TY - JOUR A1 - Luft, Laura A1 - Neumann, C. A1 - Itzerott, S. A1 - Lausch, A. A1 - Doktor, D. A1 - Freude, M. A1 - Blaum, Niels A1 - Jeltsch, Florian T1 - Digital and real-habitat modeling of Hipparchia statilinus based on hyper spectral remote sensing data JF - International journal of environmental science and technology N2 - The abandonment of military areas leads to succession processes affecting valuable open-land habitats and is considered to be a major threat for European butterflies. We assessed the ability of hyper spectral remote sensing data to spatially predict the occurrence of one of the most endangered butterfly species (Hipparchia statilinus) in Brandenburg (Germany) on the basis of habitat characteristics at a former military training area. Presence-absence data were sampled on a total area of 36 km(2), and N = 65 adult individuals of Hipparchia statilinus could be detected. The floristic composition within the study area was modeled in a three-dimensional ordination space. Occurrence probabilities for the target species were predicted as niches between ordinated floristic gradients by using Regression Kriging of Indicators. Habitat variance could be explained by up to 81 % with spectral variables at a spatial resolution of 2 x 2 m by transferring PLSR models to imagery. Ordinated ecological niche of Hipparchia statilinus was tested against environmental predictor variables. N = 6 variables could be detected to be significantly correlated with habitat preferences of Hipparchia statilinus. They show that Hipparchia statilinus can serve as a valuable indicator for the evaluation of the conservation status of Natura 2000 habitat type 2330 (inland dunes with open Corynephorus and Agrostis grasslands) protected by the Habitat Directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC). The authors of this approach, conducted in August 2013 at Doberitzer Heide Germany, aim to increase the value of remote sensing as an important tool for questions of biodiversity research and conservation. KW - Habitat gradients KW - Military areas KW - Natura 2000 KW - hyper spectral KW - Vegetation continuum KW - Kriging Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-015-0859-1 SN - 1735-1472 SN - 1735-2630 VL - 13 SP - 187 EP - 200 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scherer, Cedric A1 - Jeltsch, Florian A1 - Grimm, Volker A1 - Blaum, Niels T1 - Merging trait-based and individual-based modelling: An animal functional type approach to explore the responses of birds to climatic and land use changes in semi-arid African savannas JF - Ecological modelling : international journal on ecological modelling and engineering and systems ecolog N2 - Climate change and land use management practices are major drivers of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems. To understand and predict resulting changes in community structures, individual-based and spatially explicit population models are a useful tool but require detailed data sets for each species. More generic approaches are thus needed. Here we present a trait-based functional type approach to model savanna birds. The aim of our model is to explore the response of different bird functional types to modifications in habitat structure. The functional types are characterized by different traits, in particular body mass, which is related to life-history traits (reproduction and mortality) and spatial scales (home range area and dispersal ability), as well as the use of vegetation structures for foraging and nesting, which is related to habitat quality and suitability. We tested the performance of the functional types in artificial landscapes varying in shrub:grass ratio and clumping intensity of shrub patches. We found that an increase in shrub encroachment and a decrease in habitat quality caused by land use mismanagement and climate change endangered all simulated bird functional types. The strength of this effect was related to the preferred habitat. Furthermore, larger-bodied insectivores and omnivores were more prone to extinction due to shrub encroachment compared to small-bodied species. Insectivorous and omnivorous birds were more sensitive to clumping intensity of shrubs whereas herbivorous and carnivorous birds were most affected by a decreasing amount of grass cover. From an applied point of view, our findings emphasize that policies such as woody plant removal and a reduction in livestock stocking rates to prevent shrub encroachment should prioritize the enlargement of existing grassland patches. Overall, our results show that the combination of an individual-based modelling approach with carefully defined functional types can provide a powerful tool for exploring biodiversity responses to environmental changes. Furthermore, the increasing accumulation of worldwide data sets on species’ core and soft traits (surrogates to determine core traits indirectly) on one side and the refinement of conceptual frameworks for animal functional types on the other side will further improve functional type approaches which consider the sensitivities of multiple species to climate change, habitat loss, and fragmentation. KW - IBM KW - Functional types KW - Trait-based approach KW - Shrub encroachment KW - Birds Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2015.07.005 SN - 0304-3800 SN - 1872-7026 VL - 326 SP - 75 EP - 89 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER -