Abstract
Island biogeographers have predicted that in oceanic systems, oblong islands oriented perpendicular to the dispersal paths of organisms should intercept more species and individuals than (1) circular islands of the same size, and (2) oblong islands of equal area oriented parallel to the direction of travel. Landscape ecologists expect similar relations with habitat patches in a terrestrial matrix. Yet in neither situation is there adequate empirical information to permit conclusions about the prevalence of such effects. To test the hypothesis that intercept-related patch variables influence community structure on the landscape scale, we studied relations between the richness and abundance of cavity-nesting birds and patch shape, size, and orientation relative to a northerly migration path. The influences of other patch features on nest abundances were removed analytically. Multiple regression indicated that the mean and total number of nesting species, and nest abundances for migrants were significantly associated with patch orientation or a patch area x orientation interaction, but not patch shape. Nest abundances for permanent residents were not associated with patch shape or orientation, although area effects, possibly reflecting dispersal interception, were evident. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that stochastic interception of migrating or dispersing organisms influences patch community structure. In addition to richness and abundance effects apparent in this analysis, the sex ratio, age structure, growth rate, social structure, and genetic features of patch populations may also be influenced. The interception of moving organisms by patches may thus be a key factor influencing population and community persistence in reserves. If so, landscape structure could be manipulated to maximize the interception of dispersing or migrating organisms, or minimize it if the effects are undesirable.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Able, K.P. 1980. Mechanisms of orientation, navigation, and homing. In Animal Migration, Orientation, and Navigation. pp. 283–373. Edited by S.A. Gauthreaux, Jr.. Academic Press, New York.
Ambuel, B. and Temple, S.A. 1983. Area-dependent changes in the bird communities and vegetation of southern Wisconsin forests. Ecology 64: 1057–1068.
Anderson, P.K. 1989. Dispersal in rodents: a resident fitness hypothesis. Spec. Publ. 9, American Society of Mammalogists.
Blouin, M.S. and Connor, E.F. 1985. Is there a best shape for nature reserves? Biol. Conserv. 32: 277–288.
Boecklen, W.J. 1986. Effects of habitat heterogeneity on the species-area relationships of forest birds. J. Biogeogr. 13: 59–68.
Buckley, R.C. and Knedlhans, S.B. 1986. Beachcomber biogeography: interception of dispersing propagules by islands. J. Biogeogr. 13: 69–70.
Buechner, M. 1987. Conservation in insular parks: simulation models of factors affecting the movement of animals across park boundaries. Biol. Conserv. 41: 57–76.
Buechner, M. 1989. Are small-scale landscape features important factors for field studies of small-mammal dispersal sinks? Landsc. Ecol. 2: 191–199.
Burkey, T.V. 1989. Extinction in nature reserves: the effect of fragmentation and the importance of migration between reserve fragments. Oikos 55: 75–81.
Coleman, B.D. 1981. On random placement and species-area relations. Mathemat. Biosciences 54: 191–215.
Connor, E.F. and McCoy, E.D. 1979. The statistics and biology of the species-area relationship. Amer. Nat. 113: 791–833.
Dixon, W.J., editor. 1985. BMDP statistical software: 1985 printing. University of California Press, Berkeley.
Faeth, S.H. and Kane, T.C. 1978. Urban biogeography: city parks as islands for Diptera and Coleoptera. Oecologia (Berl.) 32: 127–133.
Fahrig, L. and Paloheimo, J. 1988. Effect of spatial arrangement of habitat patches on local population size. Ecology 69: 468–475.
Farrand, Jr., J., editor. 1983. The Audubon society master guide to birding. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York.
Forman, R.T.T., Galli, A.E. and Leck, C.F. 1976. Forest size and avian diversity in New Jersey woodlots with some land use implications. Oecologia (Berl.) 26: 1–8.
Forman, R.T.T. and Godron, M. 1986. Landscape ecology. J. Wiley and Sons, New York.
Game, M. 1980. Best shape for nature reserves. Nature 287: 630–632.
Golley, F.B. 1989. Landscape ecology and biological conservation. Landsc. Ecol. 2: 201–202.
Gutzwiller, K.J. 1985. Riparian-habitat use by breeding cavity-nesting birds in southeastern Wyoming. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wyoming, Laramie. 125 pp.
Gutzwiller, K.J. and Anderson, S.H. 1987a. Multiscale associations between cavity-nesting birds and features of Wyoming streamside woodlands. Condor 89: 534–548.
