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Efectos de la Fragmentación sobre la Dispersión Efectiva de Aphelocoma cœrulescens
Author(s) -
COULON AURÉLIE,
FITZPATRICK JOHN W.,
BOWMAN REED,
LOVETTE IRBY J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
conservation biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.2
H-Index - 222
eISSN - 1523-1739
pISSN - 0888-8892
DOI - 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01438.x
Subject(s) - biological dispersal , fragmentation (computing) , habitat fragmentation , habitat , ecology , geography , range (aeronautics) , biology , population , demography , materials science , sociology , composite material
Studies comparing dispersal in fragmented versus unfragmented landscapes show that habitat fragmentation alters the dispersal behavior of many species. We used two complementary approaches to explore Florida Scrub‐Jay (Aphelocoma cœrulescens) dispersal in relation to landscape fragmentation. First, we compared dispersal distances of color‐marked individuals in intensively monitored continuous and fragmented landscapes. Second, we estimated effective dispersal relative to the degree of fragmentation (as inferred from two landscape indexes: proportion of study site covered with Florida Scrub‐Jay habitat and mean distance to nearest habitat patch within each study site) by comparing genetic isolation‐by‐distance regressions among 13 study sites having a range of landscape structures. Among color‐banded individuals, dispersal distances were greater in fragmented versus continuous landscapes, a result consistent with other studies. Nevertheless, genetic analyses revealed that effective dispersal decreases as the proportion of habitat in the landscape decreases. These results suggest that although individual Florida Scrub‐Jays may disperse farther as fragmentation increases, those that do so are less successful as breeders than those that disperse short distances. Our study highlights the importance of combining observational data with genetic inferences when evaluating the complex biological and life‐history implications of dispersal .