Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
from disturbance; and water quality. We found that local involvement
and governance at multiple scales are key factors in achieving social and
ecological outcomes. We suggest that a nested approach to governance,
involving multiple governance strategies, can help assure success in social
and ecological governance outcomes.
2011-12-08 14:00 Systematic management of marine mega-fauna in a
changing climate
Fuentes, MMPB*, ARC COE Coral Reef Studies; Pressey, B, ARC
COE Coral Reef Studies; Marsh, H, James Cook University;
Marine mega-fauna, which include seabirds, sea turtles, marine mammals,
and elasmobranchs, are key components of marine ecosystems that have
social and economical value globally. Many populations of marine megafauna
have declined in recent decades due largely to anthropogenic threats.
Further impacts to this important group will likely occur from predicted
climate change and affect their distribution, behaviour, reproduction and
demographics. However, the resilience of many populations of marine megafauna
to climate change is severely compromised by dramatic reductions in
population sizes and thus their ability to adapt and recover from climate
change is reduced. Therefore conservation strategies that help species
moderate or cope with projected climate change are needed. However,
dealing with the reality of climate change is challenging as incorporating
actions to alleviate the impacts of climate change into ongoing conservation
projects is often limited largely by uncertainties in what action can be
taken. Thus, there is the need for new, flexible and dynamic conservation
strategies that integrate climate impacts, species responses and changing
ecological relationships. This talk will focus on the systematic management
of marine mega-fauna in a changing climate. It will highlight the threats
that marine mega-fauna face as climate change progresses, potential option
for prioritizing the management of these threats and ways to engage the
broad society to achieve desired conservation goals.
2011-12-08 18:30 Landscape genetics of long-eared bats (Nyctophilus)
in fragmented landscapes of south-eastern Australia
Fuller, NC*, The University of Adelaide; Carthew, SM, The University
of Adelaide; Cooper, SJB, South Australian Museum;
Bat fauna represents a significant proportion of global mammalian diversity
(approximately 20%) yet we know little about how this mega-diverse order
responds to one of the principal threatening processes: habitat fragmentation.
We have developed a suite of microsatellite markers in order to assess and
compare population genetic structure and gene-flow across fragmented and
continuous habitat in two species of long-eared bats, Nyctophilus gouldi (a
habitat specialist) and N.geoffroyi (a habitat generalist). The selected species
display near-identical morphology but contrasting ecology and behaviour
providing a valuable insight into chiropteran responses and sensitivity to this
landscape scale threat. Our dataset includes 1200 individuals sampled across
western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia from fourteen sites,
including five control sites within extensive continuous forest and nine sites
representing forest fragments of varying size and degrees of isolation. We
will present results comparing gene-flow within continuous habitat to geneflow
between habitat fragments as well as data on population structure across
the study region. Results identifying barriers to bat dispersal and distance
thresholds for bat dispersal will also be presented. This study represents the
first attempt to quantify the influence of habitat fragmentation on bat geneflow
and dispersal.
2011-12-09 15:45 Protected areas in a crowded planet
Fuller, RA*, University of Queensland; Boakes, EH, Imperial
College; Carwardine, J, CSIRO; Clark, NE, University of Reading;
Grantham, HS, Conservation International; Klein, CJ, University
of Queensland; McDonald-Madden, E, CSIRO; McGowan, PJK,
World Pheasant Association
More than 100,000 protected areas have been declared globally, yet in a
planet that is increasingly crowded, some sites have proved to be highly
permeable to severe threats including land clearance. For example, we have
discovered that in South Asia, one of the world’s major growth epicentres,
a quarter of the land inside its protected area estate has now been cleared of
natural habitat. Moreover, the rate of habitat clearance inside protected areas
is indistinguishable from that on unprotected lands, and habitat clearance
rates show no evidence of abating following gazettal of a parcel of land as
a formal protected area. We evaluate several possible solutions to this crisis
including increased governance in the region’s protected areas, restoration
activity in degraded sites, or degazettal of the least intact sites coupled with
strict protection of replacements. We present an algorithm for prioritising
replacement of protected areas that delivers efficient habitat consevervation.
MSE in fisheries: current state of the art and what is to come
Fulton, EA*, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research;
Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) now has a 20-year history in
fisheries and is still going strength-strength. Over that period the models
used in the MSE have come in many different forms, but it has been rare
for the human decision making components to receive as much attention
as the dynamics of the biological stocks. This imbalance is beginning to
be addressed however, with the current state of the art fully incorporating
human behavioural uncertainty in to the models (and other methods) used
as the basis of the MSE. Illustrative examples drawn from Australian case
histories will highlight how qualitative MSE, agent-based models and social
network theory is broadening the processes considered in MSE. MSE in the
21st century is increasingly whole of system – treating the biophysical and
anthropogenic worlds with equal attention.
2011-12-06 11:30 Do we need another plan?
G Lipsett-Moore*, The Nature Conservancy; S Cowell, Independent
Consultant;
One of the great challenges emerging from the last 20 years of conservation
planning (ecoregional plans, catchment plans, conservation blue prints
to name a few), is that we are generally very good at developing plans
and building a ‘science base’ around them, but lousy when it comes to
implementation. We contend that the problem, more often than not, is
that we place insufficient emphasis on the factors that are key to planning
success such as resources, leadership, participation an effective process and
support, at the expense of a natural desire to focus on the object of our
planning. Importantly, a consistent issue is that implementation is merely
an afterthought for an impressive piece of planning science. We discuss the
disconnect between planning and implementation with case studies from
Melanesia and Northern Australia and provide thoughts and some practical
and applied solutions to assist in bridging the gap between a good plan and
an effective outcome.
2011-12-07 16:30 Invasive Ant Suppression Benefits the Conservation
of a Functionally Important Native Tree on a Tropical Island
Gaigher, R.*, Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology,
Faculty of AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University; Samways, M.J.,
Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Faculty of
AgriSciences, Stellenbosch University;
Documenting the response of native ecosystems to invasive species
management can contribute greatly to the refinement of management
programs. Here, we demonstrate the effect of suppression of an invasive
ant, Pheidole megacephala, on the condition of a dominant native tree
of great functional importance, Pisonia grandis, on a Seychelles island.
P. megacephala has caused serious indirect damage to P. grandis via a
mutualism with an exotic hemipteran insect, Pulvinaria urbicola. We treated
eight hectares of forest with highly specific formicidal bait, which was
delivered to the field in bait stations to further reduce the possibility of nontarget
effects. Twenty plots within the treated area and twenty plots outside
of the treated area were monitored for ant foraging activity, hemipteran
density and tree condition at intervals over eleven months. In treated plots,
P. megacephala foraging activity was reduced by 97% over eleven months
and was followed closely by a 99% reduction in P. urbicola density. The
decline in P. urbicola density contributed to a considerable improvement
in P. grandis shoot condition, with a noticeable increase in canopy density.
Our results demonstrate the benefit of P. megacephala management to the P.
grandis forest and support the use of a treatment method that can be applied
in other tropical ecosystems.
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