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25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 focussing on the development of biocontrol options that target the massive outbreaks of introduced scale insects whose honeydew is fuelling crazy ant infestation. Christmas Island’s crazy ant management programme is supported by a long-term management plan with committed funding, and is guided by a dedicated scientific advisory panel. We believe that it represents a successful model for managing invasive ant infestations in areas of high conservation value 2011-12-08 14:15 Performance of Catch Share Management in United States Fisheries Bonzon, Kate*, Environmental Defense Fund; Despite increasing evidence of the decline of fish stocks and ocean ecosystem health worldwide, there are growing success stories of management that improves fishery health and fishermen’s profits. Research is mounting that catch shares, a management system that allocates secure shares of the stock to participants, consistently outperform traditional management approaches. There are nearly 300 catch share programs worldwide, used by over 20% of coastal countries, including New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Norway and Namibia. A new study of all major United States federal catch share fisheries and associated shared stock fisheries in British Columbia, shows that catch shares result in clear gains in environmental conditions, major economic improvements, and a mixture of changes in social conditions relative to the race for fish under traditional management. Environmentally, compliance with total allowable catch increases, and discards decrease. Economically, vessel yields rise, total revenues grow, and long-term stock increases are encouraged. Socially, safety is improved, modest consolidation occurs, and full-time employment is increased. New innovations in catch share design help catch shares meet the needs of fisheries with a variety of unique characteristics and goals. 2011-12-06 16:30 Acoustic activity as an index of relative abundance at seabird colonies: a low-cost and scalable tool for measuring conservation outcomes. Borker, AL*, University of California Santa Cruz; McKown, MW, University of California Santa Cruz; Ackerman, JT, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center; Eagles-Smith, CA, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center; Croll, DA, University of California Santa Cruz; Tershy, BR, University of California Santa Cruz; Globally, 30% of seabirds are threatened with extinction. Conservation actions are underway to prevent extinctions, but knowing where and how to intervene is hampered by the global scale of threats to seabirds, the remoteness and inaccessibility of seabird colonies and the dearth of data on the effectiveness of available techniques. Passive acoustic sensors could provide managers with a low-cost, low-impact method for monitoring seabird population trends and measuring conservation outcomes at scale. We tested a key assumption of the technique, that measures of acoustic activity are correlated with the relative abundance of seabirds at breeding sites. Automated acoustic sensors recorded at seven Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri) colonies in San Francisco Bay over two breeding seasons. Tern calls were detected and counted from each site using an automated technique (spectrogram cross-correlation). Traditional nest counts were also conducted at all colonies throughout each breeding season. Our results show that acoustic activity (calls/min) indicated colony size within years, and was a powerful index of change in colony size between years (r2=.92 n=5 p=.005). Quantifying the relationship between acoustic activity and relative abundance is a fundamental step in designing effective acoustic monitoring programs for seabirds and other wildlife. Acoustic monitoring promises to be a low-cost, scalable technique for monitoring population trends and measuring responses to intervention. 2011-12-07 10:30 The Role of Incentives in Conserving Biodiversity Bose, A. U. *, University of Cambridge; Incentive-based approaches are topical in current debates on biodiversity conservation. Such models position themselves to bridge limitations inherent in the two dominant paradigms of ‘conservation by restricted access’ and ‘community conservation’. Incentives are designed to offset local costs borne by natural-resource users and generate tangible economic benefits from conservation. In the Indian context, the application of incentives has largely focussed on providing indirect benefits. Experiments with direct incentives are a recent phenomenon. In particular, the lack of scholarly work on linkages between direct approaches and ecological outcomes make incentives an interesting focus of study. This study examines the viability of direct incentive approaches in the India and the impact of direct payments on human behaviour, decision-making and ecology of the landscape. This is done first from a national perspective and subsequently through a detailed case study in Maharashtra, India. Using an interdisciplinary approach of qualitative interviews, questionnaire and ecological surveys, this study identifies key factors that motivate natural-resource users to participate in environment projects. Findings highlight the diverging perspectives with which natural-resource users and conservation organisations view the value of forest resources. 