Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation

Conserving biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes requires protecting networks of ecological reserves and managing the intervening matrix to maintain the potential for species to move among them. This dissertation provides original insights towards (1) identifying areas for protection in reserve...

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Main Author: Rayfield, Bronwyn
Other Authors: Fortin, Marie-Josee, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published:
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1807/19077
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spelling ftunivtoronto:oai:localhost:1807/19077 2023-05-15T13:21:51+02:00 Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation Rayfield, Bronwyn Fortin, Marie-Josee Ecology and Evolutionary Biology NO_RESTRICTION http://hdl.handle.net/1807/19077 en_ca eng http://hdl.handle.net/1807/19077 reserve selection network theory 0329 Thesis ftunivtoronto 2020-06-17T11:14:19Z Conserving biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes requires protecting networks of ecological reserves and managing the intervening matrix to maintain the potential for species to move among them. This dissertation provides original insights towards (1) identifying areas for protection in reserves that are critical to maintain biodiversity and (2) assessing the potential for species' movements among habitat patches in a reserve network. I develop and test methods that will facilitate conservation planning to promote viable, resilient populations through time. The first part of this dissertation tests and develops reserve selection strategies that protect either a single focal species in a dynamic landscape or multiple interacting species in a static landscape. Using a simulation model of boreal forest dynamics, I test the effectiveness of static and dynamic reserves to maintain spatial habitat requirements of a focal species, American Marten (Martes americana). Dynamic reserves improved upon static reserves but re-locating reserves was constrained by fragmentation of the matrix. Management of the spatial and temporal distribution of land-uses in the matrix will therefore be essential to retain options for re-locating reserves in the future. Additionally, to include essential consumer-resource interactions into reserve selection, a new algorithm is presented for American marten and its two primary prey species. The inclusion of their interaction had the benefit t of producing spatially aggregated reserves based on functional species requirements. The second part of this dissertation evaluates and synthesizes the network-theoretic approach to quantify connectivity among habitat patches or reserves embedded within spatially heterogeneous landscapes. I conduct a sensitivity analysis of network-theoretic connectivity analyses that derive least-cost movement behavior from the underlying cost surface which describes the relative ecological costs of dispersing through different landcover types. Landscape structure is shown to aff ect how sensitive least-cost graph connectivity assessments are to the quality (relative cost values) of landcover types. I develop a conceptual framework to classify network connectivity statistics based on the component of habitat connectivity that they quantify and the level within the network to which they can be applied. Together, the combination of reserve design and network connectivity analyses provide complementary insights to inform spatial planning decisions for conservation. PhD Thesis American marten Martes americana University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space
institution Open Polar
collection University of Toronto: Research Repository T-Space
op_collection_id ftunivtoronto
language English
topic reserve selection
network theory
0329
spellingShingle reserve selection
network theory
0329
Rayfield, Bronwyn
Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation
topic_facet reserve selection
network theory
0329
description Conserving biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes requires protecting networks of ecological reserves and managing the intervening matrix to maintain the potential for species to move among them. This dissertation provides original insights towards (1) identifying areas for protection in reserves that are critical to maintain biodiversity and (2) assessing the potential for species' movements among habitat patches in a reserve network. I develop and test methods that will facilitate conservation planning to promote viable, resilient populations through time. The first part of this dissertation tests and develops reserve selection strategies that protect either a single focal species in a dynamic landscape or multiple interacting species in a static landscape. Using a simulation model of boreal forest dynamics, I test the effectiveness of static and dynamic reserves to maintain spatial habitat requirements of a focal species, American Marten (Martes americana). Dynamic reserves improved upon static reserves but re-locating reserves was constrained by fragmentation of the matrix. Management of the spatial and temporal distribution of land-uses in the matrix will therefore be essential to retain options for re-locating reserves in the future. Additionally, to include essential consumer-resource interactions into reserve selection, a new algorithm is presented for American marten and its two primary prey species. The inclusion of their interaction had the benefit t of producing spatially aggregated reserves based on functional species requirements. The second part of this dissertation evaluates and synthesizes the network-theoretic approach to quantify connectivity among habitat patches or reserves embedded within spatially heterogeneous landscapes. I conduct a sensitivity analysis of network-theoretic connectivity analyses that derive least-cost movement behavior from the underlying cost surface which describes the relative ecological costs of dispersing through different landcover types. Landscape structure is shown to aff ect how sensitive least-cost graph connectivity assessments are to the quality (relative cost values) of landcover types. I develop a conceptual framework to classify network connectivity statistics based on the component of habitat connectivity that they quantify and the level within the network to which they can be applied. Together, the combination of reserve design and network connectivity analyses provide complementary insights to inform spatial planning decisions for conservation. PhD
author2 Fortin, Marie-Josee
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
format Thesis
author Rayfield, Bronwyn
author_facet Rayfield, Bronwyn
author_sort Rayfield, Bronwyn
title Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation
title_short Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation
title_full Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation
title_fullStr Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation
title_full_unstemmed Maintaining Habitat Connectivity for Conservation
title_sort maintaining habitat connectivity for conservation
publishDate
url http://hdl.handle.net/1807/19077
genre American marten
Martes americana
genre_facet American marten
Martes americana
op_relation http://hdl.handle.net/1807/19077
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