The relative importance of local versus landscape variables on site occupancy in bats of the Brazilian Cerrado
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Data
2017
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Resumo
Context
Species site-occupancy patterns may be influenced by habitat variables at both local and landscape scales. Although local habitat variables influence whether the site is suitable for a given species, the broader landscape context can also influence site occupancy, particularly for species that are sensitive to land-use change.
Objectives
To examine the relative importance of local versus landscape variables in explaining site occupancy of eight bat species within the Brazilian Cerrado, a Neotropical savanna that is experiencing widespread habitat loss and fragmentation.
Methods
Bats were surveyed within 16 forest patches over two years. We used a multi-model information-theoretic approach, adjusted for species detection bias, to assess whether landscape variables (percent cover and number of patches of natural vegetation within a 2- and 8-km radius of each forest site) or local site variables (canopy cover, understory height, number of trees, and number of lianas) best explained site occupancy in each species.
Results
Landscape variables were among the best models (ΔAICc or ΔQAICc < 2) for four species (top-ranked model for black myotis), whereas local variables were among the best for five species (top-ranked model for vampire bats). Neither local nor landscape variables explained site occupancy in two frugivorous species.
Conclusion
Species associated with a particular habitat type will not respond similarly to the amount, distribution or relative suitability of that habitat, or even at the same scale. This reinforces the challenge of species distribution modelling, especially in the context of forecasting species’ responses to future land-use or climate-change scenarios.
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Palavras-chave
Chiroptera, Tropical savannas, Species distribution model, Habitat fragmentation, Habitat loss, Habitat suitability, Scale
Citação
MENDES, Poliana et al. The relative importance of local versus landscape variables on site occupancy in bats of the Brazilian Cerrado. Landscape Ecology, Berlin, v. 32, p. 745-762, 2017. DOI: 10.1007/s10980-016-0483-6. Disponível em: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-016-0483-6. Acesso em: 25 jul. 2023.