| 1. |
- Dickel, Lisa, et al.
(author)
-
Characterization of habitat requirements of European fishing spiders
- 2022
-
In: PeerJ. - : PEERJ INC. - 2167-8359. ; 10
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Wetlands are among the most threatened habitats in the world, and so are their species, which suffer habitat loss due to climate and land use changes. Freshwater species, and especially arthropods, receive comparatively little attention in conservation plans, and the goals to stop and reverse the destruction of wetlands published 25 years ago in a manifesto by the Union of Concerned Scientists have not been reached. In this study, we investigated the occurrence and habitat requirements at two spatial scales of two species of European fishing spiders Dolomedes, which rely heavily on declining wetland habitats in Sweden and southern Norway. We collected occurrence data for Dolomedes plantarius and Dolomedes fimbriatus, using a live-determination method. We modelled the placement of nursery webs to describe fine-scale habitat requirements related to vegetation and micro-climate. Using a machine learning approach, we described the habitat features for each species and for co-occurrence sites, thus providing insight into variables relevant for the presence and detectability of Dolomedes. Nursery placement is mostly dependent on proximity to water, presence of Carex sp. (Sedges) and crossing vegetation structures, and on humidity, while detection can be affected by weather conditions. Furthermore, co-occurrence sites were more similar to D. plantarius sites than to D. fimbriatus sites, whereby surrounding forest, water type and velocity, elevation and latitude were of importance for explaining which species of Dolomedes was present. Overall, habitat requirements were narrower for D. plantarius compared to D. fimbiratus.
|
|
| 2. |
- Guillemain, Matthieu, et al.
(author)
-
Combined effects of climate change and fluctuating habitat quality on the distribution of ducks in southern Europe
- 2016
-
In: 7th North American Duck Symposium.
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Changes in waterfowl ranges over the last decades are increasingly reported, both in North America and in Europe. The relative importance of different winter quarters may fluctuate under the influence of changing local habitat conditions, as well as according to general trends caused by global climate change. Several European duck species have shifted their winter range to the North-East, i.e. the distance between breeding and wintering grounds was reduced, in a pattern consistent with a global temperature increase. In northern countries, this could also indicate an increasing proportion of sedentary birds. We compared the geographic distribution of recoveries of bands fitted to Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Common Teal (A. crecca) in Camargue, southern France, over the last 60 years. Close to 75,000 ducks were banded since the early 1950s. Band recoveries occurred to a much greater extent in the Camargue area than in other parts of the flyways during the last decade compared to earlier years: as opposed to earlier studies, recoveries of Camargue-ringed ducks are increasingly made to the South-West. For migratory Teal, this indicates an increased faithfulness to the Camargue winter quarter. For Mallard, though, some birds may have become around-the-year residents: while the distance from banding site to recovery location was >400 km between the 1950s and 1970s, it is <75 km nowadays. Several hypotheses are proposed to explain these changes in European duck distributions. Survival analyses are also carried out, which help assessing whether changes in geographic distribution have also translated into altered demographic rates. Besides the overriding effects of climate change in the long-term, the present results suggest that local habitat management practices still have the potential to greatly affect the distribution of waterfowl.
|
|
| 3. |
- Guillemain, Matthieu, et al.
(author)
-
Combined effects of climate change and fluctuating habitat quality on the distribution of ducks in southern Europe
- 2016
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Changes in waterfowl ranges over the last decades are increasingly reported, both in North America and in Europe. The relative importance of different winter quarters may fluctuate under the influence of changing local habitat conditions, as well as according to general trends caused by global climate change. Several European duck species have shifted their winter range to the North-East, i.e. the distance between breeding and wintering grounds was reduced, in a pattern consistent with a global temperature increase. In northern countries, this could also indicate an increasing proportion of sedentary birds. We compared the geographic distribution of recoveries of bands fitted to Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Common Teal (A. crecca) in Camargue, southern France, over the last 60 years. Close to 75,000 ducks were banded since the early 1950s. Band recoveries occurred to a much greater extent in the Camargue area than in other parts of the flyways during the last decade compared to earlier years: as opposed to earlier studies, recoveries of Camargue-ringed ducks are increasingly made to the South-West. For migratory Teal, this indicates an increased faithfulness to the Camargue winter quarter. For Mallard, though, some birds may have become around-the-year residents: while the distance from banding site to recovery location was >400 km between the 1950s and 1970s, it is <75 km nowadays. Several hypotheses are proposed to explain these changes in European duck distributions. Survival analyses are also carried out, which help assessing whether changes in geographic distribution have also translated into altered demographic rates. Besides the overriding effects of climate change in the long-term, the present results suggest that local habitat management practices still have the potential to greatly affect the distribution of waterfowl.
|
|
| 4. |
- Hudson, Lawrence N, et al.
(author)
-
The database of the PREDICTS (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems) project
- 2017
-
In: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; 7:1, s. 145-188
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PREDICTS project-Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)-has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.
|
|
| 5. |
- Michler, Lena M., et al.
(author)
-
To move or not to move—factors influencing small-scale herder and livestock movements in the Dzungarian Gobi, Mongolia
- 2023
-
In: Regional Environmental Change. - 1436-3798 .- 1436-378X. ; 23:4
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In Mongolia, where nomadic pastoralism is still practiced by around one-third of the population, increasing livestock numbers, socio-economic constraints and climate change raise concerns over rangeland health. Little empirical evidence explains what triggers camp moves of pastoralists in the Dzungarian Gobi in Mongolia, which factors influence grazing mobility around camps, and how altitudinal migration benefits small livestock. We combined GPS tracking data of 19 small livestock herds monitored from September 2018 to April 2020 with remotely sensed climate and environmental data. We used general linear-mixed models to analyse variables influencing camp use duration and daily mobility patterns. To understand the importance of the altitudinal migration, we compared climatic conditions along the elevation gradient and looked at seasonal body weight changes of small livestock. We found that available plant biomass and season best explained camp use duration. Daily walking distance and maximum distance from camp increased with camp use duration. Pasture time increased with increasing biomass and rising temperatures. We conclude that herders in the Dzungarian Gobi have optimized pasture use by reacting to changes in biomass availability at landscape and local scale, and by embracing altitudinal migration. Flexibility in grazing mobility seems to have enabled local herder communities to practise sustainable pasture use. Maintaining this mobility will most likely be the best strategy to deal with environmental change under the current climate change scenarios.
|
|
| 6. |
- Monsimet, Jeremy, et al.
(author)
-
Biogeographic position and body size jointly set lower thermal limits of wandering spiders
- 2021
-
In: Ecology and Evolution. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2045-7758. ; :7, s. 3347-3356
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Most species encounter large variations in abiotic conditions along their distribution range. The physiological responses of most terrestrial ectotherms (such as insects and spiders) to clinal gradients of climate, and in particular gradients of temperature, can be the product of both phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation. This study aimed to determine how the biogeographic position of populations and the body size of individuals set the limits of cold (freezing) resistance of Dolomedes fimbriatus. We compared D. fimbriatus to its sister species Dolomedes plantarius under harsher climatic conditions in their distribution range. Using an ad hoc design, we sampled individuals from four populations of Dolomedes fimbriatus originating from contrasting climatic areas (temperate and continental climate) and one population of the sister species D. plantarius from continental climate, and compared their supercooling ability as an indicator of cold resistance. Results for D. fimbriatus indicated that spiders from northern (continental) populations had higher cold resistance than spiders from southern (temperate) populations. Larger spiders had a lower supercooling ability in northern populations. The red-listed and rarest D. plantarius was slightly less cold tolerant than the more common D. fimbriatus, and this might be of importance in a context of climate change that could imply colder overwintering habitats in the north due to reduced snow cover protection. The lowest cold resistance might put D. plantarius at risk of extinction in the future, and this should be considered in conservation plan.
|
|
| 7. |
- Monsimet, Jeremy, et al.
