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Are human-induced changes good or bad to dynamic landscape connectivity?
Elie Morin1, Ny Tolotra Razafimbelo2, Jean-Louis Yengué3
1Université de Poitiers, Laboratoire Ecologie et Biologie des Interactions (UMR CNRS 7267), 3 Rue Jacques Fort, 86000, Poitiers, France.
Journal of Environmental Management
|January 7, 2024
Summary
Ecological networks are vital for conserving biodiversity amidst changing landscapes. This study reveals that urban landscape connectivity increased for two bird species over 24 years, impacting their populations differently.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Conservation Biology
- Urban Ecology
Background:
- Land managers face challenges balancing landscape change with biodiversity conservation.
- Ecological networks, comprising habitats (nodes) and corridors (links), are crucial for maintaining functional connectivity.
- Understanding dynamic landscape connectivity is essential for assessing biodiversity status, particularly in urban environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of fine-scale urban landscape connectivity changes on habitat availability for two bird species with differing ecological niches: Anthus trivialis and Certhia brachydactyla.
- To analyze population trends in relation to dynamic landscape connectivity over a 24-year period.
- To inform land management strategies for reconciling human activities and biodiversity conservation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized land cover maps to assess dynamic landscape connectivity at a fine scale.
- Employed statistical approaches to correlate species occurrences with landscape resistance values, inferring habitat use and corridor dependency.
- Analyzed changes in landscape connectivity over a 24-year study period for two specific bird species.
Main Results:
- Landscape connectivity increased for both Anthus trivialis and Certhia brachydactyla over the 24-year study period.
- Certhia brachydactyla occurrences correlated with higher resistance values maximizing corridor use, while Anthus trivialis occurrences favored intermediate resistance values.
- The findings suggest differential species capacity to utilize urban habitats and highlight varying impacts of landscape changes on local abundances.
Conclusions:
- Dynamic, fine-scale landscape connectivity studies are essential for effective land management and biodiversity conservation.
- Increased urban connectivity may explain national population increases in Certhia brachydactyla but not decreases in Anthus trivialis.
- Conservation efforts should consider both rural and urban habitats, with a focus on corridor-dependent species in urban areas.
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