Lenore Fahrig Explained

Lenore Fahrig
Fields:Landscape ecology
Conservation biology
Road ecology
Workplaces:Carleton University
Alma Mater:University of Toronto
Carleton University
Queen's University
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Awards:Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering
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Lenore Fahrig is a Chancellor's Professor in the biology department at Carleton University, Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Fahrig studies effects of landscape structure—the arrangement of forests, wetlands, roads, cities, and farmland—on wildlife populations and biodiversity, [1] and is best known for her work on habitat fragmentation. In 2023, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[2]

Early life and education

Fahrig is from Ottawa, Ontario. She completed a BSc (Biology) at Queen's University, Kingston, in 1981 and an MSc from Carleton University, Ottawa in 1983 under the supervision of Gray Merriam,[3] on habitat connectivity and population stability.[4] She completed her PhD in 1987 at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Jyri Paloheimo, on the effects of animal dispersal behaviour on the relationship between population size and habitat spatial arrangement.[5]

Research and career

After her PhD, Fahrig worked for two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia, researching how different plant dispersal strategies allow species to respond to environmental disturbances.[6] She then spent two years as a research scientist for the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, where she modeled the spatial and temporal interactions between fisheries and fish populations.[7] In 1991 she moved to the faculty of the Biology Department, Carleton University, Ottawa, and has since been appointed a Chancellor's Professor.

Fahrig is best known for her work on habitat fragmentation. Her early work in this area[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] culminated in her highly cited 2003 review.[14] Fahrig argues that the effects of fragmentation (breaking of habitat into small patches) on biodiversity should be estimated independently of the effects of habitat loss, showing that the combined effects of habitat loss and fragmentation are almost entirely due to the effects of habitat loss alone. This is important for species conservation because it means that, on a per-area basis, habitat in small patches is as valuable for conservation as habitat in large patches. This finding negates a common 'excuse' for habitat destruction, namely the assumed low conservation value of small patches. Fahrig's later work on habitat fragmentation[15] [16] found that effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity, independent of effects of habitat loss, are more likely to be positive than negative. This indicates that small patches have high cumulative value for biodiversity, and provides support for small-scale conservation efforts. Fahrig presented her work on habitat fragmentation at the International Biogeography Society's 50th anniversary celebration of The Theory of Island Biogeography,[17] and at the World Biodiversity Forum.[18] She published a retrospective article on her habitat fragmentation research for the 30th anniversary of the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography.[19]

Fahrig has also worked on habitat connectivity, road ecology, and effects of cropland heterogeneity on biodiversity. Based on her MSc thesis in 1983,[4] Fahrig and Merriam published the first paper on habitat connectivity., [20] and provided the earliest evidence for the concept of wildlife movement corridors. These concepts–habitat connectivity and wildlife movement corridors – are widely used in large-scale conservation planning, in municipal and regional greenways planning, and in mitigation of road effects on wildlife. Fahrig and colleagues' further work demonstrated the importance of distinguishing between structural and functional connectivity.[21] [22] and showed that habitat fragmentation does not necessarily decrease functional connectivity.[23] [24] Fahrig's contributions in road ecology include the first paper to show that roadkill causes declines in wildlife populations.[25] Her later work showed strong and widespread impacts of roads on wildlife populations.[26] [27] Fahrig and her students found that the groups of species whose populations are most impacted by roads are amphibians, reptiles, and mammals with low reproductive rates.[27] [28] They also argued that high roadkill sites arenot necessarily the best sites for mitigating road effects on wildlife,[29] and that ecopassages alone do not reduce roadkill.[30] [31] Her research on cropland heterogeneity shows that regions with small crop fields have higher biodiversity than regions with large crop fields, even when the total area under crop production is the same.[32] [33] [34] Further, her group showed that this benefit of cropland heterogeneity to biodiversity is as large as the benefits from reducing intense practices such as pesticide use.[35] She is a co-author of a book on road ecology, and several major reviews of the subject. [36] [37]

