EXAM 2

Question 1

why landscape pattern analysis

Answer 1

• understanding relationship between patterns (ecological processes)
• monitor changes
• informs people of the status of the landscape

Question 2

how do scale and impact landscape metrics

Answer 2

• trade off between resolution, extent, and computational demands
• number of cells and complexity of landscape increases
• changing or comparing the spatial extent can have major effect on measures of landscape composition and configuration

Question 3

what are some ways in which changes in landscape structure impact ecological function

Answer 3

• habitat fragmentation (ex: isolated habitats)
• connectivity(ex: movement of species)
• edge effects (ex: increases predation, changes in vegetation)

Question 4

misuses of landscape ecology metrics

Answer 4

• widespread availability of landscape analysis software (hard to find a good source)
• ignoring scaling relationships
• basic metrics will generally suffice to describe a landscape

Question 5

what are neutral landscapes

Answer 5

highly simplified depictions of spatial variables used to study their behavior and compare against observed or real landscape (ex: cover type, habitat quality, and distances among patches)

Question 6

what are the uses of neutral landscapes

Answer 6

• standard of comparison (understand the influence of ecology)
• replication and manipulation of landscape
• evaluate connectivity or lack thereof through percolation

Question 7

how does the 4 or 8 neighborhood rule impact landscapes and metrics

Answer 7

influence the number of patches, thus the patch structure (size and shape) of the landscape

Question 8

what happens to some landscape metrics as probability (p) increases

Answer 8

the number of patches increases

Question 9

what is percolation

Answer 9

a measure of connectivity

Question 10

what is a percolation cluster

Answer 10

habitat patch that spans the entire extent of landscape

Question 11

what are some benefits of computational experiments with NLM

Answer 11

• advancement in theoretical landscape ecology
• predict important properties of real landscapes
• comparing real-world observations against randomness

Question 12

what are some shortcomings of NLM

Answer 12

results could be misinterpreted or misunderstood

Question 13

main conclusions drawn from percolation lab

Answer 13

certain events in landscapes that are highly connected, can jeopardize the landscape and ultimately cause more harm than good (ex: wildfires)

Question 14

what is an edge in LE

Answer 14

interface between different habitats and associated biota

Question 15

what is edge effect

Answer 15

change in some ecological response as a function of distance to a habitat edge

Question 16

what are soft and hard edges and why do they matter to LE

Answer 16

• soft edges are easily traversed and more permeable to movement
• hard edges boundary is rarely traversed because it imposes a barrier (temperature, predation exposure)

Question 17

what is the relationship between edge contrast and species mobility

Answer 17

the perception of patch boundaries depends on the degree of contrast between the patch and matrix, ad the relative mobility of the organism

Question 18

different ways in which species respond to edge

Answer 18

• supplementary resources (species that thrive near edges)
• complementary resources (combination of resources used to adapt to the edge)
• habitat quality (habitat ability to meet the needs of a species)

Question 19

different definitions of connectivity (habitat, ecological, landscape)

Answer 19

• habitat (how different habitat patches are connected or linked, shows physical structure of landscape and accessibility)
• ecological (functional relationship and ecological process that occur between habitat patches)
• landscape (considers arrangement of different habitat types and ecological flows across landscape)

Question 20

what are habitat corridors

Answer 20

pathways of habitat that connect larger habitat patches. (ex: rivers, hedgerows, or strips of vegetation)

Question 21

what are stepping stones

Answer 21

smaller habitat patches scattered throughout a landscape. Allows species to move progressively from one habitat to another

Question 22

what is the difference between structural and functional connectivity

Answer 22

• structural: physical or spatial arrangement of landscape elements and how they support or hinder movement of organisms
• functional: the degree which landscape elements facilitate ecological processes (movement of people, gene flow, and flow of energy)

Question 23

examples of ecological connectivity

Answer 23

• migration corridors: specific corridors that connect breeding and feeding grounds
• riparian zones: along rivers and streams used for movement, habitat, and dispersal of seeds

Question 24

how does metapopulation ecology relates to island biogeography and landscape ecology

Answer 24

• island biogeography: species -area relationship, island isolation, edge effects
• landscape ecology: fragmentation, connectivity, patch size and shape

Question 25

what are the basic functions of corridors

Answer 25

facilitating movement, enhancing connectivity, refuge and habitat, mitigating edge effects

Question 26

what are some of the ecological processes that may be impacted by waller creeks hydrologic/riparian corridor

Answer 26

- water flow and hydrology - sediment transport - vegetation dynamics

Question 27

transition matrix interpretation (diagonals, off-diagonals, row sums, column sums)

Answer 27

- diagonals: represent probabilities of staying in the same state (no transition) - off diagonals: probabilities of transitioning from one state to another - row sums: total probability of transitioning from corresponding state to another state - column sums: probability of transitioning to another state

Question 28

major properties of NLM (critical threshold, impact of neighborhood rule on critical threshold)

Answer 28

- critical threshold: the level of habitat at which the landscape becomes disconnected - impact of neighborhood rule: as rule increases threshold becomes higher because more cells would be connected

Question 29

define and explain one metric for each scale (landscape, class, patch)

Answer 29

- landscape: measures diversity of different landcover types - class: total length of an edge in a landscape - patch: number of patches within a landscape per unit area

Question 30

what is the meaning of friction or cost in corridor analysis in GIS

Answer 30

friction or cost is the least optimal location for someone to take

Question 31

what is the meaning of the corridor in GIS

Answer 31

a thin strip of area that can be used to move or relocate

Question 32

how can corridors inform landscape planning

Answer 32

determine which corridors provide the least cost of movement, as in the ideal way for an organism to move/relocate, and create parks where the corridors are most prominent