Population dynamics of a forest ungulate respond to winter severity and timber harvest

Changes to habitat and climate can strongly influence wildlife population dynamics, including species of high ecological, economic, and cultural importance such as ungulates. We examine the effect of timber harvest and variable winter weather on deer in the coastal temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska. Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) are the dominant herbivore, and a vital protein source for subsistence hunters. Timber harvest plans for the Tongass National Forest incorporate deer density into management goals, but exclude environmental variability from calculations. We derived vital rates from life history data for 63 adult and 154 juveniles, and population growth rates from matrix-based life table response experiments. Timber-harvested areas produced a lower population growth rate than unharvested areas (λ = 1.06 and 1.12), explained primarily by variability in juvenile survival and adult female fecundity. Variability in winter severity produced population growth rates ranging from 1.20 to 0.84, driven primarily by variability in juvenile survival and young adult fecundity. Climate models predict increasing winter severity and stochasticity; along with continuing timber harvest this may reduce future deer populations. Our results suggest that future timber harvest plans in the Tongass National Forest should incorporate stochastic climate into deer population models.

The transition from the last ice age to our current interglacial was a time of widespread environmental upheaval, including the arrival of humans to North America, warming temperatures punctuated by rapid climatic events, melting ice sheets, and the extinction of 34 genera of megafauna. Meanwhile, plant species underwent extensive individualistic shifts in their ranges and abundances in response to these global changes. This talk approaches “conserving the stage” (e.g., using geophysical units in conservation) from a paleoecological perspective, using a case study of the formation of widespread novel communities in the Great Lakes region from 14,500 to 12,500 BP. To test the role of the end-Pleistocene extinctions in the formation of “no-analog” plant associations, we present several lake sediment records of fossil pollen and charcoal to reconstruct vegetation and fire history. The timing of megafaunal collapse is established using spores from the dung fungus Sporormiella preserved in sediments. Our results show that novel climates and the loss of keystone megaherbivores gave rise to widespread novel plant associations and altered fire regimes. The natural experiments of the past reveal that communities assemble and disassemble frequently in response to global change, and that such transitions may be rapid (i.e., <50 years). Our work speaks to the need to consider keystone species and novel communities in developing conservation frameworks during a period of global change.

Commercial whale-watching began in 1955 and today engages over 9 million tourists in 87 countries. The Dominican Republic has the largest whale-watching industry in the Caribbean. This study investigated the conservation knowledge and opinions of whale-watching tourists in Samaná, Dominican Republic through 485 questionnaires collected from January 26 to March 10, 2009. Specifically, the knowledge and opinions of tourists viewing the northwest stock of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were assessed regarding marine mammal conservation and education, threats to marine mammals and the potential impact of whale-watching. Respondents represented 34 countries with participants primarily from the United States, France, Canada and Germany. 13% of respondents stated they had some knowledge regarding conservation issues and the majority (82%) of respondents believed public education was 'important' or 'very important'. Tourists selected specific whale-watching trips based on whale sightings (68%) and educational opportunities (50%). Respondents' answered general knowledge questions correctly but the percentage of accurate responses decreased with more detailed questions. More boat-based education programs by qualified individuals should be offered by whale-watching companies to increase the awareness and knowledge of whale-watching tourists in the Dominican Republic. The data collected will help refine these education programs.

The Adirondack Park is often hailed as one of the great experiments in conservation, a place that appears to contain ample habitat for both humans and wildlife. Where these habitats converge, however, impacts to ecological systems and communities can be significant. Low density exurban development is often perceived as benign. Because houses are spread out and the matrix remains in the original ecosystem type, effects to wildlife are assumed to be minimal. A growing body of work suggests the opposite. We have engaged in a number of studies to understand the impacts to wildlife from exurban development in the Adirondacks. Across various scales and taxa, we have explored the size of the ecological impact zone that surrounds exurban homes, the difference between ecological communities in subdivisions and control areas, the changes to wildlife communities that occur after a new home has been constructed, and how these impacts vary between the heavily forested Adirondack landscape and more open landscapes of the Rocky Mountain West. Our results suggest that, although the physical footprint of exurban development is small, effects to wildlife can extend up to 200m into surrounding forest, occur quite rapidly, result in similar impacts to varying taxonomic groups, and result in similar changes in disparate ecosystems. We collaborate actively with regional and local planners to translate this and other science to improve land use planning and policy in the northeast.

