Abstract
AbstractMaking effective decisions in conservation requires a broad and robust evidence base describing the likely outcomes of potential actions to draw on. Such evidence is typically generated from experiments or trials that evaluate the effectiveness of actions, but for many actions evidence is missing or incomplete.We discuss how evidence can be generated by incorporating experiments into conservation practice. This is likely to be most efficient if opportunities for carrying out informative, well‐designed experiments are identified at an early stage during conservation management planning.We consider how to navigate a way between the stringent requirements of statistical textbooks and the complexities of carrying out ecological experiments in the real world by considering practical approaches to the key issues of replication, controls and randomization.We suggest that routinely sharing the results of experiments could increase both the value for money and effectiveness of conservation practice.We argue that with early planning and a small additional input of effort, important new learning can be gained during the implementation of many conservation actions.
Highlights
Despite an increasing appreciation of the importance of using evidence in conservation planning and policy, many actions lack a sufficient evidence base (Christie et al, 2021)
Most ecology undergraduate students are taught experimental design, these courses frequently focus on ideal scenarios, with large numbers of uniform experimental units where treatments and controls can be replicated, randomized or stratified with ease
Our experience, including editing and reviewing articles from conservation practice submitted to the Conservation Evidence Journal (AT, NO, TA and WJS) and Ecological Solutions and Evidence (MC) and as conservationists faced with the challenge of learning from practice (MHH and PT-M), is that there are many opportunities to produce useful evidence in conservation practice which could be realized with small changes to intervention design (e.g. Douglas et al, 2019)
Summary
Despite an increasing appreciation of the importance of using evidence in conservation planning and policy, many actions lack a sufficient evidence base (Christie et al, 2021). By integrating well-designed experiments into conservation practice, could significantly increase the evidence available for decision makers, improving the effectiveness of many conservation actions and increasing value for money (Feinsinger, 2001; Cadotte et al, 2020). Most ecology undergraduate students are taught experimental design, these courses frequently focus on ideal scenarios, with large numbers of uniform experimental units (such as petri dishes or field plots) where treatments and controls can be replicated, randomized or stratified with ease. While important, such principles are difficult to apply in complex natural ecological systems. We believe that there are significant opportunities to carry out simple manipulative experiments that, for a modest additional input of effort, will yield results that can both inform ongoing adaptive management and improve practice in the wider conservation community
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