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25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 an expert group. We found that the current FLMMA network effectively protected approximately 10-25% of each target habitat (mangroves, intertidal mudflats, reefs), though the amount of protection varies substantially by province. We used these results to begin a dialogue with provincial administrators and members of the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area network to identify candidate sites for protection and management to fill the gaps. 2011-12-08 14:45 Conservation of Highly Migratory Ichthyofauna Using Ecosystem-Based Management Principles at Local and National Scales in Fiji Jupiter, SD*, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Program; Jenkins, AP, Wetlands International-Oceania; Qauqau, I, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Program; Weeks, R, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Program; Mailautoka, K, Wildlife Conservation Society Fiji Country Program; The freshwater and estuarine ichthyofauna of tropical high island ecosystems are highly migratory with a high proportion of endemic, amphidromous fishes that move across multiple habitats during their lifecycle. Our research from Fiji has demonstrated that three variables, percent catchment forest cover, presence of non-native tilapias, and presence of hanging culverts, exert strong negative influence over freshwater fish species richness and abundance. We present two examples of how we incorporated these scientific findings into development of priorities for catchment management at the national and provincial scale. At the national scale, we used a set of decision rules in GIS that considered habitat intactness and complexity, hydrology, and sensitivity to erosion. Each combined catchment-fishing ground mapping unit (n = 76) was scored for relative erosion potential, extent of road network, number of creek crossings, presence/absence of non-native freshwater fish, mangrove area relative to catchment size, mangrove habitat complexity, reef area relative to fishing ground size, and reef habitat complexity. The results indicated areas to target investment for preservation versus restoration. At the provincial scale, we defined targets in Marxan software for the amount of forests and major creeks/rivers protected in order to identify which local landowners should be targeted for consultations to establish new community forest parks and riparian buffers. These parks and managed areas will be embedded in a broader ecosystem-based management system that considers both community and national rules governing activities inside and outside of protected areas. 2011-12-07 18:00 The Satoyama Index: A biodiversity indicator for agricultural landscapes Kadoya, T*, National Institute for Environmental Studies; Washitani, I, The University of Tokyo; Agricultural development to meet rapidly growing demands for food and biofuel and the abandonment of traditional land use have had major impacts on biodiversity. Habitat diversity is one of the most important factors influencing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. In this study we propose an ecological index of ecosystem or habitat diversity in agricultural landscapes – the Satoyama Index (SI) – that is discernible under appropriate spatial units (e.g., 6 km×6 km) from 1 km×1 km gridded land-cover data available from an open-access web site. A high SI value is an indicator of high habitat diversity, which is characteristic of traditional agricultural systems, including Japanese satoyama landscapes, while a low value indicates a monotonic habitat condition typical of extensive monoculture landscapes. The index correlated well with the spatial patterns of occurrence of a bird of prey (Butastur indicus) and species richness of amphibians and damselflies in Japan. The values of the SI also corresponded well to the spatial patterns of typical traditional agricultural landscapes with high conservation value in other countries, for example, the dehesas of the Iberian Peninsula and shade coffee landscapes in Central America. Globally, the pattern of East/South- East Asian paddy belts with their high index values contrasts markedly with the low values of the Eurasian, American, and Australian wheat or corn belts. The SI, which correlates landscapes with biodiversity through potential habitat availability, is highly promising for assessing and monitoring the status of biodiversity irrespective of scale. 2011-12-09 14:04 Predicting ecosystem function from ecosystem structure: Implications for valuation of ecosystem services and development of policy instruments KADYKALO, ANDREW N.*, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa; Findlay, C. Scott, Department of Biology & Institute of the Environment, University of Ottawa ; Ecosystem services are simply ecological functions that demonstrably contribute to human welfare. Assessing the level of a given service in an ecosystem requires assessing the level of the associated functions. But direct measurement/estimation of ecosystem functions (e.g. primary production, pollination; nutrient cycling, etc.) is often technically demanding, not possible or resource-intensive. Consequently, ecosystem functions are often estimated via (a) estimates of ecosystem structure; (b) inference from ecosystem structure to function based on assumed structure-function relationships (e.g. Inference about primary productivity (a function) from NDVI (a structural attribute). The validity of this inference determines the predictive value of ecosystem structure with respect to ecosystem function, and hence, the uncertainty and biases associated with the estimation of the level of associated ecosystem services. For several wetland services accumulation curves were constructed by measuring studies, which fulfill selection criteria vs. effort spent searching and using the service with the highest asymptote (presumed most data meeting selection criteria and predictive value data) a meta-analysis was performed. We conclude that the predictive value of ecosystem function with respect to ecosystem structure is relatively poor and therefore presents concern for ecosystem valuation studies and development of environmental policy instruments. 