The importance of ecological scale for wildlife conservation in naturally fragmented environments: A case study of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata)

Murray, Judith; Low‐Choy, Samantha; McAlpine, Clive; Possingham, Hugh P.; Goldizen, Anne W.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.020

Cited by 39 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…We chose two scales to examine, the site and the landscape.The site-scale is the scale at which individuals interact with one another and their environment, principally their food and shelter resources, on a daily basis, while landscapes are the scale at which populations interact with one another and the distribution of their resources over larger areas (Murray et al 2008). We considered these two scales to be the most important for examining koala resource selection in the semi-arid Mulgalands, and expected a greater amount of variation in the selection of those resources between sites and landscapes.…”

Section: Scale Pattern and Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

At what spatial scales does resource selection vary? A case study of koalas in a semi‐arid region

Smith¹,

McAlpine²,

Rhodes³

et al. 2012

Austral Ecology

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The conservation of any species requires understanding and predicting the distribution of its habitat and resource use, including the effects of scale-dependent variation in habitat and resource quality. Consequently, testing for resource selection at the appropriate scales is critical. We investigated how the resource selection process varies across scales, using koalas in a semi-arid landscape of eastern Australia as a case study.We asked: at what scales does tree selection by koalas vary across regions? We tested the importance of the variation of our ecological predictors at the following scales: (i) the site-scale (a stand of trees representing an individual koala's perception of local habitat); (ii) the landscape-scale (10 ¥ 10 km area representing a space within which a population of koalas exists); and (iii) a combination of these scales. We used a mixed-modelling approach to quantify variation in selection of individual trees by koalas among sites and landscapes within a 1600 km 2 study area.We found that tree species, and tree height, were the most important factors influencing tree selection, and that their effect did not vary across scales. In contrast, preferences for trees of different condition, which is the state of tree canopy health, did vary across landscapes, indicating spatial variation in the selection of trees with respect to tree condition at the landscape-scale, but not at the site-scale. We conclude that resource selection processes can depend on the quality of those resources at different scales and their heterogeneous nature across landscapes, highlighting the consequence of scale-dependent ecological processes. Designing studies that capture the heterogeneity in habitat and resources used by species that have an extensive distribution is an important prerequisite for effective conservation planning and management.

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Section: Scale Pattern and Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

At what spatial scales does resource selection vary? A case study of koalas in a semi‐arid region

Smith¹,

McAlpine²,

Rhodes³

et al. 2012

Austral Ecology

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“…Over recent years there has been considerable advancement in wildlife distribution assessment, particularly with the development and application of non-invasive survey methodologies (Kocher et al 1989;Woods et al 1999;Mowat and Paetkau 2002), concepts such as detectability (Mackenzie et al 2003) and spatial modelling (Buckland and Elston 1993;Carroll et al 1999;Murray et al 2008). These techniques can provide robust estimation of distribution and predictions on how future change may occur.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Pine marten (Martes martes) distribution and abundance in Ireland: A cross-jurisdictional analysis using non-invasive genetic survey techniques

O’Mahony¹,

O’Reilly

Turner

2012

Mammalian Biology

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a b s t r a c tOn the Island of Ireland, pine martens (Martes martes) exist at the western edge of their global geographic range in the least forested region of Europe. The species has undergone substantial declines in abundance and distribution during the 20th century. Here, we report on the first cross-jurisdictional (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) survey that aimed to investigate current pine marten distribution, assess any recent historical change and provide preliminary estimates of population abundance.A standardised non-invasive survey technique that used scat-based transect surveys and DNA analysis to confirm scat identity was deployed in 258 10 km national grid squares during 2005-2007. In the Republic of Ireland, an occupancy rate of 59.6% was found. Comparisons with historical data indicated that a range expansion of pine marten had occurred over the last 30 years. Indicative core population range extended to over 50% of the land area with population abundance estimates of 2740 individuals.In Northern Ireland, an occupancy rate of 56.7% was determined with the population largely concentrated in western areas. There was little or no evidence of any recent expansion from core population areas (18% of land area) despite recent increases in forest cover and full legal protection. Population abundance estimates of 320 emphasise the critical requirement for action to conserve this species.The pine marten is one of the rarest wildlife species in Ireland and, based on our studies, an evidenced based conservation strategy that promotes a sustainable future for the species needs to be developed.

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“…However, finer‐scale mechanistic relationships between individuals and their local environment may differ from those measured at landscape scales, especially in heterogeneous habitats (Wiens ; Kuefler and Haddad ; Murray et al. ; Tøttrup et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat‐mediated timing of migration in polar bears: an individual perspective

Cherry

Derocher

Lunn

2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Migration phenology is largely determined by how animals respond to seasonal changes in environmental conditions. Our perception of the relationship between migratory behavior and environmental cues can vary depending on the spatial scale at which these interactions are measured. Understanding the behavioral mechanisms behind population‐scale movements requires knowledge of how individuals respond to local cues. We show how time‐to‐event models can be used to predict what factors are associated with the timing of an individual's migratory behavior using data from GPS collared polar bears (Ursus maritimus) that move seasonally between sea ice and terrestrial habitats. We found the concentration of sea ice that bears experience at a local level, along with the duration of exposure to these conditions, was most associated with individual migration timing. Our results corroborate studies that assume thresholds of >50% sea ice concentration are necessary for suitable polar bear habitat; however, continued periods (e.g., days to weeks) of exposure to suboptimal ice concentrations during seasonal melting were required before the proportion of bears migrating to land increased substantially. Time‐to‐event models are advantageous for examining individual movement patterns because they account for the idea that animals make decisions based on an accumulation of knowledge from the landscapes they move through and not simply the environment they are exposed to at the time of a decision. Understanding the migration behavior of polar bears moving between terrestrial and marine habitat, at multiple spatiotemporal scales, will be a major aspect of quantifying observed and potential demographic responses to climate‐induced environmental changes.

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The importance of ecological scale for wildlife conservation in naturally fragmented environments: A case study of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata)

Cited by 39 publications

References 46 publications

At what spatial scales does resource selection vary? A case study of koalas in a semi‐arid region

At what spatial scales does resource selection vary? A case study of koalas in a semi‐arid region

Pine marten (Martes martes) distribution and abundance in Ireland: A cross-jurisdictional analysis using non-invasive genetic survey techniques

Habitat‐mediated timing of migration in polar bears: an individual perspective

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