EXAM 2 Flashcards
why landscape pattern analysis
- understanding relationship between patterns (ecological processes)
- monitor changes
- informs people of the status of the landscape
how do scale and impact landscape metrics
- trade off between resolution, extent, and computational demands
- number of cells and complexity of landscape increases
- changing or comparing the spatial extent can have major effect on measures of landscape composition and configuration
what are some ways in which changes in landscape structure impact ecological function
- habitat fragmentation (ex: isolated habitats)
- connectivity(ex: movement of species)
- edge effects (ex: increases predation, changes in vegetation)
misuses of landscape ecology metrics
- widespread availability of landscape analysis software (hard to find a good source)
- ignoring scaling relationships
- basic metrics will generally suffice to describe a landscape
what are neutral landscapes
highly simplified depictions of spatial variables used to study their behavior and compare against observed or real landscape (ex: cover type, habitat quality, and distances among patches)
what are the uses of neutral landscapes
- standard of comparison (understand the influence of ecology)
- replication and manipulation of landscape
- evaluate connectivity or lack thereof through percolation
how does the 4 or 8 neighborhood rule impact landscapes and metrics
influence the number of patches, thus the patch structure (size and shape) of the landscape
what happens to some landscape metrics as probability (p) increases
the number of patches increases
what is percolation
a measure of connectivity
what is a percolation cluster
habitat patch that spans the entire extent of landscape
what are some benefits of computational experiments with NLM
- advancement in theoretical landscape ecology
- predict important properties of real landscapes
- comparing real-world observations against randomness
what are some shortcomings of NLM
results could be misinterpreted or misunderstood
main conclusions drawn from percolation lab
certain events in landscapes that are highly connected, can jeopardize the landscape and ultimately cause more harm than good (ex: wildfires)
what is an edge in LE
interface between different habitats and associated biota
what is edge effect
change in some ecological response as a function of distance to a habitat edge
what are soft and hard edges and why do they matter to LE
- soft edges are easily traversed and more permeable to movement
- hard edges boundary is rarely traversed because it imposes a barrier (temperature, predation exposure)
what is the relationship between edge contrast and species mobility
the perception of patch boundaries depends on the degree of contrast between the patch and matrix, ad the relative mobility of the organism
different ways in which species respond to edge
- supplementary resources (species that thrive near edges)
- complementary resources (combination of resources used to adapt to the edge)
- habitat quality (habitat ability to meet the needs of a species)
different definitions of connectivity (habitat, ecological, landscape)
- habitat (how different habitat patches are connected or linked, shows physical structure of landscape and accessibility)
- ecological (functional relationship and ecological process that occur between habitat patches)
- landscape (considers arrangement of different habitat types and ecological flows across landscape)
what are habitat corridors
pathways of habitat that connect larger habitat patches. (ex: rivers, hedgerows, or strips of vegetation)
what are stepping stones
smaller habitat patches scattered throughout a landscape. Allows species to move progressively from one habitat to another
what is the difference between structural and functional connectivity
- structural: physical or spatial arrangement of landscape elements and how they support or hinder movement of organisms
- functional: the degree which landscape elements facilitate ecological processes (movement of people, gene flow, and flow of energy)
examples of ecological connectivity
- migration corridors: specific corridors that connect breeding and feeding grounds
- riparian zones: along rivers and streams used for movement, habitat, and dispersal of seeds
how does metapopulation ecology relates to island biogeography and landscape ecology
- island biogeography: species -area relationship, island isolation, edge effects
- landscape ecology: fragmentation, connectivity, patch size and shape
what are the basic functions of corridors
facilitating movement, enhancing connectivity, refuge and habitat, mitigating edge effects
what are some of the ecological processes that may be impacted by waller creeks hydrologic/riparian corridor
- water flow and hydrology
- sediment transport
- vegetation dynamics
transition matrix interpretation (diagonals, off-diagonals, row sums, column sums)
- diagonals: represent probabilities of staying in the same state (no transition)
- off diagonals: probabilities of transitioning from one state to another
- row sums: total probability of transitioning from corresponding state to another state
- column sums: probability of transitioning to another state
major properties of NLM (critical threshold, impact of neighborhood rule on critical threshold)
- critical threshold: the level of habitat at which the landscape becomes disconnected
- impact of neighborhood rule: as rule increases threshold becomes higher because more cells would be connected
define and explain one metric for each scale (landscape, class, patch)
- landscape: measures diversity of different landcover types
- class: total length of an edge in a landscape
- patch: number of patches within a landscape per unit area
what is the meaning of friction or cost in corridor analysis in GIS
friction or cost is the least optimal location for someone to take
what is the meaning of the corridor in GIS
a thin strip of area that can be used to move or relocate
how can corridors inform landscape planning
determine which corridors provide the least cost of movement, as in the ideal way for an organism to move/relocate, and create parks where the corridors are most prominent
