Habitat suitability, corridors and dispersal barriers for large carnivores in Poland

• Autorzy: Huck M. , Jedrzejewski W. , Borowik T. , Milosz-Cielma M. , Schmidt K. , Jedrzejewska B. , Nowak S. , Myslajek R.W.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Carnivores are often particularly sensitive to landscape fragmentation. Ecological corridors may help to connect local populations, ensuring gene flow and retaining viable meta-populations. We aimed to establish habitat suitability models for two large carnivores in Poland, the grey wolf Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 and the Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx Linnaeus, 1758, based on ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA). Secondly, we calculated least cost paths (LCPs) based on cost values obtained from ENFA. Thirdly, we determined structures that might act as barriers, thus diminishing the value of the corridor unless appropriate conservation measures are taken. We compared some of the results with actual dispersal data of four lynx in eastern Poland. Results indicate that both species are highly marginalised. Less habitat that is currently available in Poland is suitable for lynx than for wolves. We determined a total of 76 LCPs. Comparison of these theoretical corridors with actual dispersal routes suggests that the traits of calculated LCPs are mostly within the range of those of real routes. We highlight a variety of features that might act as barriers, such as major roads (including planned highways), urbanized areas, and large un-forested areas. We give suggestions where concerted conservation efforts (eg wildlife passages) might be particularly well-directed.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

habitat suitability; corridor; dispersal barrier; carnivore; Poland; Canis lupus; Lynx lynx; ecological niche; green bridge; road

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Acta Theriologica
• Rocznik: 2010
• Tom: 55
• Numer: 2
• Opis fizyczny: p.177-192,fig.,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Huck M.

• Polish Academy of Sciences, Waszkiewicza 1, 17-230 Bialowieza, Poland

autor

Jedrzejewski W.

autor

Borowik T.

autor

Milosz-Cielma M.

autor

Schmidt K.

autor

Jedrzejewska B.

autor

Nowak S.

autor

Myslajek R.W.

