Picardi Simona, Messmer Terry, Crabb Ben, Kohl Michel, Dahlgren David, Frey Nicki, Larsen Randy, Baxter Rick
Jack H. Berryman Institute, Department of Wildland Resources Utah State University Logan UT USA.
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens GA USA.
Ecol Evol. 2020 Oct 28;10(23):13451-13463. doi: 10.1002/ece3.6950. eCollection 2020 Dec.
Mapping suitable habitat is an important process in wildlife conservation planning. Species distribution reflects habitat selection processes occurring across multiple spatio-temporal scales. Because habitat selection may be driven by different factors at different scales, conservation planners require information at the scale of the intervention to plan effective management actions. Previous research has described habitat selection processes shaping the distribution of greater sage-grouse (; sage-grouse) at the range-wide scale. Finer-scale information for applications within jurisdictional units inside the species range is lacking, yet necessary, because state wildlife agencies are the management authority for sage-grouse in the United States. We quantified seasonal second-order habitat selection for sage-grouse across the state of Utah to produce spatio-temporal predictions of their distribution at the southern periphery of the species range. We used location data obtained from sage-grouse marked with very-high-frequency radio-transmitters and lek location data collected between 1998 and 2013 to quantify species habitat selection in relation to a suite of topographic, edaphic, climatic, and anthropogenic variables using random forest algorithms. Sage-grouse selected for greater sagebrush ( spp.) cover, higher elevations, and gentler slopes and avoided lower precipitations and higher temperatures. The strength of responses to habitat variables varied across seasons. Anthropogenic variables previously reported as affecting their range-wide distribution (i.e., roads, powerlines, communication towers, and agricultural development) were not ranked as top predictors at our focal scale. Other than strong selection for sagebrush cover, the responses we observed differed from what has been reported at the range-wide scale. These differences likely reflect the unique climatic, geographic, and topographic context found in the southern peripheral area of the species distribution compared to range-wide environmental gradients. Our results highlight the importance of considering appropriateness of scale when planning conservation actions for wide-ranging species.
绘制适宜栖息地分布图是野生动物保护规划中的一项重要工作。物种分布反映了在多个时空尺度上发生的栖息地选择过程。由于栖息地选择可能在不同尺度上受到不同因素的驱动，保护规划者需要干预尺度上的信息来规划有效的管理行动。此前的研究已经描述了在全范围尺度上影响艾草松鸡（学名：Centrocercus urophasianus）分布的栖息地选择过程。然而，在该物种分布范围内的管辖单位内，用于实际应用的更精细尺度信息却很缺乏，但这是必要的，因为美国的州野生动物机构是艾草松鸡的管理部门。我们对犹他州全境艾草松鸡的季节性二阶栖息地选择进行了量化，以预测该物种在其分布范围南部边缘的时空分布。我们使用了从佩戴甚高频无线电发射器的艾草松鸡获取的位置数据，以及1998年至2013年间收集的求偶场位置数据，运用随机森林算法，结合一系列地形、土壤、气候和人为变量，对物种的栖息地选择进行了量化。艾草松鸡选择了更多的艾草（学名：Artemisia spp.）覆盖区域、更高的海拔和更平缓的坡度，避开了降水量较低和温度较高的地区。对栖息地变量的反应强度在不同季节有所不同。之前报道的影响其全范围分布的人为变量（即道路、输电线、通讯塔和农业发展）在我们关注的尺度上并未被列为首要预测因子。除了对艾草覆盖区域的强烈选择外，我们观察到的反应与全范围尺度上报道的情况有所不同。这些差异可能反映了与全范围环境梯度相比，该物种分布南部边缘地区独特的气候、地理和地形背景。我们的研究结果强调了在为分布广泛的物种规划保护行动时，考虑尺度适宜性的重要性。
