Actions For Recovery Research Articles

Reference genome for the endangered, genetically subdivided, northern tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi.

The federally endangered sister species, Eucyclogobius newberryi (northern tidewater goby) and E. kristinae (southern tidewater goby) comprise the California endemic genus Eucyclogobius, which historically occurred in all coastal California counties. Isolated lagoons that only intermittently connect to the sea are their primary habitat. Reproduction occurs during lagoon closure, minimizing marine dispersal and generating the most genetically subdivided vertebrate genus on the California coast. We present a new genome assembly for E. newberryi using HiFi long reads and Hi-C chromatin-proximity sequencing. The 980Mb E. newberryi reference genome has an N50 of 34Mb with 22 well-described scaffolds comprising 88% of the genome and a complete BUSCO score of 96.7%. This genome will facilitate studies addressing selection, drift, and metapopulation genetics in subdivided populations, as well as the persistence of the critically endangered E. kristinae, where reintroduction will be an essential element of conservation actions for recovery. It also provides tools critical to the recovery of the genetically distinct management units in the northern tidewater goby, as well as broader ecological and evolutionary studies of gobies, the most speciose family of fishes in the world.

Leading through the COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences of UK Executive Nurse Directors.

To explore the challenges experienced by Executive Nurse Directors during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to inform future nursing leadership strategies. A qualitative research project involving interviews with 21 Executive Nurse Directors from England and Wales. Participants were purposively sampled and recruited through Chief Nursing Officers and nursing leadership networks. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and recorded online via Teams. Braun and Clarke's approach to thematic reflexive analysis was applied to data analysis. Executive Nurse Directors played a critical role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six themes are explored: tensions, and adaptive response to personal leadership styles; uncertainty and support at the board level; responding to national political decision-making; the personal and emotional impact of the role and the sources of effective support; the voice and public profile of nursing; lessons learnt and strategies for future leadership development. Enablers of decision-making included effective multidisciplinary working, freedom from normal organizational constraints, support for innovation, and the development of stronger bonds with colleagues. Barriers to decision-making included limited knowledge of the virus and its impact and lack of guidance, particularly at a national level. Priorities, strategies and actions for recovery include recognizing the emotional impact of being in a high-level decision-making role, protecting staff from burnout and understanding the long-term implications of pandemic work for nurse leaders. Future strategies for nursing leadership during public health, national and global emergencies are recommended. This study contributes to the literature exploring the Executive Nurse Director role and their experiences of leading through the COVID-19 pandemic, and identifies priorities, strategies and actions for recovery and learning for the future of senior leadership. The study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research. No patient or public contribution.

Conceptual principles of the agri-food systems development in the conditions of Ukraine post-war recovery

The strategic post-war restoration conceptual principles of agri-food systems on the ensuring basis of the economic growth of the national econom and ensuring the country’s food security and the export potential formation of agro-food products with a high added value are developed in the article. The creation interdisciplinary analysis of added value and its orientation towards the achievement of the country’s Sustainable Development Goals was used as the basis for the development of measures system and practical actions for the strategic recovery of the agrifood sector. The current operating conditions of the agri-food sector is proved to require the strategic programs review and tools definition for its state support. It has been established that the agriculture share in many world countries is decreasing due to the industries development of deep processing of agricultural raw materials, population migration, however, in Ukraine, a rather high value of this indicator is observed with an insufficient amount of added value per worker. It was concluded about the comparative advantages trends restoration of Ukrainian agricultural products acquired in the past, the production growth dynamics, the exports expansion of deeply processed food products. In order to strengthen the studied sector position of the economy in world exports and overcome import dependence in technologies and material and technical resources, measures implementation for industries revival is foreseen on the basis of ensuring the agriculture orientation towards the «Agriculture 4.0» model implementation of scientific and technological development. The challenges of global climate changes, price volatility on the global agri-food market, martial law in the country, etc., which affect the development of the national agri-food system, are highlighted, and the main measures to minimize their negative impact are identified. To sum up, there is a need to calculate the resource potential amount of agriculture and develop a practical action system and measures to restore it to the pre-war period values, as well as the introduction of innovative technologies to increase crop capacity, productivity and reduce food losses. It has been proven that the development of the food industry should be oriented towards the technical and technological modernization of the existing capacities of the food industry and the creation of new factories for deep processing of agricultural raw materials. Measures set and tools for supporting food industry enterprises with the aim of diversifying the product range due to the production of healthy, functional food, deep processing products of agricultural raw materials has been substantiated. Key words: agri-food system, post-war recovery, agriculture, food industry, recovery strategy, agri-food.

