their mainland counterparts. In this study, data on Lilford's lizard were collected and analyzed to examine its growth, survival, and lifespan on a small island. The results confirmed the presence of the 'island syndrome' in terms of survival, lifespan, and growth parameters. Comparative analysis also showed that island lizards generally grow slower and live longer than their mainland counterparts.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Simone Tenan, Aurelie Moulins, Paola Tepsich, Alessandro Bocconcelli, Alessandro Verga, Marco Ballardini, Barbara Nani, Daniela Papi, Gabriella Motta, Ana Sanz Aguilar, Massimiliano Rosso
Summary: This study explores the demographic role of immigration and population structure on population growth rates of the Mediterranean Cuvier's beaked whale. The study finds that immigration has a significant impact on population growth rates, with a contribution 4.2 to 12.7 times larger than other vital rates. Immigration rate and proportional abundance of breeding females with a 2- or 3-year-old calf explain a substantial portion of the temporal variability in population growth rates. Changes in immigration and population structure, specifically the proportional abundance of breeding females with a 2-year-old calf, drive the changes in realized population growth rates between successive years.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Thibaut Couturier, Sarah Bauduin, Guillelme Astruc, Aurelie Blanck, Coline Canonne, Thierry Chambert, Jules Chiffard, Alix Cosquer, Sarah Cubaynes, Laurence Curtet, Emmanuelle Dortel, Nolwenn Drouet-Hoguet, Christophe Duchamp, Charlotte Francesiaz, Oksana Grente, Adrien Jailloux, Maelis Kervellec, Valentin Lauret, Jean-Dominique Lebreton, Julie Louvrier, Lucile Marescot, Raphael Mathevet, Marie-Laure Navas, Charlotte Perrot, Nicolas Poulet, Pierre-Yves Quenette, Michel Salas, Guillaume Souchay, Cecile Vanpe, Aurelien Besnard, Olivier Gimenez
Summary: To document and halt biodiversity loss, it is crucial to monitor and quantify trends in wildlife populations and communities, as well as assess management and conservation strategies. With increasing technological innovations, more data are being collected and new quantitative methods are being developed. However, there is a need to improve analytical skills among managers and promote knowledge transfer between researchers and managers. Two long-term collaborations between a research unit and a national agency in France illustrate how to fill this gap, through statistical support for national parks and management of large carnivores. These collaborations face challenges in inter-knowledge and mutual learning, and require good understanding and flexibility from staff working at the interface.
ECOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS AND EVIDENCE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Haruko Ando, Victor Martin-Velez, Giacomo Tavecchia, Anna Traveset, Iciar Jimenez-Martin, Jose Manuel Igual, Alejandro Martinez-Abrain, Sandra Hervias-Parejo
Summary: The study analyzed the role of gulls in seed dispersal, finding that gulls contribute to long-distance dispersal of olive seeds to different islands. Domestic olives were dispersed over longer distances with specific directions, facilitating colonization and expansion of the variant. Gulls are important vectors for long-distance dispersal of large fleshy fruits in island ecosystems lacking specialist large frugivores.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Thierry Chambert, Olivier Duriez, Mathilde Deleaux, Aurelien Besnard
Summary: Quantifying the impact of human-caused fatalities on animal populations is crucial for wildlife conservation. However, such quantification is rare in environmental impact assessments, partly due to the complexity of implementing demographic models. To address this gap, we developed a user-friendly application called EolPop that allows for demographic simulations and assessments of population-level impacts of fatalities. This tool provides estimates of the relative deficit in population size, along with associated uncertainty, at a given time horizon.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Blake R. Hossack, David Hall, Catherine L. Crawford, Caren S. Goldberg, Erin Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Thierry Chambert
Summary: The invasion of American bullfrogs has negative effects on the community and may transmit pathogens. To protect the threatened native species, managers conducted a large-scale eradication effort against the bullfrogs in a wildlife refuge. The results of the experiment showed that the eradication effort successfully eliminated 94% of the bullfrogs, as well as the two coexisting pathogens.
CONSERVATION LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Arnaud Lyet, Scott Waller, Thierry Chambert, Pelayo Acevedo, Eric Howe, Hjalmar S. Kuehl, Robin Naidoo, Timothy O'Brien, Pablo Palencia, Svetlana V. Soutyrina, Joaquin Vicente, Oliver R. Wearn, Thomas N. E. Gray
Summary: The use of camera-traps has greatly improved our ability to monitor wild terrestrial mammal populations. However, estimating abundance from unmarked animals can be challenging. In this study, we developed a framework for applying the Space-To-Event (STE) model to motion-triggered camera-trap data. We found that with a bootstrap resampling approach and information on animal activity and effective detection distances, the STE model can provide accurate population density estimates.
REMOTE SENSING IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Thierry Chambert, Adam R. Backlin, Elizabeth Gallegos, Bradd Baskerville-Bridges, Robert N. Fisher
Summary: The endangered mountain yellow-legged frog has seen a decline in its population size due to various factors, making its future uncertain. A recovery plan was developed to improve its status, with a short-term goal of establishing a minimum of 20 populations with 50 adults each. However, this target alone is not enough to ensure long-term persistence. To increase the likelihood of species' survival, it is important to expand its distribution and establish new populations in suitable habitats.
CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE
(2022)
