Ecosystem services-based SWOT analysis of protected areas for conservation strategies.

PubMed

Scolozzi, Rocco; Schirpke, Uta; Morri, Elisa; D'Amato, Dalia; Santolini, Riccardo

2014-12-15

An ecosystem services-based SWOT analysis is proposed in order to identify and quantify internal and external factors supporting or threatening the conservation effectiveness of protected areas. The proposed approach concerns both the ecological and the social perspective. Strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats were evaluated based on 12 selected environmental and socio-economic indicators for all terrestrial Italian protected areas, belonging to the Natura 2000 network, and for their 5-km buffer area. The indicators, used as criteria within a multi-criteria assessment, include: core area, cost-distance between protected areas, changes in ecosystem services values, intensification of land use, and urbanization. The results were aggregated for three biogeographical regions, Alpine, Continental, and Mediterranean, indicating that Alpine sites have more opportunities and strengths than Continental and Mediterranean sites. The results call attention to where connectivity and land-use changes may have stronger influence on protected areas, in particular, whereas urbanization or intensification of agriculture may hamper conservation goals of protected areas. The proposed SWOT analysis provides helpful information for a multiple scale perspective and for identifying conservation priorities and for defining management strategies to assure biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services provision. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Identifying priority areas for ecosystem service management in South African grasslands.

PubMed

Egoh, Benis N; Reyers, Belinda; Rouget, Mathieu; Richardson, David M

2011-06-01

Grasslands provide many ecosystem services required to support human well-being and are home to a diverse fauna and flora. Degradation of grasslands due to agriculture and other forms of land use threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services. Various efforts are underway around the world to stem these declines. The Grassland Programme in South Africa is one such initiative and is aimed at safeguarding both biodiversity and ecosystem services. As part of this developing programme, we identified spatial priority areas for ecosystem services, tested the effect of different target levels of ecosystem services used to identify priority areas, and evaluated whether biodiversity priority areas can be aligned with those for ecosystem services. We mapped five ecosystem services (below ground carbon storage, surface water supply, water flow regulation, soil accumulation and soil retention) and identified priority areas for individual ecosystem services and for all five services at the scale of quaternary catchments. Planning for individual ecosystem services showed that, depending on the ecosystem service of interest, between 4% and 13% of the grassland biome was required to conserve at least 40% of the soil and water services. Thirty-four percent of the biome was needed to conserve 40% of the carbon service in the grassland. Priority areas identified for five ecosystem services under three target levels (20%, 40%, 60% of the total amount) showed that between 17% and 56% of the grassland biome was needed to conserve these ecosystem services. There was moderate to high overlap between priority areas selected for ecosystem services and already-identified terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity priority areas. This level of overlap coupled with low irreplaceability values obtained when planning for individual ecosystem services makes it possible to combine biodiversity and ecosystem services in one plan using systematic conservation planning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All

Use of inverse spatial conservation prioritization to avoid biological diversity loss outside protected areas.

PubMed

Kareksela, Santtu; Moilanen, Atte; Tuominen, Seppo; Kotiaho, Janne S

2013-12-01

Globally expanding human land use sets constantly increasing pressure for maintenance of biological diversity and functioning ecosystems. To fight the decline of biological diversity, conservation science has broken ground with methods such as the operational model of systematic conservation planning (SCP), which focuses on design and on-the-ground implementation of conservation areas. The most commonly used method in SCP is reserve selection that focuses on the spatial design of reserve networks and their expansion. We expanded these methods by introducing another form of spatial allocation of conservation effort relevant for land-use zoning at the landscape scale that avoids negative ecological effects of human land use outside protected areas. We call our method inverse spatial conservation prioritization. It can be used to identify areas suitable for economic development while simultaneously limiting total ecological and environmental effects of that development at the landscape level by identifying areas with highest economic but lowest ecological value. Our method is not based on a priori targets, and as such it is applicable to cases where the effects of land use on, for example, individual species or ecosystem types are relatively small and would not lead to violation of regional or national conservation targets. We applied our method to land-use allocation to peat mining. Our method identified a combination of profitable production areas that provides the needed area for peat production while retaining most of the landscape-level ecological value of the ecosystem. The results of this inverse spatial conservation prioritization are being used in land-use zoning in the province of Central Finland. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Delineating priority habitat areas for the conservation of Andean bears in northern Ecuador

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peralvo, M.F.; Cuesta, F.; Van Manen, F.

2005-01-01

We sought to identify priority areas for the conservation of Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus) habitat in the northern portion of the eastern Andean cordillera in Ecuador. The study area included pa??ramo and montane forest habitats within the Antisana and Cayambe-Coca ecological reserves, and unprotected areas north of these reserves with elevations ranging from 1,800 to 4,300 m. We collected data on bear occurrence along 53 transects during 2000-01 in the Oyacachi River basin, an area of indigenous communities within the Cayambe-Coca Ecological Reserve. We used those data and a set of 7 environmental variables to predict suitability of Andean bear habitat using Mahalanobis distance, a multivariate measure of dissimilarity. The Mahalanobis distance values were classified into 5 classes of habitat suitability and generalized to a resolution of 1,650-m ?? 1,650-m grid cells. Clusters of grid cells with high suitability values were delineated from the generalized model and denned as important habitat areas (IHAs) for conservation. The IHAs were ranked using a weighted index that included factors of elevation range, influence from disturbed areas, and current conservation status. We identified 12 IHAs, which were mainly associated with pa??ramo and cloud forest habitats; 2 of these areas have high conservation priorities because they are outside existing reserves and close to areas of human pressure. The distribution of the IHAs highlighted the role of human land use as the main source of fragmentation of Andean bear habitat in this region, emphasizing the importance of preserving habitat connectivity to allow the seasonal movements among habitat types that we documented for this species. Furthermore, the existence of areas with high habitat suitability close to areas of intense human use indicates the importance of bear-human conflict management as a critical Andean bear conservation strategy. We suggest that a promising conservation opportunity for this species is

Comparative mtDNA analyses of three sympatric macropodids from a conservation area on the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea.

PubMed

McGreevy, Thomas J; Dabek, Lisa; Husband, Thomas P

2016-07-01

Matschie's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei), New Guinea pademelon (Thylogale browni), and small dorcopsis (Dorcopsulus vanheurni) are sympatric macropodid taxa, of conservation concern, that inhabit the Yopno-Urawa-Som (YUS) Conservation Area on the Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. We sequenced three partial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes from the three taxa to (i) investigate network structure; and (ii) identify conservation units within the YUS Conservation Area. All three taxa displayed a similar pattern in the spatial distribution of their mtDNA haplotypes and the Urawa and Som rivers on the Huon may have acted as a barrier to maternal gene flow. Matschie's tree kangaroo and New Guinea pademelon within the YUS Conservation Area should be managed as single conservation units because mtDNA nucleotides were not fixed for a given geographic area. However, two distinct conservation units were identified for small dorcopsis from the two different mountain ranges within the YUS Conservation Area.

Identifying Corridors among Large Protected Areas in the United States.

PubMed

Belote, R Travis; Dietz, Matthew S; McRae, Brad H; Theobald, David M; McClure, Meredith L; Irwin, G Hugh; McKinley, Peter S; Gage, Josh A; Aplet, Gregory H

2016-01-01

Conservation scientists emphasize the importance of maintaining a connected network of protected areas to prevent ecosystems and populations from becoming isolated, reduce the risk of extinction, and ultimately sustain biodiversity. Keeping protected areas connected in a network is increasingly recognized as a conservation priority in the current era of rapid climate change. Models that identify suitable linkages between core areas have been used to prioritize potentially important corridors for maintaining functional connectivity. Here, we identify the most "natural" (i.e., least human-modified) corridors between large protected areas in the contiguous Unites States. We aggregated results from multiple connectivity models to develop a composite map of corridors reflecting agreement of models run under different assumptions about how human modification of land may influence connectivity. To identify which land units are most important for sustaining structural connectivity, we used the composite map of corridors to evaluate connectivity priorities in two ways: (1) among land units outside of our pool of large core protected areas and (2) among units administratively protected as Inventoried Roadless (IRAs) or Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Corridor values varied substantially among classes of "unprotected" non-core land units, and land units of high connectivity value and priority represent diverse ownerships and existing levels of protections. We provide a ranking of IRAs and WSAs that should be prioritized for additional protection to maintain minimal human modification. Our results provide a coarse-scale assessment of connectivity priorities for maintaining a connected network of protected areas.

Use of demand for and spatial flow of ecosystem services to identify priority areas.

PubMed

Verhagen, Willem; Kukkala, Aija S; Moilanen, Atte; van Teeffelen, Astrid J A; Verburg, Peter H

2017-08-01

Policies and research increasingly focus on the protection of ecosystem services (ESs) through priority-area conservation. Priority areas for ESs should be identified based on ES capacity and ES demand and account for the connections between areas of ES capacity and demand (flow) resulting in areas of unique demand-supply connections (flow zones). We tested ways to account for ES demand and flow zones to identify priority areas in the European Union. We mapped the capacity and demand of a global (carbon sequestration), a regional (flood regulation), and 3 local ESs (air quality, pollination, and urban leisure). We used Zonation software to identify priority areas for ESs based on 6 tests: with and without accounting for ES demand and 4 tests that accounted for the effect of ES flow zone. There was only 37.1% overlap between the 25% of priority areas that encompassed the most ESs with and without accounting for ES demand. The level of ESs maintained in the priority areas increased from 23.2% to 57.9% after accounting for ES demand, especially for ESs with a small flow zone. Accounting for flow zone had a small effect on the location of priority areas and level of ESs maintained but resulted in fewer flow zones without ES maintained relative to ignoring flow zones. Accounting for demand and flow zones enhanced representation and distribution of ESs with local to regional flow zones without large trade-offs relative to the global ES. We found that ignoring ES demand led to the identification of priority areas in remote regions where benefits from ES capacity to society were small. Incorporating ESs in conservation planning should therefore always account for ES demand to identify an effective priority network for ESs. © 2016 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Identifying Corridors among Large Protected Areas in the United States

PubMed Central

Belote, R. Travis; Dietz, Matthew S.; McRae, Brad H.; Theobald, David M.; McClure, Meredith L.; Irwin, G. Hugh; McKinley, Peter S.; Gage, Josh A.; Aplet, Gregory H.

2016-01-01

Conservation scientists emphasize the importance of maintaining a connected network of protected areas to prevent ecosystems and populations from becoming isolated, reduce the risk of extinction, and ultimately sustain biodiversity. Keeping protected areas connected in a network is increasingly recognized as a conservation priority in the current era of rapid climate change. Models that identify suitable linkages between core areas have been used to prioritize potentially important corridors for maintaining functional connectivity. Here, we identify the most “natural” (i.e., least human-modified) corridors between large protected areas in the contiguous Unites States. We aggregated results from multiple connectivity models to develop a composite map of corridors reflecting agreement of models run under different assumptions about how human modification of land may influence connectivity. To identify which land units are most important for sustaining structural connectivity, we used the composite map of corridors to evaluate connectivity priorities in two ways: (1) among land units outside of our pool of large core protected areas and (2) among units administratively protected as Inventoried Roadless (IRAs) or Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Corridor values varied substantially among classes of “unprotected” non-core land units, and land units of high connectivity value and priority represent diverse ownerships and existing levels of protections. We provide a ranking of IRAs and WSAs that should be prioritized for additional protection to maintain minimal human modification. Our results provide a coarse-scale assessment of connectivity priorities for maintaining a connected network of protected areas. PMID:27104683

Cheap and Nasty? The Potential Perils of Using Management Costs to Identify Global Conservation Priorities

PubMed Central

McCreless, Erin; Visconti, Piero; Carwardine, Josie; Wilcox, Chris; Smith, Robert J.

2013-01-01

The financial cost of biodiversity conservation varies widely around the world and such costs should be considered when identifying countries to best focus conservation investments. Previous global prioritizations have been based on global models for protected area management costs, but this metric may be related to other factors that negatively influence the effectiveness and social impacts of conservation. Here we investigate such relationships and first show that countries with low predicted costs are less politically stable. Local support and capacity can mitigate the impacts of such instability, but we also found that these countries have less civil society involvement in conservation. Therefore, externally funded projects in these countries must rely on government agencies for implementation. This can be problematic, as our analyses show that governments in countries with low predicted costs score poorly on indices of corruption, bureaucratic quality and human rights. Taken together, our results demonstrate that using national-level estimates for protected area management costs to set global conservation priorities is simplistic, as projects in apparently low-cost countries are less likely to succeed and more likely to have negative impacts on people. We identify the need for an improved approach to develop global conservation cost metrics that better capture the true costs of avoiding or overcoming such problems. Critically, conservation scientists must engage with practitioners to better understand and implement context-specific solutions. This approach assumes that measures of conservation costs, like measures of conservation value, are organization specific, and would bring a much-needed focus on reducing the negative impacts of conservation to develop projects that benefit people and biodiversity. PMID:24260502

Prioritizing conservation areas for coastal plant diversity under increasing urbanization.

PubMed

Doxa, Aggeliki; Albert, Cécile Hélène; Leriche, Agathe; Saatkamp, Arne

2017-10-01

Coastal urban expansion will continue to drive further biodiversity losses, if conservation targets for coastal ecosystems are not defined and met. Prioritizing areas for future protected area networks is thus an urgent task in such urbanization-threatened ecosystems. Our aim is to quantify past and future losses of coastal vegetation priority areas due to urbanization and assess the effectiveness of the existing protected area network for conservation. We conduct a prioritization analysis, based on 82 coastal plants, including common and IUCN red list species, in a highly-urbanized but biotically diverse region, in South-Eastern France. We evaluate the role of protected areas, by taking into account both strict and multi-use areas. We assess the impact of past and future urbanization on high priority areas, by combining prioritization analyses and urbanization models. We show that half of the highly diverse areas have already been lost due to urbanization. Remaining top priority areas are also among the most exposed to future urban expansion. The effectiveness of the existing protected area (PA) network is only partial. While strict PAs coincide well with top priority areas, they only represent less than one third of priority areas. The effectiveness of multi-use PAs, such as the Natura 2000 network, also remains limited. Our approach highlights the impact of urbanization on plant conservation targets. By modelling urbanization, we manage to identify those areas where protection could be more efficient to limit further losses. We suggest to use our approach in the future to expand the PA network in order to achieve the 2020 Aichi biodiversity targets. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing shortfalls and complementary conservation areas for national plant biodiversity in South Korea.

PubMed

Choe, Hyeyeong; Thorne, James H; Huber, Patrick R; Lee, Dongkun; Quinn, James F

2018-01-01

Protected areas (PAs) are often considered the most important biodiversity conservation areas in national plans, but PAs often do not represent national-scale biodiversity. We evaluate the current conservation status of plant biodiversity within current existing PAs, and identify potential additional PAs for South Korea. We modeled species ranges for 2,297 plant species using Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines and compared the level of mean range representation in South Korea's existing PAs, which comprise 5.7% of the country's mainland area, with an equal-area alternative PA strategy selected with the reserve algorithm Marxan. We also used Marxan to model two additional conservation scenarios that add lands to approach the Aichi Biodiversity Target objectives (17% of the country). Existing PAs in South Korea contain an average of 6.3% of each plant species' range, compared to 5.9% in the modeled equal-area alternative. However, existing PAs primarily represent a high percentage of the ranges for high-elevation and small range size species. The additional PAs scenario that adds lands to the existing PAs covers 14,587.55 km2, and would improve overall plant range representation to a mean of 16.8% of every species' range. The other additional PAs scenario, which selects new PAs from all lands and covers 13,197.35 km2, would improve overall plant range representation to a mean of 13.5%. Even though the additional PAs that includes existing PAs represents higher percentages of species' ranges, it is missing many biodiversity hotspots in non-mountainous areas and the additional PAs without locking in the existing PAs represent almost all species' ranges evenly, including low-elevation ones with larger ranges. Some priority conservation areas we identified are expansions of, or near, existing PAs, especially in northeastern and southern South Korea. However, lowland coastal areas and areas surrounding the capital city, Seoul, are also critical for biodiversity

Assessing shortfalls and complementary conservation areas for national plant biodiversity in South Korea

PubMed Central

Thorne, James H.; Huber, Patrick R.; Lee, Dongkun; Quinn, James F.

2018-01-01

Protected areas (PAs) are often considered the most important biodiversity conservation areas in national plans, but PAs often do not represent national-scale biodiversity. We evaluate the current conservation status of plant biodiversity within current existing PAs, and identify potential additional PAs for South Korea. We modeled species ranges for 2,297 plant species using Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines and compared the level of mean range representation in South Korea’s existing PAs, which comprise 5.7% of the country’s mainland area, with an equal-area alternative PA strategy selected with the reserve algorithm Marxan. We also used Marxan to model two additional conservation scenarios that add lands to approach the Aichi Biodiversity Target objectives (17% of the country). Existing PAs in South Korea contain an average of 6.3% of each plant species’ range, compared to 5.9% in the modeled equal-area alternative. However, existing PAs primarily represent a high percentage of the ranges for high-elevation and small range size species. The additional PAs scenario that adds lands to the existing PAs covers 14,587.55 km2, and would improve overall plant range representation to a mean of 16.8% of every species’ range. The other additional PAs scenario, which selects new PAs from all lands and covers 13,197.35 km2, would improve overall plant range representation to a mean of 13.5%. Even though the additional PAs that includes existing PAs represents higher percentages of species’ ranges, it is missing many biodiversity hotspots in non-mountainous areas and the additional PAs without locking in the existing PAs represent almost all species’ ranges evenly, including low-elevation ones with larger ranges. Some priority conservation areas we identified are expansions of, or near, existing PAs, especially in northeastern and southern South Korea. However, lowland coastal areas and areas surrounding the capital city, Seoul, are also critical for

Socioeconomic issues for the Bear River Watershed Conservation Land Area Protection Plan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomas, Catherine Cullinane; Huber, Christopher; Gascoigne, William; Koontz, Lynne

2012-01-01

The Bear River Watershed Conservation Area is located in the Bear River Watershed, a vast basin covering fourteen counties across three states. Located in Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho, the watershed spans roughly 7,500 squares miles: 1,500 squares miles in Wyoming; 2,700 squares miles in Idaho; and 3,300 squares miles in Utah (Utah Division of Water Resources, 2004). Three National Wildlife Refuges are currently contained within the boundary of the BRWCA: the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah, the Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho, and the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Wyoming. In 2010, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted a Preliminary Project Proposal and identified the Bear River Watershed Conservation Area as having high-value wildlife habitat. This finding initiated the Land Protection Planning process, which is used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study land conservation opportunities including adding lands to the National Wildlife Refuge System. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to include part of the Bear River Watershed Conservation Area in the Refuge System by acquiring up to 920,000 acres of conservation easements from willing landowners to maintain landscape integrity and habitat connectivity in the region. The analysis described in this report provides a profile of the social and economic conditions in the Bear River Watershed Conservation Area and addresses social and economic questions and concerns raised during public involvement in the Land Protection Planning process.

Identifying Preservation and Restoration Priority Areas for Desert Fishes in an Increasingly Invaded World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pool, Thomas K.; Strecker, Angela L.; Olden, Julian D.

2013-03-01

A commonly overlooked aspect of conservation planning assessments is that wildlife managers are increasingly focused on habitats that contain non-native species. We examine this management challenge in the Gila River basin (150,730 km2), and present a new planning strategy for fish conservation. By applying a hierarchical prioritization algorithm to >850,000 fish records in 27,181 sub-watersheds we first identified high priority areas (PAs) termed "preservation PAs" with high native fish richness and low non-native richness; these represent traditional conservation targets. Second, we identified "restoration PAs" with high native fish richness that also contained high numbers of non-native species; these represent less traditional conservation targets. The top 10 % of preservation and restoration PAs contained common native species (e.g., Catostomus clarkii, desert sucker; Catostomus insignis, Sonora sucker) in addition to native species with limited distributions (i.e., Xyrauchen texanus, razorback sucker; Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Apache trout). The top preservation and restoration PAs overlapped by 42 %, indicating areas with high native fish richness range from minimally to highly invaded. Areas exclusively identified as restoration PAs also encompassed a greater percentage of native species ranges than would be expected by the random addition of an equivalent basin area. Restoration PAs identified an additional 19.0 and 26.6 % of the total ranges of two federally endangered species— Meda fulgida (spikedace) and Gila intermedia (Gila chub), respectively, compared to top preservation PAs alone—despite adding only 5.8 % of basin area. We contend that in addition to preservation PAs, restoration PAs are well suited for complementary management activities benefiting native fishes.

Identifying preservation and restoration priority areas for desert fishes in an increasingly invaded world.

PubMed

Pool, Thomas K; Strecker, Angela L; Olden, Julian D

2013-03-01

A commonly overlooked aspect of conservation planning assessments is that wildlife managers are increasingly focused on habitats that contain non-native species. We examine this management challenge in the Gila River basin (150,730 km(2)), and present a new planning strategy for fish conservation. By applying a hierarchical prioritization algorithm to >850,000 fish records in 27,181 sub-watersheds we first identified high priority areas (PAs) termed "preservation PAs" with high native fish richness and low non-native richness; these represent traditional conservation targets. Second, we identified "restoration PAs" with high native fish richness that also contained high numbers of non-native species; these represent less traditional conservation targets. The top 10 % of preservation and restoration PAs contained common native species (e.g., Catostomus clarkii, desert sucker; Catostomus insignis, Sonora sucker) in addition to native species with limited distributions (i.e., Xyrauchen texanus, razorback sucker; Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Apache trout). The top preservation and restoration PAs overlapped by 42 %, indicating areas with high native fish richness range from minimally to highly invaded. Areas exclusively identified as restoration PAs also encompassed a greater percentage of native species ranges than would be expected by the random addition of an equivalent basin area. Restoration PAs identified an additional 19.0 and 26.6 % of the total ranges of two federally endangered species-Meda fulgida (spikedace) and Gila intermedia (Gila chub), respectively, compared to top preservation PAs alone-despite adding only 5.8 % of basin area. We contend that in addition to preservation PAs, restoration PAs are well suited for complementary management activities benefiting native fishes.

Identification of areas in Brazil that optimize conservation of forest carbon, jaguars, and biodiversity.

PubMed

De Barros, Alan E; MacDonald, Ewan A; Matsumoto, Marcelo H; Paula, Rogério C; Nijhawan, Sahil; Malhi, Y; MacDonald, David W

2014-04-01

A major question in global environmental policy is whether schemes to reduce carbon pollution through forest management, such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), can also benefit biodiversity conservation in tropical countries. We identified municipalities in Brazil that are priorities for reducing rates of deforestation and thus preserving carbon stocks that are also conservation targets for the endangered jaguar (Panthera onca) and biodiversity in general. Preliminary statistical analysis showed that municipalities with high biodiversity were positively associated with high forest carbon stocks. We used a multicriteria decision analysis to identify municipalities that offered the best opportunities for the conservation of forest carbon stocks and biodiversity conservation under a range of scenarios with different rates of deforestation and carbon values. We further categorized these areas by their representativeness of the entire country (through measures such as percent forest cover) and an indirect measure of cost (number of municipalities). The municipalities that offered optimal co-benefits for forest carbon stocks and conservation were termed REDDspots (n = 159), and their spatial distribution was compared with the distribution of current and proposed REDD projects (n = 135). We defined REDDspots as the municipalities that offer the best opportunities for co-benefits between the conservation of forest carbon stocks, jaguars, and other wildlife. These areas coincided in 25% (n = 40) of municipalities. We identified a further 95 municipalities that may have the greatest potential to develop additional REDD+ projects while also targeting biodiversity conservation. We concluded that REDD+ strategies could be an efficient tool for biodiversity conservation in key locations, especially in Amazonian and Atlantic Forest biomes. ©2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Identification of priority conservation areas and potential corridors for jaguars in the Caatinga biome, Brazil.

PubMed

Morato, Ronaldo Gonçalves; Ferraz, Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros; de Paula, Rogério Cunha; de Campos, Cláudia Bueno

2014-01-01

The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a top predator with the extant population found within the Brazilian Caatinga biome now known to be on the brink of extinction. Designing new conservation units and potential corridors are therefore crucial for the long-term survival of the species within the Caatinga biome. Thus, our aims were: 1) to recognize suitable areas for jaguar occurrence, 2) to delineate areas for jaguar conservation (PJCUs), 3) to design corridors among priority areas, and 4) to prioritize PJCUs. A total of 62 points records of jaguar occurrence and 10 potential predictors were analyzed in a GIS environment. A predictive distributional map was obtained using Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) as performed by the Maximum Entropy (Maxent) algorithm. Areas equal to or higher than the median suitability value of 0.595 were selected as of high suitability for jaguar occurrence and named as Priority Jaguar Conservation Units (PJCU). Ten PJCUs with sizes varying from 23.6 km2 to 4,311.0 km2 were identified. Afterwards, we combined the response curve, as generated by SDM, and expert opinions to create a permeability matrix and to identify least cost corridors and buffer zones between each PJCU pair. Connectivity corridors and buffer zone for jaguar movement included an area of 8.884,26 km2 and the total corridor length is about 160.94 km. Prioritizing criteria indicated the PJCU representing c.a. 68.61% of the total PJCU area (PJCU # 1) as of high priority for conservation and connectivity with others PJCUs (PJCUs # 4, 5 and 7) desirable for the long term survival of the species. In conclusion, by using the jaguar as a focal species and combining SDM and expert opinion we were able to create a valid framework for practical conservation actions at the Caatinga biome. The same approach could be used for the conservation of other carnivores.

Understanding the effects of different social data on selecting priority conservation areas.

PubMed

Karimi, Azadeh; Tulloch, Ayesha I T; Brown, Greg; Hockings, Marc

2017-12-01

Conservation success is contingent on assessing social and environmental factors so that cost-effective implementation of strategies and actions can be placed in a broad social-ecological context. Until now, the focus has been on how to include spatially explicit social data in conservation planning, whereas the value of different kinds of social data has received limited attention. In a regional systematic conservation planning case study in Australia, we examined the spatial concurrence of a range of spatially explicit social values and land-use preferences collected using a public participation geographic information system and biological data. We used Zonation to integrate the social data with the biological data in a series of spatial-prioritization scenarios to determine the effect of the different types of social data on spatial prioritization compared with biological data alone. The type of social data (i.e., conservation opportunities or constraints) significantly affected spatial prioritization outcomes. The integration of social values and land-use preferences under different scenarios was highly variable and generated spatial prioritizations 1.2-51% different from those based on biological data alone. The inclusion of conservation-compatible values and preferences added relatively few new areas to conservation priorities, whereas including noncompatible economic values and development preferences as costs significantly changed conservation priority areas (48.2% and 47.4%, respectively). Based on our results, a multifaceted conservation prioritization approach that combines spatially explicit social data with biological data can help conservation planners identify the type of social data to collect for more effective and feasible conservation actions. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

50 CFR 660.70 - Groundfish conservation areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Groundfish conservation areas. 660.70 Section 660.70 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES West Coast...

A methodological approach to identify agro-biodiversity hotspots for priority in situ conservation of plant genetic resources

PubMed Central

Pacicco, Luca; Bodesmo, Mara; Torricelli, Renzo

2018-01-01

Agro-biodiversity is seriously threatened worldwide and strategies to preserve it are dramatically required. We propose here a methodological approach aimed to identify areas with a high level of agro-biodiversity in which to set or enhance in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. These areas are identified using three criteria: Presence of Landrace diversity, Presence of wild species and Agro-ecosystem ecological diversity. A Restrictive and an Additive prioritization strategy has been applied on the entire Italian territory and has resulted in establishing nationwide 53 and 197 agro-biodiversity hotspots respectively. At present the strategies can easily be applied at a European level and can be helpful to develop conservation strategies everywhere. PMID:29856765

Forest Conservation Opportunity Areas - Conservative Model (ECO_RES.COA_FORREST66)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This layer designates areas with potential for forest conservation. These are areas of natural or semi-natural forest land cover patches that area at least 395 meters away from roads and away from patch edges. OAs were modeled by creating distance grids using the National Land Cover Database and the Census Bureau's TIGER road files.

50 CFR 660.76 - EFH Conservation Areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false EFH Conservation Areas. 660.76 Section 660.76 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES West Coast Groundfish...

Important Bird Areas as a Conservation tool: implementation at the state level

Treesearch

Michael F. Burger; Jillian M. Liner

2005-01-01

In the mid 1990s, Audubon New York initiated an Important Bird Areas (IBA) program that had two goals, 1) to identify sites most critical for the protection of birds and 2) to take positive and coordinated action to promote the conservation of those sites. The first goal was achieved in 1997 when 127 IBAs were identified across New York State. Since then, in order to...

Examining marginalized communities and local conservation institutions: the case of Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area.

PubMed

Dahal, Smriti; Nepal, Sanjay K; Schuett, Michael A

2014-01-01

In developing countries, participatory conservation initiatives have been criticized for many reasons, mainly for excluding marginalized groups which have led to unequal benefits. Using concepts from the literature on participation, conservation, and political ecology, this research explored the participation of marginal groups, i.e., poor, women, lower caste, and landless, in management institutions in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area. Field work for this research was conducted through the use of interviews and participant observation during August-October 2010. Results show that although marginal groups were involved in local management institutions, their representation was minimal and had not led to meaningful participation or empowerment to influence the decisions being made in conservation and development programs. Our study findings indicate that the involvement of marginal groups in local initiatives is complex and influenced by several factors. The study concludes that the Annapurna Conservation Area Project needs to re-orient its conservation projects by adopting a more inclusive form of participation and move beyond the quota system.

Examining Marginalized Communities and Local Conservation Institutions: The Case of Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahal, Smriti; Nepal, Sanjay K.; Schuett, Michael A.

2014-01-01

In developing countries, participatory conservation initiatives have been criticized for many reasons, mainly for excluding marginalized groups which have led to unequal benefits. Using concepts from the literature on participation, conservation, and political ecology, this research explored the participation of marginal groups, i.e., poor, women, lower caste, and landless, in management institutions in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area. Field work for this research was conducted through the use of interviews and participant observation during August-October 2010. Results show that although marginal groups were involved in local management institutions, their representation was minimal and had not led to meaningful participation or empowerment to influence the decisions being made in conservation and development programs. Our study findings indicate that the involvement of marginal groups in local initiatives is complex and influenced by several factors. The study concludes that the Annapurna Conservation Area Project needs to re-orient its conservation projects by adopting a more inclusive form of participation and move beyond the quota system.

The Importance of Rotational Crops for Biodiversity Conservation in Mediterranean Areas.

PubMed

Chiatante, Gianpasquale; Meriggi, Alberto

2016-01-01

Nowadays we are seeing the largest biodiversity loss since the extinction of the dinosaurs. To conserve biodiversity it is essential to plan protected areas using a prioritization approach, which takes into account the current biodiversity value of the sites. Considering that in the Mediterranean Basin the agro-ecosystems are one of the most important parts of the landscape, the conservation of crops is essential to biodiversity conservation. In the framework of agro-ecosystem conservation, farmland birds play an important role because of their representativeness, and because of their steady decline in the last Century in Western Europe. The main aim of this research was to define if crop dominated landscapes could be useful for biodiversity conservation in a Mediterranean area in which the landscape was modified by humans in the last thousand years and was affected by the important biogeographical phenomenon of peninsula effect. To assess this, we identify the hotspots and the coldspots of bird diversity in southern Italy both during the winter and in the breeding season. In particular we used a scoring method, defining a biodiversity value for each cell of a 1-km grid superimposed on the study area, using data collected by fieldwork following a stratified random sampling design. This value was analysed by a multiple linear regression analysis and was predicted in the whole study area. Then we defined the hotspots and the coldspots of the study area as 15% of the cells with higher and lower value of biodiversity, respectively. Finally, we used GAP analysis to compare hotspot distribution with the current network of protected areas. This study showed that the winter hotspots of bird diversity were associated with marshes and water bodies, shrublands, and irrigated crops, whilst the breeding hotspots were associated with more natural areas (e.g. transitional wood/shrubs), such as open areas (natural grasslands, pastures and not irrigated crops). Moreover, the

The Importance of Rotational Crops for Biodiversity Conservation in Mediterranean Areas

PubMed Central

Chiatante, Gianpasquale; Meriggi, Alberto

2016-01-01

Nowadays we are seeing the largest biodiversity loss since the extinction of the dinosaurs. To conserve biodiversity it is essential to plan protected areas using a prioritization approach, which takes into account the current biodiversity value of the sites. Considering that in the Mediterranean Basin the agro-ecosystems are one of the most important parts of the landscape, the conservation of crops is essential to biodiversity conservation. In the framework of agro-ecosystem conservation, farmland birds play an important role because of their representativeness, and because of their steady decline in the last Century in Western Europe. The main aim of this research was to define if crop dominated landscapes could be useful for biodiversity conservation in a Mediterranean area in which the landscape was modified by humans in the last thousand years and was affected by the important biogeographical phenomenon of peninsula effect. To assess this, we identify the hotspots and the coldspots of bird diversity in southern Italy both during the winter and in the breeding season. In particular we used a scoring method, defining a biodiversity value for each cell of a 1-km grid superimposed on the study area, using data collected by fieldwork following a stratified random sampling design. This value was analysed by a multiple linear regression analysis and was predicted in the whole study area. Then we defined the hotspots and the coldspots of the study area as 15% of the cells with higher and lower value of biodiversity, respectively. Finally, we used GAP analysis to compare hotspot distribution with the current network of protected areas. This study showed that the winter hotspots of bird diversity were associated with marshes and water bodies, shrublands, and irrigated crops, whilst the breeding hotspots were associated with more natural areas (e.g. transitional wood/shrubs), such as open areas (natural grasslands, pastures and not irrigated crops). Moreover, the

Assessing Potential Conservation and Restoration Areas of Freshwater Fish Fauna in the Indian River Basins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatt, Jay P.; Manish, Kumar; Mehta, Rajender; Pandit, Maharaj K.

2016-05-01

Conservation efforts globally are skewed toward terrestrial ecosystems. To date, conservation of aquatic ecosystems, in particular fish fauna, is largely neglected. We provide a country-wide assessment of Indian river ecosystems in order to identify and prioritize areas for protection and restoration of freshwater fish fauna. Using various biodiversity and anthropogenic attributes, coupled with tools of ecological modeling, we delineated areas for fish fauna conservation and restoration in the 20 major river basins of India. To do this, we used prioritization analyses and reserve selection algorithms to derive conservation value index (CVI) and vulnerability index (VI) of the river basins. CVI was estimated using endemicity, rarity, conservation value, and taxonomic singularity, while VI was estimated using a disturbance index derived from percent geographic area of the basin under human settlements, human population density, predominant land use, and total number of exotic fish species in each basin. The two indices, CVI and VI, were converted into geo-referenced maps, and each map was super-imposed onto species richness and forest cover maps, respectively. After superimposition, areas with high CVI and low VI shade intensities were delineated for conservation, while areas with high CVI and high VI shade intensities were demarcated for restoration. In view of the importance of freshwater fish for human livelihoods and consumption, and ecosystems of India's rivers, we call for urgent attention to the conservation of their fish fauna along with restoration of their degraded habitats.

Energy and other resource conservation within urbanizing areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowe, Peter G.

1982-05-01

The reported research seeks to answer several questions regarding energy conservation within urbanizing areas. As a practical matter, to what extent can dependence upon exhaustible resources be reduced? Can these reductions be achieved without severely impairing social well-being and environmental quality? And, what seem to be the prevailing institutional constraints limiting energy conservation within urbanizing areas? The study area was the proposed “downtown” of The Woodlands, a new town north of Houston, Texas. Two plans were developed for this area. In one, no particular attempt was made to conserve energy (conventional plan), while in the other, energy conservation was a primary consideration (conservation plan). For both plans, estimates were made of energy consumption within buildings, in the transportation sector, and in the actual production of building materials themselves (embodied energy). In addition, economic and environmental analyses were performed, including investigation of other resource issues such as water supply, solid waste disposal, stormwater management, and atmospheric emissions. Alternative on-site power systems were also investigated. Within the bounds of economic feasibility and development practicality, it was found that application of energy-conserving methods could yield annual energy savings of as much as 23%, and reduce dependence on prime fuels by 30%. Adverse economic effects on consumers were found to be minimal and environmental quality could be sustained. The major institutional constraints appeared to be those associated with traditional property ownership and with the use of common property resources. The resistance to change of everyday practices in land development and building industries also seemed to constrain potential applications.

Identification of Priority Conservation Areas and Potential Corridors for Jaguars in the Caatinga Biome, Brazil

PubMed Central

Morato, Ronaldo Gonçalves; Ferraz, Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros; de Paula, Rogério Cunha; de Campos, Cláudia Bueno

2014-01-01

The jaguar, Panthera onca, is a top predator with the extant population found within the Brazilian Caatinga biome now known to be on the brink of extinction. Designing new conservation units and potential corridors are therefore crucial for the long-term survival of the species within the Caatinga biome. Thus, our aims were: 1) to recognize suitable areas for jaguar occurrence, 2) to delineate areas for jaguar conservation (PJCUs), 3) to design corridors among priority areas, and 4) to prioritize PJCUs. A total of 62 points records of jaguar occurrence and 10 potential predictors were analyzed in a GIS environment. A predictive distributional map was obtained using Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) as performed by the Maximum Entropy (Maxent) algorithm. Areas equal to or higher than the median suitability value of 0.595 were selected as of high suitability for jaguar occurrence and named as Priority Jaguar Conservation Units (PJCU). Ten PJCUs with sizes varying from 23.6 km2 to 4,311.0 km2 were identified. Afterwards, we combined the response curve, as generated by SDM, and expert opinions to create a permeability matrix and to identify least cost corridors and buffer zones between each PJCU pair. Connectivity corridors and buffer zone for jaguar movement included an area of 8.884,26 km2 and the total corridor length is about 160.94 km. Prioritizing criteria indicated the PJCU representing c.a. 68.61% of the total PJCU area (PJCU # 1) as of high priority for conservation and connectivity with others PJCUs (PJCUs # 4, 5 and 7) desirable for the long term survival of the species. In conclusion, by using the jaguar as a focal species and combining SDM and expert opinion we were able to create a valid framework for practical conservation actions at the Caatinga biome. The same approach could be used for the conservation of other carnivores. PMID:24709817

Identifying and prioritizing ungulate migration routes for landscape-level conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sawyer, H.; Kauffman, M.J.; Nielson, R.M.; Horne, J.S.

2009-01-01

As habitat loss and fragmentation increase across ungulate ranges, identifying and prioritizing migration routes for conservation has taken on new urgency. Here we present a general framework using the Brownian bridge movement model (BBMM) that: (1) provides a probabilistic estimate of the migration routes of a sampled population, (2) distinguishes between route segments that function as stopover sites vs. those used primarily as movement corridors, and (3) prioritizes routes for conservation based upon the proportion of the sampled population that uses them. We applied this approach to a migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) population in a pristine area of southwest Wyoming, USA, where 2000 gas wells and 1609 km of pipelines and roads have been proposed for development. Our analysis clearly delineated where migration routes occurred relative to proposed development and provided guidance for on-the-ground conservation efforts. Mule deer migration routes were characterized by a series of stopover sites where deer spent most of their time, connected by movement corridors through which deer moved quickly. Our findings suggest management strategies that differentiate between stopover sites and movement corridors may be warranted. Because some migration routes were used by more mule deer than others, proportional level of use may provide a reasonable metric by which routes can be prioritized for conservation. The methods we outline should be applicable to a wide range of species that inhabit regions where migration routes are threatened or poorly understood. ?? 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.

Identifying and prioritizing ungulate migration routes for landscape-level conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sawyer, Hall; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Nielson, Ryan M.; Horne, Jon S.

2009-01-01

As habitat loss and fragmentation increase across ungulate ranges, identifying and prioritizing migration routes for conservation has taken on new urgency. Here we present a general framework using the Brownian bridge movement model (BBMM) that: (1) provides a probabilistic estimate of the migration routes of a sampled population, (2) distinguishes between route segments that function as stopover sites vs. those used primarily as movement corridors, and (3) prioritizes routes for conservation based upon the proportion of the sampled population that uses them. We applied this approach to a migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) population in a pristine area of southwest Wyoming, USA, where 2000 gas wells and 1609 km of pipelines and roads have been proposed for development. Our analysis clearly delineated where migration routes occurred relative to proposed development and provided guidance for on-the-ground conservation efforts. Mule deer migration routes were characterized by a series of stopover sites where deer spent most of their time, connected by movement corridors through which deer moved quickly. Our findings suggest management strategies that differentiate between stopover sites and movement corridors may be warranted. Because some migration routes were used by more mule deer than others, proportional level of use may provide a reasonable metric by which routes can be prioritized for conservation. The methods we outline should be applicable to a wide range of species that inhabit regions where migration routes are threatened or poorly understood.

Identifying key areas of ecosystem services potential to improve ecological management in Chongqing City, southwest China.

PubMed

Xiao, Yang; Xiao, Qiang

2018-03-29

Because natural ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) are both critical to the well-being of humankind, it is important to understand their relationships and congruence for conservation planning. Spatial conservation planning is required to set focused preservation priorities and to assess future ecological implications. This study uses the combined measures of ES models and ES potential to estimate and analyze all four groups of ecosystem services to generate opportunities to maximize ecosystem services. Subsequently, we identify the key areas of conservation priorities as future forestation and conservation hotspot zones to improve the ecological management in Chongqing City, located in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China. Results show that ecosystem services potential is extremely obvious. Compared to ecosystem services from 2000, we determined that soil conservation could be increased by 59.11%, carbon sequestration by 129.51%, water flow regulation by 83.42%, and water purification by 84.42%. According to our prioritization results, approximately 48% of area converted to forests exhibited high improvements in all ecosystem services (categorized as hotspot-1, hotspot-2, and hotspot-3). The hotspots identified in this study can be used as an excellent surrogate for evaluation ecological engineering benefits and can be effectively applied in improving ecological management planning.

THE THREATENED AND THE IRREPLACEABLE: IDENTIFYING AREAS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF FAUNAL SPECIES DIVERSITY IN THE MIDDLE-ATLANTIC REGION OF THE UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

One fundamental step in conservation planning involves determining where to concentrate efforts to protect conservation targets. Here we demonstrate an approach to prioritizing areas based on both species composition and potential threats facing the species. First, we determine...

Protected Areas in Tropical Africa: Assessing Threats and Conservation Activities

PubMed Central

Tranquilli, Sandra; Abedi-Lartey, Michael; Abernethy, Katharine; Amsini, Fidèle; Asamoah, Augustus; Balangtaa, Cletus; Blake, Stephen; Bouanga, Estelle; Breuer, Thomas; Brncic, Terry M.; Campbell, Geneviève; Chancellor, Rebecca; Chapman, Colin A.; Davenport, Tim R. B.; Dunn, Andrew; Dupain, Jef; Ekobo, Atanga; Eno-Nku, Manasseh; Etoga, Gilles; Furuichi, Takeshi; Gatti, Sylvain; Ghiurghi, Andrea; Hashimoto, Chie; Hart, John A.; Head, Josephine; Hega, Martin; Herbinger, Ilka; Hicks, Thurston C.; Holbech, Lars H.; Huijbregts, Bas; Kühl, Hjalmar S.; Imong, Inaoyom; Yeno, Stephane Le-Duc; Linder, Joshua; Marshall, Phil; Lero, Peter Minasoma; Morgan, David; Mubalama, Leonard; N'Goran, Paul K.; Nicholas, Aaron; Nixon, Stuart; Normand, Emmanuelle; Nziguyimpa, Leonidas; Nzooh-Dongmo, Zacharie; Ofori-Amanfo, Richard; Ogunjemite, Babafemi G.; Petre, Charles-Albert; Rainey, Hugo J.; Regnaut, Sebastien; Robinson, Orume; Rundus, Aaron; Sanz, Crickette M.; Okon, David Tiku; Todd, Angelique; Warren, Ymke; Sommer, Volker

2014-01-01

Numerous protected areas (PAs) have been created in Africa to safeguard wildlife and other natural resources. However, significant threats from anthropogenic activities and decline of wildlife populations persist, while conservation efforts in most PAs are still minimal. We assessed the impact level of the most common threats to wildlife within PAs in tropical Africa and the relationship of conservation activities with threat impact level. We collated data on 98 PAs with tropical forest cover from 15 countries across West, Central and East Africa. For this, we assembled information about local threats as well as conservation activities from published and unpublished literature, and questionnaires sent to long-term field workers. We constructed general linear models to test the significance of specific conservation activities in relation to the threat impact level. Subsistence and commercial hunting were identified as the most common direct threats to wildlife and found to be most prevalent in West and Central Africa. Agriculture and logging represented the most common indirect threats, and were most prevalent in West Africa. We found that the long-term presence of conservation activities (such as law enforcement, research and tourism) was associated with lower threat impact levels. Our results highlight deficiencies in the management effectiveness of several PAs across tropical Africa, and conclude that PA management should invest more into conservation activities with long-term duration. PMID:25469888

Protected areas in tropical Africa: assessing threats and conservation activities.

