Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
this paper we show how risk and uncertainty can be accommodated in
making optimal spatial conservation decisions. We illustrate these ideas
with examples of conservation plans that deal with: uncertainty about
cost, uncertainty driven by expert opinion or imprecise statistical models,
uncertainty driven by climate change and risk driven by catastrophic
events. We show how risk aversion can be readily accommodated in the
prioritization process using mathematical concepts and modifications to the
software, Marxan.
2011-12-06 15:15 Phylogeography of the brachyotis group of rockwallabies
identifies two regions to focus conservation management in
northern Australia
Potter, S*, The University of Adelaide; Eldridge, MDB, Australian
Museum; Taggart, DA, Conservation Ark, Royal Zoological Society of
South Australia; Cooper, SJB, South Australian Museum;
Northern Australia in recent times has been exposed to human impacts
including increased fire frequency and intensity, introduction of the
cane toad, mining, cattle grazing and introduction of feral animals. Such
issues have cause for concern, with declines in the faunal species and
their distributions. A major challenge for implementation of conservation
management is understanding the biogeographical processes that have
lead to current distributions of genetic diversity without knowledge of
past climatic and environmental fluctuations. Utilization of molecular
data to answer phylogeographical questions for taxa has been a major
development in tackling some of these difficult questions. Here, we used
the brachyotis group of rock-wallabies to assess the historical evolutionary
and biogeographical processes in northern Australia. Multiple biogeographic
barriers across the monsoonal tropics were identified from sequencing
three mitochondrial and two nuclear loci. Our results have identified two
main regions of past refugia which require focus for future conservation
management across this biodiversity hotspot within Australia. In addition,
other minor barriers were identified where localized management could be
put in place. These results, when compared to previous knowledge, indicate
a shared biogeographical history amongst diverse taxa and significant regions
for future biodiversity conservation.
2011-12-08 18:30 Genetic Status of 2 Isolated Populations Following a
96% Population Decline
Powell, Christopher P*, Central Michigan University; Nelson,
Eric, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Swanson, Bradley
J, Central Michigan University;
Sharp-tailed Grouse have declined precipitously throughout their range in
the mid-western USA. The species is almost extirpated in Wisconsin and
Michigan. Between 1980 and 1995 the Sharp-tailed Grouse in Minnesota
declined 95% (n=60,000 to n=2,500) and exists in geographically isolated
eastern and western populations. This type of dramatic decline can increase
inbreeding and threaten the longevity and adaptability of a population.
Using 6 microsatellite loci we evaluated the genetic status of the Sharptailed
Grouse following their recent bottleneck. We found genetic evidence
for only 1 population in Minnesota. FIS is significantly higher (W=21,
p=0.03) in the smaller eastern population (0.29) than in the larger western
population (0.04). Observed heterozygosity was high for both populations
(east=0.58, west=0.73) and the west was significantly higher than the
east (W=0, p=0.03). The program Bottleneck indicated that a bottleneck
occurred in the eastern population (p=0.007) but not the western (p=0.05)
despite retaining an L-shaped distribution of allele frequency. Our results
suggest that the populations have not yet differentiated but likely face
genetic difficulties in the near future. We recommend surveys of suitable
habitat between populations to assess whether or not individuals are moving.
If no movement is found, we recommend reciprocal translocations between
populations to prevent differentiation and reduce inbreeding levels.
2011-12-06 11:15 Effect of Forest Age and Burn History on the Recovery
of Avian Capture Rates: When is Secondary Tropical Rainforest No
Longer a Barrier?
