10.5061/DRYAD.GB5MKKWK8
Huang, Jun-Long
0000-0002-8227-2215
Wuhan University
Andrello, Marco
0000-0001-7590-2736
Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation
Martensen, Alexandre
Federal University of São Carlos
Saura, Santiago
Technical University of Madrid
Liu, Dian-Feng
Wuhan University
He, Jian-Hua
Wuhan University
Fortin, Marie-Josée
University of Toronto
Importance of spatio-temporal connectivity to maintain species
experiencing range shifts
Dryad
dataset
2019
dynamic network model
landscape connectivity
Ontario
China Scholarship Council
https://ror.org/04atp4p48
National Natural Science Foundation of China
https://ror.org/01h0zpd94
41771429
National Natural Science Foundation of China
https://ror.org/01h0zpd94
41871301
NSERC Discovery Grant
2019-12-17T00:00:00Z
2019-12-17T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.04716
16067355 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Climate change can affect the habitat resources available to species by
changing habitat quantity, suitability and spatial configuration, which
largely determine population persistence in the landscape. In this
context, dispersal is a central process for species to track their niche.
Assessments of the amount of reachable habitat (ARH) using static
snap-shots do not account, however, for the temporal overlap of habitat
patches that may enhance stepping-stone effects. Here, we quantified the
impacts of climate change on the ARH using a spatio-temporal connectivity
model. We first explored the importance of spatio-temporal connectivity
relative to purely spatial connectivity in a changing climate by
generating virtual species distributions and analyzed the relative effects
of changes in habitat quantity, suitability and configuration. Then, we
studied the importance of spatio-temporal connectivity in three vertebrate
species with divergent responses to climate change in North America (grey
wolf, Canadian lynx and white-tailed deer). We found that the
spatio-temporal connectivity could enhance the stepping-stone effect for
species predicted to experience range contractions, and the relative
importance of the spatio-temporal connectivity increased with the
reduction in habitat quantity and suitability. Conversely, for species
that are likely to expand their ranges, spatio-temporal connectivity had
no additional contribution to improve the ARH. We also found that changes
in habitat amount (quantity and suitability) were more influential than
changes in habitat configuration in determining the relative importance of
spatio-temporal connectivity. We conclude that spatio-temporal
connectivity may provide less biased and more realistic estimates of
habitat connectivity than purely spatial connectivity.
In the study, first, we used theoretical simulations by generating virtual
species distributions, to explore the effect sizes of changes in habitat
quantity, suitability and spatial configuration on the relative importance
of spatio-temporal connectivity. These analysis were conducted through the
combination of R scripts and a command version of software package
"Conefor.exe" (Saura and Torne 2009). The R scripts to perform
these analyses are "theoretic simulation.R", "runConefor.
R", "main.R" and "statistical analysis.R" in the
folder "R script"; and the generated results were put in the
folder "virtual species". The software package
"Conefor.exe" could be freely accessible through the supporting
information of Martensen et al., 2017, or at Conefor.org. After
downloading "Conefor.exe", it should be put in the sub-folder
"input files" to ensure the successful runs of scripts
"runConefor.R" and "main.R". Second, we explored the
importance of spatio-temporal connectivity to three real species residing
in sourthern and central Ontario, Canada, with divergent responses to
climate change. These species include: white-tailed deer, Canada Lynx and
grey wolf. The R scripts to perform analyses for real species
include: "species distribution model.R", "runConefor.
R" and "main.R". The generated results are put in the
folder "actual species".