Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Ahead of Print.
Quantifying the responses of rare and vulnerable species to environmental stressors poses special challenges. This study examined the responses of vulnerable fish species listed under the Species at Risk Act to environmental stressors in lakes, streams, and wetlands of the Canadian Great Lakes basin. We used a joint species distribution model (JSDM) to improve the estimates of responses of vulnerable species to environmental stressors, and the effects of functional traits on those responses, by “borrowing information” from abundant species for which we have more information. We measured abundance, functional traits, and taxonomic relationships for 115 freshwater fish species (including 12 vulnerable species), and environmental features, at 1972 sites. The JSDM yielded more precise estimates of responses than single-species models fitted to each vulnerable species. Habitat associations inferred from the JSDM showed substantial overlap with those provided in COSEWIC status reports. Model-derived responses to environmental stressors can provide a management-friendly basis for species classification in terms of species’ tolerances to various forms of environmental change, and supplement the qualitative criteria for habitat requirements currently used in assessments of species vulnerability.

中文翻译：

---

加拿大五大湖流域脆弱鱼类对环境压力的反应

加拿大渔业和水产科学杂志，提前印刷。
量化稀有和脆弱物种对环境压力的反应提出了特殊的挑战。本研究调查了《濒危物种法案》中列出的脆弱鱼类对加拿大五大湖流域湖泊、溪流和湿地环境压力源的反应。我们使用联合物种分布模型 (JSDM)，通过从我们拥有更多信息的丰富物种中“借用信息”，改进对脆弱物种对环境压力源的反应的估计，以及功能性状对这些反应的影响。我们测量了 1972 个地点的 115 种淡水鱼类（包括 12 种脆弱物种）的丰度、功能特征和分类关系以及环境特征。与适用于每个脆弱物种的单一物种模型相比，JSDM 产生了更精确的响应估计。从 JSDM 推断的栖息地关联显示与 COSEWIC 状态报告中提供的栖息地关联有很大的重叠。模型衍生的对环境压力因素的反应可以为物种分类提供管理友好的基础，即物种对各种形式的环境变化的耐受性，并补充目前用于评估物种脆弱性的栖息地要求的定性标准。