PubMed

Tranquilli, Sandra; Abedi-Lartey, Michael; Abernethy, Katharine; Amsini, Fidèle; Asamoah, Augustus; Balangtaa, Cletus; Blake, Stephen; Bouanga, Estelle; Breuer, Thomas; Brncic, Terry M; Campbell, Geneviève; Chancellor, Rebecca; Chapman, Colin A; Davenport, Tim R B; Dunn, Andrew; Dupain, Jef; Ekobo, Atanga; Eno-Nku, Manasseh; Etoga, Gilles; Furuichi, Takeshi; Gatti, Sylvain; Ghiurghi, Andrea; Hashimoto, Chie; Hart, John A; Head, Josephine; Hega, Martin; Herbinger, Ilka; Hicks, Thurston C; Holbech, Lars H; Huijbregts, Bas; Kühl, Hjalmar S; Imong, Inaoyom; Yeno, Stephane Le-Duc; Linder, Joshua; Marshall, Phil; Lero, Peter Minasoma; Morgan, David; Mubalama, Leonard; N'Goran, Paul K; Nicholas, Aaron; Nixon, Stuart; Normand, Emmanuelle; Nziguyimpa, Leonidas; Nzooh-Dongmo, Zacharie; Ofori-Amanfo, Richard; Ogunjemite, Babafemi G; Petre, Charles-Albert; Rainey, Hugo J; Regnaut, Sebastien; Robinson, Orume; Rundus, Aaron; Sanz, Crickette M; Okon, David Tiku; Todd, Angelique; Warren, Ymke; Sommer, Volker

2014-01-01

Numerous protected areas (PAs) have been created in Africa to safeguard wildlife and other natural resources. However, significant threats from anthropogenic activities and decline of wildlife populations persist, while conservation efforts in most PAs are still minimal. We assessed the impact level of the most common threats to wildlife within PAs in tropical Africa and the relationship of conservation activities with threat impact level. We collated data on 98 PAs with tropical forest cover from 15 countries across West, Central and East Africa. For this, we assembled information about local threats as well as conservation activities from published and unpublished literature, and questionnaires sent to long-term field workers. We constructed general linear models to test the significance of specific conservation activities in relation to the threat impact level. Subsistence and commercial hunting were identified as the most common direct threats to wildlife and found to be most prevalent in West and Central Africa. Agriculture and logging represented the most common indirect threats, and were most prevalent in West Africa. We found that the long-term presence of conservation activities (such as law enforcement, research and tourism) was associated with lower threat impact levels. Our results highlight deficiencies in the management effectiveness of several PAs across tropical Africa, and conclude that PA management should invest more into conservation activities with long-term duration.

Assessing Potential Conservation and Restoration Areas of Freshwater Fish Fauna in the Indian River Basins.

PubMed

Bhatt, Jay P; Manish, Kumar; Mehta, Rajender; Pandit, Maharaj K

2016-05-01

Conservation efforts globally are skewed toward terrestrial ecosystems. To date, conservation of aquatic ecosystems, in particular fish fauna, is largely neglected. We provide a country-wide assessment of Indian river ecosystems in order to identify and prioritize areas for protection and restoration of freshwater fish fauna. Using various biodiversity and anthropogenic attributes, coupled with tools of ecological modeling, we delineated areas for fish fauna conservation and restoration in the 20 major river basins of India. To do this, we used prioritization analyses and reserve selection algorithms to derive conservation value index (CVI) and vulnerability index (VI) of the river basins. CVI was estimated using endemicity, rarity, conservation value, and taxonomic singularity, while VI was estimated using a disturbance index derived from percent geographic area of the basin under human settlements, human population density, predominant land use, and total number of exotic fish species in each basin. The two indices, CVI and VI, were converted into geo-referenced maps, and each map was super-imposed onto species richness and forest cover maps, respectively. After superimposition, areas with high CVI and low VI shade intensities were delineated for conservation, while areas with high CVI and high VI shade intensities were demarcated for restoration. In view of the importance of freshwater fish for human livelihoods and consumption, and ecosystems of India's rivers, we call for urgent attention to the conservation of their fish fauna along with restoration of their degraded habitats.

Identifying marine Important Bird Areas using at-sea survey data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Melanie A.; Walker, Nathan J.; Free, Christopher M.; Kirchhoff, Matthew J.; Drew, Gary S.; Warnock, Nils; Stenhouse, Iain J.

2014-01-01

Effective marine bird conservation requires identification of at-sea locations used by populations for foraging, staging, and migration. Using an extensive database of at-sea survey data spanning over 30 years, we developed a standardized and data-driven spatial method for identifying globally significant marine Important Bird Areas in Alaska. To delineate these areas we developed a six-step process: binning data and accounting for unequal survey effort, filtering input data for persistence of species use, using a moving window analysis to produce maps representing a gradient from low to high abundance, drawing core area boundaries around major concentrations based on abundance thresholds, validating the results, and combining overlapping boundaries into important areas for multiple species. We identified 126 bird core areas which were merged into 59 pelagic sites important to 45 out of 57 species assessed. The final areas included approximately 34–38% of all marine birds in Alaska waters, within just 6% of the total area. We identified globally significant Important Bird Areas spanning 20 degrees of latitude and 56 degrees of longitude, in two different oceans, with climates ranging from temperate to polar. Although our maps did suffer from some data gaps, these gaps did not preclude us from identifying sites that incorporated 13% of the assessed continental waterbird population and 9% of the assessed global seabird population. The application of this technique over a large and productive region worked well for a wide range of birds, exhibiting a variety of foraging strategies and occupying a variety of ecosystem types.

Analysis of ecological context for identifying vegetation and animal conservation planning foci: An example from the arid South-western USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hamazaki, T.; Thompson, B.C.; Locke, B.A.; Boykin, K.G.

2003-01-01

In developing conservation strategies, it is important to maximize effects of conservation within a specified land tract and to maximize conservation effects on surrounding area (ecological context). The authors proposed two criteria to select biotic entities for conservation foci: (1) the relative occurrence of fauna or flora in a tract is greater than that of an ecological context region; and (2) occurrence of the fauna or flora is relatively limited in the ecological context region. Using extensive spatial data on vegetation and wildlife habitat distribution, the authors identified strategic vegetation and fauna conservation foci for the 400 000 ha Fort Bliss military reservation in New Mexico and Texas relative to a 164 km radius ecological context region intersecting seven ecological zones and the predicted habitat distribution of 616 animal species. The authors set two specific criteria: (1) predicted area of a species' occurrence is 5% (Fort Bliss is 4.2% of the region). These criteria selected one vegetation class and 40 animal species. Further, these vegetation and animal foci were primarily located in two areas of Fort Bliss. Sensitivity analyses with other analytical radii corroborated the context radius used. Conservation of the two areas and associated taxa will maximize the contribution of Fort Bliss's conservation efforts in its ecological proximity. This relatively simple but information-rich process represents economical and defensible preliminary contextual analysis for detailed conservation planning.

77 FR 2754 - Establishment of Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-01-19

...-FF04R02000] Establishment of Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area AGENCY... Refuge and Conservation Area in Polk, Osceola, Highlands, and Okeechobee Counties, Florida. The Service establishes the Refuge and Conservation Area in order to support a connected conservation landscape; to...

Identifying Conservation and Restoration Priorities for Saproxylic and Old-Growth Forest Species: A Case Study in Switzerland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lachat, Thibault; Bütler, Rita

2009-07-01

Saproxylic (dead-wood-associated) and old-growth species are among the most threatened species in European forest ecosystems, as they are susceptible to intensive forest management. Identifying areas with particular relevant features of biodiversity is of prime concern when developing species conservation and habitat restoration strategies and in optimizing resource investments. We present an approach to identify regional conservation and restoration priorities even if knowledge on species distribution is weak, such as for saproxylic and old-growth species in Switzerland. Habitat suitability maps were modeled for an expert-based selection of 55 focal species, using an ecological niche factor analyses (ENFA). All the maps were then overlaid, in order to identify potential species’ hotspots for different species groups of the 55 focal species (e.g., birds, fungi, red-listed species). We found that hotspots for various species groups did not correspond. Our results indicate that an approach based on “richness hotspots” may fail to conserve specific species groups. We hence recommend defining a biodiversity conservation strategy prior to implementing conservation/restoration efforts in specific regions. The conservation priority setting of the five biogeographical regions in Switzerland, however, did not differ when different hotspot definitions were applied. This observation emphasizes that the chosen method is robust. Since the ENFA needs only presence data, this species prediction method seems to be useful for any situation where the species distribution is poorly known and/or absence data are lacking. In order to identify priorities for either conservation or restoration efforts, we recommend a method based on presence data only, because absence data may reflect factors unrelated to species presence.

Identifying conservation and restoration priorities for saproxylic and old-growth forest species: a case study in Switzerland.

PubMed

Lachat, Thibault; Bütler, Rita

2009-07-01

Saproxylic (dead-wood-associated) and old-growth species are among the most threatened species in European forest ecosystems, as they are susceptible to intensive forest management. Identifying areas with particular relevant features of biodiversity is of prime concern when developing species conservation and habitat restoration strategies and in optimizing resource investments. We present an approach to identify regional conservation and restoration priorities even if knowledge on species distribution is weak, such as for saproxylic and old-growth species in Switzerland. Habitat suitability maps were modeled for an expert-based selection of 55 focal species, using an ecological niche factor analyses (ENFA). All the maps were then overlaid, in order to identify potential species' hotspots for different species groups of the 55 focal species (e.g., birds, fungi, red-listed species). We found that hotspots for various species groups did not correspond. Our results indicate that an approach based on "richness hotspots" may fail to conserve specific species groups. We hence recommend defining a biodiversity conservation strategy prior to implementing conservation/restoration efforts in specific regions. The conservation priority setting of the five biogeographical regions in Switzerland, however, did not differ when different hotspot definitions were applied. This observation emphasizes that the chosen method is robust. Since the ENFA needs only presence data, this species prediction method seems to be useful for any situation where the species distribution is poorly known and/or absence data are lacking. In order to identify priorities for either conservation or restoration efforts, we recommend a method based on presence data only, because absence data may reflect factors unrelated to species presence.

A freshwater biodiversity hotspot under pressure - assessing threats and identifying conservation needs for ancient Lake Ohrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostoski, G.; Albrecht, C.; Trajanovski, S.; Wilke, T.

2010-07-01

activities, and ongoing research on conservation and raising of public awareness. Following this summary, we evaluate the status quo and future of Lake Ohrid and its biota. Given the number of identified threats, it is clear that only concerted international action can stop or at least slow down further degradation of Lake Ohrid and the creeping biodiversity crisis already evident. A comprehensive conservation strategy should include measures that result in an immediate reduction of pollution, particularly with phosphorous, in order to slow down the ongoing eutrophication process. The existing watershed management should become more effective. Implementation and particularly with a view to the enforcement of national laws should be enhanced. Increased research on the lakes' limnology, biodiversity, and conservation management practices are necessary. The latter research should identify conservation priorities. Public awareness should be enhanced. Facing these parallel needs to protect the unique biodiversity of Lake Ohrid, we suggest urging (a) implementation and enforcement of the General Management Plan that would ensure long-term integrated and sustainable use of the lake and its watershed, (b) scientific studies on ecology, biodiversity and effects of human impact, (c) the establishment of Core Conservation areas (CCA), including underwater reserves, and (d) Coastal Zone Management (CZM) areas that would constitute buffer zones for the CCA around the lake. These activities should, among others, ultimately lead to a trans-boundary major conservation area of the Ohrid-Prespa region that would allow long-term integration of both humans and nature.

A freshwater biodiversity hotspot under pressure - assessing threats and identifying conservation needs for ancient Lake Ohrid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostoski, G.; Albrecht, C.; Trajanovski, S.; Wilke, T.

2010-12-01

conservation activities, and ongoing research on conservation and raising of public awareness. Following this summary, we evaluate the status quo and future of Lake Ohrid and its biota. A comprehensive conservation strategy should include measures that result in an immediate reduction of nutrient input, particularly with phosphorus, in order to slow down the ongoing eutrophication process. The existing watershed management should become more effective. Implementation and particularly with a view to the enforcement of national laws should be enhanced. Increased research on the lakes' limnology, biodiversity, and conservation management practices are necessary. The latter research should identify conservation priorities. Public awareness should be enhanced. Facing these parallel needs to protect the unique biodiversity of Lake Ohrid, we suggest urging (a) implementation and enforcement of the General Management Plan that would ensure long-term integrated and sustainable use of the lake and its watershed, (b) scientific studies on ecology, biodiversity and effects of human impact, (c) the establishment of Core Conservation areas (CCA), including underwater reserves, and (d) Coastal Zone Management (CZM) areas that would constitute buffer zones for the CCAs around the lake. Given the number of identified threats, it is clear that only concerted international action can stop or at least slow down further degradation of Lake Ohrid and the creeping biodiversity crisis already evident. All conservation activities should, among others, ultimately lead to a trans-boundary major conservation area of the Ohrid-Prespa region that would allow long-term integration of both humans and nature.

Human migration, protected areas, and conservation outreach in Tanzania.

PubMed

Salerno, Jonathan D; Borgerhoff Mulder, Monique; Kefauver, Shawn C

2014-06-01

A recent discussion debates the extent of human in-migration around protected areas (PAs) in the tropics. One proposed argument is that rural migrants move to bordering areas to access conservation outreach benefits. A counter proposal maintains that PAs have largely negative effects on local populations and that outreach initiatives even if successful present insufficient benefits to drive in-migration. Using data from Tanzania, we examined merits of statistical tests and spatial methods used previously to evaluate migration near PAs and applied hierarchical modeling with appropriate controls for demographic and geographic factors to advance the debate. Areas bordering national parks in Tanzania did not have elevated rates of in-migration. Low baseline population density and high vegetation productivity with low interannual variation rather than conservation outreach explained observed migration patterns. More generally we argue that to produce results of conservation policy significance, analyses must be conducted at appropriate scales, and we caution against use of demographic data without appropriate controls when drawing conclusions about migration dynamics. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Geographic variation in species richness, rarity, and the selection of areas for conservation: An integrative approach with Brazilian estuarine fishes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilar, Ciro C.; Joyeux, Jean-Christophe; Spach, Henry L.

2017-09-01

While the number of species is a key indicator of ecological assemblages, spatial conservation priorities solely identified from species richness are not necessarily efficient to protect other important biological assets. Hence, the results of spatial prioritization analysis would be greatly enhanced if richness were used in association to complementary biodiversity measures. In this study, geographic patterns in estuarine fish species rarity (i.e. the average range size in the study area), endemism and richness, were mapped and integrated to identify regions important for biodiversity conservation along the Brazilian coast. Furthermore, we analyzed the effectiveness of the national system of protected areas to represent these regions. Analyses were performed on presence/absence data of 412 fish species in 0.25° latitudinal bands covering the entire Brazilian biogeographical province. Species richness, rarity and endemism patterns differed and strongly reflected biogeographical limits and regions. However, among the existing 154 latitudinal bands, 48 were recognized as conservation priorities by concomitantly harboring high estuarine fish species richness and assemblages of geographically rare species. Priority areas identified for all estuarine fish species largely differed from those identified for Brazilian endemics. Moreover, there was no significant correlation between the different aspects of the fish assemblages considered (i.e. species richness, endemism or rarity), suggesting that designating reserves based on a single variable may lead to large gaps in the overall protection of biodiversity. Our results further revealed that the existing system of protected areas is insufficient for representing the priority bands we identified. This highlights the urgent need for expanding the national network of protected areas to maintain estuarine ecosystems with high conservation value.

Analysis of evolutionary conservation patterns and their influence on identifying protein functional sites.

PubMed

Fang, Chun; Noguchi, Tamotsu; Yamana, Hayato

2014-10-01

Evolutionary conservation information included in position-specific scoring matrix (PSSM) has been widely adopted by sequence-based methods for identifying protein functional sites, because all functional sites, whether in ordered or disordered proteins, are found to be conserved at some extent. However, different functional sites have different conservation patterns, some of them are linear contextual, some of them are mingled with highly variable residues, and some others seem to be conserved independently. Every value in PSSMs is calculated independently of each other, without carrying the contextual information of residues in the sequence. Therefore, adopting the direct output of PSSM for prediction fails to consider the relationship between conservation patterns of residues and the distribution of conservation scores in PSSMs. In order to demonstrate the importance of combining PSSMs with the specific conservation patterns of functional sites for prediction, three different PSSM-based methods for identifying three kinds of functional sites have been analyzed. Results suggest that, different PSSM-based methods differ in their capability to identify different patterns of functional sites, and better combining PSSMs with the specific conservation patterns of residues would largely facilitate the prediction.

50 CFR 660.78 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Oregon. 660.78 Section 660.78 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... West Coast Groundfish Fisheries § 660.78 EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon. Boundary line coordinates for EFH Conservation Areas off Oregon are provided in this section. Fishing activity that is...

50 CFR 660.78 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Oregon. 660.78 Section 660.78 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... West Coast Groundfish Fisheries § 660.78 EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon. Boundary line coordinates for EFH Conservation Areas off Oregon are provided in this section. Fishing activity that is...

50 CFR 660.78 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... Oregon. 660.78 Section 660.78 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... West Coast Groundfish Fisheries § 660.78 EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon. Boundary line coordinates for EFH Conservation Areas off Oregon are provided in this section. Fishing activity that is...

50 CFR 660.398 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Oregon. 660.398 Section 660.398 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... West Coast Groundfish Fisheries § 660.398 EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon. Boundary line coordinates for EFH Conservation Areas off Oregon are provided in this § 660.398. Fishing activity that is...

Identifying potential recommendation domains for conservation agriculture in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Malawi.

PubMed

Tesfaye, Kindie; Jaleta, Moti; Jena, Pradyot; Mutenje, Munyaradzi

2015-02-01

Conservation agriculture (CA) is being promoted as an option for reducing soil degradation, conserving water, enhancing crop productivity, and maintaining yield stability. However, CA is a knowledge- and technology-intensive practice, and may not be feasible or may not perform better than conventional agriculture under all conditions and farming systems. Using high resolution (≈1 km(2)) biophysical and socioeconomic geospatial data, this study identified potential recommendation domains (RDs) for CA in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Malawi. The biophysical variables used were soil texture, surface slope, and rainfall while the socioeconomic variables were market access and human and livestock population densities. Based on feasibility and comparative performance of CA over conventional agriculture, the biophysical and socioeconomic factors were first used to classify cultivated areas into three biophysical and three socioeconomic potential domains, respectively. Combinations of biophysical and socioeconomic domains were then used to develop potential RDs for CA based on adoption potential within the cultivated areas. About 39, 12, and 5% of the cultivated areas showed high biophysical and socioeconomic potential while 50, 39, and 21% of the cultivated areas showed high biophysical and medium socioeconomic potential for CA in Malawi, Kenya, and Ethiopia, respectively. The results indicate considerable acreages of land with high CA adoption potential in the mixed crop-livestock systems of the studied countries. However, there are large differences among countries depending on biophysical and socio-economic conditions. The information generated in this study could be used for targeting CA and prioritizing CA-related agricultural research and investment priorities in the three countries.

Identifying Potential Recommendation Domains for Conservation Agriculture in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Malawi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tesfaye, Kindie; Jaleta, Moti; Jena, Pradyot; Mutenje, Munyaradzi

2015-02-01

Conservation agriculture (CA) is being promoted as an option for reducing soil degradation, conserving water, enhancing crop productivity, and maintaining yield stability. However, CA is a knowledge- and technology-intensive practice, and may not be feasible or may not perform better than conventional agriculture under all conditions and farming systems. Using high resolution (≈1 km2) biophysical and socioeconomic geospatial data, this study identified potential recommendation domains (RDs) for CA in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Malawi. The biophysical variables used were soil texture, surface slope, and rainfall while the socioeconomic variables were market access and human and livestock population densities. Based on feasibility and comparative performance of CA over conventional agriculture, the biophysical and socioeconomic factors were first used to classify cultivated areas into three biophysical and three socioeconomic potential domains, respectively. Combinations of biophysical and socioeconomic domains were then used to develop potential RDs for CA based on adoption potential within the cultivated areas. About 39, 12, and 5 % of the cultivated areas showed high biophysical and socioeconomic potential while 50, 39, and 21 % of the cultivated areas showed high biophysical and medium socioeconomic potential for CA in Malawi, Kenya, and Ethiopia, respectively. The results indicate considerable acreages of land with high CA adoption potential in the mixed crop-livestock systems of the studied countries. However, there are large differences among countries depending on biophysical and socio-economic conditions. The information generated in this study could be used for targeting CA and prioritizing CA-related agricultural research and investment priorities in the three countries.

50 CFR Table 42 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 42 Table 42 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 42 Table 42 to Part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude...

50 CFR Table 42 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 42 Table 42 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 42 Table 42 to Part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude...

50 CFR Table 42 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 42 Table 42 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 42 Table 42 to Part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude...

50 CFR Table 42 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 42 Table 42 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 42 Table 42 to Part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude...

50 CFR Table 42 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 42 Table 42 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 42 Table 42 to Part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude...

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Transportation Feasibility Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-31

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is a popular Bureau of Land Management natural area located near Las Vegas, Nevada. Red Rock Canyon experiences heavy congestion on its Scenic Drive and associated parking areas, due to high volumes of visit...

78 FR 3026 - Establishment of Swan Valley Conservation Area, Montana

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-15

... Swan River National Wildlife Refuge. The project will help ensure the perpetual conservation of one of... wildlife resources in the conservation area, primarily through the purchase of perpetual easements and a...

Conservation Action Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Rifle Association, Washington, DC.

Conservation problems are identified, with some suggestions for action. General areas covered are: Wildlife Conservation, Soil Conservation, Clean Water, Air Pollution Action, and Outdoor Recreation Action. Appendices list private organizations or agencies concerned with natural resource use and/or management, congressional committees considering…

Genomic positional conservation identifies topological anchor point RNAs linked to developmental loci.

PubMed

Amaral, Paulo P; Leonardi, Tommaso; Han, Namshik; Viré, Emmanuelle; Gascoigne, Dennis K; Arias-Carrasco, Raúl; Büscher, Magdalena; Pandolfini, Luca; Zhang, Anda; Pluchino, Stefano; Maracaja-Coutinho, Vinicius; Nakaya, Helder I; Hemberg, Martin; Shiekhattar, Ramin; Enright, Anton J; Kouzarides, Tony

2018-03-15

The mammalian genome is transcribed into large numbers of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), but the definition of functional lncRNA groups has proven difficult, partly due to their low sequence conservation and lack of identified shared properties. Here we consider promoter conservation and positional conservation as indicators of functional commonality. We identify 665 conserved lncRNA promoters in mouse and human that are preserved in genomic position relative to orthologous coding genes. These positionally conserved lncRNA genes are primarily associated with developmental transcription factor loci with which they are coexpressed in a tissue-specific manner. Over half of positionally conserved RNAs in this set are linked to chromatin organization structures, overlapping binding sites for the CTCF chromatin organiser and located at chromatin loop anchor points and borders of topologically associating domains (TADs). We define these RNAs as topological anchor point RNAs (tapRNAs). Characterization of these noncoding RNAs and their associated coding genes shows that they are functionally connected: they regulate each other's expression and influence the metastatic phenotype of cancer cells in vitro in a similar fashion. Furthermore, we find that tapRNAs contain conserved sequence domains that are enriched in motifs for zinc finger domain-containing RNA-binding proteins and transcription factors, whose binding sites are found mutated in cancers. This work leverages positional conservation to identify lncRNAs with potential importance in genome organization, development and disease. The evidence that many developmental transcription factors are physically and functionally connected to lncRNAs represents an exciting stepping-stone to further our understanding of genome regulation.

Evaluating biodiversity conservation around a large Sumatran protected area.

PubMed

Linkie, Matthew; Smith, Robert J; Zhu, Yu; Martyr, Deborah J; Suedmeyer, Beth; Pramono, Joko; Leader-Williams, Nigel

2008-06-01

Many of the large, donor-funded community-based conservation projects that seek to reduce biodiversity loss in the tropics have been unsuccessful. There is, therefore, a need for empirical evaluations to identify the driving factors and to provide evidence that supports the development of context-specific conservation projects. We used a quantitative approach to measure, post hoc, the effectiveness of a US$19 million Integrated Conservation and Development Project (ICDP) that sought to reduce biodiversity loss through the development of villages bordering Kerinci Seblat National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Indonesia. We focused on the success of the ICDP component that disbursed a total of US$1.5 million through development grants to 66 villages in return for their commitment to stop illegally clearing the forest. To investigate whether the ICDP lowered deforestation rates in focal villages, we selected a subset of non-ICDP villages that had similar physical and socioeconomic features and compared their respective deforestation rates. Village participation in the ICDP and its development schemes had no effect on deforestation. Instead, accessible areas where village land-tenure had been undermined by the designation of selective-logging concessions tended to have the highest deforestation rates. Our results indicate that the goal of the ICDP was not met and, furthermore, suggest that both law enforcement inside the park and local property rights outside the park need to be strengthened. Our results also emphasize the importance of quantitative approaches in helping to inform successful and cost-effective strategies for tropical biodiversity conservation.

Natural Resource Dependency and Decentralized Conservation Within Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project, Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Pete; Thapa, Brijesh

2012-02-01

Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project (KCAP) in Nepal is among the first protected areas in the world to institute a completely decentralized system of conservation and development. Proponents of decentralized conservation claim that it increases management efficiency, enhances the responsiveness to local needs, and promotes greater equity among local residents. This study assessed local equity by evaluating the levels of dependencies on natural resources among households and the factors affecting that dependency. Data were collected via detailed surveys among 205 randomly selected households within the KCAP. Natural resource dependency was evaluated by comparing the ratio of total household income to income derived from access to natural resources. Economic, social, and access-related variables were employed to determine potential significant predictors of dependency. Overall, households were heavily dependent on natural resources for their income, especially households at higher elevations and those with more adult members. The households that received remittances were most able to supplement their income and, therefore, drastically reduced their reliance on the access to natural resources. Socio-economic variables, such as land holdings, education, caste, and ethnicity, failed to predict dependency. Household participation in KCAP-sponsored training programs also failed to affect household dependency; however, fewer than 20% of the households had any form of direct contact with KCAP personnel within the past year. The success of the KCAP as a decentralized conservation program is contingent on project capacity-building via social mobilization, training programs, and participatory inclusion in decision making to help alleviate the dependency on natural resources.

Natural resource dependency and decentralized conservation within Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project, Nepal.

PubMed

Parker, Pete; Thapa, Brijesh

2012-02-01

Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Project (KCAP) in Nepal is among the first protected areas in the world to institute a completely decentralized system of conservation and development. Proponents of decentralized conservation claim that it increases management efficiency, enhances the responsiveness to local needs, and promotes greater equity among local residents. This study assessed local equity by evaluating the levels of dependencies on natural resources among households and the factors affecting that dependency. Data were collected via detailed surveys among 205 randomly selected households within the KCAP. Natural resource dependency was evaluated by comparing the ratio of total household income to income derived from access to natural resources. Economic, social, and access-related variables were employed to determine potential significant predictors of dependency. Overall, households were heavily dependent on natural resources for their income, especially households at higher elevations and those with more adult members. The households that received remittances were most able to supplement their income and, therefore, drastically reduced their reliance on the access to natural resources. Socio-economic variables, such as land holdings, education, caste, and ethnicity, failed to predict dependency. Household participation in KCAP-sponsored training programs also failed to affect household dependency; however, fewer than 20% of the households had any form of direct contact with KCAP personnel within the past year. The success of the KCAP as a decentralized conservation program is contingent on project capacity-building via social mobilization, training programs, and participatory inclusion in decision making to help alleviate the dependency on natural resources.

50 CFR Figure 16 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 16 Figure 16 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 16 Figure 16 to part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.010 [73 FR...

50 CFR Figure 16 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 16 Figure 16 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 16 Figure 16 to part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.010 [73 FR...

50 CFR Figure 16 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 16 Figure 16 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 16 Figure 16 to part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.010 [73 FR...

50 CFR Figure 16 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 16 Figure 16 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 16 Figure 16 to part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.010 [73 FR...

50 CFR Figure 16 to Part 679 - Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area 16 Figure 16 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND... ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 16 Figure 16 to part 679—Bering Sea Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.010 [73 FR...

Social Network Analysis Identifies Key Participants in Conservation Development.

PubMed

Farr, Cooper M; Reed, Sarah E; Pejchar, Liba

2018-05-01

Understanding patterns of participation in private lands conservation, which is often implemented voluntarily by individual citizens and private organizations, could improve its effectiveness at combating biodiversity loss. We used social network analysis (SNA) to examine participation in conservation development (CD), a private land conservation strategy that clusters houses in a small portion of a property while preserving the remaining land as protected open space. Using data from public records for six counties in Colorado, USA, we compared CD participation patterns among counties and identified actors that most often work with others to implement CDs. We found that social network characteristics differed among counties. The network density, or proportion of connections in the network, varied from fewer than 2 to nearly 15%, and was higher in counties with smaller populations and fewer CDs. Centralization, or the degree to which connections are held disproportionately by a few key actors, was not correlated strongly with any county characteristics. Network characteristics were not correlated with the prevalence of wildlife-friendly design features in CDs. The most highly connected actors were biological and geological consultants, surveyors, and engineers. Our work demonstrates a new application of SNA to land-use planning, in which CD network patterns are examined and key actors are identified. For better conservation outcomes of CD, we recommend using network patterns to guide strategies for outreach and information dissemination, and engaging with highly connected actor types to encourage widespread adoption of best practices for CD design and stewardship.

50 CFR Figure 17 to Part 679 - Northern Bering Sea Research Area and St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Northern Bering Sea Research Area and St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area 17 Figure 17 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY... Sea Research Area and St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.011 [73 FR 43371, July 25...

Mammal indicator species for protected areas and managed forests in a landscape conservation area in northern India

Treesearch

Pradeep K. Mathur; Harish Kumar; John F. Lehmkuhl; Anshuman Tripathi; Vishwas B. Sawarkar; Rupak De

2010-01-01

There is a realization that managed forests and other natural areas in the landscape matrix can and must make significant contributions to biodiversity conservation. Often, however, there are no consistent baseline vegetation or wildlife data for assessing the status of biodiversity elements across protected and managed areas for conservation planning, nor is there a...

Identifying taxonomic and functional surrogates for spring biodiversity conservation.

PubMed

Jyväsjärvi, Jussi; Virtanen, Risto; Ilmonen, Jari; Paasivirta, Lauri; Muotka, Timo

2018-02-27

Surrogate approaches are widely used to estimate overall taxonomic diversity for conservation planning. Surrogate taxa are frequently selected based on rarity or charisma, whereas selection through statistical modeling has been applied rarely. We used boosted-regression-tree models (BRT) fitted to biological data from 165 springs to identify bryophyte and invertebrate surrogates for taxonomic and functional diversity of boreal springs. We focused on these 2 groups because they are well known and abundant in most boreal springs. The best indicators of taxonomic versus functional diversity differed. The bryophyte Bryum weigelii and the chironomid larva Paratrichocladius skirwithensis best indicated taxonomic diversity, whereas the isopod Asellus aquaticus and the chironomid Macropelopia spp. were the best surrogates of functional diversity. In a scoring algorithm for priority-site selection, taxonomic surrogates performed only slightly better than random selection for all spring-dwelling taxa, but they were very effective in representing spring specialists, providing a distinct improvement over random solutions. However, the surrogates for taxonomic diversity represented functional diversity poorly and vice versa. When combined with cross-taxon complementarity analyses, surrogate selection based on statistical modeling provides a promising approach for identifying groundwater-dependent ecosystems of special conservation value, a key requirement of the EU Water Framework Directive. © 2018 Society for Conservation Biology.

Flexible risk metrics for identifying and monitoring conservation-priority species

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stanton, Jessica C.; Semmens, Brice X.; McKann, Patrick C.; Will, Tom; Thogmartin, Wayne E.

2016-01-01

Region-specific conservation programs should have objective, reliable metrics for species prioritization and progress evaluation that are customizable to the goals of a program, easy to comprehend and communicate, and standardized across time. Regional programs may have vastly different goals, spatial coverage, or management agendas, and one-size-fits-all schemes may not always be the best approach. We propose a quantitative and objective framework for generating metrics for prioritizing species that is straightforward to implement and update, customizable to different spatial resolutions, and based on readily available time-series data. This framework is also well-suited to handling missing-data and observer error. We demonstrate this approach using North American Breeding Bird Survey (NABBS) data to identify conservation priority species from a list of over 300 landbirds across 33 bird conservation regions (BCRs). To highlight the flexibility of the framework for different management goals and timeframes we calculate two different metrics. The first identifies species that may be inadequately monitored by NABBS protocols in the near future (TMT, time to monitoring threshold), and the other identifies species likely to decline significantly in the near future based on recent trends (TPD, time to percent decline). Within the individual BCRs we found up to 45% (mean 28%) of the species analyzed had overall declining population trajectories, which could result in up to 37 species declining below a minimum NABBS monitoring threshold in at least one currently occupied BCR within the next 50 years. Additionally, up to 26% (mean 8%) of the species analyzed within the individual BCRs may decline by 30% within the next decade. Conservation workers interested in conserving avian diversity and abundance within these BCRs can use these metrics to plan alternative monitoring schemes or highlight the urgency of those populations experiencing the fastest declines. However, this

Glade/woodland restoration in the St. Francis Mountain Bird Conservation Area

Treesearch

David A. Hasenbeck

2007-01-01

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service, and American Bird Conservancy, share goals to restore and manage high quality glade, savanna, and woodland habitats within the Saint Francis Bird Conservation Area. The partnership endeavors to maintain and enhance an ecosystem with native glade and...

Ecological-niche modeling and prioritization of conservation-area networks for Mexican herpetofauna.

PubMed

Urbina-Cardona, J Nicolás; Flores-Villela, Oscar

2010-08-01

One of the most important tools in conservation biology is information on the geographic distribution of species and the variables determining those patterns. We used maximum-entropy niche modeling to run distribution models for 222 amphibian and 371 reptile species (49% endemics and 27% threatened) for which we had 34,619 single geographic records. The planning region is in southeastern Mexico, is 20% of the country's area, includes 80% of the country's herpetofauna, and lacks an adequate protected-area system. We used probabilistic data to build distribution models of herpetofauna for use in prioritizing conservation areas for three target groups (all species and threatened and endemic species). The accuracy of species-distribution models was better for endemic and threatened species than it was for all species. Forty-seven percent of the region has been deforested and additional conservation areas with 13.7% to 88.6% more native vegetation (76% to 96% of the areas are outside the current protected-area system) are needed. There was overlap in 26 of the main selected areas in the conservation-area network prioritized to preserve the target groups, and for all three target groups the proportion of vegetation types needed for their conservation was constant: 30% pine and oak forests, 22% tropical evergreen forest, 17% low deciduous forest, and 8% montane cloud forests. The fact that different groups of species require the same proportion of habitat types suggests that the pine and oak forests support the highest proportion of endemic and threatened species and should therefore be given priority over other types of vegetation for inclusion in the protected areas of southeastern Mexico.

Priority setting for bird conservation in Mexico: the role of the Important Bird Areas program

Treesearch

Ma. del Coro Arizmendi; Laura Marquez Valdelamar; Humberto Berlanga

2005-01-01

Many species in Mexico are threatened and in need of protection. At least seventy species are considered to be globally threatened, yet conservation actions have been scarce and not coordinated. In 1996 BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas Program was initiated in Mexico to identify a network of the most important places in Mexico for birds, with the...

Ecosystem Services Modeling as a Tool for Defining Priority Areas for Conservation.

PubMed

Duarte, Gabriela Teixeira; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; Paglia, Adriano Pereira

2016-01-01

Conservationists often have difficulty obtaining financial and social support for protected areas that do not demonstrate their benefits for society. Therefore, ecosystem services have gained importance in conservation science in the last decade, as these services provide further justification for appropriate management and conservation of natural systems. We used InVEST software and a set of GIS procedures to quantify, spatialize and evaluated the overlap between ecosystem services-carbon stock and sediment retention-and a biodiversity proxy-habitat quality. In addition, we proposed a method that serves as an initial approach of a priority areas selection process. The method considers the synergism between ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. Our study region is the Iron Quadrangle, an important Brazilian mining province and a conservation priority area located in the interface of two biodiversity hotspots, the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. The resultant priority area for the maintenance of the highest values of ecosystem services and habitat quality was about 13% of the study area. Among those priority areas, 30% are already within established strictly protected areas, and 12% are in sustainable use protected areas. Following the transparent and highly replicable method we proposed in this study, conservation planners can better determine which areas fulfill multiple goals and can locate the trade-offs in the landscape. We also gave a step towards the improvement of the habitat quality model with a topography parameter. In areas of very rugged topography, we have to consider geomorfometric barriers for anthropogenic impacts and for species movement and we must think beyond the linear distances. Moreover, we used a model that considers the tree mortality caused by edge effects in the estimation of carbon stock. We found low spatial congruence among the modeled services, mostly because of the pattern of sediment retention distribution.

Ecosystem Services Modeling as a Tool for Defining Priority Areas for Conservation

PubMed Central

Duarte, Gabriela Teixeira; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; Paglia, Adriano Pereira

2016-01-01

Conservationists often have difficulty obtaining financial and social support for protected areas that do not demonstrate their benefits for society. Therefore, ecosystem services have gained importance in conservation science in the last decade, as these services provide further justification for appropriate management and conservation of natural systems. We used InVEST software and a set of GIS procedures to quantify, spatialize and evaluated the overlap between ecosystem services—carbon stock and sediment retention—and a biodiversity proxy–habitat quality. In addition, we proposed a method that serves as an initial approach of a priority areas selection process. The method considers the synergism between ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation. Our study region is the Iron Quadrangle, an important Brazilian mining province and a conservation priority area located in the interface of two biodiversity hotspots, the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. The resultant priority area for the maintenance of the highest values of ecosystem services and habitat quality was about 13% of the study area. Among those priority areas, 30% are already within established strictly protected areas, and 12% are in sustainable use protected areas. Following the transparent and highly replicable method we proposed in this study, conservation planners can better determine which areas fulfill multiple goals and can locate the trade-offs in the landscape. We also gave a step towards the improvement of the habitat quality model with a topography parameter. In areas of very rugged topography, we have to consider geomorfometric barriers for anthropogenic impacts and for species movement and we must think beyond the linear distances. Moreover, we used a model that considers the tree mortality caused by edge effects in the estimation of carbon stock. We found low spatial congruence among the modeled services, mostly because of the pattern of sediment retention distribution. PMID

Assessing critical source areas in watersheds for conservation buffer planning and riparian restoration.

PubMed

Qiu, Zeyuan

2009-11-01

A science-based geographic information system (GIS) approach is presented to target critical source areas in watersheds for conservation buffer placement. Critical source areas are the intersection of hydrologically sensitive areas and pollutant source areas in watersheds. Hydrologically sensitive areas are areas that actively generate runoff in the watershed and are derived using a modified topographic index approach based on variable source area hydrology. Pollutant source areas are the areas in watersheds that are actively and intensively used for such activities as agricultural production. The method is applied to the Neshanic River watershed in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The capacity of the topographic index in predicting the spatial pattern of runoff generation and the runoff contribution to stream flow in the watershed is evaluated. A simple cost-effectiveness assessment is conducted to compare the conservation buffer placement scenario based on this GIS method to conventional riparian buffer scenarios for placing conservation buffers in agricultural lands in the watershed. The results show that the topographic index reasonably predicts the runoff generation in the watershed. The GIS-based conservation buffer scenario appears to be more cost-effective than the conventional riparian buffer scenarios.

15 CFR Appendix C to Subpart G of... - Marine Conservation Area Boundary

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Marine Conservation Area Boundary C... COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Pt. 922, Subpt. G, App. C Appendix C to Subpart G of Part 922—Marine Conservation Area Boundary C...

15 CFR Appendix C to Subpart G of... - Marine Conservation Area Boundary

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Marine Conservation Area Boundary C... COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Pt. 922, Subpt. G, App. C Appendix C to Subpart G of Part 922—Marine Conservation Area Boundary C...

15 CFR Appendix C to Subpart G of... - Marine Conservation Area Boundary

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Marine Conservation Area Boundary C... COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Pt. 922, Subpt. G, App. C Appendix C to Subpart G of Part 922—Marine Conservation Area Boundary C...

15 CFR Appendix C to Subpart G of... - Marine Conservation Area Boundary

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Marine Conservation Area Boundary C... COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Pt. 922, Subpt. G, App. C Appendix C to Subpart G of Part 922—Marine Conservation Area Boundary C...

15 CFR Appendix C to Subpart G of... - Marine Conservation Area Boundary

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Marine Conservation Area Boundary C... COASTAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY PROGRAM REGULATIONS Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Pt. 922, Subpt. G, App. C Appendix C to Subpart G of Part 922—Marine Conservation Area Boundary C...

Native fish conservation areas: A vision for large-scale conservation of native fish communities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Williams, Jack E.; Williams, Richard N.; Thurow, Russell F.; Elwell, Leah; Philipp, David P.; Harris, Fred A.; Kershner, Jeffrey L.; Martinez, Patrick J.; Miller, Dirk; Reeves, Gordon H.; Frissell, Christopher A.; Sedell, James R.

2011-01-01

The status of freshwater fishes continues to decline despite substantial conservation efforts to reverse this trend and recover threatened and endangered aquatic species. Lack of success is partially due to working at smaller spatial scales and focusing on habitats and species that are already degraded. Protecting entire watersheds and aquatic communities, which we term "native fish conservation areas" (NFCAs), would complement existing conservation efforts by protecting intact aquatic communities while allowing compatible uses. Four critical elements need to be met within a NFCA: (1) maintain processes that create habitat complexity, diversity, and connectivity; (2) nurture all of the life history stages of the fishes being protected; (3) include a long-term enough watershed to provide long-term persistence of native fish populations; and (4) provide management that is sustainable over time. We describe how a network of protected watersheds could be created that would anchor aquatic conservation needs in river basins across the country.

Assessing the effectiveness of specially protected areas for conservation of Antarctica's botanical diversity.

PubMed

Hughes, Kevin A; Ireland, Louise C; Convey, Peter; Fleming, Andrew H

2016-02-01

Vegetation is sparsely distributed over Antarctica's ice-free ground, and distinct plant communities are present in each of the continent's 15 recently identified Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions (ACBRs). With rapidly increasing human activity in Antarctica, terrestrial plant communities are at risk of damage or destruction by trampling, overland transport, and infrastructure construction and from the impacts of anthropogenically introduced species, as well as uncontrollable pressures such as fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) activity and climate change. Under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, the conservation of plant communities can be enacted and facilitated through the designation of Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs). We examined the distribution within the 15 ACBRs of the 33 ASPAs whose explicit purpose includes protecting macroscopic terrestrial flora. We completed the first survey using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) satellite remote sensing to provide baseline data on the extent of vegetation cover in all ASPAs designated for plant protection in Antarctica. Large omissions in the protection of Antarctic botanical diversity were found. There was no protection of plant communities in 6 ACBRs, and in another 6, <0.4% of the ACBR area was included in an ASPA that protected vegetation. Protected vegetation cover within the 33 ASPAs totaled 16.1 km(2) for the entire Antarctic continent; over half was within a single protected area. Over 96% of the protected vegetation was contained in 2 ACBRs, which together contributed only 7.8% of the continent's ice-free ground. We conclude that Antarctic botanical diversity is clearly inadequately protected and call for systematic designation of ASPAs protecting plant communities by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties, the members of the governing body of the continent. © 2015 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on

Maximizing species conservation in continental Ecuador: a case of systematic conservation planning for biodiverse regions

PubMed Central

Lessmann, Janeth; Muñoz, Jesús; Bonaccorso, Elisa

2014-01-01

Ecuador has the largest number of species by area worldwide, but also a low representation of species within its protected areas. Here, we applied systematic conservation planning to identify potential areas for conservation in continental Ecuador, with the aim of increasing the representation of terrestrial species diversity in the protected area network. We selected 809 terrestrial species (amphibians, birds, mammals, and plants), for which distributions were estimated via species distribution models (SDMs), using Maxent. For each species we established conservation goals based on conservation priorities, and estimated new potential protected areas using Marxan conservation planning software. For each selected area, we determined their conservation priority and feasibility of establishment, two important aspects in the decision-making processes. We found that according to our conservation goals, the current protected area network contains large conservation gaps. Potential areas for conservation almost double the surface area of currently protected areas. Most of the newly proposed areas are located in the Coast, a region with large conservation gaps and irreversible changes in land use. The most feasible areas for conservation were found in the Amazon and Andes regions, which encompass more undisturbed habitats, and already harbor most of the current reserves. Our study allows defining a viable strategy for preserving Ecuador's biodiversity, by combining SDMs, GIS-based decision-support software, and priority and feasibility assessments of the selected areas. This approach is useful for complementing protected area networks in countries with great biodiversity, insufficient biological information, and limited resources for conservation. PMID:25360277

Identifying species conservation strategies to reduce disease-associated declines

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gerber, Brian D.; Converse, Sarah J.; Muths, Erin L.; Crockett, Harry J.; Mosher, Brittany A.; Bailey, Larissa L.