Honours and distinctions

Notes and References

  1. Supra Note 1
  2. Web site: 2023 NAS Election .
  3. Web site: Gray Merriam « EcoLandscapes. www.ecolandscapes.ca.
  4. Fahrig . L. . 1983 . Habitat patch connectivity and population stability: a model and case study .
  5. Fahrig . L. . 1988 . Effects of dispersal behaviour on relationships between spatial arrangement of host patches and local population size .
  6. Fahrig . Lenore . Coffin . Debra P. . Lauenroth . William K. . Shugart . Herman H. . The advantage of long-distance clonal spreading in highly disturbed habitats . Evolutionary Ecology . March 1994 . 8 . 2 . 172–187 . 10.1007/BF01238248 . 44059375 .
  7. Fahrig . L . Pope . S E . Henein . K M . Rose . G A . Relative effects of trap versus trawl fisheries on population dynamics of the northern cod (Gadus morhua) stock . Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences . 1 January 1998 . 55 . 1 . 76–85 . 10.1139/f97-215 .
  8. Fahrig . Lenore . Merriam . Gray . Conservation of Fragmented Populations . Conservation Biology . March 1994 . 8 . 1 . 50–59 . 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1994.08010050.x .
  9. Fahrig . Lenore . Relative Effects of Habitat Loss and Fragmentation on Population Extinction . The Journal of Wildlife Management . 1997 . 61 . 3 . 603–610 . 10.2307/3802168 . 3802168 .
  10. Fahrig . Lenore . When does fragmentation of breeding habitat affect population survival? . Ecological Modelling . January 1998 . 105 . 2–3 . 273–292 . 10.1016/S0304-3800(97)00163-4 .
  11. Trzcinski . M. Kurtis . Fahrig . Lenore . Merriam . Gray . Independent Effects of Forest Cover and Fragmentation on the Distribution of Forest Breeding Birds . Ecological Applications . 1999 . 9 . 2 . 586–593 . 10.1890/1051-0761(1999)009[0586:IEOFCA]2.0.CO;2 .
  12. Fahrig . L. . How much habitat is enough? . Biological Conservation . July 2001 . 100 . 1 . 65–74 . 10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00208-1 .
  13. Fahrig . Lenore . Effect of Habitat Fragmentation on the Extinction Threshold: A Synthesis . Ecological Applications . 2002 . 12 . 2 . 346–353 . 10.1890/1051-0761(2002)012[0346:EOHFOT]2.0.CO;2 .
  14. Fahrig . Lenore . Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Biodiversity . Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics . November 2003 . 34 . 1 . 487–515 . 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132419 .
  15. Fahrig . Lenore . Why do several small patches hold more species than few large patches? . Global Ecology and Biogeography . April 2020 . 29 . 4 . 615–628 . 10.1111/geb.13059 . free .
  16. Watling . James I. . Arroyo‐Rodríguez . Victor . Pfeifer . Marion . Baeten . Lander . Banks‐Leite . Cristina . Cisneros . Laura M. . Fang . Rebecca . Hamel‐Leigue . A. Caroli . Lachat . Thibault . Leal . Inara R. . Lens . Luc . Possingham . Hugh P. . Raheem . Dinarzarde C. . Ribeiro . Danilo B. . Slade . Eleanor M. . Urbina‐Cardona . J. Nicolas . Wood . Eric M. . Fahrig . Lenore . Support for the habitat amount hypothesis from a global synthesis of species density studies . Ecology Letters . April 2020 . 23 . 4 . 674–681 . 10.1111/ele.13471 . 32043741 . 211079202 .
  17. Web site: Miami 2013. Karen. F.
  18. Web site: Worldbiodiversityforum. Worldbiodiversityforum.
  19. Fahrig . Lenore . Habitat fragmentation: A long and tangled tale . Global Ecology and Biogeography . January 2019 . 28 . 1 . 33–41 . 10.1111/geb.12839 . 91260144 .
  20. Fahrig . Lenore . Merriam . Gray . Habitat Patch Connectivity and Population Survival: Ecological Archives E066-008 . Ecology . December 1985 . 66 . 6 . 1762–1768 . 10.2307/2937372 . 2937372 .
  21. Taylor . Philip D. . Fahrig . Lenore . Henein . Kringen . Merriam . Gray . Connectivity Is a Vital Element of Landscape Structure . Oikos . 1993 . 68 . 3 . 571–573 . 10.2307/3544927 . 3544927 .
  22. Tischendorf . Lutz . Fahrig . Lenore . On the usage and measurement of landscape connectivity . Oikos . July 2000 . 90 . 1 . 7–19 . 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2000.900102.x .
  23. Tischendorf . Lutz . Fahrig . Lenore . How should we measure landscape connectivity? . Landscape Ecology . 2000 . 15 . 7 . 633–641 . 10.1023/A:1008177324187 . 8910407 .
  24. Goodwin . Brett J. . Fahrig . Lenore . How does landscape structure influence landscape connectivity? . Oikos . December 2002 . 99 . 3 . 552–570 . 10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.11824.x .
  25. Fahrig . Lenore . Pedlar . John H. . Pope . Shealagh E. . Taylor . Philip D. . Wegner . John F. . Effect of road traffic on amphibian density . Biological Conservation . 1995 . 73 . 3 . 177–182 . 10.1016/0006-3207(94)00102-V .
  26. Forman RTT, Sperling D, Bissonette JA, Clevenger AP, Cutshall CD, Dale VH, Fahrig L, France R, Goldman CR, Heanue K, Jones JA, Swanson FJ, Turrentine T, Winter TC. 2003. Road ecology: Science and solutions. Island Press, Washington, https://islandpress.org/books/road-ecology
  27. Rytwinski . Trina . Fahrig . Lenore . Reproductive rate and body size predict road impacts on mammal abundance . Ecological Applications . March 2011 . 21 . 2 . 589–600 . 10.1890/10-0968.1 . 21563588 .