Restoration of Alouatta guariba populations: building a binational management strategy for the conservation of the endangered brown howler monkey of the Atlantic Forest

The brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba) is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil and northeastern Argentina, threatened by extinction due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and hunting. Its reduced and isolated populations dramatically decreased and suffered local extinctions after recent yellow fever outbreaks, recommending the species risk uplist from Vulnerable to Endangered. In Brazil, the species occurs along eight states in sparse populations, including some large protected areas, and is being uplisted to Endangered. Following the National Action Plan for Conservation of the Atlantic Forest Primates and the Maned-sloth, and applying the Guidelines for Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations (IUCN/CTSG), the Ex Situ Guidelines (IUCN/CPSG) and the One Plan Approach (IUCN/CPSG), a workshop was held on August 2021 to evaluate the need, requisites and roles of an integrated Population Management Program for A. guariba. Such program was developed in June 2022 defining the objectives of (i) restore in situ populations from ex situ populations, prioritizing populations in higher risk to prevent local extinctions, and (ii) establish an ex situ insurance population. This in situ – ex situ integrated management program was approved by ICMBio in February 2023, with actions recommended for all states along the species distribution. In Argentina, the species is Critically Endangered, with a remaining population of 20-50 individuals. Following the National Plan for Primate Conservation in Argentina, in a process similar to that in Brazil, two workshops were held in 2022/2023 to evaluate and define management actions for the long-term recovery of A. guariba. The priorities indicated were (i) reintroduction in ten potential areas in Misiones – due to a lower risk when compared to reinforcement of remaining populations, and (ii) establishing an ex situ management program in Argentina – still non-existent. The progressive collaboration between the initiatives of both countries is promoting the exchange of experiences and the integration of strategies. Here we summarize the planning and management carried out in Brazil and Argentina, highlighting the need for integrated measures. We debate on the progress and challenges, proposing next steps for developing and implementing a binational population management program for the conservation of the brown howler monkey.

Water quality in Cutuchi river through physicochemical and microbiological analysis, Latacunga, Ecuador

industrial areas, and agricultural activities. This study analyzed the water quality index through physicochemical and microbiological analysis in the Cutuchi River, Cotopaxi province, and compared them with the current environmental legislation (TULSMA). Additionally, their morphometric characteristics were determined. Field work was carried out in two periods (November-January 2023 and February-April 2023), collecting a total of 20 water samples at five sampling points along the longitudinal gradient of the river from the upper parts to its confluence with the Ambato river. The findings show the river in a slightly widened shape not prone to flooding. Three of the five sampling points did not comply with the maximum permissible limits according to TULSMA for the parameters of turbidity (180.2 NTU), BOD5 (55.7 mg/l) and coliforms (3115.5 NMP/100 ml), especially in the lower areas of the river where all the organic and inorganic loads from anthropogenic activities are deposited. The ICA-NSF quality index showed values classified as regular in the upper part of the river and poor for the middle and lower parts. This study recommends that proposals be made for management and management of water quality along the gradient of the Cutuchi River and thereby implement actions for maintenance, decontamination and recovery of the river banks.

Phase-wise evaluation and optimization of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

Given that the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines and other therapies is greatly limited by the continuously emerging variants, non-pharmaceutical interventions have been adopted as primary control strategies in the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. However, implementing strict interventions over extended periods of time is inevitably hurting the economy. Many countries are faced with the dilemma of how to take appropriate policy actions for socio-economic recovery while curbing the further spread of COVID-19. With an aim to solve this multi-objective decision-making problem, we investigate the underlying temporal dynamics and associations between policies, mobility patterns, and virus transmission through vector autoregressive models and the Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality test. Our findings reveal the presence of temporal lagged effects and Granger causality relationships among various transmission and human mobility variables. We further assess the effectiveness of existing COVID-19 control measures and explore potential optimal strategies that strike a balance between public health and socio-economic recovery for individual states in the U.S. by employing the Pareto optimality and genetic algorithms. The results highlight the joint power of the state of emergency declaration, wearing face masks, and the closure of bars, and emphasize the necessity of pursuing tailor-made strategies for different states and phases of epidemiological transmission. Our framework enables policymakers to create more refined designs of COVID-19 strategies and can be extended to other countries regarding best practices in pandemic response.

