Conservation Triage Research Articles

Global change and conservation triage on National Wildlife Refuges

Johnson, F. A., M. J. Eaton, G. McMahon, R. Nilius, M. R. Bryant, D. J. Case, J. Martin, N. J. Wood, and L. Taylor. 2015. Global change and conservation triage on National Wildlife Refuges. Ecology and Society 20(4):14. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-07986-200414

Simple assessments of age and spatial population structure can aid conservation of poorly known species

The IUCN Red List is challenged with assessing the conservation status of species on which reliable demographic and distribution parameters are lacking. The hotly debated SAFE index, however, measures the “species’ ability to forestall extinction” and only requires information on population size. Nonetheless, both conservation assessment systems neglect the role of non-breeding population fractions in conservation. We conducted simple surveys to ascertain the spatial and population structure and conservation threats of the Endangered red-fronted macaw Ara rubrogenys, endemic to the Bolivian Andes. The area of occupancy (ca. 2600Km2) encompassed eight breeding and six non-breeding areas, occupied by 807 individuals. By combining population-fraction censuses with the proportion of juveniles (8.6%), we inferred a breeding population of less than 100 pairs clumped in 38–40 nesting sites, with non-breeders representing ca. 80% of the population. While this increase in data quality raises questions as to whether the species should be upgraded to Critically Endangered, the SAFE index rendered questionable guidance for conservation triage. Conservation threats were spatially identified according to spatio-temporal and life-stage population structures and seasonal changes in habitat use. Several sources of habitat loss were widespread but, contrary to expectation, habitat-use models indicated that red-fronted macaws were not tied to forest remnants. Instead, they made use of agricultural lands resulting in conflicts with farmers. Awareness campaigns should focus on a few selected locations to resolve this conflict and reduce the uptake of individuals for use as pets, as the most effective way to increase population size in the medium-term.

Time to accept conservation triage

Time to accept conservation triage

Scientists’ Opinions on the Global Status and Management of Biological Diversity

The large investments needed if loss of biological diversity is to be stemmed will likely lead to increased public and political scrutiny of conservation strategies and the science underlying them. It is therefore crucial to understand the degree of consensus or divergence among scientists on core scientific perceptions and strategies most likely to achieve given objectives. I developed an internet survey designed to elucidate the opinions of conservation scientists. Conservation scientists (n =583) were unanimous (99.5%) in their view that a serious loss of biological diversity is likely, very likely, or virtually certain. Scientists' agreement that serious loss is very likely or virtually certain ranged from 72.8% for Western Europe to 90.9% for Southeast Asia. Tropical coral ecosystems were perceived as the most seriously affected by loss of biological diversity; 88.0% of respondents familiar with that ecosystem type agreed that a serious loss is very likely or virtually certain. With regard to conservation strategies, scientists most often viewed understanding how people and nature interact in certain contexts and the role of biological diversity in maintaining ecosystem function as their priorities. Protection of biological diversity for its cultural and spiritual values and because of its usefulness to humans were low priorities, which suggests that many scientists do not fully support the utilitarian concept of ecosystem services. Many scientists expressed a willingness to consider conservation triage, engage in active conservation interventions, and consider reframing conservation goals and measures of success for conservation of biological diversity in an era of climate change. Although some heterogeneity of opinion is evident, results of the survey show a clear consensus within the scientific community on core issues of the extent and geographic scope of loss of biological diversity and on elements that may contribute to successful conservation strategies in the future.

Choosing the survivors? A GIS-based triage support tool for micro-endemics: Application to data for Mexican amphibians

Given the current speed of land use change, we cannot expect to save all species from extinction, and so must decide how to focus limited resources to prevent the greatest number of extinctions. This paper proposes a simple conservation triage method that: evaluates the threat status for 145 micro-endemic Mexican amphibian species; assesses current potential threat abatement responses derived from existing policy instruments and social initiatives; and combines both indicators to provide broad-scale conservation strategies that would best suit amphibian micro-endemic buffered areas (AMBAs) in Mexico. To prioritize the AMBAs we used existing and newly compiled spatial databases of territorial conservation instruments, threats, and amphibian range distributions for Mexico. We identify 50% of Mexican micro-endemic amphibians as requiring urgent actions. Based on the location of the AMBAs and using existing conservation instruments, we develop a conservation strategy for the majority of these species. However, almost 25% urgently need field-base verification to confirm their persistence due to the small percentage of remnant natural vegetation within the AMBAs, before we may sensibly recommend such a strategy.

Considerations of scale in biodiversity conservation

AbstractThe dilemma of conservation practice lies in weighing the urgency for action against the need for sustainable long‐term solutions, with urgent responses incurring the risk of failure and long‐term solutions incurring the cost of time. Wisdom of hindsight reveals that sustainable solutions are not achieved when conservation action is initiated at an inappropriate scale. Here, I review recent studies that have included considerations of scale to illustrate how conservation problems and solutions might be unapparent, or even counterintuitive, to conservation practitioners responding to issues at the scales at which they were first perceived. Case studies cover the conservation of ecosystems, ecosystem services, species and populations. These studies collectively illustrate how most biodiversity conservation efforts can be improved by considering the problem at a broader spatiotemporal scale than that at which local natural resource management has traditionally operated. Globalization is increasingly challenging conservation practitioners to search for solutions across an ever‐wider range of spatiotemporal scales and institutional levels. Identifying real problems and threats at relevant scales is part of conservation triage, when opportunity costs and cost efficiencies of alternative interventions are evaluated and ranked, before action is implemented through the appropriate institutional levels.

Expert views on biodiversity conservation in an era of climate change

Adapting conservation policy to the impacts of climate change has emerged as a central and unresolved challenge. In this paper, we report on the results of 21 in-depth interviews with biodiversity and climate change adaptation experts on their views of the implications of climate change for conservation policy. We find a diversity of views across a set of topics that included: changing conservation objectives, conservation triage and its criteria, increased management interventions in protected areas, the role of uncertainty in decision-making, and evolving standards of conservation success. Notably, our findings reveal active consideration among experts with some more controversial elements of policy adaptation (including the role of disturbance in facilitating species transitions, and changing standards of conservation success), despite a comparative silence on these topics in the published literature. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to: (a) identifying future research and integration needs and (b) providing insight into the process of policy adaptation in the context of biodiversity conservation.

Is conservation triage just smart decision making?

Conservation efforts and emergency medicine face comparable problems: how to use scarce resources wisely to conserve valuable assets. In both fields, the process of prioritising actions is known as triage. Although often used implicitly by conservation managers, scientists and policymakers, triage has been misinterpreted as the process of simply deciding which assets (e.g. species, habitats) will not receive investment. As a consequence, triage is sometimes associated with a defeatist conservation ethic. However, triage is no more than the efficient allocation of conservation resources and we risk wasting scarce resources if we do not follow its basic principles.