Landscape ecology Flashcards
What enabled large scale ecology to develop?
Aerial photography
Access to satellite data
GIS
Why do we need to consider landscape in ecology?
Landscapes are not homogenous
- but they often have patterns
What constitutes a landscape from an ecological perspective?
= a mosaic of interacting ecosystems
- an area spatially heterogenous in at least 1 factor of interest
What is a landscape from an org perspective?
The spatial distribution of suitable habitat
The same physical area may represent many diff landscapes
How does landscape ecology enable us to understand the relationship between connectivity + biodiversity?
Species distribution
Barriers to migration-> speciation
Structure of genetic diversity
Biodiversity drivers
What is GIS used for?
Allows integration of data of multiple variables
What is grain?
What is extent?
Min resolution of the data
The size of the landscape under consideration
How can data collection affect interpretation?
If data is collected in a variety of ways
- diff satellites have diff no. of bands + width of bands
What are the 3 types of variables?
Binary (habitat/non-habitat)
Categorical (wetland type)
Gradient (wetland)
Give an example of a raw variable
Give an example of a transformed variable
Temp, altitude, reflectance
Land cover as inferred from a combo of variables
What does landscape heterogeneity affect?
Species richness
What is the link between heterogeneity and biodiversity?
Heterogeneity increases biodiversity
What is the composition of a landscape?
Types of habitat
% cover
What is the configuration of a landscape?
Patch size Patch shape Types of patch Shapes of patch Connectivity between patches
What are the 3 ways that can describe a landscape?
> cover types
composition
configuration
How does configuration affect species?
Patches gain species faster than landscapes
Landscapes hold on to species at smaller areas
Fragmentation reduces biodiversity
In terms of composition + configuration, which species would most likely go extinct with habitat degradation?
A species with a high composition threshold
What is the procedure for delineating patches?
- Define rule for connectivity
- Join cells to clusters
- Derive stats
Why are edge effects important?
They’re equivalent to ecotones
- might have higher diversity
- diff species fro core
May have v diff ecological properties
- microclimate
- reduced access to resources
- more susceptible to invasion
- exposure to invasive species + diseases
What type of patches will have greater edge effects?
Complex shapes
- more edge than core
