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25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 management appears as self evident. Yet, in the past decade claims have been put forth that theoretical advances in animal behavior do not contribute to conservation and that the focus on behavior in conservation biology has been, and still is, limited. This, in turn, has generated an ongoing debate on the importance of animal behavior in conservation. I argue that the importance of animal behavior in managing wildlife has been recognized for nearly a half century. Furthermore, because conservation biology is an interdisciplinary science, the seemingly low number of papers published does, in fact, reflect an adequate volume within the field of conservation. I believe that the debate has ensued because of the lack (until recently) of an adequate framework that would lend structure to this interdisciplinary field enabling the formation of generalizations, identification of areas where knowledge is lacking, generation of new hypotheses, and the incorporation of new cutting edge behavior studies into management plans. our projects will last only as long as there are external inputs (most often financial) to buoy our efforts. This is a major detriment to scaling up our work; each new project places an additional burden on all others. Unless conservation can be defined in ways that benefit local communities, often the rural poor, it will remain heavily reliant on external funding. Little data exists for demonstrating the value of conservation to the needs of the poor. Much of what we have to go on are just-so stories. However, recent studies, some reviewed here are providing us with empirical data on how much and under what conditions conservation of nature, in a variety of habitats from tropical reefs to grasslands, are benefits local communities. We look at different models based on community management, valuation of service, commerce, security etc., that are proving to be most useful and ask, whether the inclusion of the rural poor into our strategies for conservation is not just the right thing to do, but also the essential thing to do. 2011-12-08 10:45 Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge to Design an Ecological Study – a case study of the Admiralty cuscus (Spilocuscus kraemeri) in Papua New Guinea Samson, MJ*, Wildlife Conservation Society - Papua New Guinea; Whitmore, N, New Zealand Department of Conservation; Despite cuscus (Phalangeridae) being a major source of protein throughout Papua New Guinea (PNG) there is a paucity of western scientific knowledge on them but an unknown and presumably vast Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). TEK encompasses observations and interpretations by indigenous peoples of their natural environment and the interrelationships of people, plants, animals and the physical and sometimes metaphysical world. The Admiralty cuscus (Spilocuscus kraemeri) is a marsupial endemic to the Admiralty Islands, PNG, and is heavily harvested for subsistence consumption and sale. Village hunters have expressed concern that cuscus numbers are declining and asked us to assist them in developing a management plan, which is the overall goal of this project. As a preliminary step towards this we wanted to understand the life history of Admiralty cuscus so surveyed TEK of the species in three villages on the north coast of Manus Island. We present a summary of the extensive TEK of Admiralty cuscus, identify the gaps in this knowledge, and show how this generated a research plan. This project illustrates how TEK can accelerate the design process and we advocate other researchers use a similar approach to work with indigenous people and their TEK. 2011-12-08 12:00 Biases in biodiversity conservation research and uptake Sandbrook, CG*, UNEP-WCMC; Hoffmann, M, IUCN; What conservation research is used to inform international science / policy processes? This study investigated (1) factors influencing where conservation research is carried out globally, and (2) whether international policy processes are making best use of all available research, based on patterns of publications cited by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). Using multivariate statistical analysis, we found that while the number of studies published in key international conservation journals is positively linked at the country level to indicators of biodiversity wealth, it is also biased towards places with good governance and where English is widely spoken. Similarly, analysis of literature cited by the MA revealed a bias towards English language journals. Consequently, research informing an influential, international science / policy document is based mainly on studies which may not be relevant to countries which are non-English speaking and where it is more difficult for scientists to work, many of which are of critical concern for biodiversity conservation. We conclude that (1) greater efforts should be made to undertake and publish research from a broader range of highly biodiverse countries in the international conservation literature, and (2) a key goal of the new Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services should be to build capacity for such research and ensure that it is used by the platform 2011-12-07 14:00 Why the Poor Matter: Searching for Sustainability in Conservation Sanjayan, M*, The Nature Conservancy; The biggest challenge facing conservation managers today is how best to ensure that our efforts will be sustainable over the long run. What will happen to our life’s work, in remote far away places, when our attention wavers? The sneaking suspicion is that without sustainability built in, 2011-12-09 15:00 Nature’s last Edens: Why some landscapes have escaped the extinction crisis Sanjayan, M, The Nature Conservancy; Samberg, L*, The Nature Conservancy; Boucher, T, The Nature Conservancy; Newby, J, University of Montana; Earth is currently experiencing its sixth mass extinction event. In the pursuit of efficient allocation of conservation focus and funding, biodiversity hotspots and other high-priority regions have been identified based on their diversity, irreplaceability, and vulnerability to extinction threats. However, none of these triage strategies accounts for regions which have proven thus far resistant to the extinction crisis. We collected historical and current range distributions for vertebrate species, and identified 22 regions around the world which have not experienced a vertebrate extinction in the modern era. We find that many of these regions cannot be predicted based on measures of human impact, and that only 20% of them fall within current protected area networks. Our results suggest a need to increase conservation attention on some of the world’s remaining faunally intact landscapes, as well as indicate that successful conservation can occur in working landscapes throughout the world. 