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25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 2011-12-08 18:30 Patterns and potential costs of nesting migrations in the tuatara, an endemic island reptile Refsnider, Jeanine M., Iowa State University; Daugherty, Charles H., Victoria University of Wellington; Godfrey, Stephanie S., Flinders University; KEALL, SUSAN N.*, Victoria University of Wellington; Moore, Jennifer A., Victoria University of Wellington; Nelson, Nicola J., Victoria University of Wellington; Preservation of all necessary resources and habitat components is critical for the conservation of island species that are unable to disperse. Migrations between residence and nesting habitat can exact high costs on individual females, and may have population demographic consequences in cases where female mortality during nesting migrations is high. Tuatara are the sole representatives of the reptilian order Rhynchocephalia, and natural populations are restricted to 32 offshore islands in New Zealand; thus, conservation of this unique species requires precise knowledge of habitat use and requirements on these islands. We examined patterns in nesting migrations of the largest tuatara population, occurring on Stephens Island, New Zealand, over five years. We found that only about 7% of female tuatara lived in the rookery in which they nested, with most females instead migrating to a nesting rookery from their residential area. However, most females minimized the distance travelled on nesting migrations by nesting in a rookery adjacent to their residential area. Females that travel further to nest likely incur greater energetic costs. Moreover, because nesting habitat on Stephens Island is not limited but high-quality home territories likely are, we hypothesize that female tuatara nest in the closest available nesting habitat to minimize the likelihood of losing their territory to conspecifics while on nesting migrations. 2011-12-06 12:15 Evaluation of assisted colonization strategies under climate change for a rare, fire-dependent plant Regan, HM*, Biology Department, University of California Riverside, CA 92521, USA; Syphard, AD, Conservation Biology Institute, San Diego, CA, USA; Franklin, J, School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA; Swab, R, Biology Department, University of California Riverside, CA, USA; Flint, AL, United States Geological Survey, Sacramento, CA, USA; Flint, LE, United States Geological Survey, Sacramento, CA, USA; Zedler, PH, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, The University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; As a clear consensus is emerging that suitable habitat for many species will dramatically reduce and/or shift with climate change, attention is turning to adaptation strategies; assisted colonization is one such strategy. The success or failure of assisted colonization will depend on a range of population-level factors on which the climate change literature has been relatively silent— the quality of recipient habitat, the number and life stages of translocated individuals, establishment of translocated individuals in their new habitat and whether the recipient habitat is subject to ongoing threats all will play an important role in population persistence. We link a population model with dynamic bioclimate envelopes to investigate expected changes in populations with climate change, the impact of altered fire regimes on population persistence, and how much assisted colonization is necessary to minimize risk of population decline in Tecate cypress, a rare endemic tree in the California Floristic Province. We show that when there are large source populations that are expected to decline dramatically due to habitat contractions, multiple nearby sites predicted to contain suitable habitat, minimal natural dispersal, high rates of establishment of translocated populations, and the absence of more serious ongoing threats, assisted colonization may be a risk-minimizing adaptation strategy. However, when serious ongoing threats exist, assisted colonization is ineffective. 2011-12-09 14:28 Conflicting Management Mandates and Ecological Impacts of Bison: Implications for Cross-Jurisdictional Wildlife Management Reimondo, EL*, School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University; Theimer, TC, Department of Biology, Northern Arizona University; Sisk, TD, School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, Northern Arizona University; State and federal agencies must work cooperatively on wildlife management issues to balance human and conservation values with ecological impacts and management costs. Conflicts arise when agency goals and mandates do not coincide. The focus of this research is conflict over a herd of bison, a species symbolic of the American West and of the conservation movement, which has moved from state to federal lands on the Kaibab Plateau of Arizona. The state values the herd as a wildlife game species, while the federal agency considers bison nonnative and a potential threat to the health of critical resources like the region’s springs and ponds. I quantified the effects of bison grazing around these water sources and found that bison significantly reduced vegetative cover, increased exposed soil, and decreased above-ground biomass across forb, grass, and sedge functional groups. These results likely qualify as resource impairment and would empower the federal government to take management action without state consent. The high monetary, social, and political costs of removing bison from the region will likely necessitate a compromise where a smaller population is allowed to persist. I present a conceptual model that illustrates how this research can inform that process and other conflicts in wildlife management. 