Coexisting with fire: The case of the terrestrial tortoise Testudo graeca in mediterranean shrublands

Sanz‐Aguilar, Ana; Anadón, José D.; Gimenez, Andrés; Ballestar, Rubén; Graciá, Eva; Oro, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.12.023

Cited by 48 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Following disturbance by fire, subsequent population recovery will be influenced by many factors including the number and demographic parameters of survivors [8], [23], resource availability [24], post-disturbance successional pathways [7], [25], species' dispersal ability [26] and the geographic scale and patchiness at which the fire occurred [7], [9], [27]. Understanding the consequences of disturbance by fire for population processes is profoundly important for the management of species in fire-prone environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding the consequences of disturbance by fire for population processes is profoundly important for the management of species in fire-prone environments. This includes the need to develop appropriate fire regimes [14], [16], [23], to assess the susceptibility of populations to extinction [28] and to mitigate potentially adverse effects of post-fire disturbance activities [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Limited Population Structure, Genetic Drift and Bottlenecks Characterise an Endangered Bird Species in a Dynamic, Fire-Prone Ecosystem

et al. 2013

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Fire is a major disturbance process in many ecosystems world-wide, resulting in spatially and temporally dynamic landscapes. For populations occupying such environments, fire-induced landscape change is likely to influence population processes, and genetic patterns and structure among populations. The Mallee Emu-wren Stipiturus mallee is an endangered passerine whose global distribution is confined to fire-prone, semi-arid mallee shrublands in south-eastern Australia. This species, with poor capacity for dispersal, has undergone a precipitous reduction in distribution and numbers in recent decades. We used genetic analyses of 11 length-variable, nuclear loci to examine population structure and processes within this species, across its global range. Populations of the Mallee Emu-wren exhibited a low to moderate level of genetic diversity, and evidence of bottlenecks and genetic drift. Bayesian clustering methods revealed weak genetic population structure across the species' range. The direct effects of large fires, together with associated changes in the spatial and temporal patterns of suitable habitat, have the potential to cause population bottlenecks, serial local extinctions and subsequent recolonisation, all of which may interact to erode and homogenise genetic diversity in this species. Movement among temporally and spatially shifting habitat, appears to maintain long-term genetic connectivity. A plausible explanation for the observed genetic patterns is that, following extensive fires, recolonisation exceeds in-situ survival as the primary driver of population recovery in this species. These findings suggest that dynamic, fire-dominated landscapes can drive genetic homogenisation of populations of species with low-mobility and specialised habitat that otherwise would be expected to show strongly structured populations. Such effects must be considered when formulating management actions to conserve species in fire-prone systems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited Population Structure, Genetic Drift and Bottlenecks Characterise an Endangered Bird Species in a Dynamic, Fire-Prone Ecosystem

et al. 2013

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“…This decrease makes populations much more vulnerable to other common impacts in exurban areas, such as accidental or intentional fires, road kills, predation by introduced pets, or any source of environmental stochasticity (Table 6). (Hansen et al, 2005;Boarman and Sazaki, 2006;Sanz-Aguilar et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1), from May 2005 to May 2006, authors X-rayed radio-tracked females every 2 weeks during the spring activity season in order to estimate the number of clutches (Clutch) and the total number of eggs per clutch (Clsize) laid each year (Mora et al, 2006) (Table 4). The survival rate of HATCH, JUV and AD (Hsurv, Jsurv, and Asurv) was obtained from a study carried out in the same population from 1999 to 2009 by means of capture-recapture and multistate models (Sanz-Aguilar et al, 2011) (Table 4). We used values of egg survival (Esurv) and Rep from studies carried out in a population in southwest Spain (Díaz-Paniagua et al, 1997, 2001 (Table 4).…”

Section: Model Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exurban sprawl increases the extinction probability of a threatened tortoise due to pet collections

Legáz

Tenza

Anadón

et al. 2012

Ecological Modelling

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a b s t r a c tHuman behavior is an important factor in understanding the impact of exurban sprawl (i.e. low-density rural home development) on native species. We studied the long-term effect of pet collection on populations of the threatened spur-thighed tortoise by residents of exurban areas in southeastern Spain. We built a system dynamic model using authors' own data and bibliographic data about tortoise population dynamics, the housing development dynamics, and the behavior of local residents toward this species. The model includes two submodels (spur-thighed population dynamics and households dynamics) interconnected through a tortoise collection submodel. Simulations showed that exurban intensity (i.e. size of a housing development) is essential in determining the intensity and speed of tortoise population decrease. Populations may become extinct due to collection in areas around medium to large housing developments (above 650 houses). Low housing development causes a considerable reduction of original population levels (more than 14%). Environmental education program by itself, with the aim of reducing the willingness of new residents to keep tortoises in captivity, does not seem very effective. The quality and the speed with which the educational program is initialized are key factors in determining the effectiveness of the educational program. The scenarios simulation results suggest that the integration of policies of strong development constraints and educational programs are the most effective way in reducing the impact of exurban development on tortoise populations.

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“…In recent years, the number of studies investigating the effects of ECE in wild populations has been increasing [11][12][13]. There is now empirical evidence that ECE can have strong ecological effects as they can lead to local extinctions [14], changes in sex ratio [15], disease proliferation [16] and even reset community composition [17]. However, understanding the respective biological responses to the effects of changes in mean climate and climate variability-especially ECErequires more research [7,18 -22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of extreme sea surface temperature events on the demography of an age-structured albatross population

Pardo

Jenouvrier

Weimerskirch

et al. 2017

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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One contribution of 14 to a theme issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'. Climate changes include concurrent changes in environmental mean, variance and extremes, and it is challenging to understand their respective impact on wild populations, especially when contrasted age-dependent responses to climate occur. We assessed how changes in mean and standard deviation of sea surface temperature (SST), frequency and magnitude of warm SST extreme climatic events (ECE) influenced the stochastic population growth rate log(l s ) and age structure of a black-browed albatross population. For changes in SST around historical levels observed since 1982, changes in standard deviation had a larger (threefold) and negative impact on log(l s ) compared to changes in mean. By contrast, the mean had a positive impact on log(l s ). The historical SST mean was lower than the optimal SST value for which log(l s ) was maximized. Thus, a larger environmental mean increased the occurrence of SST close to this optimum that buffered the negative effect of ECE. This 'climate safety margin' (i.e. difference between optimal and historical climatic conditions) and the specific shape of the population growth rate response to climate for a species determine how ECE affect the population. For a wider range in SST, both the mean and standard deviation had negative impact on log(l s ), with changes in the mean having a greater effect than the standard deviation. Furthermore, around SST historical levels increases in either mean or standard deviation of the SST distribution led to a younger population, with potentially important conservation implications for black-browed albatrosses.This article is part of the themed issue 'Behavioural, ecological and evolutionary responses to extreme climatic events'.

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Coexisting with fire: The case of the terrestrial tortoise Testudo graeca in mediterranean shrublands

Cited by 48 publications

References 62 publications

Limited Population Structure, Genetic Drift and Bottlenecks Characterise an Endangered Bird Species in a Dynamic, Fire-Prone Ecosystem

Limited Population Structure, Genetic Drift and Bottlenecks Characterise an Endangered Bird Species in a Dynamic, Fire-Prone Ecosystem

Exurban sprawl increases the extinction probability of a threatened tortoise due to pet collections

Effect of extreme sea surface temperature events on the demography of an age-structured albatross population

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