2011-12-08 11:15 ‘Conservation’ among animist beliefs of the Ikundiku of Papua New Guinea Kagl, John*, Wildlife Conservation Society, Papua New Guinea Programme; Many indigenous peoples do not distinguish conservation from broader knowledge and belief systems. This is the case for the Ikundi-ku, who live in one of the most remote and least developed parts of Papua New Guinea (PNG). For 35 years the Ikundi-ku have resisted the efforts of missionaries to covert them to Christianity and have strong animist beliefs where everything is related to everything else. I worked with these people to see if their approach to harvesting and forest management is compatible with the goals of the conservation organization I work for. There appears to be much common ground. The Ikundi-ku want to retain large areas of forest because they say “… it is our mother, the source of our life and existence. She provides for everything we need. ”. They also revere many sacred sites that resemble conservation areas in being clearly demarcated with restrictions on entering or taking plants and animals. Species that decline rapidly when over harvested in PNG (e.g. cassowaries), are still abundant in Ikundi, suggesting hunting at present levels is sustainable. As the human population grows and missionaries colonise the area, however, the pressure to abandoned scared sites and harvest will grow. Research is therefore needed into the relative impacts of sacred sites, low human population densities and traditional harvest methods on sustainability. Initiatives are also needed to ensure the Ikundi-ku retain their ‘mother forest’ without falling into a ‘poverty trap’. 2011-12-07 11:30 Integrating wildllife and community health to promote conservation and sustainable livelihoods Kalema-Zikusoka, Gladys*, Conservation Through Public Health; Rubanga, Steven, Conservation Through Public Health; Byonanebye, Joseph, Conservation Through Public Health; Gaffikin, Lynne, Evaluation and Research Technologies for Health; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to approximately half of the world’s estimated population of 780 critically endangered mountain gorillas, and is also surrounded by very high population densities of 300 people per square kilometer amongst the poorest in Africa, who are stakeholders in gorilla ecotourism and yet have limited access to modern health services. Two scabies skin disease outbreaks in two Bwindi mountain gorilla groups in 1996 and 2000/1, resulting in the death of an infant and sickness in the rest of the group, were eventually traced to surrounding communities, possibly through contact with scabies mite infested clothing when gorillas left the park to forage on community land. Subsequent community health education workshops and research on the risks of TB disease transmission at the human/wildlife/livestock interface further emphasized the linkages. 80
25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011 These findings resulted in the formation of Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in 2003, a registered Ugandan NGO and US non-profit, whose focus is the interdependence of wildlife health and human health in and around Africa’s protected areas. CTPH implements three integrated Population, Health and Environment (PHE) programs to address these issues: wildlife health monitoring, community public health and information, communication and technology, through partnerships with governments and local communities. 2011-12-08 15:00 Taking Eradication Funding and Measurable Outcomes One Step Further – Restoring Island Ecosystems Kappes, P*, Oregon State University; Jones, HP, UC Santa Cruz; Islands contain a significant proportion of global biodiversity. Seabirds are ecosystem drivers that support islands and their associated biodiversity through guano fertilization. Unfortunately, invasive mammals have ravaged insular ecosystems and seabird populations around the globe, resulting in devastating ecosystem-scale effects. In response to these dual threats, invasive mammals have been eradicated from islands throughout the world. The goal of these removal campaigns is to ecosystem recovery but it remains unclear if island ecosystems can recover passively, especially where seabirds do not readily recover. We advocate that the island restoration community incorporate seabird restoration techniques into eradication projects to enhance conservation outcomes. Joining the two efforts allows practitioners to initiate seabird restoration soon after eradications, increasing the chances of luring any remaining birds with experience breeding at that location. Because considerable time and money is put into funding, public approval, planning, building infrastructure, and performing both eradication and seabird restoration projects, it makes sense to treat seabird restoration as part of eradication projects, rather than reinvesting time and money to initiate a new restoration project. We encourage practitioners to look for opportunities to integrate seabird restoration and eradication programs, in order to truly restore island ecosystems and the biodiversity they support. 2011-12-07 16:42 Should we use pedigrees to detect inbreeding depression when the founders might be related? Kardos, MK*, University of Montana; Luikart, G, University of Montana; Allendorf, FW, University of Montana; Habitat destruction and overexploitation of species may often decrease population sizes and increase the frequency of inbreeding (mating between close relatives). Accurately assessing individual inbreeding is necessary to fully understand its importance to individual fitness and population growth. The historically preferred method to measure inbreeding is to use a pedigree to calculate an individual’s inbreeding coefficient (F) which is the reduction in heterozygosity due to parents being related; this method assumes that the pedigree founders are both non-inbred and unrelated to one another. We used simulated populations with full pedigrees to assess the effects of violating these assumptions on the ability of F to approximate the true level of inbreeding and to estimate the strength of inbreeding depression. Violating the assumption of non-inbred pedigree founders had little effect of the relationship between F and the true level of inbreeding. However, when approximately 40-90% of pedigree founders were closely related, F was a poor approximation of the true level of inbreeding and the power to detect inbreeding depression was severely reduced, particularly when pedigrees containing fewer than ten generations were used. Our results suggest that pedigree-based estimates of inbreeding and its effects on fitness may be unreliable when a large proportion of pedigree founders are closely related. 