Managed relocation as an adaptation strategy for mitigating climate change threats to the persistence of an endangered lizard

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorFordham, D.
dc.contributor.authorWatts, M.
dc.contributor.authorDelean, J.
dc.contributor.authorBrook, B.
dc.contributor.authorHeard, L.
dc.contributor.authorBull, C.
dc.date.issued2012
dc.description.abstractThe distributional ranges of many species are contracting with habitat conversion and climate change. For vertebrates, informed strategies for translocations are an essential option for decisions about their conservation management. The pygmy bluetongue lizard, Tiliqua adelaidensis, is an endangered reptile with a highly restricted distribution, known from only a small number of natural grassland fragments in South Australia. Land-use changes over the last century have converted perennial native grasslands into croplands, pastures and urban areas, causing substantial contraction of the species' range due to loss of essential habitat. Indeed, the species was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1992. We develop coupled-models that link habitat suitability with stochastic demographic processes to estimate extinction risk and to explore the efficacy of potential climate adaptation options. These coupled-models offer improvements over simple bioclimatic envelope models for estimating the impacts of climate change on persistence probability. Applying this coupled-model approach to T. adelaidensis, we show that: (i) climate-driven changes will adversely impact the expected minimum abundance of populations and could cause extinction without management intervention, (ii) adding artificial burrows might enhance local population density, however, without targeted translocations this measure has a limited effect on extinction risk, (iii) managed relocations are critical for safeguarding lizard population persistence, as a sole or joint action and (iv) where to source and where to relocate animals in a program of translocations depends on the velocity, extent and nonlinearities in rates of climate-induced habitat change. These results underscore the need to consider managed relocations as part of any multifaceted plan to compensate the effects of habitat loss or shifting environmental conditions on species with low dispersal capacity. More broadly, we provide the first step towards a more comprehensive framework for integrating extinction risk, managed relocations and climate change information into range-wide conservation management.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityDamien A. Fordham, Michael J. Watts, Steven Delean, Brook W. Brook, Lee M. B. Heard and C.M. Bull
dc.identifier.citationGlobal Change Biology, 2012; 18(9):2743-2755
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02742.x
dc.identifier.issn1354-1013
dc.identifier.issn1365-2486
dc.identifier.orcidFordham, D. [0000-0003-2137-5592]
dc.identifier.orcidDelean, J. [0000-0003-1116-5014]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/76695
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherBlackwell Science Ltd
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP0562240
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP0883495
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP0989420
dc.rights© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02742.x
dc.subjectassisted migration
dc.subjectassisted colonization
dc.subjectbioclimate envelope
dc.subjectcoupled niche-population model
dc.subjectmechanistic model
dc.subjectmetapopulation
dc.subjectpopulation viability analysis
dc.subjectreptile
dc.subjectspecies distribution model
dc.subjecttranslocation
dc.titleManaged relocation as an adaptation strategy for mitigating climate change threats to the persistence of an endangered lizard
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Collections

Earth and Environmental Sciences publications
Environment Institute publications