Designing robust marine reserves under uncertainty: trading off socio-economic costs against the risk of failing to meet conservation targets

Conservation planners should consider uncertainty associated with ecological data to minimize their effects and make informed decisions. Maps of conservation features are subject to high error, though this is rarely accounted for in conservation decision-making. We present a novel reserve design method that accounts for uncertainty in coral reef habitat data from the Kubulau fisheries management area, Fiji, balancing ecological and socio-economic objectives, and trading-off important attributes of conservation planning: risk, representation, and cost. We use the probability of occurrence of each habitat (mapping accuracy), derived from remote sensing data, to design marine reserve networks with a high chance of protecting every habitat. We compare this with a standard reserve design approach, and present 4 key results: 1) including mapping accuracy changes the location of priority conservation areas, with errors of omission and commission likely if mapping accuracy is ignored; 2) reserve networks with a high chance of protecting all habitats cost more, but are less risky as they are unlikely to miss representation targets; 3) less costly reserve networks are possible if we triage low accuracy habitats; and 4) increasing the probability of all habitats meeting targets from 50% to 99% would cost fishers less than an estimated 1% of their total income. Uncertainty should be explicitly accounted for in all decisions to maximize the chance of successful conservation outcomes.

Pollution has reduced submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the Chesapeake Bay to a fraction of its historic abundance and distribution. SAV serves important ecological functions in the Bay, providing food and habitat to other species and affecting nutrient cycling, sediment stability, and shoreline erosion. The Environmental Protection Agency recently established Total Maximum Daily Load values for pollution levels that are predicted to increase SAV distribution by improving water clarity. We used the dioecious SAV species Vallisneria americana to determine the effect of water clarity on growth rate, expansion rate, and ecosystem benefits. Individuals from three genetic regions within the bay were grown in the target TMDL water clarity level and two levels above to measure growth, sexual and vegetative reproduction, and palatability which affect ecological function. We found that water clarity does not affect plant presence (X2=4.62, p=0.099), but caused a significant difference in horizontal expansion (ramet production, F=4.8, p=0.009) and vertical growth (leaf length, F=7.69, p=0.00061). A light level above the TMDL target had the greatest horizontal growth. Among treatments, the source population, sex, and genotype affected horizontal growth and genotype affected vertical growth. Our results will determine the effectiveness of current pollution restrictions and help to inform the public about the importance of the TMDL.

Fish health can be a key indicator of ecosystem health, with fish species such as the brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) serving as sentinels of environmental quality. Decades of fish sampling to monitor tumors in brown bullheads in Lake Erie have not yet successfully identified the cause of external tumors in this sentinel species, and the unresolved issue remains a stumbling-block in delisting Great Lakes Areas of Concern. A general explanatory model and review of potential causes of external tumors in brown bullhead indicate possible involvement of microbial and other agents, as well as genetically-based immunodeficiencies. We summarize progress to-date in the development of genetic markers and genetic characterization of brown bullhead (with and without tumors) from Lake Erie sites presenting varied histories of environmental degradation.

Sea urchin Echinometra mathaei is a burrower species that excavates limestone to live inside after they settle from larval stage. Niche sharing inside sea urchins' burrows with some other species has been well-known. Interestingly, based on various researches, Okinawan Echinometra mathaei should be divided into 4 types: Type A, B, C, and D, which the last three types are burrower and the first one is not. The associated fauna of 3 habitats (Type A as non-burrower sea urchin, Type B as burrower sea urchin, and burrow without sea urchin) were compared in this study. Not less than 29 species were found in 303 unit habitats. Species richness of fauna found in burrow without sea urchin was the lowest, whilst that of non-burrower and burrower sea urchin was not significantly different. This result revealed that instead of the burrow, even the sea urchin itself takes a role as habitat for their associates. As the conclusion is that the presence of sea urchin Echinometra mathaei is important in preserving biodiversity.

There is widespread belief that solving the pressing environmental issues of our time requires the participation of academics from all disciplines. However, carving out a life in the Ivory Tower means meeting the expectations of colleagues, chairs, directors, deans and all the rest. It is not obvious how helping to solve a real-world problem can translate into the kudos needed to achieve tenure and promotion. So how to do it? What are the tips and tricks of the trade that allow you to follow your heart and save the world, while still ensuring success in the Ivory Tower? I'll distill the experiences of some of the world’s most successful conservation academics, along with my own experiences, to get the conversation started.

Large-scale environmental issues, patterns and processes are difficult to understand and visualize. The larger the spatial scale of an issue, the more challenging it is to effectively monitor, manage and address. Larger-scale issues affect more species and habitats, and require more detailed and up to date information to attend them. Problems affecting larger areas must be considered in a larger context often occurring across jurisdictional and ownership boundaries, requiring an integrated approach to obtain successful results. With the use of the aerial perspective much can be accomplished including but no limited to: 1) a better understanding of the interconnections between species and habitats, 2) comprehensive monitoring of vast and remote areas from a small plane is cost effective and requires less time, 3) threats and opportunities can be identified, documented and presented to the public more effectively. From the air, political boundaries are invisible, providing an excellent opportunity for stakeholders to reach consensus, find solutions and opt for better conservation practices. This presentation will focus on two cases studies (Klamath River Basin in OR, USA and the Delta of Rio Colorado in Mexico) where the use of the aerial perspective has been instrumental in leading successful and collaborative conservation campaigns.

