Long-term Persistence Of Species Research Articles

Patch spatial attributes and time to disturbance affect the emergence of source local populations within ephemeral habitats

Understanding the demography of local populations within ephemeral habitat patches is crucial for effective local (site-based) conservation management in spatially and temporally heterogeneous environments. Evidence suggests that species persisting in networks of ephemeral patches often exhibit source-sink dynamics, where certain local populations act as temporary sources at some time between initial colonization and patch disappearance due to disturbance. Here we present an individual-based demographic model inspired by Cabrera voles (Microtus cabrerae) in dynamic agricultural mosaics to test the hypothesis that the emergence of a source local population within an ephemeral habitat patch is largely driven by the combined effects of the patch spatial attributes (size, internal quality and connectivity to other hypothetical patches) and the time to disturbance (i.e. the patch lifespan). We focused on two key emergent demographic metrics quantifying the source-sink status of local populations based on their self-sustainability and potential contribution to other patches. We used sensitivity analyses to estimate the strength of linear associations between these metrics and the patch spatial attributes, and to quantify the main and interaction effects across different patch lifespans since initial colonization. Our model revealed that considerable spatial and temporal variation may emerge in local populations’ source-sink status based on differences in patch size, internal quality, connectivity, and lifespan. According to predictions, patch internal quality correlated positively with local population self-sustainability and potential contribution to other patches, though the strength of these relationships was mostly relevant only after about three vole generation times (ca. one year) since initial colonization, and only in combination with the positive effects of patch size and connectivity. Accordingly, results also supported the prediction that the emergence of a temporary source local population is conditional to the longevity of the habitat patch, with short patch lifespans (less than about three vole generation times) greatly limiting local population self-sustainability and potential contribution to other patches. While empirical testing is needed to confirm these findings, our study strengthens the view that local management efforts focusing on reducing or mitigating disturbance (e.g. severe droughts, human farming activities) at large and well-connected high-quality patches will likely promote the occurrence of temporary source local populations, which should be crucial for long-term species persistence over larger spatial scales.

Pasture Performance: Perspectives on Plant Persistence and Renewal in New Zealand Dairy Systems

Pasture systems dominate the landscape of Aotearoa, New Zealand, and are an integral component of sustainable and resilient livestock production. Predicting the response, performance, and dynamics of pasture species and adapting management practices is key to the long-term economic and environmental sustainability and resilience of the agricultural sector. However, there is limited information on the long-term productivity, performance, and persistence of forage cultivars and species for pasture production systems, particularly when linked to grazing and animal performance. Here, we sought to reduce scientific uncertainty, inform modelling efforts, and contribute to a predictive framework for understanding pasture performance, persistence, and renewal. Inter-annual pasture renewal (direct drilling and cultivation) rates vary by region and year, reflecting both opportunity and problem-based drivers, with the highest pasture renewal rates in Waikato and Canterbury on the North and South Island, respectively.

Pollinator-mediated connectivity in fragmented urban green spaces—tracking pollen grain movements in the city center

Cities are expanding rapidly and emerging as complex ecosystems. This expansion of urbanized areas has resulted in the alteration and fragmentation of several natural habitats. Recent studies have shown that cities support a significant level of biodiversity. This unexpected role of cities holds promise for advancing knowledge of urban ecosystems and promoting their conservation. In particular, the connectivity of plant populations through pollen transfer is crucial for the long-term persistence of insect-pollinated plant species. In this study, we tracked pollen movement areas in four isolated patches of urban greenery in urbanized area using quantum dots. We studied Fritillaria imperialis (spring) and Hemerocallis sp. (mid-summer). Our research revealed frequent pollen transfer between small, isolated flowering patches, even when these locations were not connected by green corridors. Common elements found in urban ecosystems, such as streets, trails, and pavements, do not stop the dispersion of pollen grains. Moreover, the migration pathways of pollen grains vary for each species according to different factors. For F. imperialis, we identified the proportion of green areas in proximity to the study location as a key factor in shaping pollen transfer. For Hemerocallis, we discovered that the proportion of green areas, the distance between study sites, and the frequency of pollinator visits are influential factors. Our study demonstrates that small isolated plant populations exchange pollen due to pollinator movement, indicating that these small populations may serve as stepping stones for pollinators among larger populations.

