Wildfire and the ecological niche: Diminishing habitat suitability for an indicator species within semi‐arid ecosystems

O’Neil, Shawn T.; Coates, Peter S.; Brussee, Brianne E.; Ricca, Mark A.; Espinosa, Shawn P.; Gardner, Scott; Delehanty, David J.

doi:10.1111/gcb.15300

Cited by 45 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 153 publications

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“…Thus, differing patterns of burn severity and post-fire salvage logging may affect which parts of the landscape support resident animals [ 37 ], serve as travel corridors [ 38 ], or entirely exclude certain species [ 39 ]. Substantial landscape change post-fire may create ecological traps, where the presence of residual forest structure draws animals into low-quality habitat [ 40 , 41 ], or perceptual traps, where animals fail to recognize residual high-quality habitat [ 42 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-fire movements of Pacific marten (Martes caurina) depend on the severity of landscape change

Volkmann

Hodges

2021

Mov Ecol

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Background Wildfires and forestry activities such as post-fire salvage logging are altering North American forests on a massive scale. Habitat change and fragmentation on forested landscapes may threaten forest specialists, such as Pacific marten (Martes caurina), that require closed, connected, and highly structured habitats. Although marten use burned landscapes, it is unclear how these animals respond to differing burn severities, or how well they tolerate additional landscape change from salvage logging. Methods We used snow tracking and GPS collars to examine marten movements in three large burns in north-central Washington, USA (burned in 2006) and central British Columbia, Canada (burned in 2010 and 2017). We also assessed marten habitat use in relation to areas salvage-logged in the 2010 burn. We evaluated marten path characteristics in relation to post-fire habitat quality, including shifts in behaviour when crossing severely-disturbed habitats. Using GPS locations, we investigated marten home range characteristics and habitat selection in relation to forest cover, burn severity, and salvage logging. Results Marten in the 2006 burn shifted from random to directed movement in areas burned at high severity; in BC, they chose highly straight paths when crossing salvage-blocks and meadows. Collared marten structured their home ranges around forest cover and burn severity, avoiding sparsely-covered habitats and selecting areas burned at low severity. Marten selected areas farther from roads in both Washington and BC, selected areas closer to water in the 2006 burn, and strongly avoided salvage-logged areas of the 2010 burn. Marten home ranges overlapped extensively, including two males tracked concurrently in the 2010 burn. Conclusions Areas burned at low severity provide critical habitat for marten post-fire. Encouragingly, our results indicate that both male and female marten can maintain home ranges in large burns and use a wide range of post-fire conditions. However, salvage-logged areas are not suitable for marten and may represent significant barriers to foraging and dispersal.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-fire movements of Pacific marten (Martes caurina) depend on the severity of landscape change

Volkmann

Hodges

2021

Mov Ecol

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“…In southwest North Dakota, steeper and more rugged terrain often comprises exposed rock and sediment characteristic of the Badlands region, and offers minimal vegetation cover and/or water resources. Although relative selection of topographic characteristics by sage‐grouse varies throughout its distribution (e.g., Fedy et al., 2014; O’Neil et al., 2020; Walker et al., 2016), this topographic effect garnered substantial support from the data in North Dakota and may be a critical topographic component to consider in designing translocation projects. Importantly, other systems occurring at higher elevations may exhibit different relationships with topographic components, which also may vary depending on spatial scale of measurement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our spatial predictions imply areas of high versus low relative use, which is often assumed to coincide with gradients of habitat quality. However, future evaluations are needed to inform the population's performance as a response to the same habitat characteristics that are being selected or avoided across life stages, because habitat selection may not align with population performance, especially when individuals have imperfect knowledge of their environment (Cutting et al., 2019; O’Neil et al., 2020; Robertson et al., 2013). Information on population performance is needed to help guide placement of future release sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nesting, brood rearing, and summer habitat selection by translocated greater sage‐grouse in North Dakota, USA

Lazenby

Coates

O’Neil

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Human enterprise has led to large-scale changes in landscapes and altered wildlife population distribution and abundance, necessitating efficient and effective conservation strategies for impacted species. Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are a widespread sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) obligate species that has experienced population declines since the mid-1900s resulting from habitat loss and expansion of anthropogenic features into sagebrush ecosystems. Habitat loss is especially evident in North Dakota, USA, on the northeastern fringe of sage-grouse' distribution, where a remnant population remains despite recent development of energy-related infrastructure. Resource managers in this region have determined a need to augment sage-grouse populations using translocation techniques that can be important management tools for countering species decline from range contraction. Although translocations are a common tool for wildlife management, very little research has evaluated habitat following translocation, to track individual behaviors such as habitat selection and fidelity to the release site, which can help inform habitat requirements to guide selection of future release sites. We provide an example where locations from previously released radio-marked sage-grouse are used in a resource selection function framework to evaluate habitat selection following translocation and identify areas of seasonal habitat to inform habitat management and potential restoration needs. We also evaluated possible changes in seasonal habitat since the late 1980s using spatial data provided by the Rangeland Analysis Platform coupled with resource selection modeling results. Our results serve as critical baseline information for habitat used by translocated individuals across life stages in this study area, and will inform future evaluations of population performance and potential for long-term recovery.

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“…Once established, invasive species can lead to transformative changes in ecosystem processes at the landscape scale (Balch et al, 2013;Caplan et al, 2015;D'Antonio & Vitousek, 1992;Wilcox et al, 2012). Given the projected increases in anthropogenic CO 2 emissions and warming expected in the coming century, the abundance of invasive grasses is likely to increase in arid as well as semi-arid ecosystems (Dukes & Mooney, 1999), with important implications for native species composition and ecosystem processes (Fusco et al, 2019;O'Neil et al, 2020;Valliere et al, 2019;Wilcox et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological invasions and climate change amplify each other’s effects on dryland degradation

Ravi

Law

Caplan

et al. 2021

Global Change Biology

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Wildfire and the ecological niche: Diminishing habitat suitability for an indicator species within semi‐arid ecosystems

Cited by 45 publications

References 153 publications

Post-fire movements of Pacific marten (Martes caurina) depend on the severity of landscape change

Post-fire movements of Pacific marten (Martes caurina) depend on the severity of landscape change

Nesting, brood rearing, and summer habitat selection by translocated greater sage‐grouse in North Dakota, USA

Biological invasions and climate change amplify each other’s effects on dryland degradation

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