Considerations for using occupancy surveys to monitor forest primates: a case study with Sclater’s monkey (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cercopithecus sclateri</Emphasis>)

Count-based indices and distance sampling are widely used to monitor primate populations. Indices are often confounded by variation in detectability, whereas distance sampling is generally ineffective with species that flee or hide from observers and where it is difficult to accurately measure detection distances. We tested occupancy modeling as a means to monitor Sclater’s monkey (Cercopithecus sclateri), an endemic of Nigeria. We evaluated effects of survey methodology, habitat, and human disturbance on detection probability and site occupancy. Average detectability was high (p = 0.81), but varied substantially between two observers. Occupancy was highest in areas with intermediate levels (20–40%) of farmland and secondary forest, and was unaffected by human disturbance. Sampling plots (4 and 6.25 ha) did not concurrently contain >1 monkey group, were likely closed to monkey movements during the replicate surveys of each plot, and were spatially separated so that it was unlikely the same group was observed in >1 plot. These conditions enabled the conversion of occupancy to group density. Scaled to 6.25 ha, model-weighted occupancy averaged 0.230 (SE 0.103), yielding an estimate of 3.7 groups/km² (95% CI 1.4–7.7 groups/km²). Because some groups straddled plot boundaries, we assumed that half of these groups were inside the plots, resulting in an adjusted estimate of 3.1 groups/km². Our results illustrate that occupancy can be suitable for monitoring vigilant forest primates where detection distances are difficult to measure. However, special attention is required to choose spatial and temporal scales that accommodate the method’s closure and independent-detection assumptions.     

A threshold response to habitat disturbance by forest birds in the Choco Andean corridor, Northwest Ecuador

Understanding how organisms use disturbed habitats and how that use can be increased is a pivotal question in conservation biology. We analyzed the relationship between upper canopy cover, a measure of disturbance, and habitat occupancy and use by 18 forest bird species in northwest Ecuador. From May 22 to June 28, 2006 we conducted five, 10-min 50 m-radius point counts at each of the 28 sites (140 total) representing a gradient of habitat disturbance from 1,285 to 1,787 m in elevation. Both habitat occupancy and use showed strong threshold responses at 21–40% upper canopy cover with the probability of occupancy increasing from about 0 to 1 and emigration (the probability that a species would stop using the site during the study period) decreasing from about 1 to 0. Bird surveys ended near the beginning of the driest time of year and high levels of emigration in more disturbed areas imply that forest birds stopped using these areas as the dry season approached, possibly due to a shift in food resources. Patterns of habitat use and occupancy suggest that disturbed habitat in the region (which is primarily abandoned pasture) may only be valuable to forest birds after a specific level of regeneration and during certain times of the year.     

A closer look at the species behind abundance–occupancy relationships

Guedo & Lamb ( 2013 ), in this issue of the Journal of Vegetation Science, used a 35‐yr data series from two prairie communities to show that abundance–occupancy relationships change over time. Scrutinizing the details behind this finding, they show that species groups follow different trajectories during succession after disturbance. These results will inspire further species‐level studies unraveling mechanisms behind abundance–occupancy relationships.     

Distance decay of community dynamics in rocky intertidal sessile assemblages evaluated by transition matrix models

It is well known that the similarity in species composition between two communities decays with the geographic distance that separates them. It is thus likely that the similarity in the dynamics of two communities also decays with distance, because the distance–decay relationship is fundamental in nature. However, the distance–decay relationships of community dynamics have not yet been revealed. We used transition matrix models to evaluate distance–decay relationships of seasonal community dynamics (from spring to summer) in rocky intertidal sessile assemblages along the Pacific coast of Japan between 31°N and 43°N. We evaluated the distance–decay relationships of whole-community dynamics and of three dynamics-related components—recruitment, disturbance, and species interaction (competition and facilitation)—for communities separated by distances ranging from several meters to thousands of kilometers. The similarity of the recruitment dynamics among communities declined rapidly with distance within the fine spatial scale, but only moderately within larger scales. The similarity of the disturbance dynamics was independent of distance, and the similarity of species interaction declined slightly with increasing distance. The similarity of whole-community dynamics declined rapidly with distance at a fine spatial scale and moderately at larger scales. The fact that the distance–decay relationship of whole-community dynamics was similar to that of recruitment may suggest that recruitment processes are the most important determinant of spatial variability of community dynamics at our study sites during the study period.     