2018-01-01

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a salient threat to many animal taxa, causing local and global extinctions, altering communities and ecosystem function. The EID chytridiomycosis is a prominent driver of amphibian declines, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). To guide conservation policy, we developed a predictive decision-analytic model that combines empirical knowledge of host-pathogen metapopulation dynamics with expert judgment regarding effects of management actions, to select from potential conservation strategies. We apply our approach to a boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) and Bd system, identifying optimal strategies that balance tradeoffs in maximizing toad population persistence and landscape-level distribution, while considering costs. The most robust strategy is expected to reduce the decline of toad breeding sites from 53% to 21% over 50 years. Our findings are incorporated into management policy to guide conservation planning. Our online modeling application provides a template for managers of other systems challenged by EIDs.

7 CFR 1468.4 - Establishing Conservation Farm Option (CFO) pilot project areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Establishing Conservation Farm Option (CFO) pilot...) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOANS, PURCHASES, AND OTHER OPERATIONS CONSERVATION FARM OPTION General Provisions § 1468.4 Establishing Conservation Farm Option (CFO) pilot project areas...

Areas of high conservation value at risk by plant invaders in Georgia under climate change.

PubMed

Slodowicz, Daniel; Descombes, Patrice; Kikodze, David; Broennimann, Olivier; Müller-Schärer, Heinz

2018-05-01

Invasive alien plants (IAP) are a threat to biodiversity worldwide. Understanding and anticipating invasions allow for more efficient management. In this regard, predicting potential invasion risks by IAPs is essential to support conservation planning into areas of high conservation value (AHCV) such as sites exhibiting exceptional botanical richness, assemblage of rare, and threatened and/or endemic plant species. Here, we identified AHCV in Georgia, a country showing high plant richness, and assessed the susceptibility of these areas to colonization by IAPs under present and future climatic conditions. We used actual protected areas and areas of high plant endemism (identified using occurrences of 114 Georgian endemic plant species) as proxies for AHCV. Then, we assessed present and future potential distribution of 27 IAPs using species distribution models under four climate change scenarios and stacked single-species potential distribution into a consensus map representing IAPs richness. We evaluated present and future invasion risks in AHCV using IAPs richness as a metric of susceptibility. We show that the actual protected areas cover only 9.4% of the areas of high plant endemism in Georgia. IAPs are presently located at lower elevations around the large urban centers and in western Georgia. We predict a shift of IAPs toward eastern Georgia and higher altitudes and an increased susceptibility of AHCV to IAPs under future climate change. Our study provides a good baseline for decision makers and stakeholders on where and how resources should be invested in the most efficient way to protect Georgia's high plant richness from IAPs.

50 CFR 660.399 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of California.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

.... The boundary of the Harris Point EFH Conservation Area is defined by the mean high water line and... commercial and recreational take of living marine resources is allowed, exists between the mean high water... Scorpion EFH Conservation Area is defined by the mean high water line and a straight line connecting all of...

50 CFR 660.79 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of California.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

.... The boundary of the Harris Point EFH Conservation Area is defined by the mean high water line and... commercial and recreational take of living marine resources is allowed, exists between the mean high water... Scorpion EFH Conservation Area is defined by the mean high water line and a straight line connecting all of...

Priority Areas for Large Mammal Conservation in Equatorial Guinea

PubMed Central

Murai, Mizuki; Ruffler, Heidi; Berlemont, Antoine; Campbell, Genevieve; Esono, Fidel; Agbor, Anthony; Mbomio, Domingo; Ebana, Agustín; Nze, Antonio; Kühl, Hjalmar S.

2013-01-01

Hunting is one of the main driving forces behind large mammal density distribution in many regions of the world. In tropical Africa, urban demand for bushmeat has been shown to dominate over subsistence hunting and its impact often overrides spatial-ecological species characteristics. To effectively protect remaining mammal populations the main factors that influence their distribution need to be integrated into conservation area prioritisation and management plans. This information has been lacking for Río Muni, Equatorial Guinea, as prior studies have been outdated or have not systematically covered the continental region of the country. In this study we evaluated: 1) the relative importance of local vs. commercial hunting; 2) wildlife density of protected vs. non-protected areas; and 3) the importance of ecological factors vs. human influence in driving mammal density distribution in Río Muni. We adopted a systematic countrywide line transect approach with particular focus on apes and elephants, but also including other mammal species. For analysis of field data we used generalised linear models with a set of predictor variables representing ecological conditions, anthropogenic pressure and protected areas. We estimate that there are currently 884 (437–1,789) elephants and 11,097 (8,719–13,592) chimpanzees and gorillas remaining in Río Muni. The results indicate strong hunting pressures on both local and commercial levels, with roads demonstrating a negative impact on elephants and overall mammal body mass. Protected areas played no role in determining any of the mammal species distributions and significant human hunting signs were found inside these protected areas, illustrating the lack of environmental law enforcement throughout the country. Río Muni is currently under-represented in conservation efforts in Western Equatorial Africa, and we recommend a focus on cross-boundary conservation, in particular in the Monte Alén-Monts de Cristal and R�

Estimation of Soil Erosion Dynamics in the Koshi Basin Using GIS and Remote Sensing to Assess Priority Areas for Conservation

PubMed Central

Uddin, Kabir; Murthy, M. S. R.; Wahid, Shahriar M.; Matin, Mir A.

2016-01-01

High levels of water-induced erosion in the transboundary Himalayan river basins are contributing to substantial changes in basin hydrology and inundation. Basin-wide information on erosion dynamics is needed for conservation planning, but field-based studies are limited. This study used remote sensing (RS) data and a geographic information system (GIS) to estimate the spatial distribution of soil erosion across the entire Koshi basin, to identify changes between 1990 and 2010, and to develop a conservation priority map. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) was used in an ArcGIS environment with rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover-management, and support practice factors as primary parameters. The estimated annual erosion from the basin was around 40 million tonnes (40 million tonnes in 1990 and 42 million tonnes in 2010). The results were within the range of reported levels derived from isolated plot measurements and model estimates. Erosion risk was divided into eight classes from very low to extremely high and mapped to show the spatial pattern of soil erosion risk in the basin in 1990 and 2010. The erosion risk class remained unchanged between 1990 and 2010 in close to 87% of the study area, but increased over 9.0% of the area and decreased over 3.8%, indicating an overall worsening of the situation. Areas with a high and increasing risk of erosion were identified as priority areas for conservation. The study provides the first assessment of erosion dynamics at the basin level and provides a basis for identifying conservation priorities across the Koshi basin. The model has a good potential for application in similar river basins in the Himalayan region. PMID:26964039

Estimation of Soil Erosion Dynamics in the Koshi Basin Using GIS and Remote Sensing to Assess Priority Areas for Conservation.

PubMed

Uddin, Kabir; Murthy, M S R; Wahid, Shahriar M; Matin, Mir A

2016-01-01

High levels of water-induced erosion in the transboundary Himalayan river basins are contributing to substantial changes in basin hydrology and inundation. Basin-wide information on erosion dynamics is needed for conservation planning, but field-based studies are limited. This study used remote sensing (RS) data and a geographic information system (GIS) to estimate the spatial distribution of soil erosion across the entire Koshi basin, to identify changes between 1990 and 2010, and to develop a conservation priority map. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) was used in an ArcGIS environment with rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover-management, and support practice factors as primary parameters. The estimated annual erosion from the basin was around 40 million tonnes (40 million tonnes in 1990 and 42 million tonnes in 2010). The results were within the range of reported levels derived from isolated plot measurements and model estimates. Erosion risk was divided into eight classes from very low to extremely high and mapped to show the spatial pattern of soil erosion risk in the basin in 1990 and 2010. The erosion risk class remained unchanged between 1990 and 2010 in close to 87% of the study area, but increased over 9.0% of the area and decreased over 3.8%, indicating an overall worsening of the situation. Areas with a high and increasing risk of erosion were identified as priority areas for conservation. The study provides the first assessment of erosion dynamics at the basin level and provides a basis for identifying conservation priorities across the Koshi basin. The model has a good potential for application in similar river basins in the Himalayan region.

INTEGRATING REPRESENTATION AND VULNERABILITY: TWO APPROACHES FOR PRIORITIZING AREAS FOR CONSERVATION

EPA Science Inventory

One fundamental step in conservation planning involves determining where to concentrate efforts to protect conservation targets. Here we demonstrate two approaches to prioritizing areas based on both species composition and potential threats facing the species. The first approa...

Genetic conservation planning for forest tree species in Western North America under future climate change: Employing a novel approach to identify conservation gaps

Treesearch

L.K. Gray; E.J. Russell; Q.E. Barber; A. Hamann

2017-01-01

Among the 17 provinces, territories, and states that comprise western North America, approximately 18 percent of the 8.4 million km2 of forested land base is designated as protected areas to ensure the in situ conservation of forest biodiversity. Jurisdictions vary substantially however, in their responsibilities, protected area coverage, and conservation policies....

Tourism Revenue as a Conservation Tool for Threatened Birds in Protected Areas

PubMed Central

Steven, Rochelle; Castley, J. Guy; Buckley, Ralf

2013-01-01

Many bird populations worldwide are at risk of extinction, and rely heavily on protected area networks for their continued conservation. Tourism to these areas contributes to conservation by generating revenue for management. Here we quantify the contribution of tourism revenue for bird species in the IUCN Red List, using a simple accounting method. Relevant data are available for 90 (16%) of the 562 critically endangered and endangered species. Contributions of tourism to bird conservation are highest, 10–64%, in South America, Africa, and their neighbouring islands. Critically endangered bird species rely on tourism more heavily than endangered species (p<0.02). Many protected areas could also enhance their management budgets by promoting birdwatching tourism specifically. PMID:23667498

Identifying all moiety conservation laws in genome-scale metabolic networks.

PubMed

De Martino, Andrea; De Martino, Daniele; Mulet, Roberto; Pagnani, Andrea

2014-01-01

The stoichiometry of a metabolic network gives rise to a set of conservation laws for the aggregate level of specific pools of metabolites, which, on one hand, pose dynamical constraints that cross-link the variations of metabolite concentrations and, on the other, provide key insight into a cell's metabolic production capabilities. When the conserved quantity identifies with a chemical moiety, extracting all such conservation laws from the stoichiometry amounts to finding all non-negative integer solutions of a linear system, a programming problem known to be NP-hard. We present an efficient strategy to compute the complete set of integer conservation laws of a genome-scale stoichiometric matrix, also providing a certificate for correctness and maximality of the solution. Our method is deployed for the analysis of moiety conservation relationships in two large-scale reconstructions of the metabolism of the bacterium E. coli, in six tissue-specific human metabolic networks, and, finally, in the human reactome as a whole, revealing that bacterial metabolism could be evolutionarily designed to cover broader production spectra than human metabolism. Convergence to the full set of moiety conservation laws in each case is achieved in extremely reduced computing times. In addition, we uncover a scaling relation that links the size of the independent pool basis to the number of metabolites, for which we present an analytical explanation.

Avian response to pine restoration at Peck Ranch Conservation Area

Treesearch

Richard Clawson; Carrie Steen; Kim Houf; Terry Thompson

2007-01-01

Midco Pine Flats is a 2,223-acre region of Peck Ranch Conservation Area (CA) that is classified as a pine-oak plains land type association. Extensive logging in the early 1900s removed most overstory shortleaf pine allowing oak to become the primary overstory component. In 2000, Missouri Department of Conservation staff initiated a pineoak woodland restoration project...

50 CFR Figure 19 to Part 679 - Shelikof Strait Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Shelikof Strait Conservation Area 19 Figure 19 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF...

A Policy Alternative Analysis and Simplified Scoring Method to Assess Policy Options for Marine Conservation Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharuga, S. M.; Reams, M.

2016-02-01

Traditional approaches to marine conservation and management are increasingly being found as inadequate; and, consequently, more complex ecosystem-based approaches to protecting marine ecosystems are growing in popularity. Ecosystem-based approaches, however, can be particularly challenging at a local level where resources and knowledge of specific marine conservation components may be limited. Marine conservation areas are known by a variety of names globally, but can be divided into four general types: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Marine Reserves, Fishery Reserves, and Ecological Reserves (i.e. "no take zones"). Each type of conservation area involves specific objectives, program elements and likely socioeconomic consequences. As an aid to community stakeholders and decision makers considering establishment of a marine conservation area, a simple method to compare and score the objectives and attributes of these four approaches is presented. A range of evaluation criteria are considered, including conservation of biodiversity and habitat, effective fishery management, overall cost-effectiveness, fairness to current users, enhancement of recreational activities, fairness to taxpayers, and conservation of genetic diversity. Environmental and socioeconomic costs and benefits of each type of conservation area are also considered. When exploring options for managing the marine environment, particular resource conservation needs must be evaluated individually on a case-by-case basis and the type of conservation area established must be tailored accordingly. However, MPAs are often more successful than other conservation areas because they offer a compromise between the needs of society and the environment, and therefore represent a viable option for ecosystem-based management.

A Policy Alternative Analysis and Simplified Scoring Method to Assess Policy Options for Marine Conservation Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharuga, S. M.; Reams, M.

2016-12-01

Traditional approaches to marine conservation and management are increasingly being found as inadequate; and, consequently, more complex ecosystem-based approaches to protecting marine ecosystems are growing in popularity. Ecosystem-based approaches, however, can be particularly challenging at a local level where resources and knowledge of specific marine conservation components may be limited. Marine conservation areas are known by a variety of names globally, but can be divided into four general types: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), Marine Reserves, Fishery Reserves, and Ecological Reserves (i.e. "no take zones"). Each type of conservation area involves specific objectives, program elements and likely socioeconomic consequences. As an aid to community stakeholders and decision makers considering establishment of a marine conservation area, a simple method to compare and score the objectives and attributes of these four approaches is presented. A range of evaluation criteria are considered, including conservation of biodiversity and habitat, effective fishery management, overall cost-effectiveness, fairness to current users, enhancement of recreational activities, fairness to taxpayers, and conservation of genetic diversity. Environmental and socioeconomic costs and benefits of each type of conservation area are also considered. When exploring options for managing the marine environment, particular resource conservation needs must be evaluated individually on a case-by-case basis and the type of conservation area established must be tailored accordingly. However, MPAs are often more successful than other conservation areas because they offer a compromise between the needs of society and the environment, and therefore represent a viable option for ecosystem-based management.

Local cultural conservation to support sustainable tourism in Kuta tourist area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murni, NGN S.; Kanca, I. N.; Antara, D. M. S.

2018-01-01

Cultural conservation is very important in the tourism area to support sustainable tourism. This study uses the cultural studies approach and tourism. The specific purposes of this research are (1) to know the forms of cultural conservation conducted by the people of Kuta Traditional Village (Desa Adat Kuta), (2) to know the impact of tourism on the conservation of local culture, (3) to find out the strategy in preserving local culture for the sustainability of tourism in Kuta tourist area. The method used is qualitative interpretative method. Data collection conducted through direct observation in 13 banjar (sub-village), through in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results showed (1) the forms of cultural conservation are traditional arts such as dance, music orchestra,. Crafts, traditional song, classical barong and calonarang art performance, and local culture pancayadnya (five offerings). (2) the impact of tourism on cultural conservation is positive impacts such as increase of culture creativities, conservation of local culture, and the negative impact such as loss of culture space, decrease traditional subak, reduce fishermen, change of cultural value, and life style.(3) Strategy of Desa Adat in preserving culture by carrying out the festival annually, Kuta Cultural Art Festival (FBK) and Kuta Beach Festival (KBF).

Avian Conservation Areas as a Proxy for Contaminated Soil Remediation

PubMed Central

Lin, Wei-Chih; Lin, Yu-Pin; Anthony, Johnathen; Ding, Tsun-Su

2015-01-01

Remediation prioritization frequently falls short of systematically evaluating the underlying ecological value of different sites. This study presents a novel approach to delineating sites that are both contaminated by any of eight heavy metals and have high habitat value to high-priority species. The conservation priority of each planning site herein was based on the projected distributions of eight protected bird species, simulated using 900 outputs of species distribution models (SDMs) and the subsequent application of a systematic conservation tool. The distributions of heavy metal concentrations were generated using a geostatistical joint-simulation approach. The uncertainties in the heavy metal distributions were quantified in terms of variability among 1000 realization sets. Finally, a novel remediation decision-making approach was presented for delineating contaminated sites in need of remediation based on the spatial uncertainties of multiple realizations and the priorities of conservation areas. The results thus obtained demonstrate that up to 42% of areas of high conservation priority are also contaminated by one or more of the heavy metal contaminants of interest. Moreover, as the proportion of the land for proposed remediated increased, the projected area of the pollution-free habitat also increased. Overall uncertainty, in terms of the false positive contamination rate, also increased. These results indicate that the proposed decision-making approach successfully accounted for the intrinsic trade-offs among a high number of pollution-free habitats, low false positive rates and robustness of expected decision outcomes. PMID:26193297

75 FR 10814 - Proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum in...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-09

...] Proposed Programmatic Safe Harbor Agreement for the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum in Shasta... Enhancement of Survival Permit from the Sacramento River Conservation Area Forum (applicant) under the... Conservation Area Forum under the Act (16 U.S.C 1531 et seq.). The permit application includes a proposed Safe...

A global assessment of the social and conservation outcomes of protected areas.

PubMed

Oldekop, J A; Holmes, G; Harris, W E; Evans, K L

2016-02-01

Protected areas (PAs) are a key strategy for protecting biological resources, but they vary considerably in their effectiveness and are frequently reported as having negative impacts on local people. This has contributed to a divisive and unresolved debate concerning the compatibility of environmental and socioeconomic development goals. Elucidating the relationship between positive and negative social impacts and conservation outcomes of PAs is key for the development of more effective and socially just conservation. We conducted a global meta-analysis on 165 PAs using data from 171 published studies. We assessed how PAs affect the well-being of local people, the factors associated with these impacts, and crucially the relationship between PAs' conservation and socioeconomic outcomes. Protected areas associated with positive socioeconomic outcomes were more likely to report positive conservation outcomes. Positive conservation and socioeconomic outcomes were more likely to occur when PAs adopted comanagement regimes, empowered local people, reduced economic inequalities, and maintained cultural and livelihood benefits. Whereas the strictest regimes of PA management attempted to exclude anthropogenic influences to achieve biological conservation objectives, PAs that explicitly integrated local people as stakeholders tended to be more effective at achieving joint biological conservation and socioeconomic development outcomes. Strict protection may be needed in some circumstances, yet our results demonstrate that conservation and development objectives can be synergistic and highlight management strategies that increase the probability of maximizing both conservation performance and development outcomes of PAs. © 2015 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

Conservation and Education in Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Uganda

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordahl, Mark D.

2005-01-01

This thesis forms the foundation for a conservation education training manual to help guides in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda, communicate to foreign visitors about conservation issues. For background information I used a combination of text-based research and interviews to examine the application of community conservation and…

Habitat monitoring and conservation prioritisation of protected areas in Western Ghats, Kerala, India.

PubMed

Athira, K; Reddy, C Sudhakar; Saranya, K R L; Joseph, Shijo; Jaishanker, R

2017-06-01

Spatially explicit approach is essential to prioritise the ecosystems for biodiversity conservation. In the present study, the conservation status of 20 protected areas of the Western Ghats of Kerala, India, was analysed based on long-term changes in forests (1975-1985-1995-2005-2013), landscape level changes in fragmentation and forest fires (2005-2015). This study has shown that a significant forest loss occurred in protected areas before declaration. Idukki is one of the major protected areas which showed a drastic reduction (18.83%) in its forest cover. During 1985-1995, Periyar tiger reserve had lost 24.19 km 2 core 3 forest area followed by Peppara (18.54 km 2 ), Parambikulam (17.93 km 2 ), Chimmony (17.71 km 2 ), Peechi-Vazhani (12.31 km 2 ) and Neyyar (11.67 km 2 ). An area of 71.33 km 2 of the protected area was affected by fires in 2014. Overall protected area-wise decadal analysis indicates Periyar has the highest number of fire incidences followed by Wayanad, Kurinjimala, Silent Valley and Eravikulam. Disturbances in the form of fires and fragmentation still exist and may have significant conservation threat to flora and fauna. Among protected areas, many are having a probability to go under threat or dynamic stage. Chinnar, Thattekkad and Kurinjimala sanctuaries are representing high levels of vulnerability, or they are near to decline stage. Habitat level monitoring of the anthropogenic disturbances can be efficiently useful for the strategic conservation planning. The present study has provided geospatial database on spatial patterns of deforestation, fragmentation and forest fires in protected areas of Kerala. Conservation prioritization approach based on these parameters will be useful for the strategic planning in the state of Kerala.

Upgrading protected areas to conserve wild biodiversity.

PubMed

Pringle, Robert M

2017-05-31

International agreements mandate the expansion of Earth's protected-area network as a bulwark against the continued extinction of wild populations, species, and ecosystems. Yet many protected areas are underfunded, poorly managed, and ecologically damaged; the conundrum is how to increase their coverage and effectiveness simultaneously. Innovative restoration and rewilding programmes in Costa Rica's Área de Conservación Guanacaste and Mozambique's Parque Nacional da Gorongosa highlight how degraded ecosystems can be rehabilitated, expanded, and woven into the cultural fabric of human societies. Worldwide, enormous potential for biodiversity conservation can be realized by upgrading existing nature reserves while harmonizing them with the needs and aspirations of their constituencies.

50 CFR Figure 17 to Part 679 - Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA) 17 Figure 17 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE...

50 CFR Figure 17 to Part 679 - Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA) 17 Figure 17 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE...

50 CFR Figure 17 to Part 679 - Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA) 17 Figure 17 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE...

50 CFR Figure 17 to Part 679 - Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA)

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Northern Bering Sea Research Area and Saint Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area (HCA) 17 Figure 17 to part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE...

Area, length and thickness conservation: Dogma or reality?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moretti, Isabelle; Callot, Jean Paul

2012-08-01

The basic assumption of quantitative structural geology is the preservation of material during deformation. However the hypothesis of volume conservation alone does not help to predict past or future geometries and so this assumption is usually translated into bed length in 2D (or area in 3D) and thickness conservation. When subsurface data are missing, geologists may extrapolate surface data to depth using the kink-band approach. These extrapolations, preserving both thicknesses and dips, lead to geometries which are restorable but often erroneous, due to both disharmonic deformation and internal deformation of layers. First, the Bolivian Sub-Andean Zone case is presented to highlight the evolution of the concepts on which balancing is based, and the important role played by a decoupling level in enhancing disharmony. Second, analogue models are analyzed to test the validity of the balancing techniques. Chamberlin's excess area approach is shown to be on average valid. However, neither the length nor the thicknesses are preserved. We propose that in real cases, the length preservation hypothesis during shortening could also be a wrong assumption. If the data are good enough to image the decollement level, the Chamberlin excess area method could be used to compute the bed length changes.

Measuring the difference made by conservation initiatives: protected areas and their environmental and social impacts.

PubMed

Ferraro, Paul J; Pressey, Robert L

2015-11-05

Success in conservation depends on our ability to reduce human pressures in areas that harbour biological diversity and ecosystem services. Legally protecting some of these areas through the creation of protected areas is a key component of conservation efforts globally. To develop effective protected area networks, practitioners need credible, scientific evidence about the degree to which protected areas affect environmental and social outcomes, and how these effects vary with context. Such evidence has been lacking, but the situation is changing as conservation scientists adopt more sophisticated research designs for evaluating protected areas' past impacts and for predicting their future impacts. Complementing these scientific advances, conservation funders and practitioners are paying increasing attention to evaluating their investments with more scientifically rigorous evaluation designs. This theme issue highlights recent advances in the science of protected area evaluations and explores the challenges to developing a more credible evidence base that can help societies achieve their goals of protecting nature while enhancing human welfare. © 2015 The Author(s).

Measuring the difference made by conservation initiatives: protected areas and their environmental and social impacts

PubMed Central

Ferraro, Paul J.; Pressey, Robert L.

2015-01-01

Success in conservation depends on our ability to reduce human pressures in areas that harbour biological diversity and ecosystem services. Legally protecting some of these areas through the creation of protected areas is a key component of conservation efforts globally. To develop effective protected area networks, practitioners need credible, scientific evidence about the degree to which protected areas affect environmental and social outcomes, and how these effects vary with context. Such evidence has been lacking, but the situation is changing as conservation scientists adopt more sophisticated research designs for evaluating protected areas' past impacts and for predicting their future impacts. Complementing these scientific advances, conservation funders and practitioners are paying increasing attention to evaluating their investments with more scientifically rigorous evaluation designs. This theme issue highlights recent advances in the science of protected area evaluations and explores the challenges to developing a more credible evidence base that can help societies achieve their goals of protecting nature while enhancing human welfare. PMID:26460123

Impacts of climate change on prioritizing conservation areas of hydrological ecosystem services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lien, Wan Yu; Lin, Yu Pin

2015-04-01

Ecosystem services (ESs) including hydrological services play important roles in our daily life and provide a lot of benefits for human beings from ecological systems. The systems and their services may be threatened by climate change from global to local scales. We herein developed a systematic approach to assess the impacts of climate change on the hydrological ecosystem services, such as water yield, nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorous) retention, and soil retention in a watershed in Northern Taiwan. We first used an ecosystem service evaluation model, InVEST, to estimate the amount and spatial patterns of annual and monthly hydrological ecosystem services under historical weather data, and different climate change scenarios based on five GMSs. The monthly and annual spatiotemporal variations of the ESs were analyzed in this study. Finally, the multiple estimated ESs were considered as the protection conservation targets and regarded as the input data of the systematic conservation planning software, Zonation, to systematically prioritize reserve areas of the ESs under the climate change scenarios. The ES estimation results indicated that the increasing rainfall in wet season leads to the higher water yield and results in the higher sediment and nutrient export indirectly. The Zonation successfully fielded conservation priorities of the ESs. The conservation priorities of the ESs significantly varied spatially and monthly under the climate change scenarios. The ESs results also indicated that the areas where ESs values and conservation priorities with low resilience under climate change should be considered as high priority protected area to ensure the hydrological services in future. Our proposed approach is a novel systematic approach which can be applied to assess impacts of climate change on spatiotemporal variations of ESs as well as prioritize protected area of the ESs under various climate change scenarios. Keyword: climate change, ecosystem service

Use of Parsimony Analysis to Identify Areas of Endemism of Chinese Birds: Implications for Conservation and Biogeography

PubMed Central

Huang, Xiao-Lei; Qiao, Ge-Xia; Lei, Fu-Min

2010-01-01

Parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) was used to identify areas of endemism (AOEs) for Chinese birds at the subregional level. Four AOEs were identified based on a distribution database of 105 endemic species and using 18 avifaunal subregions as the operating geographical units (OGUs). The four AOEs are the Qinghai-Zangnan Subregion, the Southwest Mountainous Subregion, the Hainan Subregion and the Taiwan Subregion. Cladistic analysis of subregions generally supports the division of China’s avifauna into Palaearctic and Oriental realms. Two PAE area trees were produced from two different distribution datasets (year 1976 and 2007). The 1976 topology has four distinct subregional branches; however, the 2007 topology has three distinct branches. Moreover, three Palaearctic subregions in the 1976 tree clustered together with the Oriental subregions in the 2007 tree. Such topological differences may reflect changes in the distribution of bird species through circa three decades. PMID:20559504

Optimized spatial priorities for biodiversity conservation in China: a systematic conservation planning perspective.

PubMed

Wu, Ruidong; Long, Yongcheng; Malanson, George P; Garber, Paul A; Zhang, Shuang; Li, Diqiang; Zhao, Peng; Wang, Longzhu; Duo, Hairui

2014-01-01

By addressing several key features overlooked in previous studies, i.e. human disturbance, integration of ecosystem- and species-level conservation features, and principles of complementarity and representativeness, we present the first national-scale systematic conservation planning for China to determine the optimized spatial priorities for biodiversity conservation. We compiled a spatial database on the distributions of ecosystem- and species-level conservation features, and modeled a human disturbance index (HDI) by aggregating information using several socioeconomic proxies. We ran Marxan with two scenarios (HDI-ignored and HDI-considered) to investigate the effects of human disturbance, and explored the geographic patterns of the optimized spatial conservation priorities. Compared to when HDI was ignored, the HDI-considered scenario resulted in (1) a marked reduction (∼9%) in the total HDI score and a slight increase (∼7%) in the total area of the portfolio of priority units, (2) a significant increase (∼43%) in the total irreplaceable area and (3) more irreplaceable units being identified in almost all environmental zones and highly-disturbed provinces. Thus the inclusion of human disturbance is essential for cost-effective priority-setting. Attention should be targeted to the areas that are characterized as moderately-disturbed, <2,000 m in altitude, and/or intermediately- to extremely-rugged in terrain to identify potentially important regions for implementing cost-effective conservation. We delineated 23 primary large-scale priority areas that are significant for conserving China's biodiversity, but those isolated priority units in disturbed regions are in more urgent need of conservation actions so as to prevent immediate and severe biodiversity loss. This study presents a spatially optimized national-scale portfolio of conservation priorities--effectively representing the overall biodiversity of China while minimizing conflicts with economic

Optimized Spatial Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation in China: A Systematic Conservation Planning Perspective

PubMed Central

Wu, Ruidong; Long, Yongcheng; Malanson, George P.; Garber, Paul A.; Zhang, Shuang; Li, Diqiang; Zhao, Peng; Wang, Longzhu; Duo, Hairui

2014-01-01

By addressing several key features overlooked in previous studies, i.e. human disturbance, integration of ecosystem- and species-level conservation features, and principles of complementarity and representativeness, we present the first national-scale systematic conservation planning for China to determine the optimized spatial priorities for biodiversity conservation. We compiled a spatial database on the distributions of ecosystem- and species-level conservation features, and modeled a human disturbance index (HDI) by aggregating information using several socioeconomic proxies. We ran Marxan with two scenarios (HDI-ignored and HDI-considered) to investigate the effects of human disturbance, and explored the geographic patterns of the optimized spatial conservation priorities. Compared to when HDI was ignored, the HDI-considered scenario resulted in (1) a marked reduction (∼9%) in the total HDI score and a slight increase (∼7%) in the total area of the portfolio of priority units, (2) a significant increase (∼43%) in the total irreplaceable area and (3) more irreplaceable units being identified in almost all environmental zones and highly-disturbed provinces. Thus the inclusion of human disturbance is essential for cost-effective priority-setting. Attention should be targeted to the areas that are characterized as moderately-disturbed, <2,000 m in altitude, and/or intermediately- to extremely-rugged in terrain to identify potentially important regions for implementing cost-effective conservation. We delineated 23 primary large-scale priority areas that are significant for conserving China's biodiversity, but those isolated priority units in disturbed regions are in more urgent need of conservation actions so as to prevent immediate and severe biodiversity loss. This study presents a spatially optimized national-scale portfolio of conservation priorities – effectively representing the overall biodiversity of China while minimizing conflicts with economic

Government conservation policies on Mexican coastal areas: is "top-down" management working?

PubMed

Nava, Héctor; Ramírez-Herrera, M Teresa

2011-12-01

Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are declining globally due to environmental degradation and poorly planned resource use. Traditionally, local government agencies have been responsible of the management of natural reserves to preserve biodiversity. Nonetheless, much of these approaches have failed, suggesting the development of more integrative strategies. In order to discuss the importance of a holistic approach in conservation initiatives, coastal and underwater landscape value and biological/environmental indicators of coral reef degradation were assessed using the study case of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero coastal area. This area shelters representative coral reef structures of the Eastern Pacific coast and its terrestrial biodiversity and archaeology enhance the high value of its coastal area. This study explored the landscape value of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems using the geomorphosite approach in two sites on the Zihuatanejo coastal area: Caleta de Chon and Manzanillo Beach. Sedimentation rate, water transparency, chlorophyll and total suspended solids were recorded underwater in each site for environmental characterization. 50 photo-quadrants on five transects were surveyed between 3-4m depth to record coverage (%) of living corals, dead corals, algae, sand and rocks. The conservation status of coral reefs was assessed by the coral mortality index (MI). Landscape values showed that both terrestrial and marine ecosystems had important scientific and aesthetic values, being Manzanillo Beach the site with the highest potential for conservation initiatives (TtV = 14.2). However, coral reefs face elevated sedimentation rates (up to 1.16 kg/m2d) and low water transparency (less of 5m) generated by coastal land use changes that have increased soil erosion in the adjacent coastal area. High coverage of dead corals (23.6%) and algae (up to 29%) confirm the low values in conservation status of coral reefs (MI = 0.5), reflecting a poorly-planned management

A conservation planning approach to mitigate the impacts of leakage from protected area networks.

PubMed

Bode, Michael; Tulloch, Ayesha I T; Mills, Morena; Venter, Oscar; Ando, Amy W

2015-06-01

Protected area networks are designed to restrict anthropogenic pressures in areas of high biodiversity. Resource users respond by seeking to replace some or all of the lost resources from locations elsewhere in the landscape. Protected area networks thereby perturb the pattern of human pressures by displacing extractive effort from within protected areas into the broader landscape, a process known as leakage. The negative effects of leakage on conservation outcomes have been empirically documented and modeled using homogeneous descriptions of conservation landscapes. Human resource use and biodiversity vary greatly in space, however, and a theory of leakage must describe how this heterogeneity affects the magnitude, pattern, and biodiversity impacts of leakage. We combined models of household utility, adaptive human foraging, and biodiversity conservation to provide a bioeconomic model of leakage that accounts for spatial heterogeneity. Leakage had strong and divergent impacts on the performance of protected area networks, undermining biodiversity benefits but mitigating the negative impacts on local resource users. When leakage was present, our model showed that poorly designed protected area networks resulted in a substantial net loss of biodiversity. However, the effects of leakage can be mitigated if they are incorporated ex-ante into the conservation planning process. If protected areas are coupled with nonreserve policy instruments such as market subsidies, our model shows that the trade-offs between biodiversity and human well-being can be further and more directly reduced. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

50 CFR Table 46 to Part 679 - St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area 46 Table 46 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 46 Table 46 to Part 679—St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 45 to Part 679 - St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area 45 Table 45 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 45 Table 45 to Part 679—St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 45 to Part 679 - St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area 45 Table 45 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 45 Table 45 to Part 679—St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 45 to Part 679 - St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area 45 Table 45 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 45 Table 45 to Part 679—St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 46 to Part 679 - St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area 46 Table 46 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 46 Table 46 to Part 679—St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 45 to Part 679 - St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area 45 Table 45 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 45 Table 45 to Part 679—St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 46 to Part 679 - St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area 46 Table 46 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 46 Table 46 to Part 679—St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 46 to Part 679 - St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area 46 Table 46 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 46 Table 46 to Part 679—St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 45 to Part 679 - St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation Area 45 Table 45 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 45 Table 45 to Part 679—St. Lawrence Island Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 46 to Part 679 - St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation Area 46 Table 46 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 46 Table 46 to Part 679—St. Matthew Island Habitat Conservation...

Total mercury loadings in sediment from gold mining and conservation areas in Guyana.

PubMed

Howard, Joniqua; Trotz, Maya A; Thomas, Ken; Omisca, Erlande; Chiu, Hong Ting; Halfhide, Trina; Akiwumi, Fenda; Michael, Ryan; Stuart, Amy L

2011-08-01

The Low Carbon Development Strategy proposed in June 2009 by the government of Guyana in response to the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries program has triggered evaluation of forest-related activities, thereby acting as a catalyst for improvements in Guyana's small- to medium-scale gold mining industry. This has also shed light on areas committed to conservation, something that has also been handled by Non Governmental Organizations. This paper compares water quality and mercury concentrations in sediment from four main areas in Guyana, two that are heavily mined for gold using mercury amalgamation methods (Arakaka and Mahdia) and two that are considered conservation areas (Iwokrama and Konashen). Fifty-three sediment and soil mercury loadings ranged from 29 to 1,200 ng/g and averaged 215 ± 187 ng/g for all sites with similar averages in conservation and mining areas. Sediment loadings are within the range seen in French Guiana and Suriname, but conservation area samples had higher loadings than the corresponding uncontaminated baselines. Type of ore and location in the mining process seemed to influence mercury loadings. Mercury sediment loadings were slightly positively correlated with pH (correlation coefficient = 0.2; p value < 0.001) whereas no significant correlations were found with dissolved oxygen or turbidity.

Multiscale connectivity and graph theory highlight critical areas for conservation under climate change.

PubMed

Dilt, Thomas E; Weisberg, Peter J; Leitner, Philip; Matocq, Marjorie D; Inman, Richard D; Nussear, Kenneth E; Esque, Todd C

2016-06-01

Conservation planning and biodiversity management require information on landscape connectivity across a range of spatial scales from individual home ranges to large regions. Reduction in landscape connectivity due changes in land use or development is expected to act synergistically with alterations to habitat mosaic configuration arising from climate change. We illustrate a multiscale connectivity framework to aid habitat conservation prioritization in the context of changing land use and climate. Our approach, which builds upon the strengths of multiple landscape connectivity methods, including graph theory, circuit theory, and least-cost path analysis, is here applied to the conservation planning requirements of the Mohave ground squirrel. The distribution of this threatened Californian species, as for numerous other desert species, overlaps with the proposed placement of several utility-scale renewable energy developments in the American southwest. Our approach uses information derived at three spatial scales to forecast potential changes in habitat connectivity under various scenarios of energy development and climate change. By disentangling the potential effects of habitat loss and fragmentation across multiple scales, we identify priority conservation areas for both core habitat and critical corridor or stepping stone habitats. This approach is a first step toward applying graph theory to analyze habitat connectivity for species with continuously distributed habitat and should be applicable across a broad range of taxa.

Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity

PubMed Central

Graham, Catherine H.; Costa, Gabriel C.; Hedges, S. Blair; Penone, Caterina; Radeloff, Volker C.; Rondinini, Carlo; Davidson, Ana D.

2017-01-01

Conservation priorities that are based on species distribution, endemism, and vulnerability may underrepresent biologically unique species as well as their functional roles and evolutionary histories. To ensure that priorities are biologically comprehensive, multiple dimensions of diversity must be considered. Further, understanding how the different dimensions relate to one another spatially is important for conservation prioritization, but the relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we use spatial conservation planning to (i) identify and compare priority regions for global mammal conservation across three key dimensions of biodiversity—taxonomic, phylogenetic, and traits—and (ii) determine the overlap of these regions with the locations of threatened species and existing protected areas. We show that priority areas for mammal conservation exhibit low overlap across the three dimensions, highlighting the need for an integrative approach for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, currently protected areas poorly represent the three dimensions of mammalian biodiversity. We identify areas of high conservation priority among and across the dimensions that should receive special attention for expanding the global protected area network. These high-priority areas, combined with areas of high priority for other taxonomic groups and with social, economic, and political considerations, provide a biological foundation for future conservation planning efforts. PMID:28674013

Global priorities for conservation across multiple dimensions of mammalian diversity.

PubMed

Brum, Fernanda T; Graham, Catherine H; Costa, Gabriel C; Hedges, S Blair; Penone, Caterina; Radeloff, Volker C; Rondinini, Carlo; Loyola, Rafael; Davidson, Ana D

2017-07-18

Conservation priorities that are based on species distribution, endemism, and vulnerability may underrepresent biologically unique species as well as their functional roles and evolutionary histories. To ensure that priorities are biologically comprehensive, multiple dimensions of diversity must be considered. Further, understanding how the different dimensions relate to one another spatially is important for conservation prioritization, but the relationship remains poorly understood. Here, we use spatial conservation planning to ( i ) identify and compare priority regions for global mammal conservation across three key dimensions of biodiversity-taxonomic, phylogenetic, and traits-and ( ii ) determine the overlap of these regions with the locations of threatened species and existing protected areas. We show that priority areas for mammal conservation exhibit low overlap across the three dimensions, highlighting the need for an integrative approach for biodiversity conservation. Additionally, currently protected areas poorly represent the three dimensions of mammalian biodiversity. We identify areas of high conservation priority among and across the dimensions that should receive special attention for expanding the global protected area network. These high-priority areas, combined with areas of high priority for other taxonomic groups and with social, economic, and political considerations, provide a biological foundation for future conservation planning efforts.

Moving into Protected Areas? Setting Conservation Priorities for Romanian Reptiles and Amphibians at Risk from Climate Change

PubMed Central

Popescu, Viorel D.; Rozylowicz, Laurenţiu; Cogălniceanu, Dan; Niculae, Iulian Mihăiţă; Cucu, Adina Livia

2013-01-01

Rapid climate change represents one of the top threats to biodiversity, causing declines and extinctions of many species. Range shifts are a key response, but in many cases are incompatible with the current extent of protected areas. In this study we used ensemble species distribution models to identify range changes for 21 reptile and 16 amphibian species in Romania for the 2020s and 2050s time horizons under three emission scenarios (A1B = integrated world, rapid economic growth, A2A = divided world, rapid economic growth [realistic scenario], B2A = regional development, environmentally-friendly scenario) and no- and limited-dispersal assumptions. We then used irreplaceability analysis to test the efficacy of the Natura 2000 network to meet conservation targets. Under all scenarios and time horizons, 90% of the species suffered range contractions (greatest loses under scenarios B2A for 2020s, and A1B for 2050s), and four reptile species expanded their ranges. Two reptile and two amphibian species are predicted to completely lose climate space by 2050s. Currently, 35 species do not meet conservation targets (>40% representation in protected areas), but the target is predicted to be met for 4 - 14 species under future climate conditions, with higher representation under the limited-dispersal scenario. The Alpine and Steppic-Black Sea biogeographic regions have the highest irreplaceability value, and act as climate refugia for many reptiles and amphibians. The Natura 2000 network performs better for achieving herpetofauna conservation goals in the future, owing to the interaction between drastic range contractions, and range shifts towards existing protected areas. Thus, conservation actions for herpetofauna in Romania need to focus on: (1) building institutional capacity of protected areas in the Alpine and Steppic-Black Sea biogeographic regions, and (2) facilitating natural range shifts by improving the conservation status of herpetofauna outside protected areas

Moving into protected areas? Setting conservation priorities for Romanian reptiles and amphibians at risk from climate change.

PubMed

Popescu, Viorel D; Rozylowicz, Laurenţiu; Cogălniceanu, Dan; Niculae, Iulian Mihăiţă; Cucu, Adina Livia

2013-01-01

Rapid climate change represents one of the top threats to biodiversity, causing declines and extinctions of many species. Range shifts are a key response, but in many cases are incompatible with the current extent of protected areas. In this study we used ensemble species distribution models to identify range changes for 21 reptile and 16 amphibian species in Romania for the 2020s and 2050s time horizons under three emission scenarios (A1B = integrated world, rapid economic growth, A2A = divided world, rapid economic growth [realistic scenario], B2A = regional development, environmentally-friendly scenario) and no- and limited-dispersal assumptions. We then used irreplaceability analysis to test the efficacy of the Natura 2000 network to meet conservation targets. Under all scenarios and time horizons, 90% of the species suffered range contractions (greatest loses under scenarios B2A for 2020s, and A1B for 2050s), and four reptile species expanded their ranges. Two reptile and two amphibian species are predicted to completely lose climate space by 2050s. Currently, 35 species do not meet conservation targets (>40% representation in protected areas), but the target is predicted to be met for 4 - 14 species under future climate conditions, with higher representation under the limited-dispersal scenario. The Alpine and Steppic-Black Sea biogeographic regions have the highest irreplaceability value, and act as climate refugia for many reptiles and amphibians. The Natura 2000 network performs better for achieving herpetofauna conservation goals in the future, owing to the interaction between drastic range contractions, and range shifts towards existing protected areas. Thus, conservation actions for herpetofauna in Romania need to focus on: (1) building institutional capacity of protected areas in the Alpine and Steppic-Black Sea biogeographic regions, and (2) facilitating natural range shifts by improving the conservation status of herpetofauna outside protected areas

Exotism of Batu Putih area in Samarinda, East Kalimantan as conservation area for ecotourism destination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sutan, Syamsidar; Cahyani, Rina Wahyu; Alam, Fajar; Syuhada, Endy Mukhlis

2017-02-01

Batu Putih is a limestone hill complex in Air Putih area, Samarinda, East Kalimantan. The unique value of this region is a towering limestone ridge which easily recognizable at a distance, water catchment area in the city, great place to learn earth science as understanding the ancient marine deposition and hydrocarbon potential development, and the heritage of the region. The objective of this research is toreview the potential of Batu Putih area and surrounding as a green conservation area for ecotourism destination. Batu Putih area, geologically part of Kutai Basin, is controlled by tectonic event, resulted on Northeast-Southwest undulated trend known as Samarinda anticlinorium. Data collected cover several aspects: (1) geological aspects: various types of rocks, groundwater condition and other related data; (2) vegetation aspects; (3) cultural aspect: heritage and historical place. By results from evaluation of existing data, development plan will be commenced. Research found 2 spots for landscape viewing, 3 water resources, various marine fossils in some locations and mud volcano. Vegetations are dominated by "kersen" (Muntingia calabura L.), "aren" (Arenga pinnata) and "pletekan" (Ruellia tuberosa). Based on the findings of the existing kinds of uniqueness, conservation of the area are mandatories. Protection and preservation of the region in integrated manner and area development for ecotourism and education are things should be done in Batu Putih, as increasingly damaged and depleted by limestone mining activities using heavy equipment.

Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques to Detect Changes to the Prince Alfred Hamlet Conservation Area in the Western Cape, South Africa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duncan, P.; Lewarne, M.

2016-06-01

Understanding and identifying the spatial-temporal changes in the natural environment is crucial for monitoring and evaluating conservation efforts, as well as understanding the impact of human activities on natural resources, informing responsible land management, and promoting better decision-making. Conservation areas are often under pressure from expanding farming and related industry, invasive alien vegetation, and an ever-increasing human settlement footprint. This study focuses on detecting changes to the Prince Alfred Hamlet commonage, near Ceres in the Cape Floral Kingdom. It was chosen for its high conservation value and significance as a critical water source area. The study area includes a fast-growing human settlement footprint in a highly productive farming landscape. There are conflicting development needs as well as risks to agricultural production, and both of these threaten the integrity of the ecosystems which supply underlying services to both demands on the land. Using a multi-disciplinary approach and high-resolution satellite imagery, land use and land cover changes can be detected and classified, and the results used to support the conservation of biodiversity and wildlife, and protect our natural resources. The aim of this research is to study the efficacy of using remote sensing and GIS techniques to detect changes to critical conservation areas where disturbances can be understood, and therefore better managed and mitigated before these areas are degraded beyond repair.

A cross-species bi-clustering approach to identifying conserved co-regulated genes.

PubMed

Sun, Jiangwen; Jiang, Zongliang; Tian, Xiuchun; Bi, Jinbo

2016-06-15

A growing number of studies have explored the process of pre-implantation embryonic development of multiple mammalian species. However, the conservation and variation among different species in their developmental programming are poorly defined due to the lack of effective computational methods for detecting co-regularized genes that are conserved across species. The most sophisticated method to date for identifying conserved co-regulated genes is a two-step approach. This approach first identifies gene clusters for each species by a cluster analysis of gene expression data, and subsequently computes the overlaps of clusters identified from different species to reveal common subgroups. This approach is ineffective to deal with the noise in the expression data introduced by the complicated procedures in quantifying gene expression. Furthermore, due to the sequential nature of the approach, the gene clusters identified in the first step may have little overlap among different species in the second step, thus difficult to detect conserved co-regulated genes. We propose a cross-species bi-clustering approach which first denoises the gene expression data of each species into a data matrix. The rows of the data matrices of different species represent the same set of genes that are characterized by their expression patterns over the developmental stages of each species as columns. A novel bi-clustering method is then developed to cluster genes into subgroups by a joint sparse rank-one factorization of all the data matrices. This method decomposes a data matrix into a product of a column vector and a row vector where the column vector is a consistent indicator across the matrices (species) to identify the same gene cluster and the row vector specifies for each species the developmental stages that the clustered genes co-regulate. Efficient optimization algorithm has been developed with convergence analysis. This approach was first validated on synthetic data and compared

Global patterns of terrestrial vertebrate diversity and conservation

PubMed Central

Jenkins, Clinton N.; Pimm, Stuart L.; Joppa, Lucas N.

2013-01-01

Identifying priority areas for biodiversity is essential for directing conservation resources. Fundamentally, we must know where individual species live, which ones are vulnerable, where human actions threaten them, and their levels of protection. As conservation knowledge and threats change, we must reevaluate priorities. We mapped priority areas for vertebrates using newly updated data on >21,000 species of mammals, amphibians, and birds. For each taxon, we identified centers of richness for all species, small-ranged species, and threatened species listed with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Importantly, all analyses were at a spatial grain of 10 × 10 km, 100 times finer than previous assessments. This fine scale is a significant methodological improvement, because it brings mapping to scales comparable with regional decisions on where to place protected areas. We also mapped recent species discoveries, because they suggest where as-yet-unknown species might be living. To assess the protection of the priority areas, we calculated the percentage of priority areas within protected areas using the latest data from the World Database of Protected Areas, providing a snapshot of how well the planet’s protected area system encompasses vertebrate biodiversity. Although the priority areas do have more protection than the global average, the level of protection still is insufficient given the importance of these areas for preventing vertebrate extinctions. We also found substantial differences between our identified vertebrate priorities and the leading map of global conservation priorities, the biodiversity hotspots. Our findings suggest a need to reassess the global allocation of conservation resources to reflect today’s improved knowledge of biodiversity and conservation. PMID:23803854

50 CFR 660.79 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of California.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of California. 660.79 Section 660.79 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES...

50 CFR 660.78 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Oregon. 660.78 Section 660.78 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES...

50 CFR 660.77 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Washington.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of Washington. 660.77 Section 660.77 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES...

Multivariate ordination identifies vegetation types associated with spider conservation in brassica crops

PubMed Central

Saqib, Hafiz Sohaib Ahmed; You, Minsheng

2017-01-01

Conservation biological control emphasizes natural and other non-crop vegetation as a source of natural enemies to focal crops. There is an unmet need for better methods to identify the types of vegetation that are optimal to support specific natural enemies that may colonize the crops. Here we explore the commonality of the spider assemblage—considering abundance and diversity (H)—in brassica crops with that of adjacent non-crop and non-brassica crop vegetation. We employ spatial-based multivariate ordination approaches, hierarchical clustering and spatial eigenvector analysis. The small-scale mixed cropping and high disturbance frequency of southern Chinese vegetation farming offered a setting to test the role of alternate vegetation for spider conservation. Our findings indicate that spider families differ markedly in occurrence with respect to vegetation type. Grassy field margins, non-crop vegetation, taro and sweetpotato harbour spider morphospecies and functional groups that are also present in brassica crops. In contrast, pumpkin and litchi contain spiders not found in brassicas, and so may have little benefit for conservation biological control services for brassicas. Our findings also illustrate the utility of advanced statistical approaches for identifying spatial relationships between natural enemies and the land uses most likely to offer alternative habitats for conservation biological control efforts that generates testable hypotheses for future studies. PMID:29085741

The Orthoptera of Castro Verde Special Protection Area (Southern Portugal): new data and conservation value.

PubMed

Pina, Sílvia; Vasconcelos, Sasha; Reino, Luís; Santana, Joana; Beja, Pedro; Sánchez-Oliver, Juan S; Catry, Inês; Moreira, Francisco; Ferreira, Sónia

2017-01-01

With the increasing awareness of the need for Orthoptera conservation, greater efforts must be gathered to implement specific monitoring schemes. Despite recent surveys, little is known about Portuguese Orthoptera populations. This study was performed in 2014 and 2015 mainly in Castro Verde Special Protection Area (SPA), southern Portugal, and is the first Orthoptera inventory conducted in the area. A total of 35 Orthoptera species was recorded, with two new species reported for Portugal. We provide species' habitat occurrences within the protected area and use information on the conservation status and the Iberian distribution of each documented species to discuss the importance of Castro Verde SPA for Orthoptera conservation. The data presented here sheds new light on Castro Verde SPA biodiversity and emphasizes the inclusion of this area in the conservation of Orthoptera diversity, particularly in the protection of threatened endemic species.

Globalization and multi-spatial trends in the coverage of protected-area conservation (1980-2000).

PubMed

Zimmerer, Karl S; Galt, Ryan E; Buck, Margaret V

2004-12-01

This study is focused on the global expansion of protected-area coverage that occurred during the 1980--2000 period. We examine the multi-scale patterning of four of the basic facets of this expansion: i) estimated increases at the world-regional and country-level scales of total protected-area coverage; ii) transboundary protected areas; iii) conservation corridor projects; and iv) type of conservation management. Geospatial patterning of protected-area designations is a reflection of the priorities of global conservation organizations and the globalization of post-Cold War political and economic arrangements. Local and national-level factors (political leadership and infrastructure) as well as international relations such as multilateral and bilateral aid combine with these globalization processes to impact the extent, type, and location of protected-area designations. We conclude that the interaction of these factors led to the creation and reinforcement of marked spatial differences (rather than tendencies toward worldwide evenness or homogenization) in the course of protected-area expansion during the 1980--2000 period.

Stereophysicochemical variability plots highlight conserved antigenic areas in Flaviviruses

PubMed Central

Schein, Catherine H; Zhou, Bin; Braun, Werner

2005-01-01

Background Flaviviruses, which include Dengue (DV) and West Nile (WN), mutate in response to immune system pressure. Identifying escape mutants, variant progeny that replicate in the presence of neutralizing antibodies, is a common way to identify functionally important residues of viral proteins. However, the mutations typically occur at variable positions on the viral surface that are not essential for viral replication. Methods are needed to determine the true targets of the neutralizing antibodies. Results Stereophysicochemical variability plots (SVPs), 3-D images of protein structures colored according to variability, as determined by our PCPMer program, were used to visualize residues conserved in their physical chemical properties (PCPs) near escape mutant positions. The analysis showed 1) that escape mutations in the flavivirus envelope protein are variable residues by our criteria and 2) two escape mutants found at the same position in many flaviviruses sit above clusters of conserved residues from different regions of the linear sequence. Conservation patterns in T-cell epitopes in the NS3- protease suggest a similar mechanism of immune system evasion. Conclusion The SVPs add another dimension to structurally defining the binding sites of neutralizing antibodies. They provide a useful aid for determining antigenically important regions and designing vaccines. PMID:15845145

Assessing vulnerable and expanding vegetation stands and species in the San Francisco Bay Area for conservation management under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morueta-Holme, N.; Heller, N. E.; McLaughlin, B.; Weiss, S. B.; Ackerly, D.

2015-12-01

The distribution of suitable climatic areas for species and vegetation types is expected to shift due to ongoing climate change. While the pace at which current distributions will shift is hard to quantify, predictions of where climatically suitable areas will be in the future can allow us to map 1) areas currently occupied by a species or vegetation type unlikely to persist through the end of this century (vulnerable stands), 2) areas likely to do better in the future and serve as nuclei for population expansion (expanding stands), and 3) areas likely to act as climate refugia (persisting stands). We quantified the vulnerability of 27 individual plant species and 27 vegetation types in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as the conservation importance, vulnerability, and resilience of selected management sites for climate change resilient conservation. To this end, we developed California-wide models of species and vegetation distributions using climate data from the 2014 California Basin Characterization Model at a 270 m resolution, projected to 18 different end-of century climate change scenarios. Combining these distribution models with high resolution maps of current vegetation, we were able to map projected vulnerable, expanding, and persisting stands within the Bay Area. We show that vegetation and species are expected to shift considerably within the study region over the next decades; although we also identify refugia potentially able to offset some of the negative impacts of climate change. We discuss the implications for managers that wish to incorporate climate change in conservation decisions, in particular related to choosing species for restoration, identifying areas to collect seeds for restoration, and preparing for expected major vegetation changes. Our evaluation of individual management sites highlights the need for stronger coordination of efforts across sites to prioritize monitoring and protection of species whose ranges are contracting

Extinction risks and the conservation of Madagascar's reptiles.

PubMed

Jenkins, Richard K B; Tognelli, Marcelo F; Bowles, Philip; Cox, Neil; Brown, Jason L; Chan, Lauren; Andreone, Franco; Andriamazava, Alain; Andriantsimanarilafy, Raphali R; Anjeriniaina, Mirana; Bora, Parfait; Brady, Lee D; Hantalalaina, Elisoa F; Glaw, Frank; Griffiths, Richard A; Hilton-Taylor, Craig; Hoffmann, Michael; Katariya, Vineet; Rabibisoa, Nirhy H; Rafanomezantsoa, Jeannot; Rakotomalala, Domoina; Rakotondravony, Hery; Rakotondrazafy, Ny A; Ralambonirainy, Johans; Ramanamanjato, Jean-Baptiste; Randriamahazo, Herilala; Randrianantoandro, J Christian; Randrianasolo, Harison H; Randrianirina, Jasmin E; Randrianizahana, Hiarinirina; Raselimanana, Achille P; Rasolohery, Andriambolantsoa; Ratsoavina, Fanomezana M; Raxworthy, Christopher J; Robsomanitrandrasana, Eric; Rollande, Finoana; van Dijk, Peter P; Yoder, Anne D; Vences, Miguel

2014-01-01

An understanding of the conservation status of Madagascar's endemic reptile species is needed to underpin conservation planning and priority setting in this global biodiversity hotspot, and to complement existing information on the island's mammals, birds and amphibians. We report here on the first systematic assessment of the extinction risk of endemic and native non-marine Malagasy snakes, lizards, turtles and tortoises. Species range maps from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species were analysed to determine patterns in the distribution of threatened reptile species. These data, in addition to information on threats, were used to identify priority areas and actions for conservation. Thirty-nine percent of the data-sufficient Malagasy reptiles in our analyses are threatened with extinction. Areas in the north, west and south-east were identified as having more threatened species than expected and are therefore conservation priorities. Habitat degradation caused by wood harvesting and non-timber crops was the most pervasive threat. The direct removal of reptiles for international trade and human consumption threatened relatively few species, but were the primary threats for tortoises. Nine threatened reptile species are endemic to recently created protected areas. With a few alarming exceptions, the threatened endemic reptiles of Madagascar occur within the national network of protected areas, including some taxa that are only found in new protected areas. Threats to these species, however, operate inside and outside protected area boundaries. This analysis has identified priority sites for reptile conservation and completes the conservation assessment of terrestrial vertebrates in Madagascar which will facilitate conservation planning, monitoring and wise-decision making. In sharp contrast with the amphibians, there is significant reptile diversity and regional endemism in the southern and western regions of Madagascar and this study highlights the importance of

Extinction Risks and the Conservation of Madagascar's Reptiles

PubMed Central

Jenkins, Richard K. B.; Tognelli, Marcelo F.; Bowles, Philip; Cox, Neil; Brown, Jason L.; Chan, Lauren; Andreone, Franco; Andriamazava, Alain; Andriantsimanarilafy, Raphali R.; Anjeriniaina, Mirana; Bora, Parfait; Brady, Lee D.; Hantalalaina, Elisoa F.; Glaw, Frank; Griffiths, Richard A.; Hilton-Taylor, Craig; Hoffmann, Michael; Katariya, Vineet; Rabibisoa, Nirhy H.; Rafanomezantsoa, Jeannot; Rakotomalala, Domoina; Rakotondravony, Hery; Rakotondrazafy, Ny A.; Ralambonirainy, Johans; Ramanamanjato, Jean-Baptiste; Randriamahazo, Herilala; Randrianantoandro, J. Christian; Randrianasolo, Harison H.; Randrianirina, Jasmin E.; Randrianizahana, Hiarinirina; Raselimanana, Achille P.; Rasolohery, Andriambolantsoa; Ratsoavina, Fanomezana M.; Raxworthy, Christopher J.; Robsomanitrandrasana, Eric; Rollande, Finoana; van Dijk, Peter P.; Yoder, Anne D.; Vences, Miguel

2014-01-01

Background An understanding of the conservation status of Madagascar's endemic reptile species is needed to underpin conservation planning and priority setting in this global biodiversity hotspot, and to complement existing information on the island's mammals, birds and amphibians. We report here on the first systematic assessment of the extinction risk of endemic and native non-marine Malagasy snakes, lizards, turtles and tortoises. Methodology/Principal Findings Species range maps from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species were analysed to determine patterns in the distribution of threatened reptile species. These data, in addition to information on threats, were used to identify priority areas and actions for conservation. Thirty-nine percent of the data-sufficient Malagasy reptiles in our analyses are threatened with extinction. Areas in the north, west and south-east were identified as having more threatened species than expected and are therefore conservation priorities. Habitat degradation caused by wood harvesting and non-timber crops was the most pervasive threat. The direct removal of reptiles for international trade and human consumption threatened relatively few species, but were the primary threats for tortoises. Nine threatened reptile species are endemic to recently created protected areas. Conclusions/Significance With a few alarming exceptions, the threatened endemic reptiles of Madagascar occur within the national network of protected areas, including some taxa that are only found in new protected areas. Threats to these species, however, operate inside and outside protected area boundaries. This analysis has identified priority sites for reptile conservation and completes the conservation assessment of terrestrial vertebrates in Madagascar which will facilitate conservation planning, monitoring and wise-decision making. In sharp contrast with the amphibians, there is significant reptile diversity and regional endemism in the southern and

The Orthoptera of Castro Verde Special Protection Area (Southern Portugal): new data and conservation value

PubMed Central

Pina, Sílvia; Vasconcelos, Sasha; Reino, Luís; Santana, Joana; Beja, Pedro; Sánchez-Oliver, Juan S.; Catry, Inês; Moreira, Francisco; Ferreira, Sónia

2017-01-01

Abstract With the increasing awareness of the need for Orthoptera conservation, greater efforts must be gathered to implement specific monitoring schemes. Despite recent surveys, little is known about Portuguese Orthoptera populations. This study was performed in 2014 and 2015 mainly in Castro Verde Special Protection Area (SPA), southern Portugal, and is the first Orthoptera inventory conducted in the area. A total of 35 Orthoptera species was recorded, with two new species reported for Portugal. We provide species’ habitat occurrences within the protected area and use information on the conservation status and the Iberian distribution of each documented species to discuss the importance of Castro Verde SPA for Orthoptera conservation. The data presented here sheds new light on Castro Verde SPA biodiversity and emphasizes the inclusion of this area in the conservation of Orthoptera diversity, particularly in the protection of threatened endemic species. PMID:29200922

Environmental service payments: evaluating biodiversity conservation trade-offs and cost-efficiency in the Osa Conservation Area, Costa Rica.

PubMed

Barton, D N; Faith, D P; Rusch, G M; Acevedo, H; Paniagua, L; Castro, M

2009-02-01

The cost-efficiency of payments for environmental services (PES) to private landowners in the Osa Conservation Area, Costa Rica, is evaluated in terms of the trade-off between biodiversity representation and opportunity costs of conservation to agricultural and forestry land-use. Using available GIS data and an 'off-the-shelf' software application called TARGET, we find that the PES allocation criteria applied by authorities in 2002-2003 were more than twice as cost-efficient as criteria applied during 1999-2001. Results show that a policy relevant assessment of the cost-effectiveness of PES relative to other conservation policies can be carried out at regional level using available studies and GIS data. However, there are a number of data and conceptual limitations to using heuristic optimisation algorithms in the analysis of the cost-efficiency of PES. Site specific data on probabilities of land-use change, and a detailed specification of opportunity costs of farm land, labour and capital are required to use algorithms such as TARGET for ranking individual sites based on cost-efficiency. Despite its conceptual soundness for regional conservation analysis, biodiversity complementarity presents a practical challenge as a criterion for PES eligibility at farm level because it varies depending on the set of areas under PES contracts at any one time.

Conservation outside protected areas and the effect of human-dominated landscapes on stress hormones in Savannah elephants.

PubMed

Ahlering, M A; Maldonado, J E; Eggert, L S; Fleischer, R C; Western, D; Brown, J L

2013-06-01

Biodiversity conservation strategies are increasingly focused on regions outside national protected areas, where animals face numerous anthropogenic threats and must coexist with human settlements, livestock, and agriculture. The effects of these potential threats are not always clear, but they could have profound implications for population viability. We used savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) as a case study to assess the physiological stress associated with living in a human-livestock-dominated landscape. We collected samples over two 3-month periods in 2007 and 2008. We used fecal DNA to identify 96 individual elephants in a community conservation area (CCA) and measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) concentrations as a proxy for stress. The CCA is community Maasai land managed for livestock and wildlife. We compared the FGM concentrations from the CCA to FGM concentrations of 40 elephants in Amboseli National Park and 32 elephants in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, where human settlements and intense livestock grazing were absent. In the CCA, we found no significant individual differences in FGM concentrations among the elephants in 2007 (p = 0.312) or 2008 (p = 0.412) and no difference between years (p = 0.616). The elephants in the CCA had similar FGM concentrations to the Maasai Mara population, but Amboseli elephants had significantly lower FGM concentrations than those in either Maasai Mara or the CCA (Tukey pairwise test, p < 0.001), due primarily to females excreting significantly lower FGM relative to males (p = 0.025). In the CCA, there was no relation among female group size, average pairwise group relatedness, and average group FGM concentration. We found no clear evidence of chronic stress in elephants living on CCA communal land, which is encouraging for conservation strategies promoting the protection of animals living outside protected areas. Conservation Biology © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology No claim to original US

[Potential distribution of jaguar, Panthera onca (Carnivora: Felidae) in Guerrero, Mexico: persistence of areas for its conservation].

PubMed

Cuervo-Robayo, Angela P; Monroy-Vilchis, Octavio

2012-09-01

Studies about the permanence of natural protected areas are important, because they contribute to the promotion of the conservation target and to optimize economical and human resources of specific areas. Although there are no natural protected areas in Guerrero, it has suitable habitat for the jaguar, a common species used for planning and management of conservation areas. Since, there is actual evidence that environmental and anthropogenic variables may modify vertebrate species distribution with time, in this study we predicted the potential distribution of Panthera onca using MaxEnt for this Southeastern region. In addition, we made a projection considering the effect of a moderate climate change scenario, to evaluate the stability of the conservation area for a period of 24 years. Furthermore, we applied three threat scenarios for the actual prediction to define conservation priorities areas. In our results, we have found that 18 361Km2 (29%) of this state has a permanent suitable habitat for jaguar conservation in the Sierra Madre del Sur and Pacific coast, with a possible loss of 2 000km2 in 24 years. This habitat is characterized by a 56% of temperate forest (mainly conifers and hardwoods 34%), and 35% of tropical deciduous forest. With the projections, the Southeastern region resulted with the higher anthropogenic impacts, while at the same time, an area of 7 900km2 in the Central-Western state was determined as a priority for conservation. To assure jaguar conservation, we propose the inclusion of this new conservation area, which is located in the Sierra Madre del Sur, with which we may potentially preserve other 250 species of threatened vertebrates. This way, the suggested habitat conservation may represent a local effort in Guerrero and will strengthen the biological corridor network for P. onca protection in Latin America.

The development of learning model for natural science based on environmental in conservation area of Bengkulu University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karyadi, B.; Susanta, A.; Winari, E. W.; Ekaputri, R. Z.; Enersi, D.

2018-05-01

Research on development of a learning model for Natural Science base on conservation area in Bengkulu University has been conducted. The research methods were referred to the standard steps of Research and Development. Stage activities were (a) analysis of needs, (b) observation of the ecological aspects of conservation area as a learning resource, and (c) instructional design based on conservation area for secondary school students. The observation results on the ecological aspects revealed that the diversity of plants and animals, at the conservation area were sufficient as a source for learning. The instructional design was prepared in three phase activities namely Introduction-Exploration-Interpretation (IEI), and then it was compiled in a teaching material Based on Surrounding Natural Environment” (BSNE). The results of a limited scale trial at secondary school students in two districts of Bengkulu province showed that, the students who learned using the IEI model at the conservation area have a good performance and critical thinking. The product from the research is a book named BSNE that can be used for teachers and conservation practitioners in doing the learning activities on environmental conservation which involved public participation.

Entanglement conservation, ER=EPR, and a new classical area theorem for wormholes

DOE PAGES

Remmen, Grant N.; Bao, Ning; Pollack, Jason

2016-07-11

We consider the question of entanglement conservation in the context of the ER=EPR correspondence equating quantum entanglement with wormholes. In quantum mechanics, the entanglement between a system and its complement is conserved under unitary operations that act independently on each; ER=EPR suggests that an analogous statement should hold for wormholes. We accordingly prove a new area theorem in general relativity: for a collection of dynamical wormholes and black holes in a spacetime satisfying the null curvature condition, the maximin area for a subset of the horizons (giving the largest area attained by the minimal cross section of the multi-wormhole throatmore » separating the subset from its complement) is invariant under classical time evolution along the outermost apparent horizons. The evolution can be completely general, including horizon mergers and the addition of classical matter satisfying the null energy condition. In conclusion, this theorem is the gravitational dual of entanglement conservation and thus constitutes an explicit characterization of the ER=EPR duality in the classical limit.« less

Entanglement conservation, ER=EPR, and a new classical area theorem for wormholes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Remmen, Grant N.; Bao, Ning; Pollack, Jason

We consider the question of entanglement conservation in the context of the ER=EPR correspondence equating quantum entanglement with wormholes. In quantum mechanics, the entanglement between a system and its complement is conserved under unitary operations that act independently on each; ER=EPR suggests that an analogous statement should hold for wormholes. We accordingly prove a new area theorem in general relativity: for a collection of dynamical wormholes and black holes in a spacetime satisfying the null curvature condition, the maximin area for a subset of the horizons (giving the largest area attained by the minimal cross section of the multi-wormhole throatmore » separating the subset from its complement) is invariant under classical time evolution along the outermost apparent horizons. The evolution can be completely general, including horizon mergers and the addition of classical matter satisfying the null energy condition. In conclusion, this theorem is the gravitational dual of entanglement conservation and thus constitutes an explicit characterization of the ER=EPR duality in the classical limit.« less

Multi-scale connectivity and graph theory highlight critical areas for conservation under climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dilts, Thomas E.; Weisberg, Peter J.; Leitner, Phillip; Matocq, Marjorie D.; Inman, Richard D.; Nussear, Ken E.; Esque, Todd C.

2016-01-01

Conservation planning and biodiversity management require information on landscape connectivity across a range of spatial scales from individual home ranges to large regions. Reduction in landscape connectivity due changes in land-use or development is expected to act synergistically with alterations to habitat mosaic configuration arising from climate change. We illustrate a multi-scale connectivity framework to aid habitat conservation prioritization in the context of changing land use and climate. Our approach, which builds upon the strengths of multiple landscape connectivity methods including graph theory, circuit theory and least-cost path analysis, is here applied to the conservation planning requirements of the Mohave ground squirrel. The distribution of this California threatened species, as for numerous other desert species, overlaps with the proposed placement of several utility-scale renewable energy developments in the American Southwest. Our approach uses information derived at three spatial scales to forecast potential changes in habitat connectivity under various scenarios of energy development and climate change. By disentangling the potential effects of habitat loss and fragmentation across multiple scales, we identify priority conservation areas for both core habitat and critical corridor or stepping stone habitats. This approach is a first step toward applying graph theory to analyze habitat connectivity for species with continuously-distributed habitat, and should be applicable across a broad range of taxa.

Efficiency of protected areas in Amazon and Atlantic Forest conservation: A spatio-temporal view

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobral-Souza, Thadeu; Vancine, Maurício Humberto; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; Lima-Ribeiro, Matheus S.

2018-02-01

The Amazon and Atlantic Forest are considered the world's most biodiverse biomes. Human and climate change impacts are the principal drivers of species loss in both biomes, more severely in the Atlantic Forest. In response to species loss, the main conservation action is the creation of protected areas (PAs). Current knowledge and research on the PA network's conservation efficiency is scarce, and existing studies have mainly considered a past temporal view. In this study, we tested the efficiency of the current PA network to maintain climatically stable areas (CSAs) across the Amazon and Atlantic Forest. To this, we used an ecological niche modeling approach to biome and paleoclimatic simulations. We propose three categories of conservation priority areas for both biomes, considering CSAs, PAs and intact forest remnants. The biomes vary in their respective PA networks' protection efficiency. Regarding protect CSAs, the Amazon PA network is four times more efficient than the Atlantic Forest PA network. New conservation efforts in these two forest biomes require different approaches. We discussed the conservation actions that should be taken in each biome to increase the efficiency of the PA network, considering both the creation and expansion of PAs as well as restoration programs.

Phylogenetic diversity meets conservation policy: small areas are key to preserving eucalypt lineages.

PubMed

Pollock, Laura J; Rosauer, Dan F; Thornhill, Andrew H; Kujala, Heini; Crisp, Michael D; Miller, Joseph T; McCarthy, Michael A

2015-02-19

Evolutionary and genetic knowledge is increasingly being valued in conservation theory, but is rarely considered in conservation planning and policy. Here, we integrate phylogenetic diversity (PD) with spatial reserve prioritization to evaluate how well the existing reserve system in Victoria, Australia captures the evolutionary lineages of eucalypts, which dominate forest canopies across the state. Forty-three per cent of remaining native woody vegetation in Victoria is located in protected areas (mostly national parks) representing 48% of the extant PD found in the state. A modest expansion in protected areas of 5% (less than 1% of the state area) would increase protected PD by 33% over current levels. In a recent policy change, portions of the national parks were opened for development. These tourism development zones hold over half the PD found in national parks with some species and clades falling entirely outside of protected zones within the national parks. This approach of using PD in spatial prioritization could be extended to any clade or area that has spatial and phylogenetic data. Our results demonstrate the relevance of PD to regional conservation policy by highlighting that small but strategically located areas disproportionally impact the preservation of evolutionary lineages.

50 CFR Table 27 to Part 679 - Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas 27 Table 27 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 27 Table 27 to Part 679—Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 27 to Part 679 - Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas 27 Table 27 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 27 Table 27 to Part 679—Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 27 to Part 679 - Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas 27 Table 27 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 27 Table 27 to Part 679—Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 27 to Part 679 - Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas 27 Table 27 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 27 Table 27 to Part 679—Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation...

50 CFR Table 27 to Part 679 - Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation Areas 27 Table 27 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL... ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Table 27 Table 27 to Part 679—Gulf of Alaska Slope Habitat Conservation...

MONKEY: Identifying conserved transcription-factor binding sitesin multiple alignments using a binding site-specific evolutionarymodel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moses, Alan M.; Chiang, Derek Y.; Pollard, Daniel A.

2004-10-28

We introduce a method (MONKEY) to identify conserved transcription-factor binding sites in multispecies alignments. MONKEY employs probabilistic models of factor specificity and binding site evolution, on which basis we compute the likelihood that putative sites are conserved and assign statistical significance to each hit. Using genomes from the genus Saccharomyces, we illustrate how the significance of real sites increases with evolutionary distance and explore the relationship between conservation and function.

Collapse of a pollination web in small conservation areas.

PubMed

Pauw, Anton

2007-07-01

A suspected global decline in pollinators has heightened interest in their ecological significance. In a worst-case scenario, the decline of generalist pollinators is predicted to trigger cascades of linked declines among the multiple specialist plant species to which they are linked, but this has not been documented. I studied a portion of a pollination web involving a generalist pollinator, the oil-collecting bee Rediviva peringueyi, and a community of oil-secreting plants. Across 27 established conservation areas located in the Cape Floral Region, I found substantial variation in the bees' occurrence in relation to soil type and the successional stage of the vegetation. Anthropogenic declines were detectable against this background of naturally occurring variation: R. peringueyi was absent from small conservation areas (< 385 ha) in an urban matrix. In the absence of the bee, seed set failed in six specialist plant species that are pollinated only by R. peringueyi but remained high in a pollination generalist, which had replacement pollinators. The findings are consistent with theoretical predictions of the importance of generalist pollinators in maintaining the structure of pollination webs.

Forest Conservation Opportunity Areas - Liberal Model (ECO_RES.COA_FORREST33)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This layer designates areas with potential for forest conservation. These are areas of natural or semi-natural forest land cover patches that are at least 75 meters away from roads and away from patch edges. OAs were modeled by creating distance grids using the National Land Cover Database and the Census Bureau's TIGER roads files.

Setting Priorities for Regional Conservation Planning in the Mediterranean Sea

PubMed Central

Micheli, Fiorenza; Levin, Noam; Giakoumi, Sylvaine; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Abdulla, Ameer; Coll, Marta; Fraschetti, Simonetta; Kark, Salit; Koutsoubas, Drosos; Mackelworth, Peter; Maiorano, Luigi; Possingham, Hugh P.

2013-01-01

Spatial prioritization in conservation is required to direct limited resources to where actions are most urgently needed and most likely to produce effective conservation outcomes. In an effort to advance the protection of a highly threatened hotspot of marine biodiversity, the Mediterranean Sea, multiple spatial conservation plans have been developed in recent years. Here, we review and integrate these different plans with the goal of identifying priority conservation areas that represent the current consensus among the different initiatives. A review of six existing and twelve proposed conservation initiatives highlights gaps in conservation and management planning, particularly within the southern and eastern regions of the Mediterranean and for offshore and deep sea habitats. The eighteen initiatives vary substantially in their extent (covering 0.1–58.5% of the Mediterranean Sea) and in the location of additional proposed conservation and management areas. Differences in the criteria, approaches and data used explain such variation. Despite the diversity among proposals, our analyses identified ten areas, encompassing 10% of the Mediterranean Sea, that are consistently identified among the existing proposals, with an additional 10% selected by at least five proposals. These areas represent top priorities for immediate conservation action. Despite the plethora of initiatives, major challenges face Mediterranean biodiversity and conservation. These include the need for spatial prioritization within a comprehensive framework for regional conservation planning, the acquisition of additional information from data-poor areas, species or habitats, and addressing the challenges of establishing transboundary governance and collaboration in socially, culturally and politically complex conditions. Collective prioritised action, not new conservation plans, is needed for the north, western, and high seas of the Mediterranean, while developing initial information

Identifying effective actions to guide volunteer-based and nationwide conservation efforts for a ground-nesting farmland bird.

PubMed

Santangeli, Andrea; Arroyo, Beatriz; Millon, Alexandre; Bretagnolle, Vincent

2015-08-01

1. Modern farming practices threaten wildlife in different ways, and failure to identify the complexity of multiple threats acting in synergy may result in ineffective management. To protect ground-nesting birds in farmland, monitoring and mitigating impacts of mechanical harvesting is crucial. 2. Here, we use 6 years of data from a nationwide volunteer-based monitoring scheme of the Montagu's harrier, a ground-nesting raptor, in French farmlands. We assess the effectiveness of alternative nest protection measures and map their potential benefit to the species. 3. We show that unprotected nests in cultivated land are strongly negatively affected by harvesting and thus require active management. Further, we show that protection from harvesting alone (e.g. by leaving a small unharvested buffer around the nest) is impaired by post-harvest predation at nests that become highly conspicuous after harvest. Measures that simultaneously protect from harvesting and predation (by adding a fence around the nest) significantly enhance nest productivity. 4. The map of expected gain from nest protection in relation to available volunteers' workforce pinpoints large areas of high expected gain from nest protection that are not matched by equally high workforce availability. This mismatch suggests that the impact of nest protection can be further improved by increasing volunteer efforts in key areas where they are low relative to the expected gain they could have. 5. Synthesis and applications . This study shows that synergistic interplay of multiple factors (e.g. mechanical harvesting and predation) may completely undermine the success of well-intentioned conservation efforts. However, identifying areas where the greatest expected gains can be achieved relative to effort expended can minimize the risk of wasted volunteer actions. Overall, this study underscores the importance of citizen science for collecting large-scale data useful for producing science and ultimately informs

50 CFR Table 44 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 44 Table 44 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude 1651.54W 6045.54N* 1627.01W...

50 CFR Figure 21 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 21 Figure 21 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.012 [73 FR 43372, July 25, 2008] ...

50 CFR Figure 21 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 21 Figure 21 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.012 [73 FR 43372, July 25, 2008] ...

50 CFR Figure 21 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 21 Figure 21 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.012 [73 FR 43372, July 25, 2008] ...

50 CFR Table 44 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 44 Table 44 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude 1651.54W 6045.54N* 1627.01W...

50 CFR Table 44 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 44 Table 44 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude 1651.54W 6045.54N* 1627.01W...

50 CFR Table 44 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 44 Table 44 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude 1651.54W 6045.54N* 1627.01W...

50 CFR Figure 21 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 21 Figure 21 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.012 [73 FR 43372, July 25, 2008] ...

50 CFR Figure 21 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 21 Figure 21 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area ER25JY08.012 [73 FR 43372, July 25, 2008] ...

50 CFR Table 44 to Part 679 - Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Nunivak Island, Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area 44 Table 44 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION..., Etolin Strait, and Kuskokwim Bay Habitat Conservation Area Longitude Latitude 1651.54W 6045.54N* 1627.01W...

50 CFR Figure 20 to Part 679 - Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea 20 Figure 20 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT... EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 20 Figure 20 to Part 679—Steller sea lion conservation area...

50 CFR Figure 20 to Part 679 - Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea 20 Figure 20 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT... EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 20 Figure 20 to Part 679—Steller sea lion conservation area...

50 CFR Figure 20 to Part 679 - Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea 20 Figure 20 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT... EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 20 Figure 20 to Part 679—Steller sea lion conservation area...

50 CFR Figure 20 to Part 679 - Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea 20 Figure 20 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT... EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 20 Figure 20 to Part 679—Steller sea lion conservation area...

50 CFR Figure 20 to Part 679 - Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Steller sea lion conservation area (SCA) of the Bering Sea 20 Figure 20 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT... EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt. 679, Fig. 20 Figure 20 to Part 679—Steller sea lion conservation area...

Common coastal foraging areas for loggerheads in the Gulf of Mexico: Opportunities for marine conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hart, Kristen M.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Tucker, Anton D.; Carthy, Raymond R.

2012-01-01

Designing conservation strategies that protect wide-ranging marine species is a significant challenge, but integrating regional telemetry datasets and synthesizing modeled movements and behavior offer promise for uncovering distinct at-sea areas that are important habitats for imperiled marine species. Movement paths of 10 satellite-tracked female loggerheads (Caretta caretta) from three separate subpopulations in the Gulf of Mexico, USA, revealed migration to discrete foraging sites in two common areas at-sea in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Foraging sites were 102–904 km away from nesting and tagging sites, and located off southwest Florida and the northern Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Within 3–35 days, turtles migrated to foraging sites where they all displayed high site fidelity over time. Core-use foraging areas were 13.0–335.2 km2 in size, in water <50 m deep, within a mean distance to nearest coastline of 58.5 km, and in areas of relatively high net primary productivity. The existence of shared regional foraging sites highlights an opportunity for marine conservation strategies to protect important at-sea habitats for these imperiled marine turtles, in both USA and international waters. Until now, knowledge of important at-sea foraging areas for adult loggerheads in the Gulf of Mexico has been limited. To better understand the spatial distribution of marine turtles that have complex life-histories, we propose further integration of disparate tracking data-sets at the oceanic scale along with modeling of movements to identify critical at-sea foraging habitats where individuals may be resident during non-nesting periods.

Using a social-ecological framework to inform the implementation of conservation plans.

PubMed

Guerrero, Angela M; Wilson, Kerrie A

2017-04-01

One of the key determinants of success in biodiversity conservation is how well conservation planning decisions account for the social system in which actions are to be implemented. Understanding elements of how the social and ecological systems interact can help identify opportunities for implementation. Utilizing data from a large-scale conservation initiative in southwestern of Australia, we explored how a social-ecological system framework can be applied to identify how social and ecological factors interact to influence the opportunities for conservation. Using data from semistructured interviews, an online survey, and publicly available data, we developed a conceptual model of the social-ecological system associated with the conservation of the Fitz-Stirling region. We used this model to identify the relevant variables (remnants of vegetation, stakeholder presence, collaboration between stakeholders, and their scale of management) that affect the implementation of conservation actions in the region. We combined measures for these variables to ascertain how areas associated with different levels of ecological importance coincided with areas associated with different levels of stakeholder presence, stakeholder collaboration, and scales of management. We identified areas that could benefit from different implementation strategies, from those suitable for immediate conservation action to areas requiring implementation over the long term to increase on-the-ground capacity and identify mechanisms to incentivize implementation. The application of a social-ecological framework can help conservation planners and practitioners facilitate the integration of ecological and social data to inform the translation of priorities for action into implementation strategies that account for the complexities of conservation problems in a focused way. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Multi-criteria decision analysis in conservation planning: Designing conservation area networks in San Diego County

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MacDonald, Garrick Richard

To limit biodiversity loss caused by human activity, conservation planning must protect biodiversity while considering socio-economic cost criteria. This research aimed to determine the effects of socio-economic criteria and spatial configurations on the development of CANs for three species with different distribution patterns, while simultaneously attempting to address the uncertainty and sensitivity of CANs produced by ConsNet. The socio-economic factors and spatial criteria included the cost of land, population density, agricultural output value, area, average cluster area, number of clusters, shape, and perimeter. Three sensitive mammal species with different distribution patterns were selected and included the Bobcat, Ringtail, and a custom created mammal distribution. Forty problems and the corresponding number of CANs were formulated and computed by running each predicted presence species model with and without the four different socioeconomic threshold groups at two different resolutions. Thirty-two percent less area was conserved after considering multiple socio-economic constraints and spatial configurations in comparison to CANs that did not consider multiple socio-economic constraints and spatial configurations. Without including socio-economic costs, ConsNet's ALL_CELLS heuristic solution was the highest ranking CAN. After considering multiple socio-economic costs, the number one ranking CAN was no longer the ALL_CELLS heuristic solution, but a spatially different meta-heuristic solution. The effects of multiple constraints and objectives on the design of CANs with different distribution patterns did not vary significantly across the criteria. The CANs produced by ConsNet appeared to demonstrate some uncertainty surrounding particular criteria, but did not demonstrate substantial uncertainty across all criteria used to rank the CANs. Similarly, the range of socio-economic criteria thresholds did not have a substantial impact. ConsNet was very

Housing growth in and near United States protected areas limits their conservation value

Treesearch

Volker. C. Radeloff; Susan I. Stewart; Todd J. Hawbaker; Urs Gimmi; Anna M. Pidgeon; Curtis H. Flather; Roger. B. Hammer; David P. Helmers

2010-01-01

Protected areas are crucial for biodiversity conservation because they provide safe havens for species threatened by land-use change and resulting habitat loss. However, protected areas are only effective when they stop habitat loss within their boundaries, and are connected via corridors to other wild areas. The effectiveness of protected areas is threatened by...

The Important Bird Areas Program in the United States: building a network of sites for conservation, state by state

Treesearch

Jeffrey V. Wells; Daniel K. Niven; John Cecil

2005-01-01

The Important Bird Area (IBA) program is an international effort to identify, conserve, and monitor a network of sites that provide essential habitat for bird populations. BirdLife International began the IBA program in Europe in 1985. Since that time, BirdLife partners in more than 100 countries have joined together to build the global IBA network. Audubon (BirdLife...

The New York State Bird Conservation Area (BCA) Program: A Model for the United States

Treesearch

M. F. Burger; D. J. Adams; T. Post; L. Sommers; B. Swift

2005-01-01

The New York State Bird Conservation Area (BCA) Program, modeled after the National Audubon Society?s Important Bird Areas Program, is based on legislation signed by Governor Pataki in 1997. New York is the first state in the nation to enact such a program. The BCA Program seeks to provide a comprehensive, ecosystem approach to conserving birds and their habitats on...

Effectiveness of Protected Areas in the Pan-Tropics and International Aid for Conservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, D. H.

2015-12-01

Protected areas are crucial for tropical forest conservation efforts. Estimation of the effectiveness of protected areas is thus important for evaluating the efficacy of forest conservation policies and priorities. However, comprehensive evaluation of the long-term effects of Protected Areas and international aid is lacking. However, with the recent availability of long-term, large-scale forest cover change data at 30-m resolution, it has become possible to address some of the issues surrounding the effectiveness of protected areas. To evaluate the effectiveness of Protected Areas in the pan-tropics and international aid for conservation, we use the 30m resolution data along with econometrics 1) to estimate avoided deforestation by PAs in the tropics during the 2000s, 2) estimate effects of international aid on avoided deforestation by PAs and 3) analyze the relationships between the socio-economic variables and increases in deforestation, avoided deforestation by PAs and effects of international aid. Our results show that protected areas avoided 83,500 ± 21,200 km2 of deforestation during the 2000s. Brazil showed the highest estimates of effects of international aid on the avoided deforestation of 22 m2/USD, which is about 50 times higher compared to Indonesia (0.5 m2/USD). The regression analysis between avoided deforestation, effects of international aid and socio-economic factors demonstrates that PAs have been relatively more effective in the countries where the deforestation pressures were increasing and that governance and forest change monitoring capacity may be important factors enhancing the efficacy of international aid. Our study presents the first pan-tropical analysis of the long-term evaluation of the effectiveness of protected areas, international aid and their regulating factors using spatially explicit fine resolution data. Our findings allow us to pinpoint where conservation initiatives and resource management are effectively practiced and to

Identifying conserved gene clusters in the presence of homology families.

PubMed

He, Xin; Goldwasser, Michael H

2005-01-01

The study of conserved gene clusters is important for understanding the forces behind genome organization and evolution, as well as the function of individual genes or gene groups. In this paper, we present a new model and algorithm for identifying conserved gene clusters from pairwise genome comparison. This generalizes a recent model called "gene teams." A gene team is a set of genes that appear homologously in two or more species, possibly in a different order yet with the distance of adjacent genes in the team for each chromosome always no more than a certain threshold. We remove the constraint in the original model that each gene must have a unique occurrence in each chromosome and thus allow the analysis on complex prokaryotic or eukaryotic genomes with extensive paralogs. Our algorithm analyzes a pair of chromosomes in O(mn) time and uses O(m+n) space, where m and n are the number of genes in the respective chromosomes. We demonstrate the utility of our methods by studying two bacterial genomes, E. coli K-12 and B. subtilis. Many of the teams identified by our algorithm correlate with documented E. coli operons, while several others match predicted operons, previously suggested by computational techniques. Our implementation and data are publicly available at euler.slu.edu/ approximately goldwasser/homologyteams/.

