Habitat fragmentation in forests affects relatedness and spatial genetic structure of a native rodent, <i><scp>R</scp>attus lutreolus</i>

Stephens, Helen C.; Schmuki, Christina; Burridge, Christopher P.; O’Reilly-Wapstra, Julianne M.

doi:10.1111/aec.12001

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 81 publications

(204 reference statements)

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“…For example, more than 75% of naturally occurring deciduous forests in eastern and midwestern North America were cleared by 1850, primarily for agriculture (Stein et al 2000). This conversion of native forests has increased habitat fragmentation (Demers et al 1995;Stephens et al 2013) and isolated populations that were historically connected genetically, thereby increasing inbreeding depression (Mills 1995;Keller and Waller 2002). Increased fragmentation has also produced more field-forest edges, increasing the negative impacts of edge effects on forest interior species (Hargis et al 1999;Gehring and Swihart 2003;Elliott and Root 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Camera Traps to Assess Mammal and Bird Assemblages in a Midwestern Forest

Cloyed

Cappelli

Tilson

et al. 2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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Ecologists are increasing the use of remote technologies in their research, as these methods are less labor intensive than traditional methods and oftentimes minimize the number of human errors. Camera traps can be used to remotely measure abundance and community composition and offer the potential to measure some phenotypic traits, such as body size. We designed a camera-trap setup that enabled us to capture images of both large and small animals and used our camera-trap design to investigate the community composition of mammals and birds and to estimate the biomass of mammals along two transects in a conservation reserve in Missouri. One transect ran from the edge of an agricultural field to an upland forest, and the other transect ran from the edge of a wetland to an upland forest. Over the 4.5-wk study, our cameras recorded 2,245 images that comprised 483 individuals of 16 species of mammals and birds. Coyotes Canis latrans and nine-banded armadillos Dasypus novemcinctus were unique to the riparian transect, as were several bird species. Fewer species used the forest immediately adjacent to the agricultural field, but more species used the forest immediately adjacent to the wetland. Biomass estimates from our camera-trap images were similar to those of published accounts. This is the first study to use camera traps to successfully estimate biomass. We showed that the value and utility of camera traps in wildlife studies and monitoring can be expanded by 1) using multiple cameras at different heights from the ground so as to capture different-sized animals and 2) obtaining phenotypic information of the captured animals.Citation: Cloyed CS, Cappelli LR, Tilson DA, Crawford JA, Dell AI. 2018. Using camera traps to assess mammal and bird assemblages in a midwestern forest.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Camera Traps to Assess Mammal and Bird Assemblages in a Midwestern Forest

Cloyed

Cappelli

Tilson

et al. 2018

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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“…When the global genetic divergence between populations is analyzed, the wood mouse shows much weaker population structure than the bank vole. This pattern is expected considering that, at a short geographic scale (distances <30 km), genetic structure is commonly found only in rodents with a specialized ecological niche 73–79 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Genetic structure in the wood mouse and the bank vole: contrasting patterns in a human-modified and highly fragmented landscape

Biello

Brunelli

Sozio

et al. 2018

Preprint

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21Habitat fragmentation related to human activities modifies the distribution and the demographic 22 trajectory of a species, often leading to genetic erosion and increased extinction risks. Understanding 23 the impact of fragmentation on different species that co-exist in the same area becomes extremely 24 important. Here we estimated the impact produced by different natural and anthropic landscape 25 features on gene flow patterns in two sympatric species sampled in the same locations. Our main goal 26 was to identify shared and private factors in the comparison among species. 199 bank voles and 194 27 wood mice were collected in 15 woodlands in a fragmented landscape, and genotyped at 8 and 7 28 microsatellites, respectively. Genetic variation and structure were analysed with standard approaches. 29 Effective migration surfaces, isolation by resistance analysis, and regression with randomization were 30 used to study isolation by distance and to estimate the relative importance of land cover elements on 31 gene flow. Genetic structure was similarly affected by isolation by distance in these species, but the 32 isolation-by-resistance analysis suggests that i) the wood mouse has constrained patterns of dispersal 33 across woodland patches and facilitated connectivity in cultivated areas; ii) the bank vole connectivity 34 is hindered by urban areas, while permeability is facilitated by the presence of woodlands, and 35 cultivated terrains. Habitat loss and fragmentation can therefore influence genetic structure of small 36 sympatric mammal species in different ways, and predicting the genetic consequences of these events 37 using only one species may be misleading. 38 39 Anthropogenic landscape 42 43 44Habitat loss and fragmentation have negative impacts on populations, and are considered as one of 45 the main causes of biodiversity loss and therefore a major issue in conservation biology 1-3 . In 46 particular, anthropogenic habitat fragmentation has modified the distribution and population sizes in 47 many different organisms 4,5 , with local and/or global reduction of genetic diversity and 48 connectivity 6,7 . Monitoring the genetic consequences of human activities that increase habitat 49 fragmentation is therefore important to develop appropriate conservation and management 50 strategies 8 . 51The major consequence of habitat loss and fragmentation is to create discontinuities (i.e. 52 patchiness) in the distribution of critical resources (e.g. food, cover, water) or in environmental 53 conditions (e.g. microclimate) 9 . Such discontinuities reduce connectivity among populations 10 , 54 threatening their long-term viability due to genetic (e.g., reduced evolutionary potential and 55 inbreeding depression) and demographic factors (e.g. demographic stochasticity) 11 . Habitat 56 fragmentation may also have different short term consequences in different species, for example by 57 reducing the suitable habitats or increasing the predation success, but these effects poorly predict 58 long-term responses 1...

