Importance of Habitat Quality and Landscape Connectivity for the Persistence of Endangered Natterjack Toads

Abstract: The natterjack toad (Bufo calamita) is endangered in several parts of its distribution, including Belgium, where it occurs mainly in artificial habitats. We parameterized a general model for natterjack population viability analysis (PVA) and tested its sensitivity to changes in the values of basic parameters. Then we assessed the relative efficiency of various conservation measures in 2 situations: a small isolated population and a system of 4 populations connected by rare dispersal movements. We based the population viability analysis on a stage‐structured model of natterjack population dynamics. We parameterized the model in the RAMAS GIS platform with vital rates obtained from our own field experience and from published studies. Simulated natterjack populations were highly sensitive to habitat quality (particularly pond drying), to dispersal from surrounding local populations, and to a lesser extent to values of fecundity and survival of terrestrial stages. Population trajectories were nearly insensitive to initial abundances, carrying capacities, and the frequency of extreme climatic conditions. The simulations showed that in habitats with highly ephemeral ponds, where premetamorphosis mortality was high, natterjack populations nearly always had a very high extinction risk. We also illustrated how low dispersal rates (<1 dispersing individual/generation) efficiently rescued declining local populations. Such source‐sink dynamics demonstrate that the identification and management of source populations should be a high priority.     

The Future of Scattered Trees in Agricultural Landscapes

Abstract: Mature trees scattered throughout agricultural landscapes are critical habitat for some biota and provide a range of ecosystem services. These trees are declining in intensively managed agricultural landscapes globally. We developed a simulation model to predict the rates at which these trees are declining, identified the key variables that can be manipulated to mitigate this decline, and compared alternative management proposals. We used the initial numbers of trees in the stand, the predicted ages of these trees, their rate of growth, the number of recruits established, the frequency of recruitment, and the rate of tree mortality to simulate the dynamics of scattered trees in agricultural landscapes. We applied this simulation model to case studies from Spain, United States, Australia, and Costa Rica. We predicted that mature trees would be lost from these landscapes in 90–180 years under current management. Existing management recommendations for these landscapes—which focus on increasing recruitment—would not reverse this trend. The loss of scattered mature trees was most sensitive to tree mortality, stand age, number of recruits, and frequency of recruitment. We predicted that perpetuating mature trees in agricultural landscapes at or above existing densities requires a strategy that keeps mortality among established trees below around 0.5% per year, recruits new trees at a rate that is higher than the number of existing trees, and recruits new trees at a frequency in years equivalent to around 15% of the maximum life expectancy of trees. Numbers of mature trees in landscapes represented by the case studies will decline before they increase, even if strategies of this type are implemented immediately. This decline will be greater if a management response is delayed.     

Effectiveness of Panama as an intercontinental land bridge for large mammals

Habitat fragmentation is a primary driver of wildlife loss, and establishment of biological corridors is a common strategy to mitigate this problem. A flagship example is the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC), which aims to connect protected forest areas between Mexico and Panama to allow dispersal and gene flow of forest organisms. Because forests across Central America have continued to degrade, the functioning of the MBC has been questioned, but reliable estimates of species occurrence were unavailable. Large mammals are suitable indicators of forest functioning, so we assessed their conservation status across the Isthmus of Panama, the narrowest section of the MBC. We used large-scale camera-trap surveys and hierarchical multispecies occupancy models in a Bayesian framework to estimate the occupancy of 9 medium to large mammals and developed an occupancy-weighted connectivity metric to evaluate species-specific functional connectivity. White-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), jaguar (Panthera onca), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and tapir (Tapirus bairdii) had low expected occupancy along the MBC in Panama. Puma (Puma concolor), red brocket deer (Mazama temama), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), which are more adaptable, had higher occupancy, even in areas with low forest cover near infrastructure. However, the majority of species were subject to ≥1 gap that was larger than their known dispersal distances, suggesting poor connectivity along the MBC in Panama. Based on our results, forests in Darien, Donoso–Santa Fe, and La Amistad International Park are critical for survival of large terrestrial mammals in Panama and 2 areas need restoration.     

Continuous versus binary representations of landscape heterogeneity in spatially-explicit models of mobile populations

How a landscape is represented is an important structural assumption in spatially-explicit simulation models. Simple models tend to specify just habitat and non-habitat (binary), while more complex models may use multiple levels or a continuum of habitat quality (continuous). How these different representations influence model projections is unclear. To assess the influence of landscape representation on population models, I developed a general, individual-based model with local dispersal and examined population persistence across binary and continuous landscapes varying in the amount and fragmentation of habitat. In binary and continuous landscapes habitat and non-habitat were assigned a unique mean suitability. In continuous landscapes, suitability of each individual site was then drawn from a normal distribution with fixed variance. Populations went extinct less often and abundances were higher in continuous landscapes. Production in habitat and non-habitat was higher in continuous landscapes, because the range of habitat suitability sampled by randomly dispersing individuals was higher than the overall mean habitat suitability. Increasing mortality, dispersal distance, and spatial heterogeneity all increased the discrepancy between continuous and binary landscapes. The effect of spatial structure on the probability of extinction was greater in binary landscapes. These results show that, under certain circumstances, model projections are influenced by how variation in suitability within a landscape is represented. Care should be taken to assess how a given species actually perceives the landscape when conducting population viability analyses or empirical validation of theory.     