Predicting changes in the abundance of African wetland birds by incorporating abundance–occupancy relationships into habitat association models

Aim To map changes in the abundance of African wetland birds using remotely derived habitat data. We show that abundance–occupancy relationships can be coupled with habitat association models to map changes in abundance. As conservation resources are more easily allocated when spatial and temporal patterns of abundance are known, our method provides guidance for conservation planning. Location Papyrus, Cyperus papyrus, swamps in east central Africa. Methods Presence/absence surveys of six bird species in 93 wetlands were used to construct models predicting probability of occurrence from habitat characteristics. Densities were then determined from surveys in 23 additional wetlands and modelled as functions of occurrence probability. We then used satellite imagery to derive habitat characteristics remotely in two time periods (1984–87 and 2000–03) and used the modelled relationships between (1) habitat and occupancy and (2) occupancy and density, to infer changes in abundance in all c. 30,000 wetlands within the study area. Results Wetlands within the region declined by 8.6% between the two time periods, but by > 75% in regions of high human population density. Bird densities were also highest in these regions, which comprised wetlands subject to high levels of disturbance. The geographical coincidence of high densities and habitat loss and the existence of positive associations between bird density and occurrence meant that birds declined by much more than the average rate of their habitat. Main conclusions Targeting conservation efforts in areas with high drainage would protect a high proportion of the bird populations. Encouraging people to derive income from disturbance to which the birds are tolerant, rather than drainage, is likely to be an effective strategy. Because habitat characteristics are a key driver of abundance–occupancy relationships, we conclude that there is wide‐scale scope to couple abundance–occupancy relationships with remote habitat mapping to efficiently inform conservation planning.     

Abundance–occupancy patterns in a riverine fish assemblage

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An abundance–occupancy time-lag during the decline of an arctiid tiger moth

The positive interspecific abundance–occupancy relationship is one of the most general patterns in ecology. Positive intra specific relationships should also exist within species over time, and so a species should occupy more sites in years when it is more abundant. However, positive intraspecific relationships are not as ubiquitous as their interspecific counterparts. It has been hypothesized that low levels of temporal variation and time-lags between changes of abundance and occupancy within species make positive intraspecific relationships difficult to detect. We analyse 31 years of U.K.-wide data on the decline of an arctiid moth, Arctia caja , which provides the first empirical demonstration of an abundance–occupancy time-lag for any species. Such time-lags are probably common and we discuss their impact on the intraspecific abundance–occupancy relationship and their implications for conservation management. In A. caja , the time-lag indicates that the decline of the species is probably not driven by habitat loss.     

Territory occupancy rate of goshawk and gyrfalcon: no evidence of delayed numerical response to grouse numbers

Two recent studies on territory occupancy rates of goshawk Accipiter gentilis and gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus report a 2–3-year-delayed numerical response to grouse numbers, which is a requirement for a hypothesis of predator-generated grouse cycles. The time lags were assumed to reflect the average age of sexual maturity in the raptor species. In southern Norway, however, subadult (two-year-old) goshawk hens occupied only 18–25% of territories where occupancy was not recorded in the preceding year, and there was no significant relationship between the proportion of subadults among recruits and grouse indices two years earlier. We argue that territory occupancy rates are not appropriate indices of total raptor population levels, but rather reflect the proportion of territorial pairs that attempt to nest. Because this depends on the body condition of the hens, fluctuations in other important winter resident prey species (most important for the goshawk) and winter weather (most important for the gyrfalcon) should also be addressed. During 1988–2006, the annual proportion of goshawk territories with recorded nesting attempts in southern Norway was most closely related to the preceding autumn’s population indices of black grouse Tetrao tetrix and mountain hare Lepus timidus, whereas the annual proportion of gyrfalcon territories with observations of falcons or with confirmed breeding attempts in central Norway were best explained by population indices of willow grouse Lagopus lagopus and ptarmigan L. mutus from the previous autumn, and by December temperatures. Hence, our studies do not support the predation hypothesis for grouse cycles.     

