Conservation Of Species Research Articles

An ecological vulnerability index to assess impacts of offshore wind facilities on migratory songbirds

Abstract As offshore wind (OSW) energy expands globally, migratory songbirds are at risk of mortality from collisions with turbine blades, though the magnitude of this threat and which species are most vulnerable, remains poorly understood. Ecological vulnerability indices are commonly used to assess species' susceptibility to harmful factors, with results used to direct scarce research and monitoring resources to species showing relatively high vulnerability. These indices are based on the traits that elevate a species risk to adverse impacts (sensitivity), the overlap in occurrence between a species and the potentially harmful agent (exposure) and the influence of this exposure on the species' local or global persistence (resilience). We modified ecological vulnerability indices for seabirds to assess vulnerability of migratory songbirds to OSW related mortality. As a pertinent case study, we considered songbirds that fly across the Northwest Atlantic during their autumn migration. We utilized readily available information on each species' migratory behaviour, life history, and conservation status to calculate an index score that could range from 1 (lowest vulnerability) to 125 (highest vulnerability). We found scores of 3 to 55.2 for the 101 songbird species evaluated, with New World warblers (Parulidae) over‐represented among the highest scoring species. We found the scores to be sensitive to uncertainty in index components, highlighting the importance of considering scoring uncertainty when evaluating ecological vulnerability indices. Finally, we found that for seven of the top 10 highest scoring species, modest improvements in population trends had the potential to lower the scores substantially. Synthesis and applications. Our methodology is readily applicable to other regions where offshore wind (OSW) development is planned and songbird migration is common, allowing research and monitoring activities to be targeted to species most likely to be negatively affected by OSW facility encounters.

Dual-Feature Fusion Learning: An Acoustic Signal Recognition Method for Marine Mammals

Marine mammal acoustic signal recognition is a key technology for species conservation and ecological environment monitoring. Aiming at the complex and changing marine environment, and because the traditional recognition method based on a single feature input has the problems of poor environmental adaptability and low recognition accuracy, this paper proposes a dual-feature fusion learning method. First, dual-domain feature extraction is performed on marine mammal acoustic signals to overcome the limitations of single feature input methods by interacting feature information between the time-frequency domain and the Delay-Doppler domain. Second, this paper constructs a dual-feature fusion learning target recognition model, which improves the generalization ability and robustness of mammal acoustic signal recognition in complex marine environments. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the dual-feature fusion learning target recognition model are verified in this study by using the acoustic datasets of three marine mammals, namely, the Fraser’s Dolphin, the Spinner Dolphin, and the Long-Finned Pilot Whale. The dual-feature fusion learning target recognition model improved the accuracy of the training set by 3% to 6% and 20% to 23%, and the accuracy of the test set by 1% to 3% and 25% to 38%, respectively, compared to the model that used the time-frequency domain features and the Delay-Doppler domain features alone for recognition.

Inadvertent climate refugia

AbstractFor centuries, humans have intentionally moved species around the world, and such actions have rarely been laudable from conservation perspectives. The notion that introduced populations of cold‐adapted species hold conservation value despite their non‐native status remains controversial. Many such populations exist as a legacy of humans moving wildlife to novel environments with little true consideration of species conservation. Herein, we identify cases in which individuals from inadvertent climate refugia (ICR) are returned to formerly occupied ranges or used to augment declining native populations. While conservation benefits have been infrequently realized, the global distribution of ICR offers a potentially untapped resource. Lessening biodiversity loss under increasing climate challenges will likely require assisted migration of many species and necessitate novel valuation of extant introduced populations—such as those within ICR. While ecological costs of translocated species are widely known, we highlight how species moved generations ago to ICR offer a reservoir for reintroductions and a buffer against rapidly changing climates.

Wildlife Ecotourism in Protected Areas of the Lower Negro River, Brazilian Amazon: characterization, challenges, and potentials

In the last few decades, tourist interactions involving wildlife, one of the activities that distinguishes ecotourism, have attracted many fans in various regions of the world. This article maps, characterizes, and presents the challenges and potentials of wildlife ecotourism in protected areas of the Lower Negro River, in the Brazilian Amazon. Through data collection in the field, seven enterprises were visited and tourist interactions with twelve different species of wildlife were recorded. The activities that visitors engage in vary according to the species they are interacting with, but include watching the animals, offering food, physical contact (petting or holding the animals), and getting into the water with them. The recorded species include the Amazon River dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), the Woolly monkey (Lagothrix lagotricha), and the Bald uakari (Cacajao calvus), which are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Despite the negative impacts of these activities, they help create income for the host communities, increase the public use of protected areas, and raise awareness among visitors regarding the conservation of species and their habitats.

Multi-Annual Study of Eriogaster catax (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae) Oviposition Strategy in Transylvania's Largest Population: Key Insights for Species Conservation and Local Land Management.

This study provides new insights into the oviposition strategy of Eriogaster catax (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera, Lasiocampidae), an endangered species of moth found in semi-natural habitats within agricultural landscapes. Protected under various European directives and listed as Data Deficient by the IUCN, E. catax inhabits warmer regions of the Western Palearctic. Despite noted geographic variations in its ecological preferences, few studies have statistically significant data on its ecology. Our six-year study, conducted within the largest known population of E. catax. in Romania, reveals critical data on its oviposition preferences, including the species' tendency to utilize Prunus spinosa L. and Crataegus monogyna Jacq. shrubs at an average height of 80.48 ± 34.3 cm, with most nests placed within the 41-80 cm range and containing an average of 186 ± 22 eggs. The study also addresses the species' vulnerability to human activities such as bush trimming, agricultural burning, and uncontrolled grazing, particularly due to its low oviposition height. These findings underscore the negative impact of overgrazing and burning practices, particularly when conducted on a large scale, on the conservation of E. catax. The detailed ecological requirements identified in this study are essential for developing effective conservation strategies and habitat management practices. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of local community involvement and public education in raising awareness about biodiversity and the conservation of endangered species.

A Meta-Analysis of Mercury Biomagnification in Freshwater Predatory Invertebrates: Community Diversity and Dietary Exposure Drive Variability.

Accurate estimates of methylmercury (MeHg) exposure are valuable to actionably assess risk and protect wildlife and human health. MeHg trophic transfer is a critical driver of risk: MeHg is generally biomagnified by a factor of 8.3 ± 7.5 from one trophic level to the next, averaged across freshwater communities (mean ± standard deviation). This variability can produce disparate risks even where basal MeHg concentrations are similar. Taxonomy may be one driver of this variability: physiologically diverse groups, like vertebrates and invertebrates, may assimilate MeHg differently. To determine whether taxonomy affects trophic transfer efficiency, we conducted a meta-analysis characterizing predatory invertebrate MeHg biomagnification. Our analyses estimated that freshwater predatory invertebrates biomagnify MeHg by factors of 2.1 ± 0.2 to 4.3 ± 0.3, with a 98.9 ± 0.4% posterior probability that factors are below 5 (mean ± standard error). When vertebrates or primary producers were included, a site's trophic magnification factor was 18.6 ± 6.2 to 54.1 ± 7.7% higher than estimates for invertebrates alone. Biomagnification was inversely correlated to prey MeHg concentration and varied among systematic and functional groups. These data suggest that predatory invertebrates biomagnify MeHg less efficiently than vertebrates and that a community's diversity and structure determine its biomagnification efficiency. Incorporating organismal variation in trophic transfer estimates may improve the assessment, communication, and management of MeHg risk.

