Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
When interviewing and drawing maps, inaccuracies can occur due to recall,
miscommunication or a lack of clearly defined landmarks in areas such
as dense neotropical forest. When accompanying individuals, researchers
may alter their behaviour, for example, by slowing normal activities. A
simple alternate method was used to study patterns of local resource use
in a Waorani community within Yasuní National Park, Ecuador. Members
of the community were trained in the use of an inexpensive GPS receiver
loaded with the program Cybertracker which provides a straightforward
user interface. The receiver tracked the path of individuals when carried
into the forest and a simple questionnaire was conducted before and after a
forest trip to provide context. Borrowing from studies of animal movement
behaviour, net squared displacement was used to understand resource use
in the community by comparing hunting trips with other uses of the forest.
This approach benefits the researcher, but also allows the community to
develop GIS skills and gives greater ownership of investigations.
2011-12-09 12:15 PROJECT ECHO: An Initiative Aimed At Engaging
Urban Society In The Conservation Of Cryptic Long-Tailed Bats
(Chalinolobus tuberculatus)
PARIS, BEN*, Project Echo; Le Roux, Darren, Department of
Conservation;
The threatened long-tailed bat (Chalinolobus tuberculatus) is one of
only two endemic bat species in New Zealand which are the only native
terrestrial mammals in the country. This species is widely distributed
but it is only recently that bats have been discovered to use humandominated
ecosystems including cities like Hamilton and even Auckland.
The main threat facing cryptic local populations is ongoing destruction
and fragmentation of habitats used by foraging and roosting bats (e.g.
old-growth native and exotic trees). Project Echo is a grassroots multiorganisational
bat conservation initiative with three main objectives: 1.)
Public bat education and involvement; 2.) Development of a comprehensive
bat distribution database with ongoing acoustic bat monitoring; and
3.) Undertaking innovative bat research. Through Project Echo we have
successfully increased local awareness of bat conservation efforts through
media coverage, a factsheet, interactive website and social networking
as well as holding regular talks and bat sighting tours. Trials of artificial
bat houses at select habitats are also underway. Here we present some
research findings undertaken through Project Echo and demonstrate how
a collaborative multi-agency approach can engage an urban society in the
conservation of this cryptic species.
2011-12-06 14:40 Role of Free-Ranging Mammals in the Deposition
of Escherichia coli into a Texas Floodplain
Parker, ID*, Texas A&M University; Lopez, RR, Texas A&M
University; Padia, R, Texas A&M University; Gallagher, M, Texas
A&M University; Karthikeyan, R, Texas A&M University; Cathey,
JC, Texas A&M University; Silvy, NJ, Texas A&M University;
Davis, DS, Texas A&M University
The role of wildlife in fecal pollution of water bodies (deposition of
Escherichia coli (E. coli)) is not well understood. Although water quality
studies incorporate wildlife data, it often lacks a clear connection between
wildlife density and E. coli deposition. Our goal for this research was to
determine the impact of free-ranging mammals (in general and speciesspecific)
on E. coli loads in a floodplain. Objectives of this research were to
determine the density of important free-ranging wildlife in the study area,
estimate fecal deposition rates, and determine fecal E. coli loads for each
species. We conducted a comprehensive literature review to determine fecal
deposition rates for important mammals. We conducted mark-recapture
and mark-resight population density estimates (2008–2009) for mesoand
large mammals in the study areas. We found that raccoons (Procyon
lotor) contributed the most E. coli load into the floodplain followed by
feral hogs (Sus scrofa), Virginia opossums (Didelphis virginiana), and
white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Raccoons, Virginia opossums,
and white-tailed deer are complicated to manage for water quality. As a
highly destructive invasive exotic species, feral hogs are the natural choice
for intensive management.
2011-12-07 11:30 Advocacy, Opportunities and Challenges; Engaging
the Public in Conservation Translocations
Parker, K.A.*, Massey University; Saunders, A.J., Landcare
Research;
Despite frequent use as a tool for the management of threatened and
endangered wildlife, the full benefits of conservation translocations often
go unrealized. Here, we demonstrate how translocations provide a means
for increasing public engagement in conservation along with meeting
management and scientific objectives. The prospect of reintroducing a
species is a strong motivator for community based restoration projects. It
provides a goal to work towards, an immediate and tangible outcome for
their efforts and a means for intimate involvement in practical conservation.
There is no denying the impact on people of close contact with wildlife but
community involvement also facilitates the communication of conservation
science, and the wide dissemination of conservation issues, good and bad.
We use a variety of restoration and translocation projects to illustrate how
this is occurring, along with discussing the challenges and opportunities
inherent in public participation in conservation.
2011-12-09 18:00 An Integrated Approach for Predicting Fates of
Reintroductions using Demographic Data from Multiple Populations
Parlato, EH*, Massey University; Armstrong, DP, Massey University;
It is crucial to develop reliable models for reintroduced populations.
Here, we present a novel approach whereby demographic data collected
from multiple reintroductions are integrated into a Bayesian model. This
integrated approach allows more precise projections to be made for existing
populations, especially those with sparse data, and allows a priori projections
that account for random site-to-site variation to be made before new
reintroductions are attempted. We used data from 10 reintroductions of the
North Island robin (Petroica longipes), an endemic New Zealand passerine,
to restoration sites where exotic mammals are controlled. Comparison of
candidate models showed that rat tracking rate (probability of a rat passing
through a baited tunnel in 24 hours) was a useful predictor of fecundity and
adult female survival, that two landscape variables were useful predictors
of apparent juvenile survival (probably due to differential dispersal out
of the reserves), and that there was unexplained random variation among
sites in all demographic rates. Using the two best supported models, we
obtained distributions for the finite rate of increase of the 10 populations
under different levels of rat control, and for a proposed reintroduction site.
The methods can be easily applied to other species with similar threats and
biological characteristics, but can also be adapted to any species where postrelease
data on demographic rates are available.
2011-12-07 11:00 Big tropical floodplain forest systems around the
world – what do we know?
Parolin, Pia*, University of Hamburg, Biodiversity of Plants;
Floodplain forests bear immense species diversity and are major resources
for water and food. However, despite the extreme value of big freshwater
floodplains around the world, very little is known about their functioning,
which makes conservation issues difficult. Our understanding of floodplain
forest ecology and main ecological parameters, such as tree regeneration,
growth and physiology, seedling establishment, or triggers for phenological
events, is very limited. The present contribution aims at highlighting
the state of our knowledge of tropical freshwater floodplains in three
big tropical systems across continents, i.e. Amazonia in South America,
the Okavango Delta in Africa, and the Mekong River in Asia. These
floodplains are dominated by a characteristic flood-pulse with predictable
natural inundations to which the organisms are adapted. The little available
data – especially for the African and Asian wetlands – show that many
functional traits and responses to the flood follow similar patterns in the
diverse ecosystems, e.g. many species reduce growth and productivity
in the flooded period, and shed leaves. For urgently needed floodplain
conservation, more information is needed using reproducible comparative
methods. In the light of climatic change, with increasing drought events,
decreased groundwater availability and flooding periodicities, and human
impacts such as overpopulation, dam-building, logging, etc., this knowledge
is needed ever more urgently to facilitate fast and appropriate management
responses.
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