Conservation priorities for carnivores considering protected natural areas and human population density (original) (raw)
Related papers
Integrating Economic Costs and Biological Traits into Global Conservation Priorities for Carnivores
PLOS One, 2009
Background: 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.
Global agricultural expansion and carnivore conservation biogeography
Biological Conservation, 2013
Global conservation prioritization must address conflicting land uses. We tested for spatial congruence between agricultural expansion in the 21st century and priority areas for carnivore conservation worldwide. We evaluated how including agricultural expansion data in conservation planning reduces such congruence and estimated the consequences of such an approach for the performance of resulting priority area networks. We investigated the correlation between projections of agricultural expansion and the solutions of global spatial prioritizations for carnivore conservation through the implementation of different goals: (1) purely maximizing species representation and (2) representing species while avoiding sites under high pressure for agriculture expansion. We also evaluated the performance of conservation solutions based on species' representation and their spatial congruence with established global prioritization schemes. Priority areas for carnivore conservation were spatially correlated with future agricultural distribution and were more similar to global conservation schemes with high vulnerability. Incorporating future agricultural expansion in the site selection process substantially reduced spatial correlation with agriculture, resulting in a spatial solution more similar to global conservation schemes with low vulnerability. Accounting for agricultural expansion resulted in a lower representation of species, as the average proportion of the range represented reduced from 58% to 32%. We propose that priorities for carnivore conservation could be integrated into a strategy that concentrates different conservation actions towards areas where they are likely to be more effective regarding agricultural expansion.
Carnivores as Focal Species for Conservation Planning in the Rocky Mountain Region
Ecological Applications, 2001
Viability analysis of well-selected focal species can complement ecosystemlevel conservation planning by revealing thresholds in habitat area and landscape connectivity. Mammalian carnivores are good candidates for focal species because their distributional patterns often strongly reflect regional-scale population processes. We incorporated focal species analysis of four carnivore species, fisher (Martes pennanti), lynx (Lynx canadensis), wolverine (Gulo gulo), and grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), into a regional conservation plan for the Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada. We developed empirical habitat models for fisher, lynx, and wolverine based on a geographically extensive data set of trapping and sighting records. Predictor variables derived directly from satellite imagery were significantly correlated with carnivore distribution and allowed us to predict distribution in areas lacking detailed vegetation data. Although we lacked similar distributional data for grizzly bear, we predicted bear habitat by adapting and extrapolating previously published, regional-scale habitat models. Predicted habitat for grizzly bear has high overlap with that for wolverine, intermediate overlap with fisher, and low overlap with lynx. High-quality habitats for fisher and lynx, unlike those for wolverine and grizzly bear, are not strongly associated with low levels of human population and roads. Nevertheless, they are naturally fragmented by topography and vegetation gradients and are poorly represented in existing protected areas. Areas with high biological productivity and low human impact are valuable habitat for all four species but are limited in extent. Predicted habitat values for lynx and wolverine are significantly correlated with trapping data from an area outside the extent of the original data set. This supports the use of empirical distribution models as the initial stage in a regional-scale monitoring program. Our results suggest that a comprehensive conservation strategy for carnivores in the region must consider the needs of several species, rather than a single, presumed umbrella species. Coordinated planning across multiple ownerships is necessary to prevent further fragmentation of carnivore habitat, especially in the U.S.-Canada border region.
