Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
The marginal benefits of systematic over opportunistic establishment
of protected areas are rarely measured, even though this information is
crucial to investing limited conservation resources effectively. We took
a predictive approach to comparing the outcomes of opportunistic and
systematic selection of marine protected areas (MPAs) in Fiji, where
ambitious national conservation goals for inshore marine waters rely on
community-based actions for implementing the required management. We
used data on established MPAs and key informant interviews to simulate
the opportunistic expansion of community-based MPAs, and used Marxan
with Zones to systematically design an optimal MPA network, both with
the same constraints on location and extent of MPAs. The opportunistic
approach achieved quantitative conservation objectives for half the habitats,
while all objectives were achieved or nearly achieved with the systematic
approach. Despite these differences, a merging of opportunistic and
systematic approaches will be necessary to combine strategic perspectives
with acceptance by communities.
2011-12-09 15:30 Habitat selection by brown bears in Deosai National
Park, Pakistan, and implications for park management
Muhammad Ali Nawaz*, Department of Wildlife and Ecology,
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Outfall Road, Lahore,
Pakistan; Jodie Martin, Department of Ecology and Natural Resource
Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Post Box 5003,
NO-1432 Ås, Norway; Jon E. Swenson, Université de Lyon,
F-69000, Lyon ; Université Lyon 1 ; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire
de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France;
The Himalayan brown bear is threatened and has a fragmented range in
the Himalayas, yet its habit requirements are not known. We investigated
habitat selection of brown bears and the impact of human disturbance factors
in Deosai National Park, Pakistan. An Ecological Niche Factor Analysis
indicated that bears avoided higher elevations and steeper slopes and selected
more productive parts of the park (marshy, grassy, and stony vegetation
types). Only 65% of the park area was vegetatively productive, with a
standing crop of about 900 kg dry matter/km2. The marshy vegetation
was the most preferred habitat, probably because it had the highest forage
production and density of golden marmots. Brown bears tolerated human
infrastructures, like roads and camps, but strongly avoided grazing areas
with high livestock density. The habitat suitability map generally followed
the biomass productivity patterns of the park. It indicated the central part
as suitable, and classified half of the park, mainly peripheral areas, as not
suitable for brown bears. The vegetation and habitat suitability maps provide
an objective criterion for evaluating present and future developments in the
park. Until recently, communities seem to have used the park’s resources
without significantly affecting the brown bear population. However in
recent years a large influx of livestock by nomad grazers has become a major
challenge, which needs urgent attention to continue the present brown bear
population recovery and to secure its habitat. We recommend monitoring
the livestock and a detailed inventory of the rangeland to understand grazing
dynamics in the park and to maintain sustainable stocking rates.
2011-12-08 14:45 Stomped by seabirds or ripped by rats? How colonial
seabirds and invasive rodents differ in selection filters they impose on
island vegetation
Mulder, CPH*, University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA; Bellingham,
PJ, Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand; Grant-Hoffman,
MN, Bureau of Land Management, Grand Junction, USA;
What traits allow seeds and seedlings to survive in the midst of a seabird
colony? What traits make them vulnerable to non-native rodents? The filters
placed on seeds and seedlings by native seabirds and invasive rodents will
determine the characteristics of plant communities that emerge following
the invasion of seabird islands by rodents and their subsequent eradication.
We test the hypothesis that characteristics that make seedlings tolerant of
burial and trampling by seabirds – such as large seed size and rapid seedling
growth – also make them vulnerable to rat consumption. We focus on 12
woody plant species commonly found on New Zealand islands, and examine
how morphological and chemical characteristics of seeds and seedlings
relate to experimentally-determined measures of vulnerability to burial and
trampling by seabirds and herbivory by rats. Species differed greatly in their
vulnerability to these sources of mortality. Some, primarily those with tiny
seeds (< 2 mg), were present in high numbers in the seed bank but negatively
affected by seabird burial, a second set with medium-sized seeds was absent
where rats are present but increased with seabird density, and a third group
of primarily larger-seeded plants (> 500 mg) was unaffected by rats or
seabirds. If, as results suggest, seabirds and invasive rodents impose filters of
different shapes on plant communities, then the ability of seabird islands to
recover naturally following rodent eradication may be limited.