Using Remote Sensing Technology on the Delimitation of the Conservation Area for the Jianan Irrigation System Cultural Landsccape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C. H.

2015-08-01

In recent years the cultural landscape has become an important issue for cultural heritages throughout the world. It represents the "combined works of nature and of man" designated in Article 1 of the World Heritage Convention. When a landscape has a cultural heritage value, important features should be marked and mapped through the delimitation of a conservation area, which may be essential for further conservation work. However, a cultural landscape's spatial area is usually wider than the ordinary architectural type of cultural heritage, since various elements and impact factors, forming the cultural landscape's character, lie within a wide geographic area. It is argued that the conservation of a cultural landscape may be influenced by the delimitation of the conservation area, the corresponding land management measures, the limits and encouragements. The Jianan Irrigation System, an historical cultural landscape in southern Taiwan, was registered as a living cultural heritage site in 2009. However, the system's conservation should not be limited to just only the reservoir or canals, but expanded to irrigated areas where farmland may be the most relevant. Through the analysis process, only approximately 42,000 hectares was defined as a conservation area, but closely related to agricultural plantations and irrigated by the system. This is only half of the 1977 irrigated area due to urban sprawl and continuous industrial expansion.

EPA Region 7 Aquatic Focus Areas (ECO_RES.R7_AQUATIC_FOCUS_AREAS)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This shapefile consists of 347 individual Aquatic Ecological System (AES) polygons that are the Aquatic Conservation Focus Areas for EPA Region 7. The focus areas are those areas within each aquatic ecological system types that, if preserved, would maintain the biological and ecological diversity extant within that ecological system type. The layer consists of those polygons from the R7_AES.shp shapefile that had the highest ranks. The AES polygons in the Missouri portion of the file were appended and are those that contain the 158 aquatic conservation opportunity areas identified in Missouri as part of another project (Missouri Department of Conservation Aquatic Biodiversity Assessment 2005). Note that the identifiers in the Missouri portion of this file will not match the ID's in any Missouri specific files.

Protected Areas' Impacts on Brazilian Amazon Deforestation: Examining Conservation-Development Interactions to Inform Planning.

PubMed

Pfaff, Alexander; Robalino, Juan; Herrera, Diego; Sandoval, Catalina

2015-01-01

Protected areas are the leading forest conservation policy for species and ecoservices goals and they may feature in climate policy if countries with tropical forest rely on familiar tools. For Brazil's Legal Amazon, we estimate the average impact of protection upon deforestation and show how protected areas' forest impacts vary significantly with development pressure. We use matching, i.e., comparisons that are apples-to-apples in observed land characteristics, to address the fact that protected areas (PAs) tend to be located on lands facing less pressure. Correcting for that location bias lowers our estimates of PAs' forest impacts by roughly half. Further, it reveals significant variation in PA impacts along development-related dimensions: for example, the PAs that are closer to roads and the PAs closer to cities have higher impact. Planners have multiple conservation and development goals, and are constrained by cost, yet still conservation planning should reflect what our results imply about future impacts of PAs.

Ancient DNA analysis of Indigenous rockfish use on the Pacific Coast: Implications for marine conservation areas and fisheries management.

PubMed

Rodrigues, Antonia T; McKechnie, Iain; Yang, Dongya Y

2018-01-01

Rockfish (Sebastes spp.) are a common marine fish in nearshore and continental shelf environments in the North Pacific Ocean. They are frequently identified in coastal archaeological sites in western North America; however, the morphological similarity of rockfish species limits conventional zooarchaeological identifications to the genus level. This study applies ancient DNA analysis to 96 archaeological rockfish specimens from four sites on separate islands in an archipelago on western Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Two of the archaeological sites are located within a marine protected area specifically designed to facilitate the recovery of inshore rockfish populations; two sites are located outside this boundary and remain subject to considerable fishing pressure. Using mitochondrial 16S and control region DNA sequences, we identify at least twelve different rockfish species utilized during the past 2,500 years. Identification of rockfish at closely spaced and contemporaneously occupied sites confirms that a variety of Sebastes species were consistently exploited at each site, with more exposed areas having a higher number of species present. Identification results indicate that four of the twelve species did not occur within the conservation area boundary and, instead, were found in sites where commercial and recreational fishing continues to be permitted. This study demonstrates that ancient DNA identifications of archaeological assemblages can complement and expand perspective on modern day fisheries conservation and management in this National Park Reserve and First Nations ancestral territory.

Tetrapods on the EDGE: Overcoming data limitations to identify phylogenetic conservation priorities

PubMed Central

Gray, Claudia L.; Wearn, Oliver R.; Owen, Nisha R.

2018-01-01

The scale of the ongoing biodiversity crisis requires both effective conservation prioritisation and urgent action. As extinction is non-random across the tree of life, it is important to prioritise threatened species which represent large amounts of evolutionary history. The EDGE metric prioritises species based on their Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED), which measures the relative contribution of a species to the total evolutionary history of their taxonomic group, and Global Endangerment (GE), or extinction risk. EDGE prioritisations rely on adequate phylogenetic and extinction risk data to generate meaningful priorities for conservation. However, comprehensive phylogenetic trees of large taxonomic groups are extremely rare and, even when available, become quickly out-of-date due to the rapid rate of species descriptions and taxonomic revisions. Thus, it is important that conservationists can use the available data to incorporate evolutionary history into conservation prioritisation. We compared published and new methods to estimate missing ED scores for species absent from a phylogenetic tree whilst simultaneously correcting the ED scores of their close taxonomic relatives. We found that following artificial removal of species from a phylogenetic tree, the new method provided the closest estimates of their “true” ED score, differing from the true ED score by an average of less than 1%, compared to the 31% and 38% difference of the previous methods. The previous methods also substantially under- and over-estimated scores as more species were artificially removed from a phylogenetic tree. We therefore used the new method to estimate ED scores for all tetrapods. From these scores we updated EDGE prioritisation rankings for all tetrapod species with IUCN Red List assessments, including the first EDGE prioritisation for reptiles. Further, we identified criteria to identify robust priority species in an effort to further inform conservation action whilst

Identifiability of conservative linear mechanical systems. [applied to large flexible spacecraft structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sirlin, S. W.; Longman, R. W.; Juang, J. N.

1985-01-01

With a sufficiently great number of sensors and actuators, any finite dimensional dynamic system is identifiable on the basis of input-output data. It is presently indicated that, for conservative nongyroscopic linear mechanical systems, the number of sensors and actuators required for identifiability is very large, where 'identifiability' is understood as a unique determination of the mass and stiffness matrices. The required number of sensors and actuators drops by a factor of two, given a relaxation of the identifiability criterion so that identification can fail only if the system parameters being identified lie in a set of measure zero. When the mass matrix is known a priori, this additional information does not significantly affect the requirements for guaranteed identifiability, though the number of parameters to be determined is reduced by a factor of two.

Designing large-scale conservation corridors for pattern and process.

PubMed

Rouget, Mathieu; Cowling, Richard M; Lombard, Amanda T; Knight, Andrew T; Kerley, Graham I H

2006-04-01

A major challenge for conservation assessments is to identify priority areas that incorporate biological patterns and processes. Because large-scale processes are mostly oriented along environmental gradients, we propose to accommodate them by designing regional-scale corridors to capture these gradients. Based on systematic conservation planning principles such as representation and persistence, we identified large tracts of untransformed land (i.e., conservation corridors) for conservation that would achieve biodiversity targets for pattern and process in the Subtropical Thicket Biome of South Africa. We combined least-cost path analysis with a target-driven algorithm to identify the best option for capturing key environmental gradients while considering biodiversity targets and conservation opportunities and constraints. We identified seven conservation corridors on the basis of subtropical thicket representation, habitat transformation and degradation, wildlife suitability, irreplaceability of vegetation types, protected area networks, and future land-use pressures. These conservation corridors covered 21.1% of the planning region (ranging from 600 to 5200 km2) and successfully achieved targets for biological processes and to a lesser extent for vegetation types. The corridors we identified are intended to promote the persistence of ecological processes (gradients and fixed processes) and fulfill half of the biodiversity pattern target. We compared the conservation corridors with a simplified corridor design consisting of a fixed-width buffer along major rivers. Conservation corridors outperformed river buffers in seven out of eight criteria. Our corridor design can provide a tool for quantifying trade-offs between various criteria (biodiversity pattern and process, implementation constraints and opportunities). A land-use management model was developed to facilitate implementation of conservation actions within these corridors.

Residential energy consumption and conservation programs: A systematic approach to identify inefficient households, provide meaningful feedback, and prioritize homes for conservation intervention

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Macsleyne, Amelia Chadbourne Carus

There are three main objectives for residential energy conservation policies: to reduce the use of fossil fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and reduce the energy costs seen by the consumer (U.S. Department of Energy: Strategic Objectives, 2006). A prominent difficulty currently facing conservation policy makers and program managers is how to identify and communicate with households that would be good candidates for conservation intervention, in such a way that affects a change in consumption patterns and is cost-effective. This research addresses this issue by separating the problem into three components: how to identify houses that are significantly more inefficient than comparable households; how to find the maximum financially-feasible investment in energy efficiency for a household in order to reduce annual energy costs and/or improve indoor comfort; and how to prioritize low-income households for a subsidized weatherization program. Each component of the problem is presented as a paper prepared for publication. Household consumption related to physical house efficiency, thermostat settings, and daily appliance usage is studied in the first and second paper by analyzing natural gas utility meter readings associated with over 10,000 households from 2001-2006. A rich description of a house's architectural characteristics and household demographics is attained by integrating publicly available databases based on the house address. This combination of information allows for the largest number of individual households studied at this level of detail to date. The third paper uses conservation program data from two natural gas utilities that administer and sponsor the program; over 1,000 weatherized households are included in this sample. This research focuses on natural gas-related household conservation. However, the same principles and methods could be applied for electricity-related conservation programs. We find positive policy implications from each of

Compendium of Immune Signatures Identifies Conserved and Species-Specific Biology in Response to Inflammation.

PubMed

Godec, Jernej; Tan, Yan; Liberzon, Arthur; Tamayo, Pablo; Bhattacharya, Sanchita; Butte, Atul J; Mesirov, Jill P; Haining, W Nicholas

2016-01-19

Gene-expression profiling has become a mainstay in immunology, but subtle changes in gene networks related to biological processes are hard to discern when comparing various datasets. For instance, conservation of the transcriptional response to sepsis in mouse models and human disease remains controversial. To improve transcriptional analysis in immunology, we created ImmuneSigDB: a manually annotated compendium of ∼5,000 gene-sets from diverse cell states, experimental manipulations, and genetic perturbations in immunology. Analysis using ImmuneSigDB identified signatures induced in activated myeloid cells and differentiating lymphocytes that were highly conserved between humans and mice. Sepsis triggered conserved patterns of gene expression in humans and mouse models. However, we also identified species-specific biological processes in the sepsis transcriptional response: although both species upregulated phagocytosis-related genes, a mitosis signature was specific to humans. ImmuneSigDB enables granular analysis of transcriptomic data to improve biological understanding of immune processes of the human and mouse immune systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factoring attitudes towards armed conflict risk into selection of protected areas for conservation.

PubMed

Hammill, E; Tulloch, A I T; Possingham, H P; Strange, N; Wilson, K A

2016-03-30

The high incidence of armed conflicts in biodiverse regions poses significant challenges in achieving international conservation targets. Because attitudes towards risk vary, we assessed different strategies for protected area planning that reflected alternative attitudes towards the risk of armed conflicts. We find that ignoring conflict risk will deliver the lowest return on investment. Opting to completely avoid conflict-prone areas offers limited improvements and could lead to species receiving no protection. Accounting for conflict by protecting additional areas to offset the impacts of armed conflicts would not only increase the return on investment (an effect that is enhanced when high-risk areas are excluded) but also increase upfront conservation costs. Our results also demonstrate that fine-scale estimations of conflict risk could enhance the cost-effectiveness of investments. We conclude that achieving biodiversity targets in volatile regions will require greater initial investment and benefit from fine-resolution estimates of conflict risk.

From nature tourism to ecotourism? The case of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania.

Treesearch

Susan Charnley

2005-01-01

This paper examines what is needed to transform nature tourism to protected areas into ecotourism, having genuine social benefits and serving as a tool for sustainable community development. It draws on the case of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania's most visited protected area, and a multiple land use zone inhabited by the pastoral Maasai peoples. I...

Resource inventory techniques used in the California Desert Conservation Area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcleod, R. G.; Johnson, H. B.

1981-01-01

A variety of conventional and remotely sensed data for the 25 million acre California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) have been integrated and analyzed to estimate range carrying capacity. Multispectral classification was performed on a digital mosaic of ten Landsat frames. Multispectral classes were correlated with low level aerial photography, quantified and aggregated by grazing allotment, land ownership, and slope.

50 CFR 660.79 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of California.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES....330; and §§ 660.360. (a) Eel River Canyon. The boundary of the Eel River Canyon EFH Conservation Area...

50 CFR 660.79 - EFH Conservation Areas off the Coast of California.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OFF WEST COAST STATES....330; and §§ 660.360. (a) Eel River Canyon. The boundary of the Eel River Canyon EFH Conservation Area...

Important bird areas in the neotropics: the backbone of a coordinated, on-the-ground bird conservation initiative in the western hemisphere

Treesearch

Angelica Estrada; Ian Davidson

2005-01-01

The Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program was developed by BirdLife International as an approach to conserving birds and associated biodiversity throughout the world. The IBA program seeks to identify and protect a network of sites, at a biogeographic scale, which are critical for the long-term viability of naturally occurring bird populations for which site-based...

Factoring attitudes towards armed conflict risk into selection of protected areas for conservation

PubMed Central

Hammill, E.; Tulloch, A. I. T.; Possingham, H. P.; Strange, N.; Wilson, K. A.

2016-01-01

The high incidence of armed conflicts in biodiverse regions poses significant challenges in achieving international conservation targets. Because attitudes towards risk vary, we assessed different strategies for protected area planning that reflected alternative attitudes towards the risk of armed conflicts. We find that ignoring conflict risk will deliver the lowest return on investment. Opting to completely avoid conflict-prone areas offers limited improvements and could lead to species receiving no protection. Accounting for conflict by protecting additional areas to offset the impacts of armed conflicts would not only increase the return on investment (an effect that is enhanced when high-risk areas are excluded) but also increase upfront conservation costs. Our results also demonstrate that fine-scale estimations of conflict risk could enhance the cost-effectiveness of investments. We conclude that achieving biodiversity targets in volatile regions will require greater initial investment and benefit from fine-resolution estimates of conflict risk. PMID:27025894

Changing climate, challenging choices: identifying and evaluating climate change adaptation options for protected areas management in Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

Lemieux, Christopher J; Scott, Daniel J

2011-10-01

Climate change will pose increasingly significant challenges to managers of parks and other forms of protected areas around the world. Over the past two decades, numerous scientific publications have identified potential adaptations, but their suitability from legal, policy, financial, internal capacity, and other management perspectives has not been evaluated for any protected area agency or organization. In this study, a panel of protected area experts applied a Policy Delphi methodology to identify and evaluate climate change adaptation options across the primary management areas of a protected area agency in Canada. The panel identified and evaluated one hundred and sixty five (165) adaptation options for their perceived desirability and feasibility. While the results revealed a high level of agreement with respect to the desirability of adaptation options and a moderate level of capacity pertaining to policy formulation and management direction, a perception of low capacity for implementation in most other program areas was identified. A separate panel of senior park agency decision-makers used a multiple criterion decision-facilitation matrix to further evaluate the institutional feasibility of the 56 most desirable adaptation options identified by the initial expert panel and to prioritize them for consideration in a climate change action plan. Critically, only two of the 56 adaptation options evaluated by senior decision-makers were deemed definitely implementable, due largely to fiscal and internal capacity limitations. These challenges are common to protected area agencies in developed countries and pervade those in developing countries, revealing that limited adaptive capacity represents a substantive barrier to biodiversity conservation and other protected area management objectives in an era of rapid climate change.

Changing Climate, Challenging Choices: Identifying and Evaluating Climate Change Adaptation Options for Protected Areas Management in Ontario, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemieux, Christopher J.; Scott, Daniel J.

2011-10-01

Climate change will pose increasingly significant challenges to managers of parks and other forms of protected areas around the world. Over the past two decades, numerous scientific publications have identified potential adaptations, but their suitability from legal, policy, financial, internal capacity, and other management perspectives has not been evaluated for any protected area agency or organization. In this study, a panel of protected area experts applied a Policy Delphi methodology to identify and evaluate climate change adaptation options across the primary management areas of a protected area agency in Canada. The panel identified and evaluated one hundred and sixty five (165) adaptation options for their perceived desirability and feasibility. While the results revealed a high level of agreement with respect to the desirability of adaptation options and a moderate level of capacity pertaining to policy formulation and management direction, a perception of low capacity for implementation in most other program areas was identified. A separate panel of senior park agency decision-makers used a multiple criterion decision-facilitation matrix to further evaluate the institutional feasibility of the 56 most desirable adaptation options identified by the initial expert panel and to prioritize them for consideration in a climate change action plan. Critically, only two of the 56 adaptation options evaluated by senior decision-makers were deemed definitely implementable, due largely to fiscal and internal capacity limitations. These challenges are common to protected area agencies in developed countries and pervade those in developing countries, revealing that limited adaptive capacity represents a substantive barrier to biodiversity conservation and other protected area management objectives in an era of rapid climate change.

Balancing livestock production and wildlife conservation in and around southern Africa's transfrontier conservation areas.

PubMed

Thomson, G R; Penrith, M-L; Atkinson, M W; Atkinson, S J; Cassidy, D; Osofsky, S A

2013-12-01

Biodiversity conservation, of which the transfrontier conservation area movement is an integral part, and more effective livestock production/trade are pivotal to future rural development in southern Africa. For that reason, it is imperative to effectively ameliorate the obstacles that have impeded progress towards the coexistence of these two sectors for more than half a century. Transboundary animal diseases, foot and mouth disease in particular, have been and continue to be the most important of these obstacles. Fortunately, new developments in international sanitary standards applicable to trade in commodities and products derived from animals are beginning to make a solution possible. However, while progress in principle has been achieved, practical implementation remains problematic for technical reasons, exacerbated by inconsistent attitudes towards acceptance of non-traditional international trade standards. This paper describes the background to this situation, progress that has been achieved in the recent past and remaining difficulties that need to be overcome to advance towards achievement of balanced rural development in southern Africa. © 2013 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

SELECTING INDICATORS OF BIODIVERSITY FOR CONSERVATION PLANNING: IDENTIFYING THE MECHANISMS BEHIND INDICATOR GROUP PERFORMANCE

EPA Science Inventory

Most conservation planning is constrained by time and funding. In particular, the selection of areas to protect biodiversity must often be completed with limited data on species distributions. Consequently, different groups of species have been proposed as indicators or surroga...

The biogeography of globally threatened seabirds and island conservation opportunities.

PubMed

Spatz, Dena R; Newton, Kelly M; Heinz, Reina; Tershy, Bernie; Holmes, Nick D; Butchart, Stuart H M; Croll, Donald A

2014-10-01

Seabirds are the most threatened group of marine animals; 29% of species are at some risk of extinction. Significant threats to seabirds occur on islands where they breed, but in many cases, effective island conservation can mitigate these threats. To guide island-based seabird conservation actions, we identified all islands with extant or extirpated populations of the 98 globally threatened seabird species, as recognized on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and quantified the presence of threatening invasive species, protected areas, and human populations. We matched these results with island attributes to highlight feasible island conservation opportunities. We identified 1362 threatened breeding seabird populations on 968 islands. On 803 (83%) of these islands, we identified threatening invasive species (20%), incomplete protected area coverage (23%), or both (40%). Most islands with threatened seabirds are amenable to island-wide conservation action because they are small (57% were <1 km(2) ), uninhabited (74%), and occur in high- or middle-income countries (96%). Collectively these attributes make islands with threatened seabirds a rare opportunity for effective conservation at scale. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

smRNAome profiling to identify conserved and novel microRNAs in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a family of small RNA (sRNA) population that regulates the gene expression and plays an important role in plant development, metabolism, signal transduction and stress response. Extensive studies on miRNAs have been performed in different plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa etc. and volume of the miRNA database, mirBASE, has been increasing on day to day basis. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is an important perennial herb which accumulates high concentrations of diterpene steviol glycosides which contributes to its high indexed sweetening property with no calorific value. Several studies have been carried out for understanding molecular mechanism involved in biosynthesis of these glycosides, however, information about miRNAs has been lacking in S. rebaudiana. Deep sequencing of small RNAs combined with transcriptomic data is a powerful tool for identifying conserved and novel miRNAs irrespective of availability of genome sequence data. Results To identify miRNAs in S. rebaudiana, sRNA library was constructed and sequenced using Illumina genome analyzer II. A total of 30,472,534 reads representing 2,509,190 distinct sequences were obtained from sRNA library. Based on sequence similarity, we identified 100 miRNAs belonging to 34 highly conserved families. Also, we identified 12 novel miRNAs whose precursors were potentially generated from stevia EST and nucleotide sequences. All novel sequences have not been earlier described in other plant species. Putative target genes were predicted for most conserved and novel miRNAs. The predicted targets are mainly mRNA encoding enzymes regulating essential plant metabolic and signaling pathways. Conclusions This study led to the identification of 34 highly conserved miRNA families and 12 novel potential miRNAs indicating that specific miRNAs exist in stevia species. Our results provided information on stevia miRNAs and their targets building a foundation for future studies to

smRNAome profiling to identify conserved and novel microRNAs in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

PubMed

Mandhan, Vibha; Kaur, Jagdeep; Singh, Kashmir

2012-11-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) constitute a family of small RNA (sRNA) population that regulates the gene expression and plays an important role in plant development, metabolism, signal transduction and stress response. Extensive studies on miRNAs have been performed in different plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Oryza sativa etc. and volume of the miRNA database, mirBASE, has been increasing on day to day basis. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is an important perennial herb which accumulates high concentrations of diterpene steviol glycosides which contributes to its high indexed sweetening property with no calorific value. Several studies have been carried out for understanding molecular mechanism involved in biosynthesis of these glycosides, however, information about miRNAs has been lacking in S. rebaudiana. Deep sequencing of small RNAs combined with transcriptomic data is a powerful tool for identifying conserved and novel miRNAs irrespective of availability of genome sequence data. To identify miRNAs in S. rebaudiana, sRNA library was constructed and sequenced using Illumina genome analyzer II. A total of 30,472,534 reads representing 2,509,190 distinct sequences were obtained from sRNA library. Based on sequence similarity, we identified 100 miRNAs belonging to 34 highly conserved families. Also, we identified 12 novel miRNAs whose precursors were potentially generated from stevia EST and nucleotide sequences. All novel sequences have not been earlier described in other plant species. Putative target genes were predicted for most conserved and novel miRNAs. The predicted targets are mainly mRNA encoding enzymes regulating essential plant metabolic and signaling pathways. This study led to the identification of 34 highly conserved miRNA families and 12 novel potential miRNAs indicating that specific miRNAs exist in stevia species. Our results provided information on stevia miRNAs and their targets building a foundation for future studies to understand their roles in key

Bird conservation would complement landslide prevention in the Central Andes of Colombia.

PubMed

Ocampo-Peñuela, Natalia; Pimm, Stuart L

2015-01-01

Conservation and restoration priorities often focus on separate ecosystem problems. Inspired by the November 11th (2011) landslide event near Manizales, and the current poor results of Colombia's Article 111 of Law 99 of 1993 as a conservation measure in this country, we set out to prioritize conservation and restoration areas where landslide prevention would complement bird conservation in the Central Andes. This area is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, but also one of the most threatened. Using the case of the Rio Blanco Reserve, near Manizales, we identified areas for conservation where endemic and small-range bird diversity was high, and where landslide risk was also high. We further prioritized restoration areas by overlapping these conservation priorities with a forest cover map. Restoring forests in bare areas of high landslide risk and important bird diversity yields benefits for both biodiversity and people. We developed a simple landslide susceptibility model using slope, forest cover, aspect, and stream proximity. Using publicly available bird range maps, refined by elevation, we mapped concentrations of endemic and small-range bird species. We identified 1.54 km(2) of potential restoration areas in the Rio Blanco Reserve, and 886 km(2) in the Central Andes region. By prioritizing these areas, we facilitate the application of Article 111 which requires local and regional governments to invest in land purchases for the conservation of watersheds.

Biodiversity of Coreoidea and Pentatomidae (Heteroptera) from Atlantic forest protected areas. Insights into their conservation.

PubMed

Dellapé, Gimena; Colpo, Karine D; Melo, María C; Montemayor, Sara I; Dellapé, Pablo M

2018-01-01

Although the majority of threatened species are likely to be tropical insects, knowledge of the diversity, ecological role and impact of insect biodiversity loss on ecosystem processes is very limited. Specimens belonging to four families of Heteroptera: Pentatomidae, Coreidae, Alydidae and Rhopalidae, were collected from a protected area in the Paraná Forest, the largest ecoregion of the Atlantic Forest, in Argentina. The assemblages were characterized and the biodiversity estimated, and they were compared with the assemblages found in five other protected areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. In our study area, Pentatomidae had the greatest richness and diversity; Coreidae was the second most diverse family, with highest sampling deficit, highest percentage of singletons, and lowest inventory completeness; and Rhopalidae was the best sampled family with asymptotic rarefaction curves. We explored the application of the Species Conservation Importance index, following four criteria, to evaluate the relative importance of the pentatomid species studied and its usefulness for assigning conservation values to areas. We found similar Site Conservation Values among the six areas and noted that the use of criteria was limited by the lack of information, being crucial to increase the knowledge of most of the species.

Combined Use of Systematic Conservation Planning, Species Distribution Modelling, and Connectivity Analysis Reveals Severe Conservation Gaps in a Megadiverse Country (Peru)

PubMed Central

Fajardo, Javier; Lessmann, Janeth; Bonaccorso, Elisa; Devenish, Christian; Muñoz, Jesús

2014-01-01

Conservation planning is crucial for megadiverse countries where biodiversity is coupled with incomplete reserve systems and limited resources to invest in conservation. Using Peru as an example of a megadiverse country, we asked whether the national system of protected areas satisfies biodiversity conservation needs. Further, to complement the existing reserve system, we identified and prioritized potential conservation areas using a combination of species distribution modeling, conservation planning and connectivity analysis. Based on a set of 2,869 species, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and plants, we used species distribution models to represent species' geographic ranges to reduce the effect of biased sampling and partial knowledge about species' distributions. A site-selection algorithm then searched for efficient and complementary proposals, based on the above distributions, for a more representative system of protection. Finally, we incorporated connectivity among areas in an innovative post-hoc analysis to prioritize those areas maximizing connectivity within the system. Our results highlight severe conservation gaps in the Coastal and Andean regions, and we propose several areas, which are not currently covered by the existing network of protected areas. Our approach helps to find areas that contribute to creating a more representative, connected and efficient network. PMID:25479411

Cost-effective priorities for global mammal conservation.

PubMed

Carwardine, Josie; Wilson, Kerrie A; Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R; Naidoo, Robin; Iwamura, Takuya; Hajkowicz, Stefan A; Possingham, Hugh P

2008-08-12

Global biodiversity priority setting underpins the strategic allocation of conservation funds. In identifying the first comprehensive set of global priority areas for mammals, Ceballos et al. [Ceballos G, Ehrlich PR, Soberón J, Salazar I, Fay JP (2005) Science 309:603-607] found much potential for conflict between conservation and agricultural human activity. This is not surprising because, like other global priority-setting approaches, they set priorities without socioeconomic objectives. Here we present a priority-setting framework that seeks to minimize the conflicts and opportunity costs of meeting conservation goals. We use it to derive a new set of priority areas for investment in mammal conservation based on (i) agricultural opportunity cost and biodiversity importance, (ii) current levels of international funding, and (iii) degree of threat. Our approach achieves the same biodiversity outcomes as Ceballos et al.'s while reducing the opportunity costs and conflicts with agricultural human activity by up to 50%. We uncover shortfalls in the allocation of conservation funds in many threatened priority areas, highlighting a global conservation challenge.

Ancient DNA analysis of Indigenous rockfish use on the Pacific Coast: Implications for marine conservation areas and fisheries management

PubMed Central

McKechnie, Iain; Yang, Dongya Y.

2018-01-01

Rockfish (Sebastes spp.) are a common marine fish in nearshore and continental shelf environments in the North Pacific Ocean. They are frequently identified in coastal archaeological sites in western North America; however, the morphological similarity of rockfish species limits conventional zooarchaeological identifications to the genus level. This study applies ancient DNA analysis to 96 archaeological rockfish specimens from four sites on separate islands in an archipelago on western Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Two of the archaeological sites are located within a marine protected area specifically designed to facilitate the recovery of inshore rockfish populations; two sites are located outside this boundary and remain subject to considerable fishing pressure. Using mitochondrial 16S and control region DNA sequences, we identify at least twelve different rockfish species utilized during the past 2,500 years. Identification of rockfish at closely spaced and contemporaneously occupied sites confirms that a variety of Sebastes species were consistently exploited at each site, with more exposed areas having a higher number of species present. Identification results indicate that four of the twelve species did not occur within the conservation area boundary and, instead, were found in sites where commercial and recreational fishing continues to be permitted. This study demonstrates that ancient DNA identifications of archaeological assemblages can complement and expand perspective on modern day fisheries conservation and management in this National Park Reserve and First Nations ancestral territory. PMID:29438388

The role of IUCN protected area categories in the conservation of geoheritage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, Kyung Sik; Gordon, John E.; Crofts, Roger; Diaz-Martinez, Enrique; McKeever, Patrick J.; Hill, Wesley

2015-04-01

Geoheritage comprises those elements of the Earth's geodiversity that are considered to have significant scientific, educational, cultural/aesthetic, ecological or ecosystem service value. IUCN Resolutions 4.040 (2008) and 5.048 (2012) both clearly recognise that geodiversity is part of nature and geoheritage is part of natural heritage. Formal recognition of the geodiversity component of protected areas was made in 2008 in the revised IUCN Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories (Dudley, 2008). All 6 of the IUCN Protected Area Management Categories (strict nature reserve/wilderness area, national park, national monument or feature, habitat/species management area, protected landscape/seascape, and protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) are applicable to the protection of geoheritage and provide opportunities to integrate conservation of geosites and the wider landscape values of geodiversity much more closely in protected area networks (Crofts & Gordon, 2015). Although geoparks are not a protected area category as such, and may only include some parts of protected areas as geosites, the UNESCO-supported Global Geoparks Network also provides an international framework to conserve and enhance geoheritage, as does the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Geoheritage Specialist Group of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas provides specialist advice and guidance on all aspects of geodiversity and geoheritage in relation to the establishment and management of protected areas, the integration of geodiversity into IUCN's programmes, and the promotion of better understanding of the links between geodiversity and biodiversity. http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/gpap_home/gpap_biodiversity/gpap_wcpabiodiv/gpap_geoheritage/). Crofts, R., Gordon, J. E. (2015) Geoconservation in protected areas. In: G.L. Worboys, M. Lockwood, A. Kothari, S. Feary, I. Pulsford (eds), Protected Area Governance and Management. ANU Press, Canberra

Forest area and distribution in the Mississippi alluvial valley: Implications for breeding bird conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Twedt, D.J.; Loesch, C.R.

1999-01-01

Knowing the current forest distribution and patch size characteristics is integral to the development of geographically defined, habitat-based conservation objectives for breeding birds. Towards this end, we classified 2.6 million ha of forest cover within the Mississippi Alluvial Valley using 1992 thematic mapper satellite imagery. Although historically this area, from southern Illinois to southern Louisiana, was dominated by forested wetlands, forest cover remains on less than 25% of the floodplain. Remaining forest cover is comprised of > 38,000 discrete forest patches > 2 ha. Mean patch area (64.1?5.2 ha; 0 ?SE) was highly skewed towards small fragment size. Larger patches had a higher proportion of more hydric forest cover classes than did smaller patches which had a higher proportion of less hydric forest cover classes. Public lands accounted for 16% of remaining forested wetlands. Fewer than 100 forest patches exceeded our hypothesized habitat objective (4000 ha minimum contiguous forest area) intended to support self-sustaining populations of forest breeding birds. To increase the number of forest patches exceeding 4000 ha contiguous area, and thereby increase the likelihood of successful forest bird conservation, we recommend afforestation adjoining existing forest fragments ?1012 ha and focused within designated Forest Bird Conservation Regions.

Assessment of the Ecosystem Services Capacity in Natural Protected Areas for Biodiversity Conservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ronchi, Silvia; Salata, Stefano

2017-10-01

Recently, in Italy, a legislative proposal has been set to reform the role and the functions of natural protected areas promoting their aggregation (or the abolition) pursuing a better efficiency for their administration and economic saving. The system of natural protected areas is composed of different conservation levels: there are the Natural parks, established in the ‘80 by national or regional institution for the safeguard of natural elements, the Natura 2000 -Habitat 92/43/CEE promoted by European Union, with conservation measures for maintaining or restoring habitats and species of Communitarian interest, and the local parks of supra-municipal interest (namely PLIS) created by single municipalities or their aggregation aimed at limiting the soil sealing process. The hierarchical level of protection has determined differences in the management of the areas which leads to various approaches and strategies for biodiversity conservation and integrity. In order to assess strengths and weaknesses of the legislative initiative, the new management framework should be designed, considering the ecosystem characteristics of each natural protected area to define the future opportunities and critics, rather than, in the extreme case, remove the level of protection due to the absence of valuable ecosystem conditions. The paper provides an operative support to better apply the legislative proposal investigating the dynamics that affect all protected areas using the land take process as a major threat to biodiversity conservation in natural zones. The land take process is explored using the Land Use Change analysis (LUCa) as a possible way to determine the impact and the environmental effects of land transitions. LUCa is also useful to determine the loss of protected zones capacity to support Ecosystem Services. Finally, the assessment of the Ecosystem Services Capacity (ESC) index expresses the ability of each LULC to provide ES and, in particular, the Ecological

Opportunities for Cost-Sharing in Conservation: Variation in Volunteering Effort across Protected Areas

PubMed Central

Armsworth, Paul R.; Cantú-Salazar, Lisette; Parnell, Mark; Booth, Josephine E.; Stoneman, Rob; Davies, Zoe G.

2013-01-01

Efforts to expand protected area networks are limited by the costs of managing protected sites. Volunteers who donate labor to help manage protected areas can help defray these costs. However, volunteers may be willing to donate more labor to some protected areas than others. Understanding variation in volunteering effort would enable conservation organizations to account for volunteer labor in their strategic planning. We examined variation in volunteering effort across 59 small protected areas managed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, a regional conservation nonprofit in the United Kingdom. Three surveys of volunteering effort reveal consistent patterns of variation across protected areas. Using the most detailed of these sources, a survey of site managers, we estimate that volunteers provided 3200 days of labor per year across the 59 sites with a total value exceeding that of paid staff time spent managing the sites. The median percentage by which volunteer labor supplements management costs on the sites was 36%. Volunteering effort and paid management costs are positively correlated, after controlling for the effect of site area. We examined how well a range of characteristics of the protected areas and surrounding communities explain variation in volunteering effort. Protected areas that are larger have been protected for longer and that are located near to denser conurbations experience greater volunteering effort. Together these factors explain 38% of the observed variation in volunteering effort across protected areas. PMID:23383176

Opportunities for cost-sharing in conservation: variation in volunteering effort across protected areas.

PubMed

Armsworth, Paul R; Cantú-Salazar, Lisette; Parnell, Mark; Booth, Josephine E; Stoneman, Rob; Davies, Zoe G

2013-01-01

Efforts to expand protected area networks are limited by the costs of managing protected sites. Volunteers who donate labor to help manage protected areas can help defray these costs. However, volunteers may be willing to donate more labor to some protected areas than others. Understanding variation in volunteering effort would enable conservation organizations to account for volunteer labor in their strategic planning. We examined variation in volunteering effort across 59 small protected areas managed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, a regional conservation nonprofit in the United Kingdom. Three surveys of volunteering effort reveal consistent patterns of variation across protected areas. Using the most detailed of these sources, a survey of site managers, we estimate that volunteers provided 3200 days of labor per year across the 59 sites with a total value exceeding that of paid staff time spent managing the sites. The median percentage by which volunteer labor supplements management costs on the sites was 36%. Volunteering effort and paid management costs are positively correlated, after controlling for the effect of site area. We examined how well a range of characteristics of the protected areas and surrounding communities explain variation in volunteering effort. Protected areas that are larger have been protected for longer and that are located near to denser conurbations experience greater volunteering effort. Together these factors explain 38% of the observed variation in volunteering effort across protected areas.

Overview of energy-conservation research opportunities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hopp, W.J.; Hauser, S.G.; Hane, G.J.

1981-12-01

This document is a study of research opportunities that are important to developing advanced technologies for efficient energy use. The study's purpose is to describe a wide array of attractive technical areas from which specific research and development programs could be implemented. Research areas are presented for potential application in each of the major end-use sectors. The study develops and applies a systematic approach to identifying and screening applied energy conservation research opportunities. To broadly cover the energy end-use sectors, this study develops useful information relating to the areas where federally-funded applied research will most likely play an important rolemore » in promoting energy conservation. This study is not designed to produce a detailed agenda of specific recommended research activities. The general information presented allows uniform comparisons of disparate research areas and as such provides the basis for formulating a cost-effective, comprehensive federal-applied energy conservation research strategy. Chapter 2 discusses the various methodologies that have been used in the past to identify research opportunities and details the approach used here. In Chapters 3, 4, and 5 the methodology is applied to the buildings, transportation, and industrial end-use sectors and the opportunities for applied research in these sectors are discussed.Chapter 6 synthesizes the results of the previous three chapters to give a comprehensive picture of applied energy conservation research opportunities across all end-use sectors and presents the conclusions to the report.« less

Sequencing Conservation Actions Through Threat Assessments in the Southeastern United States

Treesearch

Robert D. Sutter; Christopher C. Szell

2006-01-01

The identification of conservation priorities is one of the leading issues in conservation biology. We present a project of The Nature Conservancy, called Sequencing Conservation Actions, which prioritizes conservation areas and identifies foci for crosscutting strategies at various geographic scales. We use the term “Sequencing” to mean an ordering of actions over...

Partners in flight bird conservation plan for the Upper Great Lakes Plain (Physiographic Area 16)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Knutson, M.G.; Butcher, G.; Fitzgerald, J.; Shieldcastle, J.

2001-01-01

1 November 2001. Conservation of bird habitats is a major focus of effort by Partners in Flight, an international coalition of agencies, citizens, and other groups dedicated to 'keeping common birds common'. USGS worked on a planning team to publish a bird conservation plan for the Upper Great Lakes Plain ecoregion (PIF 16), which includes large portions of southern Wisconsin, southern Michigan and parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. The conservation plan outlines specific habitat restoration and bird population objectives for the ecoregion over the next decade. The plan provides a context for on-the-ground conservation implementation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the US Forest Service, states, and conservation groups. Citation: Knutson, M. G., G. Butcher, J. Fitzgerald, and J. Shieldcastle. 2001. Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Plan for The Upper Great Lakes Plain (Physiographic Area 16). USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in cooperation with Partners in Flight, La Crosse, Wisconsin. Download from website: http://www.blm.gov/wildlife/pifplans.htm. The Upper Great Lakes Plain covers the southern half of Michigan, northwest Ohio, northern Indiana, northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and small portions of southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Glacial moraines and dissected plateaus are characteristic of the topography. Broadleaf forests, oak savannahs, and a variety of prairie communities are the natural vegetation types. A oDriftless Areao was not glaciated during the late Pleistocene and emerged as a unique area of great biological diversity. Priority bird species for the area include the Henslow's Sparrow, Sedge Wren, Bobolink, Golden-winged Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo, and Red-headed Woodpecker. There are many large urban centers in this area whose growth and sprawl will continue to consume land. The vast majority of the presettlement forest and

SPECIES RICHNESS AND BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION PRIORITIES IN BRITISH COLUMBIA

EPA Science Inventory

Patterns in the geographic distribution of seven species groups were used to identify important areas for conservation in British Columbia, Canada. Potential priority sites for conservation were determined using an integer programming algorithm that maximized the number of speci...

Biodiversity conservation should focus on no-take Marine Reserves: 94% of Marine Protected Areas allow fishing.

PubMed

Costello, Mark J; Ballantine, Bill

2015-09-01

Conservation needs places where nature is left wild; but only a quarter of coastal countries have no-take Marine Reserves. 'Marine Protected Areas' (MPAs) have been used to indicate conservation progress but we found that 94% allow fishing and thus cannot protect all aspects of biodiversity. Biodiversity conservation should focus on Marine Reserves, not MPAs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecological Impact of LAN: San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Craine, Eric Richard; Craine, Brian L.

2015-08-01

The San Pedro River in Southeastern Arizona is home to nearly 45% of the 900 total species of birds in the United States; millions of songbirds migrate though this unique flyway every year. As the last undammed river in the Southwest, it has been called one of the “last great places” in the US. Human activity has had striking and highly visible impacts on the San Pedro River. As a result, and to help preserve and conserve the area, much of the region has been designated the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA). Attention has been directed to impacts of population, water depletion, and border fence barriers on the riparian environment. To date, there has been little recognition that light at night (LAN), evolving with the increased local population, could have moderating influences on the area. STEM Laboratory has pioneered techniques of coordinated airborne and ground based measurements of light at night, and has undertaken a program of characterizing LAN in this region. We conducted the first aerial baseline surveys of sky brightness in 2012. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) shapefiles allow comparison and correlation of various biological databases with the LAN data. The goal is to better understand how increased dissemination of night time lighting impacts the distributions, behavior, and life cycles of biota on this ecosystem. We discuss the baseline measurements, current data collection programs, and some of the implications for specific biological systems.

Bird conservation would complement landslide prevention in the Central Andes of Colombia

PubMed Central

Ocampo-Peñuela, Natalia

2015-01-01

Conservation and restoration priorities often focus on separate ecosystem problems. Inspired by the November 11th (2011) landslide event near Manizales, and the current poor results of Colombia’s Article 111 of Law 99 of 1993 as a conservation measure in this country, we set out to prioritize conservation and restoration areas where landslide prevention would complement bird conservation in the Central Andes. This area is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, but also one of the most threatened. Using the case of the Rio Blanco Reserve, near Manizales, we identified areas for conservation where endemic and small-range bird diversity was high, and where landslide risk was also high. We further prioritized restoration areas by overlapping these conservation priorities with a forest cover map. Restoring forests in bare areas of high landslide risk and important bird diversity yields benefits for both biodiversity and people. We developed a simple landslide susceptibility model using slope, forest cover, aspect, and stream proximity. Using publicly available bird range maps, refined by elevation, we mapped concentrations of endemic and small-range bird species. We identified 1.54 km2 of potential restoration areas in the Rio Blanco Reserve, and 886 km2 in the Central Andes region. By prioritizing these areas, we facilitate the application of Article 111 which requires local and regional governments to invest in land purchases for the conservation of watersheds. PMID:25737819

System for Conservation of Specially Protected Natural Areas as Sustainable Urban Development Element

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kryakhtunov, A.; Pelymskaya, O.; Chernykh, E.

2017-11-01

The article is devoted to the problem of the conservation of specially protected natural territories. The research topic is especially interesting for urban areas that provide sustainable urban development. The authors consider the main aspects of the sustainable settlement development and substantiate the direct dependence of the evolution of territories in the implementation of urban development activities with the ecological framework of a city. The object of the study is a specially protected natural area located in Western Siberia in the city of Tyumen, the Tyumen region. As a result of the analysis, the main problems of preservation of the nature monument of regional importance were revealed as well as a set of measures and management decisions regarding the conservation of the forest park.

Identifying local-scale wilderness for on-ground conservation actions within a global biodiversity hotspot

PubMed Central

Lin, Shiwei; Wu, Ruidong; Hua, Chaolang; Ma, Jianzhong; Wang, Wenli; Yang, Feiling; Wang, Junjun

2016-01-01

Protecting wilderness areas (WAs) is a crucial proactive approach to sustain biodiversity. However, studies identifying local-scale WAs for on-ground conservation efforts are still very limited. This paper investigated the spatial patterns of wilderness in a global biodiversity hotspot – Three Parallel Rivers Region (TPRR) in southwest China. Wilderness was classified into levels 1 to 10 based on a cluster analysis of five indicators, namely human population density, naturalness, fragmentation, remoteness, and ruggedness. Only patches characterized by wilderness level 1 and ≥1.0 km2 were considered WAs. The wilderness levels in the northwest were significantly higher than those in the southeast, and clearly increased with the increase in elevation. The WAs covered approximately 25% of TPRR’s land, 89.3% of which was located in the >3,000 m elevation zones. WAs consisted of 20 vegetation types, among which temperate conifer forest, cold temperate shrub and alpine ecosystems covered 79.4% of WAs’ total area. Most WAs were still not protected yet by existing reserves. Topography and human activities are the primary influencing factors on the spatial patterns of wilderness. We suggest establishing strictly protected reserves for most large WAs, while some sustainable management approaches might be more optimal solutions for many highly fragmented small WAs. PMID:27181186

[Forestry Law and the conservation of natural areas and wildlife].