Bibliografia

• Adriaensen F., Chardon J. P., De Blust G., Swinnen E., Villalba S., Gulinck H. and Matthysen E. 2003. The application of least-cost modelling as a functional landscape model. Landscape and Urban Planning 64: 233–247. doi: 10.1016/S0169-2046(02)00242-6
• Basille M., Calenge C., Marboutin É., Andersen R. and Gaillard J.-M. 2008. Assessing habitat selection using multivariate statistics: Some refinements of the ecologicalniche factor analysis. Ecological Modelling 211: 233–240. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2007.09.006
• Beier P. and Noss R. F. 1998. Do habitat corridors provide connectivity? Conservation Biology 12: 1241–1252. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1998.98036.x
• Boyce M. S., Vernier P. R., Nielsen S. E. and Schmiegelow F. K. A. 2002. Evaluating resource selection functions. Ecological Modelling 157: 281–300. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3800(02)00200-4
• Clevenger A. P. and Waltho N. 2000. Factors influencing the effectiveness of wildlife underpasses in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Conservation Biology 14: 47–56. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.00099-085.x
• Cohen J. E. and Newman C. M. 1991. Community area and food-chain length: theoretical predictions. The American Naturalist 138: 1542–1554. doi: 10.2307/2462559
• Coulon A., Cosson J., Angibault J., Cargnelutti B., Galan M., Morellet N., Petit E., Aulagnier S. and Hewison A. J. M. 2004. Landscape connectivity influences gene flow in a roe deer population inhabiting a fragmented landscape: an individual-based approach. Molecular Ecology 13: 2841–2850. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02253.x
• Crooks K. R. 2002. Relative sensitivities of mammalian carnivores to habitat fragmentation. Conservation Biology 16: 488–502. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2002.00386.x
• Epps C. W., Wehausen J. D., Bleich V. C., Torres S. G. and Brashares J. S. 2007. Optimizing dispersal and corridor models using landscape genetics. Journal of Applied Ecology 44: 714–724. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01325.x
• Fahrig L. 2007. Non-optimal animal movement in humanaltered landscapes. Functional Ecology 21: 1003–1015. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2007.01326.x
• Frankham R., Ballou J. D. and Briscoe D. A. 2004. A primer of conservation genetics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Gilbert F., Gonzalez A. and Evans-Freke I. 1998. Corridors maintain species richness in the fragmented landscapes of a microecosystem. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 265: 577–582. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1998. 0333
• Herrmann M. 1998. Verinselung der Lebensräume von Carnivoren — Von der Inselökologie zur planerischen Umsetzung. Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege in Brandenburg: 45–49.
• Hirzel A. H., Hausser J., Chessel D. and Perrin N. 2002a. Biomapper 4.0. Lab. for Conservation Biology, Lausanne.
• Hirzel A. H., Hausser J., Chessel D. and Perrin N. 2002b. Ecological-niche factor analysis: how to compute habitatsuitability maps without absence data? Ecology 83: 2027–2036. doi: 10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[2027: ENFAHT]2.0.CO;2
• Hirzel A. H., Le Lay G., Helfer V., Randin C. and Guisan A. 2006. Evaluating the ability of habitat suitability models to predict species presences. Ecological Modelling 199: 142–152. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.05.017
• Jędrzejewski W., Jędrzejewska B., Zawadzka B., Borowik T., Nowak S. and Mysłajek R. W. 2008. Habitat suitability model for Polish wolves based on long-term national census. Animal Conservation 11: 377–390. doi: 10.1111/ j.1469-1795.2008.00193.x
• Jędrzejewski W., Niedziałkowska M., Mysłajek R. W., Nowak S. and Jędrzejewska B. 2005. Habitat selection by wolves Canis lupus in the uplands and mountains of southern Poland. Acta Theriologica 50: 417–428.
• Jędrzejewski W., Niedziałkowska M., Nowak S. and Jędrzejewska B. 2004. Habitat variables associated with wolf (Canis lupus) distribution and abundance in northern Poland. Diversity and Distributions 10: 225–233. doi: 10.1111/j.1366-9516.2004.00073.x
• Jędrzejewski W., Nowak S., Kurek R., Mysłajek R. W., Stachura K., Zawadzka B. and Pchałek M. 2009. Animals and roads — Methods of mitigating the negative impact of roads on wildlife. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Białowieża.
• Jędrzejewski W., Schmidt K., Theuerkauf J., Jędrzejewska B. and Kowalczyk R. 2007. Territory size of wolves Canis lupus: linking local (Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland) and Holarctic-scale patterns. Ecography 30: 66–76. doi: 10.1111/j.0906-7590.2007.04826.x
• Kaczensky P., Knauer F., Krze B., Jonozovic M., Adamic M. and Gossow H. 2003. The impact of high speed, high volume traffic axes on brown bears in Slovenia. Biological Conservation 111: 191–204. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3207 (02)00273-2
