scholarly journals Evidence of natal habitat preference induction within one habitat type

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1842) ◽  
pp. 20162106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa J. Merrick ◽  
John L. Koprowski
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Habitat Preference ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Natal Habitat ◽  
Natal Habitat Preference Induction ◽  
Habitat Specialists

Natal habitat preference induction (NHPI) is a mechanism for habitat selection by individuals during natal dispersal. NHPI occurs in wild animal populations, and evidence suggests it may be a common, although little studied, mechanism for post-dispersal habitat selection. Most tests of NHPI examine the influence of distinct, contrasting natal habitat types on post-dispersal habitat selection. We test the hypothesis that NHPI can occur within a single habitat type, an important consideration for habitat specialists. The Mount Graham red squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis ) is an endangered forest obligate restricted to a single mountain primarily within mixed-conifer forest. We test for NHPI by comparing intra-individual differences in natal and settlement habitat structure and composition to expected random pairwise differences. Dispersing juveniles appear to select settlement locations that are more similar to natal areas than expected in several forest structure and composition variables that include canopy cover and live basal area. Our results provide support for NHPI as a mechanism for post-dispersal habitat selection in habitat specialists that occupy a single vegetation community type.

scholarly journals Habitat Selection in a Changing Environment: The Relationship Between Habitat Alteration and Spotted Owl Territory Occupancy and Breeding Dispersal

The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Seamans ◽  
R.J. Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Habitat Alteration ◽  
Breeding Dispersal ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Avian Behavior ◽  
Spotted Owl ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Abstract. Understanding the effect of habitat alteration on avian behavior is important for understanding a species' ecology and ensuring its conservation. Therefore, we examined the relationship between Spotted Owl habitat selection and variation in habitat in the Sierra Nevada. We estimated habitat selection by modeling the probability of territory colonization (γ), territory extinction (ε), and breeding dispersal in relation to the amount of mature conifer forest within and among territories. Alteration of ≥20 ha of mature conifer forest (coniferous forest with >70% canopy cover dominated by medium [30.4–60.9 cm dbh] and large [>60.9 cm dbh] trees) within individual territories (n  =  66) was negatively related to territory colonization and positively related to breeding dispersal probability. Although territory extinction was negatively related to the amount of mature conifer forest, it was not clear whether this relationship was due to variation of mature conifer forest within or among territories. Although modeling results for territory colonization and extinction generally supported the hypothesis that individuals are “ideal” when selecting a habitat in the sense that they settle in the highest-quality site available, we did not find a clear benefit in terms of habitat quality for Spotted Owls that exhibited breeding dispersal.

Implementation constraints limit benefits of restoration treatments in mixed-conifer forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie M. Lydersen ◽  
Brandon M. Collins ◽  
Carolyn T. Hunsaker
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Trade Offs

Forest restoration treatments seek to increase resilience to wildfire and a changing climate while avoiding negative impacts to the ecosystem. The extent and intensity of treatments are often constrained by operational considerations and concerns over uncertainty in the trade-offs of addressing different management goals. The recent (2012–15) extreme drought in California, USA, resulted in widespread tree mortality, particularly in the southern Sierra Nevada, and provided an opportunity to assess the effects of restoration treatments on forest resilience to drought. We assessed changes in mixed-conifer forest structure following thinning and understorey burning at the Kings River Experimental Watersheds in the southern Sierra Nevada, and how treatments, topography and forest structure related to tree mortality in the recent drought. Treatments had negligible effect on basal area, tree density and canopy cover. Following the recent drought, average basal area mortality within the watersheds ranged from 5 to 26% across riparian areas and 12 to 44% across upland areas, with a range of 0 to 95% across all plots. Tree mortality was not significantly influenced by restoration treatments or topography. Our results suggest that the constraints common to many restoration treatments may limit their ability to mitigate the impacts of severe drought.

scholarly journals Affinity for natal environments by dispersers impacts reproduction and explains geographical structure of a highly mobile bird

