A method to evaluate the combined effect of tree species composition and woodland structure on indicator birds

Dondina, Olivia; Orioli, Valerio; Massimino, Dario; Pinoli, Guido; Bani, Luciano

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.007

Cited by 14 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Model covariates, as main factors, were the logarithm of FA, the logarithm of DSA, NF and the three-level factor of species specialization. To take into account the possible effect of forest management practices on species richness (see Dondina et al, 2015), we included a two-level independent categorical variable in the models: coppices or high forests. This information was collected in the field during bird surveys and refers to the prevailing forest condition resulting from the management practice in each fragment.…”

Section: Community Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

How does forest species specialization affect the application of the island biogeography theory in fragmented landscapes?

Dondina

Orioli

D'Occhio

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim Overall species richness in habitat remnants is seldom explained by the island biogeography theory (IBT). In this study, we tested the effectiveness of the IBT in explaining species richness of forest birds with or without considering the effect of the different forest specialization of species (generalist, edge and interior; community analysis). We also identified single species and groups of species that could serve as indicators of different fragmentation degrees (indicator species analysis). Location Broadleaved forests in western Lombardy (northern Italy). Methods We evaluated bird species richness in 344 forest fragments. Fragment area (FA), distance from the nearest source area (> 1000 ha) (DSA) and number of neighbouring fragments (NF) were calculated for each fragment. Using Poisson generalized linear models, we compared a model that evaluated the relationships between fragment covariates and species richness to a model that also considered the effect of forest species specialization on each relationship. Moreover, we investigated the association between each species and particular fragmentation conditions by calculating the IndVal index. Results The application of the IBT to species richness performed significantly better if we took into account forest species specialization when evaluating the effect of fragment covariates. In particular, the positive effects of FA and NF and the negative effect of DSA were significantly stronger on interior species rather than on generalist and edge species. Using the IndVal index we identified six species in three groups strongly associated with specific fragmentation degrees. Main conclusions The results showed the strong influence of the specialization of species on their distribution in fragmented landscapes. Interior species were the best candidates as a proxy of fragmentation effects. However, the indicator species analyses revealed that not all interior species showed the same sensitivity to fragment covariates.

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Section: Community Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

How does forest species specialization affect the application of the island biogeography theory in fragmented landscapes?

Dondina

Orioli

D'Occhio

et al. 2016

Journal of Biogeography

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“…Finally, since species‐specific ecological traits are known to affect species responses to environmental changes (Copeland, Bradford, Duniway, & Butterfield, ; Dondina, Orioli, D'Occhio, Luppi, & Bani, ; Dondina, Orioli, Massimino, Pinoli, & Bani, ; Luppi, Dondina, Orioli, & Bani, ; Williams et al, ), we considered the species’ breeding habitat and migration habit as ecological traits potentially affecting the elevational responses of birds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winners and losers: How the elevational range of breeding birds on Alps has varied over the past four decades due to climate and habitat changes

Bani

Luppi

Rocchia

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Climate warming and habitat transformation are widely recognized as worrying threatening factors. Understanding the individual contribution of these two factors to the change of species distribution could be very important in order to effectively counteract the species range contraction, especially in mountains, where alpine species are strongly limited in finding new areas to be colonized at higher elevations. We proposed a method to disentangle the effects of the two drivers of range change for breeding birds in Italian Alps, in the case of co‐occurring climate warming and shrub and forest encroachment. For each species, from 1982 to 2017, we related the estimated yearly elevational distribution of birds to the correspondent overall average of the daily minimum temperatures during the breeding season and the estimated amount of shrubs and forest cover. Using a hierarchical partitioning approach, we assessed the net contribution (i.e., without the shared effect) of each driver. Both temperature and shrub and forest cover showed a positive trend along the time series and resulted the most likely causes of the significant elevational displacement for 21 of the 29 investigated birds. While shrub and forest cover was found to be an important driver of the expansion of forest bird range toward higher elevations, the effect of temperature on favouring the colonization of previously climatically unsuitable forests at higher elevations was not negligible. Shrub and forest expansion resulted the main driver of the range contraction for edge and open habitat species, which suffered a distribution shrinkage at their lower elevational boundary. In light of climate warming, these results highlighted how the net range loss for edge and open habitat species, caused by shrub and forest encroachment consequent to land abandonment, should be counteracted by implementing proper conservation management strategies and promoting sustainable economic activities in rangeland areas.

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“…2010, 2011). Moreover, the often co-occurring overexploitation of natural resources can hasten the effects of the natural habitat degradation of remnants, converting residual fragments into unsuitable areas for many forest species (Fischer and Lindenmayer 2007; Dondina et al. 2015; Zimbres et al.…”

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confidence: 99%

Species specialization limits movement ability and shapes ecological networks: the case study of 2 forest mammals

et al. 2018

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To counteract the negative effects of forest fragmentation on wildlife, it is crucial to maintain functional ecological networks. We identified the ecological networks for 2 mammals with very different degrees of forest specialization, the European badger Meles meles and the Roe deer Capreolus capreolus, by differentiating 4 agroforestry elements as either nodes or connectivity elements, and by defining the distance that provides the functional connectivity between fragments. Species occurrence data were collected in a wide agroecosystem in northern Italy. To test the role of hedgerows, traditional poplar cultivations, short rotation coppices, and reforestations as ecological network elements for the 2 species we applied the method of simulated species perceptions of the landscape (SSPL), comparing the ability of different SSPLs to explain the observed species distribution. All analyses were repeated considering different scenarios of species movement ability through the matrix. Model outputs seem to show that the specialist and highly mobile Roe deer has the same movement ability throughout the matrix (2 km) as the European badger, a smaller, but generalist species. The ecological network identified for the European badger was widespread throughout the area and was composed of woodlands, poplar cultivations and hedgerows as nodes and short rotation coppices as connectivity elements. Conversely, the ecological network of the Roe deer was mostly limited to the main forest areas and was composed of woodlands, poplar cultivations and reforestations as nodes and short rotation coppices and hedgerows as connectivity elements. The degree of forest specialization strongly affects both species perception of habitat and movement ability throughout the matrix, regardless of species size. This has important implications for species conservation.

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A method to evaluate the combined effect of tree species composition and woodland structure on indicator birds

Cited by 14 publications

References 42 publications

How does forest species specialization affect the application of the island biogeography theory in fragmented landscapes?

How does forest species specialization affect the application of the island biogeography theory in fragmented landscapes?

Winners and losers: How the elevational range of breeding birds on Alps has varied over the past four decades due to climate and habitat changes

Species specialization limits movement ability and shapes ecological networks: the case study of 2 forest mammals

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