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22 - Assessing positive and negative ecological effects of corridors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2011

By
Nick M. Haddad ,
Brian Hudgens ,
Ellen I. Damschen ,
Douglas J. Levey ,
John L. Orrock ,
Joshua J. Tewksbury  and
Aimee J. Weldon
Edited by
Jianguo Liu ,
Vanessa Hull ,
Anita T. Morzillo  and
John A. Wiens
Nick M. Haddad
Affiliation:
North Carolina State University
Brian Hudgens
Affiliation:
Institute for Wildlife, California
Ellen I. Damschen
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin
Douglas J. Levey
Affiliation:
University of Florida
John L. Orrock
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin
Joshua J. Tewksbury
Affiliation:
University of Washington, WA, USA
Aimee J. Weldon
Affiliation:
Potomac Conservancy, MD, USA
Jianguo Liu
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Vanessa Hull
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
Anita T. Morzillo
Affiliation:
Oregon State University
John A. Wiens
Affiliation:
PRBO Conservation Science
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Summary

The most popular landscape-level strategy to conserve biodiversity is to link reserves with corridors. Despite much theoretical and empirical support for their benefits in creating or maintaining population sources, corridors may have negative effects and create sinks by altering the dynamics of competitors and natural enemies. In this chapter, we synthesize results from the largest and longest-running experiment to test the effects of corridors, the Savannah River Site Corridor Experiment, and assess their positive and negative ecological effects. In addition to reviewing previously published studies from this experiment, we present new findings about corridor effects on seed mass and number, bird-dispersed seed rain, and bird nest predation and density. Taken together, these empirical studies broadly affirm the positive effects of corridors, particularly on dispersal and diversity. Where there are negative impacts of corridors, the underlying processes are nearly always linked to edge effects, a side-effect of creating corridors. These negative edge effects have the potential to change source patches into sink patches. To further explore the balance of positive and negative corridor effects, we conducted a modeling study, and found that corridors can benefit populations despite edge effects, as long as the edge effects associated with corridors are not too large. Our synthesis serves to highlight areas for future research, particularly on the effects of corridors on population persistence and how corridor characteristics (e.g., width, length) and matrix permeability alter corridor efficacy. As long as efforts are taken to reduce the negative effects of edges, our findings generally support efforts to reconnect landscapes for biodiversity conservation.

Type
Chapter
Information
Sources, Sinks and Sustainability , pp. 475 - 504
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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