Success of stream restoration can be difficult to define because many interacting abiotic and biotic factors across spatio‐temporal scales can have measurable effects. Consequently, failure in habitat restoration to achieve targeted biological goals may reflect interactions of habitat restoration with unaccounted risks that have yet to be addressed on the landscape. This is particularly true within invaded landscapes, where habitat restoration can benefit non‐native competitors as much as the native fishes for which restoration is designed. We tested for interacting effects of a reach scale habitat restoration effort and non‐native trout competition on habitat use by a brook trout (
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10075955
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Restoration Ecology
- Volume:
- 26
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1061-2971
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1029-1031
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Salvelinus fontinalis ) metapopulation within a productive main stem corridor of the Shavers Fork watershed, West Virginia. We used a joint species occupancy model within a BACI sampling design to show that brook trout occupancy of main stem habitat was highest post‐restoration within restored sampling reaches, but this benefit to native brook trout was conditional on brown trout (Salmo trutta ) not being present within the main stem habitat. Collectively these results indicate that habitat restoration was only beneficial for native brook trout when non‐native trout were absent from the restored sampling area. Proactive approaches to restoration will be integral for supporting resilient ecosystems in response to future anthropogenic threats (e.g. climate change), and we have shown that such actions will only be successful if non‐native competitors do not also benefit from the restoration actions. -
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Abstract Large‐seeded, animal‐dispersed (LSAD) trees include some of the most valuable and threatened species in the tropics, but they are chronically underrepresented in regenerating forests. Toucans disperse many LSAD species, so attracting toucans to regenerating forests should help re‐establish more diverse tree communities. We ask: (1) What constitutes suitable toucan habitat in premontane southern Costa Rica? (2) How much do small‐scale restoration strategies influence toucan visitation compared to landscape‐scale habitat suitability outside of restoration sites? (3) How well does toucan visitation predict the richness of LSAD tree species recruiting into regenerating forests? We combined habitat suitability models with long‐term toucan observations and comprehensive tree recruitment surveys to assess these questions in a multi‐site forest restoration experiment. Restoration treatments included tree plantations, natural regeneration, and applied nucleation. Habitat suitability obtained by modeling for three sympatric toucan species was predicted by elevation and the extent and age of landscape forest cover. Within suitable landscapes, toucans visited areas restored via tree planting ≥5 yr sooner and ≥2× more often than plots restored via natural regeneration. Tree plantations in suitable toucan habitat at the landscape scale had LSAD tree recruitment communities that were 2–3× richer in species than plantations in poor toucan habitat, and 71% (15/21) of all recruiting LSAD tree species were found only in plantations where landscape habitat was suitable for the largest toucan,
Ramphastos ambiguus . Results support a multi‐spatial‐scale model for predicting toucan‐mediated dispersal of LSAD trees. Tree planting increases toucan visitation and LSAD tree recruitment, but only within landscapes that represent suitable toucan habitat. More broadly, habitat suitability modeling for key seed dispersers can help prioritize restoration actions within heterogenous landscapes. -
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Abstract Zoonotic diseases represent 75% of emerging infectious diseases worldwide, and their emergence is mainly attributed to human‐driven changes in landscapes. Land use change, especially the conversion of natural areas to agricultural use, has the potential to impact hosts and vector dynamics, affecting pathogen transmission risk. While these links are becoming better understood, very few studies have investigated the opposite question—how native vegetation restoration affects zoonotic disease outbreaks.
We reviewed the existing evidence linking native vegetation restoration with zoonotic transmission risk, identified knowledge gaps, and, by focusing on tropical areas, proposed forest restoration strategies that could help in limiting the spread of zoonotic diseases.
We identified a large gap in information on the effects of native vegetation restoration on zoonotic diseases, especially within tropical regions. In addition, the few studies that exist do not consider environmental aspects that can affect the outcomes of restoration on disease risk, such as the land use history and landscape structural characteristics (as composition and configuration of native habitats). Our conceptual framework raises two important points: (1) the effects of forest restoration may depend on the context of the existing landscape, especially the percentage of native vegetation existing at the beginning of the restoration; and (2) these effects will also be dependent on the spatial arrangement of the restored area within the existing landscape. Furthermore, we propose important topics to be studied in the coming years to integrate zoonotic disease risk as a criterion in restoration planning.
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Abstract Coastal communities increasingly invest in natural and nature‐based features (e.g., living shorelines) as a strategy to protect shorelines and enhance coastal resilience. Tidal marshes are a common component of these strategies because of their capacity to reduce wave energy and storm surge impacts. Performance metrics of restoration success for living shorelines tend to focus on how the physical structure of the created marsh enhances shoreline protection via proper elevation and marsh plant presence. These metrics do not fully evaluate the level of marsh ecosystem development. In particular, the presence of key marsh bivalve species can indicate the capability of the marsh to provide non‐protective services of value, such as water quality improvement and habitat provision. We observed an unexpected low to no abundance of the filter‐feeding ribbed mussel,
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