Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
people’ while ‘connecting landscapes’: a framing intended to engage and
inspire a commitment to conservation through creating a positive narrative
that places small-scale interventions in a larger landscape context. This
framing demonstrates the power of a science-based concept that can bridge
normative and scientific domains to create a space for meaningful action
at the local scale. Using qualitative social research examining two large
landscape conservation initiatives in Australia and North America, this
paper will explore how charismatic species, captivating visions and a crisis are
being mobilised to create a shared imperative for collaboration. Charismatic
narratives may embellish the purity of scientific concepts however they also
play an important role in engaging diverse groups of people in the context of
landscape scale science and action.
2011-12-09 12:30 Indigenous management and the ecological role of
Andean peatlands (bofedales) in the context of global environmental
change.
Yager, KA*, Biospheric Sciences, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center; Tupayachi, A, Vargas Herbarium, UNSAAC ; Meneses,
RI, National Herbarium of Bolivia and National Natural History
Museum of Bolivia, , UMSA ; García, C, ECOBIOSIS, Universidad
de Concepción; Beck, S, National Herbarium of Bolivia, UMSA;
In the Andes of South America, bofedales (or high Andean peatlands) are
fundamental to the traditional livelihoods of Andean pastoralists, in addition
to providing numerous ecosystem services. In this presentation, we discuss
the biology and ecological role of bofedales on a regional basis, including
the intersection of water and soils that permit the formation of these unique
vegetation communities, which support biodiversity, help to regulate
hydrological resources, provide highly palatable and nutritious forage, and
act as a carbon sink. We compare peatland characteristics (including species
diversity, primary vegetation communities according to gradients of elevation
and humidity, and total distribution) and local indigenous management
(including irrigation, animal preference, and pasture sectoring) of bofedales
in Southern Peru (Cordillera Vilcanota and Urubamba) and Bolivia
(Cordillera Occidental and Oriental). Recent threats to the sustainability
of bofedales are discussed, including the impacts of rapid climate change.
As indigenous communities re-negotiate local management practices in the
face of global change, the continued management of these integral mountain
systems is increasingly challenged. In addition to securing enough pastures
for future generations, the strategic conservation of bofedal systems will
contribute to maintaining mountain biodiversity and water availability over
the long-term as the Andes region is adversely and increasingly impacted by
global environmental change.
2011-12-08 18:30 Effects of clam dredging on population density of the
surf clam Paphia undulata in the eastern Gulf of Thailand
Yeemin, T*, Ramkhamhaeng University; Saenghaisuk, C,
Ramkhamhaeng University; Yuchareon, M, Ramkhamhaeng
University; Donsomjit, W, Ramkhamhaeng University; Sutthacheep,
M, Ramkhamhaeng University;
The surf clam Paphia undulata is a commercially important species in Thai
waters and has supported an offshore fishery in Thailand for several decades.
The deleterious impact of clam dredging on the benthic environment has
been documented at many fishing grounds. This study aimed to assess the
effects of clam dredging on a soft sediment community, especially changes of
population density of the surf clam P. undulata, in Trat Province, the eastern
Gulf of Thailand. The survey in August 2010 revealed that the surf clam P.
undulata was the most abundant species. The average population density
was 10 individuals/m2 with an average size of 2.6 cm. Following the report
of illegal clam fishing at the study sites, the intensive study on population
density of macrobenthic animals was conducted. There were no P. undulata
from the samplings. A few polychaetes and brittle stars were observed on the
soft sediment community. At the moment surf clam stocks are overfished
therefore it is vitally important that strict preservation of surf clams in the
protected areas be taken into account in the fisheries management plan. This
may be achieved by increasing efforts to enforce the laws and enhancing
community empowerment.
2011-12-08 18:30 Community-let nest protection and Pagoda based
head-starting of Cantor’s Soft-shell Turtle in Cambodia
Yoeung, SUN*, Conservation International;
Since 2007, a conservation team of endangered Asian Giant Soft-shell
turtle Pelochelys cantorii from Conservation International, Cambodia have
been working with local villagers living along Mekong River to conserve
this rare species and its nest after the turtle was rediscovered in 2007. This
species will be listed as Critically Endangered one soon because it is rare
in the world. The turtle nests protection is focus on Cambodia Mekong
River which from Sambor district in Kratie province to up stream. From
2007 to 2010, thirty turtle nests were protected by villagers with in total
number of 616 hatchlings released back to their habitat successfully. In
2010-2011, the project is doing protection the nest as previous activities
by giving some incentive to people to find and guard the turtle nests. So far
8 of 20 nests hatched with 238 hatchlings but 88 hatchlings were released
back to their habitat and 150 hatchlings have being kept in CI office.
Moreover, Conservation International and history 100 pillar pagoda has
agreed to construct a turtle head-starting facility included re-build an old
pond and a turtle facility in the pagoda ground to be used for feeding turtles
for the purpose of eco-tourism for improvement of riparian people benefit
and conservation dissemination of Cambodian turtle species especially
P. cantorii. Also, we will train people about how to take care the turtle
hatchlings in the facility.
2011-12-08 15:00 Cost-benefit analysis for international plant
introductions under uncertainty
Yokomizo, H*, National Institute for Environmental Studies;
Possingham, HP, The University of Queensland; Hulme, PE, Lincoln
University; Grice, AC, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences; Buckley, YM, The
University of Queensland;
Worldwide, we rely on introduced plants for the essentials of human life;
however, intentional plant introductions for commercial benefit have
resulted in invaders with negative environmental, economic or social
impacts. We argue that plant species of low expected economic value should
be less acceptable for introduction than species of high economic value if
their other traits are similar; however key traits such as likelihood of escape
and costs of escape are often highly uncertain. We developed a cost-benefit
analysis for determining plant introduction that incorporates probability of
escape, expected economic costs after escape, expected commercial benefits,
and the efficiency and cost of containment. We used a model to obtain
optimal decisions for the introduction and containment of commercial
plants while maximizing net benefit or avoiding losses. Optimal decisions
for introduction and containment of commercial plants depended, not only
on the probability of escape and subsequent costs incurred, but also on the
anticipated commercial benefit, and the cost and efficiency of containment.
When our objective is to maximize net benefit, increasing uncertainty in
parameter values increased the likelihood of introduction; in contrast, if our
objective is to avoid losses, more uncertainty decreased the likelihood of
introduction.
2011-12-08 18:30 Habitat modification by an invasive alien grass
reduces native food availability of a grasshopper species endemic to
Japan
Yoshioka, A*, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life-Sciences, The
University of Tokyo; Kadoya, T, Environmental Biology Division,
National Institute for Environmental Studies; Suda, S, Graduate
School of Agricultural and Life-Sciences, The University of Tokyo;
Washitani, I, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life-Sciences, The
University of Tokyo;
To examine the relative importance and interactions of trophic and nontrophic
effects of plant invasions on herbivores, we investigated how the
invasion of weeping lovegrass Eragrostis curvula impacted a threatened
species, Eusphingonotus japonicus, a food generalist grasshopper endemic
to gravelly floodplains with sparse vegetation in Japan. Field observations
and laboratory experiments showed that the grasshopper fed mainly on
herbs endemic to the gravelly floodplains, which were negatively impacted
by the alien grass. The alien grass was not consumed as food. Field censuses
also showed that the density of the grasshopper was positively correlated
with the coverage of endemic herbs in a plot where weeping lovegrass was
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