Should habitat trading be based on mitigation ratios derived from landscape indices? A model-based analysis of compensatory restoration options for the red-cockaded woodpecker
Authored by Michael L Jones, Douglas J Bruggeman
Date Published: 2008
DOI: 10.1007/s00267-008-9179-2
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Mathematical description
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Abstract
Many species of conservation concern are spatially structured and
require dispersal to be persistent. For such species, altering the
distribution of suitable habitats on the landscape can affect population
dynamics in ways that are difficult to predict from simple models. We
argue that for such species, individual-based and spatially explicit
population models (SEPMs) should be used to determine appropriate levels
of off-site restoration to compensate for on-site loss of ecologic
resources. Such approaches are necessary when interactions between
biologic processes occur at different spatial scales (i.e., local
{[}recruitment] and landscape {[}migration]). The sites of restoration
and habitat loss may be linked to each other, but, more importantly, they may be linked to other resources in the landscape by regional
biologic processes, primarily migration. The common management approach
for determining appropriate levels of off-site restoration is to derive
mitigation ratios based on best professional judgment or pre-existing
data. Mitigation ratios assume that the ecologic benefits at the site of
restoration are independent of the ecologic costs at the site of habitat
loss. Using an SEPM for endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, we show
that the spatial configuration of habitat restoration can simultaneously
influence both the rate of recruitment within breeding groups and the
rate of migration among groups, implying that simple mitigation ratios
may be inadequate.
Tags
Individual-based model
connectivity
Management
fragmented landscapes
Forest
Spatially-explicit
Population viability
Endangered species act
Picoides-borealis
Natal
dispersal