Landscape fragmentation overturns classical metapopulation thinking
Tao, Y., Hastings, A., Lafferty, K. D., Hanski, I., & Ovaskainen, O. (2024). Landscape fragmentation overturns classical metapopulation thinking. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(20), Article e2303846121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2303846121
Date
2024Copyright
© 2024 the Authors
Habitat loss and isolation caused by landscape fragmentation represent a growing threat to global biodiversity. Existing theory suggests that the process will lead to a decline in metapopulation viability. However, since most metapopulation models are restricted to simple networks of discrete habitat patches, the effects of real landscape fragmentation, particularly in stochastic environments, are not well understood. To close this major gap in ecological theory, we developed a spatially explicit, individual- based model applicable to realistic landscape structures, bridging metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology. This model reproduced classical metapopulation dynamics under conventional model assumptions, but on fragmented landscapes, it uncovered general dynamics that are in stark contradiction to the prevailing views in the ecological and conservation literature. Notably, fragmentation can give rise to a series of dualities: a) positive and negative responses to environmental noise, b) relative slowdown and acceleration in density decline, and c) synchronization and desynchronization of local population dynamics. Furthermore, counter to common intuition, species that interact locally (“residents”) were often more resilient to fragmentation than long- ranging “migrants.” This set of findings signals a need to fundamentally reconsider our approach to ecosystem management in a noisy and fragmented world.
...
Publisher
National Academy of SciencesISSN Search the Publication Forum
0027-8424Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/213532570
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
Related funder(s)
European CommissionFunding program(s)
ERC European Research Council, H2020
The content of the publication reflects only the author’s view. The funder is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
Additional information about funding
K.D.L. was supported by the U.S. Geological Survey Ecosystems Mission Area. O.O. was funded by Academy of Finland (grant no. 309581), Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation, Research Council of Norway through its Centres of Excellence Funding Scheme (223257), and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 856506; ERC- synergy project LIFEPLAN). ...License
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
Global warming, forest biodiversity and conservation strategies in boreal landscapes
Mazziotta, Adriano (University of Jyväskylä, 2014) -
Cost-effective biodiversity protection through multiuse-conservation landscapes
Peura, Maiju; Eyvindson, Kyle; Burgas, Daniel; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Raatikainen, Kaisa J.; Kotiaho, Janne S. (Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024)Context Intensive land use and exploitation of natural resources are the main direct drivers of biodiversity loss. Transformative changes in land management are called for as conservation and management actions have not ... -
Effects of a mobile disturbance pattern on dynamic patch networks and metapopulation persistence
Fabritius, Henna; Knegt, Henrik de; Ovaskainen, Otso (Elsevier, 2021)Motivation Certain early-succession habitats may emerge only at restricted locations following disturbance. Therefore, whether disturbances tend to occur at certain sites or not can significantly affect habitat availability ... -
Demographic Basis of Spatially Structured Fluctuations in a Threespine Stickleback Metapopulation
Phillips, Joseph S.; Einarsson, Árni; Strickland, Kasha; Ives, Anthony R.; Kristjánsson, Bjarni K.; Räsänen, Katja (University of Chicago Press, 2023)Uncovering the demographic basis of population fluctuations is a central goal of population biology. This is particularly challenging for spatially structured populations, which require disentangling synchrony in demographic ... -
Ecology of host-parasite relationships in boreal Europe : voles, food and infectious diseases
Forbes, Kristian M. (University of Jyväskylä, 2014)