The effects of forest management on terrestrial habitats of a rare and a common newt species

Vuorio, Ville; Tikkanen, Olli‐Pekka; Mehtätalo, Lauri; Kouki, Jari

doi:10.1007/s10342-014-0858-7

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Clear-cutting seems to affect many amphibian species negatively (Semlitsch et al 2009;DeMaynadier and Hunter 2011;Tilghman et al 2012). Northern crested newts tend to avoid clear-cuts and other non-forested areas in their terrestrial habitat around the breeding pond (Kupfer and Kneitz 2000;Vuorio et al 2015). Forest cover has also been found to be positively related to gene flow for several salamander species (Greenwald et al 2009;Emaresi et al 2011;Richardson 2012;Emel and Storfer 2015).…”

Section: Landscape Effects On Genetic Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape genetics of northern crested newt Triturus cristatus populations in a contrasting natural and human-impacted boreal forest

et al. 2020

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Among vertebrates, amphibians currently have the highest proportion of threatened species worldwide, mainly through loss of habitat, leading to increased population isolation. Smaller amphibian populations may lose more genetic diversity, and become more dependent on immigration for survival. Investigations of landscape factors and patterns mediating migration and population genetic differentiation are fundamental for knowledge-based conservation. The pond-breeding northern crested newt (Triturus cristatus) populations are decreasing throughout Europe, and are a conservation concern. Using microsatellites, we studied the genetic structure of the northern crested newt in a boreal forest ecosystem containing two contrasting landscapes, one subject to recent change and habitat loss by clear-cutting and roadbuilding, and one with little anthropogenic disturbance. Newts from 12 breeding ponds were analyzed for 13 microsatellites and 7 landscape and spatial variables. With a Maximum-likelihood population-effects model we investigated important landscape factors potentially explaining genetic patterns. Results indicate that intervening landscape factors between breeding ponds, explain the genetic differentiation in addition to an isolation-by-distance effect. Geographic distance, gravel roads, and south/south-west facing slopes reduced landscape permeability and increased genetic differentiation for these newts. The effect was opposite for streams, presumably being more favorable for newt dispersal. Populations within or bordering on old growth forest had a higher allelic richness than populations in managed forest outside these areas. Old growth forest areas may be important source habitats in the conservation of northern crested newt populations.

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Section: Landscape Effects On Genetic Differentiationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape genetics of northern crested newt Triturus cristatus populations in a contrasting natural and human-impacted boreal forest

et al. 2020

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“…At the northern periphery of its range (e.g. Scandinavia), however, typical habitats for T. cristatus include acidic bog lakes surrounded by coniferous woodland (Dolmen 1980;Vuorio et al 2015). As current conservation management practices for T. cristatus are heavily based on habitat suitability models Unglaub et al 2015), this raises the need to consider specific ecological, biogeographical and social contexts for assessing habitat requirements across its range (see also e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat requirements and conservation needs of peripheral populations: the case of the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) in the Scottish Highlands

et al. 2016

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Edge populations are of conservation importance because of their roles as reservoirs of evolutionary potential and in understanding a given species' ecological needs. Mainly due to loss of aquatic breeding sites, the great crested newt Triturus cristatus is amongst the fastest declining amphibian species in Europe. Focusing on the northwesterly limit of the T. cristatus range, in the Scottish Highlands, we aimed to characterise habitat requirements and conservation needs of an isolated set of edge populations. We recorded 129 breeding-pond related environmental parameters, and used a variable-selection procedure followed by random forest analysis to build a predictive model for the species' present occurrence, as well as for population persistence incorporating data on population losses. The most important variables predicting T. cristatus occurrence and persistence were associated with pond quality, pond shore and surrounding terrestrial habitat (especially mixed Pinus sylvestris-Betula woodland), and differed from those identified in the species' core range. We propose that habitat management and pond creation should focus on the locally most favourable habitat characteristics to improve the conservation status and resilience of populations. This collaborative work, between conservation agencies and scientific researchers, is presented as an illustrative example of linking research, management and conservation.

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“…From Spain to Italy, from Finland to Montenegro, European newts are threatened by anthropogenic activities (Denoël et al., 2019; Falaschi et al., 2021; Miró et al., 2018; Vuorio et al., 2015). Studying the variation of newt abundance over 25 years allowed us to assess the extent of abundance loss for two newt species declining at the regional scale, and to evaluate the effects of local, landscape, and SSP drivers of population dynamics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining declines of newt abundance in northern Italy

et al. 2022

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Amphibians are an exemplary case of the current biodiversity crisis, being among the vertebrates suffering the fastest decline. Population dynamics of amphibians can result from processes acting at different scales. Both the local characteristics of breeding wetlands and the features of the surrounding landscape can strongly affect the temporal dynamics of amphibian populations. European newts are particularly threatened by land‐use change and invasive alien species. While it is known that newts are declining across Europe, few studies have performed broad‐scale assessments of their decline, either because abundance dynamics are more complex to analyse than presence/absence data or because they require a high sampling effort and long‐term monitoring. In this study, we show that long‐term distribution data can be combined with demographic models to quantify the decline in abundance of newt species at the regional scale, and to assess the importance of multiple factors in determining abundance dynamics. We performed multiple surveys between 1996 and 2020 and used N‐mixture models in a Bayesian framework. We then calculated abundance changes between the first and the last sampling season, which were performed with an average timespan of 13 years across all wetlands. Both Italian crested newts and smooth newts showed large declines, with an average estimated abundance loss between the first and last sampling season of 57% and 63%, respectively. Local characteristics of the wetlands were the main determinants of abundance dynamics: the abundance of both species showed a positive relationship with the area and the permanence of the wetland and a negative relationship with the presence of fish. Additionally, the abundance of Italian crested newts was negatively related to the presence of invasive crayfish. No relationship was detected between abundance and terrestrial habitat availability or connectivity measures. Despite uncertainties in the absolute values of estimated abundance, the striking regional‐scale decline of newts is evident. Among the major determinants of population dynamics, fish and crayfish presence increased their prevalence in the study area, while other factors remained more stable. Management actions aimed at eradicating or controlling invasive fish and crayfish might halt abundance loss and even revert this declining trend. The application of N‐mixture models to long‐term data from representative sites permits the analysis of temporal trends of species at the regional scale even when data come from complex monitoring schemes. We found large declines in abundance of two newt species, suggesting that European newts may be more threatened than previously thought.

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The effects of forest management on terrestrial habitats of a rare and a common newt species

Cited by 15 publications

References 54 publications

Landscape genetics of northern crested newt Triturus cristatus populations in a contrasting natural and human-impacted boreal forest

Landscape genetics of northern crested newt Triturus cristatus populations in a contrasting natural and human-impacted boreal forest

Habitat requirements and conservation needs of peripheral populations: the case of the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) in the Scottish Highlands

Explaining declines of newt abundance in northern Italy

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