Connectivity shapes delivery of multiple ecological benefits from restoration

Rummell, Ashley J.; Borland, Hayden P.; Hazell, Jackson J.; Mosman, Jesse D.; Leon, Javier X.; Henderson, Christopher J.; Gilby, Ben L.; Olds, Andrew D.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110358

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 118 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Rates of ecological functioning at the restoration site surpassed those recorded at all three reference wetlands. These trends were also detected for fish and crustacean species richness and the abundance of fisheries targeted species at the same site and timeframe in Rummell et al (2023a). It is likely that wetland restoration augmented these aforementioned responses by fish and crustacean assemblages due to the joint effects of high resource availability (i.e.…”

Section: Best Fit Models and Importancementioning

confidence: 57%

“…These farming practices ended in the early 2000s, and the site was abandoned until purchased by Unitywater in the early 2010s. Passive restoration actions commenced via the opening of tidal gates in 2018 (Rummell et al 2023a(Rummell et al , 2023b. All four wetlands were located within the Maroochy River catchment, between 10 and 20 km upstream of the river mouth, and each experience semi-diurnal tidal regimes (with a maximum tidal height of 1.41 m), variable salinity (0-30 ppt), and modest annual rainfall (annual mean 1483 mm) (Bureau of Meteorology 2021; Maritime Safety Queensland 2021; EHMP 2022).…”

Section: Study Area and Restoration Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Restoration promotes ecological functioning through greater complementarity

Rummell,

Borland,

Hazell

et al. 2024

Restoration Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Restoration projects are increasingly widespread and many promote habitat succession and the diversity and abundance of faunal communities. These positive effects on biodiversity and abundance may extend to enhancing the ecological functioning and resilience of previously degraded ecosystems, but this is rarely quantified. This study surveyed a 200‐ha restoring coastal wetland and three control wetlands in the Maroochy River, eastern Australia to compare the effects of wetland restoration on the consumption of carrion and the biodiversity, abundance, and functional diversity of functionally important fish and crustaceans. Carrion consumption by fish and crustaceans was measured every 6 months from spring 2017 until spring 2021 for nine events using a combination of baited cameras and scavenging assays. We found restoration improved rates of carrion consumption and the biodiversity, functional diversity, and abundance of scavenger species. Despite positive effects on the diversity of scavengers and carrion consumption, the abundance of two species, longfin eels (Anguilla reinhardtii) and mud crabs (Scylla serrata), was the most important predictors of carrion consumption rates. The spatial distribution of carrion consumption was concentrated in areas with high saltmarsh extent, moderate to high mangrove extent, and high salinity, which also resembled the distribution of both longfin eels and mud crabs. We show that restoration can promote the rates of key ecological functions but that increases to functions are likely to be characterized by low functional redundancy and greater complementarity. Therefore, maintaining or increasing the abundance of functionally important species should become a key objective in future restoration projects.

show abstract

Section: Best Fit Models and Importancementioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Study Area and Restoration Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration promotes ecological functioning through greater complementarity

Rummell,

Borland,

Hazell

et al. 2024

Restoration Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Landscape metrics predict habitat redundancy of restored oyster reefs for recruitment enhancement of dominant estuarine fish

Davenport,

Hughes,

Grabowski

2024

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Structured biogenic habitats in estuarine and coastal landscapes (or seascapes) augment nekton species' production; yet, landscape setting may make restored habitats functionally redundant to co‐occurring habitats for some species. Few relationships between recruitment enhancement and continuous landscape metrics have been quantified, limiting our ability to incorporate functional redundancy into restoration practice. To address this gap, we quantified two landscape metrics, per cent structure of proximal habitat and near distance to co‐occurring structured habitats, for experimentally restored oyster reefs in an intertidal landscape in Middle Marsh, North Carolina, USA. We then examined relationships between each landscape metric and recruitment enhancement of juvenile pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), a species that uses multiple biogenic habitats and has high site fidelity as juveniles. We estimated that reefs with <33% proximal structured habitat within 15 m and <59% within 50 m contributed to recruitment enhancement, as defined by greater juvenile pinfish abundances at reefs than controls and no overlap in 95% confidence intervals. Additionally, functional redundancy, assigned according to per cent structure of proximal habitat within 15 or 50 m of restored reefs, reduced estimates of nekton recruitment enhancement in this experimental landscape by 58.3% or 33.3%, respectively. Estimates of nekton production augmented by restoration may be inflated if they have not been adjusted to account for habitat redundancy. Synthesis and applications. Landscape metrics offer some predictive capacity to help restoration practitioners avoid habitat redundancy for recruitment enhancement and extend beyond considering individual habitats toward integrating landscape scale processes into predictions and restoration practice. We demonstrated a straightforward process for restoration practitioners to identify where habitats may be redundant and incorporate the landscape into restoration siting decisions: delineate co‐occurring structured habitat with publicly accessible orthoimagery and model juvenile nekton relationships with proximal percent structure and near distance to other structured habitats.

show abstract