Hawaii's coastal plain wetlands are inhabited by five endangered endemic waterbird species. These include the Hawaiian Coot, Hawaiian Duck, Hawaiian Stilt, Hawaiian Gallinule (Moorhen), and Hawaiian Goose. All five species are categorized as being "conservation reliant". The current strategy to recover these endangered birds includes land protection and active management. To assess the effectiveness of the current management paradigm, we compared species population trends across the state to those on six actively managed wetland National Wildlife Refuges (Refuges) thought to be critical for the survival of these endangered species. To perform the evaluation we relied on systematic semiannual population counts that have been conducted across most wetlands in the state and monthly population counts have occurred on the six Refuges during the same time period. We found that statewide and Refuge populations of these five endangered bird species have rebounded from historic lows and over that last 20 years have slowly increased or remained stable. We also documented that Refuges are important to each species year-round and that a disproportionate percentage of the population for each species is found on them. Our understanding of why Refuges successfully house a disproportionate percentage of these "conservation reliant" species can inform current conservation efforts and increase long-term population viability for these species.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) manages offshore energy development in federal waters, including wind development. To prevent or minimize potential impacts to birds from wind development on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) it is important to understand how birds use the Atlantic OCS and synthesize this data for environmental assessments and decision-makers. In furtherance of this goal BOEM's Environmental Studies Program has supported a number of avian studies. Many were developed and implemented through partnerships?find out how you might become involved. Examples include: shipboard seabird surveys (with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Manomet Center for Conservation Science, and the College of Staten Island/City University of New York); a pilot study of aerial, high-definition imagery surveys; a joint, multi-year survey effort for marine protected species, including seabirds, along the East Coast with NOAA and FWS; development of automated analysis of bird vocalizations recordings; a study on potential interactions of endangered, threatened and candidate bird species with offshore wind including tracking of red knots; and a database that compiles georeferenced seabird and shorebird information for the entire Atlantic Coast (with USGS, FWS and others), including data from above-mentioned studies.

The world is undergoing exceptional biodiversity loss, particularly in biodiversity hotspots. Most conservation efforts target these areas of exceptional endemic richness. Their identification is often carried at global/continental scales, thus likely missing regional patterns and small sized rich areas, i.e. local hotspots. The Sahara desert provides an excellent example. Generally, it is a species-poor area, but locally it exhibits high species richness in small and fragile humid habitats, like mountain lagoons. In Mauritania, recent studies have emphasized the conservation importance of these habitats, as they hold endemic fauna and range-margin populations of widely distributed species. We identified micro-hotspots of biodiversity, where high concentrations of species are threatened by human pressures and/or climate change, located in mountain rock pools (locally known as gueltas) of Mauritania (West Africa). The size of gueltas ranges between 0.001 ha and 1.0 ha and they concentrate about 36% of all Mauritanian vertebrates. The seasonal character of these habitats and relatively intense human use threatens biodiversity. Gueltas are crucial for long-term conservation of Mauritanian biodiversity. The patterns identified may be representative for all mountains of Sahara desert, where high concentrations of species are expected to be found in restricted and small sized gueltas. Such features constitute micro-hotspots of biodiversity deserving global attention.

We provide an overview of roadless areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, identifying both where they are and the threats that they face. We then discuss limitations of the Google Maps dataset with respect to identifying roadless areas in the region. Not surprisingly, the main roadless areas coincide with some of the region's known wilderness areas: Honduras/Nicaragua border, the Amazon, the Atacama Desert, and Patagonia.The Amazon is specifically important, housing the largest tracks of roadless tropical rainforestsin the world, with ca. 84% of its area (~5,420,000 km2) at least 50 km away from a major road. In the Amazon, as in other tropical rainforests worldwide, the main threat from roads is not direct impact on wildlife such as road kills, but the access that roads provide to pristine areas, which catalyzes uncontrolled colonization. To measure adequately the “roadless” character of the region, what is needed is not a map of roads per se, but rather a map of access routes. Current data for the region are deficient in this regard, failing to capture the actual status of existing roads and in adequately incorporating river access, which is crucial for a region such as the Amazon.

Decision makers in conservation biology often have to make trade-offs about how to spend resources while dealing with considerable uncertainty. This uncertainty can be reduced by gathering more information about the system through monitoring. However, this extra knowledge does not always contribute to better decision making, meaning that resources spent on monitoring could have been spent elsewhere. This study investigated the case of creating new wetlands in Melbourne, Australia. These wetlands were created to offset urbanisation by reducing the extinction risk of an endangered frog (Litoria raniformis). The management question was to determine the number of new wetlands that need to be created to offset losses due to urbanisation. A stochastic patch occupancy model was used to describe the metapopulation dynamics of the frog. We investigated whether gathering more information about these dynamics contributed to the optimal decision. A simulation was run using different amounts of data and assuming particular costs for data collection and wetland creation. Results show that increasing the amount of data does not always change the estimate of the optimal number of extra wetlands. With this case study we conclude that the benefit of increasing the knowledge about a system will not always outweigh the cost of gathering the extra information.

