Li Zhenya, Kong Fanhua, Meadows Michael, Yin Haiwei, He Hong S, Su Jie, Zhou Kejing
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Xianlin Ave.163, 210023, Nanjing, China.
School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Xianlin Ave.163, 210023, Nanjing, China.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Jan;373:123766. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123766. Epub 2024 Dec 21.
The complex life cycle traits of amphibians make them especially sensitive to environmental change, and their ongoing conservation requires the maintenance of suitable habitat that accounts for such life cycle characteristics which may impacted by local environmental dynamics arising from climate change and human disturbance. Many existing studies on amphibian habitats disregard this important issue, leading to uncertainty in managing critical habitats. The application of appropriate conservation practices is therefore constrained by the fact that the major factors influencing amphibian habitats, and their spatio-temporal dynamics at different life stages, are poorly understood. In responding to this notable shortcoming, we applied a Bayesian Belief Network model and geographical detector method to identify spatial and seasonal changes in threatened amphibian habitats of the Yangtze River Delta region (YRDR). Our results reveal the relative importance of different environmental factors contributing to spatio-temporal change of threatened amphibian habitats in YRDR. The results highlight the spatially heterogenous nature of amphibian habitats and the impacts of urbanization, as evidenced by quantitative metrics of percentage area of built-up land and distance to built-up land. Habitat conservation priority analyses also indicate the importance of prioritizing habitat restoration efforts in severely degraded areas. Analysis of seasonality indicates that amphibians face particularly severe challenges during their autumn hibernation period (Slope=-0.002). In revealing seasonal variations in the level of threat to amphibians at different life stages across different habitats, this study fills an important knowledge gap and therefore supports regional amphibian habitat conservation and restoration efforts. The results of the study further imply that current conservation strategies need to comprehensively account for seasonal changes, life-cycle stages, and spatial heterogeneity.
两栖动物复杂的生命周期特征使其对环境变化格外敏感，而要持续保护它们，就需要维护适宜的栖息地，这种栖息地要考虑到可能受气候变化和人类干扰所引发的当地环境动态影响的生命周期特征。许多现有的关于两栖动物栖息地的研究忽视了这一重要问题，导致在关键栖息地管理方面存在不确定性。因此，由于对影响两栖动物栖息地的主要因素及其在不同生命阶段的时空动态了解不足，适当保护措施的应用受到了限制。为应对这一显著不足，我们应用贝叶斯信念网络模型和地理探测器方法，来识别长江三角洲地区（YRDR）受威胁两栖动物栖息地的空间和季节变化。我们的结果揭示了不同环境因素对YRDR受威胁两栖动物栖息地时空变化的相对重要性。结果突出了两栖动物栖息地在空间上的异质性以及城市化的影响，建成区面积百分比和到建成区距离的量化指标证明了这一点。栖息地保护优先级分析还表明了在严重退化地区优先开展栖息地恢复工作的重要性。季节性分析表明，两栖动物在秋季冬眠期面临特别严峻的挑战（斜率 = -0.002）。本研究揭示了不同栖息地不同生命阶段两栖动物受威胁程度的季节变化，填补了一项重要的知识空白，因此有助于区域两栖动物栖息地的保护和恢复工作。研究结果进一步表明，当前的保护策略需要全面考虑季节变化、生命周期阶段和空间异质性。
