Abstract
We tested the hypotheses that species with greater mobility and/or higher reproductive rates are less sensitive to habitat loss than species with lower mobility and/or reproductive rates by conducting a meta-analysis of wetland vertebrate responses to wetland habitat loss. We combined data from 90 studies conducted worldwide that quantified the relationship between wetland amount in a landscape and population abundance of at least one wetland species to determine if mobility (indexed as home range size and body length) and annual reproductive rate influence species responses to wetland loss. When analyzed across all taxa, animals with higher reproductive rates were less sensitive to wetland loss. Surprisingly, we did not find an effect of mobility on response to wetland loss. Overall, wetland mammals and birds were more sensitive to wetland loss than were reptiles and amphibians. Our results suggest that dispersal between habitat patches is less important than species’ reproductive rates for population persistence in fragmented landscapes. This implies that immigration and colonization rate is most strongly related to reproduction, which determines the total number of potential colonists.
Highlights
Habitat loss is the primary threat to biodiversity worldwide [1], but species show wide variation in their responses to habitat loss
There was no strong evidence of publication bias as there was a weak relationship between effect size and sample size (Kendall’s tau = 0.03, p = 0.36), and a scatterplot between these two variables showed effect sizes were symmetrically distributed around the summary effect and produced a funnel-shape with greater variation in studies at low sample sizes (Figure S1)
When analyzed across all taxa, we found no evidence to support the prediction that animals with greater mobility were less sensitive to wetland habitat loss than species with lower mobility, when measured as home range size or body length
Summary
Habitat loss is the primary threat to biodiversity worldwide [1], but species show wide variation in their responses to habitat loss. This variation is often attributed to differences in species traits [2,3]. Most studies evaluating species responses to habitat loss have measured habitat amount as patch size [4], rather than evaluating the effects of habitat loss over the landscape (i.e. landscape scale study). Understanding the effects of species traits on species responses to habitat loss is often (unavoidably) confounded by correlations or synergistic interactions among the traits themselves [6]. We still do not know, in general terms, why some species or species groups are more sensitive to habitat loss than others [5,7,8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
