Many empirical studies motivated by an interest in stable coexistence have quantified negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, or negative plant–soil feedback, but the links between these empirical results and ecological theory are not straightforward. Here, we relate these analyses to theoretical conditions for stabilisation and stable coexistence in classical competition models. By stabilisation, we mean an excess of intraspecific competition relative to interspecific competition that inherently slows or even prevents competitive exclusion. We show that most, though not all, tests demonstrating negative density dependence, negative frequency dependence, and negative plant–soil feedback constitute sufficient conditions for stabilisation of two‐species interactions if applied to data for per capita population growth rates of pairs of species, but none are necessary or sufficient conditions for stable coexistence of two species. Potential inferences are even more limited when communities involve more than two species, and when performance is measured at a single life stage or vital rate. We then discuss two approaches that enable stronger tests for stable coexistence‐invasibility experiments and model parameterisation. The model parameterisation approach can be applied to typical density‐dependence, frequency‐dependence, and plant–soil feedback data sets, and generally enables better links with mechanisms and greater insights, as demonstrated by recent studies.

Many species show large variation in lifetime reproductive success (LRS), with a few individuals producing the majority of offspring. This variation can be explained by factors related to individuals (fixed heterogeneity) and stochastic differences in survival and reproduction (dynamic heterogeneity). In this study, we study the relative effects of these processes on the LRS of a Dutch Kestrel population, using three different methods. First, we extended neutral simulations by simulating LRS distributions of populations consisting of groups with increasingly different population parameters. Decomposition of total LRS variance into contributions from fixed and dynamic heterogeneity revealed that the proportion of fixed heterogeneity is probably lower than 10%

Each heading below describes a column of the HomeRange database. Study_IDUnique number for each study. The corresponding references can be found in the reference list file. We are aware of a few studies that include home ranges of the same individual or group of individuals, and these study IDs are listed below: 13 & 916

Biodiversity is severely threatened by habitat destruction. As a consequence of habitat destruction, the remaining habitat becomes more fragmented. This results in time‐lagged population extirpations in remaining fragments when these are too small to support populations in the long term. If these time‐lagged effects are ignored, the long‐term impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation will be underestimated. We quantified the magnitude of time‐lagged effects of habitat fragmentation for 157 nonvolant terrestrial mammal species in Madagascar, one of the biodiversity hotspots with the highest rates of habitat loss and fragmentation. We refined species’ geographic ranges based on habitat preferences and elevation limits and then estimated which habitat fragments were too small to support a population for at least 100 years given stochastic population fluctuations. We also evaluated whether time‐lagged effects would change the threat status of species according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessment framework. We used allometric relationships to obtain the population parameters required to simulate the population dynamics of each species, and we quantified the consequences of uncertainty in these parameter estimates by repeating the analyses with a range of plausible parameter values. Based on the median outcomes, we found that for 34 species (22% of the 157 species) at least 10% of their current habitat contained unviable populations. Eight species (5%) had a higher threat status when accounting for time‐lagged effects. Based on 0.95‐quantile values, following a precautionary principle, for 108 species (69%) at least 10% of their habitat contained unviable populations, and 51 species (32%) had a higher threat status. Our results highlight the need to preserve continuous habitat and improve connectivity between habitat fragments. Moreover, our findings may help to identify species for which time‐lagged effects are most severe and which may thus benefit the most from conservation actions.

Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species.

New Guinea is one of the last regions in the world with vast pristine areas and is home to many endemic species. However, extensive road development plans threaten the island's biodiversity. Here, we quantified habitat fragmentation due to both existing and planned roads for 139 terrestrial mammal species in New Guinea. For each species, we calculated the equivalent connected area (ECA) of habitat, a metric that takes into account both the area and the connectivity of habitat patches, for three situations: (1) no roads (baseline situation), (2) existing roads (current situation), and (3) existing and planned roads combined (future situation). On average across the species, the ECA in the current situation equals 89% (SD = 12%) of the baseline ECA values (i.e., a situation without roads) and the lowest remaining ECA was found for Shawmayer's coccymys (Coccymys shawmayeri, 53%). The average remaining ECA decreases to 71% (SD = 20%) of the baseline ECA values in the future situation. Further, the future remaining ECA drops to below 50% of the baseline for 28 species and the lowest remaining ECA was found for the montane soft‐furred paramelomys (Paramelomys mollis, 36%). Especially currently non‐threatened carnivorous species with a large body mass will experience a large reduction in ECA. Future road development plans thus imply extensive additional habitat fragmentation for a large number of terrestrial mammal species in New Guinea. It is therefore important to limit the impact of planned roads, for example by reconsidering the location of planned roads that intersect habitat of the most threatened species, or by the implementation of mitigation measures such as underpasses.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved