Home range estimation is routine practice in ecological research. While advances in animal tracking technology have increased our capacity to collect data to support home range analysis, these same ...advances have also resulted in increasingly autocorrelated data. Consequently, the question of which home range estimator to use on modern, highly autocorrelated tracking data remains open. This question is particularly relevant given that most estimators assume independently sampled data. Here, we provide a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of autocorrelation on home range estimation. We base our study on an extensive data set of GPS locations from 369 individuals representing 27 species distributed across five continents. We first assemble a broad array of home range estimators, including Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) with four bandwidth optimizers (Gaussian reference function, autocorrelated-Gaussian reference function AKDE, Silverman's rule of thumb, and least squares cross-validation), Minimum Convex Polygon, and Local Convex Hull methods. Notably, all of these estimators except AKDE assume independent and identically distributed (IID) data. We then employ half-sample cross-validation to objectively quantify estimator performance, and the recently introduced effective sample size for home range area estimation (N̂area) to quantify the information content of each data set. We found that AKDE 95% area estimates were larger than conventional IID-based estimates by a mean factor of 2. The median number of cross-validated locations included in the hold-out sets by AKDE 95% (or 50%) estimates was 95.3% (or 50.1%), confirming the larger AKDE ranges were appropriately selective at the specified quantile. Conversely, conventional estimates exhibited negative bias that increased with decreasing N̂area. To contextualize our empirical results, we performed a detailed simulation study to tease apart how sampling frequency, sampling duration, and the focal animal's movement conspire to affect range estimates. Paralleling our empirical results, the simulation study demonstrated that AKDE was generally more accurate than conventional methods, particularly for small N̂area. While 72% of the 369 empirical data sets had >1,000 total observations, only 4% had an N̂area >1,000, where 30% had an N̂area <30. In this frequently encountered scenario of small N̂area, AKDE was the only estimator capable of producing an accurate home range estimate on autocorrelated data.
Aim
The recent recovery of large carnivores in Europe has been explained as resulting from a decrease in human persecution driven by widespread rural land abandonment, paralleled by forest cover ...increase and the consequent increase in availability of shelter and prey. We investigated whether land cover and human population density changes are related to the relative probability of occurrence of three European large carnivores: the grey wolf (Canis lupus), the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and the brown bear (Ursus arctos).
Location
Europe, west of 64° longitude.
Methods
We fitted multi‐temporal species distribution models using >50,000 occurrence points with time series of land cover, landscape configuration, protected areas, hunting regulations and human population density covering a 24‐year period (1992–2015). Within the temporal window considered, we then predicted changes in habitat suitability for large carnivores throughout Europe.
Results
Between 1992 and 2015, the habitat suitability for the three species increased in Eastern Europe, the Balkans, North‐West Iberian Peninsula and Northern Scandinavia, but showed mixed trends in Western and Southern Europe. These trends were primarily associated with increases in forest cover and decreases in human population density, and, additionally, with decreases in the cover of mosaics of cropland and natural vegetation.
Main conclusions
Recent land cover and human population changes appear to have altered the habitat suitability pattern for large carnivores in Europe, whereas protection level did not play a role. While projected changes largely match the observed recovery of large carnivore populations, we found mismatches with the recent expansion of wolves in Central and Southern Europe, where factors not included in our models may have played a dominant role. This suggests that large carnivores’ co‐existence with humans in European landscapes is not limited by habitat availability, but other factors such as favourable human tolerance and policy.
Europe’s mountain forests, which are naturally valuable areas due to their high biodiversity and well-preserved natural characteristics, are experiencing major alterations, so an important component ...of monitoring is obtaining up-to-date information concerning species composition, extent, and location. An important aspect of mapping tree stands is the selection of remote sensing data that vary in temporal, spectral, and spatial resolution, as well as in open and commercial access. For the Tatra Mountains area, which is a unique alpine ecosystem in central Europe, we classified 13 woody species by iterative machine learning methods using random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms of more than 1000 polygons collected in the field. For this task, we used free Sentinel-2 multitemporal satellite data (10 m pixel size, 12 spectral bands, and 21 acquisition dates), commercial PlanetScope data (3 m pixel size, 8 spectral bands, and 3 acquisitions dates), and airborne HySpex hyperspectral data (2 m pixel size, 430 spectral bands, and a single acquisition) with fusion of the data of topographic derivatives based on Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. The iterative classification method achieved the highest F1-score with HySpex (0.95 RF; 0.92 SVM) imagery, but the multitemporal Sentinel-2 data cube, which consisted of 21 scenes, offered comparable results (0.93 RF; 0.89 SVM). The three images of the high-resolution PlanetScope produced slightly less accurate results (0.89 RF; 0.87 SVM).