How Important Is Sexual Isolation to Speciation?

A central role for sexual isolation in the formation of new species and establishment of species boundaries has been noticed since Darwin and is frequently emphasized in the modern literature on speciation. However, an objective evaluation of when and how sexual isolation plays a role in speciation has been carried out in few taxa. We discuss three approaches for assessing the importance of sexual isolation relative to other reproductive barriers, including the relative evolutionary rate of sexual trait differentiation, the relative strength of sexual isolation in sympatry, and the role of sexual isolation in the long-term persistence of diverging forms. First, we evaluate evidence as to whether sexual isolation evolves faster than other reproductive barriers during the early stages of divergence. Second, we discuss available evidence as to whether sexual isolation is as strong or stronger than other barriers between closely related sympatric species. Finally, we consider the effect of sexual isolation on long-term species persistence, relative to other reproductive barriers. We highlight challenges to our knowledge of and opportunities to improve upon our understanding of sexual isolation from different phases of the speciation process.

Coco: conservation design for optimal ecological connectivity

Despite global conservation efforts, biodiversity continues to decline, causing many species to face extinction. These efforts include designing protected areas to function as ecologically connected networks for habitat and movement pathway conservation. Ecological connectivity is defined as the connectivity of landscapes and seascapes that allows species to move and ecological processes to function unimpeded. It facilitates long-term species persistence and resilience, mitigates the impact of habitat fragmentation due to climate change and land-use change, and addresses ecological processes that support ecosystems. Thus, ecological connectivity is key in the design of habitat conservation networks. To incorporate many complicating factors in this process, it relies on decision-support frameworks to decide which areas to include to protect biodiversity while minimizing cost. Various approaches emerged to deal with the computational complexity involved in habitat conservation design. However, despite the importance of designing ecologically connected conservation networks, these widely used decision-support frameworks do not offer functionality to optimize ecological connectivity directly during conservation design. Here, we present a fast, exact method to use connectivity metrics during the biodiversity conservation design process. Our method is exact in the sense that it always returns optimal solutions in our model. We extend an existing Reserve Selection problem (RSP) formulation with vertex-weighted connectivity constraints to include edge-weighted connectivity constraints. Further, we describe two novel variations of the RSP to directly optimize over connectivity metrics, one with cost minimization and one with a fixed cost. We introduce Coco, an open-source decision-support system to design ecologically connected conservations. Coco provides an integer linear programming (ILP) method to include connectivity in conservation design. To this end, we formulate our novel RSP variations as an ILP. We test Coco on simulated data and two real datasets, one dataset of the Great Barrier Reef and a large-scale dataset of the marine area in British Columbia. We compare the performance of Coco to Marxan Connect and show that Coco outperforms Marxan Connect both in runtime and solution quality. Further, we compare the results of our proposed methods to the existing RSP formulation and show that our novel methods significantly increase connectivity at a lower cost.

Structural asymmetry in biotic interactions as a tool to understand and predict ecological persistence.

A universal feature of ecological systems is that species do not interact with others with the same sign and strength. Yet, the consequences of this asymmetry in biotic interactions for the short- and long-term persistence of individual species and entire communities remains unclear. Here, we develop a set of metrics to evaluate how asymmetric interactions among species translate to asymmetries in their individual vulnerability to extinction under changing environmental conditions. These metrics, which solve previous limitations of how to independently quantify the size from the shape of the so-called feasibility domain, provide rigorous advances to understand simultaneously why some species and communities present more opportunities to persist than others. We further demonstrate that our shape-related metrics are useful to predict short-term changes in species' relative abundances during 7 years in a Mediterranean grassland. Our approach is designed to be applied to any ecological system regardless of the number of species and type of interactions. With it, we show that is possible to obtain both mechanistic and predictive information on ecological persistence for individual species and entire communities, paving the way for a stronger integration of theoretical and empirical research.

