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Corridor quality buffers extinction under extreme droughts in experimental metapopulations
Dongbo Li1, Jane Memmott1, Christopher F Clements1
1School of Biological Sciences University of Bristol Bristol UK.
Ecology and Evolution
|June 5, 2023
Summary
Improving habitat corridor quality boosts metapopulation persistence against environmental change. Good corridors buffer against drought, increasing survival time and reducing population decline for greater ecological resilience.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Habitat fragmentation and inhospitable matrices threaten metapopulation dynamics and persistence.
- The interaction between reduced corridor quality and environmental change rates on population stability is poorly understood.
- Metapopulations rely on habitat corridors for dispersal and buffering against global change.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of corridor quality on metapopulation persistence under simulated drought conditions.
- To understand how drought severity and extent interact with corridor quality to affect metapopulation stability.
- To evaluate the role of good-quality corridors in mitigating negative effects of environmental stressors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized laboratory microcosms with the Collembola Folsomia candida to model metapopulations.
- Manipulated drought severity and the number of drought-affected patches in landscapes with varying corridor quality (good vs. poor).
- Measured metapopulation extinction time, rate of decline, and interpatch abundance variability as key persistence metrics.
Main Results:
- Drought severity and increased drought patches negatively impacted metapopulation extinction time and increased decline rates.
- Good-quality corridors significantly mitigated these negative effects, enhancing metapopulation persistence.
- Corridors of higher quality reduced the speed of population decline and interpatch abundance variability.
Conclusions:
- Enhancing habitat corridor quality is a viable strategy to increase metapopulation persistence and resilience to environmental change.
- Improved corridors provide crucial time for conservation interventions or species adaptation/migration.
- Maintaining and improving corridor quality can bolster the resistance of spatially structured populations facing fragmentation and stress.
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