International audienceResource selection functions (RSFs) can be used to map suitable habitat of a species based on predicted probability of use. The spatial scale may affect accuracy of such predictions. To provide guidance as to which spatial extent or grain is appropriate and most accurate for animals, we used the concept of hierarchical selection orders to dictate extent and grain. We conducted a meta-analysis from 123 RSF studies of 886 species to identify differences in prediction success that might be expected for five selection orders. Many studies do not constrain spatial extent to the grain of the next broader selection order in the hierarchy, mixing scaling effects. Thus, we also compared accuracy of single- vs. multiple-grain RSFs developed at the unconstrained extent of an entire study area. Results suggested that the geographical range of a species was the easiest to predict of the selection orders. At smaller scales within the geographical range, use of a site was easier to predict when environmental variables were measured at a grain equivalent to the home-range size or a microhabitat feature required for reproduction or resting. Selection of patches within home ranges and locations of populations was often more difficult to predict. Multiple-grain RSFs were more predictive than single-grain RSFs when the entire study area was considered available. Models with variables measured at both small and large (> 100 ha) grains were usually most predictive, even for many species with small home ranges. Multiple-grain models may be particularly important for species with moderate dispersal abilities in habitat fragments surrounded by an unsuitable matrix. We recommend studies should no longer address only one grain to map animal species distributions

An approach for synthesizing the results of ecological research pertinent to land management is the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Medicine Bow National Forest in southeastern Wyoming. The variables include live tree density, dead tree (snag) density, canopy cover, abundance of coarse woody debris, species diversity, fire return intervals, the abundance of various diseases, the proportion of the landscape in different land cover types, and the degree of patchiness in the landscape. The variables were examined at the stand and landscape scales, using information available in the literature and USFS databases. High-elevation landscapes were considered separately from low-elevation landscapes. Much of the report pertains to forests dominated by lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, and Engelmann spruce at high elevations, and by ponderosa pine and aspen at lower elevations. We defined the HRV reference period for the MBNF as approximately 1600 to 1860.Keywords: aspen, bark beetles, canopy gaps, coarse woody debris, comandra blister rust, dwarf mistletoe, Engelmann spruce, fire effects, disease in Rocky Mountain forests, forest fragmentation, insects in forests, interior forest, landscape ecology, lodgepole pine, mistletoe, mountain pine beetle, ponderosa pine, roads, Rocky Mountain forests, snags, spruce beetle, subalpine fir, subalpine forests, timber harvesting effects, white pine blister rust, wind in forests Executive SummaryThe challenges of sustainable land management have led to an increased emphasis on incorporating the results of science in the decision making process. One approach for accomplishing this objective is through the analysis of the historic range of variability (HRV) for key ecosystem variables that are affected by management activities. The rationale for HRV analyses is that the chances of sustainable forest management are greater if the variation in managed ecosystems includes the range of conditions that are expected at various scales in ecosystems relatively uninfluenced by humans. This report provides an HRV analysis for the upland vegetation of the Medicine Bow National Forest (MBNF).By definition, HRV analyses require the identification of specific variables and an estimation of how those variables fluctuated, at more than one scale, prior to the advent of resource extraction and management by EuropeanAmericans. A complete list of the variables that we examined is found in table 7. Examples include live tree density, dead tree (snag) density, canopy cover, abundance of coarse woody debris, species diversity, fire return intervals, the abundance of various diseases, the proportion of the landscape in different land cover types, and the degree of patchiness in the landscape. We examined variables at two scales-the stand and the landscape-and we separated high-elevation landscapes from low-elevation landscapes. Much of the repo...

Based on results from simulated redds of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch, the amount of fine sediment <0·5 mm in the lower half of the egg pocket, rather than the entire egg pocket of the redd, was a strong predictor of egg survival to hatching ( r2 = 0·62). The relationship was much stronger than observed in other studies, which typically ignore egg pocket structure. Abundance of a fish egg‐eating worm, Haplotaxis ichthyophagous, an oligochaete that may have been attracted to fine sediment and dead eggs in the egg pocket, was also associated with a decrease in egg survival. The worm, however, accounted for little of the variance in survival compared to fine sediment. Only 10% fine sediment (<0·5 mm) in the lower pocket was required to decrease survival from 100 to 5%. Other abiotic factors had weaker (gravel permeability) or non‐existent (dissolved oxygen) correlations with survival.

Little is known about the magnitude of the effects of lead shot ingestion alone or combined with poisons (e.g., in bait or seeds/granules containing pesticides) on population size, growth, and extinction of non-waterbird avian species that ingest these substances. We used population models to create example scenarios demonstrating how changes in these parameters might affect three susceptible species: grey partridge (Perdix perdix), common buzzard (Buteo buteo), and red kite (Milvus milvus). We added or subtracted estimates of mortality due to lead shot ingestion (4–16% of mortality, depending on species) and poisons (4–46% of mortality) reported in the UK or France to observed mortality of studied populations after models were calibrated to observed population trends. Observed trends were decreasing for partridge (in continental Europe), stable for buzzard (in Germany), and increasing for red kite (in Wales). Although lead shot ingestion and poison at modeled levels did not change the trend direction for the three species, they reduced population size and slowed population growth. Lead shot ingestion at modeled rates reduced population size of partridges by 10%, and when combined with bait and pesticide poisons, by 18%. For buzzards, decrease in mean population size by lead shot and poisons combined was much smaller (≤ 1%). The red kite population has been recovering; however, modeled lead shot ingestion reduced its annual growth rate from 6.5% to 4%, slowing recovery. If mortality from poisoned baits could be removed, the kite population could potentially increase at a rapid annual rate of 12%. The effects are somewhat higher if ingestion of these substances additionally causes sublethal reproductive impairment. These results have uncertainty but suggest that declining or recovering populations are most sensitive to lead shot or poison ingestion, and removal of poisoned baits can have a positive impact on recovering raptor populations that frequently feed on carrion.

We explored the interacting effects of marine-derived nutrient fertilization and physical disturbance introduced by coastal river otters (Lontra canadensis) on the production and nutrient status of pristine shrub and tree communities in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA. We compared production of trees and shrubs between latrines and non-latrines, while accounting for otter site selection, by sampling areas on and off sites. Nitrogen stable isotope analysis (delta15N) indicated that dominant tree and shrub species assimilated the marine-derived N excreted by otters. In association with this uptake, tree production increased, but shrub density and nonwoody aboveground shrub production decreased. The reduced shrub production was caused by destruction of ramets, especially blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), through physical disturbance by river otters. False azalea (Menziesia ferruginea) ramets were less sensitive to otter disturbance. Although surviving individual blueberry ramets showed a tendency for increased production per plant, false azalea allocated excess N to storage in leaves rather than growth. We found that plant responses to animal activity vary among species and levels of biological organization (leaf, plant, ecosystem). Such differences should be accounted for when assessing the influence of river otters on the carbon budget of Alaskan coastal forests at the landscape scale.