Social Capital for Community Resilience in Responding to the 2018 Earthquake in the Cupek Community, Lombok

Indonesia frequently experiences earthquakes as it is located at the convergence of three highly active tectonic plates, making it prone to natural disasters. Lombok, an island in Indonesia, experienced a series of devastating earthquakes in 2018, resulting in heavy casualties, severe damage and economic repercussions. This research focused on the Cupek community in Sigar Penjalin Village, North Lombok Regency, who demonstrated their resilience and survival capabilities in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Despite limited external assistance during the initial hours following the earthquake, the community swiftly activated their resilience capacities, relying on their social capital and collective actions for support and recovery. This research aims to examine the most significant resilience capacities implemented by the community and explain the process of activating them. This research used the concept of social capital to analyze how the community mobilized their resources and abilities, which ultimately ensured their survival during the initial emergency response. The theoretical framework, data collection and methods of analysis were elaborated and followed by the presentation of specific findings for Cupek. The implications of the research as well as its practical applications for emergency responders and planners were also discussed. The main objective of this research is to enhance the understanding of resilience in small communities, particularly emphasizing the importance of social capital in the context of disasters.

Content analysis of public stigma on intimate partner violence against women in a sample of Spanish university students..

Public stigma on intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is still present among university students and hinders victim recovery. The aims were to: 1) Analyze public stigma in university students using content scales found in the literature, distinguishing between general negative attitudes towards IPVAW and those when asked about a known situation of violence, and 2) Determine the reliability of those scales. A sample of 37 students (age, M=25.54; SD=3.44) at the University of Seville completed a survey based on the selected content scales. Response content was analyzed. Attitudes were related to myths exonerating the abuser, the majority belief that victims' actions for recovery were detachment strategies, and a catastrophic perception of the consequences of violence. Attitudes changed after knowing a victim. Most scales were reliable (Kappa > 0.7). Stigma toward IPVAW was present, but to a lesser extent when the situation of violence was known. The implications of this study and future lines of research were discussed.

Toward a Superintelligent Action Recommender for Network Operation Centers Using Reinforcement Learning

Today’s Network Operation Centres (NOC) consist of teams of network professionals responsible for monitoring and taking actions for their network’s health. Most of these NOC actions are relatively complex and executed manually; only the simplest tasks can be automated with rules-based software. But today’s networks are getting larger and more complex. Therefore, deciding what action to take in the face of non-trivial problems has essentially become an art that depends on collective human intelligence of NOC technicians, specialized support teams organized by technology domains, and vendors’ technical support. This model is getting increasingly expensive and inefficient, and the automation of all or at least some NOC tasks is now considered a desirable step towards autonomous and self-healing networks. In this article, we investigate whether an autonomous NOC can achieve superintelligence; i.e., it can recommend or take actions that lead to better results than those achieved by the collective human intelligence, in this case rules designed by human experts. Our investigation is inspired by the superintelligence achieved in computer games recently. Specifically, we build an Action Recommendation Engine based on Reinforcement Learning, a type of Artificial Intelligence method, and we train it with expert rules and lets it explore actions by itself. We then show that it can learn new and more efficient strategies that outperform expert rules designed by humans. This can be used in face of network problems to either quickly recommend actions to NOC technicians or autonomously take actions for fast recovery.

A roadmap for ladybird conservation and recovery.

Ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) provide services that are critical to food production, and they fulfill an ecological role as a food source for predators. The richness, abundance, and distribution of ladybirds, however, are compromised by many anthropogenic threats. Meanwhile, a lack of knowledge of the conservation status of most species and the factors driving their population dynamics hinders the development and implementation of conservation strategies for ladybirds. We conducted a review of the literature on the ecology, diversity, and conservation of ladybirds to identify their key ecological threats. Ladybird populations are most affected by climate factors, landscape composition, and biological invasions. We suggest mitigating actions for ladybird conservation and recovery. Short-term actions include citizen science programs and education, protective measures for habitat recovery and threatened species, prevention of the introduction of non-native species, and the maintenance and restoration of natural areas and landscape heterogeneity. Mid-term actions involve the analysis of data from monitoring programs and insect collections to disentangle the effect of different threats to ladybird populations, understand habitat use by taxa on which there is limited knowledge, and quantify temporal trends of abundance, diversity, and biomass along a management-intensity gradient. Long-term actions include the development of a worldwide monitoring program based on standardized sampling to fill data gaps, increase explanatory power, streamline analyses, and facilitate global collaborations.