PubMed

Villacrés, V; Suárez, M; Tafur, V

1996-04-01

The Forest Law of Ecuador consists of 107 articles, whereas its regulations contain 269 articles. They are related to forestry resources, forestry patrimony protection, forests and vegetation, forest production and benefits, the control and mobilization of the forestry resources, research and capacitation, and the forestry industry protection; to natural areas, wild flora and fauna, their patrimony, conservation, and economic support; and to the violation of the law and its judgment.

Housing growth in and near United States protected areas limits their conservation value

USGS Publications Warehouse

Radeloff, V.C.; Stewart, S.I.; Hawbaker, T.J.; Gimmi, U.; Pidgeon, A.M.; Flather, C.H.; Hammer, R.B.; Helmers, D.P.

2010-01-01

Protected areas are crucial for biodiversity conservation because they provide safe havens for species threatened by land-use change and resulting habitat loss. However, protected areas are only effective when they stop habitat loss within their boundaries, and are connected via corridors to other wild areas. The effectiveness of protected areas is threatened by development; however, the extent of this threat is unknown. We compiled spatially-detailed housing growth data from 1940 to 2030, and quantified growth for each wilderness area, national park, and national forest in the conterminous United States. Our findings show that housing development in the United States may severely limit the ability of protected areas to function as a modern "Noah's Ark." Between 1940 and 2000, 28 million housing units were built within 50 km of protected areas, and 940,000 were built within national forests. Housing growth rates during the 1990s within 1 km of protected areas (20% per decade) outpaced the national average (13%). If long-term trends continue, another 17 million housing units will be built within 50 km of protected areas by 2030 (1 million within 1 km), greatly diminishing their conservation value. US protected areas are increasingly isolated, housing development in their surroundings is decreasing their effective size, and national forests are even threatened by habitat loss within their administrative boundaries. Protected areas in the United States are thus threatened similarly to those in developing countries. However, housing growth poses the main threat to protected areas in the United States whereas deforestation is the main threat in developing countries.

Housing growth in and near United States protected areas limits their conservation value.

PubMed

Radeloff, Volker C; Stewart, Susan I; Hawbaker, Todd J; Gimmi, Urs; Pidgeon, Anna M; Flather, Curtis H; Hammer, Roger B; Helmers, David P

2010-01-12

Protected areas are crucial for biodiversity conservation because they provide safe havens for species threatened by land-use change and resulting habitat loss. However, protected areas are only effective when they stop habitat loss within their boundaries, and are connected via corridors to other wild areas. The effectiveness of protected areas is threatened by development; however, the extent of this threat is unknown. We compiled spatially-detailed housing growth data from 1940 to 2030, and quantified growth for each wilderness area, national park, and national forest in the conterminous United States. Our findings show that housing development in the United States may severely limit the ability of protected areas to function as a modern "Noah's Ark." Between 1940 and 2000, 28 million housing units were built within 50 km of protected areas, and 940,000 were built within national forests. Housing growth rates during the 1990s within 1 km of protected areas (20% per decade) outpaced the national average (13%). If long-term trends continue, another 17 million housing units will be built within 50 km of protected areas by 2030 (1 million within 1 km), greatly diminishing their conservation value. US protected areas are increasingly isolated, housing development in their surroundings is decreasing their effective size, and national forests are even threatened by habitat loss within their administrative boundaries. Protected areas in the United States are thus threatened similarly to those in developing countries. However, housing growth poses the main threat to protected areas in the United States whereas deforestation is the main threat in developing countries.

Identifying Conservation Successes, Failures and Future Opportunities; Assessing Recovery Potential of Wild Ungulates and Tigers in Eastern Cambodia

PubMed Central

O'Kelly, Hannah J.; Evans, Tom D.; Stokes, Emma J.; Clements, Tom J.; Dara, An; Gately, Mark; Menghor, Nut; Pollard, Edward H. B.; Soriyun, Men; Walston, Joe

2012-01-01

Conservation investment, particularly for charismatic and wide-ranging large mammal species, needs to be evidence-based. Despite the prevalence of this theme within the literature, examples of robust data being generated to guide conservation policy and funding decisions are rare. We present the first published case-study of tiger conservation in Indochina, from a site where an evidence-based approach has been implemented for this iconic predator and its prey. Despite the persistence of extensive areas of habitat, Indochina's tiger and ungulate prey populations are widely supposed to have precipitously declined in recent decades. The Seima Protection Forest (SPF), and broader Eastern Plains Landscape, was identified in 2000 as representing Cambodia's best hope for tiger recovery; reflected in its designation as a Global Priority Tiger Conservation Landscape. Since 2005 distance sampling, camera-trapping and detection-dog surveys have been employed to assess the recovery potential of ungulate and tiger populations in SPF. Our results show that while conservation efforts have ensured that small but regionally significant populations of larger ungulates persist, and density trends in smaller ungulates are stable, overall ungulate populations remain well below theoretical carrying capacity. Extensive field surveys failed to yield any evidence of tiger, and we contend that there is no longer a resident population within the SPF. This local extirpation is believed to be primarily attributable to two decades of intensive hunting; but importantly, prey densities are also currently below the level necessary to support a viable tiger population. Based on these results and similar findings from neighbouring sites, Eastern Cambodia does not currently constitute a Tiger Source Site nor meet the criteria of a Global Priority Tiger Landscape. However, SPF retains global importance for many other elements of biodiversity. It retains high regional importance for ungulate

Identifying conservation successes, failures and future opportunities; assessing recovery potential of wild ungulates and tigers in Eastern Cambodia.

PubMed

O'Kelly, Hannah J; Evans, Tom D; Stokes, Emma J; Clements, Tom J; Dara, An; Gately, Mark; Menghor, Nut; Pollard, Edward H B; Soriyun, Men; Walston, Joe

2012-01-01

Conservation investment, particularly for charismatic and wide-ranging large mammal species, needs to be evidence-based. Despite the prevalence of this theme within the literature, examples of robust data being generated to guide conservation policy and funding decisions are rare. We present the first published case-study of tiger conservation in Indochina, from a site where an evidence-based approach has been implemented for this iconic predator and its prey. Despite the persistence of extensive areas of habitat, Indochina's tiger and ungulate prey populations are widely supposed to have precipitously declined in recent decades. The Seima Protection Forest (SPF), and broader Eastern Plains Landscape, was identified in 2000 as representing Cambodia's best hope for tiger recovery; reflected in its designation as a Global Priority Tiger Conservation Landscape. Since 2005 distance sampling, camera-trapping and detection-dog surveys have been employed to assess the recovery potential of ungulate and tiger populations in SPF. Our results show that while conservation efforts have ensured that small but regionally significant populations of larger ungulates persist, and density trends in smaller ungulates are stable, overall ungulate populations remain well below theoretical carrying capacity. Extensive field surveys failed to yield any evidence of tiger, and we contend that there is no longer a resident population within the SPF. This local extirpation is believed to be primarily attributable to two decades of intensive hunting; but importantly, prey densities are also currently below the level necessary to support a viable tiger population. Based on these results and similar findings from neighbouring sites, Eastern Cambodia does not currently constitute a Tiger Source Site nor meet the criteria of a Global Priority Tiger Landscape. However, SPF retains global importance for many other elements of biodiversity. It retains high regional importance for ungulate

Identifying designatable units for intraspecific conservation prioritization: a hierarchical approach applied to the lake whitefish species complex (Coregonus spp.)

PubMed Central

Mee, Jonathan A; Bernatchez, Louis; Reist, Jim D; Rogers, Sean M; Taylor, Eric B

2015-01-01

The concept of the designatable unit (DU) affords a practical approach to identifying diversity below the species level for conservation prioritization. However, its suitability for defining conservation units in ecologically diverse, geographically widespread and taxonomically challenging species complexes has not been broadly evaluated. The lake whitefish species complex (Coregonus spp.) is geographically widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, and it contains a great deal of variability in ecology and evolutionary legacy within and among populations, as well as a great deal of taxonomic ambiguity. Here, we employ a set of hierarchical criteria to identify DUs within the Canadian distribution of the lake whitefish species complex. We identified 36 DUs based on (i) reproductive isolation, (ii) phylogeographic groupings, (iii) local adaptation and (iv) biogeographic regions. The identification of DUs is required for clear discussion regarding the conservation prioritization of lake whitefish populations. We suggest conservation priorities among lake whitefish DUs based on biological consequences of extinction, risk of extinction and distinctiveness. Our results exemplify the need for extensive genetic and biogeographic analyses for any species with broad geographic distributions and the need for detailed evaluation of evolutionary history and adaptive ecological divergence when defining intraspecific conservation units. PMID:26029257

A survey for Echinococcus spp. of carnivores in six wildlife conservation areas in Kenya.

PubMed

Kagendo, D; Magambo, J; Agola, E L; Njenga, S M; Zeyhle, E; Mulinge, E; Gitonga, P; Mbae, C; Muchiri, E; Wassermann, M; Kern, P; Romig, T

2014-08-01

To investigate the presence of Echinococcus spp. in wild mammals of Kenya, 832 faecal samples from wild carnivores (lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, wild dogs and silver-backed jackals) were collected in six different conservation areas of Kenya (Meru, Nairobi, Tsavo West and Tsavo East National Parks, Samburu and Maasai Mara National Reserves). Taeniid eggs were found in 120 samples (14.4%). In total, 1160 eggs were isolated and further analysed using RFLP-PCR of the nad1 gene and sequencing. 38 of these samples contained eggs of Echinococcus spp., which were identified as either Echinococcus felidis (n=27) or Echinococcus granulosus sensu stricto (n=12); one sample contained eggs from both taxa. E. felidis was found in faeces from lions (n=20) and hyenas (n=5) while E. granulosus in faeces from lions (n=8), leopards (n=1) and hyenas (n=3). The host species for two samples containing E. felidis could not be identified with certainty. As the majority of isolated eggs could not be analysed with the methods used (no amplification), we do not attempt to give estimates of faecal prevalences. Both taxa of Echinococcus were found in all conservation areas except Meru (only E. felidis) and Tsavo West (only E. granulosus). Host species identification for environmental faecal samples, based on field signs, was found to be unreliable. All samples with taeniid eggs were subjected to a confirmatory host species RLFP-PCR of the cytochrome B gene. 60% had been correctly identified in the field. Frequently, hyena faeces were mistaken for lion and vice versa, and none of the samples from jackals and wild dogs could be confirmed in the tested sub-sample. This is the first molecular study on the distribution of Echinococcus spp. in Kenyan wildlife. The presence of E. felidis is confirmed for lions and newly reported for spotted hyenas. Lions and hyenas are newly recognized hosts for E. granulosus s.s., while the role of leopards remains uncertain. These data provide the basis for

Diversity and distribution of aquatic insects in Southern Brazil wetlands: implications for biodiversity conservation in a Neotropical region.

PubMed

Maltchik, Leonardo; Dalzochio, Marina Schmidt; Stenert, Cristina; Rolon, Ana Silvia

2012-03-01

The selection of priority areas is an enormous challenge for biodiversity conservation. Some biogeographic methods have been used to identify the priority areas to conservation, and panbiogeography is one of them. This study aimed at the utilization of panbiogeographic tools, to identify the distribution patterns of aquatic insect genera, in wetland systems of an extensive area in the Neotropical region (approximately 280 000km2), and to compare the distribution of the biogeographic units identified by the aquatic insects, with the conservation units of Southern Brazil. We analyzed the distribution pattern of 82 genera distributed in four orders of aquatic insects (Diptera, Odonata, Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera) in Southern Brazil wetlands. Therefore, 32 biogeographic nodes corresponded to the priority areas for conservation of the aquatic insect diversity. Among this total, 13 were located in the Atlantic Rainforest, 16 in the Pampa and three amongst both biomes. The distribution of nodes showed that only 15% of the dispersion centers of insects were inserted in conservation units. The four priority areas pointed by node cluster criterion must be considered in further inclusions of areas for biodiversity conservation in Southern Brazil wetlands, since such areas present species from different ancestral biota. The inclusion of such areas into the conservation units would be a strong way to conserve the aquatic biodiversity in this region.

When roads appear jaguars decline: Increased access to an Amazonian wilderness area reduces potential for jaguar conservation

PubMed Central

Celis, Gerardo; Branch, Lyn C.

2018-01-01

Roads are a main threat to biodiversity conservation in the Amazon, in part, because roads increase access for hunters. We examine how increased landscape access by hunters may lead to cascading effects that influence the prey community and abundance of the jaguar (Panthera onca), the top Amazonian terrestrial predator. Understanding such ecological effects originating from anthropogenic actions is essential for conservation and management of wildlife populations in areas undergoing infrastructure development. Our study was conducted in Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, the protected area with highest potential for jaguar conservation in Ecuador, and an area both threatened by road development and inhabited by indigenous groups dependent upon bushmeat. We surveyed prey and jaguar abundance with camera traps in four sites that differed in accessibility to hunters and used site occupancy and spatially explicit capture-recapture analyses to evaluate prey occurrence and estimate jaguar density, respectively. Higher landscape accessibility to hunters was linked with lower occurrence and biomass of game, particularly white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) and collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), the primary game for hunters and prey for jaguars. Jaguar density was up to 18 times higher in the most remote site compared to the most accessible site. Our results provide a strong case for the need to: 1) consider conservation of large carnivores and other wildlife in policies about road construction in protected areas, 2) coordinate conservation initiatives with local governments so that development activities do not conflict with conservation objectives, and 3) promote development of community-based strategies for wildlife management that account for the needs of large carnivores. PMID:29298311

When roads appear jaguars decline: Increased access to an Amazonian wilderness area reduces potential for jaguar conservation.

PubMed

Espinosa, Santiago; Celis, Gerardo; Branch, Lyn C

2018-01-01

Roads are a main threat to biodiversity conservation in the Amazon, in part, because roads increase access for hunters. We examine how increased landscape access by hunters may lead to cascading effects that influence the prey community and abundance of the jaguar (Panthera onca), the top Amazonian terrestrial predator. Understanding such ecological effects originating from anthropogenic actions is essential for conservation and management of wildlife populations in areas undergoing infrastructure development. Our study was conducted in Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, the protected area with highest potential for jaguar conservation in Ecuador, and an area both threatened by road development and inhabited by indigenous groups dependent upon bushmeat. We surveyed prey and jaguar abundance with camera traps in four sites that differed in accessibility to hunters and used site occupancy and spatially explicit capture-recapture analyses to evaluate prey occurrence and estimate jaguar density, respectively. Higher landscape accessibility to hunters was linked with lower occurrence and biomass of game, particularly white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) and collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), the primary game for hunters and prey for jaguars. Jaguar density was up to 18 times higher in the most remote site compared to the most accessible site. Our results provide a strong case for the need to: 1) consider conservation of large carnivores and other wildlife in policies about road construction in protected areas, 2) coordinate conservation initiatives with local governments so that development activities do not conflict with conservation objectives, and 3) promote development of community-based strategies for wildlife management that account for the needs of large carnivores.

Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features.

PubMed

Edgar, Graham J; Stuart-Smith, Rick D; Willis, Trevor J; Kininmonth, Stuart; Baker, Susan C; Banks, Stuart; Barrett, Neville S; Becerro, Mikel A; Bernard, Anthony T F; Berkhout, Just; Buxton, Colin D; Campbell, Stuart J; Cooper, Antonia T; Davey, Marlene; Edgar, Sophie C; Försterra, Günter; Galván, David E; Irigoyen, Alejo J; Kushner, David J; Moura, Rodrigo; Parnell, P Ed; Shears, Nick T; Soler, German; Strain, Elisabeth M A; Thomson, Russell J

2014-02-13

In line with global targets agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is increasing rapidly, yet socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs remain difficult to predict and under debate. MPAs often fail to reach their full potential as a consequence of factors such as illegal harvesting, regulations that legally allow detrimental harvesting, or emigration of animals outside boundaries because of continuous habitat or inadequate size of reserve. Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100 km(2)), and isolated by deep water or sand. Using effective MPAs with four or five key features as an unfished standard, comparisons of underwater survey data from effective MPAs with predictions based on survey data from fished coasts indicate that total fish biomass has declined about two-thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing. Effective MPAs also had twice as many large (>250 mm total length) fish species per transect, five times more large fish biomass, and fourteen times more shark biomass than fished areas. Most (59%) of the MPAs studied had only one or two key features and were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites. Our results show that global conservation targets based on area alone will not optimize protection of marine biodiversity. More emphasis is needed on better MPA design, durable management and compliance to ensure that MPAs achieve their desired conservation value.

Global conservation outcomes depend on marine protected areas with five key features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edgar, Graham J.; Stuart-Smith, Rick D.; Willis, Trevor J.; Kininmonth, Stuart; Baker, Susan C.; Banks, Stuart; Barrett, Neville S.; Becerro, Mikel A.; Bernard, Anthony T. F.; Berkhout, Just; Buxton, Colin D.; Campbell, Stuart J.; Cooper, Antonia T.; Davey, Marlene; Edgar, Sophie C.; Försterra, Günter; Galván, David E.; Irigoyen, Alejo J.; Kushner, David J.; Moura, Rodrigo; Parnell, P. Ed; Shears, Nick T.; Soler, German; Strain, Elisabeth M. A.; Thomson, Russell J.

2014-02-01

In line with global targets agreed under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the number of marine protected areas (MPAs) is increasing rapidly, yet socio-economic benefits generated by MPAs remain difficult to predict and under debate. MPAs often fail to reach their full potential as a consequence of factors such as illegal harvesting, regulations that legally allow detrimental harvesting, or emigration of animals outside boundaries because of continuous habitat or inadequate size of reserve. Here we show that the conservation benefits of 87 MPAs investigated worldwide increase exponentially with the accumulation of five key features: no take, well enforced, old (>10 years), large (>100km2), and isolated by deep water or sand. Using effective MPAs with four or five key features as an unfished standard, comparisons of underwater survey data from effective MPAs with predictions based on survey data from fished coasts indicate that total fish biomass has declined about two-thirds from historical baselines as a result of fishing. Effective MPAs also had twice as many large (>250mm total length) fish species per transect, five times more large fish biomass, and fourteen times more shark biomass than fished areas. Most (59%) of the MPAs studied had only one or two key features and were not ecologically distinguishable from fished sites. Our results show that global conservation targets based on area alone will not optimize protection of marine biodiversity. More emphasis is needed on better MPA design, durable management and compliance to ensure that MPAs achieve their desired conservation value.

ECOREGIONS AND VERTEBRATE ASSEMBLAGES: INVESTIGATING INDICATORS FOR PRIORITIZING AREAS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN

EPA Science Inventory

Surrogates and indicator groups have been proposed as useful tools for selecting areas for conservation when the knowledge of species distributions is limited. Tests of these concepts often produce a wide range of results which depend on the surrogates chosen as well as the spat...

Designing coastal conservation to deliver ecosystem and human well-being benefits.

PubMed

Annis, Gust M; Pearsall, Douglas R; Kahl, Katherine J; Washburn, Erika L; May, Christopher A; Franks Taylor, Rachael; Cole, James B; Ewert, David N; Game, Edward T; Doran, Patrick J

2017-01-01

Conservation scientists increasingly recognize that incorporating human values into conservation planning increases the chances for success by garnering broader project acceptance. However, methods for defining quantitative targets for the spatial representation of human well-being priorities are less developed. In this study we employ an approach for identifying regionally important human values and establishing specific spatial targets for their representation based on stakeholder outreach. Our primary objective was to develop a spatially-explicit conservation plan that identifies the most efficient locations for conservation actions to meet ecological goals while sustaining or enhancing human well-being values within the coastal and nearshore areas of the western Lake Erie basin (WLEB). We conducted an optimization analysis using 26 features representing ecological and human well-being priorities (13 of each), and included seven cost layers. The influence that including human well-being had on project results was tested by running five scenarios and setting targets for human well-being at different levels in each scenario. The most important areas for conservation to achieve multiple goals are clustered along the coast, reflecting a concentration of existing or potentially restorable coastal wetlands, coastal landbird stopover habitat and terrestrial biodiversity, as well as important recreational activities. Inland important areas tended to cluster around trails and high quality inland landbird stopover habitat. Most concentrated areas of importance also are centered on lands that are already conserved, reflecting the lower costs and higher benefits of enlarging these conserved areas rather than conserving isolated, dispersed areas. Including human well-being features in the analysis only influenced the solution at the highest target levels.

Designing coastal conservation to deliver ecosystem and human well-being benefits

PubMed Central

Pearsall, Douglas R.; Kahl, Katherine J.; Washburn, Erika L.; May, Christopher A.; Franks Taylor, Rachael; Cole, James B.; Ewert, David N.; Game, Edward T.; Doran, Patrick J.

2017-01-01

Conservation scientists increasingly recognize that incorporating human values into conservation planning increases the chances for success by garnering broader project acceptance. However, methods for defining quantitative targets for the spatial representation of human well-being priorities are less developed. In this study we employ an approach for identifying regionally important human values and establishing specific spatial targets for their representation based on stakeholder outreach. Our primary objective was to develop a spatially-explicit conservation plan that identifies the most efficient locations for conservation actions to meet ecological goals while sustaining or enhancing human well-being values within the coastal and nearshore areas of the western Lake Erie basin (WLEB). We conducted an optimization analysis using 26 features representing ecological and human well-being priorities (13 of each), and included seven cost layers. The influence that including human well-being had on project results was tested by running five scenarios and setting targets for human well-being at different levels in each scenario. The most important areas for conservation to achieve multiple goals are clustered along the coast, reflecting a concentration of existing or potentially restorable coastal wetlands, coastal landbird stopover habitat and terrestrial biodiversity, as well as important recreational activities. Inland important areas tended to cluster around trails and high quality inland landbird stopover habitat. Most concentrated areas of importance also are centered on lands that are already conserved, reflecting the lower costs and higher benefits of enlarging these conserved areas rather than conserving isolated, dispersed areas. Including human well-being features in the analysis only influenced the solution at the highest target levels. PMID:28241018

A systematic conservation planning approach to fire risk management in Natura 2000 sites.

PubMed

Foresta, Massimiliano; Carranza, Maria Laura; Garfì, Vittorio; Di Febbraro, Mirko; Marchetti, Marco; Loy, Anna

2016-10-01

A primary challenge in conservation biology is to preserve the most representative biodiversity while simultaneously optimizing the efforts associated with conservation. In Europe, the implementation of the Natura 2000 network requires protocols to recognize and map threats to biodiversity and to identify specific mitigation actions. We propose a systematic conservation planning approach to optimize management actions against specific threats based on two fundamental parameters: biodiversity values and threat pressure. We used the conservation planning software Marxan to optimize a fire management plan in a Natura 2000 coastal network in southern Italy. We address three primary questions: i) Which areas are at high fire risk? ii) Which areas are the most valuable for threatened biodiversity? iii) Which areas should receive priority risk-mitigation actions for the optimal effect?, iv) which fire-prevention actions are feasible in the management areas?. The biodiversity values for the Natura 2000 spatial units were derived from the distribution maps of 18 habitats and 89 vertebrate species of concern in Europe (Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC). The threat pressure map, defined as fire probability, was obtained from digital layers of fire risk and of fire frequency. Marxan settings were defined as follows: a) planning units of 40 × 40 m, b) conservation features defined as all habitats and vertebrate species of European concern occurring in the study area, c) conservation targets defined according with fire sensitivity and extinction risk of conservation features, and d) costs determined as the complement of fire probabilities. We identified 23 management areas in which to concentrate efforts for the optimal reduction of fire-induced effects. Because traditional fire prevention is not feasible for most of policy habitats included in the management areas, alternative prevention practices were identified that allows the conservation of the vegetation structure. The

Toward a Conceptual Framework for Blending Social and Biophysical Attributes in Conservation Planning: A Case-Study of Privately-Conserved Lands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasquini, Lorena; Twyman, Chasca; Wainwright, John

2010-11-01

There has been increasing recognition within systematic conservation planning of the need to include social data alongside biophysical assessments. However, in the approaches to identify potential conservation sites, there remains much room for improvement in the treatment of social data. In particular, few rigorous methods to account for the diversity of less-easily quantifiable social attributes that influence the implementation success of conservation sites (such as willingness to conserve) have been developed. We use a case-study analysis of private conservation areas within the Little Karoo, South Africa, as a practical example of the importance of incorporating social data into the process of selecting potential conservation sites to improve their implementation likelihood. We draw on extensive data on the social attributes of our case study obtained from a combination of survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. We discuss the need to determine the social attributes that are important for achieving the chosen implementation strategy by offering four tested examples of important social attributes in the Little Karoo: the willingness of landowners to take part in a stewardship arrangement, their willingness to conserve, their capacity to conserve, and the social capital among private conservation area owners. We then discuss the process of using an implementation likelihood ratio (derived from a combined measure of the social attributes) to assist the choice of potential conservation sites. We conclude by summarizing our discussion into a simple conceptual framework for identifying biophysically-valuable sites which possess a high likelihood that the desired implementation strategy will be realized on them.

High spatial resolution mapping of the Cerrado's land cover and land use types in the priority area for conservation Chapada da Contagem, Brazil.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro, F.; Roberts, D. A.; Davis, F. W.; Antunes Daldegan, G.; Nackoney, J.; Hess, L. L.

2016-12-01

The Brazilian savanna, Cerrado, is the second largest biome over South America and the most floristically diverse savanna in the world. This biome is considered a conservation hotspot in respect to its biodiversity importance and rapid transformation of its landscape. The Cerrado's natural vegetation has been severely transformed by agriculture and pasture activities. Currently it is the main agricultural frontier in Brazil and one of the most threatened Brazilian biomes. This scenario results in environmental impacts such as ecosystems fragmentation as well as losses in connectivity, biodiversity and gene flow, changes in the microclimate and energy, carbon and nutrients cycles, among others. The Priority Areas for Conservation is a governmental program from Brazil that identifies areas with high conservation priority. One of this program's recommendation is a natural vegetation map including their major ecosystem classes. This study aims to generate more precise information for the Cerrado's vegetation. The main objective of this study is to identify which ecosystems are being prioritized and/or threatened by land use, refining information for further protection. In order to test methods, the priority area for conservation Chapada da Contagem was selected as the study site. This area is ranked as "extremely high priority" by the government and is located in the Federal District and Goias State, Brazil. Satellites with finer spatial resolution may improve the classification of the Cerrado's vegetation. Remote sensing methods and two criteria were tested using RapidEye 3A imagery (5m spatial resolution) collected in 2014 in order to classify the Cerrado's major land cover types of this area, as well as its land use. One criterion considers the Cerrado's major terrestrial ecosystems, which are divided into forest, savanna and grassland. The other involves scaling it down to the major physiognomic groups of each ecosystem. Other sources of environmental dataset such

Prioritizing conservation potential of arid-land montane natural springs and associated riparian areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thompson, B.C.; Matusik-Rowan, P. L.; Boykin, K.G.

2002-01-01

Using inventory data and input from natural resource professionals, we developed a classification system that categorizes conservation potential for montane natural springs. This system contains 18 classes based on the presence of a riparian patch, wetland species, surface water, and evidence of human activity. We measured physical and biological components of 276 montane springs in the Oscura Mountains above 1450 m and the San Andres Mountains above 1300 m in southern New Mexico. Two of the 18 classes were not represented during the inventory, indicating the system applies to conditions beyond the montane springs in our study area. The class type observed most often (73 springs) had a riparian patch, perennial surface water, and human evidence. We assessed our system in relation to 13 other wetland and riparian classification systems regarding approach, area of applicability, intended users, validation, ease of use, and examination of system response. Our classification can be used to rapidly assess priority of conservation potential for isolated riparian sites, especially springs, in arid landscapes. We recommend (1) including this classification in conservation planning, (2) removing deleterious structures from high-priority sites, and (3) assessing efficiency and use of this classification scheme elsewhere. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Analysis of the ecological conservation behavior of farmers in payment for ecosystem service programs in eco-environmentally fragile areas using social psychology models.

PubMed

Deng, Jian; Sun, Pingsheng; Zhao, Fazhu; Han, Xinhui; Yang, Gaihe; Feng, Yongzhong

2016-04-15

Studies on the ecological conservation behavior of farmers usually focus on individual and socio-economic characteristics without consideration of the underlying psychological constructs, such as farmers' intention and perceptions. This study uses the theory of planned behavior (TPB), a typical social psychology construct, to analyze the factors affecting the intention and behavior of farmers for conserving the ecological achievements from payment for ecosystem service (PES) programs in eco-environmentally fragile areas. Questionnaires based on TPB were administered to 1004 farmers from the Grain to Green Program area in the Loess Plateau, China, with the resulting dataset used to identify the underlying factors determining farmers' intention and behavior based on the structural equation model. The results show that the farmers' intention and behavior toward conserving ecological achievements were explained well by TPB. The farmers'behavior was significantly positively affected by their intention toward conserving ecological achievements, and their intention was significantly influenced by their attitude (positive or negative value of performance), the subjective norm (social pressure in engaging behavior), and perceived behavioral control (perceptions of their ability). The farmers' degree of support for PES programs and their recognition of environmental effects were the factors that most influenced the farmers' attitude. Pressure from neighbors was the most potent driver of the subjective norm. Meanwhile, perceptions of their ability to perform the behavior were the most potent factors affecting intention and it was mostly driven by the farmers' feelings toward environmental improvement and perceived ability (time and labor) to participate in ecological conservation. The drivers of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control can be used by policy makers to direct farmers' intention and behavior toward conserving ecological achievements in fragile

Housing growth in and near United States protected areas limits their conservation value

PubMed Central

Radeloff, Volker C.; Stewart, Susan I.; Hawbaker, Todd J.; Gimmi, Urs; Pidgeon, Anna M.; Flather, Curtis H.; Hammer, Roger B.; Helmers, David P.

2009-01-01

Protected areas are crucial for biodiversity conservation because they provide safe havens for species threatened by land-use change and resulting habitat loss. However, protected areas are only effective when they stop habitat loss within their boundaries, and are connected via corridors to other wild areas. The effectiveness of protected areas is threatened by development; however, the extent of this threat is unknown. We compiled spatially-detailed housing growth data from 1940 to 2030, and quantified growth for each wilderness area, national park, and national forest in the conterminous United States. Our findings show that housing development in the United States may severely limit the ability of protected areas to function as a modern “Noah’s Ark.” Between 1940 and 2000, 28 million housing units were built within 50 km of protected areas, and 940,000 were built within national forests. Housing growth rates during the 1990s within 1 km of protected areas (20% per decade) outpaced the national average (13%). If long-term trends continue, another 17 million housing units will be built within 50 km of protected areas by 2030 (1 million within 1 km), greatly diminishing their conservation value. US protected areas are increasingly isolated, housing development in their surroundings is decreasing their effective size, and national forests are even threatened by habitat loss within their administrative boundaries. Protected areas in the United States are thus threatened similarly to those in developing countries. However, housing growth poses the main threat to protected areas in the United States whereas deforestation is the main threat in developing countries. PMID:20080780

A novel framework for analyzing conservation impacts: evaluation, theory, and marine protected areas.

PubMed

Mascia, Michael B; Fox, Helen E; Glew, Louise; Ahmadia, Gabby N; Agrawal, Arun; Barnes, Megan; Basurto, Xavier; Craigie, Ian; Darling, Emily; Geldmann, Jonas; Gill, David; Holst Rice, Susie; Jensen, Olaf P; Lester, Sarah E; McConney, Patrick; Mumby, Peter J; Nenadovic, Mateja; Parks, John E; Pomeroy, Robert S; White, Alan T

2017-07-01

Environmental conservation initiatives, including marine protected areas (MPAs), have proliferated in recent decades. Designed to conserve marine biodiversity, many MPAs also seek to foster sustainable development. As is the case for many other environmental policies and programs, the impacts of MPAs are poorly understood. Social-ecological systems, impact evaluation, and common-pool resource governance are three complementary scientific frameworks for documenting and explaining the ecological and social impacts of conservation interventions. We review key components of these three frameworks and their implications for the study of conservation policy, program, and project outcomes. Using MPAs as an illustrative example, we then draw upon these three frameworks to describe an integrated approach for rigorous empirical documentation and causal explanation of conservation impacts. This integrated three-framework approach for impact evaluation of governance in social-ecological systems (3FIGS) accounts for alternative explanations, builds upon and advances social theory, and provides novel policy insights in ways that no single approach affords. Despite the inherent complexity of social-ecological systems and the difficulty of causal inference, the 3FIGS approach can dramatically advance our understanding of, and the evidentiary basis for, effective MPAs and other conservation initiatives. © 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.

Flora of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Cochise County, Arizona

Treesearch

Elizabeth Makings

2005-01-01

The flora of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA) consists of 618 taxa from 92 families, including a new species of Eriogonum and four new State records. The vegetation communities include Chihuahuan Desertscrub, cottonwood-willow riparian corridors, mesquite terraces, sacaton grasslands, rocky outcrops, and cienegas. Species...

Conservation Genetics of the Philippine Tarsier: Cryptic Genetic Variation Restructures Conservation Priorities for an Island Archipelago Primate

PubMed Central

Brown, Rafe M.; Weghorst, Jennifer A.; Olson, Karen V.; Duya, Mariano R. M.; Barley, Anthony J.; Duya, Melizar V.; Shekelle, Myron; Neri-Arboleda, Irene; Esselstyn, Jacob A.; Dominy, Nathaniel J.; Ong, Perry S.; Moritz, Gillian L.; Luczon, Adrian; Diesmos, Mae Lowe L.; Diesmos, Arvin C.; Siler, Cameron D.

2014-01-01

Establishment of conservation priorities for primates is a particular concern in the island archipelagos of Southeast Asia, where rates of habitat destruction are among the highest in the world. Conservation programs require knowledge of taxonomic diversity to ensure success. The Philippine tarsier is a flagship species that promotes environmental awareness and a thriving ecotourism economy in the Philippines. However, assessment of its conservation status has been impeded by taxonomic uncertainty, a paucity of field studies, and a lack of vouchered specimens and genetic samples available for study in biodiversity repositories. Consequently, conservation priorities are unclear. In this study we use mitochondrial and nuclear DNA to empirically infer geographic partitioning of genetic variation and to identify evolutionarily distinct lineages for conservation action. The distribution of Philippine tarsier genetic diversity is neither congruent with expectations based on biogeographical patterns documented in other Philippine vertebrates, nor does it agree with the most recent Philippine tarsier taxonomic arrangement. We identify three principal evolutionary lineages that do not correspond to the currently recognized subspecies, highlight the discovery of a novel cryptic and range-restricted subcenter of genetic variation in an unanticipated part of the archipelago, and identify additional geographically structured genetic variation that should be the focus of future studies and conservation action. Conservation of this flagship species necessitates establishment of protected areas and targeted conservation programs within the range of each genetically distinct variant of the Philippine tarsier. PMID:25136854

Conservation planning under uncertainty in urban development and vegetation dynamics

PubMed Central

Carmel, Yohay

2018-01-01

Systematic conservation planning is a framework for optimally locating and prioritizing areas for conservation. An often-noted shortcoming of most conservation planning studies is that they do not address future uncertainty. The selection of protected areas that are intended to ensure the long-term persistence of biodiversity is often based on a snapshot of the current situation, ignoring processes such as climate change. Scenarios, in the sense of being accounts of plausible futures, can be utilized to identify conservation area portfolios that are robust to future uncertainty. We compared three approaches for utilizing scenarios in conservation area selection: considering a full set of scenarios (all-scenarios portfolio), assuming the realization of specific scenarios, and a reference strategy based on the current situation (current distributions portfolio). Our objective was to compare the robustness of these approaches in terms of their relative performance across future scenarios. We focused on breeding bird species in Israel’s Mediterranean region. We simulated urban development and vegetation dynamics scenarios 60 years into the future using DINAMICA-EGO, a cellular-automata simulation model. For each scenario, we mapped the target species’ available habitat distribution, identified conservation priority areas using the site-selection software MARXAN, and constructed conservation area portfolios using the three aforementioned strategies. We then assessed portfolio performance based on the number of species for which representation targets were met in each scenario. The all-scenarios portfolio consistently outperformed the other portfolios, and was more robust to ‘errors’ (e.g., when an assumed specific scenario did not occur). On average, the all-scenarios portfolio achieved representation targets for five additional species compared with the current distributions portfolio (approximately 33 versus 28 species). Our findings highlight the importance

Conservation planning under uncertainty in urban development and vegetation dynamics.

PubMed

Troupin, David; Carmel, Yohay

2018-01-01

Systematic conservation planning is a framework for optimally locating and prioritizing areas for conservation. An often-noted shortcoming of most conservation planning studies is that they do not address future uncertainty. The selection of protected areas that are intended to ensure the long-term persistence of biodiversity is often based on a snapshot of the current situation, ignoring processes such as climate change. Scenarios, in the sense of being accounts of plausible futures, can be utilized to identify conservation area portfolios that are robust to future uncertainty. We compared three approaches for utilizing scenarios in conservation area selection: considering a full set of scenarios (all-scenarios portfolio), assuming the realization of specific scenarios, and a reference strategy based on the current situation (current distributions portfolio). Our objective was to compare the robustness of these approaches in terms of their relative performance across future scenarios. We focused on breeding bird species in Israel's Mediterranean region. We simulated urban development and vegetation dynamics scenarios 60 years into the future using DINAMICA-EGO, a cellular-automata simulation model. For each scenario, we mapped the target species' available habitat distribution, identified conservation priority areas using the site-selection software MARXAN, and constructed conservation area portfolios using the three aforementioned strategies. We then assessed portfolio performance based on the number of species for which representation targets were met in each scenario. The all-scenarios portfolio consistently outperformed the other portfolios, and was more robust to 'errors' (e.g., when an assumed specific scenario did not occur). On average, the all-scenarios portfolio achieved representation targets for five additional species compared with the current distributions portfolio (approximately 33 versus 28 species). Our findings highlight the importance of

78 FR 64004 - Notice of Intent To Collect Fees on Public Lands in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-10-25

... To Collect Fees on Public Lands in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Washington County, UT... Intent to Collect Fees on Public Lands in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Washington County, UT, which contained erroneous information regarding the use of the America the Beautiful passes at...

Using the conservative nature of fresh leaf surface density to measure foliar area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castillo, Omar S.; Zaragoza, Esther M.; Alvarado, Carlos J.; Barrera, Maria G.; Dasgupta-Schubert, Nabanita

2014-10-01

For a herbaceous species, the inverse of the fresh leaf surface density, the Hughes constant, is nearly conserved. We apply the Hughes constant to develop an absolute method of leafarea measurement that requires no regression fits, prior calibrations or oven-drying. The Hughes constant was determined in situ using a known geometry and weights of a sub-set obtained from the fresh leaves whose areas are desired. Subsequently, the leaf-areas (at any desired stratification level), were derived by utilizing the Hughes constant and the masses of the fresh leaves. The proof of concept was established for leaf-discs of the plants Mandevilla splendens and Spathiphyllum wallisii. The conservativeness of the Hughes constant over individual leaf-zones and different leaftypes from the leaves of each species was quantitatively validated. Using the globally averaged Hughes constant for each species, the leaf-area of these and additional co-species plants, were obtained. The leaf-area-measurement-by-mass was cross-checked with standard digital image analysis. There were no statistically significant differences between the leaf-area-measurement-by-mass and the digital image analysis measured leaf-areas and the linear correlation between the two methods was very good. Leaf-areameasurement- by-mass was found to be rapid and simple with accuracies comparable to the digital image analysis method. The greatly reduced cost of leaf-area-measurement-by-mass could be beneficial for small agri-businesses in developing countries.

Identifying species from the air: UAVs and the very high resolution challenge for plant conservation

PubMed Central

Moat, Justin; Whaley, Oliver; Boyd, Doreen S.

2017-01-01

The Pacific Equatorial dry forest of Northern Peru is recognised for its unique endemic biodiversity. Although highly threatened the forest provides livelihoods and ecosystem services to local communities. As agro-industrial expansion and climatic variation transform the region, close ecosystem monitoring is essential for viable adaptation strategies. UAVs offer an affordable alternative to satellites in obtaining both colour and near infrared imagery to meet the specific requirements of spatial and temporal resolution of a monitoring system. Combining this with their capacity to produce three dimensional models of the environment provides an invaluable tool for species level monitoring. Here we demonstrate that object-based image analysis of very high resolution UAV images can identify and quantify keystone tree species and their health across wide heterogeneous landscapes. The analysis exposes the state of the vegetation and serves as a baseline for monitoring and adaptive implementation of community based conservation and restoration in the area. PMID:29176860

Identifying species from the air: UAVs and the very high resolution challenge for plant conservation.

PubMed

Baena, Susana; Moat, Justin; Whaley, Oliver; Boyd, Doreen S

2017-01-01

The Pacific Equatorial dry forest of Northern Peru is recognised for its unique endemic biodiversity. Although highly threatened the forest provides livelihoods and ecosystem services to local communities. As agro-industrial expansion and climatic variation transform the region, close ecosystem monitoring is essential for viable adaptation strategies. UAVs offer an affordable alternative to satellites in obtaining both colour and near infrared imagery to meet the specific requirements of spatial and temporal resolution of a monitoring system. Combining this with their capacity to produce three dimensional models of the environment provides an invaluable tool for species level monitoring. Here we demonstrate that object-based image analysis of very high resolution UAV images can identify and quantify keystone tree species and their health across wide heterogeneous landscapes. The analysis exposes the state of the vegetation and serves as a baseline for monitoring and adaptive implementation of community based conservation and restoration in the area.

Temperate non-breeding surveys - a key to shorebird conservation

Treesearch

Sue Thomas

2005-01-01

Completion of the United States and Canadian shorebird conservation plans recently identified and prioritized shorebird monitoring, management, and conservation needs in the Western Hemisphere. We present an emerging approach to monitor shorebird use of temperate non-breeding areas under the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM). This...

The effectiveness of surrogate taxa to conserve freshwater biodiversity.

PubMed

Stewart, David R; Underwood, Zachary E; Rahel, Frank J; Walters, Annika W

2018-02-01

Establishing protected areas has long been an effective conservation strategy and is often based on readily surveyed species. The potential of any freshwater taxa to be a surrogate for other aquatic groups has not been explored fully. We compiled occurrence data on 72 species of freshwater fishes, amphibians, mussels, and aquatic reptiles for the Great Plains, Wyoming (U.S.A.). We used hierarchical Bayesian multispecies mixture models and MaxEnt models to describe species' distributions and the program Zonation to identify areas of conservation priority for each aquatic group. The landscape-scale factors that best characterized aquatic species' distributions differed among groups. There was low agreement and congruence among taxa-specific conservation priorities (<20%), meaning no surrogate priority areas would include or protect the best habitats of other aquatic taxa. Common, wideranging aquatic species were included in taxa-specific priority areas, but rare freshwater species were not included. Thus, the development of conservation priorities based on a single freshwater aquatic group would not protect all species in the other aquatic groups. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Ecology and conservation: contributions to One Health.

PubMed

Cleaveland, S; Borner, M; Gislason, M

2014-08-01

Although One Health is widely promoted as a more effective approach towards human, animal and ecosystem health, the momentum is still driven largely by health professionals, predominantly from the veterinary sector. While few can doubt the merits of interdisciplinary One Health approaches to tackle complex health problems, operating across the disciplines still presents many challenges. This paper focuses on the contributions of partners from ecology and conservation to One Health approaches, and identifies four broad areas which could act as a focus for practical engagement and bring ecological and conservation objectives more to the forefront of the One Health agenda: i) developing initiatives with shared conservation and health objectives, particularly in and around protected areas and including programmes addressing human reproductive health and mental health; ii) broadening concepts of health to extend beyond indicators of disease to include the assessment of ecological impacts; iii) the integration of ecological and epidemiological monitoring systems within protected areas to support conservation management and wildlife disease surveillance; iv) building partnerships to bring conservation, health, development and animal welfare agencies together to combat threats to global biodiversity and health from the international trade in wildlife and wildlife products.

Accessing local knowledge to identify where species of conservation concern occur in a tropical forest landscape.

