Excluding mammalian predators increases bird densities and seed dispersal in fenced ecosanctuaries

Bombaci, Sara; Innes, John; Kelly, Dave; Flaherty, Victoria; Pejchar, Liba

doi:10.1002/ecy.3340

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…As a result, few studies comprehensively measure the impacts of SDD. Some of the best examples of population and communitylevel effects come from places that have experienced widespread defaunation, such as the Canary Islands (Pérez-Méndez et al, 2016), New Zealand (Bombaci et al, 2021), the Mascarenes (Albert et al, 2020(Albert et al, , 2021, and Guam (Wandrag et al, 2017). Furthermore, few studies are able to capture evolutionary changes as a result of SDD (Galetti et al, 2013;Carvalho et al, 2016;Traveset et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We further see the potential for significant advances in understanding the ecosystem services that seed dispersers provide as agents of biotic connectivity (e.g., enabling plant species to track climate change, González-Varo et al, 2021) and for their role in enhancing carbon storage in regenerating or intact forests (Bello et al, 2015). Although benefits of seed dispersal are well-studied and evidence for SDD is widespread, less research effort has focused on building an evidence base for the effective use of habitat corridors (Levey, 2005) or protected areas (Bombaci et al, 2021) to facilitate plant connectivity via seed dispersal. In addition, studying how dispersal mode influences which plant species experience SDD will help forecast biodiversity and ecosystem services.…”

Section: Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drivers of Ecological and Evolutionary Disruptions in the Seed Dispersal Process: Research Trends and Biases

et al. 2022

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As the sole opportunity for most plants to move, seed dispersal influences the biodiversity and functioning of plant communities. Global change drivers have the potential to disrupt seed dispersal processes, affecting plant communities and ecosystem functions. Even though much information is available on the effects of seed dispersal disruption (SDD), we still lack a comprehensive understanding of its main causes at a global scale, as well as the potential knowledge gaps derived from research biases. Here we present a systematic review of biotic and abiotic SDDs to ascertain the global change drivers addressed, dispersal modes impacted, plant processes affected, and spatial focus of existing research on this topic up-to-date. Although there are many modes of dispersal and global change drivers in temperate and tropical ecosystems worldwide, research efforts have predominantly addressed the effect of alien species for biotic seed dispersal in temperate systems and oceanic islands as well as how defaunation of bird or mammal dispersers has affected seed removal in the Neotropics. SDD studies were also biased toward forest ecosystems, with few in shrublands or grasslands. Finally, the effects of climate change, ecological consequences at the whole community level, and evolutionary changes were largely unrepresented in SDD studies. These trends are likely due to a combination of true geographic and ecological patterns in seed dispersal and global change and bias in research focus. We conclude that increased research investment in the less-studied systems and a better understanding of potential synergies and feedback between multiple global change drivers will be important to forecast the threats to plant biodiversity and those ecosystem functions derived from seed dispersal in the Anthropocene.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Future Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of Ecological and Evolutionary Disruptions in the Seed Dispersal Process: Research Trends and Biases

et al. 2022

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“…In the long term, vegetated corridors will enable gaplimited taxa to move between isolated populations, increasing genetic exchange and effective population size and allowing populations to expand by natal, breeding, or post-release dispersal (Overmars et al 1992;Desrochers & Hannon 1997;Robertson & Radford 2009). Increasing the distributions of forest birds also increases their beneficial mutualisms, especially seed dispersal and pollination (Kelly et al 2010;Iles & Kelly 2014;Bombaci et al 2021) and predation (Carpenter et al 2021).…”

Section: Conservation Objectives and Roles For Corridors Ecosanctuari...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Movements and habitat connectivity of New Zealand forest birds: a review of available data