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“…Frugivorous rodents fulfill a role as seed dispersers, contributing to the spatial dynamics of plants populations during a key-stage of their life cycle (Nyiramana et al, 2011;Choo et al, 2012;López-Barrera, Newton & Manson, 2005;Forget et al, 2011). At the same time, plants provide rodents with the energy needed to complete their own life cycles (Stephens et al, 2013;Johnstone, Lill & Reina, 2014). In addition to their role as dispersal agents, rodents play several other roles within trophic webs (Martínez Ramos, 2008): they are an important source of energy for bigger mammals, function as biocontrol agents (Hanski, 1987), contribute to the nutrient cycles of soil while grazing in forest ecosystems (Virtanen, 2000;Hoset et al, 2014), and, in the case of the fossorial species, modify vegetation composition and abundance, nutrients dynamics, capture of water, and soil texture ( Reichman & Seabloom, 2002;Kerley, Whitford & Kay, 2004;Arias Caballero, 2011).…”

Section: Assessing Five Species Of Cloud Forest Rodents Of Mexicomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result of this process, cloud forests, as montane vegetation ecosystems in general, are becoming fragmented, sustaining only isolated vegetation patches that reduce the quality and quantity of the habitat for forest-dependent species (Lindenmayer, Cunningham & Pope 1999). Stephens et al (2013) demonstrated that even the smallest fragmentation, such as a road or walk path, can change the genetic structure of small species populations as those of rodents. Additionally, edge effect, another consequence of habitat loss and fragmentation (Lindenmayer, Cunningham & Pope, 1999), is common in landscapes next to disturbed areas.…”

Section: Assessing Five Species Of Cloud Forest Rodents Of Mexicomentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison between risk assessments methods: assessing five species of cloud forest rodents in Mexico

Ramirez

Quintero

2015

Preprint

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Background. Red Lists have been traditionally used as the instruments to guide conservation strategies to avoid extinctions. There is little objection to the idea that categorizing species according to their risk of extinction is a good way to prioritize and implement conservation actions; however, there is little consensus in the best way to do this categorization, and different countries have developed different methods according to their specific needs. The scope of this paper is to contrast the Mexican Risk of Extinction Assessment Method (MER) and the one used by the IUCN Red List, and test how simple, objective and transparent are them. Methods. In order to compare the we performed a search within IUCN´s data base to find species ranked as critically endangered which have not been assessed by the MER. We picked 5 species from the rodent genus Habromys and performed a literature review to assess them through the MER guidelines; we then compared the outcomes with UICN Red List. Results. The five assessed species of cloud forest rodents yield equivalent results through both the MER and IUCN assessments; however, the information asked for by the MER was scant for all the species, and we argue that the results of the assessments are thus not entirely objectives. Moreover, we found that the MER is not a simple method to use due to ambiguities of the criteria. Discussion. The aim of risk assessments is to clearly define the conservation status of a given species, displayed in a simple, transparent, objective, way, which can be relevant in terms of scope and impact on conservation actions. Unfortunately the MER does not fulfil all these requirements, potentially compromising conservation actions. As a result, we propose that it is time reevaluate the current version of the Mexican Risk of Extinction Assessment Method.

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Habitat fragmentation in forests affects relatedness and spatial genetic structure of a native rodent, Rattus lutreolus

Cited by 9 publications

References 81 publications

Using Camera Traps to Assess Mammal and Bird Assemblages in a Midwestern Forest

Using Camera Traps to Assess Mammal and Bird Assemblages in a Midwestern Forest

Genetic structure in the wood mouse and the bank vole: contrasting patterns in a human-modified and highly fragmented landscape

A comparison between risk assessments methods: assessing five species of cloud forest rodents in Mexico

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