Transgressive segregation in mating traits drives hybrid speciation.

Hybridization can rapidly generate novel genetic variation, which can promote ecological speciation by creating novel adaptive phenotypes. However, it remains unclear how hybridization, creating novel mating phenotypes (e.g., mating season, genitalia shapes, sexual displays, mate preferences), affects speciation especially when the phenotypes do not confer adaptive advantages. Here, based on individual-based evolutionary simulations, we propose that transgressive segregation of mating traits can drive incipient hybrid speciation. Simulations demonstrated that incipient hybrid speciation occurred most frequently when the hybrid population received moderate continued immigration from parental lineages causing recurrent episodes of hybridization. Recurrent hybridization constantly generated genetic variation, which promoted the rapid stochastic evolution of mating phenotypes in a hybrid population. The stochastic evolution continued until a novel mating phenotype came to dominate the hybrid population, which reproductively isolates the hybrid population from parental lineages. However, too frequent hybridization rather hindered the evolution of reproductive isolation by inflating the variation of mating phenotypes to produce phenotypes allowing mating with parental lineages. Simulations also revealed conditions for the long-term persistence of hybrid species after their incipient emergence. Our results suggest that recurrent transgressive segregation of mating phenotypes can offer a plausible explanation for hybrid speciation and radiations that involved little adaptive ecological divergence.

Factors Influencing the Potential Distribution of Globally Endangered Egyptian Vulture Nesting Habitat in Nepal.

Habitat suitability is crucial to ensure the long-term persistence of species and can be identified based on relationships between species occurrences and underlying abiotic and biotic factors. We identified potential nesting habitat for the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) in Nepal using ecological niche modeling with climatic variables. We estimated the currently suitable nesting habitat for Egyptian vulture in Nepal at 38,204 km2. We found a high probability of suitable nesting habitat on east-facing aspects, and the probability of a suitable nesting habitat was greater in more mountainous areas, particularly in central and western regions of Nepal. Precipitation was a major factor for predicting probability of the presence of nest sites for Egyptian vultures. After identifying potentially suitable habitat, we identified environmental factors affecting landscape-level suitable nesting habitat for Egyptian vultures using generalized linear models. For Egyptian vultures, sites near forests and human settlements were most suitable for nesting, roosting, and foraging, especially in central and western Nepal. Based on potentially suitable nesting habitat and previous work on Egyptian vulture foraging and roosting habitat, we recommend protecting forests near water sources and open areas for their long-term conservation.

Applying a hybrid model to support management of the endangered Topeka shiner in oxbow habitats

IntroductionHabitat restoration aims at reinstating abiotic and biotic habitat conditions to support long-term species persistence and viability. This management practice is commonly part of recovery plans developed for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The endangered Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka) inhabits off-channel habitats, such as oxbow lakes which are increasingly the focus of restoration, but the exact abiotic conditions conducive to its persistence in this habitat are not fully understood. In this study, a hybrid model consisting of an individual-based model of the Topeka shiner and an aquatic ecosystem model representing the oxbow habitat was applied to identify optimal environmental conditions for the persistence of Topeka shiner populations.Materials and methodsEnvironmental conditions that correlated with Topeka shiner presence were gathered from published studies and included water temperature, turbidity, oxbow depth, light intensity (as a function of riparian vegetation presence), dissolved nitrogen, and dissolved phosphorus. Selected conditions were systematically varied in simulations and results were analyzed with a partial rank correlation method that quantifies the relative influence on model output from multiple factors.ResultsConducted simulations identified water temperature, depth, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen to be the most influential for Topeka shiner population biomass and additional simulations were conducted exploring the magnitudes and directions of effects of these three factors. Water temperature had the largest positive impact on population biomass followed by oxbow depth and nitrogen reduction.DiscussionWe recommend that the three identified factors be further explored in a combination of empirical and modeling approaches to advise management for the endangered Topeka shiner. This study demonstrated how ecological models could inform recovery plans by identifying factors that enhance species persistence. Ultimately, models should support management practices that result in long-term population viability of listed species and could facilitate their timely delisting.

