Simplifying stand structure to reduce fuel density is a high priority for forest managers; however, affects to Pacific marten (Martes caurina) movement and connectivity are unknown. We evaluated whether thinning forests to reduce fuels influenced movements of Pacific marten. We collected movement paths from 22 martens using global positioning system...
Ecological niche theory holds that species distributions are shaped by a large and complex suite of interacting factors. Species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly used to describe species’ niches and predict the effects of future environmental change, including climate change. Currently, SDMs often fail to capture the complexity of species’...
Diet quality influences ungulate population dynamics but is difficult to measure at fine temporal or spatial resolution using field-intensive methods such as fecal nitrogen (FN). Increasingly, the remotely sensed vegetation index NDVI is used to represent potential ungulate diet quality, but NDVI's relationship with diet quality has yet to be...
Diet quality influences ungulate population dynamics but is difficult to measure at fine temporal or spatial resolution using field-intensive methods such as fecal nitrogen (FN). Increasingly, the remotely sensed vegetation index NDVI is used to represent potential ungulate diet quality, but NDVI's relationship with diet quality has yet to be...
Context:
Functional connectivity—the facilitation of individual movements among habitat patches—is essential for species’ persistence in fragmented landscapes. Evaluating functional connectivity is critical for predicting range shifts, developing conservation plans, and anticipating effects of disturbance, especially for species affected by climate change.
Objectives:
We examined whether simplifying forest structure influenced animal...
In this issue of The Condor: Ornithological Applications, Haig et al. (2014) summarize negative impacts of lead ammunition and fishing tackle on birds and discuss strategies for mitigating risks to wildlife and human health. Their Review raises an important set of questions for hunters, wildlife managers, and conservation scientists. Effective...
Connectivity models using empirically-derived
landscape resistance maps can predict potential
linkages among fragmented animal and plant populations.
However, such models have rarely been used to
guide systematic decision-making, such as identifying
the most important habitat patches and dispersal corridors
to protect or restore in order to maximize regional
connectivity. Combining...
Bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) were not known to live on Tiburón Island, the largest island in the Gulf of California and
Mexico, prior to the surprisingly successful introduction of 20 individuals as a conservation measure in 1975. Today, a stable
island population of ~500 sheep supports limited big game hunting...
Climate change is arguably the greatest challenge to conservation of our time. Most vulnerability assessments rely on past and current species distributions to predict future persistence but ignore species’ abilities to disperse through landscapes, which may be particularly important in fragmented habitats and crucial for long-term persistence in changing environments....
Although climate acts as a fundamental constraint on the distribution of
organisms, understanding how this relationship between climate and distribution varies over a
species’ range is critical for addressing the potential impacts of accelerated climate change on
biodiversity. Bioclimatic niche models provide compelling evidence that many species will
experience range...