Innes¹,

Miskelly²,

Armstrong³

et al. 2022

NZJE

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New Zealand's original forested landscape has been greatly fragmented since human arrival, limiting connectivity and habitat quality for forest-dependent fauna. We review the limited available information about forest bird movement behaviour, especially whole-year sociality and movement, natal dispersal, and pasture-and water-gap crossing. Most small insectivores (17 species) and North Island kōkako are territorial year-round, but frugivore-nectivores (three species), raptors (two species), and volant parrots (four species) can be highly mobile, presumably to find scattered food. Natal dispersal is the main behaviour by which birds find new habitats and mates, but natal dispersal distances are unknown for half the species we review. There is limited information about species' ability to cross gaps between forests, and more is known about movement over water than pasture. We classify four species (North Island kōkako, pōpokotea, South Island tīeke, and North Island brown kiwi) as strongly gap limited, defined as currently unknown to cross water or pasture gaps larger than 500 m. A further eight species (mohua, tītitipounamu, pīpipi, weka, North Island tīeke, kakaruai, toutouwai, and miromiro) are moderately gap-limited, with maximum observed gap-crossing distances of less than 5 km. Pending new data, these twelve species have most need of corridors or translocations to enable them to establish in new, safe, ecosanctuary sites. Habitat connectivity can be increased by strategic planting, but this also risks decreasing populations if birds emigrate from safe to unsafe sites. Many managed ecosanctuaries are too small to accommodate natal dispersal distances expected in continuous forest, so pest control is required at larger scale in the long term to restore natural movement patterns.

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“…These species rely primarily on sight and primarily hunt during the day. Later introductions of mammalian predators that hunt nocturnally and rely on smell would render many of the defences these native species had developed useless and in many cases made them better prey (Bombaci, Innes, Kelly, Flaherty, & Pejchar, 2021).…”

Section: Aotearoa/new Zealand Land History Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Endemic and Invasive Species' Biodiversity Corridors in the Southern North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand

Morse¹

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<p>Habitat loss and invasive species threaten endemic species and the habitats they maintain. Landscape corridors or ecological corridors are strips of vegetation that provide an opportunity to preserve endemic populations by connecting habitats which may be too small on their own to sustain a population and/or by promoting exchange of individuals and their genes which can help maintain overall genetic diversity and population health. Corridor mapping can also improve our understanding of invasive predator pathways and may allow for more efficient control. Finally, corridors can be designed to contribute towards ecosystem services that may make their construction more appealing to landholders. However, restoration with the goal of improving connectivity for native species has not been well evaluated for its impacts on invasive species or ecosystem services. Agricultural regions provide an opportunity to coordinate corridors through restoration, as these regions often contain piecemeal strips of marginal land. In this study, connectivity for multiple species in the Greater Wellington region of New Zealand was evaluated using connectivity models via Linkage Mapper opensource software. I posed three questions: (1) What are the baseline corridors and relative connectivity for multiple species in the study region? (2) What is the relationship between endemic species corridors and those of invasive predators? (3) How does connectivity in the study region change following hypothetical stream restoration aimed at improving water quality? Current landscapes and future scenario landscapes were evaluated for their potential to provide corridors based on known and inferred behaviours of species with contrasting dispersal abilities, represented by ngahere gecko (Mokopirirakau “southern North Island”) rifleman/tītipounamu (Acanthisitta chloris), kākā (Nestor meridionalis), and common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). Corridors were successfully modelled in the landscape for all species. Ngahere gecko and tītipounamu exhibited limited presence of corridors that would enable them to traverse between areas of available and protected habitat. Kākā and brushtail possum showed extensive corridors that were concentrated along waterways but spanned the study region. The relationships between corridors for endemic species and invasive predators show there is a convergent spatial relationship between the two. Furthermore, following hypothetical restoration of streams within our modelling software specific responses by our study species were found. Ngahere gecko and tītipounamu showed improved connectivity throughout the region while kākā and brushtail possum had little change in connectivity under the stream restoration scenario. This knowledge may contribute towards more efficient predator control throughout the region as well as improved restoration design.</p>

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Excluding mammalian predators increases bird densities and seed dispersal in fenced ecosanctuaries

Cited by 8 publications

References 47 publications

Drivers of Ecological and Evolutionary Disruptions in the Seed Dispersal Process: Research Trends and Biases

Drivers of Ecological and Evolutionary Disruptions in the Seed Dispersal Process: Research Trends and Biases

Movements and habitat connectivity of New Zealand forest birds: a review of available data

Modelling Endemic and Invasive Species' Biodiversity Corridors in the Southern North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand

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