Using species distribution modelling to guide restoration efforts 

Summary

Ecological connectivity is the extent to which a landscape supports the movement of organisms and processes between patches of suitable habitat and is necessary for ecosystem functioning. Specifically, many forest-dwelling bird species in North America are in decline, and for some species, these declines are worse on the eastern part of their range. Boreal forests in Unama’ki (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia) have also experienced reductions in connectivity in recent decades due to an outbreak of spruce budworm and subsequent over browse by moose.

In association with several stakeholder groups, we developed a series of products to support conservation and management of the Canada Warbler, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Rusty Blackbird. These products range from habitat management guidelines and maps to guide the siting of areas for protection or management, a species at risk assessment for the Olive-sided Flycatcher, and more. 

More recently, a Dalhousie led research team used landcover data from Parks Canada to analyze present and historical boreal forest connectivity in northwestern Unama’ki. The results show that forest stands prior to the outbreak had on average a larger area and perimeter (p<0.05) and identified and prioritized non-forested areas for targeted tree planting using Zonation software. Novel and user-friendly approaches to assess data quality were also developed to assess data suitability and contextualize ecological model results to end users. Information from this research can be used to support ongoing treeplanting efforts to restore connectivity throughout northwestern Unama’ki, including in parks and protected areas.