2011-12-09 14:16 Large Dams on Brahmaputra: Threat to Eco-system Services and Indigenous and Tribal Communities in Arunchal Pradesh and Assam Bose, Devashis*, Department of Economics, DDR College (govt. of Assam), Chabua (Assam-India); River Brahmaputra (Tsangpo in China that flows to India going through Bangladesh as Jamuna) is one of the largest rivers of the world. Brahmaputra supports large eco system services, life and livelihoods of the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the north east of India. The governments in China and India are constructing a series of big dams to meet the power needs of the national economies. However, these dams are likely to affect the vast eco-system services, life and livelihoods of the local indigenous and tribal communities adversely. The environmental pressure groups, biological conservationists, and local communities are up in arms against the ongoing and proposed big dams. The governments have over played the economic benefits of the dams that are likely to flow on to the already privileged regions of the respective nations. This paper is based on primary data sourced from field surveys and secondary data, and comes to the conclusion that construction, commissioning and execution of the large dams will threaten, the hot spot of biodiversity in Arunachal and the ecosystem services in Assam. Moreover the local people, specially the poorer sections will loose livelihoods, land, home and their tribal and indigenous customs and traditions may almost be wiped out. The study proposes an international debate and resistance in collaboration with the social pressure groups of north east India, and possibly those of China and Bangladesh. Moreover wide ranging quantitative and qualitative studies should be taken up to alternate solution to the power needs of the respective nations. 2011-12-08 11:15 Does recovery planning improve the status of threatened species? Bottrill, M.C.*, University of Queensland; Walsh, J.C., University of Queensland; Watson, J.E.M., Wildlife Conservation Society; Joseph, L.N., Wildlife Conservation Society; Ortega-Argueta, A., Instituto de Ecologica; Possingham, H.P., University of Queensland; Recovery planning is a key component of government-funded initiatives to address declining populations of threatened species. To date, there has been limited evaluation on the impact of recovery plans. There is increasing interest in evaluating recovery planning motivated by demands for greater accountability and a shift away from single-species focused strategies to multi-species, landscape and ecosystem-based plans. In the context of threatened species management in Australia, we investigate whether listed species with recovery plans are more likely to have improved their status compared to listed species without recovery plans. In this study, we applied a novel econometric matching analysis to reduce biases associated with the non-random selection of species for listing and recovery planning. We found that the presence or absence of a recovery plan did not have an effect on whether a species’ status was improving, stable or declining. The result suggests that recovery plans may not be useful in the short term and uncertainty persists about whether or not they make a long term contribution to species recovery. In this presentation, we highlight a series of recommendations for improving the reporting and evaluation of recovery planning efforts. 16
25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 2011-12-07 15:15 Measuring ecological benefits provided by a community conservation project in the Mongolian Gobi region Boucher, TM*, The Nature Conservancy; Leisher, C, The Nature Conservancy; The GTZ Program undertook a project in the Mongolian Gobi region to improve the conservation of the Gobi Gurvan Saikhan National Park by promoting community-based sustainable use of the region’s natural resources. Our research measured the ecological benefits to the grasslands in the area covered by the project. Using satellite data that measures photosynthetic activity, we compared the natural grassland condition of the 40 community-managed grazing sites included in the project to 40 ecologically similar sites, also used for grazing. We analyzed conditions over two time periods – a short-term analysis from 2000 to 2009 and a longer-term analysis from 1982 to 2006. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was no statistically significant difference in overall plant growth between what would later become the managed and non-managed sites. Over the shorter term, the community-managed areas had, on average, a longer growing season, with earlier and faster green-up in the spring and a higher peak summer growth. Over the grassland growth season (May to September), community members had 15 percent more biomass available on their lands than was available on the pastures used by those who did not participate in the project. The long-term analysis also showed that after the conservation and management program started, managed sites had 14% more forage during drought years as compared to the non-managed sites. 2011-12-08 18:30 The return of a large carnivore: can Lynx and humans cohabit peacefully? Bouyer, Yaëlle*, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences,, Belgium; Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway; University of Liège, Belgium; Linnell, John, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Norway; Beudels-Jamar, Roseline, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Belgium; In the last forty years, tolerance of anthropic environment has allowed large carnivores to recolonize and expand their distribution in Western Europe. To assess the full potential and consequences of this return, habitat use and landscape modeling are particularly useful tools that allow conservationists to come up with reliable prediction, and policy makers to anticipate management planning. The considerable power of dispersal and important space requirements of these species necessitate large-scale modeling, but it is essential to work in parallel at very fine scale, as carnivores’ impact on human societies is mostly felt at local level. Management of large carnivores must therefore be multi-scalar, with different decisions taken at multiple levels. With the return of the Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx) to lowland Western Europe, in regions of relatively high human densities, conservationplanning decisions must be knowledge based. Different approaches will be followed to analyze data at finer and larger scales. These include differential distribution and tolerance of lynx to fragmentation and anthropization, influence of landscape on lynx predation and the development of a conceptual model aiming at responding efficiently to conflicts with human populations. Results will permit the development of a lowland Western Europe habitat model, and to propose conservation measures adapted to the return of this emblematic carnivore. Results will permit the development of a lowland Western Europe habitat model, and to propose conservation measures adapted to the return of this emblematic carnivore. 