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25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 restoring those natural processes and responses that have enabled species to persist through past environmental change. The following key elements are a crucial component of an effective conservation plan: identifying and protecting important climate refugia (both ecological and evolutionary); conserving the large-scale migration and connectivity corridors that operate at continent scales (including regional networks of habitat patches and habitat ‘stepping stones’); maintaining viable populations of all extant species to maximize intra-species genetic diversity and thus options for local adaptation; reducing all current threatening processes at the landscape scale across the continent; and protecting and restoring key large scale ecological processes (especially hydro-ecology and ecological fire regimes). Finally, underpinning climatic adaptation responses must be a thorough understanding of the special role extensive intact landscapes will play in the future protection of native biodiversity. 2011-12-09 10:42 Aloha Aina: Successfully Integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Conservation Efforts Watson, TK*, Honua Consulting; Traditional ecological knowledge continues to be a vital asset to biodiversity, environmental conservation, and restoration globally. Drawing from multiple examples in Hawai`i where the use of traditional knowledge has enabled collaborations with Native Hawaiians and local communities, this presentation will highlight conservation success stories from endangered species recovery, climate change, community education and outreach, and co-management of protected areas. This presentation will provide summaries and “lessons learned” from past experiences for communities around the world that continue to seek out pathways for successful partnerships between western conservation science and indigenous communities. The goal of this presentation is to emphasize the common conservation goals shared by western science communities and indigenous communities, encouraging all peoples committed to a healthy earth and ecology to come together to achieve their shared environmental goals. 2011-12-09 15:30 Genetic translocations of fragmented populations to cope with climate change Weeks AR*, The University of Melbourne; Sgro CM, Monash University; Hoffmann AA, The University of Melbourne; Translocations are being increasingly proposed as a way of conserving biodiversity, particularly in the management of threatened and keystone species, with the aims of maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem function under the combined pressures of habitat fragmentation and climate change. Evolutionary genetic considerations should be an important part of translocation strategies but there is often confusion about concepts and goals and therefore they are rarely considered by managers. Yet the imperative for conservation managers should now be conservation and restoration practices that maintain and increase genetic diversity within species, thereby promoting in situ adaptive processes. The long term implications of ignoring adaptability when planning translocations will extend well beyond the persistence of species, with potential impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function and resilience in response to climate extremes. Here we discuss how adaptive evolution can be considered when undertaking translocations. We develop case studies to illustrate how managers can undertake translocations to increase gene flow, genetic variation and adaptability of populations to help counter stressful conditions arising from climate change. 2011-12-09 10:45 Conservation Prioritisation in a changing landscape - New Zealand’s indigenous grasslands a case study Weeks, ES*, University of Waikato; Walker, S, Landcare Research; Overton, J, Landcare Research; Clarkson, B, University of Waikato; To be effective, conservation planning needs to better anticipate the rates and patterns of dynamic threats to biodiversity, such as rapidly changing land use trends. This is a pressing need in temperate grasslands internationally, and New Zealand’s indigenous grasslands are a good example. Although the area of formally protected temperate grasslands in New Zealand has increased in recent decades, low to mid-altitude systems continue to be poorly protected and land use intensification has accelerated in recent years. The area of remaining indigenous grassland was reduced by 7% (from 43 to 40%) between 1990 and 2008. Poor understanding and prediction of the drivers and patterns of change has made it difficult to assess the relative vulnerability of areas of remaining indigenous grassland habitat, and identify those in most immediate need of protection. Here we use quantitative spatial models to assess and predict the vulnerability of New Zealand’s remaining indigenous grassland habitat to land use intensification in for the first time. Our models are based on our new mapping and measurement of past and current land use in relation to patterns of climate, topography, soils, and proximity to infrastructure (i.e. roads) or existing development. Overall, areas most vulnerable to land-use intensification are located at moderate to high elevations with low slopes that have previously been classified as more suitable for low productivity extensive grazing, but we also found important regional variations. We show that the significance of the remaining biodiversity of the most vulnerable grasslands is recognized by other New Zealand conservation planning tools, but they have not been targeted for conservation in recent land reforms. We demonstrate how rapidly conservation priorities may change over time, and the importance of regularly-updated spatial land use information, by comparing models based on land use data from earlier time periods and other recent New Zealand conservation prioritization tools. 