Abundance – occupancy relationships in macrofauna on exposed sandy beaches: patterns and mechanisms

We studied the relationship between abundance and extent of occupancy of 158 species of macrofauna inhabiting 66 sandy beaches around the coast of Great Britain. We also used these data to test the predictions of two hypotheses proposed to explain positive abundance-occupancy relationships. We found a strong positive relationship between abundance and extent of occupancy; this pattern was apparent in taxonomic subsets of organisms which have contrasting reproductive and dispersal traits such as planktotrophic/lecithotrophic development in the plankton vs brood development under parental care. Moreover, the abundance-occupancy relationships in these taxonomic subsets had statistically indistinguishable slopes, and elevation. We propose that this lends support to the notion that differences in population structure such as the tendency to form metapopulations may not be primary determinants of the abundance-occupancy pattern in these taxa as proposed by the rescue/metapopulation hypothesis. To test the predictions of the niche-breadth hypothesis we derived values describing the range of sediment grain-sizes exploited by members of two taxonomic subgroups: amphipods and bivalves. We found a weak, statistically non-significant relationship between this niche-breadth measure and occupancy in bivalves which have been shown to respond to grain-size in previous studies, however this was negated after correction for possible artefacts of sampling effort. All other relationships between abundance or occupancy and grain-size range were non-significant. The consistency of the demonstrated abundance-occupancy relationship with those demonstrated in other studies of primarily terrestrial fauna indicates some shared mechanistic explanation, but our data fail to provide support for the two mechanistic hypotheses investigated.     

Relationships between local population persistence, local abundance and regional occupancy of species: distribution patterns of diatoms in boreal streams

Aims We have two aims: (1) to examine the relationship between local population persistence, local abundance and regional occupancy of stream diatoms and (2) to characterize the form of the species–occupancy frequency distribution of stream diatoms. Location Boreal streams in Finland. There were three spatial extents: (1) across ecoregions in Finland, (2) within ecoregions in Finland, and (3) within a single drainage system in southern Finland. Methods Diatoms were sampled from stones (epilithon), sediment (epipelon) and aquatic plants (epiphyton) in streams using standardized sampling methods. To assess population persistence, diatom sampling was conducted monthly at four stream sites from June to October. The relationships between local population persistence, local abundance and regional occupancy were examined using correlation analyses. Results There was a significant positive relationship between local persistence and abundance of diatoms in epilithon, epipelon and epiphyton. Furthermore, local abundance and regional occupancy showed a significant positive relationship at multiple spatial extents; that is, across ecoregions, within ecoregions and within a drainage system. The relationships between occupancy and abundance did not differ appreciably among impacted and near pristine‐reference sites. The occupancy–frequency distribution was characterized by a large number of satellite species which occurred at only a few sites, whereas core species that occurred at most sites were virtually absent. Main conclusions The positive relationship between local population persistence and abundance suggested that a high local abundance may prevent local extinction or that high persistence is facilitated by a high local cell density. High local persistence and local abundance may also positively affect the degree of regional occupancy in stream diatoms. The results further showed that anthropogenic effects were probably too weak to bias the relationship between occupancy and abundance, or that the effects have already modified the distribution patterns of stream diatoms. The small number of core species in the species–occupancy frequency distribution suggested that the regional distribution patterns of stream diatoms, or perhaps unicellular microbial organisms in general, may not be fundamentally different from those described previously for multicellular organisms, mainly in terrestrial environments, although average global range sizes may differ sharply between these two broad groups of organisms.     

Territory occupancy by common loons in response to disturbance,habitat, and intraspecific relationships

Structure and distribution of animal territories are driven by a variety of environmental and demographic factors. A peninsular population of common loons (Gavia immer) nests on lakes in northwestern Montana, but does not occupy all apparently suitable breeding territories, suggesting unexplained limitations on population growth. To evaluate territorial dynamics of breeding loons in Montana, we created and tested occupancy models that evaluated the hypothesized effects of disturbance, habitat, and intraspecific relationships on territory occupancy by common loons in Montana from 2003 to 2007. Model-averaged results indicated that the abundance of feeding lakes within 10 km (i.e., forage quality) and the number of territorial pairs within 10 km (i.e., density of loons) were equally supported and related to probabilities of occupancy. We found substantial support that the population was in a state of equilibrium, with the numbers of occupied territories stable in time, but not space. We also found that density of territorial pairs was related to the likelihood that an existing territory would be abandoned, but did not influence the establishment of new territories, suggesting the presence of territorial pairs could be a stronger indicator of territory quality to loons than physical lake characteristics. Our index of human disturbance was not well-supported compared to other factors. Our results suggest management for stable or growing loon populations could be achieved using long-term monitoring and protection of occupied territorial lakes and nearby feeding lakes, because these factors most influenced the probability of occupancy of surrounding lakes. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Soil disturbance alters plant community composition and decreases mycorrhizal carbon allocation in a sandy grassland

