Article
Ecology
F. Mestre, B. Silva
Summary: The lconnect R package is a user-friendly tool for assessing landscape connectivity and prioritizing habitat patches, which helps understand and address the challenges in biodiversity conservation.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Adam Kimberley, Danny Hooftman, James M. Bullock, Olivier Honnay, Patricia Krickl, Jessica Lindgren, Jan Plue, Peter Poschlod, Anna Traveset, Sara A. O. Cousins
Summary: Increasing landscape connecting elements cannot compensate for large-scale grassland area loss, leading to significant declines in both structural and functional connectivity. Generalist species are negatively affected by connectivity, with structural connectivity having the strongest impact, while functional connectivity determines the presence of grassland specialist species in focal grasslands.
Article
Ecology
Rachel Jones, Nigel A. D. Bourn, Ilya M. D. Maclean, Robert J. Wilson
Summary: The study demonstrates that landscape-scale conservation can be achieved through local habitat management. By investigating the population dynamics of the Lulworth skipper butterfly in the UK and simulating the effects of habitat quality, the researchers found that changes in local habitat quality can overcome the constraints imposed by patch size and spatial location. Therefore, monitoring and managing local habitat quality are effective strategies for conservation in fragmented landscapes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Javan M. Bauder, William E. Peterman, Stephen F. Spear, Christopher L. Jenkins, Andrew R. Whiteley, Kevin McGarigal
Summary: The study focuses on the importance of landscape features and their scale effects on gene flow, using genetic algorithms to optimize landscape resistance surfaces. Results suggest that multisurface multiscale LRS outperformed other approaches, especially large-scale LRS had the greatest impact on eastern indigo snake connectivity.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yongzhi Yan, Scott Jarvie, Qingfu Liu, Qing Zhang
Summary: This study evaluated the impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation on grassland plant species richness in the agro-pastoral ecotone of northern China. The results showed that habitat loss had a negative effect on overall species richness and grassland specialist richness, but a positive effect on weed richness. Additionally, the increase in patch density caused by habitat loss had a positive effect on overall species richness and grassland specialist richness. These findings highlight the importance of adding habitat patches in fragmented landscapes for conserving habitat specialists.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Ravi Jambhekar, Kavita Isvaran
Summary: A fundamental question in ecology is to understand how species are distributed in a landscape. This study investigated the population responses of butterfly species to patch size and connectivity in naturally heterogeneous tropical forest-grassland complexes, and found that ecological specialization and matrix resistance played important roles in predicting population responses.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Luara Tourinho, Jayme A. Prevedello, Bruno M. Carvalho, Diogo S. B. Rocha, Mariana M. Vale
Summary: This study evaluated the potential effects of climate change on landscape-scale for endemic bird species in the Atlantic Forest. The results showed that climate change has minor effects on landscape-level for these bird species, but potential impacts at the regional scale cannot be excluded. This study supports the perception that land-use change poses an urgent threat to biodiversity in tropical regions.
PERSPECTIVES IN ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
David Salvatierra, Angela Rodriguez-Ruiz, Andrea Cordero, Julio Lopez-Doval, Francisco Baldo, Julian Blasco, Cristiano V. M. Araujo
Summary: The study suggests that contamination can significantly alter the habitat selection behavior of estuarine shrimp, particularly in the presence of predators and food availability, leading to shifts in preferences even in contaminated environments. This altered behavior may result in increased exposure to contamination due to the presence of predation risk.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Zhi Wang, Zhaoping Yang, Hui Shi, Lei Han
Summary: The study found that in the World Natural Heritage Site of Bogda, Xinjiang, overall landscape connectivity is low for species with short and medium-distance dispersal abilities, but high for species with long-distance dispersal abilities. Certain patches were identified as more important in maintaining overall connectivity, with some providing habitat area and fluxes for species, while others acting as stepping stones for dispersal.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Francesco Lami, Ignasi Bartomeus, Davide Nardi, Tatiane Beduschi, Francesco Boscutti, Paolo Pantini, Giacomo Santoiemma, Christoph Scherber, Teja Tscharntke, Lorenzo Marini
Summary: Measuring habitat specialisation is crucial for predicting species extinctions and understanding ecosystem functioning. Our study revealed intraspecific variation in habitat specialisation among arthropod species, with some groups showing reduced ability to adapt to landscape changes, while others were better equipped to persist in highly impacted landscapes by being able to utilize a broad set of resources.
Article
Ecology
Robert J. J. Fletcher Jr, Matthew G. G. Betts, Ellen I. I. Damschen, Trevor J. J. Hefley, Jessica Hightower, Thomas A. H. Smith, Marie-Josee Fortin, Nick M. M. Haddad
Summary: Habitat fragmentation has debated impacts on biodiversity, which can only be understood at the landscape scale, but also affects individual patches within landscapes. A framework that emphasizes the scales of phenomena, sampling, and analysis is needed to advance the science of fragmentation.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Paul Savary, Jean-Christophe Foltete, Herve Moal, Stephane Garnier
Summary: This article discusses the potential benefits of integrating landscape graphs and genetic graphs in landscape genetics. By comparing different features and partitions of these graphs, the influence of intra-patch features and inter-patch connectivity on genetic structure can be examined, as well as the sensitivity of genetic diversity and differentiation to landscape factors. Additionally, the integration of these graphs through gravity models can enhance their joint use for various theoretical and applied objectives.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lucas D. Fernandes, Angelica S. Mata, Wesley A. C. Godoy, Carolina Reigada
Summary: Species distributions and dynamics are influenced by the interplay between dispersal at different spatial scales and landscape connectivity and composition. This study examines the effects of these factors on local species dynamics using a host-parasitoid model. The results demonstrate the importance of both local and regional scales, as well as the combined effects of species biological parameters and landscape structure, in shaping species density and occupancy. These findings have practical implications for the development of effective strategies for biological control.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Melanie R. Boudreau, Mariela G. Gantchoff, Carlos Ramirez-Reyes, Laura Conlee, Jerrold L. Belant, Raymond B. Iglay
Summary: Despite global declines in large carnivore populations, some species are recovering, leading to potential human-carnivore conflicts. In Missouri, suitable habitat for black bears mainly consists of forest and shrub cover, with low fragmentation and human density, and higher spring vegetation productivity. The increase in conflicts, primarily due to black bears accessing human food sources, is associated with greater suitable habitat, landscape connectivity, and community size.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Oana-Catalina Popescu, Antonio-Valentin Tache, Alexandru-Ionut Petrisor
Summary: Recent studies have shown that habitat fragmentation caused by road infrastructure development, urbanization, and land-use changes has negative environmental effects and leads to biodiversity loss. This study focuses on developing a methodology to identify ecological corridors for brown bears in the Romanian Carpathian Mountains, emphasizing the cautious implementation of ecological corridors in planning practice and the importance of field data in research.
Article
Ecology
Chellby R. Kilheffer, H. Brian Underwood, Jordan Raphael, Lindsay Ries, Shannon Farrell, Donald J. Leopold
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2019)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Chellby R. Kilheffer, Jordan Raphael, Lindsay Ries, H. Brian Underwood
JOURNAL OF COASTAL CONSERVATION
(2019)