Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jingjing Zhang, Jennifer L. Pannell, Bradley S. Case, Graham Hinchliffe, Margaret C. Stanley, Hannah L. Buckley
Summary: Enhancing functional connectivity in an agricultural landscape is crucial for sustainable agroecosystems. Our study compared the landscape connectivity between two native bird species with different dispersal abilities, highlighting the importance of ecological traits and habitat patches in shaping connectivity networks. Through network analysis, we found that conservation strategies should consider species' life-histories and movement traits for creating connected ecological networks in a functional agricultural landscape.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jingjie Zhang, Feng Jiang, Zhenyuan Cai, Yunchuan Dai, Daoxin Liu, Pengfei Song, Yuansheng Hou, Hongmei Gao, Tongzuo Zhang
Summary: Habitat connectivity is crucial for species survival, but human activities disrupt natural habitats and hinder species dispersal. This study used habitat suitability modeling and landscape network analysis to investigate the connectivity of Przewalski's gazelle habitats, providing important insights for the conservation and revitalization of the population.
Article
Ecology
Zaira Y. Gonzalez-Saucedo, Alejandro Gonzalez-Bernal, Enrique Martinez-Meyer
Summary: This study identified suitable habitats for three large carnivores in northwestern Mexico and southwestern United States, highlighting the importance of landscape connectivity for maintaining and enhancing biodiversity. Through ecological niche modeling and connectivity analysis, the research found potential areas for species connectivity and emphasized the need for collaborative efforts to improve conservation actions and landscape connectivity between Mexico and the United States.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shengnan Yang, Xiaoyi Wang, Junhua Hu
Summary: Amphibians are at risk of habitat loss and fragmentation due to climate change, impacting their ability to adapt. The study predicts significant habitat and connectivity losses for mountain frogs in central and southern China, with increased fragmentation and optimistic projections along the Sichuan Basin. Conservation strategies should focus on preserving climate-change refugia and habitat connectivity to ensure species persistence.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
James H. Gearon, Michael H. Young
Summary: The study aims to determine the influence of geomorphology on shrub canopy structure, revealing that landscape position and surface age have significant effects on the canopy volume and shrub spacing of Larrea tridentata.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Veronica Yovovich, Nathaniel Robinson, Hugh Robinson, Michael J. Manfredo, Shelby Perry, Jeremy T. Bruskotter, John A. Vucetich, Luis Anibal Solorzano, Lydia A. Roe, Alison Lesure, Jamie Robertson, Tom Bulter, L. Mark Elbroch
Summary: This study identified 17 areas in the Upper Midwest, Ozarks, Appalachia, and New England that could potentially host puma populations in the future. Thirteen of these areas were large enough to ensure the long-term genetic health of the puma population. The study also considered factors such as patch size, human and livestock density, percent public land, and sociocultural values, providing valuable information for puma management and restoration in the East.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Review
Ecology
Trishna Dutta, Sandeep Sharma, Ninon F. V. Meyer, Jeremy Larroque, Niko Balkenhol
Summary: Connectivity between habitat patches is essential for biodiversity conservation, and resistance surfaces play a key role in connectivity analyses. A survey of the connectivity user community identified important criteria for tool selection, and highlighted future development directions such as incorporating uncertainties and dynamic modeling. Future tools for connectivity research are expected to utilize more complex and biologically realistic analytical approaches.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Victor Noguerales, Emmanouil Meramveliotakis, Adrian Castro-Insua, Carmelo Andujar, Paula Arribas, Thomas J. Creedy, Isaac Overcast, Helene Morlon, Brent C. Emerson, Alfried P. Vogler, Anna Papadopoulou
Summary: The study used haplotype-level community DNA metabarcoding to characterize the metacommunity structure of soil microarthropod assemblages in different forest habitats in the Troodos mountain range in Cyprus. The results indicated a primary role of habitat filtering leading to largely distinct metacommunities in different forest types, with within-habitat turnover correlated to topoclimatic heterogeneity. Additionally, spatial isolation determined by patch connectivity was found to play a major role in community assembly, suggesting a synergistic effect of stochastic and niche-based processes.
Article
Ecology
Ariana L. Cerreta, Kyle P. McCarthy, Gretchen Fowles
Summary: This study evaluated the potential for bobcats to expand into unoccupied habitat in an urban landscape in New Jersey. It found that suitable bobcat habitat was mainly located in the north and south, with limited options for expansion in central New Jersey. Bottlenecks and barriers to movement were mainly roads and large rivers. Modifying culverts to allow bobcat passage could help reduce these barriers.