PubMed

Padmanaba, Michael; Sheil, Douglas; Basuki, Imam; Liswanti, Nining

2013-08-01

Conventional biodiversity surveys play an important role in ensuring good conservation friendly management in tropical forest regions but are demanding in terms of expertise, time, and budget. Can local people help? Here, we illustrate how local knowledge can support low cost conservation surveys. We worked in the Malinau watershed, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, an area currently at risk of extensive forest loss. We selected eight species of regional conservation interest: rafflesia (Rafflesia spp.), black orchid (Coelogyne pandurata), sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), tarsier (Tarsius bancanus), slow loris (Nycticebus coucang), proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi/N. nebulosa), and orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus). We asked 52 informants in seven villages if, where and when they had observed these species. We used maps, based on both geo-referenced and sketched features, to record these observations. Verification concerns and related issues are discussed. Evaluations suggest our local information is reliable. Our study took 6 weeks and cost about USD 5000. Extensive expert based field surveys across the same region would cost one or two orders of magnitude more. The records extend the known distribution for sun bear, tarsier, slow loris, and clouded leopard. Reports of rafflesia, proboscis monkey, and orang-utan are of immediate conservation significance. While quality concerns should never be abandoned, we conclude that local people can help expand our knowledge of large areas in an effective, reliable, and low cost manner and thus contribute to improved management.

Insights for integrated conservation from attitudes of people toward protected areas near Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Guerbois, Chloe; Dufour, Anne-Beatrice; Mtare, Godfrey; Fritz, Herve

2013-08-01

Increase in human settlements at the edge of protected areas (PAs) is perceived as a major threat to conservation of biodiversity. Although it is crucial to integrate the interests of surrounding communities into PA management, key drivers of changes in local populations and the effects of conservation on local livelihoods and perceptions remain poorly understood. We assessed population changes from 1990 to 2010 in 9 villages located between 2 PAs with different management policies (access to natural resources or not). We conducted semi-directive interviews at the household level (n =217) to document reasons for settlement in the area and villager's attitudes toward the PAs. We examined drivers of these attitudes relative to household typology, feelings about conservation, and concerns for the future with mixed linear models. Population increased by 61% from 2000 to 2010, a period of political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe. Forty-seven percent of immigrants were attracted by the area; others had been resettled from other villages or were returning to family lands. Attitudes toward PAs were generally positive, but immigrants attracted by the area and who used resources within the PA with fewer restrictions expressed more negative attitudes toward PAs. Household location, losses due to wild animals, and restrictions on access to natural resources were the main drivers of this negative attitude. Profit-seeking migrants did not expect these constraints and were particularly concerned with local overpopulation and access to natural resources. To avoid socio-ecological traps near PAs (i.e., unforeseen reduced adaptive capacity) integrated conservation should address mismatches between management policy and local expectations. This requires accounting for endogenous processes, for example, local socio-ecological dynamics and values that shape the coexistence between humans and wildlife. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Probability of lek collapse is lower inside sage-grouse Core Areas: Effectiveness of conservation policy for a landscape species.

PubMed

Spence, Emma Suzuki; Beck, Jeffrey L; Gregory, Andrew J

2017-01-01

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) occupy sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats in 11 western states and 2 Canadian provinces. In September 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the listing status for sage-grouse had changed from warranted but precluded to not warranted. The primary reason cited for this change of status was that the enactment of new regulatory mechanisms was sufficient to protect sage-grouse populations. One such plan is the 2008, Wyoming Sage Grouse Executive Order (SGEO), enacted by Governor Freudenthal. The SGEO identifies "Core Areas" that are to be protected by keeping them relatively free from further energy development and limiting other forms of anthropogenic disturbances near active sage-grouse leks. Using the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's sage-grouse lek count database and the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission database of oil and gas well locations, we investigated the effectiveness of Wyoming's Core Areas, specifically: 1) how well Core Areas encompass the distribution of sage-grouse in Wyoming, 2) whether Core Area leks have a reduced probability of lek collapse, and 3) what, if any, edge effects intensification of oil and gas development adjacent to Core Areas may be having on Core Area populations. Core Areas contained 77% of male sage-grouse attending leks and 64% of active leks. Using Bayesian binomial probability analysis, we found an average 10.9% probability of lek collapse in Core Areas and an average 20.4% probability of lek collapse outside Core Areas. Using linear regression, we found development density outside Core Areas was related to the probability of lek collapse inside Core Areas. Specifically, probability of collapse among leks >4.83 km from inside Core Area boundaries was significantly related to well density within 1.61 km (1-mi) and 4.83 km (3-mi) outside of Core Area boundaries. Collectively, these data suggest that the Wyoming Core Area Strategy has benefited sage

Filling gaps in a large reserve network to address freshwater conservation needs.

PubMed

Hermoso, Virgilio; Filipe, Ana Filipa; Segurado, Pedro; Beja, Pedro

2015-09-15

Freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity are among the most threatened at global scale, but efforts for their conservation have been mostly peripheral to terrestrial conservation. For example, Natura 2000, the world's largest network of protected areas, fails to cover adequately the distribution of rare and endangered aquatic species, and lacks of appropriate spatial design to make conservation for freshwater biodiversity effective. Here, we develop a framework to identify a complementary set of priority areas and enhance the conservation opportunities of Natura 2000 for freshwater biodiversity, using the Iberian Peninsula as a case study. We use a systematic planning approach to identify a minimum set of additional areas that would help i) adequately represent all freshwater fish, amphibians and aquatic reptiles at three different target levels, ii) account for key ecological processes derived from riverscape connectivity, and iii) minimize the impact of threats, both within protected areas and propagated from upstream unprotected areas. Addressing all these goals would need an increase in area between 7 and 46%, depending on the conservation target used and strength of connectivity required. These new priority areas correspond to subcatchments inhabited by endangered and range restricted species, as well as additional subcatchments required to improve connectivity among existing protected areas and to increase protection against upstream threats. Our study should help guide future revisions of the design of Natura 2000, while providing a framework to address deficiencies in reserve networks for adequately protecting freshwater biodiversity elsewhere. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effectiveness of terrestrial protected areas for conservation of lake fish communities.

PubMed

Chu, Cindy; Ellis, Lucy; de Kerckhove, Derrick T

2018-06-01

Freshwater protected areas are rare even though freshwater ecosystems are among the most imperiled in the world. Conservation actions within terrestrial protected areas (TPAs) such as development or resource extraction regulations may spill over to benefit freshwater ecosystems within their boundaries. Using data from 175 lakes across Ontario, Canada, we compared common indicators of fish-assemblage status (i.e., species richness, Shannon diversity index, catch per unit effort, and normalized-length size spectrum slopes) to evaluate whether TPAs benefit lake fish assemblages. Nearest neighbor cluster analysis was used to generate pairs of lakes: inside versus outside, inside versus bordering, and bordering versus outside TPAs based on lake characteristics. The diversity and abundance indicators did not differ significantly across comparisons, but normalized-length size spectrum slopes (NLSS) were significantly steeper in lakes outside parks. The latter indicated assemblage differences (greater abundances of small-bodied species) and less-efficient energy transfer through the trophic levels of assemblages outside parks. Although not significantly different, pollution- and turbidity-tolerant species were more abundant outside parks, whereas 3 of the 4 pollution-intolerant species were more abundant within parks. Twenty-one percent of the difference in slopes was related to higher total dissolved solids concentrations and angling pressure. Our results support the hypothesis that TPAs benefit lake fish assemblages and suggest that NLSS slopes are informative indicators for aquatic protected area evaluations because they represent compositional and functional aspects of communities. © 2017 Society for Conservation Biology.

Global priorities for national carnivore conservation under land use change

PubMed Central

Di Minin, Enrico; Slotow, Rob; Hunter, Luke T. B.; Montesino Pouzols, Federico; Toivonen, Tuuli; Verburg, Peter H.; Leader-Williams, Nigel; Petracca, Lisanne; Moilanen, Atte

2016-01-01

Mammalian carnivores have suffered the biggest range contraction among all biodiversity and are particularly vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation. Therefore, we identified priority areas for the conservation of mammalian carnivores, while accounting for species-specific requirements for connectivity and expected agricultural and urban expansion. While prioritizing for carnivores only, we were also able to test their effectiveness as surrogates for 23,110 species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles and 867 terrestrial ecoregions. We then assessed the risks to carnivore conservation within each country that makes a contribution to global carnivore conservation. We found that land use change will potentially lead to important range losses, particularly amongst already threatened carnivore species. In addition, the 17% of land targeted for protection under the Aichi Target 11 was found to be inadequate to conserve carnivores under expected land use change. Our results also highlight that land use change will decrease the effectiveness of carnivores to protect other threatened species, especially threatened amphibians. In addition, the risk of human-carnivore conflict is potentially high in countries where we identified spatial priorities for their conservation. As meeting the global biodiversity target will be inadequate for carnivore protection, innovative interventions are needed to conserve carnivores outside protected areas to compliment any proposed expansion of the protected area network. PMID:27034197

Conservation for the landscape ecological diversity in Wulingyuan scenic area of China.

PubMed

Yan, Fu

2003-03-01

Wulingyuan is located at the mountainous area of the middle reach of the Yangtze River, it is one of the three nature heritages in China which ranks in the "List of World's Heritage" by UNESCO. It is characterized by quartz sandstone peaks landform with several landform components (pattern, corridor) and rich in landscape ecological diversity and biodiversity. The main patterns (ecosystem) include mid-height mountain peaks, rift-valley and streams among peaks, peaks and gullies on slopes, square mountain-platforms and peaks among blind valleys and so on. The corridor system consists of natural corridors and artificial corridors among which the stream corridors account for a major part. The fracturing of habitat is unfavorable for the biodiversity conservation, but meanwhile the habitat diversity leads to an increase in biodiversity. Therefore, it is still rich in landscape ecological diversity in Wulingyuan. The biodiversity at the level of landscape component (ecosystem) and the function of the Wulingyuan complex ecosystem, and the measures for the biodiversity conservation in Wulingyuan ecotourism area are discussed in this paper.

78 FR 10634 - Notice of Meetings, Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-14

...In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Dominguez- Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council (Council) will meet as indicated below.

Response of the endangered tropical dry forests to climate change and the role of Mexican Protected Areas for their conservation.

PubMed

Prieto-Torres, David A; Navarro-Sigüenza, Adolfo G; Santiago-Alarcon, Diego; Rojas-Soto, Octavio R

2016-01-01

Assuming that co-distributed species are exposed to similar environmental conditions, ecological niche models (ENMs) of bird and plant species inhabiting tropical dry forests (TDFs) in Mexico were developed to evaluate future projections of their distribution for the years 2050 and 2070. We used ENM-based predictions and climatic data for two Global Climate Models, considering two Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios (RCP4.5/RCP8.5). We also evaluated the effects of habitat loss and the importance of the Mexican system of protected areas (PAs) on the projected models for a more detailed prediction of TDFs and to identify hot spots that require conservation actions. We identified four major distributional areas: the main one located along the Pacific Coast (from Sonora to Chiapas, including the Cape and Bajío regions, and the Balsas river basin), and three isolated areas: the Yucatán peninsula, central Veracruz, and southern Tamaulipas. When considering the effect of habitat loss, a significant reduction (~61%) of the TDFs predicted area occurred, whereas climate-change models suggested (in comparison with the present distribution model) an increase in area of 3.0-10.0% and 3.0-9.0% for 2050 and 2070, respectively. In future scenarios, TDFs will occupy areas above its current average elevational distribution that are outside of its present geographical range. Our findings show that TDFs may persist in Mexican territory until the middle of the XXI century; however, the challenges about long-term conservation are partially addressed (only 7% unaffected within the Mexican network of PAs) with the current Mexican PAs network. Based on our ENM approach, we suggest that a combination of models of species inhabiting present TDFs and taking into account change scenarios represent an invaluable tool to create new PAs and ecological corridors, as a response to the increasing levels of habitat destruction and the effects of climate change on this ecosystem. © 2015

Shortleaf pine natural community restoration on Peck Ranch Conservation Area in the Missouri Ozarks

Treesearch

John G. Tuttle; Kim J. Houf

2007-01-01

Oak decline has become a significantly increasing problem on Peck Ranch Conservation Area over the last several years. Most of the oak decline problems exist on past shortleaf pine sites. To address this issue, the area managers wrote a natural community restoration plan for 2,233 acres located on the Current-Eleven Point Oak-Pine Woodland Dissected Plain land type...

The potential of military training areas for bird conservation in a central European landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bušek, Ondřej; Reif, Jiří

2017-10-01

European biodiversity has suffered from serious declines during the past few decades, with alterations of land use practices resulting in a loss of fine-scale habitat heterogeneity being a dominant driver. This heterogeneity was maintained by extensive landscape management, which has gradually been replaced by either intensive exploitation or land abandonment. It has been suggested that military training can generate habitat heterogeneity that may support the existence of species of conservation concern, but studies rigorously testing the real importance of military training areas for biodiversity are lacking. Here we address this issue by analyses of two datasets. First, we compared land cover classes between all large military training areas (MTAs) and surrounding control areas (CAs) of the same size in the Czech Republic using multivariate redundancy analysis. We found that the difference in land cover between MTAs and CAs was significant and represented the strongest gradient in land cover classes: from various farmland and artificial habitats typical for CAs to forest and scrubland-grassland mosaic typical for MTAs. Second, we selected one of these areas and compared bird species richness between the MTA and the nearby CA using generalized linear mixed effects models. We found that the number of species of conservation concern was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA. With respect to habitats, bird species richness was significantly higher in the MTA than in the CA for open habitats, but not for forest habitats. Our results are thus consistent with the view that military training creates areas that are different from the surrounding landscape in terms of land cover, and that this difference translates to a suitability for species of conservation concern. It is remarkable that the positive influence of military training is confined to open habitats, which are subject to the most intensive military activities and also suffer the highest degree of

Satellite Earth observation data to identify anthropogenic pressures in selected protected areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagendra, Harini; Mairota, Paola; Marangi, Carmela; Lucas, Richard; Dimopoulos, Panayotis; Honrado, João Pradinho; Niphadkar, Madhura; Mücher, Caspar A.; Tomaselli, Valeria; Panitsa, Maria; Tarantino, Cristina; Manakos, Ioannis; Blonda, Palma

2015-05-01

Protected areas are experiencing increased levels of human pressure. To enable appropriate conservation action, it is critical to map and monitor changes in the type and extent of land cover/use and habitat classes, which can be related to human pressures over time. Satellite Earth observation (EO) data and techniques offer the opportunity to detect such changes. Yet association with field information and expert interpretation by ecologists is required to interpret, qualify and link these changes to human pressure. There is thus an urgent need to harmonize the technical background of experts in the field of EO data analysis with the terminology of ecologists, protected area management authorities and policy makers in order to provide meaningful, context-specific value-added EO products. This paper builds on the DPSIR framework, providing a terminology to relate the concepts of state, pressures, and drivers with the application of EO analysis. The type of pressure can be inferred through the detection of changes in state (i.e. changes in land cover and/or habitat type and/or condition). Four broad categories of changes in state are identified, i.e. land cover/habitat conversion, land cover/habitat modification, habitat fragmentation and changes in landscape connectivity, and changes in plant community structure. These categories of change in state can be mapped through EO analyses, with the goal of using expert judgement to relate changes in state to causal direct anthropogenic pressures. Drawing on expert knowledge, a set of protected areas located in diverse socio-ecological contexts and subject to a variety of pressures are analysed to (a) link the four categories of changes in state of land cover/habitats to the drivers (anthropogenic pressure), as relevant to specific target land cover and habitat classes; (b) identify (for pressure mapping) the most appropriate spatial and temporal EO data sources as well as interpretations from ecologists and field data

Protected areas: mixed success in conserving East Africa's evergreen forests.

PubMed

Pfeifer, Marion; Burgess, Neil D; Swetnam, Ruth D; Platts, Philip J; Willcock, Simon; Marchant, Robert

2012-01-01

In East Africa, human population growth and demands for natural resources cause forest loss contributing to increased carbon emissions and reduced biodiversity. Protected Areas (PAs) are intended to conserve habitats and species. Variability in PA effectiveness and 'leakage' (here defined as displacement of deforestation) may lead to different trends in forest loss within, and adjacent to, existing PAs. Here, we quantify spatial variation in trends of evergreen forest coverage in East Africa between 2001 and 2009, and test for correlations with forest accessibility and environmental drivers. We investigate PA effectiveness at local, landscape and national scales, comparing rates of deforestation within park boundaries with those detected in park buffer zones and in unprotected land more generally. Background forest loss (BFL) was estimated at -9.3% (17,167 km(2)), but varied between countries (range: -0.9% to -85.7%; note: no BFL in South Sudan). We document high variability in PA effectiveness within and between PA categories. The most successful PAs were National Parks, although only 26 out of 48 parks increased or maintained their forest area (i.e. Effective parks). Forest Reserves (Ineffective parks, i.e. parks that lose forest from within boundaries: 204 out of 337), Nature Reserves (six out of 12) and Game Parks (24 out of 26) were more likely to lose forest cover. Forest loss in buffer zones around PAs exceeded background forest loss, in some areas indicating leakage driven by Effective National Parks. Human pressure, forest accessibility, protection status, distance to fires and long-term annual rainfall were highly significant drivers of forest loss in East Africa. Some of these factors can be addressed by adjusting park management. However, addressing close links between livelihoods, natural capital and poverty remains a fundamental challenge in East Africa's forest conservation efforts.

Climate change adaptation benefits of potential conservation partnerships.

PubMed

Monahan, William B; Theobald, David M

2018-01-01

We evaluate the world terrestrial network of protected areas (PAs) for its partnership potential in responding to climate change. That is, if a PA engaged in collaborative, trans-boundary management of species, by investing in conservation partnerships with neighboring areas, what climate change adaptation benefits might accrue? We consider core tenets of conservation biology related to protecting large areas with high environmental heterogeneity and low climate change velocity and ask how a series of biodiversity adaptation indicators change across spatial scales encompassing potential PA and non-PA partners. Less than 1% of current world terrestrial PAs equal or exceed the size of established and successful conservation partnerships. Partnering at this scale would increase the biodiversity adaptation indicators by factors up to two orders of magnitude, compared to a null model in which each PA is isolated. Most partnership area surrounding PAs is comprised of non-PAs (70%), indicating the importance of looking beyond the current network of PAs when promoting climate change adaptation. Given monumental challenges with PA-based species conservation in the face of climate change, partnerships provide a logical and achievable strategy for helping areas adapt. Our findings identify where strategic partnering efforts in highly vulnerable areas of the world may prove critical in safeguarding biodiversity.

78 FR 35639 - Establishment of the Rio Mora National Wildlife Refuge and Rio Mora Conservation Area, Colfax...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-13

...-acre Wind River Ranch in Mora County, New Mexico. ADDRESSES: A map depicting the approved boundary and... Mexico, and the Rio Mora Conservation Area, including portions of Colfax, Mora, and San Miguel Counties, New Mexico. The Service may pursue protection and management of wildlife resources in the conservation...

Expansion of Nature Conservation Areas: Problems with Natura 2000 Implementation in Poland?

PubMed Central

Cent, Joanna

2010-01-01

In spite of widespread support from most member countries’ societies for European Union policy, including support for the sustainable development idea, in many EU countries the levels of acceptance of new environmental protection programmes have been and, in particular in new member states, still are considerably low. The experience of the countries which were the first to implement union directives show that they cannot be effectively applied without widespread public participation. The goal of this study was, using the example of Poland, to assess public acceptance of the expansion of nature conservation in the context of sustainable development principles and to discover whether existing nature governance should be modified when establishing new protected areas. The increase in protected areas in Poland has become a hotbed of numerous conflicts. In spite of the generally favourable attitudes to nature which Polish people generally have, Natura 2000 is perceived as an unnecessary additional conservation tool. Both local authorities and communities residing in the Natura areas think that the programme is a hindrance, rather than a help in the economic development of municipalities or regions, as was initially supposed. This lack of acceptance results from many factors, mainly social, historic and economic. The implications of these findings for current approach to the nature governance in Poland are discussed. PMID:21107836

Allele frequencies of variants in ultra conserved elements identify selective pressure on transcription factor binding.

PubMed

Silla, Toomas; Kepp, Katrin; Tai, E Shyong; Goh, Liang; Davila, Sonia; Catela Ivkovic, Tina; Calin, George A; Voorhoeve, P Mathijs

2014-01-01

Ultra-conserved genes or elements (UCGs/UCEs) in the human genome are extreme examples of conservation. We characterized natural variations in 2884 UCEs and UCGs in two distinct populations; Singaporean Chinese (n = 280) and Italian (n = 501) by using a pooled sample, targeted capture, sequencing approach. We identify, with high confidence, in these regions the abundance of rare SNVs (MAF<0.5%) of which 75% is not present in dbSNP137. UCEs association studies for complex human traits can use this information to model expected background variation and thus necessary power for association studies. By combining our data with 1000 Genome Project data, we show in three independent datasets that prevalent UCE variants (MAF>5%) are more often found in relatively less-conserved nucleotides within UCEs, compared to rare variants. Moreover, prevalent variants are less likely to overlap transcription factor binding site. Using SNPfold we found no significant influence of RNA secondary structure on UCE conservation. All together, these results suggest UCEs are not under selective pressure as a stretch of DNA but are under differential evolutionary pressure on the single nucleotide level.

The Effects of Governmental Protected Areas and Social Initiatives for Land Protection on the Conservation of Mexican Amphibians

PubMed Central

Ochoa-Ochoa, Leticia; Urbina-Cardona, J. Nicolás; Vázquez, Luis-Bernardo; Flores-Villela, Oscar; Bezaury-Creel, Juan

2009-01-01

Traditionally, biodiversity conservation gap analyses have been focused on governmental protected areas (PAs). However, an increasing number of social initiatives in conservation (SICs) are promoting a new perspective for analysis. SICs include all of the efforts that society implements to conserve biodiversity, such as land protection, from private reserves to community zoning plans some of which have generated community-protected areas. This is the first attempt to analyze the status of conservation in Latin America when some of these social initiatives are included. The analyses were focused on amphibians because they are one of the most threatened groups worldwide. Mexico is not an exception, where more than 60% of its amphibians are endemic. We used a niche model approach to map the potential and real geographical distribution (extracting the transformed areas) of the endemic amphibians. Based on remnant distribution, all the species have suffered some degree of loss, but 36 species have lost more than 50% of their potential distribution. For 50 micro-endemic species we could not model their potential distribution range due to the small number of records per species, therefore the analyses were performed using these records directly. We then evaluated the efficiency of the existing set of governmental protected areas and established the contribution of social initiatives (private and community) for land protection for amphibian conservation. We found that most of the species have some proportion of their potential ecological niche distribution protected, but 20% are not protected at all within governmental PAs. 73% of endemic and 26% of micro-endemic amphibians are represented within SICs. However, 30 micro-endemic species are not represented within either governmental PAs or SICs. This study shows how the role of land conservation through social initiatives is therefore becoming a crucial element for an important number of species not protected by

Conservation biogeography of red oaks (Quercus, section Lobatae) in Mexico and Central America.

PubMed

Torres-Miranda, Andrés; Luna-Vega, Isolda; Oyama, Ken

2011-02-01

Oaks are dominant trees and key species in many temperate and subtropical forests in the world. In this study, we analyzed patterns of distribution of red oaks (Quercus, section Lobatae) occurring in Mexico and Central America to determine areas of species richness and endemism to propose areas of conservation. Patterns of richness and endemism of 75 red oak species were analyzed using three different units. Two complementarity algorithms based on species richness and three algorithms based on species rarity were used to identify important areas for conservation. A simulated annealing analysis was performed to evaluate and formulate effective new reserves for red oaks that are useful for conserving the ecosystems associated with them after the systematic conservation planning approach. Two main centers of species richness were detected. The northern Sierra Madre Oriental and Serranías Meridionales of Jalisco had the highest values of endemism. Fourteen areas were considered as priorities for conservation of red oak species based on the 26 priority political entities, 11 floristic units and the priority grid-cells obtained in the complementarity analysis. In the present network of Natural Protected Areas in Mexico and Central America, only 41.3% (31 species) of the red oak species are protected. The simulated annealing analysis indicated that to protect all 75 species of red oaks, 12 current natural protected areas need to be expanded by 120000 ha of additional land, and 26 new natural protected areas with 512500 ha need to be created. Red oaks are a useful model to identify areas for conservation based on species richness and endemism as a result of their wide geographic distribution and a high number of species. We evaluated and reformulated new reserves for red oaks that are also useful for the conservation of ecosystems associated with them.

The conservation of native priority medicinal plants in a Caatinga area in Ceará, northeastern Brazil.

PubMed

Santos, Maria O; Almeida, Bianca V DE; Ribeiro, Daiany A; Macêdo, Delmacia G DE; Macêdo, Márcia J F; Macedo, Julimery G F; Sousa, Francisca F S DE; Oliveira, Liana G S DE; Saraiva, Manuele E; Araújo, Thatiane M S; Souza, Marta M A

2017-01-01

Much of the Brazilian semiarid region faces a considerable process of degradation of natural resources, and ethnobotanical studies have collaborated with important information about the use and traditional knowledge, serving as a tool to design conservation strategies of native plant species. Thus, this study aimed to determine medicinal species meriting conservation priorities in a "Caatinga" area in the northeastern of Brazilian territory. The ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key subjects selected through the "snowball" technique. The availability and species conservation priority was verified by relative density, risk of collection, local use and use of diversity in the forest fragment sampled. It was recorded 42 native medicinal plants and conservation priority score was calculated for seven species, including Mimosa tenuiflora, Hymenaea courbaril, Ximenia americana and Amburana cearensis need immediate conservation and attention, since their collection does not occur in a sustainable way. In order to ensure the perpetuation of the species and the sustainability of traditional therapeutic practice there needs to be a development of conservation practices of caatinga remaining to better conserve the species of the biome.

Quality of governance and effectiveness of protected areas: crucial concepts for conservation planning.

PubMed

Eklund, Johanna; Cabeza, Mar

2017-07-01

Protected areas (PAs) are a key tool for biodiversity conservation and play a central role in the Convention on Biological Diversity. Recently, the effectiveness of PAs has been questioned, and assessing how effective they are in enabling the future persistence of biodiversity is not trivial. Here, we focus on terrestrial PAs and clarify the terminology related to PA effectiveness, distinguishing between management and ecological aspects. We suggest that the quality of governance affects both aspects of effectiveness but recognize a lack of synthetic understanding of the topic. We present a conceptual framework linking the underlying mechanisms by which the quality of governance affects conservation outcomes in PAs and how this relates to conservation planning. We show that it is crucial to separate pressure and response and how these together will lead to the observed conservation outcomes. We urge for more focused attention on governance factors and in particular more empirical research on how to address causality and how to account for the quality of governance when prioritizing actions. Our framework is linked to the classic concepts of systematic conservation planning and clarifies the strategies available to achieve a comprehensive and effective network of PAs. © 2016 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences.

The effectiveness of surrogate taxa to conserve freshwater biodiversity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stewart, David R.; Underwood, Zachary E.; Rahel, Frank J.; Walters, Annika W.

2018-01-01

Establishing protected areas has long been an effective conservation strategy, and is often based on more readily surveyed species. The potential of any freshwater taxa to be a surrogate of other aquatic groups has not been fully explored. We compiled occurrence data on 72 species of freshwater fish, amphibians, mussels, and aquatic reptiles for the Great Plains, Wyoming. We used hierarchical Bayesian multi-species mixture models and MaxEnt models to describe species distributions, and program Zonation to identify conservation priority areas for each aquatic group. The landscape-scale factors that best characterized aquatic species distributions differed among groups. There was low agreement and congruence among taxa-specific conservation priorities (<20%), meaning that no surrogate priority areas would include or protect the best habitats of other aquatic taxa. We found that common, wide-ranging aquatic species were included in taxa-specific priority areas, but rare freshwater species were not included. Thus, the development of conservation priorities based on a single freshwater aquatic group would not protect all species in the other aquatic groups.

Setting practical conservation priorities for birds in the Western Andes of Colombia.

PubMed

Ocampo-Peñuela, Natalia; Pimm, Stuart L

2014-10-01

We aspired to set conservation priorities in ways that lead to direct conservation actions. Very large-scale strategic mapping leads to familiar conservation priorities exemplified by biodiversity hotspots. In contrast, tactical conservation actions unfold on much smaller geographical extents and they need to reflect the habitat loss and fragmentation that have sharply restricted where species now live. Our aspirations for direct, practical actions were demanding. First, we identified the global, strategic conservation priorities and then downscaled to practical local actions within the selected priorities. In doing this, we recognized the limitations of incomplete information. We started such a process in Colombia and used the results presented here to implement reforestation of degraded land to prevent the isolation of a large area of cloud forest. We used existing range maps of 171 bird species to identify priority conservation areas that would conserve the greatest number of species at risk in Colombia. By at risk species, we mean those that are endemic and have small ranges. The Western Andes had the highest concentrations of such species-100 in total-but the lowest densities of national parks. We then adjusted the priorities for this region by refining these species ranges by selecting only areas of suitable elevation and remaining habitat. The estimated ranges of these species shrank by 18-100% after accounting for habitat and suitable elevation. Setting conservation priorities on the basis of currently available range maps excluded priority areas in the Western Andes and, by extension, likely elsewhere and for other taxa. By incorporating detailed maps of remaining natural habitats, we made practical recommendations for conservation actions. One recommendation was to restore forest connections to a patch of cloud forest about to become isolated from the main Andes. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

50 CFR Figure 10 to Part 679 - Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea 10 Figure 10 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt....

50 CFR Figure 10 to Part 679 - Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea 10 Figure 10 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt....

50 CFR Figure 10 to Part 679 - Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 11 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea 10 Figure 10 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt....

50 CFR Figure 10 to Part 679 - Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea 10 Figure 10 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt....

50 CFR Figure 10 to Part 679 - Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Pribilof Islands Area Habitat Conservation Zone in the Bering Sea 10 Figure 10 to Part 679 Wildlife and Fisheries FISHERY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (CONTINUED) FISHERIES OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE OFF ALASKA Pt....

Multi-species comparative analysis of the equine ACE gene identifies a highly conserved potential transcription factor binding site in intron 16.

PubMed

Hamilton, Natasha A; Tammen, Imke; Raadsma, Herman W

2013-01-01

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is essential for control of blood pressure. The human ACE gene contains an intronic Alu indel (I/D) polymorphism that has been associated with variation in serum enzyme levels, although the functional mechanism has not been identified. The polymorphism has also been associated with cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, renal disease and elite athleticism. We have characterized the ACE gene in horses of breeds selected for differing physical abilities. The equine gene has a similar structure to that of all known mammalian ACE genes. Nine common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) discovered in pooled DNA were found to be inherited in nine haplotypes. Three of these SNPs were located in intron 16, homologous to that containing the Alu polymorphism in the human. A highly conserved 18 bp sequence, also within that intron, was identified as being a potential binding site for the transcription factors Oct-1, HFH-1 and HNF-3β, and lies within a larger area of higher than normal homology. This putative regulatory element may contribute to regulation of the documented inter-individual variation in human circulating enzyme levels, for which a functional mechanism is yet to be defined. Two equine SNPs occurred within the conserved area in intron 16, although neither of them disrupted the putative binding site. We propose a possible regulatory mechanism of the ACE gene in mammalian species which was previously unknown. This advance will allow further analysis leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the associations seen between the human Alu polymorphism and enzyme levels, cardiovascular disease states and elite athleticism.

Multi-Species Comparative Analysis of the Equine ACE Gene Identifies a Highly Conserved Potential Transcription Factor Binding Site in Intron 16

PubMed Central

Hamilton, Natasha A.; Tammen, Imke; Raadsma, Herman W.

2013-01-01

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) is essential for control of blood pressure. The human ACE gene contains an intronic Alu indel (I/D) polymorphism that has been associated with variation in serum enzyme levels, although the functional mechanism has not been identified. The polymorphism has also been associated with cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, renal disease and elite athleticism. We have characterized the ACE gene in horses of breeds selected for differing physical abilities. The equine gene has a similar structure to that of all known mammalian ACE genes. Nine common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) discovered in pooled DNA were found to be inherited in nine haplotypes. Three of these SNPs were located in intron 16, homologous to that containing the Alu polymorphism in the human. A highly conserved 18 bp sequence, also within that intron, was identified as being a potential binding site for the transcription factors Oct-1, HFH-1 and HNF-3β, and lies within a larger area of higher than normal homology. This putative regulatory element may contribute to regulation of the documented inter-individual variation in human circulating enzyme levels, for which a functional mechanism is yet to be defined. Two equine SNPs occurred within the conserved area in intron 16, although neither of them disrupted the putative binding site. We propose a possible regulatory mechanism of the ACE gene in mammalian species which was previously unknown. This advance will allow further analysis leading to a better understanding of the mechanisms underpinning the associations seen between the human Alu polymorphism and enzyme levels, cardiovascular disease states and elite athleticism. PMID:23408978

Delimiting priority areas for the conservation of endemic and threatened Neotropical birds using a niche-based gap analysis

PubMed Central

Sousa-Neves, Tiago; Cerqueira, Pablo Vieira; Gonsioroski, Gustavo; Silva, Sofia Marques; Silva, Daniel Paiva; Santos, Marcos Pérsio Dantas

2017-01-01

Knowledge of spatiotemporal distribution of biodiversity is still very incomplete in the tropics. This is one of the major problems preventing the assessment and effectiveness of conservation actions. Mega-diverse tropical regions are being exposed to fast and profound environmental changes, and the amount of resources available to describe the distribution of species is generally limited. Thus, the tropics is losing species at unprecedented rates, without a proper assessment of its biodiversity. Species distribution models (SDMs) can be used to fill such biogeographic gaps within a species’ range and, when allied with systematic conservation planning (e.g. analyses of representativeness, gap analysis), help transcend such data shortage and support practical conservation actions. Within the Neotropics, eastern Amazon and northern Cerrado present a high variety of environments and are some of the most interesting ecotonal areas within South America, but are also among the most threatened biogeographic provinces in the world. Here, we test the effectiveness of the current system of Protected Areas (PAs), in protecting 24 threatened and endemic bird species using SDMs. We found that taxa with wider distributions are potentially as protected as taxa with smaller ranges, and larger PAs were more efficient than smaller PAs, while protecting these bird species. Nonetheless, Cerrado PAs are mostly misallocated. We suggest six priority areas for conservation of Neotropical birds. Finally, we highlight the importance of indigenous lands in the conservation of Neotropical biodiversity, and recommend the development of community management plans to conserve the biological resources of the region. PMID:28187182

Delimiting priority areas for the conservation of endemic and threatened Neotropical birds using a niche-based gap analysis.

PubMed

de Carvalho, Dorinny Lisboa; Sousa-Neves, Tiago; Cerqueira, Pablo Vieira; Gonsioroski, Gustavo; Silva, Sofia Marques; Silva, Daniel Paiva; Santos, Marcos Pérsio Dantas

2017-01-01

Knowledge of spatiotemporal distribution of biodiversity is still very incomplete in the tropics. This is one of the major problems preventing the assessment and effectiveness of conservation actions. Mega-diverse tropical regions are being exposed to fast and profound environmental changes, and the amount of resources available to describe the distribution of species is generally limited. Thus, the tropics is losing species at unprecedented rates, without a proper assessment of its biodiversity. Species distribution models (SDMs) can be used to fill such biogeographic gaps within a species' range and, when allied with systematic conservation planning (e.g. analyses of representativeness, gap analysis), help transcend such data shortage and support practical conservation actions. Within the Neotropics, eastern Amazon and northern Cerrado present a high variety of environments and are some of the most interesting ecotonal areas within South America, but are also among the most threatened biogeographic provinces in the world. Here, we test the effectiveness of the current system of Protected Areas (PAs), in protecting 24 threatened and endemic bird species using SDMs. We found that taxa with wider distributions are potentially as protected as taxa with smaller ranges, and larger PAs were more efficient than smaller PAs, while protecting these bird species. Nonetheless, Cerrado PAs are mostly misallocated. We suggest six priority areas for conservation of Neotropical birds. Finally, we highlight the importance of indigenous lands in the conservation of Neotropical biodiversity, and recommend the development of community management plans to conserve the biological resources of the region.

Plant composition in oak savanna and woodland restoration at Prairie Fork Conservation Area in Missouri

Treesearch

Nadia E. Navarrete-Tindall; J.W. Van Sambeek; Jamie Coe; Warren Taylor

2007-01-01

The wooded areas of the Prairie Fork Conservation Area in central Missouri are typical of the oak/hickory forest/prairie transition zone that will require active management to restore pre-settlement, grass dominated savannas and open woodlands to improve habitat for wildlife. We initiated a management program to restore savannas and woodlands by reducing the midstory (...

Dynamic conservation of forest genetic resources in 33 European countries.

PubMed

Lefèvre, François; Koskela, Jarkko; Hubert, Jason; Kraigher, Hojka; Longauer, Roman; Olrik, Ditte C; Schüler, Silvio; Bozzano, Michele; Alizoti, Paraskevi; Bakys, Remigijus; Baldwin, Cathleen; Ballian, Dalibor; Black-Samuelsson, Sanna; Bednarova, Dagmar; Bordács, Sándor; Collin, Eric; de Cuyper, Bart; de Vries, Sven M G; Eysteinsson, Thröstur; Frýdl, Josef; Haverkamp, Michaela; Ivankovic, Mladen; Konrad, Heino; Koziol, Czesław; Maaten, Tiit; Notivol Paino, Eduardo; Oztürk, Hikmet; Pandeva, Ivanova Denitsa; Parnuta, Gheorghe; Pilipovič, Andrej; Postolache, Dragos; Ryan, Cathal; Steffenrem, Arne; Varela, Maria Carolina; Vessella, Federico; Volosyanchuk, Roman T; Westergren, Marjana; Wolter, Frank; Yrjänä, Leena; Zariŋa, Inga

2013-04-01

Dynamic conservation of forest genetic resources (FGR) means maintaining the genetic diversity of trees within an evolutionary process and allowing generation turnover in the forest. We assessed the network of forests areas managed for the dynamic conservation of FGR (conservation units) across Europe (33 countries). On the basis of information available in the European Information System on FGR (EUFGIS Portal), species distribution maps, and environmental stratification of the continent, we developed ecogeographic indicators, a marginality index, and demographic indicators to assess and monitor forest conservation efforts. The pan-European network has 1967 conservation units, 2737 populations of target trees, and 86 species of target trees. We detected a poor coincidence between FGR conservation and other biodiversity conservation objectives within this network. We identified 2 complementary strategies: a species-oriented strategy in which national conservation networks are specifically designed for key target species and a site-oriented strategy in which multiple-target units include so-called secondary species conserved within a few sites. The network is highly unbalanced in terms of species representation, and 7 key target species are conserved in 60% of the conservation units. We performed specific gap analyses for 11 tree species, including assessment of ecogeographic, demographic, and genetic criteria. For each species, we identified gaps, particularly in the marginal parts of their distribution range, and found multiple redundant conservation units in other areas. The Mediterranean forests and to a lesser extent the boreal forests are underrepresented. Monitoring the conservation efficiency of each unit remains challenging; however, <2% of the conserved populations seem to be at risk of extinction. On the basis of our results, we recommend combining species-oriented and site-oriented strategies. © 2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

Use of a Drosophila Genome-Wide Conserved Sequence Database to Identify Functionally Related cis-Regulatory Enhancers

PubMed Central

Brody, Thomas; Yavatkar, Amarendra S; Kuzin, Alexander; Kundu, Mukta; Tyson, Leonard J; Ross, Jermaine; Lin, Tzu-Yang; Lee, Chi-Hon; Awasaki, Takeshi; Lee, Tzumin; Odenwald, Ward F

2012-01-01

Background: Phylogenetic footprinting has revealed that cis-regulatory enhancers consist of conserved DNA sequence clusters (CSCs). Currently, there is no systematic approach for enhancer discovery and analysis that takes full-advantage of the sequence information within enhancer CSCs. Results: We have generated a Drosophila genome-wide database of conserved DNA consisting of >100,000 CSCs derived from EvoPrints spanning over 90% of the genome. cis-Decoder database search and alignment algorithms enable the discovery of functionally related enhancers. The program first identifies conserved repeat elements within an input enhancer and then searches the database for CSCs that score highly against the input CSC. Scoring is based on shared repeats as well as uniquely shared matches, and includes measures of the balance of shared elements, a diagnostic that has proven to be useful in predicting cis-regulatory function. To demonstrate the utility of these tools, a temporally-restricted CNS neuroblast enhancer was used to identify other functionally related enhancers and analyze their structural organization. Conclusions: cis-Decoder reveals that co-regulating enhancers consist of combinations of overlapping shared sequence elements, providing insights into the mode of integration of multiple regulating transcription factors. The database and accompanying algorithms should prove useful in the discovery and analysis of enhancers involved in any developmental process. Developmental Dynamics 241:169–189, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Key findings A genome-wide catalog of Drosophila conserved DNA sequence clusters. cis-Decoder discovers functionally related enhancers. Functionally related enhancers share balanced sequence element copy numbers. Many enhancers function during multiple phases of development. PMID:22174086

Integrating environmental gap analysis with spatial conservation prioritization: a case study from Victoria, Australia.

PubMed

Sharafi, Seyedeh Mahdieh; Moilanen, Atte; White, Matt; Burgman, Mark

2012-12-15

Gap analysis is used to analyse reserve networks and their coverage of biodiversity, thus identifying gaps in biodiversity representation that may be filled by additional conservation measures. Gap analysis has been used to identify priorities for species and habitat types. When it is applied to identify gaps in the coverage of environmental variables, it embodies the assumption that combinations of environmental variables are effective surrogates for biodiversity attributes. The question remains of how to fill gaps in conservation systems efficiently. Conservation prioritization software can identify those areas outside existing conservation areas that contribute to the efficient covering of gaps in biodiversity features. We show how environmental gap analysis can be implemented using high-resolution information about environmental variables and ecosystem condition with the publicly available conservation prioritization software, Zonation. Our method is based on the conversion of combinations of environmental variables into biodiversity features. We also replicated the analysis by using Species Distribution Models (SDMs) as biodiversity features to evaluate the robustness and utility of our environment-based analysis. We apply the technique to a planning case study of the state of Victoria, Australia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Domestic Dogs in Rural Communities around Protected Areas: Conservation Problem or Conflict Solution?

PubMed Central

Sepúlveda, Maximiliano A.; Singer, Randall S.; Silva-Rodríguez, Eduardo; Stowhas, Paulina; Pelican, Katharine

2014-01-01

Although domestic dogs play many important roles in rural households, they can also be an important threat to the conservation of wild vertebrates due to predation, competition and transmission of infectious diseases. An increasing number of studies have addressed the impact of dogs on wildlife but have tended to ignore the motivations and attitudes of the humans who keep these dogs and how the function of dogs might influence dog-wildlife interactions. To determine whether the function of domestic dogs in rural communities influences their interactions with wildlife, we conducted surveys in rural areas surrounding protected lands in the Valdivian Temperate Forests of Chile. Sixty percent of farm animal owners reported the use of dogs as one of the primary means of protecting livestock from predators. The probability of dog–wild carnivore interactions was significantly associated with the raising of poultry. In contrast, dog–wild prey interactions were not associated with livestock presence but had a significant association with poor quality diet as observed in previous studies. Dog owners reported that they actively encouraged the dogs to chase off predators, accounting for 25–75% of the dog–wild carnivore interactions observed, depending on the predator species. Humans controlled the dog population by killing pups and unwanted individuals resulting in few additions to the dog population through breeding; the importation of predominantly male dogs from urban areas resulted in a sex ratios highly dominated by males. These results indicate that dog interactions with wildlife are related to the role of the dog in the household and are directly influenced by their owners. To avoid conflict with local communities in conservation areas, it is important to develop strategies for managing dogs that balance conservation needs with the roles that dogs play in these rural households. PMID:24465930

Domestic dogs in rural communities around protected areas: conservation problem or conflict solution?

PubMed

Sepúlveda, Maximiliano A; Singer, Randall S; Silva-Rodríguez, Eduardo; Stowhas, Paulina; Pelican, Katharine

2014-01-01

Although domestic dogs play many important roles in rural households, they can also be an important threat to the conservation of wild vertebrates due to predation, competition and transmission of infectious diseases. An increasing number of studies have addressed the impact of dogs on wildlife but have tended to ignore the motivations and attitudes of the humans who keep these dogs and how the function of dogs might influence dog-wildlife interactions. To determine whether the function of domestic dogs in rural communities influences their interactions with wildlife, we conducted surveys in rural areas surrounding protected lands in the Valdivian Temperate Forests of Chile. Sixty percent of farm animal owners reported the use of dogs as one of the primary means of protecting livestock from predators. The probability of dog-wild carnivore interactions was significantly associated with the raising of poultry. In contrast, dog-wild prey interactions were not associated with livestock presence but had a significant association with poor quality diet as observed in previous studies. Dog owners reported that they actively encouraged the dogs to chase off predators, accounting for 25-75% of the dog-wild carnivore interactions observed, depending on the predator species. Humans controlled the dog population by killing pups and unwanted individuals resulting in few additions to the dog population through breeding; the importation of predominantly male dogs from urban areas resulted in a sex ratios highly dominated by males. These results indicate that dog interactions with wildlife are related to the role of the dog in the household and are directly influenced by their owners. To avoid conflict with local communities in conservation areas, it is important to develop strategies for managing dogs that balance conservation needs with the roles that dogs play in these rural households.

