Increasing momentum for the protection of Roadless Areas

In times when funding for biodiversity conservation is scarce, identifying and protecting the world's remaining Roadless Areas arises as a cost efficient option to meet the Aichi biodiversity targets and mitigate climate changeA new initiative towards the protection of the world's Roadless Areas was presented during the Rio+20 Summit and during the COP11 of the 2012 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) where was showcased the first global mapping of the world's remaining Roadless Areas. Partners such as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), IUCN, the European Parliament's Rapporteur on Forests, MEP Kriton Arsenis, the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), the Global Canopy Programme (GCP), Conservation International and the Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education, Tebtebba have gathered and joined forces during these events in order to promote Roadless Areas as a cost efficient and effective way to protect biodiversity. How to generate incentives for the protection of Roadless Areas, avoid the financing of destructive roads, and provide international policy makers with useful instruments for effective biodiversity conservation regulation will be at the core of European Parliament's Rapporteur on Forests, MEP Kriton Arsenis' presentation during this 2013 ICCB.

Addressing uncertainty is an important element of effective wildlife management. Failure to properly account for uncertainty in some systems has been implicated in management errors with disastrous consequences. We used the hunt management of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) in British Columbia, Canada, as a model system to empirically assess potential impacts of uncertainty on management. In particular, we examined outcome uncertainty (the discrepancy between expected and actual mortality levels) and components of biological uncertainty. We found that unaddressed uncertainty compromised management performance repeatedly, and throughout the province, from 2001-2011. Outcome uncertainty alone led to excess mortality in 19% of cases (population-years) examined. Accounting for uncertainty around estimated biological parameters revealed excess mortality might have occurred in up to 70% of cases. We describe a method that uses empirical assessments of uncertainty to identify targets that maintain the probability of exceeding mortality limits below specified thresholds. At thresholds of 25% and 5%, this method identifies average target mortality reductions of 47% and 81%, respectively. Application of our transparent and generalizable framework to this or other systems could improve management performance in the face of uncertainty.

Advocates for conservation in urban areas are growing amidst mounting financial challenges and inadequate stakeholder involvement. Conservation psychology can mitigate some of these challenges through conservation volunteerism, if we attend to and capitalize on volunteers' motivations. We present results from three studies of volunteers' motivations. In the first two, we assessed volunteers' motivations, attitudinal commitment, and frequency of volunteering for urban conservation. In the third, we coded volunteers' motivations, expressed in their own words and frames of references. We conducted frequency analysis of expressed motivations. Predictive models showed that volunteers' participation and commitment are motivated by personal and social benefits, not environment-related reasons. Environmental motivations more saliently influence participation and commitment only when personal and social benefits are met. Additionally, volunteers expressed social-psychological motivations 20+ times as often as environmental motivations. Ecologically focused participation appeals, planning and management of volunteer-dependent events are likely to be less effective motivators of voluntary conservation stewardship than efforts that focus on personal and social benefits of urban conservation. We discuss implications for urban conservation stewardship initiatives, suggesting practical ways to harness volunteers' personal and social motivations to meet urban conservation goals.

Large flower size may be a specialization for large-bodied pollinators. By excluding some potential pollinators, such specialization could create risk of mutualism disruption. We examined ongoing pollination and conservation status of species in the genus Clermontia, a taxon of bird-pollinated Hawaiian lobeliads varying widely in flower size. We employed a combination of field observations, pollination treatments, and museum specimen measurements. Field results indicated that small and mid-sized flowers are now pollinated largely by an introduced bird species, while large flowers receive no evident pollination. A comparison of museum specimen floral tube lengths and conservation threat rate revealed that larger-flowered species in the genus are more likely to be threatened with extinction than are smaller-flowered species (ANOVA; p = 0.047). We speculate that pollination disruption may be one factor contributing to this pattern: not only are large-bodied native pollinators largely extinct, but introduced bird pollinators are generalist, small-bodied species. Pollination disruption carries risks of inbreeding and decreased reproductive output. Conservation threats to both large-bodied animals and large-seeded plants are broadly recognized, but the vulnerability of large-flowered plants to pollination disruption has not been widely discussed in conservation circles.

