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 Restoration of a rich fen by topsoil removal:
temporal and spatial succession in plants and snails during ten years
Evasdotter, L*, Dept Plant Ecology & Evolution, Uppsala University;
Proschwitz, T von, Göteborg Natural History Museum; Nilsson, D,
County Administrative Board of Östergötland, Sweden; Sundberg, S,
Dept Plant Ecology & Evolution, Uppsala University;
Rich fens are nutrient-poor wetland biodiversity hotspots that are
threatened in Europe because of e.g. drainage and eutrophication. Still
different restoration methods need to be tested, monitored for different
organism groups and evaluated. In this case, a former calcareous fen in
south-boreal Sweden was targeted for restoration. Most of the site (except
for a 0.1 ha remnant) had been drained and cultivated a century ago and
finally become abandoned and overgrown by species-poor and eutrophic
vegetation. Organic topsoil of 30-40 cm was removed to the calcium-rich
mineral soil on 0.5 ha ten years ago. The development was monitored
annually in permanent plots regarding vascular plants, bryophytes and
snails. The remnant fen acted as a reference and a dispersal kernel for the
restoration. For each year the vegetation of the restored area approached that
of the reference community. After ten years, almost all rich fen indicating
plant species had recolonised the restored area. The main difference was
that moss cover was higher and water table more stable in the reference
fen. Snail species richness became similar already after three years and the
most demanding species had colonized the restored area after nine years.
Overall, topsoil removal was successful at this site, as it served both by
lowering the soil surface towards the water table and by removing nutrients.
The proximity to a dispersal kernel appeared a prerequisite for the quick
recovery of the three organism groups.
2011-12-07 12:00 Disease risks and management in Conservation
Translocations
Ewen, J.G.*, Institute of Zoology; Sainsbury, A.W., Institute of
Zoology; Jakob-Hoff, R. , Auckland Zoo; McInnes, K, Department
of Conservation;
Concomitant with our increasing understanding of the disease risks
of translocation programmes, there has been some attempt by wildlife
disease professionals over the last 20 years to develop appropriate methods
to assess these risks. However considering the scale of the problem
measured by the number of wild animals translocated per annum, the
literature in this area has been weak. We will provide a brief review of
the scope of published literature related to disease impacts in conservation
translocations and recommendations from these studies. The evolution
of methods in disease risk analysis for the translocation of wild animals
has largely grown from similar methods developed for human health and
domestic animal movements. While quantitative methods are available,
their use in conservation translocations is limited due to our generally poor
understanding of the epidemiology of infectious diseases in wild animals
and the large number of infectious agents which are co-translocated. The
qualitative disease risk assessment is increasingly favoured and is a more
widely utilised approach. We will present a basic overview of this approach
and highlight its strengths and weaknesses with the aim for stimulating
debate and continued refinement.
2011-12-08 18:30 Spatial variability in habitat quality of modified
tropical rainforest
Ewers, RM*, Imperial College London; Turner, EC, Imperial College
London;
Modified forests are proliferating at the expense of primary forests across
the tropics, but that modification is not spatially uniform. Using data
from 183 forest plots at the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems Project
in Malaysian Borneo, we assessed patterns of variability in forest structure
across a gradient of primary forest, once-logged forest, twice-logged forest
and oil palm plantation of different ages. There is a self-obvious selective
removal of large trees along the land use gradient. More importantly, there
are significant changes to spatial variability of forest structures. Twicelogged
forests varied in structure from near-primary with some large trees
through to near-heathland with sparsely distributed small stems. Similar
variation in liana density was observed, with some plots heavily infested
and others where lianas were virtually absent. The extent of forest damage
and spatial variation in habitat quality varied among logging coupes and
with time since logging. Oil palm plantations were very homogenous in
structure, although there are large differences in microclimate and physical
habitat structure depending on the age of the palms. Twice-logged forests
harbour significant amounts of primary forest biodiversity, but we show
that the term ‘twice-logged forest’ encompasses a wide gradient of habitat
quality. Maintaining biodiversity in these forests will require more attention
being paid to variability in the degree of forest damage.
2011-12-09 10:30 Genomics and the Future of Conservation Genetics
F.W. Allendorf*, University of Montana; P.A. Hohelohe, University
of Oregon; G. Luikart, University of Montana;
We will soon have complete genome sequences from thousands of species,
as well as from many individuals within species. This coming explosion of
information will transform our understanding of the amount, distribution
and functional significance of genetic variation in natural populations. Now
is a crucial time to explore the potential implications of this information
revolution for conservation genetics and to recognize limitations in
applying genomic tools to conservation issues. We identify and discuss
those problems for which genomics will be most valuable for conservation
and curbing the accelerating worldwide loss of biodiversity. We also provide
guidance on which genomics tools and approaches will be most appropriate
to use for different aspects of conservation and management.
2011-12-08 18:30 Mitigating human-crane conflict in Driefontein
Grasslands, central Zimbabwe: a test of scarecrow methods
FAKARAYI, T*, Projects Officer- BirdLife Zimbabwe; Chirara, C,
Director- BirdLife Zimbabwe;
The globally threatened Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus and Grey
Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum were reported to damage crops in
the Driefontein Grasslands, central Zimbabwe resulting in conflict with
farmers. A method of using scarecrows to reduce crop damage by crane
was tested. The overall goal of this project was to improve conservation
of cranes through mitigating the human-crane conflict. A combination of
human models and plastic balloons were erected in sampling field plots
during planting seasons. No crop damage was recorded in crop fields where
scarecrows were erected. It was concluded that the scarecrow models tested
in this project have worked effectively and the method was well received by
local villagers as it proved to be environmentally friendly.
2011-12-06 14:12 Assessment of Giant Panda Corridors: Species
Occupancy, Corridor Effectiveness and Corridor Restoration
Fang Wang*, Peking University; Hao Wang, Peking University;
Dajun Wang, Peking University; William Mcshea, Smithsonian
Conservation Biology Institute; Sheng Li, Smithsonian Conservation
Biology Institute;
Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) are restricted to 30 isolated
populations in China, 13 of which are small populations with high
extinction risk. Our study results show significant decrease in number and
distribution happened in 9 small panda populations in recent decade. To
solve this problem, China proposed a plan to expand and connect panda
habitats into 12 larger ones by year 2020. However, knowledge on how to
build effective and efficiency corridors is insufficiency. We put 45 camera
traps in 2 panda corridors in Niuweihe (Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi
Province) and Huangtuliang (Minshan Mountains, Sichuan) since 2009,
and collected 2790 photos of 32 animal species in 92 locations inside the
corridors. The result shows in corridor area where ungulates’ occurrences
(Goral, Serow, Tufted Deer, Wild Boar and Reeves’ Muntjac) randomly
distributed, large carnivores (Panda, Black Bear) still avoid areas closed
to road and house. This suggests that it takes longer time to giant panda
than to ungulates in corridor community recovery, and managing impact
from road and farmers house is crucial in panda corridors. The result also
shows large animals’ occurrences inside the corridor (Panda, Black Bear,
Takin) are significantly higher in winter, which suggests a more stringent
management measures during animal’s winter migration. The knowledge
has been adopted in panda conservation and prevented fence constructions
and bamboo harvest in Niuweihe panda corridor.
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