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1.
Background
Histological examination using fluorochromes is one of the standard methods for observation of microorganisms in tissues and other compartments. In the study of fungi, especially those that cannot be cultured in axenic media such as biotrophic fungi, histological examination of processes associated with the fungal growth, differentiation, infection and other cellular functions can lead to the better understanding of host-parasite interactions. Fluorescence microscopy coupled with Fluorochrome Uvitex 2B have been extensively utilized to study rust fungi structures and host-pathogen interactions. In this study, we report development of a rapid staining protocol of the rust fungus Puccinia triticina using fluorochrome Uvitex 2B. The newly developed rapid procedure was compared with a standard staining technique to observe in planta fungal infection structures development during the wheat—Puccinia triticina interaction.Results
While significantly reducing the time for staining, the rapid protocol described here was equally efficient or better compared to standard procedure in detecting fungal infection structures using Uvitex 2B. In the rapid staining procedure, pre-heating of the stain increased efficiency to detect all the infection structures including haustoria with highly reduced background noise from plant tissue.Conclusion
This staining process described here is simple and quick. It can be completed in 4 h, which is of 6 times faster than the standard Uvitex 2B staining procedure.2.
Rachel A. Loehman Robert E. Keane Lisa M. Holsinger Zhiwei Wu 《Landscape Ecology》2017,32(7):1447-1459
Context
Interactions among disturbances, climate, and vegetation influence landscape patterns and ecosystem processes. Climate changes, exotic invasions, beetle outbreaks, altered fire regimes, and human activities may interact to produce landscapes that appear and function beyond historical analogs.Objectives
We used the mechanistic ecosystem-fire process model FireBGCv2 to model interactions of wildland fire, mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), and white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) under current and future climates, across three diverse study areas.Methods
We assessed changes in tree basal area as a measure of landscape response over a 300-year simulation period for the Crown of the Continent in north-central Montana, East Fork of the Bitterroot River in western Montana, and Yellowstone Central Plateau in western Wyoming, USA.Results
Interacting disturbances reduced overall basal area via increased tree mortality of host species. Wildfire decreased basal area more than beetles or rust, and disturbance interactions modeled under future climate significantly altered landscape basal area as compared with no-disturbance and current climate scenarios. Responses varied among landscapes depending on species composition, sensitivity to fire, and pathogen and beetle suitability and susceptibility.Conclusions
Understanding disturbance interactions is critical for managing landscapes because forest responses to wildfires, pathogens, and beetle attacks may offset or exacerbate climate influences, with consequences for wildlife, carbon, and biodiversity.3.
Context
In deserts, many plant species exhibit a patchy spatial distribution within a harsh habitat matrix, where the likelihood of propagule dispersal among patches is uncertain, but may be promoted by landscape corridors or dispersal vectors.Objectives
We examine the connectivity of a representative desert plant species (Acacia (Senegalia) greggii), and the ability of three major factors (animal dispersal agents, water flow along dry-washes, and climate) to facilitate dispersal within four watersheds in the Mojave National Preserve.Methods
We genotyped 323 individuals sampled across 22 one-hectare sites using ten nuclear microsatellite markers.Results
A hierarchical AMOVA revealed no significant differentiation among watersheds (F RT = 0.00, P > 0.10), and very little genetic structure among all sites (F ST = 0.03, P < 0.001), indicating regional connectivity. Mantel tests indicated distance along dry-washes best explained genetic distance between sites (r = 0.47, P < 0.05) when compared to Euclidean distance (P > 0.05), a distance measure based on rodent dispersal (P > 0.05), and a distance measure avoiding inhospitable climate (P > 0.05). An AIC comparison of generalized linear models found that within site genetic diversity (H E and allelic richness) and average relatedness were best explained by slope (which increases seed dispersal potential via water flow) and area of the upstream watershed (which determines the number of potential seed donors), rather than plant density or habitat suitability.Conclusions
Together, these findings indicate that dry-washes are key landscape features that enhance dispersal and regional connectivity in this patchy desert plant.4.