(author)
-
Contrasted propensity for waterborne and airborne dispersal between two closely related semi-aquatic spider species
- 2022
-
In: Insect Conservation and Diversity. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1752-458X .- 1752-4598. ; 15:6, s. 704-713
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Dispersal abilities are important to support metapopulation functioning and species distributions, yet it is rarely accounted for in conservation. Here, we compared the propensity for dispersal between the two fishing spiders present in Europe: the widespread habitat-generalist Dolomedes fimbriatus and the scarcer red-listed Dolomedes plantarius. We experimentally tested for airborne and waterborne dispersal using first instar juveniles sampled in nursery webs, and older juveniles. We estimated the propensity for short and long-distance dispersal of airborne and waterborne behaviours, and we tested the difference between species with generalised linear mixed models. Airborne (ballooning) and waterborne (sailing) behaviours were more frequent for D. fimbriatus than for D. plantarius, indicating a higher propensity of the former for long-distance dispersal. The frequency of rappelling behaviour, and thus the propensity for short-distance dispersal, did not differ between species. However, we found contrasting results for short-distance dispersal on the water, with rowing being more frequent and running less frequent for D. plantarius than for D. fimbriatus. The different propensity for dispersal between the two species might be partly explained by the ecology of D. plantarius, which is known to be more habitat-specialist and more dependent to water bodies than D. fimbriatus. The limited propensity for dispersal of the red-listed D. plantarius is another argument for conserving an interconnected network of wetlands in Fennoscandia. Indeed, increased isolation of populations would be detrimental for species maintenance.
|
|
| 8. |
- Monsimet, Jeremy, et al.
(author)
-
Explicit integration of dispersal-related metrics improves predictions of SDM in predatory arthropods
- 2020
-
In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Fishing spiders (Dolomedes spp.) make an interesting model to predict the impact of global changes because they are generalist, opportunistic predators, whose distribution is driven mostly by abiotic factors. Yet, the two European species are expected to react differently to forthcoming environmental changes, because of habitat specialization and initial range. We used an original combination of habitat and dispersal data to revisit these predictions under various climatic scenarios. We used the future range of suitable habitat, predicted with habitat variables only, as a base layer to further predict the range or reachable habitat by accounting for both dispersal ability and landscape connectivity. Our results confirm the northward shift in range and indicate that the area of co-occurrences should also increase. However, reachable habitat should expand less than suitable habitat, especially when accounting for landscape connectivity. In addition, the potential range expansion was further limited for the red-listed D. plantarius, which is more of a habitat specialist and has a lower ability to disperse. This study highlights the importance of looking beyond habitat variables to produce more accurate predictions for the future of arthropods populations.
|
|
| 9. |
- Teräväinen, Malin, et al.
(author)
-
Field selection of greylag geese (Anser anser) : Implications for management of set-aside fields to alleviate crop damage
- 2022
-
In: Ornis Fennica. - : University of Helsinki. - 0030-5685. ; 99:2-3, s. 71-82
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Greylag geese (Anser anser) have been increasing in numbers in Europe during the last decades. They forage and roost in agricultural landscapes and may cause damage to sensitive crops. We studied field selection of greylag geese around lake Sörfjärden in south central Sweden where geese aggregate during the growing season. In this area a set-aside field was established in 2010, i.e., a field where geese can graze undisturbed, with the aim to reduce damage in surrounding conventional fields. The goal of our study was to investigate the general selection of the different field types as well as the specific set-aside field. We used a point survey count to estimate goose numbers and regression analyses to evaluate the relationship between presence or absence of greylag geese and field characteristics such as crop type, distance to roost site and field size. According to the top-ranked model, the probability of presence of foraging greylag geese was higher in spring and in grass fields, while the probability decreased with distance to roost site. Our results also show that the set-aside field in general was used more than other fields in the area during spring and summer but not during autumn. We conclude that it is important to consider variables affecting the probability of field selection by geese, such as season, crop type and distance to roosts to understand the behaviour of geese when establishing set-aside fields.
|
|