2011-12-06 14:00 Nest boxes: a successful management tool for the conservation of the Mediterranean storm petrel at Benidorm Island (Spain). Sanz-Aguilar, A*, Biometry and Population Biology Group, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive (CEFE-CNRS) ; Libois, E, Biometry and Population Biology Group, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive (CEFE-CNRS) ; Minguez, E, Serra Gelada Natural Park (Alicante, Spain); Oro, D, Population Ecology Group (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB); Pradel, R, Biometry and Population Biology Group, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive (CEFE-CNRS) ; Gimenez, O, Biometry and Population Biology Group, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive (CEFE-CNRS) ; Studies investigating the effectiveness of interventions are highly relevant to practitioners but few studies actively test or review conservation actions. We evaluated the effectiveness of nest-boxes on the conservation of a vulnerable Mediterranean seabird breeding at Benidorm Island (East Spain): the Mediterranean storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus melitensis). An intensive demographic monitoring program including the capture-recapture of breeding adults and the estimation of reproductive parameters is developed at the study area since 1993. In November 1996, 39 nest boxes were installed in a small storm petrel colony (50-120 pairs) that showed a decreasing tendency in breeding numbers. We monitorized breeding numbers at the colony from 1993 to 2010 and compared the breeding success and local survival of individuals breeding at nest boxes and natural nests by means of generalized linear models and multistate capture-recapture models. By the increased amount of safe nesting habitat provided by artificial nest-boxes, population numbers of the species at the colony greatly increased. Both the mean breeding success (BS) during the study period and the mean local survival (S) were higher for birds breeding in nest boxes (BS: 0.73, S: 0.90) than for birds breeding in natural nests (BS: 0.51, S: 0.80). These differences may respond to higher susceptibility to predators (Yellow-legged gulls) and intraspecific interferences at natural nests. High adult survival rates and reproductive success of nest-box breeders may compensate the low breeding success and survival of natural-nest breeders. Conservation measures carried out may guarantee the long-term viability of this endangered population. 146
25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 2011-12-08 18:30 Is forest disturbance always harmful to forest ecosystem? Evidence from Sal (Shorea robusta) forests in Nepal Terai Sapkota, IP*, Ministry of Forests, Nepal Government; Forest management strategy in Nepal has been guided by the assumptions of either conservation or utilization; and till date very little research has been made into how these both assumptions can go together, or utilization related disturbances can be a part of forest management. Disturbances such as selective logging and illicit felling have been widely practiced in Sal forests since the inception of the timber and fuel-wood trade in the region. Increasing rural demand for leaf fodder has increased grazing and browsing pressure in the forests. Cutting and lopping for fuel-wood and fodder, and the collection of ground litter for livestock feed and bedding materials have occurred widely in Sal forests. Such diverse uses of Sal forests signify that these forests are exceptionally disturbed. Witnessing their inherent association with the forest system, disturbances are something that cannot be avoided in Sal forests, but rather are something to deal with. Therefore, multiple and simultaneous disturbances occurring in Sal forests need a thorough study; and their synergistic effects on each component of ecosystem of Sal forests should be assessed so that the forest management policy and institutions can be made more realistic in terms of achieving both goals of ecosystem based forest management- conservation and sustainable use of forests. Methodology: The nexus between a set of existing disturbances of varying intensities and the diversity and regeneration of Nepalese Sal forests was examined. In addition, the effects of a single disturbance factor – tree fall gaps – on species diversity, regeneration and early growth of Sal forest were assessed. The intensity of the combined disturbances in each of the studied forests was calculated using a relative impact of each individual disturbance. Key findings: The study found out that the total stem density of saplings and poles increased with increasing disturbance intensity, to a certain level, while most of the tree species in the community showed changing dispersion patterns along the disturbance gradient. Socially preferred tree species displayed high regeneration performance in forests subjected to moderate level of disturbance. Tree fall gaps favored regeneration by increasing the density of seedlings of some socially preferred tree species and promoted the maintenance of high species diversity. However, neither overall species diversity nor regeneration positively correlated with gap size; but the maintenance of species diversity and regeneration in gaps are related more strongly to several other attributes of gaps than gap size. The conclusions: Generally, forests subjected to moderate level of disturbance maintained species diversity and enhanced regeneration performance, which in turn was coupled with the regeneration strategy of key species – in line with the Intermediate Disturbance and Recruitment Limitation Hypotheses. In other words, the species of Sal forests collectively embrace both functional phenomena of ecosystem while they regenerate in a disturbed environment. Some of them show prolific regeneration pattern upon receiving a mild level of disturbances (e.g. Sal); and some of them lower their regeneration as they do often encounter a high level of exploitation (e.g. several fodder species) and lack their propagules in the regeneration process. Policy conclusions: - Mild disturbance with limited public and herbivore access to the forests does not necessarily hinder the overall stand regeneration and species diversity, but may enhance them. - Since the rural population is highly dependent on these forests for their subsistence needs, strict protection is neither feasible, nor does it result in higher forest regeneration. - Ecosystem-based management, focusing simultaneously on optimization of the consumptive forest products for human populations and enhancement of species’ regeneration and diversity, would be a viable management strategy for Sal forests in Nepal. The study signifies that moderate level of disturbance may be touted as a management tool for Sal forests. 