Plant biogeography, endemism and vegetation types of Dena Mts, Zagros, West Iran

Questions: The highest mountain peak of Zagros is located in the Dena mountain system (4409 m a.s.l.), which is identified as the second richest center of plant endemism of Zagros. In this study we (1) investigate floristic affinities of Dena Mts to adjacent mountain ranges based on the endemic species of the Iranian Plateau, (2) identify the species reaching the subnival zone, and (3) characterize the plant communities of the subnival zone of Dena Mts. Study area: Dena Mts is a calcareous mountain system in southern Zagros, Iran. Methods: The list of taxa endemic to the Iranian Plateau present also in Dena Mts was taken from our previously published data. Novel vegetation data were collected using the methodology of Braun-Blanquet. Classification was carried out in JUICE using the Modified TWINSPAN method. Results: Of the 242 taxa endemic to the Iranian Plateau present in Dena Mts, 22 taxa are endemic to the latter. Dena Mts have the strongest floristic affinity with the Yazd-Kerman massif, with which they share 84 taxa compared to 51 taxa shared with Alborz, 37 taxa shared with the Azerbaijan Plateau, and 15 taxa shared with Kopet Dagh-Khorassan. In Dena Mts, 38 taxa reach the subnival zone, most of them being endemic to the Iranian Plateau (68%). From scree habitats in the subnival zone, two new plant associations are described, Aethionemetum umbellati and Zerdanetum anchonioidei. These constitute a newly described alliance Galion pseudokurdici, classified within the class Didymophyso aucheri-Dracocephaletea aucheri. Conclusions: Although Dena Mts lie within a protected area, this will not prevent shrinking of alpine and subnival habitats due to global warming. Consequently, strong attention to the conservation of all range-restricted species of this mountain system, especially of alpine and subnival species, is highly recommended. Taxonomic reference: Flora of Iran (Assadi et al. 1989–2021) and, for families not yet covered in the previous source, Flora Iranica (Rechinger 1963–2015).

Population connectivity and size reductions in the Anthropocene: the consequence of landscapes and historical bottlenecks in white forsythia fragmented habitats

BackgroundWhite forsythia (Abeliophyllum distichum) is an endangered Korean Peninsula endemic that has been subjected to recent population genomics studies using SNPs via RAD sequencing. Here, we primarily employed the often underutilized haplotype information from RAD loci to further describe the species’ previously uninvestigated haplotype-based genomic variation and structure, and genetic-geographic characteristics and gene flow patterns among its five earlier identified genetic groups. We also inferred the time of past events that may have impacted the effective population size of these groups, as well as the species’ potential future distribution amidst the warming climate and anthropogenic threats.ResultsOur findings emphasized the recognition of the species’ regional patterns of genetic structure, and the role of topography and its associated gene flow patterns as some of the possible factors that may have influenced the species’ present-day fragmented population distribution. The inferred bottleneck events during the Anthropocene, some of which aligned with the time of historical catastrophic events on the Peninsula (e.g., the Korean War), were revealed to have contributed to the generally low effective population size of its five lineages, particularly those with marginal distributional range. Future distribution under both optimistic and pessimistic climatic scenarios suggests unlikely suitable habitats for these populations to expand from their current range limits, at least in the next 80 years.ConclusionsThe small effective population size and landscape-driven limited gene flow among white forsythia populations will remain a big challenge for the conservation management of the species’ already fragmented population distribution. To help mitigate these impacts, the merging of various research approaches and the use of genomic data to their full potential is recommended to provide the optimized knowledge-based tools for the conservation of this endangered species, and other similar plants under pressure.

Leveraging genomes to support conservation and bioeconomy policies in a megadiverse country.

The biodiversity crisis is a global phenomenon, and measures to monitor, stop, and revert the impacts on species' extinction risk are urgently needed. Megadiverse countries, especially in the Global South, are responsible for managing and protecting Earth's biodiversity. Various initiatives have started to sequence reference-level genomes or perform large-scale species detection and monitoring through environmental DNA. Here, we outline the Genomics of the Brazilian Biodiversity (GBB) consortium that is contributing to public policies on the conservation and management of Brazilian species. We describe our unique public-private governance and lessons in setting up a genomic consortium in a megadiverse country of continental scale. We explore the challenges while sharing knowledge for similar initiatives in the Global South. Ultimately, we aim to encourage Brazilian institutions and other megadiverse countries to invest and participate in large-scale genomic initiatives, demonstrating their commitment to preserving and monitoring their exceptional natural heritage while contributing to global biodiversity conservation.