• Klar N. 2007. Der Wildkatze könnte geholfen werden — Das Beispiel eines Wildkorridorsystems für Rheinland-Pfalz. [In: Lebensräume schaffen. H. Leitschuh-Fecht and P. Holm, eds. Haupt Berne, Basel: 115–129.
• Kusak J., Huber D., Gomerčić T., Schwaderer G. and Gužvica G. 2009. The permeability of highway in Gorski Kotar (Croatia) for large mammals. European Journal of Wildlife Research 55: 7–21. doi: 10.1007/s10344- 008-0208-5
• Lovari S., Sforzi A., Scala C. and Fico R. 2007. Mortality parameters of the wolf in Italy: does the wolf keep himself from the door? Journal of Zoology, London 272: 117–124. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00260.x
• MacArthur R. H. 1957. On the relative abundance of bird species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 43: 293–295. doi: 10.1073/pnas.43.3.293
• Mech L. D. and Boitani L. (eds) 2003. Wolves — behavior, ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Niedziałkowska M., Jędrzejewski W., Mysłajek R. W., Nowak S., Jędrzejewska B. and Schmidt K. 2006. Environmental correlates of Eurasian lynx occurrence in Poland — large scale census and GIS mapping. Biological Conservation 133: 63–69. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2006.05.022
• Nikolakaki P. 2004. A GIS site-selection process for habitat creation: estimating connectivity of habitat patches. Landscape and Urban Planning 68: 77–94. doi: 10.1016/ S0169-2046(03)00167-1
• Noss R. F., Quigley H. B., Hornocker M. G., Merrill T. and Paquet P. C. 1996. Conservation biology and carnivore conservation in the Rocky Mountains. Conservation Biology 10: 949–963. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1996. 10040949.x
• Palomares F., Delibes M., Ferreras P., Fedriani J. M., Calzada J. and Revilla E. 2000. Iberian lynx in a fragmented landscape: predispersal, dispersal, and postdispersal habitats. Conservation Biology 14: 809–818. doi: 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.98539.x
• Pfister H. P., Keller V., Heynen D. and Holzgang O. 2002. Wildtierökologische Grundlagen im Strassenbau. Strasse und Verkehr 3: 101–108.
• Podgórski T., Schmidt K., Kowalczyk R. and Gulczyńska A. 2008. Microhabitat selection by Eurasian lynx and its implications for species conservation. Acta Theriologica 53: 97–110.
• Ray N. 2005. PATHMATRIX: a geographical information system tool to compute effective distances among samples. Molecular Ecology Notes 5: 177–180. doi: 10.1111/ j.1471-8286.2004.00843.x
• Ray N., Lehmann A. and Joly P. 2005. Modeling spatial distribution of amphibian populations: a GIS approach based on habitat matrix permeability. Biodiversity and Conservation 11: 2143–2165. doi: 10.1023/A:102139027698
• Schadt S., Knauer F., Kaczensky P., Revilla E., Wiegand T. and Trepl L. 2002. Rule-based assessment of suitable habitat and patch connectivity for the Eurasian lynx in Germany. Ecological Applications 12: 1469–1483. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2664.2002.00700.x
• Schmidt K. 1998. Maternal behaviour and juvenile dispersal in the Eurasian lynx. Acta Theriologica 43: 391–408.
• Schmidt K., Jędrzejewski W. and Okarma H. 1997. Spatial organization and social relations in the Eurasian lynx population in Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. Acta Theriologica 42: 289–312.
• Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. 2001. The Value of Forest Ecosystems. SCBD, Montreal.
• Seiler A. and Helldin J.-O. 2006. Mortality in wildlife due to transportation. [In: The ecology of transportation: managing mobility for the environment. J. Davenport and J. L. Davenport, eds]. Springer, Dordrecht: 165–190.
• Taylor P. D., Fahrig L., Henein K. and Gray M. 1993. Connectivity is a vital element of landscape structure. OIKOS 68: 571–573.
• Tewksbury J. J., Levey D. J., Haddad N. M., Sargent S., Orrock J. L., Weldon A., Danielson B. J., Brinkerhoff J., Damschen E. I. and Townsend P. 2002. Corridors affect plants, animals, and their interactions in fragmented landscapes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 99: 12923–12926. doi: 10.1073/pnas.202242699
• Trombulak S. C. and Frissell C. A. 2000. Review of ecological effects of roads on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Conservation Biology 14: 18–30. doi: 10.1046/j. 1523-1739.2000.99084.x
• Wilson C. J. 2003. Estimating the cost of road traffic accidents caused by deer in England. Defra National Wildlife Management Team.
• Zimmerman F. 2004. Conservation of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in a fragmented landscape — habitat models, dispersal, and potential distribution. PhD thesis, University of Lausanne, Lausanne: 1–179.
• Zimmermann F., Breitenmoser-Würsten C. and Breitenmoser U. 2005. Natal dispersal of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Switzerland. Journal of Zoology, London 267: 381–395. doi: 10.1017/S0952836905007545