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CC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Cross-Continental Analysis Shows That Disturbance Effects on Reptile Body Condition Do Not Predict Abundance Responses
Global change biology, Vol.31(7), e70295
2025
PMID: 40621612
Abstract
Ecological disturbances are discrete events that alter or transform the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of ecosystems. Disturbance can cause animal populations to decline and, according to the risk-disturbance hypothesis and population collapse framework, these declines can be predicted by declines in animal body condition. However, no research has empirically examined the general relationship between body condition and abundance, nor their relationship in response to disturbance. We used a combined dataset representing 33 studies and > 42,000 observations of 75 species from Australia, New Zealand, Spain and the United States of America to test predictions relating to the relationship between reptile body condition and abundance. We first investigated the relationship at the site level and then used meta-analytical models to test whether populations showed linked changes in abundance and body condition in response to disturbance. We further tested whether key environmental and species traits influenced this relationship and whether there was a time-lagged effect of body condition responses on abundance. We found a positive relationship between mean reptile body condition and abundance at the site level. However, the relationship was largely lost when investigating population responses to disturbance. As such, our results provided no support for the risk-disturbance hypothesis and limited support for the population collapse framework. Therefore, the impacts of disturbance on reptile body condition cannot be assumed to reflect or predict abundance responses. We provide a new conceptual framework that shows how disturbances can modify or uncouple the relationship between abundance and body condition by influencing underlying drivers, such as predation, competition and resource availability. Monitoring programs that infer population impacts based on changes in body condition should first confirm the relationship between these two variables in the relevant study system.
Details
- Title
- Cross-Continental Analysis Shows That Disturbance Effects on Reptile Body Condition Do Not Predict Abundance Responses
- Authors/Creators
- Kristina J. Macdonald - Deakin UniversityDon A. Driscoll - Deakin UniversityMichael D. Craig - The University of Western AustraliaRobert A. Davis - Edith Cowan Univ, Sch Sci, Perth, WA, AustraliaSteven J. Hromada - California State University, FresnoC. M. Gienger - Austin Peay State UniversityLee A. Fitzgerald - Texas A&M UniversityDaniel J. Leavitt - United States Fish and Wildlife ServiceDanielle K. Walkup - Texas A&M Univ, Nat Resources Inst, College Stn, TX USARickard Abom - James Cook UniversityAdrian F. Wayne - The University of Western AustraliaGordon R. Friend - Wildlife Res Ctr, Dept Conservat & Land Management, Perth, WA, AustraliaBrent Johnson - Dept Biodivers Conservat & Attract, Biodivers & Conservat Sci, Kensington, WA, AustraliaDanielle Stokeld - NSW Dept Climate Change Energy Environm & Water, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaChris R. Dickman - The University of SydneyScott A. Thompson - Terrestrial Ecosystem Research NetworkGraham G. Thompson - The University of Western AustraliaDaniel F. Bohorquez Fandino - The University of SydneyChristopher K. Woolley - Victoria University of WellingtonAnnabel L. Smith - The University of QueenslandCalum Irvine - The University of Western AustraliaTim S. Jessop - NSW Department of Planning and EnvironmentJade E. Keehn - Oregon Department of Fish and WildlifeChris R. Feldman - University of Nevada, RenoXavier Santos - Universidade do PortoJosabel Belliure - Universidad de AlcaláJuli G. Pausas - Centre d'Investigacions sobre DesertificacióStacey L. Weiss - University of Puget SoundPatricia A. Fleming - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityShannon Dundas - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityDylan M. Westaway - Charles Sturt UniversitySabrina E. Duncan - Hochschule BremerhavenTim S. Doherty - The University of Sydney
- Publication Details
- Global change biology, Vol.31(7), e70295
- Publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- LP170101134; AD9031596 / Parks Victoria Australian Research Grant Scheme; Australian Research Council M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Charles Darwin University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians Edith Cowan University, Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia Threatened Species Recovery Hub Australian Goverment's National Environmental Science Program, Northern Australian Environmental Resources Hub Parks Victoria, Placer Dome Asia Pacific Kalgoorlie West Operations A18615230 / Australian Research Council
- Identifiers
- 991005795472907891
- Copyright
- © 2025 The Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability; School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.35 Zoology & Animal Ecology
- 3.35.683 Reptile Ecology
- Web Of Science research areas
- Biodiversity Conservation
- Ecology
- Environmental Sciences
- ESI research areas
- Environment/Ecology