scholarly journals Losing your edge: climate change and the conservation value of range‐edge populations

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (19) ◽  
pp. 4315-4326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan M. Rehm ◽  
Paulo Olivas ◽  
James Stroud ◽  
Kenneth J. Feeley
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
Edge Populations

scholarly journals Autumn freeze-thaw events carry over to depress late-winter reproductive performance in Canada jays

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 181754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex O. Sutton ◽  
Dan Strickland ◽  
Nikole E. Freeman ◽  
Amy E. M. Newman ◽  
D. Ryan Norris
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Freeze Thaw ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
Food Caching ◽  
Nestling Condition ◽  
Edge Populations ◽  
Carry Over

Evidence suggests that range-edge populations are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but few studies have examined the specific mechanisms that are driving observed declines. Species that store perishable food for extended periods of time may be particularly susceptible to environmental change because shifts in climatic conditions could accelerate the natural degradation of their cached food. Here, we use 40 years of breeding data from a marked population of Canada jays ( Perisoreus canadensis ) located at the southern edge of their range in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, to examine whether climatic conditions prior to breeding carry over to influence reproductive performance. We found that multiple measures of Canada jay reproductive performance (brood size, nest success and nestling condition) in the late winter were negatively correlated with the number of freeze–thaw events the previous autumn. Our results suggest that freeze–thaw events have a significant detrimental impact on the quality and/or quantity of cached food available to Canada jays. Future increases in such events, caused by climate change, could pose a serious threat to Canada jays and other food caching species that store perishable foods for long periods of time.

scholarly journals Genetic patterns in range-edge populations of Vaccinium species from the central Balkans: implications on conservation prospects and sustainable usage

Silva Fennica ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivana Bjedov ◽  
Dragica Obratov–Petković ◽  
Danijela Mišić ◽  
Branislav Šiler ◽  
Jelena Aleksic
Keyword(s):  
Range Edge ◽  
Genetic Patterns ◽  
Edge Populations ◽  
Sustainable Usage

Climate change reduces genetic diversity of Canada lynx at the trailing range edge

Ecography ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 754-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Koen ◽  
J. Bowman ◽  
D. L. Murray ◽  
P. J. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Canada Lynx ◽  
Range Edge

Active sexual reproduction but no sign of genetic diversity in range-edge populations of Vanilla roscheri Rchb. f. (Orchidaceae) in South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1403-1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolphe L. Gigant ◽  
Alexandre De Bruyn ◽  
Brigitte Church ◽  
Laurence Humeau ◽  
Anne Gauvin-Bialecki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
Edge Populations

scholarly journals Environmental heterogeneity leads to higher plasticity in dry-edge populations of a semi-arid Chilean shrub: insights into climate change responses

2015 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Lázaro-Nogal ◽  
Silvia Matesanz ◽  
Alice Godoy ◽  
Fernanda Pérez-Trautman ◽  
Ernesto Gianoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Heterogeneity ◽  
Climate Change Responses ◽  
Edge Populations ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals Tracing climate and land-use instability reveals new insights into the future of Earth’s remaining wilderness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Asamoah ◽  
Moreno Di Marco ◽  
James Watson ◽  
Linda Beaumont ◽  
Oscar Venter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
The Future ◽  
Wilderness Areas ◽  
Global Biodiversity

Abstract Accelerated loss of Earth’s wilderness over the last five decades underscores the urgency for efforts to retain the conservation value of these areas. Assessing how wilderness areas are likely to be impacted by the future environmental change is fundamental to achieving global biodiversity conservation goals. Using scenarios of climate and land-use change during baseline (1970–2005) and future (2015–2050) epochs, we found that climate change within wilderness areas is predicted to increase by ~ 47%, compared to a 19% increase in land-use change. Half (52%) of all wilderness areas may undergo climate change by 2050, limiting their capacity to shelter biodiversity. More significant changes are especially predicted to occur in the unprotected wilderness that supports unique assemblages of species and are therefore more important for biodiversity persistence. Countries with smaller and disconnected wilderness areas are disproportionately at risk from the combined impacts of climate and land-use change. Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and preserving remaining intact natural ecosystems can help fortify these frontiers of biodiversity.

