Download Importance of Ecological Connectivity and Opportunities Along the

Importance of Ecological
Connectivity and Opportunities
Along the European Green Belt
Dr. Andrew J. Gregory
Ast. Prof. Spatial Ecology, Bowling Green
State University & Director of the Genetic
Research in Applied Spatial Ecology Lab
EU Greenbelt
Connecting Landscapes; Connecting People
Central European Green Belt
Borders separate – Nature
unites
• The European Green Belt
has the vision to create the
backbone of an ecological
network, running from the
Barents to the Black Sea,
that is a global symbol for
trans-boundary cooperation
in nature conservation and
sustainable development.
2006 IUCN Report on the
Green Belt
While working to connect landscapes, I have had the
opportunity to connect with people in >30 countries
A History of Connecting Landscapes
A History of Connecting Landscapes
The island dilemma: Lessons of modern biogeographic studies for the design of natural reserves.
Biological Conservation Volume 7, Issue 2, February 1975, Pages 129–146.
Jared M. Diamond
Thus, the original context of the term
conservation corridor
IUCN Connectivity Types
Today the Concept of a Corridor has
Expanded & Four Classes Seem to Exist
1. Temporary dispersal habitat (fence lines,
hedgerows, etc.)
2. Linear connectivity structures (original intent)
3. Regional conservation organizational entities
4. Trans-boundary conservation cooperatives
Temporary Dispersal Habitat
(IUCN: Biological, Ecological, or Conservation Corridor)
Linear Connectivity
(IUCN: Biological, Ecological, or Conservation Corridor)
Regional Conservation Organization
(IUCN: Conservation or Sustainable Development Corridor)
Trans-boundary Cooperatives
(IUCN: Conservation or Sustainable Development Corridor)
Large-scale restoration through
connectivity: the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts
Ecologically what the whole (connected landscape)
has that its parts (otherwise isolated patches) lack:
• (For wide ranging species), individual movement to
access resources in home range.
• Dispersal movements between patches, which
• prevent local extinction (demographic rescue) &
• permit recolonization after local extinction
• Seasonal migration for species that cannot fly
Ecologically what the whole (connected landscape)
has that its parts (otherwise isolated patches) lack:
• Interpatch gene flow (adaptation, vigor, & evolution)
• Area-sensitive ecological processes such as disturbance
regimes and predator-prey interactions
• Ability for species to move in response to climate change
The 2 most-frequently recommended strategies
for adaptation to climate change (CC):
1. Expand protected areas
2. Increase connectivity between protected areas
Heller & Zavaleta 2009, Mawdsley et al 2009, 100 other papers &
4 recent books on corridors
2006
2006
2006
2010
The Dominant Paradigms for Climate Change
• The climate space
for species will
shift upslope and
towards the poles.
Several ways to provide connectivity
• Conserve intact natural landscapes.
Best,
most
natural
• Manage the entire matrix for permeability.
• Conserve or restore corridors.
• Conserve or restore steppingstones (for species
that can fly over or move through non-habitat).
• Build crossing structures under highways &
canals. ‘Getting the animal across the road’ is often
only part of the solution.
Least
comprehensive
• Capture animals in one wildland block and
carry them to the other wildland block.
But will such corridors work?
A corridor is an
hypothesis: it’s a
prediction that a
long swath of natural
land will support gene
flow between two
reserve areas, even
when the rest of the
landscape is not
compatible with
wildlife use.
Why Do We Not Know?
Conservation corridor Typical corridor study
• length ½ to 100 km
• width > 1 km
• matrix: cities, farms
• desired response: longterm occupancy & gene flow
• length < 150 m
• width < 384 m
• matrix: natural land cover
• measured response: animal
movement
What Do We Not Know?
Connected
patches
Isolated
patches
Samples in
intact area
CP1
7 km
…Measure gene flow
between connected
patches, isolated patches
and sites within an intact
landscape
Genetic distance
How Can We Evaluate
Successful Connectivity Interventions?
IP1
SL1
Non-native
pasture
CP2
IP2
SL2
Calculate Corridor Success Index for each species-corridor:
CSI = (GS-GS)/(GS-GS)
Genetic similarity
1 = success
CSI
Connected
patches
Samples in
intact area
0 = failure
Isolated
patches
Use mixed Generalized Additive Models to evaluate the
influence of landscape covariates, species covariates and
some of their interactions on CSI.
Gregory and Beier (2014) Metrics for assessing conservation corridor success. Journal of
Conservation Biology.
Why Use Gene Flow?
Why Use Gene Flow?
Opportunities Abound Along the EU
Greenbelt to Test the Corridor Hypothesis
Thank You Very Much!!