2011-12-08 12:30 Improving the Effectiveness of Community-Managed Marine Protected Areas for Biodiversity Conservation, Fisheries Management and Climate Change Adaptation Weeks, R*, Wildlife Conservation Society - Fiji; Pressey, RL, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University; Jupiter, SD, Wildlife Conservation Society - Fiji; Comley, J, Institute of Applied Science, University of the South Pacific; Community-managed marine protected areas (MPAs) are a primary tool for marine and coastal conservation and management throughout Oceania and the Coral Triangle. In most cases, community objectives are focused primarily on fisheries benefits for fishes and commercially important invertebrates. Marine protected areas often emerge as a synthesis of local tradition and scientific knowledge and comprise a multitude of different management strategies, including permanent closures, temporary closures, size limits, seasonal or species bans, and gear restrictions. This focus group will review theoretical and empirical evidence for the effectiveness of different community-based MPA management strategies for biodiversity conservation, fisheries management, and climate change adaptation objectives, and will work towards developing practical ecological criteria (rules of thumb) for size and spacing of MPAs that are applicable to community-based management, recognising upper size limits and that permanent no-take closures are not always feasible. Anticipated outputs include a review paper for journal publication and a standardised framework for quantifying the contribution that community-managed MPAs make towards conservation targets. 2011-12-08 14:30 Building Social and Ecological Connectivity for Climate Resilience Weeks, R*, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji; Jupiter, SD, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji; Eisma-Osorio, R-L, Coastal Conservation and Education Foundation; Protected areas are increasingly recognised for their role in strategies to conserve biodiversity, support livelihoods and maintain ecosystem services in the face of future climate change. Mindful of the fact that protected areas are embedded within both a physical landscape and a complex human landscape of governance, policy and management, conservation planners and policy makers are beginning to look beyond individual protected areas when developing climate change strategies. We provide two examples of how improving ecological and social connectivity can increase the benefits of protected areas for climate change mitigation. In Fiji’s Vatu-i-Ra Seascape, conservation partners are focusing on managing for the predicted but uncertain impacts of flooding and coral bleaching through implementation of protected area networks designed to maximise ecological resilience, located within a broader ecosystem-based management framework. Concurrently, social capacity to adapt to climate fluctuations is being increased through efforts to strengthen community-based management structures, improve communications networks, and build collaboration amongst a range of sectors and partners. In the Philippines, building social connectivity amongst community-based coastal resource managers has proven an effective approach to develop ecologically connected and resilient marine protected area (MPA) networks. Inter-municipal collaborations have led to rapid improvements in management effectiveness and enforcement capacity, followed by efforts to redesign MPA networks following scientific 178
25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 recommendations to increase the size of existing MPAs and establish new MPAs to maximise ecological representation and connectivity. 2011-12-08 11:14 Invasive alien plant species: is it a threat to the existence of threatened spot-billed pelicans in Sri Lanka? Weerakoon, K*, Eco friendly Volunteers; Athukorala, Eco friendly Volunteers; Lack of information on the distribution of near threatened Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) and threats to its habitats within Sri Lanka handicap conservation of this charismatic species. A survey was conducted to find out its distribution and threats to its habitats. We surveyed over 1550 tanks across five provinces for last five years in Sri Lanka. It is observed invasive alien plants are clogging man-made tanks which reduce feeding habitats for Pelicans and other waders. Over 30% of the surveyed tanks were completely covered with vegetation mostly with invasive alien plant species. The most common identified invasive alien plant was Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes). Local people said pelicans and other birds have stopped coming to some tanks when those started getting covered with vegetation. Lack of awareness among people and ignorance was the main reason for fast spreading of invasive species. Increasing awareness on invasive alien species among local communities and conducting manual cleaning campaigns helped to save tanks from spreading of alien invasive species and it gave more space for threatened pelicans and other water birds for feeding. This proved that well maintained water bodies reduce the rate of spreading of invasive species and increased the habitat for pelicans and other waders. 2011-12-07 16:30 Conserving allelic diversity in small populations Weiser, EL*, Department of Zoology, University of Otago; Grueber, CE, Department of Zoology, University of Otago; Jamieson, IG, Department of Zoology, University of Otago; Securing a species from extinction may involve establishing and maintaining small protected populations. The genetic viability of each population will depend partly on parameters that can be managed, such as the number of founders and amount of migration. We modelled genetic drift in a population of threatened brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) currently being reintroduced to a 230 ha fenced reserve in Taranaki, New Zealand. This population will be used as a source of individuals to supplement declining populations, so its genetic diversity should be maintained for long-term viability. We used a computer model to test management options to achieve 90% retention of rare alleles (initial frequency = 0.05) for 200 years (10 generations). Given the estimated carrying capacity of 50 breeding pairs, we estimated that 2-13 effective migrants per kiwi generation would be needed depending on the number of individuals initially released (10-100). Changes in population growth rate, age of individuals released, period of population establishment (over 5 years versus 1 year), or adding migrants gradually over one generation rather than in pulses did not significantly change the probability of retaining a rare allele. The model we adapted can also be easily applied to other species with a variety of life histories, enabling managers to directly estimate required migration rates given parameters relative to their populations. 