2011-12-09 15:15 Multi-criteria analysis in the design of conservation area networks Sarkar, S.*, University of Texas; This paper treats the prioritization of conservation areas as a goal that must simultaneously icorporate multiple goals that may be in conflict and require trade-offs. It shows how these goals can be achieved through the analysis of an objectives hierarchy, the construction of an implicit or explicit value function, and tradeoff estimation. The methodology can be incorporated through a variety of heuristic, metaheuristic, and exact algorithms. In particular, tabu search has proved to be an efficient metaheuristic framework for the solution of these problems. The framework so developed is used to design a conservation area network for a forestry concession in the Merauke region of Papua province in Indonesian New Guinea. 2011-12-08 18:30 Sustaining conservation on private lands- a case of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary from North Western Ghats, India Sarnaik, JP*, Applied Environmental Research Foundation(AERF); Godbole,AJ, Applied Environmental Research Foundation(AERF); Punde,SP, Applied Environmental Research Foundation(AERF); The alarming rate of biodiversity loss and growing realisation about the crucial role of biodiversity in climate change adaptation has forced proponents of conservation across the world to constantly devise innovative strategies to address these complex environmental challenges simultaneously. It has been widely accepted that the inadequacy of protected area approach in conserving and sustaining biodiversity has been the root cause of biodiversity loss in the countries rich in biodiversity. Conservation on private lands through incentives is one such new approach for halting deforestation and subsequent loss of biodiversity. Our efforts in implementing this conservation strategy in the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in North Western Ghats – a global biodiversity hotspot- have provided some insights with respect to sustainability of this approach. Conservation agreements implemented by AERF have minimum duration of five years. Our findings indicate that change in behaviour of private landowner in favour of conservation can only be guaranteed if a) the benefits sufficiently address most of his immediate needs b) a steady stream of income is assured from the land under conservation agreement c) a constant effort is made in building skills of the private landowner for sustaining the strategy during the tenure of agreement by the implementing agency. 2011-12-07 11:15 Demo-genetic processes and evaluation of Conservation Translocation outcomes Sarrazin, Francois*, University Pierre and Marie Curie; Jamieson, Ian G., University of Otago; Robert, Alexandre, Muséum National d\’Histoire Naturelle; The goal of translocation is to establish long term viable populations. Thus interactions between life history traits, local environment and release strategy should minimize stochastic extinction risk, drift and inbreeding loads and loss of evolutionary potential. Successfully translocated populations should follow settlement, growth and regulation that determine their long term viability. We address these demo-genetic issues to discuss the importance of spatio-temporal designs of translocation strategies as well as the choice and numbers of individuals to release that are necessary to preserve acceptable levels of genetic diversity in various ecological scenarios. We also propose a general framework to define success criteria accounting for demo-genetic processes. We used population modeling to test whether IUCN criteria for remnant populations (particularly the relation between extinction risk and threshold number of mature individuals) may be relevant to assess translocation success. From a demographic viewpoint threshold number of mature individuals is a conservative proxy of extinction risk since only populations having the most high and stable growth rates can reach these threshold numbers. However, both selected and neutral genetic variations may be influenced by translocation strategy with subsequent effects on long-term viability as compared with remnant populations of the same size. 2011-12-08 18:30 An evolutionary perspective of anthropocentric versus ecocentric approaches of conservation Sarrazin, Francois, University Pierre and Marie Curie; Lecomte, Jane*, University Paris-Sud 11; Conservation issues are generally seen as present and future urgencies. However past human evolutionary history might explain our inertia to change relationship between human and biodiversity. Human traits have been selected though comparative gains in fitness, similarly to most function now used for the welfare of our phenotypes through our ability to master our environments. Human interactions with biodiversity are thus mostly anthropocentric as exhibited through ecological services. However their impact on genetic and cultural information - i.e. on evolution of both human and biodiversity traits - is rarely considered. We propose five main basic scenarios: i) a “darwinian scenario” with no anticipation in human actions and retroactions of selective pressures on environment on human fitness ; ii) a “human fitness centered scenario” where biodiversity is totally 147
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Page 189 and 190: Index Benini, Rubens 42 Beniston, M
Page 191 and 192: Index DeWan, Amielle 14 Dianne Brun
Page 193 and 194: Index Hilborn, Ray 27 Hill, CM 176
Page 195 and 196: Index Loutit, R. 116 Louwe Kooijman
Page 197 and 198: 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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