Setting priorities for private land conservation in fire-prone landscapes: Are fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation competing or compatible objectives?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Syphard, Alexandra D.; Butsic, Van; Bar-Massada, Avi; Keeley, Jon E.; Tracey, Jeff A.; Fisher, Robert N.

2016-01-01

Although wildfire plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity in many ecosystems, fire management to protect human assets is often carried out by different agencies than those tasked for conserving biodiversity. In fact, fire risk reduction and biodiversity conservation are often viewed as competing objectives. Here we explored the role of management through private land conservation and asked whether we could identify private land acquisition strategies that fulfill the mutual objectives of biodiversity conservation and fire risk reduction, or whether the maximization of one objective comes at a detriment to the other. Using a fixed budget and number of homes slated for development, we simulated 20 years of housing growth under alternative conservation selection strategies, and then projected the mean risk of fires destroying structures and the area and configuration of important habitat types in San Diego County, California, USA. We found clear differences in both fire risk projections and biodiversity impacts based on the way conservation lands are prioritized for selection, but these differences were split between two distinct groupings. If no conservation lands were purchased, or if purchases were prioritized based on cost or likelihood of development, both the projected fire risk and biodiversity impacts were much higher than if conservation lands were purchased in areas with high fire hazard or high species richness. Thus, conserving land focused on either of the two objectives resulted in nearly equivalent mutual benefits for both. These benefits not only resulted from preventing development in sensitive areas, but they were also due to the different housing patterns and arrangements that occurred as development was displaced from those areas. Although biodiversity conflicts may still arise using other fire management strategies, this study shows that mutual objectives can be attained through land-use planning in this region. These results likely

Improving effectiveness of systematic conservation planning with density data.

PubMed

Veloz, Samuel; Salas, Leonardo; Altman, Bob; Alexander, John; Jongsomjit, Dennis; Elliott, Nathan; Ballard, Grant

2015-08-01

Systematic conservation planning aims to design networks of protected areas that meet conservation goals across large landscapes. The optimal design of these conservation networks is most frequently based on the modeled habitat suitability or probability of occurrence of species, despite evidence that model predictions may not be highly correlated with species density. We hypothesized that conservation networks designed using species density distributions more efficiently conserve populations of all species considered than networks designed using probability of occurrence models. To test this hypothesis, we used the Zonation conservation prioritization algorithm to evaluate conservation network designs based on probability of occurrence versus density models for 26 land bird species in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. We assessed the efficacy of each conservation network based on predicted species densities and predicted species diversity. High-density model Zonation rankings protected more individuals per species when networks protected the highest priority 10-40% of the landscape. Compared with density-based models, the occurrence-based models protected more individuals in the lowest 50% priority areas of the landscape. The 2 approaches conserved species diversity in similar ways: predicted diversity was higher in higher priority locations in both conservation networks. We conclude that both density and probability of occurrence models can be useful for setting conservation priorities but that density-based models are best suited for identifying the highest priority areas. Developing methods to aggregate species count data from unrelated monitoring efforts and making these data widely available through ecoinformatics portals such as the Avian Knowledge Network will enable species count data to be more widely incorporated into systematic conservation planning efforts. © 2015, Society for Conservation Biology.

Prioritising in situ conservation of crop resources: A case study of African cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)

PubMed Central

Moray, C.; Game, E. T.; Maxted, N.

2014-01-01

Conserving crop wild relatives (CWR) is critical for maintaining food security. However, CWR-focused conservation plans are lacking, and are often based on the entire genus, even though only a few taxa are useful for crop improvement. We used taxonomic and geographic prioritisation to identify the best locations for in situ conservation of the most important (priority) CWR, using African cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) as a case study. Cowpea is an important crop for subsistence farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, yet its CWR are under-collected, under-conserved and under-utilised in breeding. We identified the most efficient sites to focus in situ cowpea CWR conservation and assessed whether priority CWR would be adequately represented in a genus-based conservation plan. We also investigated whether priority cowpea CWR are likely to be found in existing conservation areas and in areas important for mammal conservation. The genus-based method captured most priority CWR, and the distributions of many priority CWR overlapped with established conservation reserves and targets. These results suggest that priority cowpea CWR can be conserved by building on conservation initiatives established for other species. PMID:24936740

Prioritising in situ conservation of crop resources: a case study of African cowpea (Vigna unguiculata).

PubMed

Moray, C; Game, E T; Maxted, N

2014-06-17

Conserving crop wild relatives (CWR) is critical for maintaining food security. However, CWR-focused conservation plans are lacking, and are often based on the entire genus, even though only a few taxa are useful for crop improvement. We used taxonomic and geographic prioritisation to identify the best locations for in situ conservation of the most important (priority) CWR, using African cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) as a case study. Cowpea is an important crop for subsistence farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, yet its CWR are under-collected, under-conserved and under-utilised in breeding. We identified the most efficient sites to focus in situ cowpea CWR conservation and assessed whether priority CWR would be adequately represented in a genus-based conservation plan. We also investigated whether priority cowpea CWR are likely to be found in existing conservation areas and in areas important for mammal conservation. The genus-based method captured most priority CWR, and the distributions of many priority CWR overlapped with established conservation reserves and targets. These results suggest that priority cowpea CWR can be conserved by building on conservation initiatives established for other species.

Identifying keystone habitats with a mosaic approach can improve biodiversity conservation in disturbed ecosystems.

PubMed

Hitchman, Sean M; Mather, Martha E; Smith, Joseph M; Fencl, Jane S

2018-01-01

Conserving native biodiversity in the face of human- and climate-related impacts is a challenging and globally important ecological problem that requires an understanding of spatially connected, organismal-habitat relationships. Globally, a suite of disturbances (e.g., agriculture, urbanization, climate change) degrades habitats and threatens biodiversity. A mosaic approach (in which connected, interacting collections of juxtaposed habitat patches are examined) provides a scientific foundation for addressing many disturbance-related, ecologically based conservation problems. For example, if specific habitat types disproportionately increase biodiversity, these keystones should be incorporated into research and management plans. Our sampling of fish biodiversity and aquatic habitat along ten 3-km sites within the Upper Neosho River subdrainage, KS, from June-August 2013 yielded three generalizable ecological insights. First, specific types of mesohabitat patches (i.e., pool, riffle, run, and glide) were physically distinct and created unique mosaics of mesohabitats that varied across sites. Second, species richness was higher in riffle mesohabitats when mesohabitat size reflected field availability. Furthermore, habitat mosaics that included more riffles had greater habitat diversity and more fish species. Thus, riffles (<5% of sampled area) acted as keystone habitats. Third, additional conceptual development, which we initiate here, can broaden the identification of keystone habitats across ecosystems and further operationalize this concept for research and conservation. Thus, adopting a mosaic approach can increase scientific understanding of organismal-habitat relationships, maintain natural biodiversity, advance spatial ecology, and facilitate effective conservation of native biodiversity in human-altered ecosystems. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

78 FR 20942 - Niobrara Confluence and Ponca Bluffs Conservation Areas, NE and SD; Draft Environmental Impact...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-08

... that remains unchannelized, relatively free-flowing, and undeveloped. This area of the Missouri River's... resources to enhance conservation; enhance recreation; increase tourism; instill new money into local...

Prioritizing landscapes for longleaf pine conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Grand, James B.; Kleiner, Kevin J.

2016-01-01

We developed a spatially explicit model and map, as a decision support tool (DST), to aid conservation agencies creating or maintaining open pine ecosystems. The tool identified areas that are likely to provide the greatest benefit to focal bird populations based on a comprehensive landscape analysis. We used NLCD 2011, SSURGO, and SEGAP data to map the density of desired resources for open pine ecosystems and six focal species of birds and 2 reptiles within the historic range of longleaf pine east of the Mississippi River. Binary rasters were created of sites with desired characteristics such as land form, hydrology, land use and land cover, soils, potential habitat for focal species, and putative source populations of focal species. Each raster was smoothed using a kernel density estimator. Rasters were combined and scaled to map priority locations for the management of each focal species. Species’ rasters were combined and scaled to provide maps of overall priority for birds and for birds and reptiles. The spatial data can be used to identify high priority areas for conservation or to compare areas under consideration for maintenance or creation of open pine ecosystems.

Multiobjective hedging rules for flood water conservation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Wei; Zhang, Chi; Cai, Ximing; Li, Yu; Zhou, Huicheng

2017-03-01

Flood water conservation can be beneficial for water uses especially in areas with water stress but also can pose additional flood risk. The potential of flood water conservation is affected by many factors, especially decision makers' preference for water conservation and reservoir inflow forecast uncertainty. This paper discusses the individual and joint effects of these two factors on the trade-off between flood control and water conservation, using a multiobjective, two-stage reservoir optimal operation model. It is shown that hedging between current water conservation and future flood control exists only when forecast uncertainty or decision makers' preference is within a certain range, beyond which, hedging is trivial and the multiobjective optimization problem is reduced to a single objective problem with either flood control or water conservation. Different types of hedging rules are identified with different levels of flood water conservation preference, forecast uncertainties, acceptable flood risk, and reservoir storage capacity. Critical values of decision preference (represented by a weight) and inflow forecast uncertainty (represented by standard deviation) are identified. These inform reservoir managers with a feasible range of their preference to water conservation and thresholds of forecast uncertainty, specifying possible water conservation within the thresholds. The analysis also provides inputs for setting up an optimization model by providing the range of objective weights and the choice of hedging rule types. A case study is conducted to illustrate the concepts and analyses.

78 FR 21628 - Notice of Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council Meeting Cancellation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-11

... Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area Advisory Council Meeting Cancellation and Change of Location... Meeting Change of Location. SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA... Courthouse, Room 234, 501 Palmer Street, Delta, CO, has been cancelled. The location of a subsequent meeting...

50 CFR Table 24 to Part 679 - Except as Noted, Locations in the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area Open to Nonpelagic...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 13 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Except as Noted, Locations in the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area Open to Nonpelagic Trawl Fishing 24 Table 24 to Part 679... Table 24 to Part 679—Except as Noted, Locations in the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area Open...

Landscape Suitability in Botswana for the Conservation of Its Six Large African Carnivores

PubMed Central

Winterbach, Hanlie E. K.; Winterbach, Christiaan W.; Somers, Michael J.

2014-01-01

Wide-ranging large carnivores often range beyond the boundaries of protected areas into human-dominated areas. Mapping out potentially suitable habitats on a country-wide scale and identifying areas with potentially high levels of threats to large carnivore survival is necessary to develop national conservation action plans. We used a novel approach to map and identify these areas in Botswana for its large carnivore guild consisting of lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). The habitat suitability for large carnivores depends primarily on prey availability, interspecific competition, and conflict with humans. Prey availability is most likely the strongest natural determinant. We used the distribution of biomass of typical wild ungulate species occurring in Botswana which is preyed upon by the six large carnivores to evaluate the potential suitability of the different management zones in the country to sustain large carnivore populations. In areas where a high biomass of large prey species occurred, we assumed interspecific competition between dominant and subordinated competitors to be high. This reduced the suitability of these areas for conservation of subordinate competitors, and vice versa. We used the percentage of prey biomass of the total prey and livestock biomass to identify areas with potentially high levels of conflict in agricultural areas. High to medium biomass of large prey was mostly confined to conservation zones, while small prey biomass was more evenly spread across large parts of the country. This necessitates different conservation strategies for carnivores with a preference for large prey, and those that can persist in the agricultural areas. To ensure connectivity between populations inside Botswana and also with its neighbours, a number of critical areas for priority management actions exist in the

Landscape suitability in Botswana for the conservation of its six large African carnivores.

PubMed

Winterbach, Hanlie E K; Winterbach, Christiaan W; Somers, Michael J

2014-01-01

Wide-ranging large carnivores often range beyond the boundaries of protected areas into human-dominated areas. Mapping out potentially suitable habitats on a country-wide scale and identifying areas with potentially high levels of threats to large carnivore survival is necessary to develop national conservation action plans. We used a novel approach to map and identify these areas in Botswana for its large carnivore guild consisting of lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus), spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta), brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus). The habitat suitability for large carnivores depends primarily on prey availability, interspecific competition, and conflict with humans. Prey availability is most likely the strongest natural determinant. We used the distribution of biomass of typical wild ungulate species occurring in Botswana which is preyed upon by the six large carnivores to evaluate the potential suitability of the different management zones in the country to sustain large carnivore populations. In areas where a high biomass of large prey species occurred, we assumed interspecific competition between dominant and subordinated competitors to be high. This reduced the suitability of these areas for conservation of subordinate competitors, and vice versa. We used the percentage of prey biomass of the total prey and livestock biomass to identify areas with potentially high levels of conflict in agricultural areas. High to medium biomass of large prey was mostly confined to conservation zones, while small prey biomass was more evenly spread across large parts of the country. This necessitates different conservation strategies for carnivores with a preference for large prey, and those that can persist in the agricultural areas. To ensure connectivity between populations inside Botswana and also with its neighbours, a number of critical areas for priority management actions exist in the

Incorporating seascape connectivity in conservation prioritisation.

PubMed

Weeks, Rebecca

2017-01-01

In conservation prioritisation, it is often implicit that representation targets for individual habitat types act as surrogates for the species that inhabit them. Yet for many commercially and ecologically important coral reef fish species, connectivity among different habitats in a seascape may be more important than any single habitat alone. Approaches to conservation prioritisation that consider seascape connectivity are thus warranted. I demonstrate an approach that can be implemented within a relatively data-poor context, using widely available conservation planning software. Based on clearly stated assumptions regarding species' habitat usage and movement ability, this approach can be adapted to different focal species and contexts, or refined as further data become available. I first derive a seascape connectivity metric based on area-weighted proximity between juvenile and adult habitat patches, and then apply this during spatial prioritisation using the decision-support software Marxan. Using a case study from Micronesia, I present two applications: first, to inform prioritisation for a network of marine protected areas to achieve regional objectives for habitat representation; and second, to identify nursery habitat patches that are most likely to supply juveniles to adult populations on reefs within existing protected areas. Incorporating seascape connectivity in conservation prioritisation highlights areas where small marine protected areas placed on coral reefs might benefit from proximity to other habitats in the seascape, and thus be more effective. Within the context of community tenure over resources, identification of critical nursery habitats to improve the effectiveness of existing marine protected areas indicates where collaboration across community boundaries might be required. Outputs from these analyses are likely to be most useful in regions where management is highly decentralised, imposing spatial constraints on the size of individual

Incorporating seascape connectivity in conservation prioritisation

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

In conservation prioritisation, it is often implicit that representation targets for individual habitat types act as surrogates for the species that inhabit them. Yet for many commercially and ecologically important coral reef fish species, connectivity among different habitats in a seascape may be more important than any single habitat alone. Approaches to conservation prioritisation that consider seascape connectivity are thus warranted. I demonstrate an approach that can be implemented within a relatively data-poor context, using widely available conservation planning software. Based on clearly stated assumptions regarding species’ habitat usage and movement ability, this approach can be adapted to different focal species and contexts, or refined as further data become available. I first derive a seascape connectivity metric based on area-weighted proximity between juvenile and adult habitat patches, and then apply this during spatial prioritisation using the decision-support software Marxan. Using a case study from Micronesia, I present two applications: first, to inform prioritisation for a network of marine protected areas to achieve regional objectives for habitat representation; and second, to identify nursery habitat patches that are most likely to supply juveniles to adult populations on reefs within existing protected areas. Incorporating seascape connectivity in conservation prioritisation highlights areas where small marine protected areas placed on coral reefs might benefit from proximity to other habitats in the seascape, and thus be more effective. Within the context of community tenure over resources, identification of critical nursery habitats to improve the effectiveness of existing marine protected areas indicates where collaboration across community boundaries might be required. Outputs from these analyses are likely to be most useful in regions where management is highly decentralised, imposing spatial constraints on the size of individual

Stakeholder-led science: engaging resource managers to identify science needs for long-term management of floodplain conservation lands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bouska, Kristin L.; Lindner, Garth; Paukert, Craig P.; Jacobson, Robert B.

2016-01-01

Floodplains pose challenges to managers of conservation lands because of constantly changing interactions with their rivers. Although scientific knowledge and understanding of the dynamics and drivers of river-floodplain systems can provide guidance to floodplain managers, the scientific process often occurs in isolation from management. Further, communication barriers between scientists and managers can be obstacles to appropriate application of scientific knowledge. With the coproduction of science in mind, our objectives were the following: (1) to document management priorities of floodplain conservation lands, and (2) identify science needs required to better manage the identified management priorities under nonstationary conditions, i.e., climate change, through stakeholder queries and interactions. We conducted an online survey with 80 resource managers of floodplain conservation lands along the Upper and Middle Mississippi River and Lower Missouri River, USA, to evaluate management priority, management intensity, and available scientific information for management objectives and conservation targets. Management objectives with the least information available relative to priority included controlling invasive species, maintaining respectful relationships with neighbors, and managing native, nongame species. Conservation targets with the least information available to manage relative to management priority included pollinators, marsh birds, reptiles, and shore birds. A follow-up workshop and survey focused on clarifying science needs to achieve management objectives under nonstationary conditions. Managers agreed that metrics of inundation, including depth and extent of inundation, and frequency, duration, and timing of inundation would be the most useful metrics for management of floodplain conservation lands with multiple objectives. This assessment provides guidance for developing relevant and accessible science products to inform management of highly

50 CFR Table 24 to Part 679 - Except as Noted, Locations in the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area Open to Nonpelagic...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Except as Noted, Locations in the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area Open to Nonpelagic Trawl Fishing 24 Table 24 to Part 679 Wildlife and... 24 to Part 679—Except as Noted, Locations in the Aleutian Islands Habitat Conservation Area Open to...

Current models broadly neglect specific needs of biodiversity conservation in protected areas under climate change

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Protected areas are the most common and important instrument for the conservation of biological diversity and are called for under the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity. Growing human population densities, intensified land-use, invasive species and increasing habitat fragmentation threaten ecosystems worldwide and protected areas are often the only refuge for endangered species. Climate change is posing an additional threat that may also impact ecosystems currently under protection. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to include the potential impact of climate change when designing future nature conservation strategies and implementing protected area management. This approach would go beyond reactive crisis management and, by necessity, would include anticipatory risk assessments. One avenue for doing so is being provided by simulation models that take advantage of the increase in computing capacity and performance that has occurred over the last two decades. Here we review the literature to determine the state-of-the-art in modeling terrestrial protected areas under climate change, with the aim of evaluating and detecting trends and gaps in the current approaches being employed, as well as to provide a useful overview and guidelines for future research. Results Most studies apply statistical, bioclimatic envelope models and focus primarily on plant species as compared to other taxa. Very few studies utilize a mechanistic, process-based approach and none examine biotic interactions like predation and competition. Important factors like land-use, habitat fragmentation, invasion and dispersal are rarely incorporated, restricting the informative value of the resulting predictions considerably. Conclusion The general impression that emerges is that biodiversity conservation in protected areas could benefit from the application of modern modeling approaches to a greater extent than is currently reflected in the scientific literature. It is

Current models broadly neglect specific needs of biodiversity conservation in protected areas under climate change.

PubMed

Sieck, Mungla; Ibisch, Pierre L; Moloney, Kirk A; Jeltsch, Florian

2011-05-03

Protected areas are the most common and important instrument for the conservation of biological diversity and are called for under the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity. Growing human population densities, intensified land-use, invasive species and increasing habitat fragmentation threaten ecosystems worldwide and protected areas are often the only refuge for endangered species. Climate change is posing an additional threat that may also impact ecosystems currently under protection. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to include the potential impact of climate change when designing future nature conservation strategies and implementing protected area management. This approach would go beyond reactive crisis management and, by necessity, would include anticipatory risk assessments. One avenue for doing so is being provided by simulation models that take advantage of the increase in computing capacity and performance that has occurred over the last two decades.Here we review the literature to determine the state-of-the-art in modeling terrestrial protected areas under climate change, with the aim of evaluating and detecting trends and gaps in the current approaches being employed, as well as to provide a useful overview and guidelines for future research. Most studies apply statistical, bioclimatic envelope models and focus primarily on plant species as compared to other taxa. Very few studies utilize a mechanistic, process-based approach and none examine biotic interactions like predation and competition. Important factors like land-use, habitat fragmentation, invasion and dispersal are rarely incorporated, restricting the informative value of the resulting predictions considerably. The general impression that emerges is that biodiversity conservation in protected areas could benefit from the application of modern modeling approaches to a greater extent than is currently reflected in the scientific literature. It is particularly true that

Protected Areas: Mixed Success in Conserving East Africa’s Evergreen Forests

PubMed Central

Pfeifer, Marion; Burgess, Neil D.; Swetnam, Ruth D.; Platts, Philip J.; Willcock, Simon; Marchant, Robert

2012-01-01

In East Africa, human population growth and demands for natural resources cause forest loss contributing to increased carbon emissions and reduced biodiversity. Protected Areas (PAs) are intended to conserve habitats and species. Variability in PA effectiveness and ‘leakage’ (here defined as displacement of deforestation) may lead to different trends in forest loss within, and adjacent to, existing PAs. Here, we quantify spatial variation in trends of evergreen forest coverage in East Africa between 2001 and 2009, and test for correlations with forest accessibility and environmental drivers. We investigate PA effectiveness at local, landscape and national scales, comparing rates of deforestation within park boundaries with those detected in park buffer zones and in unprotected land more generally. Background forest loss (BFL) was estimated at −9.3% (17,167 km2), but varied between countries (range: −0.9% to −85.7%; note: no BFL in South Sudan). We document high variability in PA effectiveness within and between PA categories. The most successful PAs were National Parks, although only 26 out of 48 parks increased or maintained their forest area (i.e. Effective parks). Forest Reserves (Ineffective parks, i.e. parks that lose forest from within boundaries: 204 out of 337), Nature Reserves (six out of 12) and Game Parks (24 out of 26) were more likely to lose forest cover. Forest loss in buffer zones around PAs exceeded background forest loss, in some areas indicating leakage driven by Effective National Parks. Human pressure, forest accessibility, protection status, distance to fires and long-term annual rainfall were highly significant drivers of forest loss in East Africa. Some of these factors can be addressed by adjusting park management. However, addressing close links between livelihoods, natural capital and poverty remains a fundamental challenge in East Africa’s forest conservation efforts. PMID:22768074

Functionally conserved cis-regulatory elements of COL18A1 identified through zebrafish transgenesis.

PubMed

Kague, Erika; Bessling, Seneca L; Lee, Josephine; Hu, Gui; Passos-Bueno, Maria Rita; Fisher, Shannon

2010-01-15

Type XVIII collagen is a component of basement membranes, and expressed prominently in the eye, blood vessels, liver, and the central nervous system. Homozygous mutations in COL18A1 lead to Knobloch Syndrome, characterized by ocular defects and occipital encephalocele. However, relatively little has been described on the role of type XVIII collagen in development, and nothing is known about the regulation of its tissue-specific expression pattern. We have used zebrafish transgenesis to identify and characterize cis-regulatory sequences controlling expression of the human gene. Candidate enhancers were selected from non-coding sequence associated with COL18A1 based on sequence conservation among mammals. Although these displayed no overt conservation with orthologous zebrafish sequences, four regions nonetheless acted as tissue-specific transcriptional enhancers in the zebrafish embryo, and together recapitulated the major aspects of col18a1 expression. Additional post-hoc computational analysis on positive enhancer sequences revealed alignments between mammalian and teleost sequences, which we hypothesize predict the corresponding zebrafish enhancers; for one of these, we demonstrate functional overlap with the orthologous human enhancer sequence. Our results provide important insight into the biological function and regulation of COL18A1, and point to additional sequences that may contribute to complex diseases involving COL18A1. More generally, we show that combining functional data with targeted analyses for phylogenetic conservation can reveal conserved cis-regulatory elements in the large number of cases where computational alignment alone falls short. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying areas at risk of low birth weight using spatial epidemiology: A small area surveillance study.

PubMed

Insaf, Tabassum Z; Talbot, Thomas

2016-07-01

To assess the geographic distribution of Low Birth Weight (LBW) in New York State among singleton births using a spatial regression approach in order to identify priority areas for public health actions. LBW was defined as birth weight less than 2500g. Geocoded data from 562,586 birth certificates in New York State (years 2008-2012) were merged with 2010 census data at the tract level. To provide stable estimates and maintain confidentiality, data were aggregated to yield 1268 areas of analysis. LBW prevalence among singleton births was related with area-level behavioral, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics using a Poisson mixed effects spatial error regression model. Observed low birth weight showed statistically significant auto-correlation in our study area (Moran's I 0.16 p value 0.0005). After over-dispersion correction and accounting for fixed effects for selected social determinants, spatial autocorrelation was fully accounted for (Moran's I-0.007 p value 0.241). The proportion of LBW was higher in areas with larger Hispanic or Black populations and high smoking prevalence. Smoothed maps with predicted prevalence were developed to identify areas at high risk of LBW. Spatial patterns of residual variation were analyzed to identify unique risk factors. Neighborhood racial composition contributes to disparities in LBW prevalence beyond differences in behavioral and socioeconomic factors. Small-area analyses of LBW can identify areas for targeted interventions and display unique local patterns that should be accounted for in prevention strategies. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Range-wide connectivity of priority areas for Greater Sage-Grouse: Implications for long-term conservation from graph theory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crist, Michele R.; Knick, Steven T.; Hanser, Steven E.

2017-01-01

The delineation of priority areas in western North America for managing Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) represents a broad-scale experiment in conservation biology. The strategy of limiting spatial disturbance and focusing conservation actions within delineated areas may benefit the greatest proportion of Greater Sage-Grouse. However, land use under normal restrictions outside priority areas potentially limits dispersal and gene flow, which can isolate priority areas and lead to spatially disjunct populations. We used graph theory, representing priority areas as spatially distributed nodes interconnected by movement corridors, to understand the capacity of priority areas to function as connected networks in the Bi-State, Central, and Washington regions of the Greater Sage-Grouse range. The Bi-State and Central networks were highly centralized; the dominant pathways and shortest linkages primarily connected a small number of large and centrally located priority areas. These priority areas are likely strongholds for Greater Sage-Grouse populations and might also function as refugia and sources. Priority areas in the Central network were more connected than those in the Bi-State and Washington networks. Almost 90% of the priority areas in the Central network had ≥2 pathways to other priority areas when movement through the landscape was set at an upper threshold (effective resistance, ER12). At a lower threshold (ER4), 83 of 123 priority areas in the Central network were clustered in 9 interconnected subgroups. The current conservation strategy has risks; 45 of 61 priority areas in the Bi-State network, 68 of 123 in the Central network, and all 4 priority areas in the Washington network had ≤1 connection to another priority area at the lower ER4threshold. Priority areas with few linkages also averaged greater environmental resistance to movement along connecting pathways. Without maintaining corridors to larger priority areas or a clustered group

The role of macroinvertebrates for conservation of freshwater systems.

PubMed

Nieto, Carolina; Ovando, Ximena M C; Loyola, Rafael; Izquierdo, Andrea; Romero, Fátima; Molineri, Carlos; Rodríguez, José; Rueda Martín, Paola; Fernández, Hugo; Manzo, Verónica; Miranda, María José

2017-07-01

Freshwater ecosystems are the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. Argentinian-protected areas have been established mainly to protect vertebrates and plants in terrestrial ecosystems. In order to create a comprehensive biodiverse conservation plan, it is crucial to integrate both aquatic and terrestrial systems and to include macroinvertebrates. Here, we address this topic by proposing priority areas of conservation including invertebrates, aquatic ecosystems, and their connectivity and land uses. Northwest of Argentina. We modeled the ecological niches of different taxa of macroinvertebrates such as Coleoptera, Ephemeroptera, Hemiptera, Megaloptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Acari, and Mollusca. Based on these models, we analyzed the contribution of currently established protected areas in the conservation of the aquatic biodiversity and we propose a spatial prioritization taking into account possible conflict regarding different land uses. Our analysis units were the real watersheds, to which were added longitudinal connectivity up and down the rivers. A total of 132 species were modeled in the priority area analyses. The analysis 1 showed that only an insignificant percentage of the macroinvertebrates distribution is within the protected areas in the North West of Argentina. The analyses 2 and 3 recovered similar values of protection for the macroinvertebrate species. The upper part of Bermejo, Salí-Dulce, San Francisco, and the Upper part of Juramento basins were identified as priority areas of conservation. The aquatic ecosystems need special protection and 10% or even as much as 17% of land conservation is insufficient for species of macroinvertebrates. In turn the protected areas need to combine the aquatic and terrestrial systems and need to include macroinvertebrates as a key group to sustain the biodiversity. In many cases, the land uses are in conflict with the conservation of biodiversity; however, it is possible to apply the

A systematic review of motivational values and conservation success in and around protected areas.

PubMed

Cetas, Elijah R; Yasué, Maï

2017-02-01

In conservation projects in and around protected areas (PAs), a suite of policy instruments are used to promote conservation behavior in local people. Few studies have related psychological research on motivational values to conservation in PAs. We conducted a systematic review of 120 peer-reviewed articles to assess the relative frequencies of policy instruments that aimed to foster intrinsic versus extrinsic motivations to conserve. We examined how the type of motivation engendered by the instrument (i.e., intrinsic or extrinsic motivation and based on the description of how the project was designed and implemented) influenced the ecological, economic, and social success of the project. We assessed the success of the project in only the case studies that included a quantitative or qualitative analysis of success. Projects designed to foster at least one intrinsically motivating instrument were 3 times more likely to meet socioeconomic or ecological goals. Although certain types of instruments such as payments or fines tended to be based on extrinsic motivators more often than education or monitoring programs, several successful projects involving payments or fines were linked to intrinsic motivation in the local community. Thus, our results suggest that rather than debating the relative merits of specific types of policy instruments, conservationists may have more success by focusing on how different motivators, suited to specific contexts, can better empower local communities to conserve. Broadly, our results suggest the current emphasis on social justice and well-being of local communities is a positive step toward protecting the world's remaining biodiversity. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

[Heavy metals in environmental media around drinking water conservation area of Shanghai].

PubMed

Shi, Gui-Tao; Chen, Zhen-Lou; Zhang, Cui; Bi, Chun-Juan; Cheng, Chen; Teng, Ji-Yan; Shen, Jun; Wang, Dong-Qi; Xu, Shi-Yuan

2008-07-01

The levels of heavy metals in Shanghai drinking water conservation area were determined, and the spatial distributions and main sources of heavy metals were investigated. Moreover, the ecological risk assessment of heavy metals was conducted. Some conclusions can be drawn as follows: (1) The average concentrations of Cd, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr and As in road dust were 0.80, 0.23, 148.45, 127.52, 380.57, 63.17, 250.38 and 10.37 mg x kg(-1) respectively. In terms of the pollution level, the values of soils were relatively lower, with the mean contents of 0.16 (Cd), 0.33 (Hg), 30.14 (Pb), 30.66 (Cu), 103.79 (Zn), 24.04 (Ni), 65.75 (Cr) and 6.31 mg x kg(-1) (As) severally; meanwhile the average levels of heavy metals in vegetables were 0.010 (Cd), 0.016 (Hg), 0.36 (Pb), 12.80 (Cu), 61.69 (Zn), 2.04 (Ni), 2.41 (Cr) and 0.039 mg x kg(-1) (As) respectively. (2) Semivariogram and multivariate analysis indicated that heavy metals pollution of soils was induced by anthropogenic activities mostly, and the pollutants produced by traffic were the major source of heavy metals in road dust. (3) The order for heavy metal enrichment coefficients of vegetables was as following: Zn (0.589) > Cu (0.412) > 0.102 (Ni) > Cd (0.059) > Cr (0.061) > Hg (0.056) > Pb (0.012) > As (0.007), and the results indicated that Cd and Zn in vegetables were mainly from the soils, and the other metals were probably from the pollutants in the atmosphere. (4) Sediments in drinking water conservation area were probably derived from soils around; however, there was no significant relationship between heavy metals contents of them. (5) The results of ecological risk assessment of heavy metals showed that heavy metals in soils were in no-warning to warning situation, and warning to light-warning situation for road dust and vegetables. The fuzzy synthesis judgment for all the environmental media around drinking water conservation area was warning to light-warning.

[Identification of marine and coastal biodiversity conservation priorities in Costa Rica].

PubMed

Alvarado, Juan José; Herrera, Bernal; Corrales, Lenin; Asch, Jenny; Paaby, Pía

2011-06-01

Costa Rica is recognized as one of the most diverse countries in species and ecosystems, in their terrestrial realm as well as in the marine. Besides this relevance, the country presents a delay on conservation and management of marine and coastal biodiversity, with respect to terrestrial. For 2006, the marine protected surface was 5,208.8 km2, with 331.5 km of coastline, in 20 protected areas. The country has made progress on the conservation priority sites identification for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity, with few efforts on marine planning. This research presents the analysis and results of the gap identification process, for marine and coastal biodiversity conservation in the protected areas system of Costa Rica. The analysis was built with the spatial information available on the presence and distribution of coastal and marine biodiversity, the establishment of the conservation goals and a threat analysis over the ecological integrity of this biodiversity. The selection of high-priority sites was carried out using spatial optimization techniques and the superposition over the current shape of marine protected areas, in order to identify representation gaps. A total of 19,076 km2 of conservation gaps were indentified, with 1,323 km2 in the Caribbean and 17,753 km2 in the Pacific. Recommendations are aimed at planning and strengthening the marine protected areas system, using the gaps identified as a framework. It is expected that the results of this study would be the scientific base needed for planning and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in the country.

Conservation of North American rallids

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eddleman, William R.; Knopf, Fritz L.; Manley, Brooke; Reid, Frederic A.; Zembal, Richard

1988-01-01

taxa in western coastal marshes. This report updates and summarizes information on North American rallids since the ARP report and identifies the major conservation problems of this group with the intent of focusing future efforts on these priority issues. Consideration of island forms occurring within U.S. possessions is beyond the scope of this report, mainly because of the special conservation problems associated with their insular distribution. The major topics include habitat requirements, effects of habitat and hunting management techniques currently practiced on wetland areas, and conservation of endangered and threatened populations. Research needs are identified. Habitats of the American Coot are similar to those of several waterfowl species, and the biology of coots is considered only as it is typical of rails in general.

Integrated Migratory Bird Planning in the Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain Bird Conservation Region

Treesearch

Chuck Hayes; Andrew Milliken; Randy Dettmers; Kevin Loftus; Brigitte Collins; Isabelle Ringuet

2005-01-01

The Atlantic Coast and Eastern Habitat Joint Ventures hosted two international planning workshops to begin the process of integrating bird conservation strategies under the North American Bird Conservation Initiative in the Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain Bird Conservation Region. The workshops identified priority species and habitats, delineated focus areas,...

Conservative Management of Urinary Incontinence in Women

PubMed Central

Faiena, Izak; Patel, Neal; Parihar, Jaspreet S; Calabrese, Marc; Tunuguntla, Hari

2015-01-01

Urinary incontinence in women has a high prevalence and causes significant morbidity. Given that urinary incontinence is not generally a progressive disease, conservative therapies play an integral part in the management of these patients. We conducted a nonsystematic review of the literature to identify high-quality studies that evaluated the different components of conservative management of stress urinary incontinence, including behavioral therapy, bladder training, pelvic floor muscle training, lifestyle changes, mechanical devices, vaginal cones, and electrical stimulation. Urinary incontinence can have a severe impact on our healthcare system and patients’ quality of life. There are currently a wide variety of treatment options for these patients, ranging from conservative treatment to surgical treatment. Although further research is required in the area of conservative therapies, nonsurgical treatments are effective and are preferred by some patients. PMID:26543427

Suggestions for Forest Conservation Policy under Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choe, H.; Thorne, J. H.; Lee, D. K.; Seo, C.

2015-12-01

Climate change and the destruction of natural habitats by land-use change are two main factors in decreasing terrestrial biodiversity. Studying land-use and climate change and their impact under different scenarios can help suggest policy directions for future events. This study explores the spatial results of different land use and climate models on the extent of species rich areas in South Korea. We built land use models of forest conversion and created four 2050 scenarios: (1) a loss trend following current levels, resulting in 15.5% lost; (2) similar loss, but with forest conservation in areas with suitable future climates; (3) a reduction of forest loss by 50%; and (4) a combination of preservation of forest climate refugia and overall reduction of loss by 50%. Forest climate refugia were identified through the use of species distribution models run on 1,031 forest plant species to project current and 2050 distributions. We calculated change in species richness under four climate projections, permitting an assessment of forest refugia zones. We then crossed the four land use models with the climate-driven change in species richness. Forest areas predominantly convert to agricultural areas, while climate-suitable extents for forest plants decline and move northward, especially to higher elevations. Scenario 2, that has the higher level of deforestation but protects future species rich areas, conserves nearly as much future biodiversity as scenario 3, which reduced deforestation rates by 50%. This points to the importance of including biogeographic climate dynamics in forest policy. Scenario 4 was the most effective at conserving forest biodiversity. We suggest conserving forest areas with suitable climates for biodiversity conservation and the establishment of monoculture plantations targeted to areas where species richness will decline based on our results.

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

Where have all the people gone? Enhancing global conservation using night lights and social media.

PubMed

Levin, Noam; Kark, Salit; Crandall, David

2015-12-01

Conservation prioritization at large scales is complex, combining biological, environmental, and social factors. While conservation scientists now more often aim to incorporate human-related factors, a critical yet unquantified challenge remains: to identify which areas people use for recreation outside urban centers. To address this gap in applied ecology and conservation, we developed a novel approach for quantifying human presence beyond populated areas by combining social media "big data" and remote sensing tools. We used data from the Flickr photo-sharing website as a surrogate for identifying spatial variation in visitation globally, and complemented this estimate with spatially explicit information on stable night lights between 2004 and 2012, used as a proxy for identifying urban and industrial centers. Natural and seminatural areas attracting visitors were defined as areas both highly photographed and non-lit. The number of Flickr photographers within protected areas was found to be a reliable surrogate for estimating visitor numbers as confirmed by local authority censuses (r = 0.8). Half of all visitors' photos taken in protected areas originated from under 1% of all protected areas on Earth (250 of -27 000). The most photographed protected areas globally included Yosemite and Yellowstone National Parks (USA), and the Lake and Peak Districts (UK). Factors explaining the spatial variation in protected areas Flickr photo coverage included their type (e.g., UNESCO World Heritage sites have higher visitation) and accessibility to roads and trails. Using this approach, we identified photography hotspots, which draw many visitors and are also unlit (i.e., are located outside urban centers), but currently remain largely unprotected, such as Brazil's Pantanal and Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni. The integrated big data approach developed here demonstrates the benefits of combining remote sensing sources and novel geo-tagged and crowd-sourced information from social

Integrating habitat status, human population pressure, and protection status into biodiversity conservation priority setting

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shi, Hua; Singh, Ashbindu; Kant, S.; Zhu, Zhiliang; Waller, E.

2005-01-01

Priority setting is an essential component of biodiversity conservation. Existing methods to identify priority areas for conservation have focused almost entirely on biological factors. We suggest a new relative ranking method for identifying priority conservation areas that integrates both biological and social aspects. It is based on the following criteria: the habitat's status, human population pressure, human efforts to protect habitat, and number of endemic plant and vertebrate species. We used this method to rank 25 hotspots, 17 megadiverse countries, and the hotspots within each megadiverse country. We used consistent, comprehensive, georeferenced, and multiband data sets and analytical remote sensing and geographic information system tools to quantify habitat status, human population pressure, and protection status. The ranking suggests that the Philippines, Atlantic Forest, Mediterranean Basin, Caribbean Islands, Caucasus, and Indo-Burma are the hottest hotspots and that China, the Philippines, and India are the hottest megadiverse countries. The great variation in terms of habitat, protected areas, and population pressure among the hotspots, the megadiverse countries, and the hotspots within the same country suggests the need for hotspot- and country-specific conservation policies.

Spatio-temporal variations of conservation hotspots based on ecosystem services in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China.

PubMed

Liu, Shiliang; Yin, Yijie; Cheng, Fangyan; Hou, Xiaoyun; Dong, Shikui; Wu, Xue

2017-01-01

Integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) has been viewed as an appropriate approach to identifying conservation priorities. Taking Xishuangbanna tropical region in Southwest China, different BESs (habitat quality [used as a proxy for biodiversity], carbon storage, and water yield) were quantified using the InVEST model and conservation hotspots from 1976, 1990, and 2010 were identified by overlapping and ranking the service layers. Results showed that BESs areas were unevenly distributed. High habitat quality and carbon storage areas located in the eastern part of the region were mainly occupied by broad-leaved forest, while high water yield areas were covered by grassland and tropical forests. Recognized hotspots were primarily composed of the broad-leaved forest and shrub grassland. However, these habitat types declined by nearly 50% from 1.25×105 ha to 0.63×105 ha and became more fragmented during the study period. We also found that the sub-watersheds which decreased in BES had fewer hotspots distributed and suffered greater landscape fragmentation. Our study further explored the impacts of land-use conversion on BES, and illustrated the necessity and feasibility of BESs in identifying potential conservation areas.

Spatio-temporal variations of conservation hotspots based on ecosystem services in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China

PubMed Central

Liu, Shiliang; Yin, Yijie; Cheng, Fangyan; Hou, Xiaoyun; Dong, Shikui; Wu, Xue

2017-01-01

Integrating biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) has been viewed as an appropriate approach to identifying conservation priorities. Taking Xishuangbanna tropical region in Southwest China, different BESs (habitat quality [used as a proxy for biodiversity], carbon storage, and water yield) were quantified using the InVEST model and conservation hotspots from 1976, 1990, and 2010 were identified by overlapping and ranking the service layers. Results showed that BESs areas were unevenly distributed. High habitat quality and carbon storage areas located in the eastern part of the region were mainly occupied by broad-leaved forest, while high water yield areas were covered by grassland and tropical forests. Recognized hotspots were primarily composed of the broad-leaved forest and shrub grassland. However, these habitat types declined by nearly 50% from 1.25×105 ha to 0.63×105 ha and became more fragmented during the study period. We also found that the sub-watersheds which decreased in BES had fewer hotspots distributed and suffered greater landscape fragmentation. Our study further explored the impacts of land-use conversion on BES, and illustrated the necessity and feasibility of BESs in identifying potential conservation areas. PMID:29232370

Lariat sequencing in a unicellular yeast identifies regulated alternative splicing of exons that are evolutionarily conserved with humans.

PubMed

Awan, Ali R; Manfredo, Amanda; Pleiss, Jeffrey A

2013-07-30

Alternative splicing is a potent regulator of gene expression that vastly increases proteomic diversity in multicellular eukaryotes and is associated with organismal complexity. Although alternative splicing is widespread in vertebrates, little is known about the evolutionary origins of this process, in part because of the absence of phylogenetically conserved events that cross major eukaryotic clades. Here we describe a lariat-sequencing approach, which offers high sensitivity for detecting splicing events, and its application to the unicellular fungus, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, an organism that shares many of the hallmarks of alternative splicing in mammalian systems but for which no previous examples of exon-skipping had been demonstrated. Over 200 previously unannotated splicing events were identified, including examples of regulated alternative splicing. Remarkably, an evolutionary analysis of four of the exons identified here as subject to skipping in S. pombe reveals high sequence conservation and perfect length conservation with their homologs in scores of plants, animals, and fungi. Moreover, alternative splicing of two of these exons have been documented in multiple vertebrate organisms, making these the first demonstrations of identical alternative-splicing patterns in species that are separated by over 1 billion y of evolution.

Integrating economic costs and biological traits into global conservation priorities for carnivores.

PubMed

Loyola, Rafael Dias; Oliveira-Santos, Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues; Almeida-Neto, Mário; Nogueira, Denise Martins; Kubota, Umberto; Diniz-Filho, José Alexandre Felizola; Lewinsohn, Thomas Michael

2009-08-27

Prioritization schemes usually highlight species-rich areas, where many species are at imminent risk of extinction. To be ecologically relevant these schemes should also include species biological traits into area-setting methods. Furthermore, in a world of limited funds for conservation, conservation action is constrained by land acquisition costs. Hence, including economic costs into conservation priorities can substantially improve their conservation cost-effectiveness. We examined four global conservation scenarios for carnivores based on the joint mapping of economic costs and species biological traits. These scenarios identify the most cost-effective priority sets of ecoregions, indicating best investment opportunities for safeguarding every carnivore species, and also establish priority sets that can maximize species representation in areas harboring highly vulnerable species. We compared these results with a scenario that minimizes the total number of ecoregions required for conserving all species, irrespective of other factors. We found that cost-effective conservation investments should focus on 41 ecoregions highlighted in the scenario that consider simultaneously both ecoregion vulnerability and economic costs of land acquisition. Ecoregions included in priority sets under these criteria should yield best returns of investments since they harbor species with high extinction risk and have lower mean land cost. Our study highlights ecoregions of particular importance for the conservation of the world's carnivores defining global conservation priorities in analyses that encompass socioeconomic and life-history factors. We consider the identification of a comprehensive priority-set of areas as a first step towards an in-situ biodiversity maintenance strategy.