Complementarity-based algorithms are increasingly being used for selecting and prioritizing nature reserve networks. However these methods require taxonomic and distributional information- data currently missing for the majority of the world's taxa. Phylogenetic diversity (PD) is a measure of biodiversity that incorporates information on evolutionary divergences between taxa by summing the branch lengths of a phylogenetic tree. The tips on the tree can be species, populations, individual organisms or genetic sequences making PD suitable for estimating biodiversity in poorly known ecosystems. Australian subterranean fauna potentially represent a vast amount of the continent's biodiversity, with > 80 % as yet undescribed. We used molecular methods to estimate PD for stygofauna from New South Wales. Designating the branches of the phylogenetic tree as conservation features weighted by their length, we evaluated the conservation value of different sites using endemism and complementarity-based algorithms including Rebelo and the software MARXAN. The different approaches resulted in similar ranking of sites however MARXAN incorporates the cost and shape of the final reserve system resulting in slightly different conservation priorities. We demonstrate that by using molecular methods and PD, largely unknown ecosystems can be effectively included in conservation planning. Future work will focus on identifying environmental surrogates for predicting phylogenetic β-diversity.

Complementarity-based algorithms are increasingly being used for selecting and prioritizing nature reserve networks. However these methods require taxonomic and distributional information- data currently missing for the majority of the world’s taxa. Phylogenetic diversity (PD) is a measure of biodiversity that incorporates information on evolutionary divergences between taxa by summing the branch lengths of a phylogenetic tree. The tips on the tree can be species, populations, individual organisms or genetic sequences making PD suitable for estimating biodiversity in poorly known ecosystems.

Australian subterranean fauna potentially represent a vast amount of the continent’s biodiversity, with > 80 % as yet undescribed. We used molecular methods to estimate PD for stygofauna from New South Wales. Designating the branches of the phylogenetic tree as conservation features weighted by their length, we evaluated the conservation value of different sites using endemism and complementarity-based algorithms including Rebelo and the software MARXAN. The different approaches resulted in similar ranking of sites however MARXAN incorporates the cost and shape of the final reserve system resulting in slightly different conservation priorities. We demonstrate that by using molecular methods and PD, largely unknown ecosystems can be effectively included in conservation planning. Future work will focus on identifying environmental surrogates for predicting phylogenetic β-diversity.

Atuo, Fidelis, Oklahoma State University; Timothy O'Connell, Oklahoma State University; Samual Ivande, A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI); Zingfa Wala, A. P. Leventis Ornithological Research Institute (APLORI)
Use of caves and overhanging rocks as hunting camps: consequences for breeding Grey-necked Picathartes in southeastern Nigeria.

The overdependence on bushmeat as a source of protein and income among forest communities constitutes a major challenge to wildlife conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, we investigated the use of caves and overhanging rocks as hunting camps and its consequences on breeding Grey-necked Picathartes (Picathartes oreas). P. oreas is one of the only two species in the family Picathartidae. Both species are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, and are endemic to tropical African forests, where they build mud nests in caves and on rock overhangs. We found 85 nesting locations for P. oreas in southeastern Nigeria, of which 14 (21%) had been used as hunting camps. Predominant camping evidence included fire stands, sleeping spots, cooking utensils, and drying rakes. Fire stands were the most frequently recorded camping evidence and were found in 79% (11) of the camps. At the 14 breeding sites, only two nesting attempts were made by the P. oreas during the survey. Of nests recorded within hunting camps, 95% (37) were empty and showed no evidence of breeding activity, suggesting that they had been abandoned. Camping hunters also affected breeding success through direct removal of eggs and fledglings from nests. We carried out conservation enlightenment campaigns for P. oreas that includes community meetings and television talk shows. A sustained conservation education scheme will assist in improving the conservation status of P. oreas and other threatened species in the region

When conservation funding is constrained, natural resource managers need simple, transparent, and logical decision-support for choosing between multiple management actions to abate threats to multiple species. We show how cost-effectiveness directs efficient investment in conservation action. Our case study examines the relationship between the benefits and costs of abating two threats (habitat degradation from cattle grazing and predation by foxes, an invasive, introduced species) to priority species in a biodiverse region of Eastern Australia. We demonstrate that benefits to species are four times higher if we use cost-effectiveness to select for threat management in species-rich sites than if we randomly invest $10M. If we also prioritize restricted habitats in species-rich areas, the contrast between arbitrary and cost-effective management is even greater. Our research further determines that for the same amount of money, it is almost twice as effective to simultaneously manage two threats as compared to treating each threat separately. Importantly, we find that the return on investment in threat abatement diminishes rapidly. Greater than 50% of the total possible benefit of managing two threats can be delivered with $5M, but doubling the budget results in a benefit increase of only 12%. Our analysis shows how to accountably locate where to efficiently use limited resources to act on abating multiple threats to multiple species by delivering great benefit for little cost.