  28. Rytwinski . Trina . Fahrig . Lenore . Do species life history traits explain population responses to roads? A meta-analysis . Biological Conservation . March 2012 . 147 . 1 . 87–98 . 10.1016/j.biocon.2011.11.023 . 40182154 .
  29. Zimmermann Teixeira . Fernanda . Kindel . Andreas . Hartz . Sandra Maria . Mitchell . Scott . Fahrig . Lenore . When road-kill hotspots do not indicate the best sites for road-kill mitigation . Journal of Applied Ecology . October 2017 . 54 . 5 . 1544–1551 . 10.1111/1365-2664.12870 . free .
  30. Cunnington . Glenn M. . Garrah . Evelyn . Eberhardt . Ewen . Fahrig . Lenore . Culverts alone do not reduce road mortality in anurans . Écoscience . March 2014 . 21 . 1 . 69–78 . 10.2980/21-1-3673 . 53941382 .
  31. Rytwinski . Trina . Soanes . Kylie . Jaeger . Jochen A. G. . Fahrig . Lenore . Findlay . C. Scott . Houlahan . Jeff . van der Ree . Rodney . van der Grift . Edgar A . How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis . PLOS ONE . 21 November 2016 . 11 . 11 . e0166941 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0166941 . 27870889 . 5117745 . 2016PLoSO..1166941R . free .
  32. Fahrig . Lenore . Girard . Judith . Duro . Dennis . Pasher . Jon . Smith . Adam . Javorek . Steve . King . Douglas . Lindsay . Kathryn Freemark . Mitchell . Scott . Tischendorf . Lutz . Farmlands with smaller crop fields have higher within-field biodiversity . Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment . February 2015 . 200 . 219–234 . 10.1016/j.agee.2014.11.018 .
  33. Sirami . Clélia . Gross . Nicolas . Baillod . Aliette Bosem . Bertrand . Colette . Carrié . Romain . Hass . Annika . Henckel . Laura . Miguet . Paul . Vuillot . Carole . Alignier . Audrey . Girard . Jude . Batáry . Péter . Clough . Yann . Violle . Cyrille . Giralt . David . Bota . Gerard . Badenhausser . Isabelle . Lefebvre . Gaëtan . Gauffre . Bertrand . Vialatte . Aude . Calatayud . François . Gil-Tena . Assu . Tischendorf . Lutz . Mitchell . Scott . Lindsay . Kathryn . Georges . Romain . Hilaire . Samuel . Recasens . Jordi . Solé-Senan . Xavier Oriol . Robleño . Irene . Bosch . Jordi . Barrientos . Jose Antonio . Ricarte . Antonio . Marcos-Garcia . Maria Ángeles . Miñano . Jesús . Mathevet . Raphaël . Gibon . Annick . Baudry . Jacques . Balent . Gérard . Poulin . Brigitte . Burel . Françoise . Tscharntke . Teja . Bretagnolle . Vincent . Siriwardena . Gavin . Ouin . Annie . Brotons . Lluis . Martin . Jean-Louis . Fahrig . Lenore . Increasing crop heterogeneity enhances multitrophic diversity across agricultural regions . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 13 August 2019 . 116 . 33 . 16442–16447 . 10.1073/pnas.1906419116 . 31358630 . 6697893 . 2019PNAS..11616442S . free .
  34. Fahrig . Lenore . Rethinking patch size and isolation effects: the habitat amount hypothesis . Journal of Biogeography . September 2013 . 40 . 9 . 1649–1663 . 10.1111/jbi.12130 . free .
  35. Martin . Amanda E. . Collins . Sara J. . Crowe . Susie . Girard . Judith . Naujokaitis-Lewis . Ilona . Smith . Adam C. . Lindsay . Kathryn . Mitchell . Scott . Fahrig . Lenore . Effects of farmland heterogeneity on biodiversity are similar to—or even larger than—the effects of farming practices . Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment . February 2020 . 288 . 106698 . 10.1016/j.agee.2019.106698 . free .
  36. Fahrig. Lenore. 2 November 2017. Ecological Responses to Habitat Fragmentation Per Se. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics. 48. 1. 1–23. 10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110316-022612.
  37. Fahrig. Lenore. Rytwinski. Trina. 2009. Effects of Roads on Animal Abundance: an Empirical Review and Synthesis. Ecology and Society. 14. 1. 10.5751/ES-02815-140121. 26268057. free. 10535/2475.
  38. Web site: Royal Society of Canada. Research.
  39. Web site: Carleton's Lenore Fahrig Awarded Royal Society Medal for Environmental Research. 18 September 2018.
  40. Web site: Profs. Lenore Fahrig and Shikharesh Majumdar Appointed as Chancellor's Professors. carleton.ca. 24 July 2019 .
  41. Web site: John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Announcement 2021.
  42. https://twitter.com/CSEE_SCEE/status/1390738216886571010{{rs|date=July 2021}}
  43. https://www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es/noticias/the-frontiers-award-goes-to-fahrig-levin-and-pickett-for-adding-the-spatial-dimension-to-ecological-science-and-applying-it-to-the-design-of-nature-reserves-and-more-sustainable-cities/ BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards 2021
  44. Web site: Top Canadian Science and Engineering Prizes For Carleton Researchers. 25 October 2022.
  45. Web site: Semeniuk . Ivan . Ecologist who showed how nature endures in our midst wins Canada's top science prize . The Globe and Mail . 13 July 2023 . 25 October 2022 . the Carleton University professor was named this year's winner of the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal..

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