In the case where the translocated taxon has suffered from the decline of a number of populations at a large scale, and/or a specific decline of one population, or group of populations (see 'Scale'), this field specifies the habitat changes that have certainly or likely lowered demographic rates, i.e., individual survival, growth or fecundity and that have consequently led to a deterioration of the niche/habitat match, at the specified scale. These direct drivers can be seen as proximate causes of population decline from the point of view of the declining populations.
List of possible answers:
- Problematic competitor, predator or parasite = Decrease in one or several demographic rates due to the arrival or increase in the habitat of the density of organisms or viruses directly impacting the focus organism as competitors, predators or parasites (they may include humans).
Example: climbers using cliff microsites (rock clefts) as a resource for their feet, hands, and climbing equipment, then decreasing this resource for cliff-dwelling species.
- Pollution = Decrease in one or several demographic rates due to an excess of material, chemical, or nutrients, whatever the remote cause of this excess, directly impacting the focus organism.
- Change in climate patterns =Decrease in one or several demographic rates due to a tendency of climatic variables either to change towards means outside of the evolutionary experience of the focus organism or to fluctuate outside of previous ranges of variation (resulting or not resulting from increased atmospheric greenhouse gases), which directly affects the organism.
- Change in other environmental variables = Decrease in one or several demographic rates due to a tendency of another environmental variable affecting populations either to change towards new means or to fluctuate outside previous ranges of variation. This can be, for example, a change in the density of a mutualistic species (pollinating insect…), a change in the frequency of floods or fires for species living in habitats regularly subject to these events, etc.
- Habitat loss = Decrease in most demographic rates due to a major change in the habitat that completely disrupt the niche/habitat match. This habitat loss can be either sudden (e.g., a fire in a habitat not regularly subject to fires) or slow (e.g., habitat loss due to progressive vegetation succession) It can be due to human activities (e.g., a habitat destroyed for the construction of a road or completely modified for agriculture, or following abandonment of agriculture or grazing…) or to natural events (e.g., hurricanes, fires, lava flow…);
see underlying factors for the description of remote causes.
- Not Applicable = Not applicable because the translocated taxon has not suffered from the decline of a number of populations at a large scale, and/or a specific decline of one population, or group of populations.