We have studied how disturbance by ploughing and rotavation affects the carbon (C) flow to arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in a dry, semi-natural grassland. AM fungal biomass was estimated using the indicator neutral lipid fatty acid (NLFA) 16:1ω5, and saprotrophic fungal biomass using NLFA 18:2ω6,9. We labeled vegetation plots with ¹³CO₂ and studied the C flow to the signature fatty acids as well as uptake and allocation in plants. We found that AM fungal biomass in roots and soil decreased with disturbance, while saprotrophic fungal biomass in soil was not influenced by disturbance. Rotavation decreased the ¹³C enrichment in NLFA 16:1ω5 in soil, but ¹³C enrichment in the AM fungal indicator NLFA 16:1ω5 in roots or soil was not influenced by any other disturbance. In roots, ¹³C enrichment was consistently higher in NLFA 16:1ω5 than in crude root material. Grasses (mainly Festuca brevipila) decreased as a result of disturbance, while non-mycorrhizal annual forbs increased. This decreases the potential for mycorrhizal C sequestration and may have been the main reason for the reduced mycorrhizal C allocation found in disturbed plots. Disturbance decreased the soil ammonium content but did not change the pH, nitrate or phosphate availability. The overall effect of disturbance on C allocation was that more of the C in AM fungal mycelium was directed to the external phase. Furthermore, the functional identity of the plants seemed to play a minor role in the C cycle as no differences were seen between different groups, although annuals contained less AM fungi than the other groups.     

Effects of predator density and duration of predator occupancy on crustacean abundance and diversity in experimental pools

Keystone predators, by reducing the abundance of competitively superior prey, may have indirect positive effects on weak competitors, possibly increasing their abundance or preventing local competitive exclusion. By analogy to the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, we would expect species diversity to peak at intermediate predator densities. In a replicated artificial pool experiment, we examined the relationships between density of the backswimmer Notonecta maculata (0, 1, 2, and 4 per 30 l pool) and invertebrate taxon diversity over an 11-week period of predator occupancy. Diversity reached high levels at high predator density sooner than at intermediate density. At the end of the experiment, taxon diversity was greatest at densities of 2 and 4 Notonecta per pool. While the overall predator density–diversity curve was in line with the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, the reduction in diversity from intermediate to high predator density was not statistically significant. Density of the preferred prey Daphnia magna decreased with Notonecta density, while densities of the smaller cladocerans Moina brachiata and Ceriodaphnia spp. increased. Suppression of Daphnia at high Notonecta densities may partially explain the increase in Moina and Ceriodaphnia densities. However, most of the relationship between Notonecta and the smaller cladocerans appears to be independent of Daphnia, suggesting complex interactions within the community. Our results suggest that keystone predation plays a strong role in structuring this community. Although diversity did not decrease significantly at the highest predator density as predicted, such a decrease may be more likely for pools with longer durations of predator occupancy or with higher predator densities.     

Human disturbance and stage‐specific habitat requirements influence snowy plover site occupancy during the breeding season

Habitat use has important consequences for avian reproductive success and survival. In coastal areas with recreational activity, human disturbance may limit use of otherwise suitable habitat. Snowy plovers Charadrius nivosus have a patchy breeding distribution along the coastal areas on the Florida Panhandle, USA. Our goal was to determine the relative effects of seasonal human disturbance and habitat requirements on snowy plover habitat use. We surveyed 303 sites for snowy plovers, human disturbance, and habitat features between January and July 2009 and 2010. We made multiple visits during three different sampling periods that corresponded to snowy plover breeding: pre‐breeding, incubation, and brood‐rearing and used multi‐season occupancy models to examine whether human disturbance, habitat features, or both influenced site occupancy, colonization (probability of transition from an unoccupied site to an occupied site), and extinction (probability of transition from an occupied site to an unoccupied site). Snowy plover site occupancy and colonization was negatively associated with human disturbance and site extinction was positively associated with human disturbance. Interdune vegetation had a negative effect on occupancy and colonization, indicating that plovers were less likely to use areas with uniform, dense vegetation among dunes. Also, dune shape, beach debris, and access to low‐energy foraging areas influenced site occupancy, colonization, and extinction. Plovers used habitat based on beach characteristics that provided stage‐specific resource needs; however, human disturbance was the strongest predictor of site occupancy. In addition, vegetation plantings used to enhance dune rehabilitation may negatively impact plover site occupancy. Management actions that decrease human disturbance, such as symbolic fencing and signage, may increase the amount of breeding habitat available to snowy plovers on the Florida Panhandle and in other areas with high human activity. The specific areas that require this protection may vary across snowy plover life history stages.     

