Chetcuti, J, Kunin, W orcid.org/0000-0002-9812-2326 and Bullock, JM (Cover date: October 2022) Species’ movement influence responses to habitat fragmentation. Diversity and Distributions, 28 (10). pp. 2215-2228. ISSN 1366-9516
Abstract
Aim
Human conversion of land leads to habitat loss and fragmentation. The effects of habitat loss are well-established, but the effects of fragmentation beyond those of habitat loss, “fragmentation per se” (FPS), are intensely debated. One area of debate is how different species might respond to FPS. We will answer whether FPS have more negative effects on species that spend more time in the matrix and less on species with higher potential patch encounter rates.
Location
Virtual landscapes.
Methods
We simulated the effects of FPS on multiple species with different movement characteristics. All species moved with a random walk (RW), a correlated RW (CRW), or a habitat-dependent walk (HDW). Species also had increasing habitat bias which caused individuals to have a higher probability of moving into a more suitable habitat. The walk type modified the rate at which species encountered habitat patches. Increased bias caused individuals to spend more time in suitable habitats and less time in the matrix between patches. All species experienced higher mortality in less suitable habitats. We analysed FPS effects on species for whom the fragmented focal habitat was the most suitable.
Results
With bias, the species diversity of RW species declined with FPS, while FPS had little effect on the species diversity of species moving by CRW. For HDW species, spending less time in the matrix (moderate movement bias) caused species diversity to increase with FPS, but to decline with high bias.
Main conclusions
These results suggest that even for species that are dependent on fragmented habitat, FPS does not have a unidirectional effect. FPS can have a positive effect on species with high patch encounter rates (HDW with moderate bias) as their functional connectivity increases. These results help to explain why different studies show contradictory effects of FPS on biodiversity.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. Diversity and Distributions published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | fragmentation per se, individual-based model, movement bias, movement ecology, site fidelity, species diversity |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 23 Aug 2022 15:39 |
Last Modified: | 17 Aug 2023 14:24 |
Published Version: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/d... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley Open Access |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/ddi.13623 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:190178 |
Download
Filename: Species’ movement influence responses to habitat fragmentation.pdf
Licence: CC-BY 4.0