Optimization of multi-mode classification for process monitoring

Process monitoring seeks to identify anomalous plant operating states so that operators can take the appropriate actions for recovery. Instrumental to process monitoring is the labeling of known operating states in historical data, so that departures from these states can be identified. This task can be challenging and time consuming as plant data is typically high dimensional and extensive. Moreover, automation of this procedure is not trivial since ground truth labels are often unavailable. In this contribution, this problem is approached as a multi-mode classification one, and an automatic framework for labeling using unsupervised Machine Learning (ML) methods is presented. The implementation was tested using data from the Tennessee Eastman Process and an industrial pyrolysis process. A total of 9 ML ensembles were included. Hyperparameters were optimized using a multi-objective evolutionary optimization algorithm. Unsupervised clustering metrics (silhouette score, Davies-Bouldin index, and Calinski-Harabasz Index) were investigated as candidates for objective functions in the optimization implementation. Results show that ensembles and hyperparameter selection can be aided by multi-objective optimization. It was found that Silhouette score and Davies-Bouldin index are strong predictions of the ensemble’s performance and can then be used to obtain good initial results for subsequent fault detection and fault diagnosis procedures.

Assessing Seagrass Restoration Actions through a Micro-Bathymetry Survey Approach (Italy, Mediterranean Sea)

Underwater photogrammetry provides a means of generating high-resolution products such as dense point clouds, 3D models, and orthomosaics with centimetric scale resolutions. Underwater photogrammetric models can be used to monitor the growth and expansion of benthic communities, including the assessment of the conservation status of seagrass beds and their change over time (time lapse micro-bathymetry) with OBIA classifications (Object-Based Image Analysis). However, one of the most complex aspects of underwater photogrammetry is the accuracy of the 3D models for both the horizontal and vertical components used to estimate the surfaces and volumes of biomass. In this study, a photogrammetry-based micro-bathymetry approach was applied to monitor Posidonia oceanica restoration actions. A procedure for rectifying both the horizontal and vertical elevation data was developed using soundings from high-resolution multibeam bathymetry. Furthermore, a 3D trilateration technique was also tested to collect Ground Control Points (GCPs) together with reference scale bars, both used to estimate the accuracy of the models and orthomosaics. The root mean square error (RMSE) value obtained for the horizontal planimetric measurements was 0.05 m, while the RMSE value for the depth was 0.11 m. Underwater photogrammetry, if properly applied, can provide very high-resolution and accurate models for monitoring seagrass restoration actions for ecological recovery and can be useful for other research purposes in geological and environmental monitoring.

New insights in bacterial and eukaryotic diversity of microbial mats inhabiting exploited and abandoned salterns at the Ré Island (France)

In order to understand the effect of human practices on microbial mats organisation, the study aimed to investigate the biodiversity within microbial mats from exploited and abandoned salterns. Despite several attempts, archaeal 16S rRNA gene fragment sequences were not obtained, indicating that microbial mats were probably dominated by Bacteria with very low abundance of Archaea (< 1%). Thus, the study compared the bacterial and meiofaunal diversity of microbial mats from abandoned and exploited salterns. The higher salinity (101 ± 3.7 psu vs. 51.1 ± 0.7 psu; Welch t-test p < 0.05) of the exploited site maintained lower bacterial diversity in comparison to the abandoned site where the salinity gradient was no longer maintained. However, the microbial mats exhibited similar bacterial class composition while the eukaryotic diversity was significantly higher in the exploited saltern. The abandoned saltern was dominated by sulfate-reducing bacteria and Nematoda, while the exploited saltern was characterized by the presence of halophilic bacteria belonging to Marinobacter, Salinivibrio and Rhodohalobacter genera, and the larger abundance of Hypotrichia (ciliates). Such bacterial and eukaryotic diversity difference might be explained by human actions for salt recovery in exploited salterns such as scraping the surface of microbial mat and increasing salinity renewing the microbial mat each year. Such action decreases the bacterial diversity changing the food web structure that favour the presence of a larger diversity of eukaryotic organisms. Our study provides new insights on microbial mat communities inhabiting salterns, especially the consequences of abandoning saltern exploitation.