N and P in New Zealand Soil Chronosequences and Relationships with Foliar N and P

The growth of forest species in soil development chronosequences becomes increasingly phosphorus (P)-limited with time, as P is weathered, eroded and leached from soil. Foliar nitrogen (N) concentrations also tend to decrease with soil age when vegetation may be limited in both N and P. Here we report on soil development in temperate rain forests along three New Zealand chronosequences that have minimal pollution and disturbance from human activities, at Franz Josef, Waitutu and Central Volcanic Plateau, and on factors influencing soil net N mineralization (aerobic; 56 days) and foliar N and P concentrations. Except in very young soils (<500 years), at least 85% of total-P in mineral soil (0–10 cm) was transformed to organic-P. In each chronosequence, total-P declined with time, and foliar N:P ratios (mass) generally increased from 8 to 15–18, suggesting P was more limiting than N in the oldest soils of the chronosequence. There was a negative relationship between net N mineralization and C:N ratio for mineral soil. For the FH (organic) layer, net N mineralization had the strongest relationships with total-N concentration (positively) and C:organic-P ratio (negatively); however, relationships varied with forest group, suggesting that other factors were also important. Foliar P of kamahi (Weinmannia racemosa Linn. f.), a dominant canopy species, was related to soil organic-P, suggesting mineralization was an important process for tree nutrition.Foliar N was positively related to N concentration in the FH layer, but was not significantly related to any measured property in mineral soil, possibly because of the wide range of soils. The consistent declines in both soil and foliar P across the contrasting chronosequences strongly suggest that vegetation becomes progressively P-limited during long-term ecosystem development.     

旅游干扰的水质模拟对繁殖前期中国大鲵夜间活动节律的影响

动物的日活动节律是它们对各种环境条件昼夜变化的综合适应。研究旅游干扰对繁殖前期中国大鲵(Andrias davidianus)的夜间活动节律影响,有助于探明旅游干扰是否以及如何影响大鲵繁殖行为的机理。前期研究发现旅游干扰程度与水中溶解氧(Dissolved Oxygen,DO)含量显著负相关。在大鲵繁殖前期,通过控制大鲵生态繁育池水中的进水量(主要影响DO含量)来模拟重度与轻度旅游干扰下大鲵水环境,通过监测大鲵夜间出洞与进洞时间、水温(Water Temperature,WT)、DO和大肠菌群的动态变化,比较不同旅游干扰强度下大鲵夜间活动节律的差异,以明确旅游干扰导致的水质变化对大鲵夜间活动节律的影响。结果表明,雌/雄鲵出洞时间在模拟重度旅游干扰水质下显著晚于轻度水质中,雌鲵分别为19:10±0:22与18:53±0:24,雄鲵分别在18:29±0:20与18:13±0:18。重度干扰导致水质变化分别推迟了雌/雄大鲵出洞时间约17 min与16 min。但是,雌雄大鲵进洞时间在模拟重度与轻度旅游干扰水质下,差异不显著,雌鲵分别为24:10±0:13与24:18±0:17,雄鲵分别为6:44±0:23与6:40±0:29。此外,该研究还发现,雌/雄鲵出洞时间与三种因子(WT、DO与大肠菌群)显著相关,然而,雌/雄鲵进洞时间与以上3因子不相关,可能主要由其生物钟决定。重度旅游干扰导致的水质变化对大鲵繁殖前期活动节律影响小,仅对出洞时间有一定影响。     

Temporal changes in abundance–occupancy relationships over 40 years

1. Abundance–occupancy (A–O) relationships are widely documented for many organismal groups and regions, and have been used to gain an understanding of regional population and community trends. Monitoring changes in abundance and occupancy over time may be what is required to document changes in conservation status and needs for some species, communities, or areas.
2. We hypothesize that if there is a higher proportion of declining species in one group of species compared with another (e.g., migratory species vs. permanent residents), then a consequence of that difference will be vastly different abundance–occupancy relationships. If this difference persists through time, then the resulting A–O relationships between the groups will continue to diverge.
3. For neotropical migrants, short‐distance migrants, and permanent resident birds of North America, we assess the numbers of declining species over 1969–2009. We further test for differences in the A–O relationship across these three groups, and in rates of change in abundance and occupancy separately.
4. We find significant differences in numbers of declining species across the migratory groups, a significant decline in the A–O relationship for permanent residents, a significant increase for Neotropical migrants, and a nonsignificant decline for short‐distance migrants over the 40 years. Further, abundances are not changing at different rates but occupancies are consistently greater over time for neotropical migrants versus permanent residents, likely driving the changes in A–O relationships observed.
5. In these analyses, we documented changing A–O trends for different groups of species, over a relatively long time period for ecological studies, one of only a few studies to examine A–O relationships over time. Further, we have shown that a temporally unvarying abundance–occupancy relationship is not universal, and we posit that variability in A–O relationships is due to human impacts on habitats, coupled with variation in species' abilities to respond to human impacts.