Article
Oceanography
Sarah K. Friesen, Emily Rubidge, Rebecca Martone, Karen L. Hunter, M. Angelica Pen, Natalie C. Ban
Summary: This study evaluated changes in ecological connectivity between marine protected areas (MPAs) under projected ocean temperature changes, highlighting the potential shifts in suitability and interconnectedness for different species in the future climate scenario.
OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Gerardo Ceballos, J. Antonio de la Torre, Heliot Zarza, Marco Huerta, Marco A. Lazcano-Barrero, Horacio Barcenas, Ivonne Cassaigne, Cuauhtemoc Chavez, Gerardo Carreon, Arturo Caso, Sasha Carvajal, Andres Garcia, Jonathan Job Morales, Oscar Moctezuma, Octavio Monroy-Vilchis, Fernando Ruiz, Erik Joaquin Torres-Romero
Summary: By evaluating the effects of different variables on habitat suitability for jaguars in Mexico, this study identified priority areas for jaguar conservation in the country. It also highlighted the importance of strengthening established protected areas, creating new ones, implementing sustainable development programs, and developing mitigation measures for infrastructure to protect jaguars and their habitat in Mexico.
Article
Ecology
Ramiro D. Crego, Harry B. M. Wells, Kimani S. Ndung'u, Lauren Evans, Redempta Njeri Nduguta, Muthiuru A. Chege, Michael B. Brown, Joseph O. Ogutu, Gordon O. Ojwang, Julian Fennessy, David O'Connor, Jenna Stacy-Dawes, Daniel I. Rubenstein, Dino J. Martins, Peter Leimgruber, Jared A. Stabach
Summary: This study conducted in a mosaic landscape of multiple land use in Laikipia County, Kenya, integrates large herbivore occurrence and species richness data to identify important areas for maintaining or restoring connectivity. The resistance surfaces created for individual species and a multi-species assemblage approximated the movements of focal species, with highly correlated results indicating similar spatial patterns of functional connectivity. Critical linkage zones were identified to improve permeability to large herbivore movements, emphasizing the utility of aerial surveys in modeling landscape connectivity and informing conservation management.
Article
Anthropology
Andrew McLean, Xavier Rubio-Campillo
Summary: This paper explores the potential impact of Circuit Theory analysis on maritime mobility in archaeological landscapes, revealing that CT provides more quantitative data than traditional Least Cost Paths. The study demonstrates the significant influence of potential mobility on site distribution, with urban centers often located in areas with higher potential mobility values. The complexity of population hierarchy in urban centers suggests that additional factors beyond mobility played a significant role in determining hierarchy and site distribution.
JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Bram Van Moorter, Ilkka Kivimaeki, Manuela Panzacchi, Santiago Saura, Bernardo Brandao Niebuhr, Olav Strand, Marco Saerens
Summary: Niche modeling is used to assess the effects of anthropogenic land use and climate change on species distributions and inform spatial conservation planning. The functional habitat framework integrates biotic, abiotic, and movement constraints in niche modeling using network theory, showing its superiority over traditional suitability. This framework opens up a wide range of applications in spatial conservation planning.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Leonardo de Sousa Miranda, Marcelo Awade, Rodolfo Jaffe, Wilian Franca Costa, Leonardo Carreira Trevelin, Rafael Cabral Borges, Rafael Melo de Brito, Leandro Reverberi Tambosi, Tereza Cristina Giannini
Summary: The study aimed to enhance the connectivity of protected areas in the eastern Amazon to ensure the conservation of forest species, considering the joint effects of habitat fragmentation and climate change. By analyzing species movement flow and habitat suitability models, the study identified potential corridors for species movement, with differences in direction and forest cover based on the different approaches used. The results highlight the importance of methodological redundancy and efficient strategies for prioritizing areas for connectivity to address biodiversity threats and protect species in a rapidly changing world.