Seasonal habitat suitability models for a threatened species: the Gunnison sage-grouse

Abstract Context The Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) has experienced range-wide declines and has been listed as Threatened by the USA Fish and Wildlife Service to receive protections under the USA Endangered Species Act. A draft Recovery Plan was recently completed. No seasonal habitat models have been developed for the small isolated populations. Aims To develop a habitat suitability model that was collaboratively developed between modellers and conservation practitioners to predict the probability of use by Gunnison sage-grouse during the breeding and summer seasons in designated occupied critical habitat, and extrapolate to adjacent designated unoccupied critical habitat. Methods We captured, marked and tracked Gunnison sage-grouse in nine different studies spanning 25 years. We used a suite of biotic, abiotic and vegetation local-level and population-scale covariates in a use-available resource selection function to develop models that predict the probability of use by Gunnison sage-grouse. Key results We used 9140 Gunnison sage-grouse locations from 406 individual birds to develop nine resource selection models for occupied habitat and extrapolated model predictions to adjacent unoccupied critical habitat in five small isolated Gunnison sage-grouse populations. A majority of our models validated well. Conclusions We report the first two-season resource use-based habitat suitability models for five of six small isolated Gunnison sage-grouse populations. Because of the unique habitat use by Gunnison sage-grouse in each population, we recommend that resource managers strategically target management actions in individual populations and avoid ‘one-size-fits-all’ habitat management prescriptions. Implications Our models will assist managers in the identification of seasonal habitats within populations to target management actions for Gunnison sage-grouse recovery.

The "COFFEE BIN" concept: centralized collection and torrefaction of spent coffee grounds.

Spent coffee grounds are the moist solid residues of coffee brewing and in most cases, the disposal is done without any intermediate valorization actions for materials and energy recovery. State-of-the-art applications include extraction of the liquids and application of high-temperature pyrolysis. Both strategies have significant potential but have also some disadvantages (extensive pre-treatment, high costs) when applied on a large scale. This study highlights the lack of mild pyrolysis valorization strategies and presents the idea of the "COFFEE BIN." Separated spent coffee grounds are collected, dried, and thermally treated. The optimal pyrolysis conditions were identified and product characteristics and the mass balances were assessed. Elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, physisorption analysis and higher heating value (HHV) determination was performed for the characterization of the carbonaceous products. The torrefied coffee grounds returned solid yields from 78 to 83%, which are significantly higher than in other cases of conventional biomass and heating values of 24-25 MJ/kg. Higher temperature pyrolysis did not sustain the advantage of increased returned mass yields and the adsorbance potential of all the carbonaceous products was lower than 25 cm3/g. The study highlighted that spent coffee grounds-due to the nature of their production process via roasting-can be suitable for torrefaction because of the high recovered solid yield and the high energy density. The results will be used for the development of a collection scheme for spent coffee grounds in a big municipality of Athens (Greece).

La acción de repetición y el llamamiento en garantía en la jurisprudencia colombiana, 2001-2009

Tema y alcance: el presente artículo es producto de la investigación “Efiacia de la acción de repetición en las entidades territoriales de la región amazónica de Colombia años 2001 a 2008”, elaborada con el fi de optar al título de Magíster en Derecho Administrativo enla Universidad Libre. Tiene como objetivo establecer el tratamiento que ha dado la jurisprudencia colombiana a la fiura de la acción de repetición o llamamiento en garantía con fies de repetición. Características: el método consistió en la revisión bibliográfia y depronunciamientos realizados hasta el 2009 por las principales instancias judiciales del país, relacionados con dicho mecanismo. Hallazgos:el resultado del análisis permitió precisar su naturaleza jurídica, los conceptos ligados a su funcionamiento, las características y los propósitos, entre otros aspectos que permitirán un mejor entendimiento de dicha institución. Conclusiones: de esta manera, se concluye que la acción de repetición o llamamiento en garantía con fies de repetición es un mecanismo importante para lograr que las entidades públicas recuperen aquellas erogaciones producto de condenas y otros mecanismos de solución de conflctos, al ser la jurisprudencia la que ha facilitado dicho propósito mediante herramientas jurídicas que fialmente fueron adoptadas por el legislador para tal fin.

Contents, seasonal variations, and forms of migration of major and minor elements in surface waters in the area of the Tyrnyauz Tungsten–Molybdenum Combine (TTMC) and adjacent areas (Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Russian Federation) and actions for recovery of the ecological environment

Anomalous concentrations of numerous major and minor elements significantly exceeding the threshold limit values (TLV) for drinking water were registered in the area of the Tyrnyauz Tungsten–Molybdenum Combine (TTMC). The maximal excess of the TLV (by one or two orders of magnitude) were obtained for Mo (up to 11 mg/L), W (4.4 mg/L), As (1.5 mg/L), Mn (8.4 mg/L), and Tl (up to 3.3 μg/L) in water of the Bolshoi Mukulan Brook flowing through the mines and three brooks flowing out from the base of the embankment of the tailing store no. 1. They are the major pollutants for water of the Baksan River. Upon flowing out to the plain, water of the Baksan River shows significant excess of the TLVs (in summer) for Al, Fe, Mn, Be, Si, Ti, Tl, and Hg.