Policymakers need salient, legitimate and credible evidence on the social and ecological impacts of efforts to conserve global biodiversity. Fuelled by calls for increased rigor in documenting the impact of conservation interventions, a cohort of quasi-experimental studies has begun to quantify the impacts of conservation. The breadth and scope of these studies remains limited, focusing on data-rich geographies, indicators and interventions. To lay the foundation for evidence-based conservation across a suite of real-world contexts we, describe a pragmatic approach to impact evaluation, grounded in theory and ongoing experience that simultaneously provides scientific insights and site-level guidance. Key characteristics of this approach include the use of research designs that enable causal inference but which are robust to limited secondary data, the broad definition of outcome metrics to capture both intended and unintended impacts and the ability to explore variation in impacts across social groups and spatiotemporal gradients. This approach is sufficiently robust to inform efforts to document and explain social impacts across myriad interventions, sociocultural and biogeographic settings. In so doing, it offers a mechanism for generating salient, legitimate and credible insights on the impact of conservation efforts to inform policy and practice.

Since the 1990s the American West has been one of the fastest growing regions in the United States, with "exurban" development occupying nearly five times more land than urban and suburban development combined. Few studies have addressed conservation issues associated with this widespread and rapid conversion of natural and agricultural lands to rural residential development. Understanding the effects of exurban development on biodiversity has important implications for public policy, conservation practice, connectivity, and land use planning. To assess exurban housing density impact on mammalian habitat use, wildlife cameras were placed along a housing density gradient in a rapidly growing rural region of Colorado. Species occupancy was measured in summer and winter seasons and these data were analyzed in conjunction with a novel, acoustic-based approach to assessing human presence. Impacts of exurban housing density varied by species, with some species showing decreased activity and occupancy levels at higher housing densities, whereas others occurred more frequently in these areas. In particular, some species appear to use greenbelts in exurban areas, which suggest that the configuration of homes may be as important as density. This study demonstrates that the impacts of housing density are species -dependent and that incorporating open spaces into development projects may be critical to supporting wildlife in a region that will likely see continued exurban expansion.

Participants in this session have advanced that agenda and will discuss the triumphs and pitfalls of managing nutrients, fisheries, and habitats in the Chesapeake Bay. Nutrient management plans for the Chesapeake watershed are some of the strictest in the nation. Fisheries managers are facilitating a shift from wild harvest to bivalve aquaculture and embarking upon one of the largest marine restoration projects ever. Stakeholders from crabbing and farming communities steward conservation activities to preserve the Chesapeake cultural legacy. Finally, the session will include a presentation about the Bay Game, a data-intensive, educational simulation game that incorporates the diverse stakeholders and complex issues of the Bay.

Traditionally, protected areas (PAs) are considered fail-safe means to conserve biodiversity and provide cultural resources. Although conservation practitioners and policy makers typically assume that PA boundaries are permanent, evidence suggests otherwise. Efforts to document 'protected area downgrading, downsizing, and degazettement' (PADDD) suggest that legal changes have been enacted since 1900 which have changed the size and strength of protected areas worldwide. We reviewed peer-reviewed and grey literature to document and analyze causes, trends, and patterns of PADDD in the United States. Over 2,000 PADDD events have been enacted or currently proposed in the United States from 1900 to the present, and have occurred in every decade across all federal agencies which manage public lands. In addition, we conducted a focused analysis of the landscape-level impacts of PADDD events on Yosemite National Park and the surrounding Sierra Nevada WWF ecoregion. Despite its high profile, Yosemite experienced two downsize events and one downgrade during its early history, the impacts of which can be measured today. In particular, these downsizes opened up 23% of the park's original area to infrastructure, forestry, and other industrial activities. Overall, the magnitude and pervasiveness of PADDD across space and time implies that even the most iconic protected areas should not be regarded as permanent fixtures on the landscape, but instead recognized as dynamic systems.

Avian communities are becoming increasingly important in conservation monitoring. As concerns over the loss of biodiversity continue, the demand for widespread and accessible taxa for monitoring programs has grown. In addition to broad-scale efforts, avian communities have been adopted in many smaller land management monitoring efforts. Birds are identifiable to a variety of stakeholders and they can provide information on both common and rare species in the same survey effort. Point counts are the most common method used to monitor avian communities. They offer many advantages, including comparison with long-term data sets and minimal field effort. Recent studies on point count surveys indicate that they may be heavily biased and not reliably representing avian communities. Double observer transects have emerged as an alternative that avoids many of the biases in point counts. We initiated a study in 2012 to compare these methods in sagebrush habitat. Our results suggest that the probability of detecting an individual was higher using double observer transect than point counts. These results are important when using avian communities to monitor management actions in sagebrush habitats where species abundance can vary widely between years and species richness is generally low. Even broad-scale land management in this habitat can result in fine-scale changes in species abundance and richness, so it is essential to have a reliable method to detect these fine-scale changes.

