Ensemble models predict Important Bird Areas in southern Africa will become less effective for conserving endemic birds under climate change

Coetzee, Bernard W. T., Robertson, Mark P., Erasmus, Barend F. N., van Rensburg, Berndt J. and Thuiller, Wilfried (2009) Ensemble models predict Important Bird Areas in southern Africa will become less effective for conserving endemic birds under climate change. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 18 6: 701-710.


Author Coetzee, Bernard W. T.
Robertson, Mark P.
Erasmus, Barend F. N.
van Rensburg, Berndt J.
Thuiller, Wilfried
Title Ensemble models predict Important Bird Areas in southern Africa will become less effective for conserving endemic birds under climate change
Journal name Global Ecology and Biogeography  (ERA 2012 Listed)    (ERA 2010 Rank A*)   Check publisher's open access policy
Publication date 2009-11
Sub-type Article
DOI 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2009.00485.x
Volume number 18
Issue number 6
ISSN 1466-822X; 1466-8238
Start page 701
End page 710
Total pages 10
Place of publication Oxford, United Kingdom
Publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing
Language eng
Formatted abstract Aim  To examine the impacts of climate change on endemic birds, which are of global significance for conservation, on a continent with few such assessments. We specifically assess projected range changes in relation to the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) network and assess the possible consequences for conservation.
Location  South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
Methods  The newly emerging ensemble modelling approach is used with 50 species, four climate change models for the period 2070–2100 and eight bioclimatic niche models in the statistical package biomod. Model evaluation is done using the receiver operating characteristic and the recently introduced true skill statistic. Future projections are made considering two extreme assumptions: species have full dispersal ability and species have no dispersal ability. A consensus forecast is identified using principal components analysis. This forecast is interpreted in terms of the IBA network. An irreplaceability analysis is used to highlight priority IBAs for conservation attention in terms of climate change.
Results  The majority of species (62%) are predicted to lose climatically suitable space. Five species lose at least 85% of their climatically suitable space. Many IBAs lose species (41%; 47 IBAs) and show high rates of species turnover of more than 50% (77%; 95 IBAs). Highly irreplaceable regions for endemic species become highly localized under climate change, meaning that the endemic species analysed here experience similar range contractions to maintain climate niches.
Main conclusions  The South African IBAs network is likely to become less effective for conserving endemic birds under climate change. The irreplaceability analysis identified key refugia for endemic species under climate change, but many of these areas are not currently IBAs. In addition, many of these high-priority areas that are IBAs fall outside the current formal protected areas network.
Keyword Bioclimatic niche modelling
Biomod
Bird conservation
Climate change
Q-Index Code C1
Q-Index Status Provisional Code
Institutional Status Non-UQ

Document type: Journal Article
Sub-type: Article
Collection: School of Biological Sciences Publications
 
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