2011-12-08 18:30 Elevated Islands – urban conservation potential on living roofs Renee Davies*, Unitec Institute of Technology; Robyn Simcock, Landcare Research Ltd; Richard Toft, Entecol Ltd; Graham Ussher, Tonkin & Taylor Ltd; Cris de Groot, Unitec Institute of Technology; Martin Boult, Unitec Institute of Technology; New Zealand’s landscape heritage is inextricably linked to the concept of an islanded nature. Its distinctive flora and fauna has been influenced by our ancient Gondwanaland separation and subsequent biodiversity reduction and extinction through habitat loss and predation/competition from invasive species has instigated a conservation tradition focused on protective enclaves situated within predator free offshore or fenced mainland islands. Such conservation concepts are limited in their ability to address biodiversity loss in our urban environments. Living roofs offer an opportunity to bring the conservation island concept into a contemporary context integrated within our urban landscapes. This would see the once neglected and un-used landscape realm of buildings creating managed and monitored biodiverse islands of indigenous flora and fauna - reservoirs for less common local species and an extension of habitat within urban environments. Microhabitat variables required for New Zealand’s indigenous skinks, including temperature, humidity, refuge/shelter and prey were studied on New Zealand’s first fully indigenous extensive living roof over four years. Comparison with a terrestrial site identified the relative suitability of the living roof as skink habitat. This data provided an interdisciplinary team of ecologists, landscape architects and product designers with the parameters needed to develop, prototype and field-test a prosthetic habitat that provides enhanced conditions on the living roof to facilitate skink conservation efforts in a predator free and managed urban environment. 2011-12-09 17:45 Conservation and climate change adaptation: identifying synergies and tensions Rickards, L.*, Uni Melb; Like conservation biology, climate change adaptation is an ever-more salient field. Engagement between the two areas to date has largely focused on a narrow conceptualisation of how climate change will likely impact biodiversity. While important, there are other significant parallels and potential interlinkages that need to be considered if we are to effectively pursue the goals of both fields in the face of their multiple shared threats. This paper begins this task by outlining major areas of shared conceptual and practical import. Some of these points of intersection are synergistic, including the potential for lessons to be shared between the fields. For example, it is argued that adaptation can be thought of as ‘conservation of the human species’ and that many of the lessons learned in conservation biology over previous decades, particularly following the rise of disturbance ecology, are applicable to the climate change adaptation field. Likewise, work in climate change adaptation has started to interrogate the implications of adopting different definitions of adaptation, resilience, vulnerability and transformation: insights that have relevance for conservation biology. Considering radically different futures is also an approach in adaptation that conservation could learn from. Other points of intersection between the two fields are less synergistic than antagonistic. For example, climate change adaptation may reinforce a strongly anthropocentric worldview and some conservation actions may prove maladaptive in the long term. Addressing 138
25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 these and other implicit points of conflict is essential for the success of both conservation and climate change adaptation. 2011-12-09 11:30 THE AFRICAN LION (Panthera leo leo): A CONTINENT-WIDE SPECIES DISTRIBUTION STUDY AND POPULATION ANALYSIS Riggio, Jason S.*, Big Cats Initiative, National Geographic Society; Duke University; Jacobson, Andrew, Big Cats Initiative, National Geographic Society; Duke University; Pimm, Stuart, Duke University; Dollar, Luke, Big Cats Initiative, National Geographic Society; Duke University; Pfeiffer University; Human population growth and land conversion across Africa makes the future of wide-ranging carnivores uncer-tain. For example, the African lion (Panthera leo leo) once ranged across the entire continent – with the exception of the Sahara Desert and rainforests. It now lives in less than a quarter of its historic range. Recent research estimates a loss of nearly half of the lions in the past two decades. Some sources put their numbers as low as 20,000 individuals. Given these declines, conservation organizations propose