Quantification of threats to bats at localized spatial scales for conservation and management.

In a rapidly changing world, where species conservation needs vary by local habitat, concentrated conservation efforts at small spatial scales can be critical. Bats provide an array of value to the ecosystems they inhabit; many bat species are also of conservation concern. San Diego County, California, contains 22 of the 41 bat species that occur in the United States, 16 of which are on conservation watchlists. Thus, management of bat communities in San Diego County is a pressing need. Because bats exploit vast areas of the landscape and historical sampling strategies have shifted over time, a standardized way of prioritizing areas of the landscape for management would provide an integral asset to bat conservation. We leveraged long-term bat community survey data from sampling areas across San Diego County to prioritize areas with the most management need. We calculated two types of scores: species scores and threat scores. Species scores incorporated richness and conservation status, and threat scores included landscape level threats that bats could encounter. We found that urbanization, the presence of artificial lights, and areas sampled on unconserved land were all significantly associated with decreases in species richness. Further, using species and threat scores, each sampling area was placed into one of four conservation categories, in order from greatest to least conservation need, ranging from highest priority (high species score, high threat score) to lowest (low species score, low threat score). Additionally, we focused on sampling areas in which Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) and/or pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) occurred. These two species are of exceptional conservation concern in San Diego County and across the western United States. We identified urbanization, the presence of artificial lights, and areas sampled on unconserved land as threats that were all significantly associated with the absence of Townsend's big-eared bat, but not pallid bat. The strategy, methodology, and solutions proposed in our study should assist bat conservation and management efforts wherever bats occur, and can be extended to other species that require conservation attention.

CECS-CLIP: Fusing Domain Knowledge for Rare Wildlife Detection Model.

Accurate and efficient wildlife monitoring is essential for conservation efforts. Traditional image-based methods often struggle to detect small, occluded, or camouflaged animals due to the challenges posed by complex natural environments. To overcome these limitations, an innovative multimodal target detection framework is proposed in this study, which integrates textual information from an animal knowledge base as supplementary features to enhance detection performance. First, a concept enhancement module was developed, employing a cross-attention mechanism to fuse features based on the correlation between textual and image features, thereby obtaining enhanced image features. Secondly, a feature normalization module was developed, amplifying cosine similarity and introducing learnable parameters to continuously weight and transform image features, further enhancing their expressive power in the feature space. Rigorous experimental validation on a specialized dataset provided by the research team at Northwest A&F University demonstrates that our multimodal model achieved a 0.3% improvement in precision over single-modal methods. Compared to existing multimodal target detection algorithms, this model achieved at least a 25% improvement in AP and excelled in detecting small targets of certain species, significantly surpassing existing multimodal target detection model benchmarks. This study offers a multimodal target detection model integrating textual and image information for the conservation of rare and endangered wildlife, providing strong evidence and new perspectives for research in this field.

How Polycentric Governance Affects Nature Conservation in Practice: The Case of Two Coastal Protected Areas in Suriname