The Sierra Norte of Oaxaca (SNO) is an often targeted area for systematic conservation planning because of its high biodiversity and absence of formal reserves. The sub-region is a part of the Mesoamerican Pine-Forest Ecoregion with the World Wildlife Fund. Conservation International has named the sub-region as a Mesoamerican Forest hotspot as well as a hotspot for Madrean Pine-Oak Forests. Regionally, communities on two separate occasions in the Sierra Norte have democratically voted against the creation of Biosphere Reserves that would have included their community lands. Yet, despite their refusal of government reserves, this sub-region of SNO composed of seven communities has maintained high forest cover from 78% to 95% on communal forest lands despite widely varying land uses, settlement patterns, economic marginalization, population densities and long historic habitation. The study communities are analyzed by classifying them into four pathways that have all resulted in high forest cover: 1) successful community forest management and economic diversification 2) Farming communities with large territories and smaller areas of community forest management 3) Farming communities in tropical forests without community forest management and 4) Small, recently established farming communities in tropical forests.

Social networks play an important role in facilitating effective and sustained connections between regional systematic conservation plans and local conservation actions. Yet, social network analysis has not been incorporated into conservation planning initiatives, even though social network analysis has developed as a structured approach to identify characteristics of social networks that make them more or less effective at solving resource management problems. We discuss three contributions of social network analysis to conservation planning: (1) identifying stakeholders and their roles in social networks and characterizing relationships between them; (2) designing and facilitating strategic networking to strengthen linkages between local and regional resource management; and (3) prioritizing management and conservation actions using social connectivity measures alongside ecological data. Using data on coral reef areas in the Solomon Islands and a measure of the network centrality of NGOs operating in those areas, we found that Marxan identified high-biodiversity areas that were more likely to gain conservation implementation considering the network connections of NGOs working there. We propose that social network analysis can be a valuable tool to inform decision making in conservation planning, and identify challenges and future research questions to be addressed before social network analysis can be fully operationalized into conservation planning processes.

The Species Classification Regulation (CER) of Chile, offers protection to species, subspecies and significant population segments of vertebrate species at risk to allow to the Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) to manage in a flexible and pragmatic way the threatened species. The Burrowing parrot is considered a vulnerable species (VU) in its southern distribution range and as Endangered (EN) in its northern range. We perform an assessment of the population status of the species in the northern end of its distribution by focusing on monthly census in the cliffs of breeding colonies and foraging sites from 2010 to 2012 and compared with past census periods (1987-1990 ). The population sizes are significantly higher than those recorded in the past (1987-1990: 109.7 ± 39.4 vs. 2010-2012: 950.7 ± 303.5), reaching over 1200 individuals in the most important reproductive cliffs in the area during 2012. This and other studies would realize a population greater than 2700 individuals in the northern distribution range of the species which would merit a change in status from EN to VU. Currently, the restrictions to work with endangered species, imposed by SAG, prevent even conducting research necessary for the conservation of the species. The status change would allow greater flexibility in the application of the norm and allow the research necessary to facilitate the conservation of the species in its northern range

Migratory birds utilize a variety of stopover habitats while on migration between their breeding and wintering grounds. One important set of habitats that are often neglected in these investigations, however, are those which fall within urban areas. These urban habitats include parks, disturbed habitats, residential areas, and natural areas. The Milwaukee BIOME (Biodiversity Monitoring and Education) project is a community partnership that formed to assess habitat use and quality of urban green spaces in Milwaukee County as stopover sites for migratory birds and bats. Over the course of seven years, the project has been successful in tapping into community networks and resources to provide quality research and monitoring experiences for close to 1,000 volunteers. The latest phase of this project has been to identify available resources such as e-bird and citsci.org and community partners such as the Urban Ecology Center, the University of Minnesota's Driven to Discover project and the Citizen-based Monitoring Network to provide opportunities for citizen scientists of all ages to analyze, visualize and present data. This presentation will look at the Milwaukee BIOME project as a case study in best practices for engaging the public in academic and applied research.

Marine resource management includes the difficult task of weighing conservation and social needs resulting in decisions that affect natural resources and people’s livelihoods. Therefore, management decisions must be based on the best available information. However, with increasingly complex pressures like climate change, ocean acidification, sea level rise and the widespread effects of overfishing, and a rapidly growing pool of data on how marine ecosystems function, interpreting the best available information for decision making can prove daunting if not outright paralyzing. Ecosystem health report cards are increasingly touted as the path forward for science informed decision making. However, designing and developing an effective report card is a complex undertaking. In this presentation I will introduce the overarching theme of this symposium and highlight some of the important considerations in report card development, including process steps, expert selection, policy drivers, and communications tools. This talk provides the framing for exploring successes and failures in report cards from around the world.