Hello everyone,
I'm wondering if habitat loss can trigger the vagrancy of given taxa outside their native altered areas, toward other less adequate but still available.
I've been searching for a while finding only a couple of interesting articles on this regard (although there are always hidden gems and resources in languages different from English), and now wondering if there is more evidence.
Dear Paolo Ramoni,
very interesting consideration. I imagine that loss of halophytic habitats in the natural landscape may lead to the fact that the excluded plants establish themselves along the roads. The saline soil around the roads is a secondary habitat for halophytic species.
So, I think it is possible and probable. I am very curious about the comments of other contributors.
Best regards,
BS
Thanks for your interesting contribution! Can you please recommend me some publication in this regard? I'm curious too! Best, Paolo
Yes
Habitat loss is nothing but unavailability of a type habitat to certain organisms but may be helpful for others. Once a natural habitat is fragmented for example crops appear that portion becomes unavailable for forest dwelling species but become habitat for crop pest organisms in total they increase the composition of species . in addition ecotone species also appear that are not present in both habitat but can use fringes. that way even degradation of habitat increases the diversity but it loses evenness which is important for an habitat
Dear Paolo Ramoni,
I do not know if there is any strong scientific evidence of the presumed behavior of plants along roads...
I am presenting one very interesting article here, which, among other things, points out that the surroundings of the roads are the only refuges for the botanical species of soybeans. It's weak, I understand. I really like your question.
article: Zeng et al. 2011: Effects of road age and distance on plant biodiversity: a case study in the Yellow River Delta of China. Plant Ecology, DOI: 10.1007/s11258-011-9899-x
Best regards,
BS
Impact of Altered Land Use Pattern on Small Mammalian Diversity of Hilly Tracts of Rajasthan, India 10.1007/978-3-319-01345-9_3
https://www.tropecol.com/pdf/open/PDF_42_1/42104.pdf
Are some related papers if anybody needs them
It is assumed for the Aquatic Warbler that occurence in Siberia was driven by habitat destruction in central Europe. I didn't find the original source, but it is also cited in the global action plan for aquatic warbler.
Interesting feedback! Already wrote to the author of the study cited in the source you mentioned. Let's hope he is still active and answers, in which case I'll send it to you, Johannes. Thanks!
Habitat loss results in shifting of coordinates. This book contains few case studies on the same.
Hello Paolo,
Interesting question... and one of critical importance in conservation biology.
My background is primatology, so my response comes from that perspective.
It is certainly the case that there are scattered publications in the peer-reviewed journal literature reporting on various primate species utilizing either non-native habitats or human-modified forest habitats. These reports range from what amounts to "crop-raiding" by primates on cash crops, to primate species utilizing non-native forest habitat (such as tree plantations, or agroforestry habitat) as "corridors" between patches of more preferred natural forest habitat, in preference to coming to the ground to cross deforested habitat "matrix" between patches of preferred forest. An example of the former would be how orang-utans in Borneo and Sumatra will forage in oil palm plantations (with this behaviour resulting in orang-utans being shot as crop-raiding pests); a remarkable example of the latter of which I am aware is a report of mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in southern Mexico using hedgerows, and even farmers fences, to navigate their way across deforested matrix between preferred forest patches in preference to coming to the ground to move between forest patches.
My work has focussed on Madagascar's lemurs (in particular, species in the family Lemuridae). So, I can give you a few specific reference sources dealing with these taxa -- here are three reports (in chronological order) of lemur species using non-native forest habitats:
- Ganzhorn, J.U. (1987). A Possible Role of Plantations for Primate Conservation
in Madagascar. American Journal of Primatology 12: 205-215.
- Eppley, T.M. et al. (2015). The Use of an Invasive Species Habitat by a
Small Folivorous Primate: Implications for Lemur Conservation in Madagascar.
PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0140981.
- Hending, D. et al. (2018). The Use of Vanilla Plantations by Lemurs: Encouraging Findings for both Lemur Conservation and Sustainable Agroforestry in the Sava Region, Northeast Madagascar. International Journal of Primatology 39, 141-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-018-0022-1 .
As I suggested above, you might look at these reports as a sort of "tip of the ice-berg". Not only are there additional reports out there of lemur species utilizing non-native forest formations, there are also certainly similar reports dealing with primate taxa in Africa, Asia, and the Neotropics.
Hope this feedback proves of interest!
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