Woodland Caribou Alpine Range Restoration: An Application for Lichen Transplants

Woodland caribou, a Schedule 1 ‘threatened’ species under the Canadian Federal Species at Risk Act, use alpine ecosystems in the mountainous South Peace region of British Columbia for core winter habitat, in part because they are able to crater for terrestrial lichen beneath the relatively thin snow pack on the windswept mountain peaks. A number of proposed and operating open pit coal mine developments will create disturbances within these alpine ecosystems. An Implementation Plan for the Ongoing Management of the South Peace Northern Caribou has been created by the province of B.C. to direct actions for South Peace region caribou population recovery, and part of the Mitigation and Monitoring Plan that must be created for disturbances in caribou core habitat is a habitat restoration plan. A component of the alpine habitat that must be restored is terrestrial lichen that woodland caribou rely on for winter forage; however, published studies about the restoration of terrestrial lichens are scarce. The majority of studies obtainable were small-scale trials or exploratory studies in reindeer range in northern European boreal forest, or in forested and alpine ecosystems in B.C. This paper reviews the literature on the feasibility of transplanting terrestrial lichen, and interprets the results for application in alpine caribou habitat restoration. Three main areas where further research is required to develop reindeer lichen transplantation techniques are suggested: methods to promote lichen propagule retention on reclaimed sites; investigating sources and collection methods for lichen propagules; and techniques for storage of viable lichen propagules.

Population Dynamics and Sustainable Management of Mescal Agaves in Central Mexico: Agave potatorum in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley

Population Dynamics and Sustainable Management of Mescal Agaves in Central Mexico: Agave potatorum in the Tehuacan-Cuicatlan Valley. A total of 37 agave species are extracted from forests of Mexico for producing mescal. This activity has caused decline of numerous populations, and their sustainable management is indispensable for preventing species extinctions. Our study analyzed demographic information about Agave potatorum in the Tehuacan Valley with the goal of developing proposals for sustainable use for agaves in general. We studied protected populations in two contrasting environments, and through prospective analyses and real data about extraction and reforestation rates, we simulated different scenarios of actions. Our analyses indicate that the populations’ growth rates (λ) in conserved populations are 0.9903 ± 0.062 and 1.021 ± 0.062, but viability analyses suggest that even those unmanaged populations would decrease 30% to 90% in 30 years. Survival and growth of early agave plant stages contribute most to λ; adult stages and fecundity have low contribution but their conservation is crucial for population recovery. Based on a successful management experience with A. cupreata, we suggest that at least 30% of reproductive plants should be left to ensure seed provision for natural and assisted populations’ recovery. The reintroduction of plants at two early stages of growth is recommended, particularly 1–2-year-old plants, the size categories with the highest contribution to λ. Current efforts by local people to promote cattle exclusion from forest areas, seed collection, and their propagation in nurseries, and actions for recovery and conservation of populations are strategies of high value. Our research contributes to optimizing the effectiveness of such actions and aids in the conservation of other agave species.

Impediments to the Success of Management Actions for Species Recovery

Finding cost-effective management strategies to recover species declining due to multiple threats is challenging, especially when there are limited resources. Recent studies offer insights into how costs and threats can influence the best choice of management actions. However, when implementing management actions in the real-world, a range of impediments to management success often exist that can be driven by social, technological and land-use factors. These impediments may limit the extent to which we can achieve recovery objectives and influence the optimal choice of management actions. Nonetheless, the implications of these impediments are not well understood, especially for recovery planning involving multiple actions. We used decision theory to assess the impact of these types of impediments for allocating resources among recovery actions to mitigate multiple threats. We applied this to a declining koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population threatened by habitat loss, vehicle collisions, dog attacks and disease. We found that the unwillingness of dog owners to restrain their dogs at night (a social impediment), the effectiveness of wildlife crossings to reduce vehicle collisions (a technological impediment) and the unavailability of areas for restoration (a land-use impediment) significantly reduced the effectiveness of our actions. In the presence of these impediments, achieving successful recovery may be unlikely. Further, these impediments influenced the optimal choice of recovery actions, but the extent to which this was true depended on the target koala population growth rate. Given that species recovery is an important strategy for preserving biodiversity, it is critical that we consider how impediments to the success of recovery actions modify our choice of actions. In some cases, it may also be worth considering whether investing in reducing or removing impediments may be a cost-effective course of action.