A Multifaceted Appraisal of a Large-Scale, Multi-Taxon Biodiversity Monitoring Initiative
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University of Alberta A multifaceted appraisal of a large-scale, multi-taxon biodiversity monitoring initiative by Diane Lauren Haughland A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology Department of Biological Sciences ©Diane Lauren Haughland Fall 2012 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. For Alberta's boreal biodiversity Eriophorum growing on a cut line through a Picea mariana stand, Anzac, Alberta ABSTRACT Conservationists have long debated how best to measure and conserve biodiversity. While many scientists called for long-term, large-scale ecological monitoring in the 1990's, the concurrent increased appreciation of statistical power and detectability-related sampling error meant that many programs endeavoring to be more inclusive were contentious. The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) provided a unique opportunity to assess a large- scale, long-term, systematic biodiversity monitoring program, employing largely undergraduate field technicians. Given these design attributes, I examined the sampling error and data quality in select components of ABMI, largely within the boreal forest ecozone of Alberta. Components examined included the collection of bryophyte field samples, identification of lichen samples in the laboratory, and the resultant statistical power and ecological value of these data for assessing changes in multiple taxa. In the first comprehensive assessment of detectability in bryophytes, I showed that while detection error was high for individual bryophyte species, multivariate community composition was highly repeatable between surveys of the same site by different technicians. With quality control and a week of training, technicians accurately detected and identified common lichen species in the laboratory, mitigating some of the field detection error. Preliminary data suggest that ABMI will have high statistical power to detect -3% annual declines in the occurrence of individual species at the scale of natural regions and provincially within 20 years, but smaller-scale assessments will require longer time frames or metrics more robust to detection error such as community composition. To assess the value of monitoring multiple assemblages, I examined the congruence and sensitivity to natural and anthropogenic gradients of soil oribatid mites, breeding birds, bryophytes, and vascular plants. I demonstrated that mites and vascular plants were the most sensitive and complementary set of assemblages, but if funding limited field surveys to one taxon, vascular plants provided the greatest sensitivity to multiple gradients. ABMI provides great ecological value and has been adopted by provincial and federal monitoring agencies, but it remains unclear whether better data will result in better biodiversity conservation given the current economic climate. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Neither this thesis nor I would exist without the varied support, guidance, field assistance, taxonomic expertise or construction skills of the following individuals. Paul Williams David Darwin Barbara, Kelly, Ayla & Parker Wong Scott Coleman Peter, Erin, Mance & Aubrey Dr. Michaela Kadambi & Haughland the Grad Group Trudy & Stephen Haughland Teri Turesof Dr. Stan Boutin Sean Haughian Ainsley Sykes Eleanor Edye Dr. Erin Bayne Dr. Joyce Gould Dr. Heather Proctor Dr. Rene Belland Dr. Jim Schieck Dr. Janet Marsh Jim Herbers Dr. Richard Caners Dr. Scott Nielsen Trevor Goward Dr. Tyler Cobb & Julienne Morissette Kim Perrault Mireille Martel Carrie Dillman Michelle Green John Potter Chesceri Mason Gafuik Ashley Craig Dr. Lisa Mahon Monique Morin Dr. Gillian Holloway Nicole Bohnen Jeff Johnston Fred Noddin Annie, Meanook & Tessa Daiyuan Pan I'm also indebted to the following agencies for either scholarships, funding that supported my research or travel to present research, or in some cases, all three. Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute Alberta Conservation Association Alberta Ingenuity Fund Alberta Sport, Recreation, Parks, and Wildlife Foundation Canadian Circumpolar Institute Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Alberta Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Northern Scientific Training Program The Killam Trusts I thank Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, and the Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta for employment opportunities that enriched the later years of my degree. I thank the passionate people at the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute for inspiration. Finally, I thank my husband Paul for everything that he is, and all he is helping me to be. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE ..................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................1 Biodiversity management and monitoring ...................................................... 1 The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute ................................................ 3 Alberta’s boreal forest ..................................................................................... 4 What does ABMI monitor in the boreal? ........................................................ 5 Detection/non-detection and relative abundance surveys: what are the assumptions? ............................................................................................... 6 Ecological phenomena that degrade index utility ....................................... 6 Evolutionary traps ................................................................................... 7 Habitat selection via social cues ............................................................. 7 Extinction debt ........................................................................................ 7 Detecting the above ecological phenomenon: what can ABMI do? ........... 8 Detection biases that degrade index accuracy ............................................ 8 Dealing with unequal detection: what can ABMI do? ................................ 9 Dissertation objectives and organization ....................................................... 10 Literature cited ............................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................. 22 Can we better our biodiversity monitoring by breaking the rules? ................22 Summary ........................................................................................................ 22 Introduction ................................................................................................... 23 Current approaches aren’t working ........................................................... 24 The alternative .......................................................................................... 25 Long time frames .................................................................................. 26 Large geographic scale ......................................................................... 26 Inclusive of multiple taxa with varying life history traits and ecological roles ....................................................................................................... 27 Systematic design, with consistent, simple methods ............................ 30 Inclusive of landscape and anthropogenic land-use information .......... 30 Statistically powerful at the scale of powerful management ................ 31 How to fund biodiversity monitoring and why it need not come at the cost of research .......................................................................................................... 32 Long-term, stable funding for biodiversity ........................................... 32 Ecological and economical spin-offs of biodiversity monitoring ......... 33 Criticisms ....................................................................................................... 34 Criticism 1: Bad for rare species ........................................................... 35 Criticism 2: Lack of statistical power ................................................... 35 Criticism 3: Not mechanistic or model-based ....................................... 36 Criticism 4: No explicit quantitative a priori hypotheses or models .... 36 Criticism 5: Impractical and wasteful ................................................... 38 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 39 Literature cited ............................................................................................... 40 CHAPTER THREE .............................................................................................