Understanding the mechanisms generating species distributions remains a challenge, especially in hyperdiverse tropical forests. We evaluated the role of rainfall variation, soil gradients and herbivory on seedling mortality, and how variation in seedling performance along these gradients contributes to habitat specialisation. In a 4-year experiment, replicated at the two extremes of the Amazon ...

– Many shorebirds are Nearctic-Neotropical migrants that move from their northern breeding grounds to wintering areas in Central and South America. Shorebirds differ from many other groups of avian migrants by their extremely long and demanding flights, gregariousness, restriction to limited numbers of sites, long lifespans, and low recruitment. Migration monitoring data suggest that population...

Habitat equivalency analysis (HEA) was developed as a tool to scale mitigation or restoration when habitat is contaminated by hazardous substances or has been otherwise harmed by anthropogenic activities. Applying HEA involves balancing reductions in habitat quality against gains from restoration actions, and quantifying changes in habitat quality in terms of ecological services. We propose a f...

Modeling migratory paths of birds is an emerging area of complexity science in which attracts interdisciplinary collaborations from ornithologists, computer scientists, epidemiologist, and policy makers. However, due to the unpredictability of climate and habitat changes, our understanding of bird migratory paths is still limited. Not accounting for environmental changes when modeling bird migr...

The potential consequences of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation on species diversity and extinction have drawn considerable attention in recent decades. In many cases, traditional island biogeography theory has been applied to explain the observed patterns. Here, we propose that habitat fragmentation as a selective force can be traced in mammalian body length changes. By exploring historical ...

Species responses to climate change may be influenced by changes in available habitat, as well as population processes, species interactions and interactions between demographic and landscape dynamics. Current methods for assessing these responses fail to provide an integrated view of these influences because they deal with habitat change or population dynamics, but rarely both. In this study, ...

Herichthys minckleyi is an endangered, trophically polymorphic cichlid endemic to the Cuatro Ciénegas basin of Coahuila, Mexico. A molariform morph has stout pharyngeal teeth whereas a papilliform morph has numerous fine pharyngeal teeth. Individuals with intermediate pharyngeal dentition also exist, as does yet another morph, called piscivore. Previous studies indicated that morphs utilize dif...

Habitat selection during the breeding season has important consequences for reproductive success and, in seasonal and heterogeneous environments, most likely occurs on several temporal and spatial scales. I examined several possible topographical, substrate and vegetation, as well as anthropological effects on snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) habitat selection across pre-breeding and bree...

Habitat fragmentation involves habitat loss concomitant with changes in spatial configuration, confounding mechanistic drivers of biodiversity change associated with habitat disturbance. Studies attempting to isolate the effects of altered habitat configuration on associated communities have reported variable results. This variability may be explained in part by the fragmentation threshold hypo...

Forage is one of the main products of rangeland ecosystems, which is threatened by different anthropogenic disturbances. This study was conducted to assess the impact of urbanization, rural development, agriculture extension, road construction and industry on forage production in an arid and semiarid rangeland using InVEST habitat quality model in spring 2018. In 14 rangeland types, thirty 2×1m...