Wishing for Sessile Whales - Policy Considerations for Real World Marine Mammal Conservation

When coastal and marine issues cross geo-political boundaries, effective management relies on conservation tools that are also multi-sector and cross-jurisdictional. As the conservation efforts for wide-ranging species are fundamentally different than that of other marine resources, so must the management efforts. Whether working across local, state and/or federal governments, inclusion of non-traditional conservation sectors and interests will only strengthen the success of management efforts. Multi-stakeholder involvement can bring disparate, and even disinterested, constituencies to the table to address management needs to find a compromise that meets the needs of all interested resource users while protecting the actual marine resource (e.g. marine mammals). Recent regional collaborations led by state governors specifically to address cross-jurisdictional coastal and marine issues provide a convening authority to bring stakeholders and multiple levels of government together. This ultimately results in benefitting both the economy and the resource base upon which it is built. These partnerships demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of collaboration between stakeholders and federal, state, local and tribal governments.

While recent work on conservation or management of biodiversity in ecological networks has focused on calculating management rules, it has ignored the complexity of the management decision making process. The most urgent conservation problems often need coordinated action at regional, landscape or even global scales, necessitating the collaboration of several actors. While co-ordination of management actions is often viewed as desirable or even necessary, coordination is a non-trivial task that comes at a cost that needs to be accounted for in relation to the benefits it provides. Time and resources may not be readily available when managing threatened species under limited budgets; late decision making or insufficient funding risks extinction. Furthermore, the possible joint activities for any actor is constrained by whom the actors are able to interact with, i.e. their social networks. We determine the best performing social networks to optimally manage Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible ecological networks. We identify several distinct motif networks and use advanced stochastic dynamic programming methods to account for the uncertainty surrounding the ecological dynamics, the constraints imposed by different patterns of social interactions, and the cost of collaborative decisions. We provide a method for determining the best collaborative strategy given a social network to best achieve our objective on an ecological network.

The Wildlife First Aid Station started to cooperate with the Bliss and Wisdom Buddhist Foundation in wildlife release program since October 2011. Before releasing the fully recovered wildlife, votaries participated in the interpretation of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, the rescue story, and scientific information about the animal. We also provided a life education program for the votaries and their families. Through the end of 2012, we held 66 activities in which 4174 persons participated. According to the feedback received, they learned the correct way of respecting life and how our station treated wildlife.

Sciaenidae (croakers & drums) are a major capture fishery resource from tropic to warm temperate coasts, estuaries and river basins worldwide. World fishery productions of croakers have reached near two million metric tons in 2010 (FAO). Three distinct phylogeographic regions of sciaenid fishes, New World, East Atlantic and Indo-West Pacific are defined. The New World has the richest species diversity (~170 species), while the East Atlantic (including the Mediterranean) the poorest with 18 species. Under the auspice of IUCN, the first global assessments of the risk of extinction for 280 sciaenids were completed. Twenty-three species (8.2%) are catalogued as threatened; four are Critically Endangered (CR-1.4%), six Endangered (EN-2.1%), five Near Threatened (NE-1.8%), and seven Vulnerable (VU -2.5%). The rest 172 species were considered Least Concern LC-61.4%), 81 Data Deficient (DD - 28.9%) and five were Not Evaluated (NE?1.8%). In country (regional) Red List Assessment are common; 52 Brazilian sciaenid species were reviewed (2012), which includes one EN (1.9%), two NE (3.8%), 35 LC (67.3%), 12 DD (23.1%) and two Not Applicable (3.8%). The Chinese Red Book (2009) included 4 EN (10.5%) and 15 VU (39.5) out of total 38 Chinese sciaenids. The discrepancies on distributions of categories may be due to differences in applying IUCN criteria at regional or national assessments. It may also reflect that the risk of extinction is more severe in certain regions.

Human-wildlife conflicts are increasing worldwide yet their management is critical to maintain public support for conservation, particularly in urban areas where residents have limited opportunity for positive wildlife interactions. Since more negative attitudes to wildlife may lead to reduced support for biodiversity conservation, it is important to understand the relationship between city dwellers' attitudes to wildlife and their experience of wildlife problems. In Wellington City, New Zealand, human-wildlife conflict is emerging due to damage caused by North Island kaka, a threatened endemic parrot. We conducted a household survey of Wellington residents and used an Information-Theoretic approach to multi-model selection and inference to investigate the relationship between residents' biodiversity awareness and wildlife engagement and their attitude to birds and bird-related problems. Planting trees to attract birds was the only predictor to provide substantial inference for attitude (ωi = 0.873) and engaging with birds by planting moderated the negative relationship between experiencing a problem and attitude towards birds. Hence attitude to birds and tolerance to problems may be most closely associated with a person's experience and engagement with birds rather than negative experiences. Management of human-wildlife conflicts should integrate social behaviour change with more traditional ecological approaches to wildlife conflict management.