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
C. M. Aiello, T. C. Esque, K. E. Nussear, P. G. Emblidge, P. J. Hudson
EPIDEMIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2019)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Joshua P. Jahner, Marjorie D. Matocq, Jason L. Malaney, Mike Cox, Peregrine Wolff, Mitchell A. Gritts, Thomas L. Parchman
EVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS
(2019)
Article
Ecology
K. Kristina Drake, Christina M. Aiello, Lizabeth Bowen, Rebecca L. Lewison, Todd C. Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear, Shannon C. Waters, Peter J. Hudson
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2019)
Article
Zoology
F. C. Sandmeier, K. L. Leonard, C. R. Tracy, K. K. Drake, T. E. Esque, K. Nussear, J. M. Germano
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Richard Inman, A. Stewart Fotheringham, Janet Franklin, Todd Esque, Taylor Edwards, Kenneth Nussear
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2019)
Article
Biology
S. J. Snyder, C. R. Tracy, K. E. Nussear
JOURNAL OF THERMAL BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Miranda E. Gray, Brett G. Dickson, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Tony Chang
Article
Zoology
Anna Mitelberg, Amy G. Vandergast, Ken E. Nussear, Kirsten Dutcher, Todd C. Esque
CHELONIAN CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Sarah M. Bisbing, Alexandra K. Urza, Brian J. Buma, David J. Cooper, Marjorie Matocq, Amy L. Angert
Summary: The study highlights the impact of landscape on genetic structure and performance of tree populations, with local climate conditions influencing survival and growth patterns. Some populations may not currently occupy their climatic optimum, but genetically diverse and phenotypically plastic populations of trees have high persistence potential.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Richard Inman, Janet Franklin, Todd Esque, Kenneth Nussear
Summary: The assumption of unbiased sampling in species distribution modeling with presence-background methods is often not met when relying on museum records, leading to inherent sampling bias. Three correction methods have varying effectiveness in accounting for this bias, with FactorBiasOut generally showing the greatest improvement in recreating known distributions but not necessarily performing better in identifying environmental covariates or species-environment relationships compared to G-Filter or E-Filter methods. Biased calibration datasets can pose challenges, particularly for narrow niche species.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joshua P. Jahner, Thomas L. Parchman, Marjorie D. Matocq
Summary: Analysis of genetic data from two ecologically distinct mammals in a hybrid zone in southern California shows that hybrids are rare and consist mostly of F-1 individuals and multigenerational backcrosses. More than half of loci show elevated introgression from one genetic background to the other, although introgression is not associated with measures of divergence and loci with extreme divergence values are not near detoxification enzymes related to woodrat dietary specialization.
Article
Ecology
Maitreyi Sur, Brian Woodbridge, Todd C. Esque, Jim R. Belthoff, Peter H. Bloom, Robert N. Fisher, Kathleen Longshore, Kenneth E. Nussear, Jeff A. Tracey, Melissa A. Braham, Todd E. Katzner
Summary: This study used behavioral change point analysis to identify behavioral states of golden eagles in the deserts of the southwestern United States, and found that behaviors were associated with altitude, terrain, and wind conditions. This research provides a template for behavior-specific habitat associations that can guide species management effectively.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Corey I. Mitchell, Kevin T. Shoemaker, Todd C. Esque, Amy G. Vandergast, Steven J. Hromada, Kirsten E. Dutcher, Jill S. Heaton, Kenneth E. Nussear
Summary: Accurate population estimates are crucial for monitoring and managing wildlife populations. Spatial capture-recapture models can help correct biases in density estimates and demonstrate the importance of considering spatial information when dealing with collected data.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert Greenhalgh, Matthew L. Holding, Teri J. Orr, James B. Henderson, Thomas L. Parchman, Marjorie D. Matocq, Michael D. Shapiro, M. Denise Dearing
Summary: The genomic architecture of woodrats and their response to environmental change, especially the switch to a toxic food source, are studied using third-generation sequencing and novel analytical toolsets. A trio binning sequencing approach with a hybrid woodrat allows the simultaneous assembly of genomes representing each parental species, providing insights into the genetic mechanisms of dietary adaptation. Multiple gene duplications and expansions in key gene families involved in the metabolism of toxic compounds are found, suggesting the crucial role of these genetic changes in dietary adaptation. The success of trio binning in recovering parental genomes from species that diverged millions of years ago is also demonstrated.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Dylan M. Klure, Robert Greenhalgh, Thomas L. Parchman, Marjorie D. Matocq, Lanie M. Galland, Michael D. Shapiro, M. Denise Dearing
Summary: In a shrubland in California, a 3-year recapture study on Bryant's woodrat and desert woodrat revealed a high frequency of hybridization. The hybrids have comparable survival rates to the dominant parental species, indicating that ecological factors have limited influence on hybridization in this environment.