Dispersal-based species pools as sources of connectivity area mismatches

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that considering diverse dispersal abilities of species is crucial for accurately identifying ecological corridors and informing territorial planning, revealing significant mismatches with existing corridors especially affecting low dispersal species.

Contribution

The paper introduces a dispersal-based approach to identify priority connectivity areas, highlighting the importance of accounting for species-specific dispersal capacities in conservation planning.

Findings

Significant differences in priority areas between species groups with different dispersal abilities.

Mismatches between existing corridors and actual connectivity needs, especially for low dispersal species.

Urban sprawl impacts highly connected areas for species with high dispersal capabilities.

Abstract

Context - Prioritising is likely to differ depending on the species considered for connectivity assessments, leading to a lack of consensual decisions for territorial planning. Objectives - The objective was to assess the relevance of identifying priority areas for connectivity for groups of species based on common dispersal abilities. We aimed to assess the impact of target groups choices on predicted priority areas. Method - The study was located at the Thau Lagoon territory to demonstrate the methodological approach. Ecological niche modelling was used to quantify species resistance and to identify suitable habitat patches. We coupled the least-cost path methodology with circuit theory to assess species connectivity. We classified connectivity from high to low levels and averaged the results by dispersal groups. Results - We found important differences in identified priority areas between groups with dissimilar dispersal abilities, with little overlap between highly connected areas. We identified a gap between the level of protection of low dispersal species and highly connected areas. We found mismatches between existing corridors and connectivity in low dispersal species, and a greater impact in areas of expected urban sprawl projects on favourably connected areas for species with high dispersal capabilities. Conclusion - We have demonstrated that a diversity of dispersal capacity ranges must be accounted for in order to identify ecological corridors in programmes that aim to restore habitat connectivity at territorial levels. Our findings are oriented to support the decisions of planning initiatives, at both local and regional scale.