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Kirk DA, Park AC, Smith AC, et al. Our use, misuse, and abandonment of a concept: Whither habitat?. Ecol Evol. 2018;8(8):4197-4208doi: 10.1002/ece3.3812.
Kirk, D. A., Park, A. C., Smith, A. C., Howes, B. J., Prouse, B. K., Kyssa, N. G., Fairhurst, E. N., & Prior, K. A. (2018). Our use, misuse, and abandonment of a concept: Whither habitat?. Ecology and evolution, 8(8), 4197-4208. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3812
Kirk, David Anthony, et al. "Our use, misuse, and abandonment of a concept: Whither habitat?." Ecology and evolution vol. 8,8 (2018): 4197-4208. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3812
Kirk DA, Park AC, Smith AC, Howes BJ, Prouse BK, Kyssa NG, Fairhurst EN, Prior KA. Our use, misuse, and abandonment of a concept: Whither habitat?. Ecol Evol. 2018 Apr 02;8(8):4197-4208. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3812. eCollection 2018 Apr. PMID: 29721291; PMCID: PMC5916312.
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Ecol Evol. 2018 Apr 02;8(8):4197-4208. doi: 10.1002/ece3.3812. eCollection 2018 Apr.

Our use, misuse, and abandonment of a concept: Whither habitat?.

Ecology and evolution

David Anthony Kirk, Allysia C Park, Adam C Smith, Briar J Howes, Brigid K Prouse, Naschelly G Kyssa, Elizabeth N Fairhurst, Kent A Prior

Affiliations

  1. Aquila Conservation & Environment Consulting Ottawa ON Canada.
  2. School of Science and the Environment Memorial University Corner Brook NL Canada.
  3. Present address: Grenfell Campus Memorial University Corner Brook NL Canada.
  4. Canadian Wildlife Service Environment and Climate Change Canada Ottawa ON Canada.
  5. Natural Resource Conservation, Parks Canada Gatineau QC Canada.
  6. Department of Biology University of Ottawa Ottawa ON Canada.
  7. Present address: Laurentian University Sudbury ON Canada.
  8. Present address: Toronto Wildlife Centre North York ON Canada.
  9. Present address: Malvern Veterinary Hospital Scarborough ON Canada.
  10. Department of Biology Dalhousie University Halifax NS Canada.
  11. Present address: Envirowest Consultants Inc. Port Coquitlam BC Canada.

PMID: 29721291 PMCID: PMC5916312 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3812

Abstract

The foundational concept of habitat lies at the very root of the entire science of ecology, but inaccurate use of the term compromises scientific rigor and communication among scientists and nonscientists. In 1997, Hall, Krausman & Morrison showed that 'habitat' was used correctly in only 55% of articles. We ask whether use of the term has been more accurate since their plea for standardization and whether use varies across the broader range of journals and taxa in the contemporary literature (1998-2012). We searched contemporary literature for 'habitat' and habitat-related terms, ranking usage as either correct or incorrect, following a simplified version of Hall et al.'s definitions. We used generalized linear models to compare use of the term in contemporary literature with the papers reviewed by Hall et al. and to test the effects of taxa, journal impact in the contemporary articles and effects due to authors that cited Hall et al. Use of the term 'habitat' has not improved; it was still only used correctly about 55% of the time in the contemporary data. Proportionately more correct uses occurred in articles that focused on animals compared to ones that included plants, and papers that cited Hall et al. did use the term correctly more often. However, journal impact had no effect. Some habitat terms are more likely to be misused than others, notably 'habitat type', usually used to refer to vegetation type, and 'suitable habitat' or 'unsuitable habitat', which are either redundant or nonsensical by definition. Inaccurate and inconsistent use of the term can lead to (1) misinterpretation of scientific findings; (2) inefficient use of conservation resources; (3) ineffective identification and prioritization of protected areas; (4) limited comparability among studies; and (5) miscommunication of science-based findings. Correct usage would improve communication with scientists and nonscientists, thereby benefiting conservation efforts, and ecology as a science.

Keywords: conservation implications; critical habitat; habitat; habitat‐related terms; misuse; operational terminology; standardization

References

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