This article focuses on the interactions between multi-level decision-making centers – local, national, international – in migratory species conservation in Suriname. Such multi-level interactions are crucial for transboundary conservation practices, but they have been researched very little by the scientific community so far, and not on Suriname at all. Moreover, although multi-level decision-making may differ per situation, it always poses governance and management challenges. To understand these, two Suriname case studies are analyzed in-depth: migratory shorebirds in the Bigi Pan Multiple Use Management Area and marine turtles in the Galibi Nature Reserve. A polycentric governance framework is used as an analytical lens, while a qualitative case study methodology is applied. The results of the analysis show that polycentric structures for the conservation of migratory species are currently only moderately in place and heavily dependent on donor finance. Yet, such vertical interactions are crucial for building connections – particularly among international NGOs, national governments and local communities – to achieve effective and legitimate conservation outcomes, irrespective of the presence or absence of donors. This paper, therefore, draws the following three key lessons for polycentric conservation efforts in the global South: (1) structural funding and alternative sources of income to donor money are crucial for transboundary conservation, (2) effective cooperation will require robust institution-building for enduring collective action, particularly at the local level, and (3) decision-making centers at all levels should be truly committed to a social-ecological approach of conservation, since a sole focus on biodiversity will not lead to legitimate results.

Rural children know cavity-nesting birds of the Atlantic Forest but may underappreciate their critical habitat

Abstract Cavity-nesting birds are a diverse and charismatic community, with a common need for tree cavities that makes them vulnerable to land management by humans. However, little research has formally integrated human social aspects into management recommendations for the conservation of cavity-nesting birds. In agroecosystems, people's management decisions modify and define the habitat availability for native cavity-nesting species. These behaviors during adulthood are related to people's worldviews and are shaped, in part, by childhood experiences. On-going forest loss may reduce opportunities for children to interact with and learn from cavity-nesting birds and their habitats. We used a social-ecological framework to assess rural children's knowledge and representations of native cavity-nesting birds and their habitats in agroecosystems of the threatened Atlantic Forest of Argentina. We employed “freelists” and “draw-and-explain” strategies with 235 children from 19 rural schools, and then compared results with a 4-yr dataset of trees (n = 328) and tree-cavity nests (n = 164) in the same study area. Children listed a high diversity (93 taxa) of native cavity-nesting birds, especially parrots (Psittacidae), toucans (Ramphastidae), and woodpeckers (Picidae), which they mostly recognized as cavity-nesters. However, children drew agricultural landscapes with few of the habitat features that these birds require (e.g., tree cavities, native forest). Exotic trees were overrepresented in drawings (40% of mentions) compared to our field dataset of nests (10%) and trees on farms (15%). Although children mentioned and depicted a high diversity of native cavity-nesting birds, our results may reveal a problematic extinction of experience regarding how these birds interact with their habitat. To strengthen children's contextualized knowledge and promote their long-term commitment to the conservation of cavity-nesting species, we recommend fostering meaningful experiences for children to interact with native cavity-nesting birds and recognize their habitat needs. A version of this article translated into Spanish is available in the Supplementary Material 1.

The effect of shared ecological value on buyer–supplier relationship within mountaineering tourism

Shared values play an important role in attracting new tourists, retaining existing ones and gaining an important competitive advantage. Building upon the Commitment-Trust model, this study tested the role of shared ecological values in the creation of tourist trust and relationship commitment, and finally tourist behavioral intention. To test the hypotheses, a sample consisting of 480 mountaineering tourists of two representative travel agencies were surveyed, and a mixed-method approach based on a quantitative survey (n = 436) and qualitative interviews (n = 60) was also adopted to examine their relationships. Results revealed that shared ecological values between tourists and travel agencies were significantly negative predictors of credibility, while credibility and benevolence emerged as significantly positive predictors of relationship commitment. Moreover, credibility and relationship commitment were partially positively predictors of tourist’s behavioral intentions. The findings enrich the extant knowledge on mountaineering tourist relationship marketing and human-nature relationships and provide implications for destination management and wildlife protection.