Cambiophagous insects, fires and windthrow cause significant forest disturbances, generating ecological changes and economical losses. The bark beetle (Ips typographus L.), inhabiting coniferous ...forests and eliminating weakened trees, plays a key role in posing a threat to tree stands, which are dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies) and covers a large part of mountain areas, as well as the lowlands of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Due to the dynamics of the phenomena taking place, the EU recommends constant monitoring of forests in terms of large-area disturbances and factors affecting tree stands’ susceptibility to destruction. The right tools for this are multispectral satellite images, which regularly and free of charge provide up-to-date information on changes in the environment. The aim of this study was to develop a method of identifying disturbances of spruce stands, including the identification of bark beetle outbreaks. Sentinel 2 images from 2015–2018 were used for this purpose; the reference data were high-resolution aerial images, satellite WorldView 2, as well as field verification data. Support Vector Machines (SVM) distinguished six classes: deciduous forests, coniferous forests, grasslands, rocks, snags (dieback of standing trees) and cuts/windthrow. Remote sensing vegetation indices, Multivariate Alteration Detection (MAD), Multivariate Alteration Detection/Maximum Autocorrelation Factor (MAD/MAF), iteratively re-weighted Multivariate Alteration Detection (iMAD) and trained SVM signatures from another year, stacked band rasters allowed us to identify: (1) no changes; (2) dieback of standing trees; (3) logging or falling down of trees. The overall accuracy of the SVM classification oscillated between 97–99%; it was observed that in 2015–2018, as a result of the windthrow and bark beetle outbreaks and the consequences of those natural disturbances (e.g., sanitary cuts), approximately 62.5 km2 of coniferous stands (29%) died in the studied area of the Tatra Mountains.
Bears are omnivores particularly well-adapted to variations in the nutritional composition, quality and availability of food resources. Artificial feeding practices have been shown to strongly ...influence diet composition and seasonality, as well as to cause alterations in wintering and movement in brown bears (Ursus arctos). In this study, we investigated seasonal differences (hypophagia vs hyperphagia) in food quality of two brown bear subpopulations in the Polish Carpathians using faecal nitrogen (FN) and carbon (FC) estimates. The subpopulations inhabit areas that differ in artificial feeding practices: no artificial feeding occurs in the western subpopulation (Tatra Mountains), while artificial food targeted to ungulates is provided and used year-round in the eastern subpopulation (Bieszczady Mountains). We also compared these results with faecal cortisol metabolites (FCM) to explore how FN and FC correlate with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity and if the seasonal patterns are apparent. We found that in Tatra Mts bears fed on significantly higher quality diet, as shown by FN and FC values, and had significantly higher FC levels in hyperphagia, when they accumulate fat reserves for wintering. The pattern in FCM levels for Tatra subpopulation followed the changes in energy intake during the seasons of hypo- and hyperphagia, while in Bieszczady Mts, the area with intensive feeding, no seasonal patterns could be observed. Artificial feeding practices may disrupt nutrient phenology and seasonality, relative to subpopulations with natural diets. We showed that the availability of human-provided foods may alter not only the overall dietary quality, but also hormonal patterns linked to seasonal nutritional requirements. Combining FN, FC and FCM proved to be a useful tool for reconstructing diet quality and related physiological patterns.