Hellbender (Cryptobrachus alleganiensis) populations are declining in the wild; an increasing number of institutions are maintaining this species in captivity for conservation purposes. Yet providing captive animals with nutritionally complete diets can be a challenge. Commercially-sourced diets can contribute to nutritional deficiencies in captive amphibians (e.g., metabolic bone disease), and wild-sourced food items carry the risk of disease introduction. We investigated the nutritional content of a commercially-sourced diet (i.e., worms, shrimp, krill, and crayfish) for captive juvenile hellbenders compared to prey available to wild counterparts. Invertebrates were collected from seven streams known to contain hellbenders in the eastern United States. The samples were assayed for dry matter, fiber, fat, protein, chitin, ash and gross energy. Nutritional content of commercial versus wild crayfish was similar, except for dry matter, which was greater (P < 0.05) in wild-caught individuals. Macroinvertebrates available to wild hellbenders contained more (P < 0.05) dry matter, ash, fiber, and chitin, but less (P < 0.05) energy and protein compared to the captive diet. The findings suggest the importance of continued nutrient evaluation of commercially available prey sources for hellbenders, and it appears the current best practice is to provide as much diversity in prey items as reasonable and practical, rather than focusing on any single commercially available item.

The need for intensively collaborative approaches to address conservation challenges has never been greater and will be increasingly necessary in the future. Clearly, successful approaches exist but have been focused on species groups or geographically limited areas. In 2010, a wide variety of conservation partners established the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC). The existing network of 22 LCC’s, includes all diverse set of federal agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, non-governmental organizations, tribes and tribal groups and others entities. The LCC’s are a conservation-science partnership that: (1) develop and provide integrated science-based information about the implications of climate change and other stressors; (2) develop shared, landscape-level, conservation objectives and inform conservation strategies that are based on a shared scientific understanding about the landscape, including the implications of current and future environmental stressors; (3) Facilitate the exchange of applied science in the implementation of conservation strategies and products developed by the Cooperative or their partners; (4) Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of LCC conservation strategies in meeting shared objectives; and (5) Develop appropriate linkages that connect LCCs to ensure an effective network. The role, function, governance, and limitation of LCC’s will be discussed and explored in light the challenges facing our conservation community.

In response to concerns from the international conservation community, the Religion and Conservation Research Collaborative of the Religion and Conservation Biology Working Group of the Society for Conservation Biology crafted a policy statement on the religious practice of releasing captive wildlife for merit in July, 2012. As an offshoot of RCRC policy, an email forum involving more than 40 scientists and scholars from around the world culminated in the creation of the Animal Release Project with a goal of bringing the release practice in line with the principles of conservation biology so negative effects on biodiversity are diminished and eventually cease. This symposium is part of the project’s objectives--to arrive at a consensual and collaborative strategy between religious leaders, animal release practitioners, and conservation biologists to address animal release in Asia. Another major part on which we are working concurrently is the development of an educational strategy aimed at demonstrating the importance of ‘biodiversity friendly’ animal release in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China.

Quercus hinckleyi C.H. Mull. is listed as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and by the state of Texas and is identified as 'critically threatened' on the IUCN Red List. Its known range in the United States is limited to one county in West Texas. Among immediate threats are low number of populations combined with few individuals, asexual reproduction, wildlife herbivory and insect predation, and possible hybridization with other oak species. We used DNA microsatellite analysis of eight loci to assess the genetic status of Q. hinckleyi. Our findings are based on examination of over 200 samples from three separated locations. To assess the threat of hybrid swamping, we analyzed over 40 samples of putative hybridizing species. Within Q. hinckleyi samples analyzed from the three known locations in Texas, clonal reproduction was prevalent; among 70 ramets genotyped from two of the locations only ten genets existed and genets were not shared across these sites. While we did find a relatively high level of genetic diversity there is limited gene flow between the locations. The high level of asexual reproduction combined with the low levels of gene flow and evidence of hybridization make long-term survival a challenge. Extreme conservation strategies, including hand pollination, translocation of genets among remaining populations, and ex-situ methods such as in vitro propagation and cryopreservation may be necessary if this species is to be conserved.

Management of protected species requires spatially explicit information on their distribution and abundance, and how this varies over time. Satellite telemetry provides time-series information on individual movements, but these "presence-only" data have generally been ranked lower on management's data hierarchy than density estimates, which have mainly been derived from survey observations. Here, we demonstrate the development of absolute density estimates from satellite telemetry of endangered blue whales, and the increased utility of telemetry data for marine conservation and management. A state-space model was applied to 104 blue whale satellite tracks from 1994 to 2008 to account for errors in the locations. We output daily positions and integrated these with remotely sensed environmental data as a proxy for prey availability. A generalized additive mixed model was applied to determine the probability of occurrence, and then scaled by the population abundance to estimate absolute densities. These densities were comparable to those derived from survey modeled densities. We were additionally able to increase the time period and resolution of density predictions from that currently available, which will allow management to more accurately examine the overlap with potentially harmful human activities. Our approach could be applied to other protected populations and species for which telemetry data is available, and further inform policies to reduce human impacts.