2011-12-06 17:15 Brains versus Brawn: the role of knowledge exchange and policy influence on the resilience of a marine species comanagement network Weiss, Kristen C.*, James Cook University; Hamann, Dr. Mark , James Cook University; Marsh, Dr. Helene, James Cook University; Power sharing and knowledge exchange are essential components of adaptive co-management. Understanding the structural characteristics and patterns of actor relations within co-management networks provides a clearer picture of knowledge and power dynamics, and is important in determining how to achieve more resilient conservation outcomes. This study used Social Network Analysis to examine patterns of knowledge transfer and policy influence among actors within a co-management network for marine species in Northern Australia. The network structure of this co-management system supports extensive decentralized information flow, but a disproportionate amount of top-down policy influence compared to knowledge accumulation. Such an arrangement hinders wellinformed decision making, especially at higher management levels. Having knowledge is not a direct indication of power within this network. Nor do powerful actors necessarily have the most information for decisionmaking. Addressing communication gaps between knowledge producers and policy makers should improve the resilience of this co-management network, providing better protection for species while meeting the needs of diverse stakeholders. Using a network approach to study natural resource co-management systems holds much promise for characterizing the relationship between network structure and power dynamics, and their impact on the resilience of both the management system and the resources or species in question. 2011-12-08 18:30 Global freshwater fish review: causes of endangerment and extinction Weiss, S, University of Graz; Mack, J, University of Graz; Geyer, E*, University of Graz; The number of freshwater fish species facing extinction or increasing levels of endangerment is increasing throughout the world. A wide range of primarily human activities is responsible for their imperiled status. Although this general fact is well known, there is limited understanding concerning the global distribution of specific causes of freshwater fish endangerment. Effective conservation plans and global strategies for freshwater fishes must be based on assessment of the primary causes of extinction and endangerment. We present the major threats for freshwater fish throughout the world and assess their relative importance at various geographic and taxonomic scales. Approximately ten main categories of impacts are assessed, whereby some require further sub-categorization. For example, dam construction is further categorized by projects with or without hydropower production. Climate change, a popular current theme, is further categorized as an effect acting alone, or in combination with other major threats, such as water abstraction. Our analysis aims to portray the relative importance of various threats at a global as well as continental scale and to provide a tool for critiquing large-scale socioeconomic planning, dealing with such fields as transportation, agriculture and energy development. 2011-12-08 18:30 Gene flow and differentiation in the alpine archipelago of the New Zealand rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris) Weston, K.A*, University of Otago; Robertson, B.C, University of Otago; Jamieson, I, University of Otago; Many species occur in naturally subdivided populations due to spatial heterogeneity of the landscape. Such a pattern is especially evident in alpine species, where naturally fragmented habitat forms an ‘alpine archipelago’. High altitude habitat patches and the species they harbour can serve as models for predicting responses to the synergistic effects of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and climate change. The rock wren (Xenicus gilviventris) is a threatened alpine passerine belonging to the endemic New Zealand wren family (Acanthisittidae). This largely flightless family was once represented by at least seven species, however due to the impacts of introduced mammalian predators, only two species remain. Conservation management of rock wren has only recently commenced via translocation of individuals to offshore islands, but genetic considerations are not currently a part of management practices. Here we investigate genetic population structure by sampling rock wren (n=70) from throughout their range. Using 15 rock wren-specific microsatellite markers and mitochondrial control region DNA sequence, we have identified populations important for translocations and reintroductions in conservation management of the species. A thorough knowledge of genetic population structure will allow managers to prioritise other management efforts, such as predator control in areas harbouring important rock wren populations. 2011-12-06 14:30 Factors influencing the cost, effectiveness and efficiency of conservation White PCL*, University of York; Laycock HF, University of York; Smart JCR, Aarhus University; Raffaelli DG, University of York; Moran D, Scottish Agricultural College; The importance of monitoring the effectiveness of conservation programmes is becoming increasingly recognized. The effectiveness of conservation can be increased by a clearer understanding of the factors which contribute to successful programmes. Here, we use statistical 179
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Page 179: 25th International Congress for Con
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,
Page 199 and 200: Index Sequeira, Ana 151 Serebryakov
Page 201 and 202: Index Winandy, L 181 Winner, J. 112
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