PMID- 26591457
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20151229
LR  - 20190918
IS  - 1051-0761 (Print)
IS  - 1051-0761 (Linking)
VI  - 25
IP  - 7
DP  - 2015 Oct
TI  - Using kernels and ecological niche modeling to delineate conservation areas in an 
      endangered patch-breeding phenotype.
PG  - 1922-31
AB  - Efficient delineation of conservation areas is a great challenge in maintaining 
      biodiversity. Kernel density estimators (KDEs) are a powerful tool in this 
      perspective, but they have not been applied at the population level on 
      patch-distributed organisms. This would be particularly worthy for species that 
      need broad habitats beyond those where they can be sampled; such as terrestrial 
      lands for pond-breeding amphibians. The aim of this study was to compare 
      different approaches for the identification of suitable areas for conservation: 
      KDE, ecological niche modelling, and a combination of KDE and niche models. 
      Paedomorphosis was chosen as a model system because this is an important form of 
      intraspecific variation that is present in numerous taxa, but geographically 
      localized within species and globally endangered. 277 ponds were sampled in one 
      of the hotspots of paedomorphosis to determine the abundance and distribution of 
      paedomorphs (i.e., individuals retaining gills at the adult stage) of the palmate 
      newt (Lissotriton helveticus), with emphasis on the connections between the most 
      valuable populations. KDEs gave insights into the surface areas required to 
      balance the maintenance of certain number of connected ponds and the respective 
      number of disjoint areas in which the whole population is divided. The inclusion 
      of barriers in the models helped in accurately designing the limits of the areas 
      to protect. Alone, habitat models were not able to successfully delineate the 
      area to protect, but the integration between terrestrial suitable areas or 
      barriers and KDE allowed an objective identification of areas required for 
      conservation. Overall, the best performance was observed by the KDE integrating 
      ecological barriers, and by the combination between KDE and niche modelling. In a 
      broader perspective, KDEs are thus a pertinent tool in providing quantitative 
      spatial measurements to delineate conservation areas based on patch-abundance 
      data with a specific focus to connectivity.
FAU - Denoel, Mathieu
AU  - Denoel M
FAU - Ficetola, Gentile Francesco
AU  - Ficetola GF
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - United States
TA  - Ecol Appl
JT  - Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America
JID - 9889808
SB  - IM
MH  - Animal Distribution
MH  - Animals
MH  - Conservation of Natural Resources/*methods
MH  - *Ecosystem
MH  - *Endangered Species
MH  - Environmental Monitoring
MH  - France
MH  - *Models, Biological
MH  - Reproduction/physiology
MH  - Salamandridae/*physiology
EDAT- 2015/11/26 06:00
MHDA- 2015/12/30 06:00
CRDT- 2015/11/24 06:00
PHST- 2015/11/24 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2015/11/26 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2015/12/30 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1890/14-1041.1 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ecol Appl. 2015 Oct;25(7):1922-31. doi: 10.1890/14-1041.1.