Assessing future shifts in habitat suitability and connectivity to old-growth forests to support the conservation of the endangered giant noctule.

Suitable climate and availability of habitats for roosting, foraging, and dispersing are critical for the long-term persistence of bat species. The giant noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus) represents one of the lesser-known European bats, especially regarding the environmental factors which shape its distribution. We integrated climate-based ecological niche models with information about topography and rivers' network to model weighted suitability for N. lasiopterus in the western Palearctic. The weighted suitability map was then used to estimate connectivity among the distinct occurrence localities of N. lasiopterus, as well as from these latter towards European old-growth forests, under current conditions and different combinations of future timeframes (2030, 2050, 2070) and shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs 3.70 and 5.85). Current weighted suitability is highest in Andalusia, northern Iberia, southwestern France, peninsular Italy, coastal Balkans and Anatolia, with dispersed suitable patches elsewhere. A north-eastward shift of weighted suitability emerges in the considered future scenarios, especially under SSP 5.85. The major current ecological corridors for N. lasiopterus are predicted within a 'belt' connecting northern Spain and southwestern France, as well as in the Italian Alps. However, following changes in weighted suitability, connectivity would increase in central-eastern Europe in the future. The bioclimatic niche of the western N. lasiopterus populations does not overlap with those of the central and eastern ones, and it only overlaps with climatic conditions characterizing old-growth forests in western Europe. The outcomes of our analyses would help in designing specific conservation measures for the distinct groups of giant noctule populations, favoring the possibility of range expansion and movement towards forested habitats.

Long-Term Persistence of Desert Rodent Species in a Great Basin Sagebrush Community: Potential Effects of Fire, Invasive Annuals, and Warming Temperatures

Para probar la estabilidad a largo plazo de una comunidad de roedores del desierto y el potencial impacto de los incendios forestales en la estabilidad de la comunidad, capturamos roedores del desierto desde 2019 hasta 2021 en un sitio en el oeste de Nevada, donde previamente capturamos roedores desde 1989 hasta 1993. Las tram-pas se colocaron en arbustos no quemados (Artemisia tridentata) y en un hábitat quemado adyacente, donde en 1985 un incendio eliminó los arbustos. También, utilizamos datos disponibles en línea para comprobar las tendencias en la cobertura estimada de la vegetación anual y perenne, y en las temperaturas ambientales y las precipitaciones durante el periodo de más de 30 años que abarcan los datos de trampeo. Se capturaron ardillas antílope de cola blanca (Ammospermophilus leucurus) con mucho mayor frecuencia en el hábitat no quemado comparado con el quemado, y aunque previamente se capturaban con poca frecuencia en el hábitat quemado, no fueron encontradas en ese hábitat durante nuevos intentos de trampeo. Entre las especies de roedores heterómidos, dos ratas canguro (la rata canguro de Merriam [Dipodomys merriami] y la rata canguro de Panamint [D. panamintinus]) también se capturaron con mucha más frecuencia en el hábitat de arbustos no quemados. Las tendencias de uso de hábitat de la rata canguro de Panamint cambiaron a través del tiempo, ya que previamente se capturaban con mayor frecuencia en el hábitat quemado, sin embargo, fueron mucho más comunes en el hábitat no quemado en las nuevas sesiones de trampeo. La rata canguro de Ord (D. ordii) fue la única especie capturada significativamente más a menudo en el hábitat quemado, donde sus frecuencias de captura también han aumentado en los nuevos datos comparados con los antiguos. Tres especies de heterómidos que antes se capturaban con poca frecuencia no fueron encontrados en las nuevas sesiones de trampeo. Estos cambios evidentes en el número de roedores a lo largo del tiempo estuvieron acompañados por un aumento en las temperaturas ambientales y, en el hábitat quemado, por un aumento de la cubierta vegetal anual (principalmente el pasto espiguilla introducido [Bromus tectorum]) y una disminución de las plantas herbáceas perennes (principalmente el ricino indio [Achnatherum hymenoides]). Los cambios en la comunidad de roedores probablemente fueron consecuencia de estos cambios en la vegetación, que a su vez pueden ser resultado, al menos en parte, de la tendencia al aumento de temperatura.

