Journal article
Rapid Declines in Southern Sierra Nevada Fisher Habitat Driven by Drought and Wildfire
Diversity & distributions, Vol.31(5), pp.1-16
05/01/2025
DOI: 10.1111/ddi.70023
Abstract
AimForest disturbances are a natural ecological process, but climate and land-use change are altering disturbance regimes at an unprecedented rate, posing significant threats to biological communities and the species of concern. Our aim was to develop an automated habitat monitoring system for the Southern Sierra Nevada Distinct Population Segment of fisher (Pekania pennanti) in California, USA, to investigate long-term habitat trends and the effects of a recent megadrought and numerous megafires on fisher habitat.LocationSouthern Sierra Nevada, California, USA.MethodsWe used detections of female fishers (n = 330) from a standardised monitoring programme to develop a dynamic species distribution model using the random forest algorithm in the Google Earth Engine environment.ResultsWe found that female fisher habitat remained relatively stable from 1985 to 2011 but declined by nearly half (48%) between 2012 and 2022, corresponding with a period of widespread forest mortality from drought and wildfire. The majority of fisher habitat loss occurred within wildfire perimeters (65%), where declines in habitat quality were associated with moderate- and high-severity fire. Female fisher habitat was more likely to burn at moderate- and high-severity than was expected by chance.Main ConclusionsOur findings emphasise the urgent conservation needs of this distinct population segment of fishers, highlighting the threat posed by novel disturbance regimes. Our results demonstrate the importance of monitoring for understanding species status, as the status of fisher habitat across the entire southern Sierra Nevada range following recent disturbances was not known. More broadly, our implementation of a cloud-based automated habitat monitoring system shows the necessity of up-to-date habitat information to apply conservation measures in rapidly changing environments and the potential for using habitat monitoring systems to investigate ecological questions of basic and applied relevance (e.g., wildfire-habitat relationships).
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Rapid Declines in Southern Sierra Nevada Fisher Habitat Driven by Drought and Wildfire
- Creators
- Ronan Hart - University of New MexicoCraig M. Thompson - Pacific Southwest Research StationJody M. Tucker - Rocky Mountain Research StationSarah C. Sawyer - US Forest ServiceStephanie A. Eyes - Pacific Southwest Research StationSaba J. Saberi - University of California, DavisZhiqiang Yang - Rocky Mountain Research StationGavin M. Jones - University of New Mexico
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Diversity & distributions, Vol.31(5), pp.1-16
- DOI
- 10.1111/ddi.70023
- ISSN
- 1366-9516
- eISSN
- 1472-4642
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 16
- Grant note
- Google Earth Engine applications University of New Mexico U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; US Fish & Wildlife Service US Forest Service Washington Office, US Forest Rocky Mountain Research Station US Fish and Wildlife Service; US Fish & Wildlife Service
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/01/2025
- Academic Unit
- School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability
- Record Identifier
- 9985219866402771
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