Xenia K. Volk Johannes P. Gattringer Annette Otte Sarah Harvolk-Schöning 《Landscape Ecology》2018,33(3):371-387
Context
Methods for measuring restoration success that include functional connectivity between species’ populations are rare in landscape ecology and restoration practices. We developed an approach that analyzes connectivity between populations of target species and their dispersal probabilities to assess restoration success based on easily accessible input data. Applying this method to landscape development scenarios can help optimize restoration planning.Objectives
We developed an assessment for restoration success and restoration planning based on functional connectivity between species’ populations and spatially explicit scenarios. The method was used in a case study to test its applicability.Methods
Based on data on available habitat, species’ occurrence and dispersal ranges, connectivity metrics and dispersal probabilities for target species are calculated using the software Conefor Sensinode. The metrics are calculated for scenarios that reflect possible changes in the landscape to provide a basis for future restoration planning. We applied this approach to floodplain meadows along the Upper Rhine for four plant species and three future scenarios.Results
In the case study, habitats of the target species were poorly connected. Peucedanum officinale and Sanguisorba officinalis were more successful in recolonizing new habitats than Iris spuria and Serratula tinctoria. The scenarios showed that restoration of species-rich grassland was beneficial for dispersal of the target species. As expected in the agriculturally dominated study area, restoration of former arable land significantly increased dispersal probabilities.Conclusions
In the case study, the developed approach was easily applicable and provided reasonable results. Its implementation will be helpful in decision-making for future restoration planning.5.
Clémentine Azam Isabelle Le Viol Jean-François Julien Yves Bas Christian Kerbiriou 《Landscape Ecology》2016,31(10):2471-2483
Context
Light pollution is a global change affecting a major proportion of global land surface. Although the impacts of Artificial Light At Night (ALAN) have been documented locally for many taxa, the extent of effect of ALAN at a landscape scale on biodiversity is unknown.Objectives
We characterized the landscape-scale impacts of ALAN on 4 insectivorous bat species Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Pipistrellus kuhlii, Eptesicus serotinus, Nyctalus leisleri, and compared the extent of their effects to other major land-use pressures.Methods
We used a French national-scale monitoring program recording bat activity among 2-km car transect surveys, and extracted landscape characteristics around transects with satellite and land cover layers. For each species, we performed multi-model averaging at 4 landscape scales (from 200 to 1000 m buffers around transects) to compare the relative effects of the average radiance, the proportion of impervious surface and the proportion of intensive agriculture.Results
For all species, ALAN had a stronger negative effect than impervious surface at the 4 landscape scales tested. This effect was weaker than the effect of intensive agriculture. The negative effect of ALAN was significant for P. pipistrellus, P. kuhlii and E. serotinus, but not for N. leisleri. The effect of impervious surface varied among species while intensive agriculture had a significant negative effect on the 4 species.Conclusion
Our results highlight the need to consider the impacts of ALAN on biodiversity in land-use planning and suggest that using only impervious surface as a proxy for urbanization may lead to underestimated impacts on biodiversity.6.
Wiebke Kämper Patrizia K. Werner Andrea Hilpert Catrin Westphal Nico Blüthgen Thomas Eltz Sara Diana Leonhardt 《Landscape Ecology》2016,31(10):2245-2258
Context
Abundance and diversity of bumblebees have been declining over the past decades. To successfully conserve bumblebee populations, we need to understand how landscape characteristics affect the quantity and quality of floral resources collected by colonies and subsequently colony performance.Objectives
We therefore investigated how amount and composition of pollen collected by buff-tailed bumblebee Bombus terrestris colonies was affected by the surrounding landscape (i.e. the proportion of forest, urban, semi-natural habitats) and how they were related to colony growth.Methods
Thirty B. terrestris colonies were placed at grassland sites differing in surrounding landscape. Colonies were established in spring when availability of flowering plants was highest, and their weight gain was monitored for 1 month. We additionally recorded the quantity and compared plant taxonomic composition and nutritional quality (i.e. amino acid composition) of pollen stored.Results
Bumblebee colonies varied little in the pollen spectra collected despite differences in surrounding landscape composition. They collected on average 80 % of pollen from woody plants, with 34 % belonging to the genus Acer. Early colony growth positively correlated with total amount of woody pollen and protein collected and decreased with increasing proportions of semi-natural habitats and total amino acid concentrations.Conclusions
Our results suggest that woody plant species represent highly important pollen sources for the generalist forager B. terrestris early in the season. We further show that colony growth of B. terrestris is predominantly affected by the quantity, not quality, of forage, indicating that several abundant plant species flowering throughout the bumblebees’ foraging season may cover the colonies’ nutritional needs.7.