The increase in mean annual temperature and reduction in summer rainfall from climate change seem to increase the frequency of natural and human-made disturbances to forest vegetation. This type of ...rapid vegetation change also significantly affects bat diversity. The aim of our study was to document differences in the ecological parameters of bat assemblages in different types of temperate mountain forests, particularly between disturbed and undisturbed coniferous and deciduous forests. Additionally, these issues were considered along an elevation gradient. We mist netted bats on 73 sites, between 931 and 1453 m elevation, in the forests of the Tatra Mountains in southern Poland. During 2016–2020, 745 bats, representing 15 species, were caught. The most abundant were Myotis mystacinus (Kuhl, 1817) (53.0%) and M. brandtii (Eversmann, 1845) (21.5%). We observed differences in species diversity, elevational distribution, and dominance between different types of forests and forest zones. Species richness peaked at around 1000–1100 m elevation. The highest species richness and other indices were observed in undisturbed beech stands, although they constituted only about 2.7% of the forest area. The lowest species diversity was observed in disturbed coniferous forests, in both the lower and upper forest zone. The species richness and dominance structure of bat assemblages were also found to depend on the location above sea level. In some bat species, the sex ratio was higher at higher elevations, and differences in the sex ratio in a few bat species, between different types of forests, were observed. Our findings suggest that disturbed, beetle-killed spruce forests are an unsuitable environment for some bat species.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to many European countries imposing lockdown measures and limiting people’s movement during spring 2020. During the summer 2020, these strict lockdown measures were ...gradually lifted while in autumn 2020, local restrictions started to be re-introduced as a second wave emerged. After initial restrictions on visitors accessing many Nature Protected Areas (PAs) in Europe, management authorities have had to introduce measures so that all users can safely visit these protected landscapes. In this paper, we examine the challenges that emerged due to COVID-19 for PAs and their deeper causes. By considering the impact on and response of 14 popular European National and Nature Parks, we propose tentative longer-term solutions going beyond the current short-term measures that have been implemented. The most important challenges identified in our study were overcrowding, a new profile of visitors, problematic behavior, and conflicts between different user groups. A number of new measures have been introduced to tackle these challenges including information campaigns, traffic management, and establishing one-way systems on trail paths. However, measures to safeguard public health are often in conflict with other PA management measures aiming to minimize disturbance of wildlife and ecosystems. We highlight three areas in which management of PAs can learn from the experience of this pandemic: managing visitor numbers in order to avoid overcrowding through careful spatial planning, introducing educational campaigns, particularly targeting a new profile of visitors, and promoting sustainable tourism models, which do not rely on large visitor numbers.
Accurately quantifying species’ area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area‐based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting ...home‐range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on the previous work, we hypothesized the magnitude of underestimation varies with body mass, a relationship that could have serious conservation implications. To evaluate this hypothesis for terrestrial mammals, we estimated home‐range areas with global positioning system (GPS) locations from 757 individuals across 61 globally distributed mammalian species with body masses ranging from 0.4 to 4000 kg. We then applied block cross‐validation to quantify bias in empirical home‐range estimates. Area requirements of mammals <10 kg were underestimated by a mean approximately15%, and species weighing approximately100 kg were underestimated by approximately50% on average. Thus, we found area estimation was subject to autocorrelation‐induced bias that was worse for large species. Combined with the fact that extinction risk increases as body mass increases, the allometric scaling of bias we observed suggests the most threatened species are also likely to be those with the least accurate home‐range estimates. As a correction, we tested whether data thinning or autocorrelation‐informed home‐range estimation minimized the scaling effect of autocorrelation on area estimates. Data thinning required an approximately93% data loss to achieve statistical independence with 95% confidence and was, therefore, not a viable solution. In contrast, autocorrelation‐informed home‐range estimation resulted in consistently accurate estimates irrespective of mass. When relating body mass to home range size, we detected that correcting for autocorrelation resulted in a scaling exponent significantly >1, meaning the scaling of the relationship changed substantially at the upper end of the mass spectrum.