scholarly journals Systematic conservation planning in Tsay Keh Dene Territory: incorporating climate change and interweaving traditional ecological knowledge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Christopher Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
British Columbia ◽  
Traditional Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Geospatial Analysis ◽  
Ecological Knowledge ◽  
Western Science ◽  
Conservation Value ◽  
Systematic Conservation Planning ◽  
North Central

Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) is the practice of comprehensively assessing a landscape for its conservation value via geospatial analysis. This research project applied SCP principles and tools to Tsay Keh Dene Nation Territory in north-central British Columbia, Canada. Working with the Tsay Keh Dene community, we articulated conservation goals and determined important features on the landscape that helped attain those goals. This effort also examined climate change and connectivity impacts on conservation, comparing which lands are most worth conserving today versus 30 and 60 years from now. Finally, this work explored the interweaving of Traditional Ecological Knowledge with the Western science-based SCP framework to ensure a more holistic and inclusive outcome. Our findings both validated ongoing conservation efforts in the Territory and identified additional high-value areas for future consideration. This research can also serve as a guide for other accessible TEK-focused or community-led SCP efforts.

scholarly journals Spatial distribution and hotspots of mammals in Canada

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Cameron ◽  
Anna L. Hargreaves
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Grid Cell ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
Threat Status ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
As Species ◽  
Edge Populations ◽  
Mammal Diversity

AbstractHigh-latitude countries often contain the polar range edge of species that are common farther south. The more peripherally a species occurs in a country, the smaller its national range will be and the more its national range will consist of range-edge populations, which are often predicted to be relatively small, isolated, and unproductive. Together, this may focus national conservation efforts toward peripheral species whose global conservation value is controversial. However, if range-edge taxa occur where overall diversity is also high, there would be fewer trade-offs in protecting them. Using 153 of the 158 terrestrial mammal species in Canada, we tested how species’ distributions relate to their national conservation status and total mammal richness. Half of ‘Canadian’ mammals had <20% of their global range in Canada. Range area in Canada was strongly associated with national threat status; mammals considered ‘at-risk’ in Canada had 42% smaller Canadian ranges than mammals considered secure. However, after accounting for range area, being more peripheral (smaller proportion of global range in Canada) did not increase the likelihood that a taxon was considered at-risk. We overlaid the 153 maps to calculate mammal diversity across Canada, divided into 100×100 km grid cells. We found that hotspots of at-risk mammals (cells with >4 at-risk taxa) and hotspots of range-edge mammals (cells with >12 taxa with ≤20% of their range in Canada) were about twice as species rich as non-hotspot cells, containing up to 44% of Canadian mammal diversity per grid-cell. Our results suggest that protecting areas with the most at-risk or range-edge mammals would simultaneously protect habitat for many species currently deemed secure.

scholarly journals Trailing-edge zombie forests can increase population persistence in the face of climate change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin R. Decker ◽  
Marissa L. Baskett ◽  
Alan Hastings
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Maximum Rate ◽  
Population Persistence ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Trailing Edge ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Range Edge ◽  
The Face ◽  
Range Core

Climate-driven habitat shifts pose challenges for dispersal-limited, late-maturing taxa such as trees. Older trees are often the most reproductive individuals in the population, but as habitats shift, these individuals can be left behind in the trailing range edge, generating "zombie forests" that may persist long after the suitable habitat has shifted. Are these zombie forests vestiges of ecosystems past or do they play an ecological role? To understand how zombie forests affect population persistence, we developed a spatially explicit, stage-structured model of tree populations occupying a shifting habitat. Our model shows that seed dispersal from zombie forests to the range core can considerably increase the maximum rate of climate change that a population can withstand. Moreover, the entire core population can ultimately descend from recruitment-limited zombie forests, highlighting their demographic value. Our results suggest that preserving trailing-edge zombie forests can greatly increase population persistence in the face of climate change.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document