Kimberly A. With 《Landscape Ecology》2016,31(5):969-980
Context
The species–area relationship (SAR) is the most ubiquitous scaling relationship in ecology, yet we still do not know how different aspects of scale affect this relationship. Scale is defined by grain, extent, and focus. Focus here pertains to whether patches or landscapes are used to derive SARs.Objective
To explore whether altering the focal scale influences the resulting SAR. If the SAR is scale-invariant, patch-based and landscape-based SARs should be congruent.Methods
I fit a power-law function (S = cA z) to arthropod data obtained from an experimental landscape system, in which habitat amount and configuration (clumped vs. fragmented) of red clover (Trifolium pratense) varied among plots (256 m2). The scaling coefficient (z) was compared among patch-based and landscape-based SARs for congruence.Results
Patches gained species at a faster rate than landscapes (z = 0.37 vs. 0.26, respectively), producing domains of incongruity in the SAR. Landscape richness (S L) was greater than patch richness (S P) below 30 % habitat, but S P > S L above 60 % habitat. Landscape configuration contributed to this incongruity below 30 % habitat (fragmented S L > clumped S L), but landscape context (whether the largest patch was embedded in a fragmented or clumped landscape) was important above 60 % habitat for understanding the SAR in this domain.Conclusions
Landscape configuration exerts both direct (<30 % habitat) and indirect (>60 % habitat) effects on the SAR. Because patch-based and landscape-based SARs may not be congruent, we should exercise care when extrapolating from patches to landscapes to make inferences about the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on species richness.8.
Jason J. Kolbe Paul VanMiddlesworth Andrew C. Battles James T. Stroud Bill Buffum Richard T. T. Forman Jonathan B. Losos 《Landscape Ecology》2016,31(8):1795-1813
Context
Urban landscapes are a mixture of built structures, human-altered vegetation, and remnant semi-natural areas. The spatial arrangement of abiotic and biotic conditions resulting from urbanization doubtless influences the establishment and spread of non-native species in a city.Objectives
We investigated the effects of habitat structure, thermal microclimates, and species coexistence on the spread of a non-native lizard (Anolis cristatellus) in the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida (USA).Methods
We used transect surveys to estimate lizard occurrence and abundance on trees and to measure vegetation characteristics, and we assessed forest cover and impervious surface using GIS. We sampled lizard body temperatures, habitat use, and relative abundance at multiple sites.Results
At least one of five Anolis species occupied 79 % of the 1035 trees surveyed in primarily residential areas, and non-native A. cristatellus occupied 25 % of trees. Presence and abundance of A. cristatellus were strongly associated with forest patches, dense vegetation, and high canopy cover, which produced cooler microclimates suitable for this species. Presence of A. cristatellus was negatively associated with the ecologically similar non-native A. sagrei, resulting in reduced abundance and a shift in perch use of A. cristatellus.Conclusions
The limited spread of A. cristatellus in Miami over 35 years is due to the patchy, low-density distribution of wooded habitat, which limits dispersal by diffusion. The presence of congeners may also limit spread. Open habitats—some parks, yards and roadsides—contain few if any A. cristatellus, and colonization of isolated forest habitat appears to depend on human-mediated dispersal.9.
