Re: NANFA-L-- Interesting article on land use changes & SE

Tom Watson (1fish2fish.tom-in-gmail.com)
Thu, 08 Dec 2005 15:36:11 -0800

*Bruce,

I would like a PDF copy of that.

Thanks,
Tom
*
Bruce Stallsmith wrote:

> A recent issue of the journal Biological Conservation has this
> article: "Winners and losers among stream fishes in relation to land
> use legacies and urban development in the southeastern US" by Mark C.
> Scott, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens. It's an
> interesting piece, statistically (in part) demonstrating the ongoing
> disappearance of many endemics from the southern Appalachians.
>
> I pasted the Abstract below. If anyone is interested in receiving a
> .pdf, I have one I can send you if you contact me off-line.
>
> --Bruce Stallsmith
> along the Tennessee
> Huntsville, AL, US of A
>
> Abstract
> The southeastern United States is a center of aquatic species
> diversity and endemism in North America, but many taxa are imperiled
> or in decline. Proactive conservation strategies depend on developing
> sensitive measures of ecological response to environmental degradation
> early in the process. In the southern Appalachian highlands, much of
> the region has reforested following extensive logging and agriculture
> in the last century, but recently exurban development has surged.
> Patterns of aquatic ecosystem response to these changes were examined
> in 36 watersheds along a gradient of forest cover from moderately to
> heavily forested. A linear combination of watershed-scale measures
> reflecting the extent contemporary forest cover, the trajectory of
> forest cover change over time, and building and road density were
> stronger predictors of fish assemblage composition than topographic
> features. A measure of biotic homogenization relating the abundance of
> endemic highland fishes to abundance of broad-ranged fishes was
> sensitive to the gradient of anthropogenic disturbance. Across the
> watershed disturbance gradient, cosmopolitan species were clear
> winners as forms unique to the Appalachian highlands were lost.
> Similar measures of homogenization may be suitable elsewhere for
> tracking early warning signs of ecosystem stress, particularly in
> regions with significant endemism. Quantification of the
> homogenization process in response to urban development and other
> stressors is a promising avenue for proactive conservation, land use
> planning, and sustainable development efforts.
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