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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. 54
25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 2011-12-09 11:30 MARAS: a system for monitoring structure, function and biodiversity in Patagonia rangelands. First data obtained in North Patagonia. Gaitan, J*, INTA, EEA Bariloche; Bran, D, INTA, EEA Bariloche; Oliva, G, INTA, EEA Santa Cruz; 75 M hectares of temperate-cold rangelands in Patagonia, Argentina, are occupied by extensive sheep systems which provide wool to the international market. Sheep was introduced and rapidly expanded in Patagonia during the end of the XIX century. Sheep overgrazing produced land degradation and desertification in vast areas. For monitoring desertification trends, the MARAS (Monitores Ambientales para Regiones Aridas y Semiáridas) system is being deployed by INTA. It consists in ground monitors assessed with a single methodology all over the region. The sites are chosen in order to represent the main land units, and monitors are installed in paddocks with sheep grazing. Observations include: floristic composition, vegetation spatial structure and soil surface status on interpatches (adapted from Landscape Function Analysis). Soil organic carbon and texture are also tested. Time frame for reassessment is 5-years. The results obtained from the first MARAS’s indicators assessment are presented and discussed. 2011-12-06 16:30 Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand: Conservation education through community involvement Galbraith, MP*, Unitec Institute of Technology; Jones, G, Unitec Institute of Technology; Tiritiri Matangi Island, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, has an international profile as a successful ecological restoration project, and is often cited as a model of environmental stewardship. Ecological restoration on the island has always involved, and been dependent on, voluntary public involvement. Public (volunteer) involvement was formalised in 1988 with the establishment of Supporters of Tiritiri Matangi (Inc.), an organization with aims to support and promote the restoration project. The contribution that the Supporters group has made to the island’s management has grown and diversified since its inception. From an initial focus on labour and funding for capital items, voluntary contributions now include supporting research and biodiversity management both physically and financially. Participation in this wider application of ecological concepts not only reinforces links between the public and scientific communities, but also facilitates even greater understanding of concepts of biological conservation outside of the professional and academic worlds. 2011-12-06 12:00 Improving plan implementation: blurring the distinction between spatial prioritization and strategic conservation planning Game, E.T.*, The Nature Conservancy; Groves, E. T., The Nature Conservancy; Much systematic conservation planning has focused on spatial prioritization - the identification of the best places to take conservation action. It is generally assumed that more detailed strategic planning to work out the best conservation actions in each location will occur once it is decided to work there. The set of tools that conservation biologists use for strategic planning (developing, selecting and planning the implementation of conservation actions) are distinct from those used during spatial prioritization. However, as conservation embraces a wider range of strategies, often in collaboration with other sectors and industries, conservation priority will be influence as much by strategic opportunities as by the biodiversity present there. This makes it inefficient to plan for the two separately. Here we describe The Nature Conservancy’s attempt to integrate its approaches to spatial planning (Ecoregional Assessment) and strategic planning (Conservation Action Planning) into a single, more efficient planning framework that better answers the questions being asked by 21st centaury conservation. 2011-12-08 18:30 How uncertain are climate impacts for African vertebrates? Exploring consensus in projections Garcia, RA*, Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, CSIC, Spain; Burgess, ND, Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Cabeza, M, Metapopulation Research Group, Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Finland; Rahbek, C, Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Araujo, MB, Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, National Museum of Natural Sciences, CSIC, Spain; Africa is predicted to be highly vulnerable to 21st century climatic changes, warranting more research to assess the impacts of these changes on the continent’s biodiversity. Assessing such impacts is, however, plagued by uncertainties. Markedly different estimates of changes in climatic suitability for species can be generated from alternative bioclimatic envelope models (BEM), greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, or global climate models. Using multiple BEMs, emissions scenarios and averages of co-varying climate simulations, we examine future projections of bioclimatic envelopes and their uncertainties for over 2,500 mammal, bird, amphibian and snake species in sub-Saharan Africa. BEMs emerge as the main source of overall uncertainty, affecting species turnover projections in Northern regions down to Congo, where projected non-analogue climates cause BEMs to differ in how they extrapolate. Five consensus methodologies tested to summarise agreements among BEMs outperform most single-models in accuracy, and generally provide consistent turnover estimates. In turn, the variability arising from alternative emissions scenarios increases towards late-century, when storylines diverge more, and affects particularly highturnover regions in Southern Africa. Our results lend support to the use of ensemble forecasting to enable more informed conservation decisions, as it provides a means of exploring and reducing uncertainties in projections of climatic suitability for species. 2011-12-08 18:30 CHARACTERIZATION OF AN INTRODUCED POPULATION OF COTTON-TOP TAMARINS (Saguinus oedipus): FROM THE MYTHS TO THE CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES Garcia, S*, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; Amaya, JD, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana; The cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) is an endemic species of Colombia, which has been considered among the 25 most endangered primate species to extinction in the world due to high fragmentation of its natural habitat as well as illegal wildlife traffic. This has led to the species to be declared globally as critically endangered (CR) according to IUCN. Although, the distribution of this species in Colombia is restricted to some areas in the northwestern Caribbean coast, there is a population outside its natural range in the Tayrona National Park (PNNT), as a result of an introduction in 1974 of a group of 16 to 30 individuals from captivity, released by a former environmental authority in Colombia. The apparently growing expansion of this specie at this PNNT has generated all kinds of assumptions and arguments about the success of this population out of its range, the potential effects generated on local biodiversity and how this phenomenon can be seen as an opportunity for the conservation of this specie. Answers to these questions and reflections are presented based on information of population characterization of this specie at the PNNT, made by linear transect and follow focus group used to estimated the abundance and distribution of the specie, and through the results of the evaluation of potential environmental factors that could explain its successful presence in this area in contrast with their current status within the natural distribution range. 2011-12-07 10:45 The importance of the human landscape in assessing conservation success Garnett, S.T.*, Charles Darwin University; Success with threatened species recovery tends to be assessed against biological indicators. Such indicators ignore the human context within which recovery takes place. In many ways threatened species are akin to poor human communities, and the conservation and recovery of threatened species has many parallels with community development. Here I propose a framework for assessing success in conservation management based on the five capitals of the sustainable livelihoods framework - natural, economic, human, physical and social. I then apply this framework to the Australian bird fauna. I demonstrate how often human and social capital is as important to threatened species recovery as biological or even economic indicators, and that ‘recovery’ cannot be assured unless threatened species continue to have support from skilled, committed individuals and strong institutions. Analysis within the full context of drivers of change is better able to highlight opportunities for action than examining the change in biological indicators alone. Using similar metrics for threatened species and 55
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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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