Riparian ecosystem configuration influences mesocarnivores presence in Mediterranean landscapes

Santos, María J.; Rosalino, Luís Miguel; Matos, Hugo M.; Santos‐Reis, Margarida

doi:10.1007/s10344-016-0984-2

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 58 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As estimated dispersal distances of mammal species in the assemblage were up to 30 times the separation between adjacent sampling plots, dispersal may allow most species to reach distant plots provided that functional distances are not much longer than Euclidean distances. This assumption is likely to hold because the high proportion of woody vegetation is expected to make the Sierra Morena and Doñana landscapes functionally continuous for forest species (Santos et al, 2016) and because the southern half of the Guadiamar agroecosystem continues to be occupied, or has been recolonized, by most mammal species (Rodríguez & Delibes, 2003), which may occur in discrete nuclei connected by metapopulation dynamics (Pereira & Rodríguez, 2010). Assuming little influence of dispersal‐based processes, high spatial turnover in species composition could be attributed to high environmental distances, that is, a highly heterogeneous habitat over most of the study region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental filtering drives the assembly of mammal communities in a heterogeneous Mediterranean region

Suárez-Tangil

Rodrı́guez

2023

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agricultural expansion and intensification are major drivers of global change. Quantifying the importance of different processes governing the assembly of local communities in agroecosystems is essential to guide the conservation effort allocated to enhancing habitat connectivity, improving habitat quality or managing species interactions. We used multiple detection methods to record the occurrence of medium‐sized and large‐sized mammals in three managed landscapes of a heterogeneous Mediterranean region. Then we used a joint species distribution model to evaluate the relative influence of dispersal limitation, environmental filtering, and interspecific interactions on the local assembly of mammal communities in 4‐km2 plots. The partitioning of the explained variation in species occurrence was attributed on average 99% to environmental filters and 1% to dispersal filters. No role was attributed to biotic filters, in agreement with the scarce support for strong competition or other negative interactions found after a literature review. Four principal environmental factors explained on average 63% of variance in species occurrence and operated mainly at the landscape scale. The amount of shrub cover in the neighboring landscape was the most influential factor favoring mammal occurrence and accounted for nearly one‐third of the total variance. The proportion of intensively managed croplands and proxies of human activity within landscape samples limited mammal presence. At the microhabitat scale (~80 m2 plots) the mean percentage area deprived of woody vegetation also had a negative effect. Functional traits such as body mass or social behavior accounted for a substantial fraction of the variation attributed to environmental factors. We concluded that multiscale environmental filtering governed local community assembly, whereas the role of dispersal limitation and interspecific interactions was negligible. Our results suggest that further removal of shrubland, the expansion of intensive agriculture, and the increase of human activity are expected to result in species losses. The fact that community integrity responds to a single type of ecological process simplifies practical recommendations. Management strategies should focus on the conservation and restoration of shrubland, adopting alternatives to intensive schemes of agricultural production, and minimizing recreational and other human activities in remnant natural habitats within agroecosystems or mosaic landscapes.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental filtering drives the assembly of mammal communities in a heterogeneous Mediterranean region

Suárez-Tangil

Rodrı́guez

2023

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The high index values of riparian climate-corridors along higher order streams thus reflect their connectivity to high-scoring upstream corridors, and thus their capacity to promote range shifts and provide access to climatic refugia at a regional scale. Indeed, shorter riparian corridors, such as those that would be found along headwater streams, have been shown to be more effective at promoting species movements [ 51 ]. Thus, the trade-off of this multi-scale approach—designed to accommodate diverse species with needs for movement and refugia at a range of scales—is its potential to overlook riparian climate-corridors that may be valuable at a more local scale, but do not meaningfully contribute to broader-scale, regional adaptation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identifying riparian climate corridors to inform climate adaptation planning

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Riparian habitats have been frequently identified as priority areas for conservation under climate change because they span climatic gradients and have cool, moist microclimates relative to surrounding areas. They are therefore expected to act as dispersal corridors for climate-induced species range shifts and to provide microclimatic refugia from warming. Despite recognition of these values, rigorous methods to identify which riparian areas are most likely to facilitate range shifts and provide refugia are currently lacking. We completed a novel analysis across the Pacific Northwest, USA, that identifies potential riparian corridors featuring characteristics expected to enhance their ability to facilitate range shifts and provide refugia. These features include large temperature gradients, high canopy cover, large relative width, low exposure to solar radiation, and low levels of human modification. These variables were used to calculate a riparian climate-corridor index using a multi-scale approach that incorporates results ranging in scale from local watersheds to the entire Pacific Northwest. Resulting index values for potential riparian corridors in the Pacific Northwest were highest within mountainous areas and lowest within relatively flat, lowland regions. We also calculated index values within ecoregions, to better identify high-value riparian climate corridors within the relatively flat, degraded areas where they may most contribute to climate adaptation. We found that high-value riparian climate-corridors are least protected in flat, lowland areas, suggesting that such corridors should be high priorities for future conservation effort. Our analysis provides critical information on valuable riparian climate-corridors to guide climate adaptation efforts (and riparian management and restoration efforts) in the Pacific Northwest, while offering a novel approach that may be applied to similar efforts in other geographies.

show abstract

“…In fragmented habitats, carnivores concentrate in the remnant forest patches [ 99 , 100 ] and are often detected more along riparian habitats than into the surrounding agricultural matrix [ 101 ]. Accordingly, genetic data suggest that, possibly as a consequence of constraints on dispersal imposed by the surrounding open habitats, pine marten density in lowland riparian woods of NW Italy is among the highest ever recorded throughout its European range [ 20 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling the Distribution of Forest-Dependent Species in Human-Dominated Landscapes: Patterns for the Pine Marten in Intensively Cultivated Lowlands

Balestrieri

Bogliani

Boano³

et al. 2016

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, the “forest-specialist” pine marten Martes martes has been reported to also occur also in largely fragmented, lowland landscapes of north-western Italy. The colonization of such an apparently unsuitable area provided the opportunity for investigating pine marten ecological requirements and predicting its potential south- and eastwards expansion. We collected available pine marten occurrence data in the flood plain of the River Po (N Italy) and relate them to 11 environmental variables by developing nine Species Distribution Models. To account for inter-model variability we used average ensemble predictions (EP). EP predicted a total of 482 suitable patches (8.31% of the total study area) for the pine marten. The main factors driving pine marten occurrence in the western River Po plain were the distance from watercourses and the distance from woods. EP suggested that the pine marten may further expand in the western lowland, whilst the negligible residual wood cover of large areas in the central and eastern plain makes the habitat unsuitable for the pine marten, except for some riparian corridors and the pine wood patches bordering the Adriatic coast. Based on our results, conservation strategies should seek to preserve remnant forest patches and enhance the functional connectivity provided by riparian corridors.

show abstract

Riparian ecosystem configuration influences mesocarnivores presence in Mediterranean landscapes

Cited by 10 publications

References 58 publications

Environmental filtering drives the assembly of mammal communities in a heterogeneous Mediterranean region

Environmental filtering drives the assembly of mammal communities in a heterogeneous Mediterranean region

Identifying riparian climate corridors to inform climate adaptation planning

Modelling the Distribution of Forest-Dependent Species in Human-Dominated Landscapes: Patterns for the Pine Marten in Intensively Cultivated Lowlands

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About