Powell, LL*, School of Renewable Resources, Louisiana State
University; Stouffer, PC, School of Renewable Resources, Louisiana
State University; Johnson, EI, School of Renewable Resources,
Louisiana State University;
Due to large-scale regeneration following deforestation, Brazil now has
more secondary growth than all other tropical countries combined, yet the
value of this secondary growth to wildlife remains poorly understood. From
1992—2009, we captured 3534 birds of nine foraging guilds along borders
of 1—100 ha rainforest fragments near Manaus, Brazil, with the goal of
understanding how birds in the secondary growth/fragment interface recover
to pre-isolation capture rates (CRs). Along 0—4 year-old borders, CRs of
army ant-followers and terrestrial insectivores were only 1% of pre-isolation
levels. Hummingbirds and non-forest species, however, were caught more
frequently within four years of cutting; CRs then declined to pre-isolation
at 7.0 (+ 6.3, −2.4 SE) and 13.0 years (+5.9, −3.6 SE), respectively. Among
the most sensitive guilds, obligate mixed-flock species recovered quicker
along borders of larger fragments—6.4 (+14.0, −10.7 SE) years adjacent to
100-ha fragments and 33.0 (+11.0, −8.4 SE) years around 1-ha fragments.
After 27 years of forest regeneration at our study site, terrestrial insectivores
have yet to recover—we estimate recovery at 46.9 (+20.4, −20.7 SE) years
with cutting only, and 54.9 (+45.7, −20.4 SE) years with borders cut and
burned. Only 20 years after borders were cut and burned, eight of nine
guilds recovered to pre-isolation CRs, but terrestrial insectivores and
other species not included in this analysis (because they do not occur at
all in forest fragments) probably take decades longer. The largely unbroken
primary rainforest surrounding our study site provides a steady source of
new colonizers, so we consider these estimates conservative (i.e. optimistic)
relative to more fragmented parts of Amazonia.
2011-12-06 11:00 Implications of process-based modelling for
biodiversity conservation in a changing world
Prentice, IC*, Macquarie University and Imperial College;
Modelling assumptions are important in assessing risks to biodiversity
and framing conservation policies. Two findings of the past decade are (a)
alarming projections of species losses, and (b) that species are already on the
move. The first is a pure model result—an untested hypothesis. The second
is an observation that tends to refute it. Natural climate changes, similar
in magnitude and rate to projected anthropogenic changes, have occurred
repeatedly and species’ geographic ranges responded rapidly. Many species
showed unexpected persistence through millennia of unfavourable climate.
Models must allow for rapid migration (even for sessile organisms) and the
role of environmental heterogeneity in species’ survival. Dynamic global
vegetation models (DGVMs) could make predictions testable against the
palaeoecological record. They could explicitly model e.g. range restrictions by
exceedance of drought or heat thresholds, or range extensions by overcoming
cold limits. They also include effects of atmospheric CO2 concentration on
water use and productivity. But current DGVMs were developed for carbon
and water cycle applications. Their simplistic treatments of plant biodiversity
and habitat heterogeneity severely limit their applications to conservation
science. More realistic treatments on the horizon build on major informatics
efforts. Meanwhile, hybrid approaches that combine species distribution
data with modelling of impact processes may be useful.
2011-12-06 10:30 The plan of the day: managing the dynamic transition
from regional-scale conservation design to local-scale conservation
action
Pressey, R.L.*, James Cook University; Mills, M., James Cook
University; Weeks, R., Wildlife Conservation Society;
Systematic conservation planning involves sequential transitions. Late in the
process, conservation areas on paper or computer screens must be turned into
actions on the ground or in the water. This transition has been difficult for
conservation planners, demanding reconciliation of two scales of decisionmaking
and even two world views. Like all transitions, the one from regional
design to local action should be dynamic. Adjustments to designs will be
necessary as new information emerges from the action stage, in turn altering
areas of interest for action; but coverage of this dynamic feedback in the
literature is remarkably rare and brief. Lacking is a comprehensive discussion
of why and under what circumstances the dynamic transition from design to
action is necessary. Also lacking are guidelines for managing this transition
in practice. The premise of this presentation is that conservation planning
will be more effective if regional-scale design and local-scale action are better
integrated to capitalize on their respective strengths and minimize their
respective weaknesses. We review the reasons why designs must change in
anticipation of action or as action proceeds, and how these reasons play
out differently depending on the purpose and constraints of different
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