Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
2011-12-08 18:30 Behavioural studies in conservation; Bridging
theory and action in management of New Zealand’s rarest ratite.
Abbott, R.*, Victoria University of Wellington; Bell, B., Victoria
University of Wellington; Kay, D., NZ Department of Conservation;
There are often gaps between the theory of integrative approaches to
conservation and management practice. This PhD thesis demonstrates the
practical application of a behavioural study of great benefit to conservation
management. The Department of Conservation employs a management
practice for Kiwi (Apteryx spp.) called Operation Nest Egg (ONE). This
involves removing eggs from the wild, hatching and rearing the young in
captivity until they are large enough to no longer be at risk from stoats, and
release back into the source population. Despite DOC recommendations
within literature for the use of behavioural studies in Kiwi conservation,
few have been undertaken. This thesis aims to bridge the behavioural
study-conservation management gap by investigating the effects of ONE
on kiwi behaviour, and whether the current practice results in maximum
survival, recruitment and fitness. Experimental manipulation of release
group demographics are being used to tests key hypotheses focusing on;
release location, group size, sex ratio, conspesific familiarity and distance
from resident kiwi, and subsequent success of reintroductions. Early
results have shown that it is detrimental to survival and breeding success
to release juvenile kiwi as individuals, rather than in groups. A more
complete understanding of the behavioural effects of various release
strategies will provide guidance for improving the effectiveness of future
ONE reintroductions and kiwi conservation in general.
2011-12-09 15:45 Evaluation of awareness programmes towards
wildlife conservation
Abi-Said, MR*, President, Animal Encounter; Abi-Said Marrouche,
D, American University of Beirut, Faculty of Agricultural and Food
Sciences; Leader-Williams, N, Director of Conservation Leadership,
University of Cambridge, Department of Geography;
Resolving conflicts between people and large carnivores is vital for their
future existence. The success of conservation programmes often depends
on developing approaches adapted to particular and local cultural
circumstances. Moreover, when such programmes are linked to education
and awareness, their success can be further increased. The effectiveness
of two awareness programmes towards striped hyaena conservation
comprising running awareness seminars at different sites in Lebanon and
a zoo education programme at Animal Encounter – Educational Center
for Wildlife Conservation – was evaluated. Two approaches were used at
the Animal Encounter programme: a passive (self-guided tour) and an
active (guided tour) approach. The evaluation of both awareness programs
was undertaken through a questionnaire interview. Both, the awareness
seminars and the active approach have shown to be very effective at
changing the views of respondents (>80% changed their attitudes) towards
striped hyaena, and improved their support (>85%) for its conservation.
Moreover, one key factor that affected the negative attitudes of respondents
from among the wide Lebanese public was the number of stories or myths
portraying striped hyaena negatively. Such results show the necessity for
paying more attention to the need to raise awareness among respondents
through different kinds of approaches.
2011-12-09 16:30 The Impact of Religious Bodies on Private Land
Conservation
Abiala,A.A*, University of Ibadan, Nigera;
This paper examined the impact of religious bodies on conservation of
private land. Although, there are mounting evidences that religious bodies
conserve private land among Nigeria public. The study was designed to
investigate the extent to which religious bodies were involved in protecting
private land. A total of 500 religious leaders were purposively selected
which consisted Christianity, Islam and Africa Traditional. A tenitem
questionnaire was used for data collection, using frequency counts,
percentages and pie chart for data analysis. The results indicated that
a good number of religious leaders respect and preach on private land
conservation. It was discovered that vast majority of religious bodies usually
have clash which resulted into loss of natural resources, plants, human lives
and valuable properties. Evidences from various respondents revealed that
some religious bodies still perform rituals and sacrifices that are detrimental
to nature and society. The findings were interpreted in terms of the need
to be actively engaged in land conservation irrespective of denomination
or religious body.
2011-12-07 16:45 Understanding the impacts of habitat degradation
on Indo-Pacific coral reef sponge assemblages
Abigail L Powell*, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand;
James J Bell, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; David
J Smith, University of Essex, UK;
Coral reefs across the globe are declining as a result of anthropogenic
activities. Currently, much research focuses on investigating and mitigating
the effects of these threats on scleractinian corals, while impacts on
other important groups of reef organisms, particularly sponges, are often
overlooked. Sponges are exceptionally diverse, globally distributed, possess
useful bioactive compounds and perform essential functional roles on
reefs. To predict how environmental degradation may influence sponges
in the future we need to understand the abiotic and biotic factors currently
driving their spatial variation. In 2010, we surveyed sponge assemblages
in conjunction with a suite of environmental and biological variables,
including sedimentation, temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a, spongivorous
fish densities and hard coral cover, at nine sites across a gradient of habitat
quality in the Wakatobi Marine National Park (WMNP), Indonesia.
Using multivariate techniques we found that sedimentation was strongly
associated with differences in sponge assemblages. Our findings have
important implications for reef conservation in the WMNP as increases in
sedimentation and turbidity have been observed at numerous sites and are
associated with mangrove clearance and coral mining.
2011-12-09 14:00 Mapping conservation priority areas for threatened
species within a rapidly changing multi-use landscape in Sabah, Borneo
Abram, NK*, Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, School
of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury,
Kent, CT2 7NZ; Smith, RJ, Durrell Institute for Conservation
and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University
of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ; Ambu, LN, Sabah Wildlife
Department, 5th Floor, Block B, Wisma Muis, 88100, Kota
Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.; Ong, R, Sabah Forestry Department,
Headquarters,KM10, Labuk Road, 90000 Sandakan, Sabah,
Malaysia; Ancrenaz, M, HUTAN, D61, Taman Kinanty, Lorong
Angsa 12, 88300 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.; Lackman, I,
HUTAN, D61, Taman Kinanty, Lorong Angsa 12, 88300 Kota
Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.; Goossens, B, Danau Girang Field
Centre c/o Sabah Wildlife Department, 5th Floor, Block B, Wisma
Muis, 88100, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia;
Rapid palm oil expansion is jeopardising long-term distributions of
threatened species in the Malaysian State of Sabah, Borneo. Ensuring
their long-term persistence in this multi-use environment will involve
adapting land management and policy and a first step in this process is
to predict suitable areas for these threatened species. We used a maximum
entropy approach (using MaxEnt and ArcGIS) that integrates presence
location data with environmental information, and enhanced this method
by incorporating key biological determinants into the models to increase
performance. Recent data were used, models were integrated with landuse
and habitat maps at a state wide and regional level, using LANDSAT
and SPOT 5 images respectively and outputs were reviewed by a panel of
experts. The models identified extensive areas with conservation value in
Sabah but most priority sites lie outside protected areas and fall within
private or production forest jurisdiction. As high revenue from palm oil
drives forest conversion these areas are consequently vulnerable to future
transformation. There is grave concern over the effects of such habitat loss
and fragmentation on these priority areas and if Sabah’s biodiversity is to be
safeguarded, then sustainable land-use planning, policy and conservation
derived revenue schemes are needed.
2011-12-06 11:45 Carbon and Biodiversity: SCB’s Adaptive
Management Experience in a South African Biodiversity Hotspot
Abrams, RW*, Long Island University; Powell, M, Ecological
Capital Restoration Pty;
Since the 1970’s anthropogenic impact assessments led to recognition
1