2011-12-08 18:30 Evidence-based management of rhino conservation
and tourism in Namibia’s northwest communal lands
Muntifering, J.R.*, Minnesota Zoo & Save the Rhino Trust; Loutit,
R., Save the Rhino Trust; Uri-Khob, S., Save the Rhino Trust; Brell,
B., Save the Rhino Trust; Kasaona, K., Save the Rhino Trust; Bakkes,
C., Wilderness Safaris; Beytell, P., Ministry of Environment and
Tourism; du Preez, P., Ministry of Environment and Tourism
In northwestern Namibia’s communal lands, rhino-based tourism has
emerged as a key mechanism to secure the world’s largest free-ranging
population of black rhino (Diceros bicornis bicornis) by providing
incentives for local communities to trade-off valuable livestock pasture for
rhino wilderness and sustainable financing to support anti-poaching and
population monitoring efforts. However, unregulated tourism activities
may alternatively result in unduly disturbed rhino becoming displaced into
marginal, at-risk, and/or inaccessible habitat threatening sustainability.
We piloted a rhino-based tourism model informed by an evidence-based
adaptive management framework for rhino conservation and enterprise
development objectives. Logistic models incorporating rhino viewing data
produced a viewing protocol that resulted in only 10% of rhinos becoming
displaced during tourist viewing events while 93% of paying tourists were
more than satisfied with the experience. Patterns in population-level rhino
movement illustrated displacement from areas used chronically by vehicles.
A rotational use strategy was therefore implemented resulting in increased
sighting success and fewer full days out searching for rhino. Findings suggest
that the sustainability of rhino-based tourism as a dual conservation and
rural development strategy will require a regional perspective to ensure rhino
remain secure in suitable, low-risk and accessible areas and the commitment
from communities for rhino conservation endures.
2011-12-07 18:15 The predictability of infection: weather-driven
simulations of pathogen proliferation help explain patterns of endemic
chytridiomycosis
Murray, K. A.*, University of Queensland; Skerratt, L. F., James
Cook University; Garland, S., James Cook University; Kriticos, D.,
CSIRO Entomology and the Cooperative Research Centre for National
Plant Biosecurity; McCallum, H., Griffith University;
The amphibian disease chytridiomycosis, which can cause species extinctions,
is strongly influenced by environmental conditions. For this reason, climate
change has been implicated in its global epidemic emergence. One hypothesis
to explain this is that simple weather-driven pathogen proliferation is a major
driver of disease dynamics, but explicit tests of this influential hypothesis
are scarce. We thus developed a simple mechanistic model to simulate the
growth of the pathogen under varying weather conditions to see how well
it could predict infection patterns in wild amphibians. We found strong
support for several predictions of the proliferation hypothesis when applied
to our model species, Litoria pearsoniana, sampled extensively in the wild
in south-eastern Queensland: the weather-driven simulations of pathogen
growth potential were positively related to both the prevalence and intensity
of Bd infections. This allowed much improved prediction of positive disease
results. Hence, while intrinsic traits of the individuals sampled (species, sex)
remain important for understanding infection patterns, our results strongly
suggest that weather-linked pathogen proliferation plays a key role in the
infection dynamics of endemic chytridiomycosis. Predictive applications of
the model include surveillance design, outbreak preparedness and response,
climate change scenario modelling and the interpretation of historical
patterns of amphibian decline.
2011-12-06 15:30 Massive losses of intertidal mudflats in East Asia
detected by remote sensing
Murray, NJ*, University of Queensland; Clemens, R, University of
Queensland; Fuller, RF, University of Queensland;
Rapid urbanisation and expansion of aquaculture are driving reclamation
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