Context
Playa wetlands are the primary habitat for numerous wetland-dependent species in the Southern Great Plains of North America. Plant and wildlife populations that inhabit these wetlands are reciprocally linked through the dispersal of individuals, propagules and ultimately genes among local populations.Objective
To develop and implement a framework using network models for conceptualizing, representing and analyzing potential biological flows among 48,981 spatially discrete playa wetlands in the Southern Great Plains.Methods
We examined changes in connectivity patterns and assessed the relative importance of wetlands to maintaining these patterns by targeting wetlands for removal based on network centrality metrics weighted by estimates of habitat quality and probability of inundation.Results
We identified several distinct, broad-scale sub networks and phase transitions among playa wetlands in the Southern Plains. In particular, for organisms that can disperse >2 km a dense and expansive wetland sub network emerges in the Southern High Plains. This network was characterized by localized, densely connected wetland clusters at link distances (h) >2 km but <5 km and was most sensitive to changes in wetland availability (p) and configuration when h = 4 km, and p = 0.2–0.4. It transitioned to a single, large connected wetland system at broader spatial scales even when the proportion of inundated wetland was relatively low (p = 0.2).Conclusions
Our findings suggest that redundancy in the potential for broad and fine-scale movements insulates this system from damage and facilitates system-wide connectivity among populations with different dispersal capacities.10.
Patrick D. Culbert Ine Dorresteijn Jacqueline Loos Murray K. Clayton Joern Fischer Tobias Kuemmerle 《Landscape Ecology》2017,32(2):429-444
Context
Ecological impacts of past land use can persist for centuries. While present-day land use is relatively easy to quantify, characterizing historical land uses and their legacies on biodiversity remains challenging. Southern Transylvania in Romania is a biodiversity-rich area which has undergone major political and socio-economic changes, from the Austro-Hungarian Empire to two World Wars, communist dictatorship, capitalist democracy, and EU accession—all leading to widespread land-use changes.Objectives
We investigated whether present-day community composition of birds, plants, and butterflies was associated with historical land use.Methods
We surveyed birds, plants, and butterflies at 150 sites and classified those sites as forest, arable land, or managed grassland for six epochs using historical maps from the 1870s, 1930s, and 1970s, satellite imagery from 1985 to 2000, and field visits in 2012. Sites were labelled permanent if they had the same land use at all epochs and non-permanent otherwise. We used clustering and PERMANOVA based on community similarity to test for associations between community composition and land-use history.Results
We found significant differences (p = 0.030) in bird communities between permanent and non-permanent forest sites, and permanent and non-permanent grassland sites (p = 0.051). No significant associations were found among plants or butterflies and land-use history.Conclusions
Bird communities were associated with historical land use, though plants and butterflies were not. Historical land-use change in our study area was likely not sufficiently intense to cross relevant ecological thresholds that would lead to legacy effects in present-day plant and butterfly communities.11.
Amy E. Frazier 《Landscape Ecology》2016,31(2):351-363
Context
Considerable research has examined scale effects for patch-based metrics with the ultimate goal of predicting values at finer resolutions (i.e., downscaling), but results have been inconsistent. Surface metrics have been suggested as an alternative to patch-based metrics, although far less is known about their scaling relationships and downscaling potential. If successful, downscaling would enable integration of disparate datasets and comparison of landscapes using different resolution datasets.Objectives
(1) Determine how surface metrics scale as resolution changes and how consistent those scaling relationships are across landscapes. (2) Test whether these scaling relationships can be accurately downscaled to predict metric values for finer resolutions.Methods
Various scaling functions were fit to 16 surface metrics computed for multiple resolutions for a set of landscapes. Best-fitting functions were then extrapolated to test downscaling behavior (i.e., predict metric value for a finer resolution) for an independent set of validation landscapes. Relative error was assessed between the predicted and true values to determine downscaling robustness.Results
Seven surface metrics (Sa, Sq, S10z, Sdq, Sds, Sdr, Srwi) fit consistently well (R2 > 0.99) with a 3rd order polynomial or power law. Of those, the scaling functions for Sa, Sq, and S10z were able to predict metric values at a finer resolution within 5 %. Three metrics, (Ssk, Sku, Sfd) were also notable in terms of fit and downscaling.Conclusions
Many metrics exhibit consistent scaling relations across resolution, and several are able to accurately predict values at finer resolutions. However, prediction accuracy is likely related to the amount of information lost during aggregation.12.