喀斯特小流域复杂景观中水质状况

以红枫湖流域周边一个受人为活动严重影响的农田源头溪流-王家寨小流域为研究对象,设置11个监测点研究硝酸盐（NO3-N）、氨态氮（NH4＋-N）、溶解性无机磷（PO4--P）、总磷（TP）和总悬浮物（TSS）在复杂景观中的变化状况。降雨后采样水中氮、磷含量明显低于雨后的地表积水,地表积水受各种影响,水质降低。水塘型湿地,其丰水期的PO43--P、TP、SS高于枯水期,与水循环条件较好的流水溪流还是存在明显的区别。从平均值来看,枯水期地表水和地下水TP都超过5级水质标准。水质与＂源＂景观的关系不明显,说明喀斯特小流域中复杂的景观结构对氮磷的截留作用。     

基于水土流失的景观格局分析方法

景观格局和生态过程是景观生态学研究的重要内容,但是很多研究只重视景观格局的研究,而忽略了生态过程的研究。文章针对水土流失这一重要生态过程,提出了基于水土流失过程的景观坡度指数和景观空间负荷对比指数,并对黄土高原泾河流域15个子流域的景观格局进行了分析,认为泾河流北部各子流域主要以水土流失的＂源＂景观为主,景观坡度指数大,空间负荷指数小,水土流失风险大;流域南部各子流域上游以＂汇＂景观为主,坡度指数大,中下游以＂源＂景观为主,景观空间分布不均衡,存在一定的水土流失风险;流域东部局部子流域主要以水土流失的＂汇＂景观为主,＂源＂景观相对较小,＂源＂-＂汇＂景观空间分布均衡,水土流失风险小。     

常熟地区农户庭院植物多样性与配置模式

选择常熟地区代表性乡村,对农户庭院植物多样性和配置模式进行研究,分析其植物物种组成和多样性,并利用TW INSPAN分类方法,研究了庭院植物配置类型与模式。结果表明:在对281个户级庭院调查中,170户庭院中栽种植物,111户庭院中无任何绿化,共栽种植物151种(含变种、栽培品种),隶属58科116属;庭院植物配置可划分为4种庭院类型和10种配置模式;植物的层次结构对于多样性指数影响较大,植物配置模式的结构越丰富、复杂,其物种多样性指数越高。认为观赏性植物成为庭院的主体植物,观赏功能成为庭院植物的主要功能;庭院内有效绿化面积不足,单位面积植物生态效益较低;乡土植物景观建设与物种多样性保护有待于进一步加强。     

河谷型城市城乡结合部景观格局空间尺度效应分析——以兰州市西固区土地利用格局为例

以兰州市西固区土地利用格局为例,利用2005年SPOT5遥感影像和正射航空影像数据,选取14个常用的景观指数,从景观水平和类型水平2个方面分析景观指数随尺度变化的基本规律,采用200m×200m正方形将研究区土地利用数据切分成规则格网,计算每个格网的多样性指数,通过半方差分析研究西固区多样性空间结构特征。结果表明:10m是西固区土地利用景观的本征观测尺度;研究区景观类型和景观格局特征随尺度增大变化显著,体现出一定的尺度依赖性;各乡(镇、街道)的景观指数呈现出城市中心—城乡交错带—乡村的分异特征,梯度变化明显;西固区多样性空间分布属于中等强度空间相关,高值区主要分布于黄河沿岸。     

滇池流域土地利用景观空间格局对水质的影响

选用综合水质评价方法,对滇池流域进行水质评价。选取斑块数量（NP）、斑块密度（PD）、最大斑块指数（LPI）、最大形状指数（LSI）,作为表征景观空间格局的参数,来分析流域优势斑块对水质的影响。对水质评价结果与景观指数进行相关性分析得出：居民点及工矿用地斑块数量越多、形状越不规则,有利于延缓水质状况的恶化;耕地斑块越大,越集中,本身产生的面源污染浓度就越高,而流经耕地的径流中的污染物浓度则会因大斑块的吸附过滤作用而降低;林地斑块密度越大,对污染物的截留纳污作用就越大,而斑块越大,可能产生局限性,导致未流经林地的污染物直接进入河流而影响水质。     

苏南某镇土壤重金属污染的景观格局特征

评价土壤重金属污染等级并掌握其空间格局特征,对区域土壤环境保护和治理具有重要意义.以苏南某镇8种土壤重金属As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb和Zn为研究对象,综合运用单因子评价法、内梅罗综合评价法、地统计分析法、景观格局的粒度效应及景观指数分析方法,在污染评价的基础上,分析了研究区土壤重金属的景观格局特征.结果表明:1研究区各土壤重金属单因子污染指数及内梅罗综合评价指数的均值取值范围为0.145~0.893,整体污染程度低,且南部地区污染程度低于北部;2 As、Pb、Hg和Zn面源污染特征明显,其中As和Pb空间分布特征相似,Hg和Zn空间分布特征相似;Cd、Cr、Cu、Ni点源污染特征显著,其中Cd和Cr空间分布特征相似,Cu和Ni空间分布特征相似;3土壤重金属景观的适宜粒度为30~40 m;4研究区土壤重金属低含量区域面积比例最大,较低含量区域边界最复杂,各污染程度区域分布相对集中且综合污染破碎化程度低.表明研究区重金属污染源数量尚少且分布集中,但有进一步发展的趋势,整体处于土壤重金属污染的早期阶段.