You are here:
MODELING SCALE-DEPENDENT LANDSCAPE PATTERN, DISPERSAL, AND CONNECTIVITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ORGANISM
Citation:
WALTERS, S. MODELING SCALE-DEPENDENT LANDSCAPE PATTERN, DISPERSAL, AND CONNECTIVITY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE ORGANISM. LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY. Springer, New York, NY, 22:867-881, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
To examine the effects of landscape heterogeneity on dispersal success
Description:
Effects of fine- to broad-scale patterns of landscape heterogeneity on dispersal success were examined for organisms varying in life history traits. To systematically control spatial pattern, a landscape model was created by merging physiographically-based maps of simulated land cover with synthetic topographic surfaces. Landscapes varied in topographic roughness and spatial contagion in anthropogenic cover (agricultural, urban and road cover). A spatially-explicit individual-based model was used to simulate dispersal of idealized amphibian-like species driven by land cover and moisture conditions. Simulations included three different species types, classified as short-, medium and long-range dispersers, and varying in their maximum potential dispersal distances by 1-, 2-, or 4-fold, respectively. Relative cover preferences were similar among species, but maximum dispersal distances and cover-specific movement- and mortality probabilities varied in a correlated manner. Two sets of simulations were conducted to examine effects of varying aspects of landscape structure on dispersal success. The first set of simulations, incorporating irregular spatial configurations of patches, showed that dispersal success was lowest for all species types when anthropogenic cover was patchy, but that landscape heterogeneity had a stronger effect on longer- than shorter-ranging species types. When landscape composition and patch configuration were held constant in the second set of simulations, dispersal success decreased as anthropogenic cover became spatially contagious. Taken together, these simulations suggest species-specific conservation strategies can be developed based on important but limited life history information.