The ongoing alteration of ecosystems through human activity (IPCC 2007) endangers vitally important resources and leads to the rapid extinction of species world wide. Research is needed to assess the ecological impacts and consequences of this change, but for large parts of the world detailed species inventories are difficult – if not impossible – to obtain. Attempts to protect individual organisms (Gibson et al. 2004) or whole ecosystems (Williams et al. 2003) therefore increasingly depend on ecological modeling techniques. One of the most widely applied methods are species distribution models (see Guisan and Zimmermann 2000).
Species distribution models (SDMs) are useful tools for the analysis of species-environment relationships: They attempt to generate detailed predictions of species distributions by math- ematically linking presence/absence data to a set of evironmental predictors (Guisan and Thuiller 2005, Schröder 2008). As such, SDMs enable researchers to explore various ques- tions in ecology, conservation and evolution. For example, they have been applied to study interspecific competition (Leathwick and Austin 2001), estimate species persistence in bio- logical reserves (Burns et al. 2003), project species distributions in the past (Peterson et al. 2004) or in future climates (Thuiller 2004), predict the likely success of new invasions (Pe- terson 2003, Thuiller 2003) or detect evolutionary processes in the species range dynamics (Peterson et al. 2003).
Particularly when applied to propose adequate conservation strategies, and subsequently convince both conservation planners and policy makers, modeling techniques need to be accurate and reliable. Studies addressing this matter found that the statistic methodology (Th...
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...ferences in spatial predictions among species distribution mod- eling methods vary with species traits and environmental predictors. Ecography 32 (6), 907–918.
Thuiller, W., 2003. BIOMOD-optimizing predictions of species distributions and projecting poten- tial future shifts under global change. Global Change Biology 9 (10), 1353–1362.
Thuiller, W., 2004. Patterns and uncertainties of species’ range shifts under climate change. Global Change Biology 10 (12), 2020–2027.
Venier, L., McKenney, D., Wang, Y., McKee, J., 1999. Models of large-scale breeding-bird dis- tribution as a function of macro-climate in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Biogeography 26 (2), 315–328.
Williams, S., Bolitho, E., Fox, S., 2003. Climate change in Australian tropical rainforests: an impending environmental catastrophe. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 270 (1527), 1887.
Soule, Michael E et al. “Ecological Effectiveness: Conservation Goals for Interactive Species.” Conservation Biology 17.5 (2003) : 1238-1250.
The purpose of conducting this experiment is to find out how an invasive specie affects different native animals. In the past, invasive species have spread disease, created more competition, and had grown exponentially to then destroyed land. By comparing populations between native birds and an invasive specie, in this case the Eurasian Collared Dove, we can find out how the native birds were affected. We are examining how the Eurasian Collared dove affected populations of native birds in San Diego. Further research would allow us to view the reasoning behind what occurred to the native species. We are choosing the view effects on San Diego’s native birds because the climate in San Diego is considered fair and stable year round fluctuating
The eradication of species numbers average at a toll close to one hundred percent of earths total living creatures. “It is the Earth's most severe known extinction event, with up to 96% of all marine species and 70% of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct” (Sahney, and Benton 759). Not only where marine and terrestrial species effected but this catastrophic event is the only recogni...
Landscape fragmentation can be characterized as a break up of a continuous landscape into more smaller, less-connected patches by roads, clearing for agriculture, commercial and residential development, and timber harvesting. Clear-cutting can break up mature, contiguous forest until the clear-cut area has regenerated to a point that it does not act as an ecological barrier to interior species or species that rely on continuous, mature forests. Much of the work that has sought to measure landscape pattern and habitat fragmentation comes out of the disciplines of conservation biology and landscape ecology (Theobald 1998). These disciplines are founded on the premise that landscape patterns strongly influence and are influenced by ecological processes (Forman and Godron 1986).
Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must be taken immediately!
