Biotic interactions in species distribution models enhance model performance and shed light on natural history of rare birds: a case study using the straight‐billed reedhaunter <i>Limnoctites rectirostris</i>

Palacio, Facundo Xavier; Girini, Juan Manuel

doi:10.1111/jav.01743

Cited by 40 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…This decision was influenced by the fact that most of the species’ distributional changes are largely driven by climatic variables [60]. Although Giannini et al [61], de Araújo [6] and Palacio and Girini [61] have pointed out that the inclusion of biotic factors significantly improves SDMs, we were unable to obtain these data for our study. We recommend that future studies consider the inclusion of pre-Cambrian rock (as it provides a preferred habitat for pancake tortoises), the international pet trade, land-use changes and ecological interactions as variables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Protected areas network is not adequate to protect a critically endangered East Africa Chelonian: Modelling distribution of pancake tortoise, Malacochersus tornieri under current and future climates

Eustace¹,

Esser

Mremi

et al. 2020

Preprint

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While the international pet trade and habitat destruction have been extensively discussed as major threats to the survival of the pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri), the impact of climate change on the species remains unknown. In this study, we used species distribution modelling to predict the current and future distribution of pancake tortoises in Zambezian and Somalian biogeographical regions. We used 224 pancake tortoise occurrences obtained from Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia to estimate suitable and stable areas for the pancake tortoise in all countries present in these regions. We also used a protected area network to assess how many of the suitable and stable areas are protected for the conservation of this critically endangered species. Our model predicted the expansion of climatically suitable habitats for pancake tortoises from four countries and a total area of 90,668.75 km2 to ten countries in the future and an area of 343,459.60 - 401,179.70 km2. The model also showed that a more significant area of climatically suitable habitat for the species lies outside of the wildlife protected areas. Based on our results, we can predict that pancake tortoises may not suffer from habitat constriction. However, the species will continue to be at risk from the international pet trade, as most of the identified suitable habitats remain outside of protected areas. We suggest that efforts to conserve the pancake tortoise should not only focus on protected areas but also areas that are unprotected, as these comprise a large proportion of the suitable and stable habitats available following predicted future climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Protected areas network is not adequate to protect a critically endangered East Africa Chelonian: Modelling distribution of pancake tortoise, Malacochersus tornieri under current and future climates

Eustace¹,

Esser

Mremi

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Thus, in predicting environmental change (Urban et al 2016) or even species ranges (Dormann et al 2018, Palacio andGirini 2018), we must also consider biological interactions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional dispersion of wetland birds, invertebrates and plants more strongly influenced by hydroperiod than each other

Daniel

Rooney

2020

Preprint

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The relative role of biological and abiotic filters on the assembly of co-occurring taxa is widely debated. While some authors point to biological interactions (e.g., competition) as the stronger driver of ecological selection, others assert that abiotic conditions are more important because they filter species at the regional level. Because communities influenced by a dominant abiotic filter, (e.g., Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) wetlands, each varying in ponded water permanence), often have strong cross-taxon relationships, we can study these communities to better understand the relative influence of abiotic vs biotic filters on community structure. Using functional dispersion as our measure of communities, we test six alternate hypotheses about the relative importance of various pathways representing influence of biological and permanence filters on birds, aquatic macroinvertebrates and wetland plants in the northwest PPR using structural equation modeling. We aimed to understand whether: 1) ponded water permanence alone explained functional dispersion; 2) the influence of permanence on functional dispersion was direct or mediated; and 3) abiotic filtering by permanence was stronger than biotic filtering by co-occurring taxa. The best model suggests that there is a direct influence of permanence on the functional dispersion of each taxonomic group and that both bird and macroinvertebrate functional dispersion are causally related to plant functional dispersion, though for invertebrates the influence of plants is much less than that of permanence. Thus, the relative importance of wetland permanence and the functional dispersion of co-occurring taxa depends on which taxon is considered in PPR wetlands.

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“…Birds are particularly suitable for modelling species ranges since they are well studied and there are ample data on their presence over time at large spatial extents (Bennett, Clarke, Thomson, & Mac Nally, 2015;Engler et al, 2017;Palacio & Girini, 2018). We used the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) to characterize geographic variation in species presence and abundance.…”

Section: Bird Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative importance of biotic and abiotic determinants of temporal occupancy for avian species in North America

Taylor

Umbanhowar

Hurlbert

2020

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim We examined the relative importance of competitor abundance and environmental variables in determining the species distributions of 175 bird species across North America. Unlike previous studies, which tend to model distributions in terms of presence and absence, we take advantage of a geographically extensive dataset of community time series to model the temporal occupancy of species at sites throughout their expected range. Location North America. Time period 2001–2015. Major taxa studied One hundred and seventy‐five bird species. Methods We calculated variation in temporal occupancy across species’ geographic ranges and used variance partitioning and Bayesian hierarchical models to evaluate the relative importance of (a) the abundance of potential competitors and (b) the environment (elevation, temperature, precipitation, vegetation index) for determining temporal occupancy. We also created a null model to test whether designated competitor species predicted variation in temporal occupancy better than non‐competitor species. Results On average, the environment explained more variance in temporal occupancy than competitor abundance, but this varied by species. For certain species, competitor abundance explained more variance than the environment. Migrant species with smaller range sizes and greater range overlap with competitors had a higher proportion of variance explained by competitor abundance than the environment. The abundance of competitor species had a stronger effect on focal species temporal occupancy than non‐competitor species in the null model. Main conclusions Temporal occupancy represents an underutilized method for describing species distributions that is complementary to presence/absence or abundance. Geographic variation in temporal occupancy was explained by both biotic and abiotic drivers, and abiotic drivers explained more variation in temporal occupancy than abundance on average. Species traits also play a role in determining whether variation in temporal occupancy is best explained by biotic or abiotic drivers. The results of our study can improve species distribution models, particularly by accounting for competitive interactions.

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Biotic interactions in species distribution models enhance model performance and shed light on natural history of rare birds: a case study using the straight‐billed reedhaunter Limnoctites rectirostris

Cited by 40 publications

References 55 publications

Protected areas network is not adequate to protect a critically endangered East Africa Chelonian: Modelling distribution of pancake tortoise, Malacochersus tornieri under current and future climates

Protected areas network is not adequate to protect a critically endangered East Africa Chelonian: Modelling distribution of pancake tortoise, Malacochersus tornieri under current and future climates

Functional dispersion of wetland birds, invertebrates and plants more strongly influenced by hydroperiod than each other

The relative importance of biotic and abiotic determinants of temporal occupancy for avian species in North America

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