Bryophytes of conservation concern decline and traits change in retention patches during two decades following forest harvest

Setting aside tree retention patches at final harvest is a common forest conservation measure, but the long-term responses of species of conservation concern to different types of forest retention remain unknown. This is the first long-term study of the dynamics of bryophytes of conservation concern and associated traits in small forest retention patches (0.01–0.53 ha) over almost two decades and in relation to environmental drivers. We applied joint species distribution models to compare how bryophytes changed in terms of occurrence, abundance, species richness and traits between year 2000, 2006 and 2018, and in relation to five different retention patch types, patch area, retained living tree volume per hectare, structural heterogeneity, and surrounding habitat openness. Bryophytes responded mostly negatively to the long-term environmental change, although with considerable variation depending on retention patch type. Only negative trends were detected for individual species. Still, no regional extinctions (loss of species from all local patches) occurred and there was a tendency for recovery of a few species. Bryophytes with predominantly asexual reproductive modes and small colony size (<100 cm2) increased in occurrence probability over time, indicating that these traits were beneficial for the long-term persistence of species in small and exposed forest patches. We recommend forest managers to create large (preferably up to 0.5 ha) and variable retention patches, both in terms of patch type (i.e. buffer zones and free-standing groups of different dominant tree species and ground moisture) and structural heterogeneity (i.e. living tree volumes, large and small trees, and deadwood).

Distribution model transferability for a wide-ranging species, the Gray Wolf

Using existing data can be a reliable and cost-effective way to predict species distributions, and particularly useful for recovering or expanding species. We developed a current gray wolf (Canis lupus) distribution model for the western Great Lakes region, USA, and evaluated the spatial transferability of single-state models to the region. This study is the first assessment of transferability in a wide-ranging carnivore, as well as one of few developed for large spatial extents. We collected 3500 wolf locations from winter surveys in Minnesota (2017–2019), Wisconsin (2019–2020), and Michigan (2017–2020). We included 10 variables: proportion of natural cover, pastures, and crops; distance to natural cover, agriculture, developed land, and water; major and minor road density; and snowfall (1-km res.). We created a regional ensemble distribution by weight-averaging eight models based on their performance. We also developed single-state models, and estimated spatial transferability using two approaches: state cross-validation and extrapolation. We assessed performance by quantifying correlations, receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC), sensitivities, and two niche similarity indices. The regional area estimated to be most suitable for wolves during winter (threshold = maximum sensitivity/specificity) was 106,465 km2 (MN = 48,083 km2, WI = 27,757 km2, MI = 30,625 km2) and correctly predicted 88% of wolf locations analyzed. Increasing natural cover and distance to crops were consistently important for determining regional and single-state wolf distribution. Extrapolation (vs. cross-validation) produced results with the greatest performance metrics, and were most similar to the regional model, yet good internal performance was unrelated to greater extrapolation performance. Factors influencing species distributions are scale-dependent and can vary across areas due to behavioral plasticity. When extending inferences beyond the current occurrence of individuals, assessing variation in ecology such as habitat selection, as well as methodological factors including model performance, will be critical to avoid poor scientific interpretations and develop effective conservation applications. In particular, accurate distribution models for recovering or recovered carnivores can be used to develop plans for habitat management, quantify potential of unoccupied habitat, assess connectivity modeling, and mitigate conflict, facilitating long-term species persistence.

Success of post-fire plant recovery strategies varies with shifting fire seasonality

Wildfires are increasing in size and severity and fire seasons are lengthening, largely driven by climate and land-use change. Many plant species from fire-prone ecosystems are adapted to specific fire regimes corresponding to historical conditions and shifts beyond these bounds may have severe impacts on vegetation recovery and long-term species persistence. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis of field-based studies across different vegetation types and climate regions to investigate how post-fire plant recruitment, reproduction and survival are affected by fires that occur outside of the historical fire season. We find that fires outside of the historical fire season may lead to decreased post-fire recruitment, particularly in obligate seeding species. Conversely, we find a general increase in post-fire survival in resprouting species. Our results highlight the trade-offs that exist when considering the effects of changes in the seasonal timing of fire, an already present aspect of climate-related fire regime change.