Murrow, Jennifer L., Cindy A. Thatcher, Frank T. van Manen and Joseph D. Clark. A Data-Based Conservation Planning Tool for Florida Panthers. Environ Model Access 2013, 18: 159-170, DOI: 10.1007/s10666-012-9336-0
Shwartz, M. (2003). Effects of global warming already being felt on plants and animals worldwide. Retrieved February 18, 2011, from http://news.stanford.edu/pr/03/root18.html
a) The Daintree rainforest at Cape Tribulation, in far north Queensland is diverse in many ways. It holds 12 of the 19 primitive plant families in the world (Cairns Today, 2007). The forest covers an area of 1100 square kilometres and is approximately eighty kilometres wide. This dense and luxuriant rainforest has the greatest diversity than any other in Australia and many in the world. The Daintree is also the home of rare and threatened of being extinct plant and animal species. The importance of this ecosystem is the very high. This ecosystem contributes to the overall health of this plant in many ways. The diversity contributes in the breakdown of pollution and helps to control the climate to name a few. This rainforest also is a great ‘carbon sink’. It has many photosynthesising plants and this allows the control of carbon dioxide (CO2). The plants take in the CO2 from the atmosphere and return oxygen (O2)
Willmer, P.. Ecology: Pollinator – Plant Synchrony Tested by Climate Change. Current Biology. Volume 22, Issue 4, 21 Feb 2012, Pages R131 – R132.
"The Consequences of Global WarmingOn Wildlife." Consequences of Global Warming. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. .
In the review article, “Equilibrium Theory of Island Biogeography and Ecology”, Simberloff (1974) described how the equilibrium hypothesis can be used to explain island biogeography. According to the author, islands offer significant scientific, economic, evolutionary, or ecologic importances due to their unique characteristics (isolation, insular depauperization). However, detailed study on the somewhat puzzling island biogeography is limited. Therefore, Simberloff (1974) provided an in-depth research on the evolution of the island biogeography from an idiographic discipline to nomothetic science.
Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly species are migrating north and breeding earlier in the spring than they did a few decades ago, all because of slight changes in temperature cues. (Shuster)
In many parts of the world, ecosystems’ temperatures begin to rise and fall to extreme levels making it very difficult for animals and plants to adapt in time to survive. Climate has never been stable here on Earth. Climate is an important environmental influence on ecosystems. Climate changes the impacts of climate change, and affects ecosystems in a variety of ways. For instance, warming could force species to migrate to higher latitudes or higher elevations where temperatures are more conducive to their survival. Similarly, as sea level rises, saltwater intrusion into a freshwater sys...
One of the reasons for loss in biodiversity is alteration of habitats. A habitat is the natural environment in which a species of living organism lives. If the habitat of a species is changed, it will cause the species to die or migrate to other places where it can find its natural habitat. There are many ways in which the habitat of plants and animals can be altered. One of them is land use changes. Since the beginning of human life, human beings have been changing land use for farming. Large areas of forests have been cleared by humans to increase the area of farming to satisfy their growing needs. Many biodiversity-rich landscape characteristics have been lost due to intensive farming (Young, Richards, Fischer, Halada, Kull, Kuzniar, Tartes, Uzunov & Watt, 2007). For example, traditional farming was replaced by private farms in Europe after the First World War causing an immense change in land use patterns. Another major proble...
The Earth is far and away the most biodiverse planet in our solar system, with about 8.7 million more unique species than the other 8 planets (UNEP). However, the Earth’s commanding lead is shrinking; not because the other planets are increasing biodiversity, but because Earth’s is decreasing. According to the World Wildlife Fund, we as a planet are losing 1,000 to 10,000 more species than the natural rate. Since the total number of species is hard to pin down, this can mean anywhere from 200 to 10,000 species going extinct per year (World Wildlife Fund). This obscenely high extinction rate is dangerous not just to ecosystems directly affected by the loss, but also creates a domino effect that circles around the globe and up and down the food