The relative importance of local versus landscape variables on site occupancy in bats of the Brazilian Cerrado

Context Species site-occupancy patterns may be influenced by habitat variables at both local and landscape scales. Although local habitat variables influence whether the site is suitable for a given species, the broader landscape context can also influence site occupancy, particularly for species th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Landscape ecology 2017-04, Vol.32 (4), p.745-762
Main Authors: Mendes, Poliana, With, Kimberly A., Signorelli, Luciana, De Marco, Paulo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bats
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Climate change
Ecology
Environmental Management
Grasslands
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat loss
Habitats
Land use
Landscape
Landscape Ecology
Landscape/Regional and Urban Planning
Life Sciences
Myotis
Natural vegetation
Nature Conservation
Research Article
Sustainable Development
Understory
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Summary:Context Species site-occupancy patterns may be influenced by habitat variables at both local and landscape scales. Although local habitat variables influence whether the site is suitable for a given species, the broader landscape context can also influence site occupancy, particularly for species that are sensitive to land-use change. Objectives To examine the relative importance of local versus landscape variables in explaining site occupancy of eight bat species within the Brazilian Cerrado, a Neotropical savanna that is experiencing widespread habitat loss and fragmentation. Methods Bats were surveyed within 16 forest patches over two years. We used a multi-model information-theoretic approach, adjusted for species detection bias, to assess whether landscape variables (percent cover and number of patches of natural vegetation within a 2- and 8-km radius of each forest site) or local site variables (canopy cover, understory height, number of trees, and number of lianas) best explained site occupancy in each species. Results Landscape variables were among the best models (ΔAIC c or ΔQAIC c  
ISSN:0921-2973
1572-9761
DOI:10.1007/s10980-016-0483-6