Human Impact on Wildlife Habitats

Landscape Modification and Wildlife Persistence

• Modification of a landscape affects wildlife species persistence due to multiple threats such as exploitation, livestock, land-use change, and conflict.
• Exploitation was the primary threat to wildlife in Europe, but policy changes have altered the severity of these threats.
• Wildlife has retreated primarily due to hunting, rather than landscape modification.

Temporal Dynamics and Spatial Heterogeneity

• Landscapes have varied spatial patterns, including intact, variegated, fragmented, and relictual patterns.
• Biological diversity makes it challenging to manage all species, as each species responds uniquely to environmental changes.

Biological Levels and Cognitive Abilities

• Wildlife species have cognitive abilities, such as learning and processing information, which affect their response to landscape modification.
• Incomplete information and limited data complicate decision-making and management.

Landscape Modification Models

• Two primary models of landscape modification are used: the Shift model and the Patch-Matrix-Corridor Model.
• The Shift model explains how species richness is affected by the number of species present on an island and dispersal abilities.
• The Patch-Matrix-Corridor Model provides a pattern-oriented view of landscapes, but its simplicity limits its applicability to all ecosystems.

Species-Oriented View of Landscapes

• Species perceive landscapes differently based on their preferences, requirements, and conditions.
• Environmental data and species data are used to identify relationships and understand species' responses to habitat change.
• Spatial grain, or the resolution at which species perceive landscapes, is essential in understanding species-oriented approaches.

Approaches to Studying Landscape Modification

• Observational studies examine relationships between surface area and species richness, as well as population size and body size.
• Experimental approaches, such as Simberloff's mangrove islands and forest fragmentation studies, test the effects of defaunation and habitat destruction on species richness.
• Species-oriented approaches using modern data and techniques, such as GPS and corridor planning, can inform conservation and management decisions.