Conservation applications of niche modeling: native and naturalized ferns may compete for limited Hawaiian dryland habitat

Abstract

PremiseCompetition from non-native species and habitat loss are common threats to biodiversity and may act synergistically to increase competition for decreasing habitat availability. We develop a workflow using Hawaiian dryland ferns as a model for the interactions between land-use change and non-native competition in determining available habitat for native species.MethodsWe use fine-resolution climatic variables and carefully curated occurrence data from herbaria and community science repositories to estimate the distributions of Hawaiian dryland. We quantify the degree to which non-natives occupy similar regions of niche space and map the remaining available habitat given land-use change in Hawai‘i.ResultsThe estimated niches for the endemic species (Doryopterisspp.) are more narrow than for the indigenousPellaea ternifolia.Doryopteris angelicahas the lowest proportion of non-native occurrences in its estimated suitable area whileD. decorahas the highest. BothD. decoraandD. decipienshave low proportions (¡20%) of inferred suitable area covering native habitat.DiscussionAreas characterized by shared environmental preferences of native and non-native ferns may also decrease due to human development and fallowed agricultural lands. Our study demonstrates the value of a novel ecological niche modeling approach for conservation risk assessment in a rapidly changing and urbanized island ecosystem.

From theory to practice: New innovations and their application in conservation biology

“…These comparisons show the direct implications of data integration on the perception of species biology and thus inform or misinform aspects of species biology that are of conservation concern. Similarly, Edwards‐Calma et al ( 2014 ) integrated historical land‐use data with a recently developed statistical model for estimating a hypothetical fundamental niche for naturalized and native species of ferns. The authors make robust comparisons of species niche occupancy in light of historical land‐use changes that reveal the portions of native fern niches that are occupied by naturalized species and discuss the implications for biotic interactions to limit species distributions.…”