Gutzwiller, K.J. and Anderson, S.H. 1987b. Short-term dynamics of cavity-nesting bird communities in disjunct floodplain habitats. Condor 89: 710–720.
Gutzwiller, K.J. and Anderson, S.H. 1988. Co-occurrence patterns of cavity-nesting birds in cottonwood-willow communities. Oecologia (Berl.) 76: 445–454.
Haila, Y. 1983. Land birds on northern islands: a sampling metaphor for insular colonization. Oikos 41: 334–351.
Haila, Y. 1986. North European land birds in forest fragments: evidence for area effects? In Wildlife 2000: Modeling Habitat Relationships of Terrestrial Vertebrates. pp. 315–319. Edited by J. Verner, M.L. Morrison, and C.J. Ralph. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.
Hardt, R.A. and Forman, R.T.T. 1989. Boundary form effects on woody colonization of reclaimed surface mines. Ecology 70: 1252–1260.
Levin, D.A. 1988. Consequences of stochastic elements in plant migration. Amer. Nat. 132: 643–651.
Lidicker, Jr., W.Z. 1982. The role of dispersal in the demography of small mammals. In Dispersal and Migration. pp. 102–133. Edited by W.Z. Lidicker, Jr. and R.L. Caldwell. Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Lidicker, Jr. W.Z. and Caldwell, R.L. editors. 1982. Dispersal and migration. Hutchinson Ross Publishing Company, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Møller, A.P. 1987. Breeding birds in habitat patches: random distribution of species and individuals? J. Biogeogr. 14: 225–236.
Montgomery, D.C. and Peck, E.A. 1982. Introduction to linear regression analysis. J. Wiley and Sons, New York.
Neter, J. and Wasserman, W. 1974. Applied linear statistical models. Richard D. Irwin, Homewood, Illinois.
Nilsson, S.G. 1986. Are bird communities in small biotope patches random samples from communities in large patches? Biol. Conserv. 38: 179–204.
Pulliam, H.R. 1988. Sources, sinks, and population regulation. Amer. Nat. 132: 652–661.
Ranney, J.W., Bruner, M.C. and Levenson, J.B. 1981. The importance of edge in the structure and dynamics of forest islands. In Forest Island Dynamics in Man-dominated Landscapes. pp. 67–95. Edited by R.L. Burgess and D.M. Sharpe. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Root, T.L. 1988. Atlas of wintering North American birds. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
SAS Institute, Inc. 1985a. SAS user's guide: statistics. Version 5 edition. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, North Carolina.
SAS Institute, Inc. 1985b. SAS/GRAPH user's guide. Version 5 edition. SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, North Carolina.
Schonewald-Cox, C.M. and Bayless, J.W. 1986. The boundary model: a geographical analysis of design and conservation of nature reserves. Biol. Conserv. 38: 305–322.
Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. 1987. Introduction to biostatistics. 2nd ed. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York.
Stamps, J.A., Buechner, M. and Krishnan, V.V. 1987. The effects of habitat geometry on territorial defense costs: intruder pressure in bounded habitats. Amer. Zool. 27: 307–325.
Temple, S.A. 1986. Predicting impacts of habitat fragmentation on forest birds: a comparison of two models. In Wildlife 2000: Modeling Habitat Relationships of Terrestrial Vertebrates. pp. 301–304. Edited by J. Verner, M.L. Morrison, and C.J. Ralph. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.
Temple, S.A. and Cary, J.R. 1988. Modeling dynamics of habitat-interior bird populations in fragmented landscapes. Conserv. Biol. 2: 340–347.
Turner, M.G. 1989. Landscape ecology: the effect of pattern on process. Ann. Rev. Ecol. System. 20: 171–197.
Wiens, J.A. 1981. Single-sample surveys of communities: are the revealed patterns real? Amer. Nat. 117: 90–98.
Wilcove, D.S., McLellan, C.H. and Dobson, A.P. 1986. Habitat fragmentation in the temperate zone. In Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity. pp. 237–256. Edited by M.E. Soulé. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, Massachusetts.
Yahner, R.H. 1988. Changes in wildlife communities near edges. Conserv. Biol. 2: 233–339.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gutzwiller, K.J., Anderson, S.H. Interception of moving organisms: influences of patch shape, size, and orientation on community structure. Landscape Ecol 6, 293–303 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00129707
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00129707