Can we predict which species are prone to extinction and which will persist and flourish’ New research from the University of Plymouth has shown that the quality of the environment is more important than the area of habitat available for a species to survive.
Wilco Verberk's research on Dutch ponds, which will be published in a forthcoming edition of the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology, has revealed that specialist species, confined to a narrow range of habitats, are so well adapted to their particular environment that any change can be catastrophic.
Verberk and his team sampled a large number of ponds, capturing over 44,000 invertebrates, belonging to 234 different species. They found that when information on a species' diet, reproduction, dispersal and habitat specialisation was brought together, a model could be developed to explain differences between species in their distribution and abundance.
Habitat specialists (such as the small red damselfly) were restricted to special circumstances where they survived by having larger populations. In contrast, generalists (such as the common backswimmer) occurred in lower numbers but at more localities, surviving by means of risk spreading.
This means that the current practice of setting up wildlife corridors to allow species to move when their environment becomes less hospitable, may not be the complete solution to maintain species diversity.
Verberk said; "For habitat specialists, having the right conditions present locally is more valuable than a regional network of marginally suitable habitats. Efforts to increase connectivity are more likely to benefit common generalists.
"Increasing habitat quality by restoring regional hydrological processes to ensure an adequate supply of clean ground water and stem local run-off of nutrient enriched surface water from adjacent agricultural fields, is vital to safeguard specialist populations."
The findings support the need to implement the European wide Natura 2000 network and the EU Water Framework Directive.