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1814) ◽  
pp. 20151545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Fletcher ◽  
Ellen P. Robertson ◽  
Rebecca C. Wilcox ◽  
Brian E. Reichert ◽  
James D. Austin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Effects ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Breeding Site ◽  
Dispersal Distance ◽  
Population Connectivity ◽  
Geographical Range ◽  
Wetland Type ◽  
Natal Habitat

Understanding dispersal and habitat selection behaviours is central to many problems in ecology, evolution and conservation. One factor often hypothesized to influence habitat selection by dispersers is the natal environment experienced by juveniles. Nonetheless, evidence for the effect of natal environment on dispersing, wild vertebrates remains limited. Using 18 years of nesting and mark–resight data across an entire North American geographical range of an endangered bird, the snail kite ( Rostrhamus sociabilis ), we tested for natal effects on breeding-site selection by dispersers and its consequences for reproductive success and population structure. Dispersing snail kites were more likely to nest in wetlands of the same habitat type (lacustrine or palustrine) as their natal wetland, independent of dispersal distance, but this preference declined with age and if individuals were born during droughts. Importantly, dispersing kites that bred in natal-like habitats had lower nest success and productivity than kites that did not. These behaviours help explain recently described population connectivity and spatial structure across their geographical range and reveal that assortative breeding is occurring, where birds are more likely to breed with individuals born in the same wetland type as their natal habitat. Natal environments can thus have long-term and large-scale effects on populations in nature, even in highly mobile animals.

scholarly journals Natal habitat preference induction in large mammals-Like mother, like child?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Larue ◽  
Steeve D. Côté ◽  
Martin-Hugues St-Laurent ◽  
Christian Dussault ◽  
Mathieu Leblond
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preference ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Natal Habitat ◽  
Natal Habitat Preference Induction

No evidence of natal habitat preference induction in juveniles with complex life histories

2014 ◽  
Vol 93 ◽  
pp. 237-242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany H. Ousterhout ◽  
Thomas M. Luhring ◽  
Raymond D. Semlitsch
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Preference ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Natal Habitat ◽  
Natal Habitat Preference Induction

Distribution and habitat preference of protected reindeer lichen species (Cladonia arbuscula, C. mitis and C. rangiferina) in the Balaton Uplands (Hungary)

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-282
Author(s):  
Mónika Sinigla ◽  
Erzsébet Szurdoki ◽  
László Lőkös ◽  
Dénes Bartha ◽  
István Galambos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Depth ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Lichen Species ◽  
Oak Forests ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Cladonia Rangiferina

AbstractThe maintenance of protected lichen species and their biodiversity in general depends on good management practices based on their distribution and habitat preferences. To date, 10 of the 17 protected lichen species of Hungary have been recorded in the Bakony Mts including the Balaton Uplands region. Habitat preferences of three protected Cladonia species (C. arbuscula, C. mitis and C. rangiferina) growing on underlying rocks of red sandstone, basalt, Pannonian sandstone and gravel were investigated by detailed sampling. We recorded aspect, underlying rock type, soil depth, pH and CaCO3 content, habitat type (as defined by the General National Habitat Classification System Á-NÉR), all species of lichen, bryophyte and vascular plants as well as percentage cover of exposed rock, total bryophytes, lichens, vascular plants and canopy, degree of disturbance and animal impacts. Sporadic populations of these species mostly exist at the top of hills and mountains in open acidofrequent oak forests, but they may occur in other habitats, such as closed acidofrequent oak forests, slope steppes on stony soils, siliceous open rocky grasslands, open sand steppes, wet and mesic pioneer scrub and dry Calluna heaths. Cladonia rangiferina was found to grow beneath higher canopy cover than either C. arbuscula or C. mitis in the Balaton Uplands. Furthermore, there were significant differences in canopy cover between occupied and unoccupied quadrats in the case of all three species. Cladonia rangiferina is a good indicator species of natural habitats in Hungary due to its restricted distribution and low ecological tolerance. These results may lead to the adoption of effective conservation methods (e.g. game exclusion, artificial dispersal) in the future.

