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Landscape heterogeneity effects on keystone rodent species: agro-ecological zoning for conservation of open grasslands

Biodiversity and Conservation volume 28, pages 3139–3158 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Grasslands are one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Spatial prioritization of high quality habitat in agricultural landscapes is needed to protect grassland biodiversity. Within this context, we focused on European ground squirrel, a keystone species in steppe and salt steppe ecosystems. Using historical data and habitat field mapping, this study evaluates species distribution and site occupancy along the southern margin of the species range (Serbia) and identifies priority conservation zones in an intensively used landscape. Using gap analysis to evaluate changes in distribution over time and land protection status of the occupied area, we found that the regional species range has been constricted by 70%, and that 43% of mapped areas were outside of conservation networks. We also used a landscape structure model and multivariate analysis to identify the effects of spatial heterogeneity on occupancy. After mapping potential conservation zones with a buffer radius of 4.6 km—the scale with significant effects on occupancy—we identified 19 potential agro-ecological zones that cover the full range of mapped species habitats. The proposed agro-ecological zones differ in percentage of occupancy, which was found to increase with the overall landscape heterogeneity. This study contributes to the ongoing effort to broaden the understanding of the ecology and conservation of the European ground squirrel and the grasslands they rely on. Conservation planning should be designed to protect grasslands occupied by ground squirrels, ensure that the agricultural matrix is permeable, and to sustain or enhance landscape heterogeneity.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the European ground squirrel community and Bird Protection and Study Society of Serbia for friendly advice during fieldwork and data analysis, Maja Arok and Marko Mirč our students, John O’Brien for linguistic assistance, Andrijana Andrić for technical assistance, and Liba Pejchar and Richard Primack for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript and dear collogue Sonja Trifunov and Sanja Brdar for long discussions while drafting the manuscript.

Funding

This work has been supported by The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia, under Grant 43002, The Rufford Foundation grant “Building a better future for European ground squirrel in Serbia”, eLTER H2020 grant “RAPLWIN” and Evaluation of ecological network for more efficient natural protection in AP Vojvodina Grant 114-451-2169/2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. BioSense Institute, Dr Zorana Đinđića 1, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Tijana Nikolić

  2. Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia

    Tijana Nikolić, Dimitrije Radišić, Dubravka Milić & Ante Vujić

  3. Institute for Biological Research, University of Belgrade “Siniša Stanković”, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060, Belgrade, Serbia

    Nada Ćosić

  4. Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory (LAST-EBD), Estación Biologica de Doñana (CSIC), Avda. Américo Vespucio s/n, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Seville, Spain

    Ricardo Díaz-Delgado

  5. Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Studentski trg 16, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Duško Ćirović

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  1. Tijana Nikolić
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  2. Dimitrije Radišić
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Nikolić, T., Radišić, D., Ćosić, N. et al. Landscape heterogeneity effects on keystone rodent species: agro-ecological zoning for conservation of open grasslands. Biodivers Conserv 28, 3139–3158 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01810-y

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Keywords

  • European ground squirrel
  • Habitat selection
  • Grasslands
  • Conservation zone
  • Agriculture

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