Background
It is well known that preparation of biological (plant and animal) tissues for Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) by chemical fixation and critical point drying results in shrinkage of tissues, often by up to 20-30%, depending on the tissue type and fixation protocol used. We sought to identify a protocol that would preserve tissue size and morphology better than standard chemical fixatives and dehydration regimes. We compared a range of processing techniques by quantifying changes in tissue size and recording details of surface morphology using leaf tissues from three commonly studied species; Arabidopsis thaliana, barley and cotton.Results
All processing protocols altered tissue dimensions. Methanol fixation and dehydration, followed by a further short (1 h) dehydration step in ethanol and critical point drying (which was based on a previously published method), preserved tissue dimensions most consistently of all protocols tested, although it did cause 8% shrinkage in all three species. This protocol was also best for preservation of surface morphology in all three species. We outline a recommended protocol and advise that the method is best trialled for different tissues, especially thicker or larger samples.Conclusions
This study shows that simultaneous fixation and dehydration in methanol followed by ethanol results in better preservation of dimensions and morphology of critical point dried plant tissues than other fixation and dehydration procedures. It is a quick and simple method, and requires standard SEM preparation equipment.13.
Grant S. Joseph Colleen L. Seymour Bernard W. T. Coetzee Mduduzi Ndlovu Luana Deng Kelly Fowler James Hagan Brian J. Brooks Jackson A. Seminara Stefan H. Foord 《Landscape Ecology》2018,33(5):731-742
Context
With global change, microclimates become important refuges for temperature-sensitive, range-restricted organisms. In African savannas, woody vegetation on Macrotermes mounds create widely-dispersed microclimates significantly cooler than the surrounding matrix, which buffer against elevated temperatures at the finer scale of mounds, allowing species to persist at the landscape scale. Termite colonies cultivate symbiotic fungi to digest lignin, but the fungi require temperatures between 29 and 32 °C, which termites strive to maintain. Mound-associated vegetation is a hot-spot for elephant herbivory, so removal of woody species cover by elephants could influence mound-associated microclimates, impacting temperature regulation by termites.Objectives
We explored the interaction between two prominent ecosystem engineers (termites and elephants) to ascertain whether elephant removal of mound woody cover affects (1) external mound-associated microclimate and (2) internal mound temperature.Methods
We surveyed 44 mounds from three sites in Kruger National Park, South Africa, during an El Niño/Southern Oscillation-induced drought and heatwave, recording whether sub-canopy, external, mound-surface and internal mound temperatures varied with vegetation removal by elephant.Results
Elephant damage to mound-associated vegetation reduces the fine-scale microclimate effect provided by vegetation on Macrotermes mounds. Despite this, termites were able to regulate internal mound temperatures, whereas internal temperatures of abandoned mounds increased with elevated surface temperatures.Conclusions
Termites can persist despite loss of mound-associated microclimates, but the loss likely increases energetic costs of mound thermoregulation. Since mound vegetation buffers against drought, loss of widely-dispersed, fine-scale microclimates could increase as megaherbivores remain constrained to protected areas, impacting climate-sensitive organisms and ecosystem function at a range of scales.14.
