Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
12:26
Integrating Remote Sensing with Species Distribution Models; Mapping Tamarisk Invasions Using the Software for Assisted Habitat Modeling (SAHM)
Published on: October 11, 2016
Accommodating species climate-forced dispersal and uncertainties in spatial conservation planning
Priscila Lemes1, Rafael Dias Loyola
1Programa da Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
Plos One
|January 26, 2013
Summary
This study identifies crucial conservation areas for Atlantic Forest amphibians facing climate change. It prioritizes sites to minimize species
Area of Science:
- Conservation Biology
- Climate Change Ecology
- Biodiversity Informatics
Background:
- Climate change significantly impacts biodiversity, necessitating dynamic conservation strategies.
- Amphibians in the Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspot face considerable threats from shifting climate conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To define spatial conservation priorities for Atlantic Forest amphibians under projected climate change.
- To develop a dynamic conservation plan that accounts for climate-driven species range shifts and model uncertainties.
Main Methods:
- Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) were constructed for 431 amphibian species using six modeling methods and three climate models.
- Consensus models predicted species distributions for current and future (2080) climate scenarios.
- A network of priority conservation sites was identified by minimizing climate-forced dispersal distances and incorporating model uncertainties.
Main Results:
- Forecasted range shifts indicate high species richness in central and eastern Atlantic Forest by 2080.
- Significant range contractions (up to 72%) and regional extinctions (12%) are projected for many amphibian species.
- Identified priority sites facilitate climate-forced dispersal and maximize species representation within existing protected areas.
Conclusions:
- The study provides a robust framework for climate-adaptive conservation planning in biodiversity hotspots.
- The identified network of priority sites aims to mitigate climate change impacts on amphibian populations.
- This approach is adaptable for various taxa, regions, and spatial scales to enhance conservation effectiveness.
Related Concept Videos
00:54Distribution and Dispersion
To understand intra-specific interactions in populations, scientists measure the spatial arrangement of species individuals. This geographic arrangement is known as the species distribution or dispersion. Highly territorial species exhibit a uniform distribution pattern, in which individuals are spaced at relatively equal distances from one another. Species that are highly tied to particular resources, such as food or shelter, tend to concentrate around those resources, and thus exhibit a...
02:31Habitat Fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation describes the division of a more extensive, continuous habitat into smaller, discontinuous areas. Human activities such as land conversion, as well as slower geological processes leading to changes in the physical environment, are the two leading causes of habitat fragmentation. The fragmentation process typically follows the same steps: perforation, dissection, fragmentation, shrinkage, and attrition.
02:04Conservation of Small Populations
Small population sizes put a species at extreme risk of extinction due to a lack of variation, and a consequent decrease in adaptability. This weakens the chances of survival under pressures such as climate change, competition from other species, or new diseases. Large populations are more likely to survive pressures such as these, as such populations are more likely to harbor individuals that have genetic variants that are adaptive under new stresses. Small populations are much less likely to...
00:53Migration
Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.
02:07Conservation of Declining Populations
Conservation of declining population focuses on ways of detecting, diagnosing, and halting a population decline. The approach uses methods to prevent populations from going extinct.
01:31Formation of Species
Speciation describes the formation of one or more new species from one or sometimes multiple original species. The resulting species are discrete from the parent species, and barriers to reproduction will typically exist. There are two primary mechanisms, speciation with and without geographic isolation—allopatric and sympatric speciation, respectively.