Journal article
Testing alternative models for the conservation of koalas in fragmented rural-urban landscapes
Austral ecology, Vol.31(4), pp.529-544
Accepted for publication November 2005.
2006
Abstract
Predicting the various responses of different species to changes in landscape structure is a formidable challenge to landscape ecology. Based on expert knowledge and landscape ecological theory, we develop five competing a priori models for predicting the presence/absence of the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in Noosa Shire, south-east Queensland (Australia). A priori predictions were nested within three levels of ecological organization: in situ (site level) habitat (<1 ha), patch level (100 ha) and landscape level (100–1000 ha). To test the models, Koala surveys and habitat surveys (n = 245) were conducted across the habitat mosaic. After taking into account tree species preferences, the patch and landscape context, and the neighbourhood effect of adjacent present sites, we applied logistic regression and hierarchical partitioning analyses to rank the alternative models and the explanatory variables. The strongest support was for a multilevel model, with Koala presence best predicted by the proportion of the landscape occupied by high quality habitat, the neighbourhood effect, the mean nearest neighbour distance between forest patches, the density of forest patches and the density of sealed roads. When tested against independent data (n = 105) using a receiver operator characteristic curve, the multilevel model performed moderately well. The study is consistent with recent assertions that habitat loss is the major driver of population decline, however, landscape configuration and roads have an important effect that needs to be incorporated into Koala conservation strategies.
Details
- Title
- Testing alternative models for the conservation of koalas in fragmented rural-urban landscapes
- Authors/Creators
- CLIVE A. Mcalpine - Geographical Sciences and Planning, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. 4072, Australia (Email: c.mcalpine@uq.edu.au)MICHIALA E. Bowen - Geographical Sciences and Planning, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. 4072, Australia (Email: c.mcalpine@uq.edu.au)JOHN G. Callaghan - New South Wales Department of Environment and Conservation, Hurstville, New South Wales andDANIEL Lunney - Australian Koala Foundation, Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaJONATHAN R. Rhodes - Geographical Sciences and Planning, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. 4072, Australia (Email: c.mcalpine@uq.edu.au)DAVID L. Mitchell - Australian Koala Foundation, Brisbane, Queensland, AustraliaDAVID V. Pullar - Geographical Sciences and Planning, School of Geography, Planning and Architecture, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld. 4072, Australia (Email: c.mcalpine@uq.edu.au)HUGH P. Poszingham - The Ecology Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland
- Publication Details
- Austral ecology, Vol.31(4), pp.529-544
- Publisher
- Blackwell Publishing Asia
- Edition
- Accepted for publication November 2005.
- Number of pages
- 16
- Identifiers
- 991005578574807891
- Copyright
- © 2006 Ecological Society of Australia
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- Citation topics
- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.40 Forestry
- 3.40.195 Biodiversity Conservation
- Web Of Science research areas
- Ecology
- ESI research areas
- Environment/Ecology