Pablo M. Vergara Luis O. Meneses Audrey A. Grez Madelaine S. Quiroz Gerardo E. Soto Christian G. Pérez-Hernández Paola A. Diaz Ingo J. Hahn Andrés Fierro 《Landscape Ecology》2017,32(2):279-293
Context
Interactions between landscape-scale processes and fine-grained habitat heterogeneity are usually invoked to explain species occupancy in fragmented landscapes. In variegated landscapes, however, organisms face continuous variation in micro-habitat features, which makes necessary to consider ecologically meaningful estimates of habitat quality at different spatial scales.Objectives
We evaluated the spatial scales at which forest cover and tree quality make the greatest contribution to the occupancy of the long-horned beetle Microplophorus magellanicus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in a variegated forest landscape.Methods
We used averaged data of tree quality (as derived from remote sensing estimates of the decay stage of single trees) and spatially independent pheromone-baited traps to model the occurrence probability as a function of multiple cross-scale combinations between forest cover and tree quality (with scales ranging between 50 and 400 m).Results
Model support and performance increased monotonically with the increasing scale at which tree quality was measured. Forest cover was not significant, and did not exhibit scale-specific effects on the occurrence probability of M. magellanicus. The interactive effect between tree quality and forest cover was stronger than the independent (additive) effects of tree quality and particularly forest cover. Significant interactions included tree quality measured at spatial scales ≥200 m, but cross-scale interactions occurred only in four of the seven best-supported models.Conclusions
M. magellanicus respond to the high-quality trees available in the landscape rather than to the amount of forest per se. Conservation of viable metapopulations of M. magellanicus should consider the quality of trees at spatial scales >200 m.15.
Context
Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) performs water quality enhancing functions that are critical to the overall health of estuaries such as the Chesapeake Bay. However, eutrophication and sedimentation have decimated the Bay’s SAV population to a fraction of its historical coverage. Understanding the spatial distribution of and connectedness among patches is important for assessing the dynamics and health of the remaining SAV population.Objectives
We seek to explore the distribution of SAV patches and patterns of potential connectivity in the Chesapeake Bay through time.Methods
We assess critical distances, from complete patch isolation to connection of all patches, in a merged composite coverage map that represents the sum of all probable Vallisneria americana containing patches between 1984 and 2010 and in coverage maps for individual years within that timeframe for which complete survey data are available.Results
We have three key findings: First, the amount of SAV coverage in any given year is much smaller than the total recently occupied acreage. Second, the vast majority of patches of SAV that are within the tolerances of V. americana are ephemeral, being observed in only 1 or 2 years out of 26 years. Third, this high patch turnover results in highly variable connectivity from year to year, dependent on dispersal distance and patch arrangement.Conclusions
Most of the connectivity thresholds are beyond reasonable dispersal distances for V. americana. If the high turnover in habitat occupancy is due to marginal water quality, relatively small improvements could greatly increase V. americana growth and persistence.16.
Hayley R. Tumas Brian M. Shamblin Mark Woodrey Nathan P. Nibbelink Richard Chandler Campbell Nairn 《Landscape Ecology》2018,33(9):1585-1601
Context
Common species important for ecosystem restoration stand to lose as much genetic diversity from anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and climate change as rare species, but are rarely studied. Salt marshes, valuable ecosystems in widespread decline due to human development, are dominated by the foundational plant species black needlerush (Juncus roemerianus Scheele) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.Objectives
We assessed genetic patterns in J. roemerianus by measuring genetic and genotypic diversity, and characterizing population structure. We examined population connectivity by delineating possible dispersal corridors, and identified landscape factors influencing population connectivity.Methods
A panel of 19 microsatellite markers was used to genotype 576 samples from ten sites across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) to the Apalachicola NERR. Genetic distances (FST and Dch) were used in a least cost transect analysis (LCTA) within a hierarchical model selection framework.Results
Genetic and genotypic diversity results were higher than expected based on life history literature, and samples structured into two large, admixed genetic clusters across the study area, indicating sexual reproduction may not be as rare as predicted in this clonal macrophyte. Digitized coastal transects buffered by 500 m may represent possible dispersal corridors, and developed land may significantly impede population connectivity in J. roemerianus.Conclusions
Results have important implications for coastal restoration and management that seek to preserve adaptive potential by sustaining natural levels of genetic diversity and conserving population connectivity. Our methodology could be applied to other common, widespread and understudied species.17.
Jean-Pierre Rossi Jacques Garcia Alain Roques Jérôme Rousselet 《Landscape Ecology》2016,31(2):243-254
Context
Various species of forest trees are commonly used for ornamental purposes and are therefore frequently found in nonforest ecosystems. They constitute an important component of the so-called trees outside forests (TOF). Not much is known, however, about the drivers of TOF spatial distribution either in urbanized or in agricultural landscapes since they are generally absent from forest inventories.Objective
The present study focused on the spatial distribution of TOF across agricultural landscapes and their potential role in the dispersal of a forest pest insect, the pine processionary moth, Thaumetopoea pityocampa (PPM).Methods
All the TOF belonging to the genera Pinus, Cedrus and Pseudotsuga were considered as potential hosts and inventoried within a 22 × 22 km study window. We fitted a nonstationary Poisson process to the empirical data and used the distance to the nearest building as a covariate.Results
Both empirical and simulated data indicated that TOF associated to human artifacts/urbanized areas constituted the main source of landscape connectivity for the PPM in the open fields under study. Because they do not account for TOF, forest inventories dramatically underestimate landscape connectivity and provide an erroneous picture of the PPM habitat distribution.Conclusions
We conclude that TOF, especially the ornamental component, must be taken into account when it comes to understanding forest insect landscape dynamics or genetics. The omnipresence of TOF also suggests a potentially huge role in pest dispersal and invasive species expansion.18.
Context
Although small isolated habitat patches may not be able to maintain a minimum viable population, small patches that are structurally isolated may be functionally connected if individuals can cross the gaps between them, in which case, their areas could be added to form a larger habitat patch, eventually surpassing the size threshold for holding a viable population.Objectives
We studied whether models based on the size and isolation of habitat patches could be used to predict the distribution of the Chestnut-throated Huet-Huet (Pteroptochos castaneus) in fragmented landscapes of the coastal range of the Maule region, central Chile.Methods
We selected seven 10,000-ha landscapes (8.4–70.7% forest cover). For each habitat patch we made 18 predictions of the presence of the species based on the combination of two thresholds: three critical patch sizes for maintaining a viable population (62.5, 125 and 250 ha) and six critical isolation distances between patches (0, 10, 50, 100, 150 and 200 m). We used playbacks in 59 sampling points to estimate the species’ presence/absence. We used logistic regressions to test whether the output of the patch-matrix models could explain part of the variation in the presence of Pteroptochos castaneus.Results
The best predictions for the presence of P. castaneus were obtained with the most conservative scenarios (125–250 ha to 0–10 m), including a positive effect of the understory cover and a lack of effect of the forest type (native or exotic).Conclusions
Our findings suggest that the long term persistence of P. castaneus may depend on the existence of large and/or very connected forest tracts.19.
Clémence Guiller Laurence Affre Cécile Hélène Albert Thierry Tatoni Estelle Dumas 《Landscape Ecology》2016,31(8):1747-1761
Context
Habitat fragmentation generates a loss of functional connectivity detrimental to the persistence of biodiversity. The French agricultural intensification initiated in the 1950s has caused a decline in field margins.Objectives
As field margins may facilitate species dispersal while providing socio-economic benefits, it is of interest to assess their contribution to the functional connectivity of insect-pollinated plants in agro-ecosystems. This will help develop appropriate management strategies mitigating fragmentation.Methods
We addressed this issue by studying the links between landscape structure and the patterns of abundance and pollen dispersal (using fluorescent dye particles) for two contrasted insect-pollinated plants occurring in field margins (Crepis sancta and Euphorbia serrata). We investigated the influence of field margins quality and of the surrounding matrix on pollen dispersal and compared the relevance of the least-cost algorithm with a straight-line approach to depict pollinators’ movements.Results
The influence of landscape structure on plant abundance is species and scale-specific. Pollen dispersal decreases with distance from the source. For E. serrata, it was preferentially dispersed via field margins, confirming the relevance of the least-cost algorithm, while C. sancta dispersal followed a straight-line.Conclusions
Euphorbia serrata, which grows strictly on field margins with a greater dispersal ability and a more diversified pollinator guild than C. sancta, is less affected by land-use changes. Our study demonstrates the contrasting contributions of field margins to pollen dispersal as they may act as functional corridors favouring pollinators’ movement depending on the species of interest.20.
George Olah Annabel L. Smith Gregory P. Asner Donald J. Brightsmith Robert G. Heinsohn Rod Peakall 《Landscape Ecology》2017,32(2):445-456