Expert assessment of landscape-level conservation strategies in boreal forests for biodiversity, recreation and water quality

Determining effects of landscape-level conservation strategies is needed, yet a challenging and costly endeavour. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of landscape-level conservation strategies in forests on biodiversity and provision of two ecosystem services (recreation and water quality). Specifically, we focused on the spatial allocation of unmanaged areas in production forests and different levels of “land sharing” or “land sparing”. They were represented through seven scenarios constructed for a boreal managed forest landscape in central Sweden. All scenarios had the same total level of conservation effort, but they differed in the combinations of sizes of unmanaged areas and how these areas were spread in the landscape. In one scenario, this was complemented with extended rotation of production areas. Experts (researchers in relevant fields) assessed these scenarios for overall biodiversity, recreation, and water quality. We used the Delphi technique: experts filled out an online survey individually in two rounds. In the second round they were familiarized with anonymized responses of others from the previous round. There was little agreement between experts whether concentration of unmanaged areas in one part of the landscape or dispersion of them around the entire area is more beneficial, for biodiversity as well as for the two ecosystem services. The explanation of the opinions given by biodiversity experts were based on different ecological theories resulting in different conclusions (mainly habitat complementation vs. metapopulation ecology). A few large unmanaged areas were considered more beneficial for biodiversity than many small areas. The main argument was that long-term species persistence becomes higher with larger areas. For recreation and water quality, there were almost no differences in estimates between these two strategies. One “land sharing” approach, retention trees, received the lowest score. The second “land sharing” approach, extended rotation, was scored higher, especially regarding recreation. This may be because extended rotations generate features of high recreational value, such as mature, thinned forests with not so much dead wood. Conclusively, we suggest a strategy of mixed conservation measures, with considerable efforts directed towards establishing and maintaining large unmanaged areas.

Phylogenetics and Biogeography of Lilium ledebourii from the Hyrcanian Forest

Lilium ledebourii (Baker) Boiss is one of the most endangered lilies, restricted to only a few small and fragmented areas in the Hyrcanian forest. This study aimed at evaluating the taxonomy of this unique Iranian lily and reconstructing divergence time from other species of the genus Lilium to address the role of this region in its diversification. Phylogenetic trees based on nuclear ITS and chloroplastic matK strongly supported the monophyly of the genus Lilium and division into subclades hardly matching prior morphological classifications. Biogeographic analyses using S-DIVA revealed East Asia as the ancestral range from where Lilium presented a multidirectional expansion towards North America, West-Central Asia, North Asia, and Europe. Diverging from ancestral Lilium during the beginning of Eocene (50 Ma; 95% HDP: 68.8–36.8). Specific members of Lilium colonized Iran (Western Asia) separated from the Clade IV (West-Central Asia and Europe lineage), and then yielded the Iranian L.ledebourri. Accordingly, the north of Iran appears to have promoted both long-term persistence and migration of Lily species from Asia to the Europe.

Effects of Narrow-Windrow Burning on Weed Dynamics in Soybean in Louisiana

The soil seedbank allows for long-term persistence of weed species in agricultural fields. Some weed species can persist in the soil seedbank for extended periods. Restricting inputs into the weed seedbank has a large impact on future population density and influences management practices of these weeds in soybean production systems. Harvest weed seed control (HWSC) tactics incorporate mechanical and cultural management strategies to target weed seeds present at harvest. A 3-year trial was initiated to determine if continual use of the HWSC method, narrow windrow burning, selects for earlier seed set and shattering in Louisiana soybean. No shifts in weed populations or shattering time were observed. However, there was a significant reduction in weed density and the weed seed present in the soil seedbank when HWSC and robust herbicide programs were used in combination. Therefore, utilizing multiple effective weed management strategies is imperative in reducing the soil seedbank.