     

Male Mating Tactics in Captive Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): The Influence of Dominance, Markets, and Relationship Quality

Male mating success in a multimale–multifemale group can depend on several variables: body condition, dominance, coalitions, “friendship,” or an exchange of services for mating access. Exchange patterns may also be determined by market effects or social relationships. We studied the mating tactics of males in a captive, multimale–multifemale group of rhesus macaques and the resulting patterns of mating and paternity to determine the influence of dominance rank, mating markets, and relationship quality on their mating tactics. Male rank was positively related to the total number of copulations and the number of mating partners, but did not explain male mating distribution completely. Moreover, male fertilization success was not related to male rank. Males did not exchange grooming for mating access on the same day and neither the supply nor the rank (as a proxy for quality) of receptive females affected the amount of male grooming, suggesting that market effects did not explain male mating access. However, there was a positive correlation between long-term grooming patterns of both males and females and mating access, indicating that social relationships were important for male mating access. Paternity data revealed that these social relationships were also important for male reproductive success. We conclude that both male rank and male–female “friendship” determined male mating access in these rhesus macaques, but that “friendship” was more important in determining paternity, emphasizing the importance of intersex social bonds in male mating success in multimale primate societies.     

Tree age,disturbance history,and carbon stocks and fluxes in subalpine Rocky Mountain forests

Forest carbon stocks and fluxes vary with forest age, and relationships with forest age are often used to estimate fluxes for regional or national carbon inventories. Two methods are commonly used to estimate forest age: observed tree age or time since a known disturbance. To clarify the relationships between tree age, time since disturbance and forest carbon storage and cycling, we examined stands of known disturbance history in three landscapes of the southern Rocky Mountains. Our objectives were to assess the similarity between carbon stocks and fluxes for these three landscapes that differed in climate and disturbance history, characterize the relationship between observed tree age and time since disturbance and quantify the predictive capability of tree age or time since disturbance on carbon stocks and fluxes. Carbon pools and fluxes were remarkably similar across the three landscapes, despite differences in elevation, climate, species composition, disturbance history, and forest age. Observed tree age was a poor predictor of time since disturbance. Maximum tree age overestimated time since disturbance for young forests and underestimated it for older forests. Carbon pools and fluxes were related to both tree age and disturbance history, but the relationships differed between these two predictors and were generally less variable for pools than for fluxes. Using tree age in a relationship developed with time since disturbance or vice versa increases errors in estimates of carbon stocks or fluxes. Little change in most carbon stocks and fluxes occurs after the first 100 years following stand‐replacing disturbance, simplifying landscape scale estimates. We conclude that subalpine forests in the Central Rocky Mountains can be treated as a single forest type for the purpose of assessment and modeling of carbon, and that the critical period for change in carbon is < 100 years.     

Relationships between distribution and abundance vary with spatial scale and ecological group in stream bryophytes

1. We examined whether the local abundance of stream bryophytes in a boreal drainage basin (Koutajoki system in northeastern Finland) correlated with their: (i) regional occupancy; (ii) provincial distribution in northwestern Europe; and (iii) global range size. We specifically tested whether aquatic and semi‐aquatic species differ in their distribution–abundance relationships. We also analysed the frequency distributions of occupancy at two spatial scales: within the focal drainage system and across provinces of northwestern Europe. 2. Regional occupancy and mean local abundance of stream bryophytes were positively correlated, and the relationship was rather strong in aquatic species but very weak in semi‐aquatic species. Local abundance was related neither to provincial distribution nor global distribution. 3. Species frequency distributions differed between regional occupancy and provincial distribution. While most species were rare with regard to their regional occupancy within the focal drainage system, most of the same set of species were common and occurred in most provinces in northwestern Europe. 4. The results indicate the presence of dominants (core species) and transients/subordinates (satellite species) among stream bryophytes, highlighting marked differentiation in life‐history strategies and growth form. The observed abundance–occupancy relationships suggest that dispersal limitation and metapopulation processes may govern the dynamics of obligatory aquatic stream bryophytes. In semi‐aquatic species, however, habitat availability may be more important in contributing to regional occupancy.