scholarly journals Adjudicating Perspectives on Forest Structure: How Do Airborne, Terrestrial, and Mobile Lidar-Derived Estimates Compare?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2297
Author(s):  
Jonathon J. Donager ◽  
Andrew J. Sánchez Meador ◽  
Ryan C. Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Absolute Error ◽  
Forest Monitoring ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Structural Configurations ◽  
Individual Trees

Applications of lidar in ecosystem conservation and management continue to expand as technology has rapidly evolved. An accounting of relative accuracy and errors among lidar platforms within a range of forest types and structural configurations was needed. Within a ponderosa pine forest in northern Arizona, we compare vegetation attributes at the tree-, plot-, and stand-scales derived from three lidar platforms: fixed-wing airborne (ALS), fixed-location terrestrial (TLS), and hand-held mobile laser scanning (MLS). We present a methodology to segment individual trees from TLS and MLS datasets, incorporating eigen-value and density metrics to locate trees, then assigning point returns to trees using a graph-theory shortest-path approach. Overall, we found MLS consistently provided more accurate structural metrics at the tree- (e.g., mean absolute error for DBH in cm was 4.8, 5.0, and 9.1 for MLS, TLS and ALS, respectively) and plot-scale (e.g., R2 for field observed and lidar-derived basal area, m2 ha−1, was 0.986, 0.974, and 0.851 for MLS, TLS, and ALS, respectively) as compared to ALS and TLS. While TLS data produced estimates similar to MLS, attributes derived from TLS often underpredicted structural values due to occlusion. Additionally, ALS data provided accurate estimates of tree height for larger trees, yet consistently missed and underpredicted small trees (≤35 cm). MLS produced accurate estimates of canopy cover and landscape metrics up to 50 m from plot center. TLS tended to underpredict both canopy cover and patch metrics with constant bias due to occlusion. Taking full advantage of minimal occlusion effects, MLS data consistently provided the best individual tree and plot-based metrics, with ALS providing the best estimates for volume, biomass, and canopy cover. Overall, we found MLS data logistically simple, quickly acquirable, and accurate for small area inventories, assessments, and monitoring activities. We suggest further work exploring the active use of MLS for forest monitoring and inventory.

Habitat selection of sympatric Siberian Grouse and Hazel Grouse in natural and exploited forests of the lower Amur region

Ornis Fennica ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-161
Author(s):  
Tobias Ludwig ◽  
Ralf Siano ◽  
Alexander V. Andreev
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Selection ◽  
Russian Far East ◽  
Far East ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Breeding Habitat ◽  
Empirical Modelling ◽  
Hazel Grouse ◽  
Pioneer Trees ◽  
Selection Of

The Siberian Grouse (Falcipennis falcipennis), which is endemic to the “dark-needle” taiga of the Russian Far East, is one of the least studied grouse species in the world. We examined post-breeding habitat selection of Siberian Grouse and contrasted it with that of the better examined Hazel Grouse (Tetrastes bonasia) in two areas near Komsomolsk na Amure, Russia. To infer species-specific preferences, we used field sampling, logistic regression, and AIC model selection, and compared late summer habitats of Siberian Grouse and Hazel Grouse in a mountain- and hilly area in the dark needle taiga. Our study is the first to explain Siberian Grouse habitat relationships with an empirical modelling approach. Results indicate proportions of coniferous/ pioneer trees forest and rejuvenation to be the most important covariates separating Siberian and Hazel Grouse observation sites in forests from both areas. Siberian Grouse tended to select sites with low proportions of pioneer trees and rejuvenation but availability of dwarf shrubs. Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) appeared to be of high importance for the presence of Siberian Grouse in both regions. Hazel Grouse were common in places dominated by pioneer trees with high canopy cover, and high proportions of grass/herb cover. Hazel Grouse also occurred more often in forest sites with dense vertical layering and rejuvenation. Modern forestry, which results in increasing amounts of forests at younger successional stages, is likely to favour the Hazel Grouse at the expense of the Siberian Grouse.

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