The economic benefit of spearfishing as an impure public good: A case study of invasive Lionfish in Florida

Lionfish (Pterois miles and P. volitans) is a highly invasive species originally from the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. As an effort to control its exponentially growing population, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched a program called “Lionfish Challenge” to promote harvesting of lionfish from Florida waters. The program provides anglers with a unique recreational opportunity because they would need to dive and spearfish to harvest lionfish. Furthermore, participants in the program not only gain utility from spearfishing as a private good but also as a public good, knowing that they are contributing to the ecosystem in Florida waters. This paper contributes to the literature by measuring the economic benefit for participants from spearfishing as an impure public good. Using data provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a travel cost method was applied to model the demand for lionfish fishing trips. Data included information about counties where lionfish were harvested at the trip-level, but only if participants took a trip and harvested lionfish. Therefore, those who are good at catching lionfish had a higher probability of being included in the data. To account for potential sample selection bias, a probability weight was applied, using the average number of lionfish harvested as a proxy. Results indicate that the per-trip consumer surplus per participant was between $965.89 and $1,597.36, depending on model specifications, with the preferred specification indicating a mean CS of $1,117.72 per trip. The seasonal consumer surplus per participant was indicated to be between $4,550.45 and $3487.91, again, depending on model specification.

Influence of Community Participation on Sustainability of Non-Profit Organizations: The Case of Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA)

This paper examines the influence of community participation on the sustainability of non- profit organizations, with a particular focus on the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA). Using stakeholder theory and participatory development theory as its theoretical framework, the study employed a descriptive research design and utilized stratified and purposive sampling. Data was collected from 100 respondents—including board members, staff, and stakeholders—via structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS with multiple regression. The findings demonstrated a significant positive correlation Y = 2.184 + 0.438X1 + Ԑ., between community participation and sustainability of non-profit organizations highlighting that community engagement fosters ownership, responsibility, and long-term support. The study revealed that community participation enhances resource mobilization, accountability, and transparency within non-profit organizations. Respondents emphasized the importance of community involvement in achieving these outcomes, aligning with prior research by Smith et al. (2020) and Mwangi and Njenga (2019), which also underscored the positive impact of community engagement on non-profit effectiveness and sustainability. By integrating community members into decision-making processes, non-profits can leverage local knowledge and skills, ensuring continued support and effective management. Based on these insights, several recommendations are proposed for KWCA and similar organizations. It is essential to prioritize and expand community involvement by developing more inclusive and interactive engagement programs. Establishing robust feedback mechanisms will facilitate community input and foster a sense of ownership. Additionally, investing in capacity-building initiatives to equip community members with the necessary skills and knowledge is crucial. These measures are expected to enhance community engagement, improve program effectiveness, and bolster the overall sustainability of KWCA’s initiatives.

Mapping Ecological Security Patterns Based on Ecosystem Service Valuation in the Qinling-Daba Mountain Area, China: A Multi-Scenario Study for Development and Conservation Tradeoffs

When focusing on biodiversity maintenance, ecological security pattern (ESP) planning gradually becomes a multi-objective planning strategy for sustainable development; wildlife conservation and ecosystem health maintenance should be balanced with local economic development and people’s livelihood enhancement goals. This study focuses on ESP mapping in the Qinling-Daba Mountain area, which is an ecologically significant and socioeconomically underdeveloped area. The tradeoff between conservation and development is made by varying the area of ecological sources and incorporating ecosystem service tradeoffs into ecological source identification through multi-scenario designation. ESPs under six scenarios were generated based on the minimum resistance model, and the important ecological corridors and strategic points in each scenario were identified and compared. The results show the following: (1) The scenario that sets around 30 percent of the study area as ecological sources maintains the integrity of natural ecosystems and leaves space for food and material supply to residents. (2) In this scenario, the ecological sources are connected by 60 corridors that cross 137 townships with high population densities (>100 people/km2) and intersect with major traffic lines at 71 points. Engineering, management, or education strategies must be taken in these townships or intersections to avoid human–wildlife conflicts. (3) The study area needs to construct both short (north–south) corridors linking proximate ecological sources for species’ daily movement and long (west–east) corridors connecting large and distant sources for species’ seasonal migration and gene flow. (4) The multi-scenario approach turns out to be an effective strategy for ESP planning with considerations for development–conservation tradeoffs.

