Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
communities to tackle biodiversity issues.
2011-12-08 18:30 Rare plant populations on degraded and natural
habitat do not respond equally to mitigation of pest and pathogen
pressure
Squires, S, of Environment and Conservation, Government
of Newfoundland and Labrador, Corner Brook, NL, Canada;
Hermanutz, L*, Department of Biology, Memorial University, St.
John’s, NL, Canada A1B 3X9; Dixon, P, 3Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada, St. John’s, NL, Canada;
Populations of the Limestone Barrens endemics, Braya longii (endangered)
and B. fernaldii (threatened) have declined since 1998. Stage based
transition matrices created from nine years of demographic data and
summarized into deterministic projections suggest additional declines over
the next 10 years for each Braya species. The viability of populations on
natural substrate is vulnerable to increased mortality of large, flowering
plants, where as populations on anthropogenically degraded substrate are
vulnerable to declines in seedling survival and seed production. Between
2003 and 2006 the impacts of a non-native insect and pathogenic threats
on Braya reproduction and survival was determined. Management
scenarios were explored by adjusting the baseline viability models to reflect
the survival rates of unaffected plants. For populations on natural substrate,
the removal of the insect improved population growth rate more than the
removal of a pathogen (B. longii- 8.0% vs 1.8%, B. fernaldii- 10.0% vs
0.3%), where as on anthropogenically degraded substrate the removal of
a pathogen improved the population growth rate more than the removal
of the insect (B. longii- 1.8% vs 1.1%, B. fernaldii- 10.7% vs 7.4%).
Intervention, including the prevention of mortality due to pests and the
restoration of populations will help improve long-term population viability.
2011-12-07 17:00 Identifying indicators of illegal behaviour: carnivore
killing in human-managed landscapes
St. John, F.A.V.*, Bangor University; Keane, A.M., University
College London; Edwards-Jones, G., Bangor University; Jones, L.,
n/a; Yarnell, R.W., Nottingham Trent University; Jones, J.P.G.,
Bangor University;
Managing natural resources often depends upon influencing people’s
behaviour. Effectively targeting interventions to discourage environmentally
harmful behaviours is challenging because those involved may be unwilling
to identify themselves. Non-sensitive indicators of sensitive behaviours
are therefore needed. Previous studies have investigated people’s attitudes,
assuming attitudes reflect behaviour. There has also been interest in using
psychological bias resulting from people’s tendency to imagine that others
are more like themselves than they really are, to identify those involved in
sensitive behaviours. However, there has been little attempt to test the value
of potential indicators. We use the randomised response technique, designed
for investigating sensitive behaviours, to investigate potential indicators of
human-wildlife conflict. We estimate the proportion of farmers in northeastern
South Africa killing five carnivore species, and investigate indicators
of carnivore killing using a modified logistic regression model. One-fifth
of farmers admitted to killing leopards in the last year. Farmers’ attitudes
towards carnivores and their estimates of their peers’ carnivore killing
behaviour predict the likelihood of farmers killing carnivores. Attitude and
bias in estimates of peer behaviour may be useful indicators of people’s
involvement in illicit behaviours. Such information can be used to identify
groups of people to engage in behaviour-change interventions.
2011-12-07 16:45 Can pocket parks support suburban birds in a
compact city?
Stagoll, K*, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian
National University; Manning, AD, Fenner School of Environment
and Society, Australian National University; Knight, E, Fenner
School of Environment and Society, Australian National University;
Fischer, J, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University Lueneburg;
Lindenmayer, DB, Fenner School of Environment and Society,
Australian National University
The desire to improve urban sustainability is motivating many city planners
to adopt growth strategies that increase residential density, leading to
substantial changes in the urban form. In Australia, for example, Canberra
is moving from a “garden city” approach of large residential blocks with
extensive private open space, to a “compact city” plan of small blocks
with high levels of impervious surface cover. What affect this change will
have on biodiversity remains unclear, but it is expected that the role of
public green space in providing wildlife habitat will become critical. In
our study, we explored the role of suburban “pocket” parks as habitat for
birds, and how this role changes with different urban forms. We looked
at the effects of several scales, including the vegetation structure within
the park, the amount of green space within the neighbourhood, and the
housing structure of the suburb. We also considered the importance of
physical connectivity between the park and other public green space. We
conclude that pocket parks, especially those retaining large native trees, (1)
provide foraging and nesting resources for a wide diversity of birds, (2) help
maintain a continuum of stepping stones throughout suburban areas, and
(3) may function as suburban refugia as cities become more compact.
2011-12-07 10:30 Conservation translocations: from reintroduction
to assisted colonisation.
Stanley Price, MR, University of Oxford; Seddon, P*, University of
Otago; Moehrenschlager, A, Calgary Zoo
Reintroductions have developed greatly over the last 40 years from,
at worst, irresponsible releases to rigorously designed and monitored
scientific practice. Quantitatively, reintroductions have increased both
absolutely and in in the diversity of taxa reintroduced, thereby constituting
a significant element in the conservation tool box. This presentation will
briefly review the development of reintroduction science and practice,
proposing a new typology for the array of translocations for conservation
purposes. But, reintroduction science and practice must now prepare for
the challenges and opportunities afforded by climate change and other
major threats to species’ persistence. This presentation will explore the
issues around future reintroductions and the proactive moving of species
for conservation purposes – ‘assisted colonisation’. We will explore the
potentials for reintroduction in the context of forthcoming major change
in many contemporary communities and the prospect of novel climates
and ecosystems; we will then outline the consequent novel considerations
around policy, sociology and ethics, as well as the need to advance urgently
our knowledge and capacity in diverse areas such as risk and decisionmaking,
genetics and micro-evolution, priority-setting, reintroduction
objectives and measures of success, and the requirement for climate models
at appropriate scale for reintroductions.
2011-12-07 18:15 Does research and conservation management reduce
lifetime reproductive success in a long-lived seabird?
STEIN, AM*, Zoology Department, University of Otago, PO Box 56
Dunedin 9054; van Heezik, Y, Zoology Department, University of
Otago, PO Box 56 Dunedin 9054; Seddon, PJ, Zoology Department,
University of Otago, PO Box 56 Dunedin 9054;
The analysis of long-term life history data can be used to calculate lifetime
reproductive success. Individuals can vary greatly in productivity according
to life history traits, and a relatively low proportion of individuals may
actually contribute genetically to the next generation. It is common for
vulnerable or threatened species to be subject to consistent and high levels
of disturbance for scientific studies and conservation efforts. These efforts
often necessitate the handling of birds, eggs, and their young, or involve more
intrusive activities such as blood sampling, stomach sampling and TDR
deployment. It is often unknown what impact these activities may have on
the species that such research is intending to benefit. The aim of this study
is to determine which life history components, including interventions
for scientific research and conservation management, influence lifetime
reproductive success in yellow-eyed penguins (Megadyptes antipodes) on
the Otago Peninsula, New Zealand. This will be achieved by analysing a
long-term dataset of life history and breeding data recorded from individual
birds.
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