Background Complexity in landscape structure is often assessed using individual metrics related to ecological processes.However,this rarely incorporates important relationships among metrics and may miss landscape str...Background Complexity in landscape structure is often assessed using individual metrics related to ecological processes.However,this rarely incorporates important relationships among metrics and may miss landscape struc‑ture efects.Multivariate statistics provide techniques for assessing overall landscape structure efects.We assessed how multivariate statistics could be used to connect landscape structure with an ecological process[bobcat(Lynx rufus)wildlife crossing structure(WCS)use].We tested how landscape structure at WCS sites compared to the sur‑rounding landscape and how structure afected detections at WCS sites.Our study was conducted in Cameron County,Texas,USA where WCSs are in various stages of construction and monitoring.We used a classifed land use/land cover map and aerial LiDAR to calculate confguration and density metrics at WCS and random sites.We cre‑ated indices for confguration and density using principal components analysis to assess landscape structure efects on camera trap detections at WCSs.Results Landscape structure at WCSs did not difer from random locations.Wildlife crossing structure use increased with greater woody cover and decreased with increasing vegetation density.Our indices allowed identifcation of diferences in how confguration and density impacted WCS use.Ordination methods helped identify individual contributions of landscape metrics to the overall landscape structure efect.Conclusions Wildlife crossing structures are permanent fxtures on landscapes,so selecting appropriate locations using broad-scale landscape structure likely increases target species use.Using indices of landscape structure pro‑vides planners with a more holistic approach to WCS placement and provides a more comprehensive picture of land‑scape pattern and process relationships.展开更多
基金funded by the Texas Department of Transportation.
文摘Background Complexity in landscape structure is often assessed using individual metrics related to ecological processes.However,this rarely incorporates important relationships among metrics and may miss landscape struc‑ture efects.Multivariate statistics provide techniques for assessing overall landscape structure efects.We assessed how multivariate statistics could be used to connect landscape structure with an ecological process[bobcat(Lynx rufus)wildlife crossing structure(WCS)use].We tested how landscape structure at WCS sites compared to the sur‑rounding landscape and how structure afected detections at WCS sites.Our study was conducted in Cameron County,Texas,USA where WCSs are in various stages of construction and monitoring.We used a classifed land use/land cover map and aerial LiDAR to calculate confguration and density metrics at WCS and random sites.We cre‑ated indices for confguration and density using principal components analysis to assess landscape structure efects on camera trap detections at WCSs.Results Landscape structure at WCSs did not difer from random locations.Wildlife crossing structure use increased with greater woody cover and decreased with increasing vegetation density.Our indices allowed identifcation of diferences in how confguration and density impacted WCS use.Ordination methods helped identify individual contributions of landscape metrics to the overall landscape structure efect.Conclusions Wildlife crossing structures are permanent fxtures on landscapes,so selecting appropriate locations using broad-scale landscape structure likely increases target species use.Using indices of landscape structure pro‑vides planners with a more holistic approach to WCS placement and provides a more comprehensive picture of land‑scape pattern and process relationships.