Efectos del Tamaño Corporal sobre la Estimación de los Requerimientos de Área de Mamíferos
Resumen
La cuantificación precisa de los requerimientos de área de una especie es un prerrequisito para que la conservación basada en áreas sea efectiva. Esto comúnmente implica la recolección de datos de rastreo de la especie de interés para después realizar análisis de la distribución local. De manera problemática, la autocorrelación en los datos de rastreo puede resultar en una subestimación grave de las necesidades de espacio. Con base en trabajos previos, formulamos una hipótesis en la que supusimos que la magnitud de la subestimación varía con la masa corporal, una relación que podría tener implicaciones serias para la conservación. Para probar esta hipótesis en mamíferos terrestres, estimamos las áreas de distribución local con las ubicaciones en GPS de 757 individuos de 61 especies de mamíferos distribuidas mundialmente con una masa corporal entre 0.4 y 4,000 kg. Después aplicamos una validación cruzada en bloque para cuantificar el sesgo en estimaciones empíricas de la distribución local. Los requerimientos de área de los mamíferos <10 kg fueron subestimados por una media ∼15% y las especies con una masa ∼100 kg fueron subestimadas en ∼50% en promedio. Por lo tanto, encontramos que la estimación del área estaba sujeta al sesgo inducido por la autocorrelación, el cual era peor para las especies de talla grande. En combinación con el hecho de que el riesgo de extinción incrementa conforme aumenta la masa corporal, el escalamiento alométrico del sesgo que observamos sugiere que la mayoría de las especies amenazadas también tienen la probabilidad de ser aquellas especies con las estimaciones de distribución local menos acertadas. Como corrección, probamos si la reducción de datos o la estimación de la distribución local informada por la autocorrelación minimizan el efecto de escalamiento que tiene la autocorrelación sobre las estimaciones de área. La reducción de datos requirió una pérdida de datos del ∼93% para lograr la independencia estadística con un 95% de confianza y por lo tanto no fue una solución viable. Al contrario, la estimación de la distribución local informada por la autocorrelación resultó en estimaciones constantemente precisas sin importar la masa corporal. Cuando relacionamos la masa corporal con el tamaño de la distribución local, detectamos que la corrección de la autocorrelación resultó en un exponente de escalamiento significativamente >1, lo que significa que el escalamiento de la relación cambió sustancialmente en el extremo superior del espectro de la masa corporal.
摘要
准确量化物种的栖息面积需求是开展有效区域保护的先决条件, 这一般包括收集目标物种的跟踪数据并进行家域分析。然而, 跟踪数据中的自相关性可能导致严重低估动物的空间需求。基于已有研究, 我们假设低估程度会随体重变化而变化, 这种关系可能对保护产生严重影响。为了评估陆生哺乳动物是否符合这一假设, 我们利用体重在 0.4 到 4000 千克之间的61种全球分布哺乳动物的 757 个个体的全球定位系统 (GPS) 定位数据, 估计了它们的家域范围。接下来, 我们应用分块交叉验证定量分析了家域经验估计的偏差。结果显示, 体重小于 10 千克的哺乳动物的面积需求平均被低估了约 15%, 体重在100千克左右的物种平均被低估约 50% 。因此, 我们指出面积估计受到自相关引起偏差的影响, 且这种偏差对大型物种来说更为严重。考虑到物种灭绝风险随体重增加而增加这一事实, 我们观察到的偏差异速增长标度表明, 对最受威胁物种的家域估计可能也最不准确。为了修正这一偏差, 我们测试了数据抽稀和考虑自相关的家域估计是否能最大程度减少自相关对面积估计的尺度效应。数据抽稀需要丢弃约 93% 的数据才能达到 95% 置信的统计独立性, 因此该方法不可行。比较起来, 考虑自相关的家域估计始终可以获得准确估计, 而与动物体型无关。当将体重与家域大小联系起来时, 我们发现校正自相关会导致标度指数显著大于1, 这意味着相关关系的标度在体型最大的物种中发生了显著的变化。 【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】
Article impact statement: Due to autocorrelation‐induced bias, conventional methods severely underestimate the area requirements of GPS‐tracked large mammals.
The relative importance of environmental factors and species pool in natural regeneration processes is still intensively disputed. Is environmental filtering especially important for species with ...higher requirements for temperature and soil fertility? Is the seed source limitation especially pronounced among tree species with lower dispersal abilities? Trees, seedlings and saplings measurements were conducted in 600 plots of 0.05 ha distributed in a regular grid in the Tatra Mountains (elevation range 817–1797 m a.s.l.). Boosted regression trees were used to analyse the relationships between the numbers of young trees, factors acting as environmental filters and the potential seed source availability. The most important factor affecting the distribution of young trees of most species was elevation; bedrock type was the second most important factor for
Acer pseudoplatanus
, while potential solar radiation was important for
Sorbus aucuparia
. The relationship between the presence of mature trees and abundance of young ones was strong in
Fagus sylvatica
, moderately strong in
A. pseudoplatanus,
and weak in
Picea abies, Abies alba
and
S. aucuparia
. The role of environmental factors in shaping the abundance of young trees varies strongly among species, while the seed source availability is very important for large-seeded trees.