Abstracts available here - Society for Conservation Biology

25th International Congress for Conservation Biology • Auckland, New Zealand • 5-9 December 2011
2011-12-07 16:46 Population Genetics of the Endemic Spinybreasted
Frog (Quasipaa fasciculispina) in Fragmented Khao Soi Dao
Population, Chantaburi Province, Thailand
KHUDAMRONGSAWAT, JENJIT*, Department of Biology,
Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Thailand; Chomcheun
Siripunkaw, Mahidol University at Nakornsawan, Thailand;
The spiny-breasted frog (Quasipaa fasciculispina) is endemic to the
Cardamom region of southeastern Thailand and southwestern Cambodia.
The first specimen described as Q. fasciculispina was collected in Khao
Soi Dao, Chantaburi Province, Thailand. This existing population is
surrounded by golf courses and agricultural farms, which increasingly
expand and may threaten the health and viability of the population. Due
to its endemism and vulnerable status, there is a great concern regarding
the reduction in genetic diversity for long-term existence. This study aimed
to determine the population genetics of Q. fasciculispina in Khao Soi Dao
using microsatellite DNA as molecular markers. Other biological aspects of
this population were also observed. The results showed low genetic diversity
in number of alleles per locus possibly due to its narrow distribution and
endemism. The observation of its biology revealed its nocturnal and
predatory behaviors to control the number of nocturnal insects and other
poisonous arthropods. This information regarding the role of this species
in the ecosystem can be used to raise public awareness of such an important
fauna in their community.
2011-12-09 14:48 Performance evaluation of species prioritisation
methods – accounting for social and governance aspects
Kim, MK*, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook
University; Marsh, H, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences,
James Cook University;
The limited resources available to conserve threatened species require
conservation efforts to be prioritized. Species prioritization methods have
proliferated in the scientific literature, with several being formally adopted
in various jurisdictions. A review of the literature on prioritization methods
reveals rapid progress in the technical aspects. Much less effort has been
devoted to the operational aspects required to implement prioritization
schemes. We know of no performance assessment of species prioritization
published in the peer-reviewed literature. We assessed participants’ and
potential users’ perceptions of the ‘Back on Track’ program, a species
prioritization framework adopted by the Queensland Government
(Australia). The program’s outputs appear to have been primarily used to
support applications for State and Federal funding rather than to guide
conservation action per se. The interviewees’ assessment of the program’s
performance was influenced by their perceptions of: (i) governance aspects
(e.g. adaptability, transparency, capability); (ii) the alignment between
program outputs and the knowledge they need for resource allocation;
and (iii) the alignment between priorities identified by the program and
the priorities of funding sources. We conclude with recommendations to
incorporate these aspects in program design and evaluation.
2011-12-07 15:30 Understanding the
King, JR*, University of Central Florida; Tschinkel, WR, Florida
State University;
“Invasive” ants are routinely blamed for many negative ecological effects,
particularly the reduction of native ant faunae. Although the fire ant,
Solenopsis invicta, has frequently been cited as a prime example of such a
species, our experiments in the natural ecosystems of northern Florida have
shown that it is rare in most undisturbed habitats, but invades rapidly when
the habitat is disturbed by plowing. Disturbance directly reduces native ant
populations first, and fire ants then recruit to the disturbance, creating the
illusion that fire ants suppress native ants. Our results and the observations
that most “invasive” ants are found in human-altered habitats and are
much less abundant or absent in native ecosystems (i.e. not “invasive”)
suggests that invasive ants, like most exotic species are a symptom of land
use change and human transport. We urgently need to redirect research to
the question of how the life history characteristics of the most troublesome
“invasive” ants are matched to the characteristics of the disturbed habitats
they colonize. Further, experiments are sorely needed to quantify the
actual impact of invasive ants on species of concern. Only then will a more
measured and nuanced understanding of the impacts introduced ants, ant
ecology, and conservation concerns emerge.
2011-12-07 16:30 Navigating cultural ecosystem services to inform
environmental management
Klain, S*, University of British Columbia; Gould, R, Stanford
University; Chan, K, University of British Columbia; Satterfield,
T, University of British Columbia; Levine, J, University of British
Columbia;
The rapidly expanding field of ecosystem services has focused on the
valuation of material contributions from ecosystems to people without
substantially delving into intangible cultural benefits from nature. To
facilitate broader consideration of why nature is important to people,
catalog locally important ecosystem services and inform spatial natural
resource decision-making, we developed a flexible semi-structured interview
protocol. This includes prompts to enable interviewees to 1) verbally
articulate material and non-material benefits from and values pertaining
to nature, 2) spatially identify places associated with these benefits and
values and 3) assign relative monetary, non-monetary and environmental
threat value across a land- or seascape. We tested this protocol in northern
Vancouver Island and Kona, Hawaii. Our results document contributions
of ecosystems to livelihoods as well as emotional and personal values
people associate with nature. We show how people bundle various services,
benefits and values when they discuss what’s important to them related to
ecosystems. Also, results indicate that conceptualizing nature as a service
provider is only one of many ways in which people communicate nature’s
importance. The research outputs, which provide a fuller representation of
the values and benefits people associate with ecosystems, can complement a
deliberative environmental decision making process.
2011-12-08 15:15 Balancing decisions between land- and sea-based
conservation management actions to increase the resilience of coral
reefs
Klein, C, The University of Queensland; Possingham, H.P.*, The
University of Queensland;
Coral reefs have exceptional biodiversity, support the livelihoods of millions
of people, and are threatened by multiple human activities on land and
in the sea. Limited resources for conservation require that we efficiently
prioritize where and how to best sustain coral reef ecosystems. Here
we develop the first prioritization approach that can guide conservation
investments in both land- and sea-based conservation actions that costeffectively
mitigate threats to coral reefs. We apply the approach at two
scales: 1) the ecoregional scale covering six Coral Triangle countries, an area
of significant global attention and funding; and 2) across Fiji’s three largest
islands. Using information on threats to marine ecosystems, effectiveness
of management actions at abating threats, and the management and
opportunity costs of actions, we calculate the rate of return on investment
in different conservation actions in each ecoregion and sub-catchment.
Across the Coral Triangle, we discover that sea-based conservation is almost
always a better conservation investment than land-based conservation
within any ecoregion, but land-based conservation in one ecoregion can
be a better investment than marine conservation in another. Previous
prioritization approaches do not consider both land and sea-based threats
or the socioeconomic costs of conserving coral reefs.
2011-12-09 14:24 Efficient conservation in a global recession
Knapp, John*, Native Range, Inc.; Cory, Coleen, The Nature
Conservancy; Vermeer, Lotus, The Nature Conservancy; White,
Mike, Tejon Ranch Conservancy; Walker, Kelvin, Native Range,
Inc.; Macdonald, Norm, Native Range, Inc.;
Prior to the 2008 global recession, conservation funding was already severely
limited even as the need for it was increasing. Resource managers must
utilize scarce funding efficiently to be competitive and to meet objectives in
this era of dwindling dollars. Tackling multiple landscape-level ecological
management tasks at the same time can provide economies-of-scale.
The benefits derived from this approach can be increased by employing
ecologists with broad ecological knowledge who can perform a wide range
of services, versus utilizing single-species experts. Project consolidation
and multi-tasking efficiency can further be enhanced by decreasing access
time between project sites, which is frequently the most costly project
expense. Deploying personnel across the landscape in a “leap frog” fashion
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