Biodiversity conservation includes preserving adequate representation of existing variability and phenotypic diversity is prevalent among most life forms. Melanism is a common phenotypic polymorphism in wild felids, occurring naturally in 13 of 36 species of the group and still little is known even about its frequency, geographic distribution and environmental adaptation. In leopards (Panthera pardus) we have recently identified its molecular basis, induced by a mutation in the ASIP gene. To further investigate the evolution, ecology and design conservation strategies, this study focuses on its spatial distribution throughout the species' range. We analyzed 428 individuals (45 melanistic and 383 non-melanistic) obtained from captures, camera-traps and pelts, using vegetation maps and protected areas as layers in a GIS model, aiming to assess association between landscapes and the phenotype presence. Melanism was recorded in low frequencies in Africa and Iran, in high frequencies in India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Malay Peninsula and Java Island and was absent in the Arabian Peninsula and in far eastern Asia. If affirmed, this pattern may reveal significant association to some habitats, possibly influenced by adaptive processes. Therefore, the analysis of the geographic distribution and relative frequency of polymorphic phenotypes may be more important for biological conservation assessments and useful to setting priority areas for endangered wild cats conservation.

Urban green spaces serve many functions, including provision of habitat for resident birds and insects. Green spaces also enhance the human community through aesthetics and the opportunity for people's interactions with nature. The purpose of this project was to develop an urban habitat for native butterfly and bird species and to develop a citizen science monitoring program. We designed and implemented a habitat garden in April 2012 at an elementary school located within a diverse ethnic neighborhood in Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA. We designed learning tools for children and their parents and began a butterfly monitoring program in August 2012. We summarize our garden program and the results of the 2012 fall butterfly survey. We present the most commonly observed species from the butterfly families Pieridae (Whites and Sulphurs), Nymphalidae (Brush footed Butterflies), and Hesperiidae (Skippers) as well as children's interests in observing a diversity of plant and animal species in the garden. We present our methods for collecting butterfly information from a student population that speaks 41 languages.

Corruption affects biodiversity conservation. Mechanisms that more effectively reform corruption and mitigate negative effects of corruption on conservation are needed, especially in biodiversity hotspots such as Madagascar. Local definitions of corrupt behavior, attitudes about reforms and motivations for noncompliance may generate deeper understanding about corruption, which in turn may advance the conservation community's thinking and invite new solutions. We conducted in-depth interviews with Malagasy residents living adjacent to the Makira/Masoala Conservation Area, querying perceptions about regional corruption, rules in use (i.e., social norms or rules in action), rule breaking and mechanisms for reform. Most participants framed noncompliance with conservation rules as a deficit/absence (e.g., lack of knowledge of rules), defined local corruption more as an omission of duty than a commission of crime, and discussed poverty, unfairness, and diverse rules in use related to corruption. Traditional framing of corruption singularly as a lack or absence of honesty and morality or as a normative phenomenon does not seem wholly accurate at reflecting, or for thinking about, the local context. Data herein allude such inaccuracy may be most noteworthy at the level of corruption reform. Rethinking corruption in conservation crime as a blend of dimensions may liberalize the suite of reform mechanisms available to conservationists.

CITES is the only international wildlife convention with regulatory authority, including through banning the international trade of a species. All trade transaction of CITES-listed species must be recorded and accompanied by a CITES permit. For amphibians, this method has been key and the only one to record their international trade at the species level and in specific numbers. The United States has a national system that records the imports/exports of amphibians [at the species level?], but it is often not accurate. The European Union does not record trade at the species level. Before a party to CITES issues a permit for a species, it must study the biological status of the species and other pertinent data. Unfortunately for amphibians, there is no information on a CITES permit to inform whether the species in trade carries spreadable diseases. What is the role of CITES in combating amphibian diseases? What are the responsibilities of a CITES party receiving specific species of infected animals? Which international organizations should be looking into this issue? These and other questions will be presented and discussed at the panel.

Several international efforts have, in recent years, tried to introduce expanded environmental valuation into policymaking around biodiversity use and conservation. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s Strategic Plan, for exampled, calls on Parties in multiple ways to develop better indicators of biodiversity state, pressure, and response, adding more economic accounting of the biodiversity's value. Most parts of the plan are voluntary, however, so implementation has varied dramatically, with relatively large success in a few countries and more limited progress in many others. The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is designed to provide an additional tool to evaluate and communicate these values to decision-makers, and outcomes from its first plenary session provide hints of the challenges and opportunities to achieve this. Efforts by the United Nations Statistics Division to harmonize environmental-economic accounting provide another opportunity, and we review progress and barriers to its implementation.

International agreements affecting the conservation of biological diversity include six core conventions, more specialized agreements, and others that have major impacts on conservation but were not negotiated as conservation agreements. In a globalizing world, it is essential that commerce, investment, and aid be sustaining of living natural resources or restorative, rather than depleting. We will discuss the major issues being addressed in the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. We will note the rising tide of responsible investment aided by United Nations’ bodies such as the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, the UNEP Finance Initiative and the Rio+20 agreements. We will flag some of the tools and roadblocks present in trade law. We will explore how the newly established Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services can bring new understanding to decision-makers in these and other bodies to better inform core terms of art in these and other agreements, both old and new.