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Long-term effects of land use on perinatal mortality in the Endangered Saimaa ringed seal population

2017; Inter-Research; Volume: 34; Linguagem: Inglês

10.3354/esr00856

1863-5407

Lauri Liukkonen, Arja Rautio, Tero Sipilä, Milla Niemi, Miina Auttila, Juha Koskela, Mervi Kunnasranta,

Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics

ESR Endangered Species Research Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsSpecials ESR 34:283-291 (2017) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00856 Long-term effects of land use on perinatal mortality in the Endangered Saimaa ringed seal population Lauri Liukkonen1,*, Anni Rautio1, Tero Sipilä2, Marja Niemi1, Miina Auttila2, Jouni Koskela2, Mervi Kunnasranta1,3 1University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, 80101 Joensuu, Finland 2Metsähallitus, Parks & Wildlife Finland, 57130 Savonlinna, Finland 3Natural Resources Institute Finland, 80100 Joensuu, Finland *Corresponding author: lauri.liukkonen@uef.fi ABSTRACT: Human disturbance can affect the viability of wildlife populations partly through its effects on breeding success. Land use as a form of disturbance may do so by fragmenting the key environments of certain species. We used statistical pattern recognition methods to estimate the long-term effects of human disturbance on the Endangered, landlocked population of the Saimaa ringed seal Pusa hispida saimensis by examining how various densities of buildings on lake shores have altered the survival of juveniles and the persistence of the population. In addition, we examined whether disturbance caused by different intensities of land use would further reduce the long-term persistence of the population. We also provide estimates of the quality of Lake Saimaa shorelines as breeding habitat in relation to building density. Our results show that at present, the lairs of Saimaa ringed seals are located closer to potential sources of human disturbance than they were in the past and that land use intensity has an effect on juvenile mortality. Perinatal mortality increases significantly in more densely developed areas, where the nearest building is within 800 m of a birth lair. In addition, 29% of the shoreline of Lake Saimaa is no longer suitable for ringed seals due to intensive land use. Our results illustrate how human disturbances can significantly compromise juvenile survival and therefore the long-term existence of this Endangered population. KEY WORDS: Pusa hispida saimensis · Juvenile mortality · Population change · Anthropogenic disturbance · Land use Full text in pdf format PreviousNextCite this article as: Liukkonen L, Rautio A, Sipilä T, Niemi M, Auttila M, Koskela J, Kunnasranta M (2017) Long-term effects of land use on perinatal mortality in the Endangered Saimaa ringed seal population. Endang Species Res 34:283-291. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00856 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in ESR Vol. 34. Online publication date: October 13, 2017 Print ISSN: 1863-5407; Online ISSN: 1613-4796 Copyright © 2017 Inter-Research.