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Your search keyword '"Cushman, S.A."' showing total 6 results
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6 results on '"Cushman, S.A."'

5. Multi-scale, multivariate community models improve designation of biodiversity hotspots in the Sunda Islands

Author

Chiaverini L., Macdonald, D.W., Bothwell, H.M., Hearn, A.J., Cheyne, S.M., Haidir, I., Hunter, L.T.B., Kaszta, Ż, Macdonald, E.A., Ross, J., Cushman, S.A., Chiaverini L., Macdonald, D.W., Bothwell, H.M., Hearn, A.J., Cheyne, S.M., Haidir, I., Hunter, L.T.B., Kaszta, Ż, Macdonald, E.A., Ross, J., and Cushman, S.A.

Abstract

Species occur in sympatric assemblages, bound together by ecological relationships and interspecific interactions. Borneo and Sumatra host some of the richest assemblages of biota worldwide. The region, however, faces the highest global deforestation rates, which seriously threaten its unique biodiversity. We used a large camera trap dataset that recorded data for 70 terrestrial species of mammals and birds, to explore the drivers of regional species richness patterns. Using a multi-scale, multivariate modelling framework which quantified the main environmental factors associated with patterns of biodiversity, while simultaneously assessing individual relationships of each species, we determined the ecological drivers of sampled biodiversity, and their contributions to community assemblages. We then mapped predicted species richness, evaluated the effectiveness of protected areas in securing biodiversity hotspots, performed gap analysis to highlight biodiverse areas lacking protection and compared our predictions with species richness maps produced by using IUCN range layers. Finally, we investigated the performance of each species as an indicator of sampled biodiversity. We demonstrate that biodiversity in Borneo and Sumatra is primarily affected by gradients of ecological and anthropogenic factors, and only marginally by topographic and spatial factors. In both islands, species are primarily associated with elevational gradients in vegetation and climate, leading to altitudinal zonation in niche separation as a major factor characterizing the islands' biodiversity. Species richness was highest in north-eastern Borneo and in western Sumatra. We found that most predicted biodiversity hotspots are not formally protected in either island; only 9.2 and 18.2% of the modelled species richness occurred within protected areas in Borneo and Sumatra, respectively. We highlighted that our prediction for Borneo performed better than, and differed drastically from, the IUCN spe

Published
2022

6. Fragmentation effects on woodlark habitat selection depend on habitat amount and spatial scale

Author

Bosco, L., Cushman, S.A., Wan, H.Y., Zeller, K.A., Arlettaz, R., and Jacot, A.

Subjects
fungi, 590 Animals (Zoology)
Abstract

Habitat loss and fragmentation are key drivers of biodiversity loss. However, they are usually confounded, making it difficult to separate fragmentation effects from those of habitat loss. In addition, it has been shown that often fragmentation negatively affects biodiversity only below a certain threshold of habitat amount. We investigated the separate and interactive effects of habitat amount and fragmentation on habitat selection of the woodlark at 10 spatial scales. In southern Switzerlandthis passerine mainly breeds in ground-vegetated vineyards, which therefore represent the focal habitat type in this study. Additionally, we investigated land cover, topographic and climatic variables at the same 10 scales to obtain a holistic picture of species-habitat associations. Habitat selection was analyzed at two hierarchical levels: home range selection within the study area and habitat use within home ranges. Home range selection was strongly driven by an interactive effect of habitat amount and fragmentation: woodlarks avoided fragmented areas if habitat amount was below 20% but exhibited a preference for fragmented areas if habitat amount exceeded this threshold. Both habitat amount and fragmentation most strongly affected habitat use at the 100 m scale. We did not find such interactive effects for habitat use within home ranges. At this level, habitat amount at a 50 m scale influenced woodlark presence positively with no significant effects of fragmentation. Furthermore, woodlarks preferred evenly sloped landscape mosaics interspersed with steppes and groves. Two main insights emerge from our study. First, these results highlight the necessity of studying scale explicit and interactive effects of habitat amount and fragmentation when addressing ecological questions, such as habitat selection in birds. Second, we provide management recommendations for farmers: more vineyards should be vegetated and arranged as disjunct patches where their surface covers more than 20% of the landscape but be aggregated where vegetated area is lower.

Published
2021
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