Evaluating the role of active management in mature Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands for songbird conservation

Forest birds, particularly those associated with late-successional forests, are of widespread conservation interest. Although birds are among the more widely studied taxa of forest wildlife, relatively few studies have examined the long-term effects of active management (i.e., intentional stand density reduction) on the forest bird assemblage. This is an important omission, as changes in stand structure and composition over the decades following harvesting may influence wildlife utilization of forest stands. We developed an observational study to evaluate forest bird response to stand structural development multiple decades following harvesting with differing levels of overstory density reduction, and in unmanaged stands. We focused, in particular, on songbirds and cavity excavating species associated with old-growth Douglas-fir forests, and the active management strategies that we examined – thinning and structural retention harvesting – were selected based on their potential to accelerate stand structural development. Our 18 mature stands (age range: 107–187 years) were located in the western hemlock zone of western Oregon, and bird surveys were conducted an average of 41 years and 22 years post-harvest in thinned and retention harvest stands, respectively. Poisson generalized linear models were formulated to evaluate the effects of management condition on forest birds. Although five species were associated with specific management conditions, relative abundance was not statistically different between unmanaged, thinned and retention harvest stands for a majority of the species in our analysis. Species richness was also relatively invariant across management conditions. Our results do suggest that retention harvesting adversely affects some songbird species associated with old-growth forests – Pacific-slope flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) and Pacific wren (Troglodytes pacificus) for example - but our findings also indicate that retention harvesting has long-term benefits for birds associated with early-successional forests. This includes migrant species that have experienced significant population declines in Western North America over recent decades, such as Wilson’s and MacGillivray’s warblers (Cardellina pusilla and Geothlypis tolmiei, respectively). Overall, our results imply that for many species of forest birds, including those associated with old-growth forests, managers have some flexibility in overstory density management where long-term species persistence is an objective. Equally significant, our results provide strong support for the application of variable retention harvesting as a tool for the conservation of bird species associated with early-successional forests, while also reinforcing the value of mature structural legacies for bird species associated with late-successional forests. While also reinforcing the value of mature structural legacies for birds associated with late-successional forests.

Climate Connectivity of European Forests for Species Range Shifts

Forest connectivity is important for the range shifts and long-term persistence of forest-dependent species, especially in the context of climate change. This study assessed the climate connectivity of European forests for species to track suitable climate conditions as the climate warms. Here, climate connectivity was calculated as the temperature difference between each forest patch and the coolest patch that can be reached along temperature gradients. We found that, overall, about 36% of the total forested area in Europe has achieved successful climate connectivity under the moderate emission scenario (SSP245), whereby species range shifts could circumvent the impact of climate warming. The percentage is much lower under the highest emission scenario (SSP585), which is only 12%. To identify forest areas of high importance for climate connectivity, we further evaluated the potential of each forest patch to serve as a stepping stone for species range shifts. Our results showed that about 94% of the European forested area is expected to experience species range shifts. Our study identified sites of high conservation value for improving and sustaining forest connectivity to facilitate climate-driven range shifts and thus could provide information for climate-smart management of European forests.

Supporting the adaptive capacity of species through more effective knowledge exchange with conservation practitioners.

There is an imperative for conservation practitioners to help biodiversity adapt to accelerating environmental change. Evolutionary biologists are well‐positioned to inform the development of evidence‐based management strategies that support the adaptive capacity of species and ecosystems. Conservation practitioners increasingly accept that management practices must accommodate rapid environmental change, but harbour concerns about how to apply recommended changes to their management contexts. Given the interest from both conservation practitioners and evolutionary biologists in adjusting management practices, we believe there is an opportunity to accelerate the required changes by promoting closer collaboration between these two groups. We highlight how evolutionary biologists can harness lessons from other disciplines about how to foster effective knowledge exchange to make a substantive contribution to the development of effective conservation practices. These lessons include the following: (1) recognizing why practitioners do and do not use scientific evidence; (2) building an evidence base that will influence management decisions; (3) translating theory into a format that conservation practitioners can use to inform management practices; and (4) developing strategies for effective knowledge exchange. Although efforts will be required on both sides, we believe there are rewards for both practitioners and evolutionary biologists, not least of which is fostering practices to help support the long‐term persistence of species.