2011-12-08 13:15 The origins of tropical marine biodiversity: a phylogeographic perspective Bowen, BW*, University of Hawaii; Rocha, LA, California Academy of Sciences; Eble, JA, University of Arizona; Bird, CE, University of Hawaii; Toonen, RJ, University of Hawaii; Two biogeographic theories can explain the high biodiversity in the Indo- Pacific coral triangle and Caribbean Sea. The Center of Origin theory maintains that successful species originate in the highly competitive biodiversity hotspots, and radiate to peripheral areas. The Center of Accumulation theory maintains that the coral triangle is a region of overlap between Indian and Pacific faunas, and that species originate in peripheral areas. Recent phylogeographic surveys provide evidence for both patterns. Most reef fauna in the Central Pacific have origins at or near the coral triangle. In contrast, species can also originate in the peripheral Central Pacific, and colonizing in towards the coral triangle. We propose that both processes are operating in concert. Successful species forged in the highly competitive coral triangle can radiate out to depauperate peripheral habitats, where they undergo ecological release and develop novel functions. These peripheral species can subsequently expand their range back into the center of biodiversity. A similar process is operating for the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot, which provides species to the South Atlantic. Brazilian species may subsequently develop novel traits and recolonize the Caribbean. Under this process of biodiversity feedback, both hotspots and peripheral areas contribute to the production of tropical marine biodiversity. 2011-12-08 18:30 The Predator’s Dilemma: investigating the responses of central place foragers to changes in the abundance and distribution of their prey Boyd, C*, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington; Reduced food availability has been identified as a threat to a number of globally threatened or near-threatened marine species, especially central place foragers in regions where large commercial fisheries target forage fish that are also important for top predators. The design of effective conservation and management responses depends on our understanding of how changes in the abundance and distribution of food resources impact foraging. I will present a spatially-explicit individual-based foraging model (IBFM) designed to investigate how the structure and duration of foraging trips by central place foragers are affected by changes in the abundance and distribution of their prey. The model is informed by integrated analysis of GPS data on the movement patterns of Peruvian Boobies (Sula variegata) and acoustic survey data on Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens). The IBFM is designed to be a flexible and accessible tool that can be adapted to other central place foragers and address different questions. It could be used to investigate the effects of behavioral adaptations to changes in foraging conditions, compare the vulnerabilities of different species, and assess the potential effectiveness of strategies such as marine protected areas to address competition between central place foragers and fisheries. 2011-12-06 15:45 Using next-generation sequencing to investigate the diet of an endangered landsnail: a detective story Boyer, S*, Lincoln University, Ecology Department; Wratten, SD, Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University; Holyoake, A, Bio-Protection Research Centre, Lincoln University; Cruickshank, RH, Lincoln University, Ecology Department; Abdelkrim, J, University of Otago; As part of an opencast coalmine rehabilitation programme on the West Coast of New Zealand, population of an endemic carnivorous landsnail, Powelliphanta augusta, living within the proposed mine area, had to be relocated to undisturbed habitats. The success of these relocations depends on appropriate food availability in the release areas. However, feeding behaviour is difficult to observe for these small nocturnal animals and their highly endangered status does not permit sacrificing individuals for diet analysis. Therefore, molecular analyses were performed on 40 snail faeces to amplify prey DNA remaining after digestion. Because high numbers of earthworm chaetae were found in the snails’ faeces, next-generation sequencing (454-pyrosequencing) was used to detect and identify all predated earthworm species. Species identification was performed using a DNA library of all earthworm species occurring in the snails’ original distribution area. Our results highlight the capacity of P. augusta to feed on a wide range of earthworm species, which confirms the suitability of current relocation areas and facilitates the selection of future ones. The method developed here is appropriate for studying the diet of predators for which feeding behaviour is difficult to observe. It also has the advantage of being non-harmful and avoids the need to disturb the animals. Such a method is applicable to conservation programmes of many rare and endangered species, both vertebrate and invertebrate. 2011-12-09 10:30 Species Ability to Forestall Extinction (SAFE) index for IUCN Red Listed species Bradshaw, CJA*, The University of Adelaide; Clements, GR, James Cook University; Laurance, WF, James Cook University; Brook, BW, The University of Adelaide; The IUCN Red List is the gold standard measurement of relative species 17
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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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