A connectivity conservation approach recognizes that conservation management is needed on the lands around formal protected areas to buffer them from threatening processes originating off-reserve and to care for biodiversity assets found on other land tenures. The International Connectivity Conservation Network (ICCN) is a World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) voluntary network of individuals and organizations working on individual terrestrial and marine large-scale connectivity conservation projects and initiatives around the world. It works on a voluntary basis and primarily aims to provide information, share knowledge and offer assessment in order to foster the preservation, protection and promotion of connectivity conservation in the face of climate change's challenges to conservation and sustainable development. The ICCN seeks to benefit its members by providing current information on connectivity conservation management and highlighting and sharing best practices based on its member's actions in the field of connectivity conservation on a large-scale. Membership is open to large-scale connectivity conservation managers, researchers, other professionals and community group representatives working on connectivity conservation initiatives. Achieving conservation outcomes across the landscape matrix involves active management, policy support and conservation outcomes in an integrated way across a range of land tenures.

In Mesoamerica, the endangered Great Green Macaw (Ara ambiguus) highly depends on Dipteryx panamensis for feeding and nesting, and on adequate, intact forest habitat. As migrating species are not limited by borders, the successful establishment of the El Castillo-San Juan-La Selva Bi-national Biological Corridor between Nicaragua and Costa Rica has been and remains essential for the conservation of the Great Green Macaw: it is the center piece of an altitudinal north-south gradient that contributes to mitigate the climate change effects on ecosystems. The Tropical Science Center and Fundación del Río took a leading role in the consolidation and implementation of cross-border alliances and nature conservation activities through a campaign that focuses on promoting the awareness of the ecology and conservation of the Great Green Macaw in the lowlands of the San Juan River. The main results to date have been the understanding and concern of stakeholders regarding the challenges faced by the Great Green Macaw, and a positive shift in land use change dynamics at the landscape level. In 2006, The Agua & Paz Biosphere Reserve was created in Northern Costa Rica, with the ultimate aim at establishing a transboundary Biosphere Reserve. Data from a 2009-2010 census show that the population of Great Green Macaws has increased along the conservation actions that have been undertaken since 1994 in order to protect the habitat of the Great Green Macaw.

In 2007, we compared threats and the state of protection of marine ecoregions across South America. Our review focused on some of the most populated coastal countries on the continent, including Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The primary threats identified were fisheries, pollution and urban development. The Nature Conservancy, national governments, USAID and other supporters developed conservation planning in each of these countries using consistent methodology which allowed cross-ecoregional comparisons. Though some progress has been made in threat reduction, in the establishment of new protected areas, notably in Chile and Ecuador, and the creation of a ministry of fisheries in Brazil, much work remains to be done. With growing understanding, we also propose new opportunities for 2013 in marine conservation across South America.

Since the early 1990s South Asian vultures have declined dramatically and four species are listed as critically endangered in the IUCN BirdLife Red List. The primary cause of decline has been identified as the veterinary drug diclofenac. In Nepal, Vulture Safe Zone has been created covering 39,212 square kilometers as an integrated approach to vulture conservation involving advocacy, sensitization, exchange of diclofenac with vulture safe drug meloxicam, provision of safe food and collection of pledge from veterinarians through community based approach. This approach is being supplemented through captive breeding, monitoring vulture colonies, vulture arrival at safe feeding sites and, knowledge and drug use practice of veterinary community. We recommend that Vulture Safe Zone approach is the way forward for in-situ conservation of these critically endangered raptor species.

Coral reefs in Sattahip, Chonburi Province in the upper Gulf of Thailand have been declined in the past years due to both anthropogenic activities and natural disturbances. Thus, several techniques both sexual and asexual propagations have been introduced to restore some reefs in the area. Asexual propagation including transplantation of fragments and whole coral colonies were used. In addition, mass coral cultivation using sexual reproduction technique (eggs and sperms were collected and fertilized) was also initiated. At present, more than 10 species of corals could be cultured through sexual propagation technique. The results from the coral fragment study showed that within 1.5 years after transplantation, some transplanted fragments of genus Acropora started developing gametes. From the long term monitoring, there was no difference in the numbers of fish species and the groups of macroinvertebrates found between 2- year transplanted, 8-year transplanted, and natural coral areas. Thus, the transplantation allows invertebrates and fish to colonize and utilize the transplanted corals as a habitat.

The rapid growth of human populations and the resulting increase in human activities have led to an accelerated rate of biodiversity loss. However, contributions of specific anthropogenic activities (e.g., urban development, pollution) to the rate of species extinction have been difficult to determine, in part due to lack of a standardized system for classifying anthropogenic threats. I developed a hierarchical threat classification scheme by combining and modifying existing schemes to categorize actual threats for all plant and animal species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. I then tested this scheme on a set of plant species for which there are published demographic data, and estimated population growth and extinction risk for these species. Using tree-based statistical analyses, I found that particular threats, such as non-native species and harvesting for resource use, were associated with lower population growth rates than other threats. Biological traits such as life form and small population size also affected demographic rates. However, high within-species variation resulted in relatively low model accuracy, and relationships depended on the level of specificity of threat classification. Implementation of the threat classification scheme will allow more standardized reporting of threats in recovery plans, and quantifying relationships between threats and extinction risk will help inform management goals for species facing particular threats.

