Protected areas act as establishment centres for species colonizing the UK

Hiley, Jonathan; Bradbury, Richard B.; Holling, Mark; Thomas, Chris D.

doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.2310

Cited by 49 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The average reliance on PAs was low in southern species (mean PA reliance [0.39 ± 0.19 SD]), and the under-representation of species strongly reliant on PAs in the south may be an explanation for the lack of relationship between PA reliance and abundance outside PAs in the 70s-80s. Species with a high reliance on PAs may use PAs as stepping stones when moving into new areas (Hiley, Bradbury, Holling, & Thomas, 2013 Our large-scaled long-term study provides quantitative evidence on the performance of PAs under climate change and as the previous studies concentrate to the temperate region (e.g., Gillingham, Alison, et al, 2015;Gillingham, Bradbury, et al, 2015;Thomas et al, 2012;Watson et al, 2014), widens the current knowledge to cover also boreal region. This suggests that PAs are important for expanding populations of southern species with high PA reliance; a conclusion also reached by studies based on occurrence data on birds and butterflies (Gillingham, Bradbury, et al, 2015) and abundance categories on odonates and butterflies (Gillingham, Alison, Roy, Fox, & Thomas, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Protected areas act as a buffer against detrimental effects of climate change—Evidence from large‐scale, long‐term abundance data

Lehikoinen

Santangeli

Jaatinen³

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

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Climate change is driving species to shift their distributions toward high altitudes and latitudes, while habitat loss and fragmentation may hamper species ability to follow their climatic envelope. These two drivers of change may act in synergy, with particularly disastrous impacts on biodiversity. Protected areas, PAs, may thus represent crucial buffers against the compounded effects of climate change and habitat loss. However, large‐scale studies assessing the performance of PAs as such buffers remain scarce and are largely based on species occurrence data. Conversely, abundance data have proven to be more reliable for addressing changes in wildlife populations under climate change. We evaluated changes in bird abundance from the 1970s–80s to the 2000s inside and outside PAs at the trailing range edge of 30 northern bird species and at the leading range edge of 70 southern species. Abundances of retracting northern species were higher and declined less inside PAs at their trailing range edge. The positive effect of PAs on bird abundances was particularly marked in northern species that rely strongly on PAs, that is, their density distribution is largely confined within PAs. These species were nearly absent outside PAs in the 2000s. The abundances of southern species were in general lower inside PAs and increased less from the 70s–80s to 2000s. Nonetheless, species with high reliance on PAs had much higher abundances inside than outside PAs in the 2000s. These results show that PAs are essential in mitigating the retraction of northern species, but also facilitate northward expansions of southern species highly reliant on PAs. Our study provides empirical evidence documenting the role of PAs in facilitating species to adjust to rapidly changing climatic conditions, thereby contributing to the mitigation of impending biodiversity loss. PAs may thus allow time for initiating wider conservation programs on currently unprotected land.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Protected areas act as a buffer against detrimental effects of climate change—Evidence from large‐scale, long‐term abundance data

Lehikoinen

Santangeli

Jaatinen³

et al. 2018

Global Change Biology

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“…; Hiley et al . ). Effective conservation requires a good understanding of the key drivers of ecosystem change because management needs to address the factors having the most negative impact on biodiversity (Williams et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Waterbirds increase more rapidly in Ramsar‐designated wetlands than in unprotected wetlands

Kleijn

Cherkaoui

Goedhart

et al. 2014

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary1. There is a general lack of information on how international conservation treaties affect biodiversity. The Ramsar convention on the protection of internationally important wetlands is such an international conservation policy. It initiated the world-wide establishment of over 2000 protected areas currently covering more than 200 million ha. The convention came into force in 1975, but to date, it remains unknown whether it actually produces biodiversity benefits. 2. We analysed 21 years of survey data from a wide range of waterbird species in over 200 Moroccan wetlands and examined whether Ramsar designation as well as a national protected areas programme Sites d'Int erêtBiologique et Ecologique (SIBE) positively affected bird abundance. Furthermore, habitat characteristics of wetlands in protected areas and control sites were compared and bird abundance was related to habitat characteristics. 3. After designation, waterbird species richness and abundance increased more rapidly in Ramsar wetlands than in non-designated wetlands. In SIBE sites, increases in bird abundance were intermediate. 4. Waterbird abundance was significantly related to habitat characteristics, most importantly cover of water or bare ground. Compared to control sites, Ramsar sites had significantly higher cover of habitat types favoured by most waterbird species. It remained unclear, however, whether these differences were caused by conservation management or were already present prior to conservation designation. 5. Surprisingly, waterbird population trends in Moroccan wetlands were markedly positive. Trends were found to be related to precipitation levels in the Sahel which may have caused changes in migratory strategies. 6. Synthesis and applications. This study demonstrates a powerful approach to systematically evaluating biodiversity responses to major international conservation policies. The results highlight that data on management and habitat quality are critical for reaching general conclusions about the effectiveness of conservation instruments. Site managers or conservation authorities should be encouraged to collect standardized data on conservation actions to help interpret the mechanisms behind population responses and thus extrapolate findings beyond the study system. These findings represent a first small step towards unravelling the contribution of international conservation tools towards global policy objectives of halting the biodiversity decline.

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“…Evidence suggests that larger, high-quality areas of natural habitats can increase functional connectivity, promote colonisation in the face of climate change and habitat fragmentation [149], and buffer species from the effects of climate change [150,151]. Protected areas have been shown to act as 'landing pads' and then 'establishment centres' for species shifting their ranges because of climate change [152].…”

Section: Climate Change Range Shifts and Connectivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

What Have We Learned from the Land Sparing-sharing Model?

2018

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Abstract:The land sparing-sharing model provides a powerful heuristic and analytical framework for understanding the potential of agricultural landscapes to support wild species. However, its conceptual and analytical strengths and limitations remain widely contested or misunderstood. Here, I review what inferences can and cannot be derived from the framework, and discuss eight specific points of contention and confusion. The land sparing-sharing framework is underpinned by an ethic that seeks to minimise harm to non-human species. It is used to quantify how good farmland is for different species, in relation to appropriate reference land uses, and at what opportunity cost. The results of empirical studies that have used the model indicate that most species will have larger populations if food is produced on as small an area as possible, while sparing as large an area of native vegetation as possible. The potential benefits of land sharing or intermediate strategies for wild species are more limited. I review disagreements about the scope of analysis (food production cf. food security), the value of high-yield farmland for wildlife, the (ir)relevance of the Borlaug hypothesis, scale and heterogeneity, fostering human connections to nature, the prospects for land sparing in heavily-modified landscapes, the role of land sparing in improving connectivity, and the political implications of the model. Interpreted alongside insights from social, political and economic studies, the model can help us to understand how decisions about land-use will affect the persistence of wild species populations into the future.

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Protected areas act as establishment centres for species colonizing the UK

Cited by 49 publications

References 23 publications

Protected areas act as a buffer against detrimental effects of climate change—Evidence from large‐scale, long‐term abundance data

Protected areas act as a buffer against detrimental effects of climate change—Evidence from large‐scale, long‐term abundance data

Waterbirds increase more rapidly in Ramsar‐designated wetlands than in unprotected wetlands

What Have We Learned from the Land Sparing-sharing Model?

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