to list the African lion as “endangered” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and to upgrade the species’ CITES protections from Appendix II to Appendix I. To establish the lion’s current conservation status, I analyzed the size, distribution, and potential connections of populations across its range in Africa. I compile the most current scientific literature, comparing sources to identify a current population estimate. I also use these sources to map known lion populations, potential habitat patches, and the connections between them. Finally, I assess the long-term viability of each lion population and determine which qualify as “lion strongholds.” The lion popu-lation assessment in this study has shown that over 30,000 lions remain in approximately 3,000,000 km2 of Africa. Lions are distributed across a total of 78 habitat patches in 27 countries. More than half of the remaining lions in Africa reside in 11 viable populations contained within protected areas that have stable or increasing lion population trends (lion strongholds). Therefore lions are not currently threatened with extinction and it is unlikely that the total population of free-ranging lions in Africa will drop below 20,000 individuals. 2011-12-09 10:30 Gender, Social Capital and Participation in Sea Turtle Conservation in NE Brazil Rinkus, MA*, Michigan State University; Fishermen have historically been identified as the prime threat to sea turtles, and therefore the prime target of conservation programs. Although fishing in the open ocean is primarily male-dominated, women exert agency in other spheres that are likely to affect conservation initiatives. This study explores the role gender and social capital play in access to resources, perception, and decision-making in relation to sea turtle conservation along the northern coast of the state of Bahia, Brazil. Using a mixed-methods approach to data collection, this research presents social capital profiles for men and women based on levels, networks and nodes of participation in the community. By examining differences in participation this research deconstructs the role of gender relations on household and community-level decision-making, and the direct and indirect effects this may have on sea turtle conservation, as well as the differential effects of sea turtle conservation programs on local communities. Preliminary findings suggest that men’s networks provide more access to economic incentives from resource use and protection. An evidence-backed assessment of the relationship between gender, social capital and decision-making could be very beneficial in reshaping conservation programs and increasing participation and understanding among men and women. 2011-12-09 14:30 Participatory research in honey production and fisheries in a protected area under pressure by RR soybean and forestry plantations in Uruguay RIOS M*, Vida Silvestre Uruguay; Zaldúa N, Vida Silvestre Uruguay; Carrasco-Letelier L., Programa de Producción y Sustentabilidad Ambiental. INIA La Estanzuela, Uruguay; Santos C, Extensión Universitaria, Universidad de la República. Uruguay; Teixeira de Mello F, Grupo de Ecología y Rehabilitación de Sistemas Acuáticos, Departamento de Ecología y Evolución, CURE, Universidad de la República. Uruguay.; Uruguay is undergoing a huge land use change, mainly by an increment of RR soybean and tree forestry, in landscapes with natural grasslands. Land cover changes increases both the dose and frequency of pesticide’s use and theirs environment pollution risk. Esteros de Farrapos National Park (EFNP) is a RAMSAR wetland in the River Plate basin; with important conservation values such as exceptional fish and birds´ diversity and a complex wetlands and lagoons system. However, this area is surrounded by plantations (RR soybean and Eucalyptus) that can affect the protected area and local productions (honey production and local fisheries). The aim of this work was to carry out a citizen-based research with local producers to evaluate pesticides impacts in EFNP and its basin. Methodology was based on a research process with a big involvement of bee-keeper, fishermen and local educational centres, as well as a manager task developed by the NGO; complemented by the collaboration of researchers from the academy and local and national government. Results showed the presence of pesticide in fishes, beehives, and in massive death events of fishes and bees. Endosulfan was found in 4 out of 8 fish species analyzed. The highest death bees rate was found in areas surrounded by RR soybean crops (RS 0.59, p
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Page 189 and 190: Index Benini, Rubens 42 Beniston, M
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Index DeWan, Amielle 14 Dianne Brun
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Index Hilborn, Ray 27 Hill, CM 176
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Index Loutit, R. 116 Louwe Kooijman
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Index Ottewell, K 81 Overton, J 61,
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Index Sequeira, Ana 151 Serebryakov
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Index Winandy, L 181 Winner, J. 112
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