Managing Trade-Offs Between Communities’ Welfare and Nature Conservation: The Case of Wildlife Management Systems in and Outside Protected Areas in Africa

Successfully analyzing and managing trade-offs between community welfare and wildlife conservation are complex tasks that require a multidisciplinary approach and consideration of various factors. Bioeconomic modeling provides a structured quantitative framework for understanding and evaluating the complex interactions between biological systems and economic activities, aiding in the crafting of more effective and sustainable conservation and rural development strategies. Combined with results from other methods such as economic valuation, institutional analysis, impact evaluation, and framed-field experiments, they can provide guidance on reaching the social planner's optimum. The literature suggests significant roles for comanagement, benefit-sharing, and sustainable financing of conservation as the key ingredients for managing the trade-offs between communities’ welfare and nature conservation in Africa. However, comprehensive research tackling multiple problems simultaneously is required to fully understand and manage the trade-offs. Further, mainstreaming gender and climate change in studies of the trade-offs is increasingly becoming an obligation.

Investigating the distribution of a unique crustacean microendemic to tree hollows.

Water-filled tree hollows constitute phytotelmata that harbor specialized organisms. One striking example of extreme adaptation to these microhabitats is the case of the microcrustacean Micromoina arboricola, which has been found inhabiting the hollow of a single tree individual in the Atlantic Forest. We investigated the spatial distribution and influence of microhabitat characteristics such as hollow volume and height from the ground in the occurrence of M. arboricola. We surveyed all the trunks present in ca. 5000 m2 of an Atlantic old-growth forest area. We found M. arboricola individuals in 75% of the hollows, thus expanding the known distribution of the species. Spatial analysis suggested a clustered pattern of population densities across hollows, indicating that the dispersal capacity to new microhabitat patches may vary in space. Although we did not find an effect of hollow volume, population density was negatively related to hollow height. This suggests that more restrictive abiotic conditions at greater heights limit the occurrence of the species, emphasizing its vulnerability to environmental changes. Hollow-mediated ecosystem engineering depends on the occasional formation of cavities that require time and ancient trees. Preserving old forests with hollows under varying conditions tends to maintain ecosystem functionality and the conservation of this unique microendemic species.

Horns, hunters, and harvest: re‐examining management paradigms for pronghorn

AbstractThe sustainable use of wildlife is foundational to the success of the North American model of wildlife conservation. Harvest management often is shaped through both species biology and public desires. The long timespan it takes males of most ungulate species to reach peak weapon size has created a situation in harvest management in which harvest strategies cannot prioritize both generous hunter opportunity and opportunities to pursue large‐weaponed males; therefore, current harvest paradigms prioritize one at the expense of the other. In contrast to other species, pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) attain the majority of their peak horn size early in life. The rapid development of horns relative to their age may allow for liberal harvest without sacrificing the opportunity for hunters to harvest males with large horns. We evaluated the influence of sex ratios and average age of harvested males on the average horn size of harvested male pronghorn from 2019 to 2022 in 9 hunt areas in Wyoming, USA. Although mean age of harvested males was negatively affected by rate of harvest, increases in mean age at harvest led to only slight increases in mean horn size (i.e., a 1‐year increase in mean age increased mean horn size by 2.1 cm [~1 inch]). The proportion of the harvest composed of large‐horned males was not influenced by mean age of harvest or sex ratio of the population. Based on simulated populations, increasing harvest led to an increase in the number of large‐weaponed pronghorn in the harvest—a relationship that existed for bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) and elk (Cervus canadensis) but only at low to moderate rates of harvest. The comparatively young age that pronghorn attain near‐peak horn size alleviates what is otherwise a tradeoff between hunter opportunity and managing for large horn size that is evident in management of other ungulate species. Though rarely a reality in management for large ungulates, for pronghorn, liberal harvest may be possible while still providing opportunity to harvest males with large horns.