2011-12-06 14:45 Repair and Recovery of Damaged Nature Kareiva, P., The Nature Conservancy; Jones, H.*, UC Santa Cruz; Marvier, M., Santa Clara University; Fuller, E., The Nature Conservancy; Zavaleta, E., UC Santa Cruz; Human impacts on earth have been huge, and numerous environmental assessments have pointed out that the ability of ecosystem services to support human wellbeing are declining globally due to ecosystem damage. Moreover, ongoing growth in the human population and in human demands for food and energy are sure to further stress nature. A key question is to what extent can nature and ecosystems recover from damage and egregious environmental insults? We are undertaking a systematic examination of case studies of recovery and repair or lack of recovery and repair. Preliminary results suggest mean perturbation magnitudes are highest for agriculture, eutrophication and invasive species perturbations. Species abundances are affected more strongly than species diversity by perturbations and species diversity variables recovered more quickly than species abundance variables. Our analysis indicates authors’ interpretations sometimes do not match up with our objective recovery estimates, with authors tending to underplay recovery. Resilience decreases from annual species to those with longer generation times. Grasses have higher resilience than do tree species and invertebrates have much higher resilience than do birds and fish. We found no difference in resilience between different trophic levels. We hope to use these results to build recovery and resilience theory, help prioritize restoration projects, and identify the key metrics that drive ecosystem recovery following perturbations. 2011-12-09 14:30 Implications of bird vs. monkey seed dispersal behavior for genetic structuring of palm populations Karubian, J, Tulane University; Ottewell, K*, Tulane University; di Fiore, A, New York University; Link, A, New York University; In tropical rainforests, up to 85% of tree species rely on seed dispersal by frugivorous vertebrates, but many of these animals are declining as a result of overhunting and loss of habitat. The extent to which this will impact on the tree species they disperse is unclear as it is challenging to quantify seed dispersal patterns due to the long range movements of animal vectors. Some vertebrates, however, exhibit behaviors whereby seeds are moved to a particular destination (e.g. roosting sites) resulting in clumped distributions of seeds at these sites, allowing us insight into the implications of particular dispersal behaviors for seed survival and genetic structuring of plant populations. Here we examine the effects of destination-based seed dispersal behavior by two endangered large-bodied frugivorous vertebrates, Long-Wattled Umbrellabirds (Cephalopterus penduliger) and Spider Monkeys (Ateles belzebuth) on the genetic structuring of seedling pools of the widespread palm, Oenocarpus bataua, at forest sites in Ecuador. Using genetic identification techniques we quantify the number and diversity of seed sources represented in pools of seedlings found either in Male Umbrellabird leks or underneath Spider Monkey sleeping trees, relative to “background” seedling pools located away from these focal points. We show that vertebrate dispersal behavior can have a profound impact on the distribution of genetic diversity in recruiting populations of O. bataua, and that the loss of these dispersal agents is likely to have negative genetic consequences for the palm. 2011-12-09 15:00 Collaborative fisheries research enhances assessments and fosters stakeholder support for marine science Kay, MC*, UC Santa Barbara; Lenihan, HS, UC Santa Barbara; Wilson, JR, UC Santa Barbara; Miller, CJ, California Lobster and Trap Fisherman’s Association; Assessment of fish populations and conservation policies such as marine reserves is difficult due to high costs and logistical challenges. In recent years, however, scientists are finding traditionally unlikely allies among commercial fishermen whose tools and talents can enhance fisheries research. In this study we describe two projects that demonstrate the scientific benefits of collaborative fisheries research (CFR) between academic scientists and lobster fishermen in Santa Barbara, California. The first project is a marine reserve assessment in which sampling with fishing gear expands spatio-temporal coverage through comparison with historical fishery catch/effort records and a concurrent port sampling program. These comparisons reveal a four to eight-fold increase in trap yield and 5–10% increase in the mean size (carapace length) of lobsters inside vs. outside of reserves. A second project mobilizes fishermen in a tagrecapture program that provides detailed information about lobster growth and movement. We used these data to estimate mortality outside reserves (Z=0.53) using a novel stock assessment method that is low cost, reserve based, and stakeholder driven. Our program successfully fosters stakeholder buy-in for marine science, and does so for a traditionally contentious issue (reserves), as evidenced by lobster industry advocacy for expansion of our CFR program throughout California to monitor lobster population status and reserve performance statewide. 81
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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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