The risks and rewards of using artificial habitat structures for wildlife conservation

Watchorn, Darcy J.; Duncan, Tenaya A.; Cowan, Mitchell A.

doi:10.1111/aec.13376

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…2D; Table 5). Supporting our finding, previous studies also showed that artificial structures, such as metal and riprap-covered structures, are widely utilized by lizard and snake species in urban habitats for basking and hiding (Herbert et al 2023;Watchorn et al 2023;Yu et al 2022). For example, the density of lagartixas (Tropidurus hispidus) is elevated in urbanized areas and the primary predictor of abundance was man-made structures which provide shelter (de Andrade 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Urban oasis? Abundant dice snake (Natrix tessellata) populations along artificial lakeside habitats in urban landscapes

Mészáros,

Bürgés,

Tamás

et al. 2024

Landsc Ecol

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Context Human-induced landscape modification, such as urbanization, creates new environments that can have adverse effects on flora and fauna, posing threats to biodiversity. Understanding how reptiles respond to urbanization is crucial, especially in light of their ongoing population declines. Objectives We examined the influence of landscape-scale and local-scale urbanization features on the abundance of an aquatic snake species. Our investigation focused on dice snakes (Natrix tessellata) inhabiting a lake with a heavily urbanized shoreline. Methods We conducted visual encounter surveys at 25 study sites during the activity period of dice snakes around Lake Balaton in Hungary. We measured both landscape-scale and local-scale variables, including urban land use cover, vegetation cover, road cover, distance of main roads and city size, emergent vegetation cover and the area of artificial rock and concrete shoreline protection structures. We analysed snake survey data using N-mixture models to estimate abundance and examine relationships with landscape-scale and local-scale variables. Results Urban land use cover, road cover, the proximity of main roads and the extent of artificial rock and concrete shoreline protection structures positively affected the abundance of snakes. These findings imply that urban habitats may offer new ecological opportunities for dice snakes. Conclusions The findings of this study indicate that both landscape-scale and local-scale human-induced landscape modifications may have a positive impact on the abundance of urban snakes. Taken together, our findings suggest that urbanization is a complex phenomenon, affecting species at different levels and with subtle effects.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Urban oasis? Abundant dice snake (Natrix tessellata) populations along artificial lakeside habitats in urban landscapes

Mészáros,

Bürgés,

Tamás

et al. 2024

Landsc Ecol

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“…Funds must be directed toward actions that have clear evidence of population benefit (e.g., survival, reproductive success, time to recolonization), with priority given to threatened species that are at risk of long-term population loss due to altered fire regimes, or to regions where invasive predators threaten many species (Geary et al, 2021;Selwood et al, 2022). Further, artificial habitat structures can result in maladaptive or negative outcomes for target species, such as benefiting nonnative competitors (e.g., house mice) or predators, facilitating animal or plant disease spread, providing inappropriate thermal environments, or even acting as greenwashing mechanisms (Cowan et al, 2020;Firth et al, 2020;Roy et al, 2009;Watchorn et al, 2022;Watchorn et al, 2023). Whilst we found no evidence of negative outcomes in this study, further experiments that thoroughly assess these potential risks would be valuable.…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial refuges did not increase small mammal abundance after fire

Watchorn,

Doherty,

Wilson

et al. 2024

Conservat Sci and Prac

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The interacting threats of invasive predators and altered fire regimes are key conservation issues for many native species globally. Artificial refuges have been proposed as a potential conservation tool to provide prey species with protection from invasive predators after fire, but we do not yet know whether they improve animal survival. To address this knowledge gap, we experimentally tested how small mammal abundance and species richness were influenced by the provision of artificial refuges after prescribed burns. We surveyed small mammals across five unburnt sites, seven burnt sites with artificial refuges, and eight burnt control sites following two prescribed fires in southeastern Australia. There were negative and neutral responses of small mammals to the burns, and relative abundance was positively correlated with structurally complex vegetation. Artificial refuges had no impact on abundance or species richness, irrespective of burn coverage. These findings suggest that this artificial refuge design may not be an effective tool for improving small mammal population persistence postfire, and as such we should not yet scale up their application. However, given the inherent context‐dependency of field experiments involving fire, which include difficult‐to‐control variables such as fire severity, predator activity, and population dynamics, we encourage researchers to undertake further experiments with artificial refuges in fire‐affected areas, including after severe wildfires when less vegetation cover remains. Such studies will help to build our understanding of their utility as a conservation tool across different ecosystems and fire types.

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“…Humphrey et al 2017), active searches (Shine and Blomberg 2006), passive infrared camera traps (e.g. Molyneux et al 2017;Richardson et al 2017) and artificial refuges or substrates (Homan 2012;Michael et al 2012;Watchorn et al 2023). Artificial refuges, in particular, have been used successfully to detect other pygopodid species (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Artificial refuges, in particular, have been used successfully to detect other pygopodid species (e.g. Michael et al 2012), and are often used as a conservation tool (Lettink et al 2010;Watchorn et al 2023). Artificial refuges like roof tiles are a suitable monitoring and detection method for threatened pygopodids like the striped legless lizard (Delma impar) in grassland environments (Sadlier et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial prioritisation of survey and management efforts for a threatened pygopodid in south-western New South Wales

Waudby,

Turak,

Callister

et al. 2023

Aust. J. Zool.

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Determining species’ distributions is challenging for cryptic species that are difficult to detect using standard techniques. The mallee worm-lizard (Aprasia inaurita Kluge, 1974) is a cryptic reptile in the family Pygopodidae, listed as Endangered in New South Wales. We modelled the species’ potential distribution (Maxent) to improve understanding of the species’ distribution and surveyed potential habitat in the Scotia Mallee region (an area with suitable habitat) from 2018 to 2022, with pitfall traps and artificial refuges (terracotta roof tiles). We completed 11 587 pitfall trap-nights and 3200 tile checks over eight monitoring sessions. Over this period, we detected six vertebrate species (all lizards) using roof tiles and 40 species with pitfall traps, but no mallee worm-lizards. Evaluation of existing records of the mallee worm-lizard from NSW suggested that the state constitutes the north-eastern edge of its continental range, with the species apparently present in low numbers across a wide swathe of south-western NSW. Most records were located within or near to spinifex or porcupine grass (Triodia spp.) communities, on private land. Species distribution modelling provided outputs that are useful for spatial prioritisation of conservation efforts for the species, with region-wide maps showing that much of the Scotia Mallee study area contains potentially suitable habitat for the mallee worm-lizard. However, habitat suitability scores for individual cells in this area were low, in some instances, because of high maximum summer temperatures and soil available water capacity. We anticipate that increasing temperatures associated with climate change may further reduce the suitability of habitat in this area in the future.

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The risks and rewards of using artificial habitat structures for wildlife conservation

Cited by 6 publications

References 28 publications

Urban oasis? Abundant dice snake (Natrix tessellata) populations along artificial lakeside habitats in urban landscapes

Urban oasis? Abundant dice snake (Natrix tessellata) populations along artificial lakeside habitats in urban landscapes

Artificial refuges did not increase small mammal abundance after fire

Spatial prioritisation of survey and management efforts for a threatened pygopodid in south-western New South Wales

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