The illegal killing of elephants, both for ivory and as a result of elephant-human conflicts, is of serious conservation concern. While rates of illegal harvest of the African elephant have been well documented, the same is not true of Asian elephant populations in which only males may carry tusks and are targeted for ivory, resulting in artificially skewed sex ratios. We adapted Jensen's (2000) 2-sex, density-dependent Leslie matrix model to infer harvest rates of Asian elephant populations at several sites in India from field data of three population parameters, namely, adult (>15 years) female to male ratio, male old-adult to young-adult ratio, and proportion of adult males in the population. We applied this model to several populations exhibiting adult sex ratios varying from about 1:2.5 to 1:60. Mortality rates in adult male elephants were enhanced by only 17% due to illegal killing in populations such as Kaziranga in the northeast, not much affected by ivory poaching because >50% of bulls are tuskless. In contrast, southern Indian elephant populations where tusked bulls constitute >90% of male phenotype showed enhanced adult male mortality by over 300% at places such as Periyar. When results from the six sampled sites are extrapolated across the country, our model indicates that about 125 adult male elephants have been killed annually on average for ivory and in conflicts since the 1980s. Ivory poaching has however declined noticeably in the past decade.

The Bliss & Wisdom Group is a Buddhist community in Taiwan that promotes organic cultivation and implements the empathy-and-appreciation concept for farmers and consumers through collect-and-sell organic produce. Being organic can be the solution for conserving endangered species, habitats, catchment of soil, and water. The Group releases life-threatened animals in a ritual that protects them from harm and applies the teachings of Buddha that underscore compassion for sentient beings. To avoid adverse impacts that occur when animals are released inappropriately, the Group partners with various conservation institutions including the Wildlife First Aid Station of Endemic Species Research Center and the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium.

Climate change is causing changes in distribution, phenology and body size of marine fishes and invertebrates, potentially affecting the conservation of marine species, particularly those that are already threatened by other human activities. Using ensemble of outputs from species distribution models, climate models and scenarios, we projected future changes in distribution of exploited marine fishes and invertebrates as well as species that were threatened by fishing activities globally and in specific regions. Changes in habitat suitability in marine protected areas were assessed for these species. Moreover, changes in range area and the degree of overlap between commercial and threatened species ranges was calculated as a proxy of the potential threat posed by overfishing through bycatch. Furthermore, the potential interactions between reduced species abundance from overfishing and responses to climate change were investigated. The ensemble projections suggest shifts in species distribution poleward and into deeper waters, resulting in changes in range overlap between threatened and commercially exploited species, and the habitat suitability of existing protected areas. Fishing is expected to exaggerate impacts of climate change on exploited marine species through reduction of their adaptive capacity. The adverse consequences of these changes on conservation of marine species vary between regions. Although the models show large variation in the predicted consequences of climate change, the multi-model approach helps identify the potential risk of increased exposure to human stressors on threatened species.

The challenges for natural resources manager are both complex and costly ones. Increasing temperatures, rising sea levels, and increased frequency of extreme weather events as well as other impacts such as habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and disease require collaboration among conservation partners in order to leverage resources for a more informed and coordinated response. Partnership as a mechanism for conservation is not a new concept but climate change poses some unique challenges which require consolidated efforts to fill knowledge gaps and define management actions on the ground. In the United States, state fish and wildlife agencies are charged with managing fish, wildlife, and their associated habitats for the country. Assisting fish and wildlife to adapt to a changing climate is a new addition to the charge. The challenges of climate change and its associated impacts are currently being addressed by state agencies and their conservation partners through collaborative partnerships and innovative solutions that help overcome the barriers of funding, lack of capacity, and knowledge to ensure that the best available climate science is being used in adaptation efforts. The proposed presentation will highlight different aspects of state fish and wildlife adaptation activities and the need for collaboration and partnership across disciplines to help reduce the impact of climate change on fish and wildlife and their associated habitats.

Important changes are needed to disciplinary theories and methods to support interdisciplinary and integrated ocean and coastal management policies and implementation. This review argues that theories and methods should conform to a perspective that ocean management is a societal activity with diverse goals ideally informed by interdisciplinary information. The review focuses on the integrated coastal management (ICM) and marine ecosystem-based management (EBM) frameworks and the marine protected areas (MPA) management tool. It begins by suggesting that at present there is a notable imbalance in the degree of effort allocated to monitoring the ecological and social dimensions of ocean resource use and policy processes. Based on how Western society and an influential epistemic community construct ‘the environment’ and society’s relation to the environment, natural sciences play an inordinately important role in the description of the problem and policy recommendations. The discourse advocating for a global networks of marine protected areas, without adequate consideration of society impacts and responses, represents an example of this imbalance. The analysis concludes with suggestions for balancing ocean and coastal interdisciplinary research and reframing key issues, creating self-reflexive and multidisciplinary research teams, and reworking educational programs.