Diversity and Distributions, 2008
Oaxaca, located in south-west México within the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, holds exceptionally high biodiversity for several taxa, including mammals. It has four decreed natural protected areas (NPAs) covering 5% of its total area, but only three of these, covering only 0.2% of the area, are strictly protected as National Parks. The current study develops ecological niche models for 183 terrestrial mammals for use as biodiversity surrogates in a systematic conservation planning exercise. Forty-five of these species were selected on the basis of their being either endangered or threatened or otherwise listed under the Mexican Red List or because they were endemic to either Oaxaca or to Mexico. The niche models were constructed with a machine-learning algorithm (GARP, Genetic Algorithm for Rule-Set Prediction) and refined by restricting each model to sites with suitable vegetation and habitat patches contiguous with known occurrences of the species. If the entire predicted geographical distribution of each of the 45 species listed above is put under protection, the entire state of Oaxaca gets included. Therefore, we imposed different constraints on the maximum area that can be put under protection (5–30% of the area of Oaxaca) and selected nominal conservation area networks based on different percentage representation targets for the species’ modelled distributions based on their conservation status (10–100%). The area selection utilized a rarity- and complementarity-based algorithm (in the ResNet software package). The goal was to have as many as possible of the 45 species at risk meet their specified representation targets in the budgeted area. The methods developed here combine ecological niche modelling and area prioritization algorithms for integrated conservation planning in a protocol that is suitable for other highly biodiverse regions.
Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 2014
Mapping geographic trends in biodiversity is a key step in conservation planning, which has been mainly focused on taxonomic criteria or species of particular concern. More recently, higher consideration of ecosystem functioning has been advocated, allocating more attention to traits and functional diversity of species assemblages. Carnivorans (Mammalia: Carnivora) are charismatic, albeit threatened, species that variously affect ecosystem functioning through consumptive processes, and whose functional diversity depends on traits associated with their trophic habits and energetic requirements. Yet, analyses of spatial trends in the diversity and vulnerability of carnivoran assemblages have mostly focused on taxonomic and phylogenetic criteria. Then, the present study assessed the vulnerability of the functional richness of South American carnivoran assemblages, both at continental and regional levels. As a first diagnostic of vulnerability, the form of the association between functional richness and species richness (FRS) was assessed through simulations. The resulting nearly linear association indicated low functional redundancy and high sensitivity to global extinctions. A more realistic FRS accounting for actual extinction threats exacerbated losses of functional richness. Further, a positive correlation between effect and response traits suggests non-compensatory responses to environmental stressors by functionally redundant species and, thus, sensitivity of carnivoran functional richness to ongoing trends in land conversion and habitat degradation. Regionally, functional richness paralleled latitudinal gradients in species richness, but vulnerability did not entirely match these variables in space, nor did it risk estimates that accounted for regions' conservation status. This suggests regional differentiation in conservation priorities, complementing existing taxonomically oriented prioritization schemes.
Diversity and …, 2008
Oaxaca, located in south-west México within the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, holds exceptionally high biodiversity for several taxa, including mammals. It has four decreed natural protected areas (NPAs) covering 5% of its total area, but only three of these, covering only 0.2% of the area, are strictly protected as National Parks. The current study develops ecological niche models for 183 terrestrial mammals for use as biodiversity surrogates in a systematic conservation planning exercise. Forty-five of these species were selected on the basis of their being either endangered or threatened or otherwise listed under the Mexican Red List or because they were endemic to either Oaxaca or to Mexico. The niche models were constructed with a machine-learning algorithm (GARP, Genetic Algorithm for Rule-Set Prediction) and refined by restricting each model to sites with suitable vegetation and habitat patches contiguous with known occurrences of the species. If the entire predicted geographical distribution of each of the 45 species listed above is put under protection, the entire state of Oaxaca gets included. Therefore, we imposed different constraints on the maximum area that can be put under protection (5 -30% of the area of Oaxaca) and selected nominal conservation area networks based on different percentage representation targets for the species' modelled distributions based on their conservation status (10 -100%). The area selection utilized a rarityand complementarity-based algorithm (in the ResNet software package). The goal was to have as many as possible of the 45 species at risk meet their specified representation targets in the budgeted area. The methods developed here combine ecological niche modelling and area prioritization algorithms for integrated conservation planning in a protocol that is suitable for other highly biodiverse regions.
Carnivore conservation in practice: replicated management actions on a large spatial scale
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2013
1. More than a quarter of the world's carnivores are threatened, often due to multiple and complex causes. Considerable research efforts are devoted to resolving the mechanisms behind these threats in order to provide a basis for relevant conservation actions. However, even when the underlying mechanisms are known, specific actions aimed at direct support for carnivores are difficult to implement and evaluate at efficient spatial and temporal scales. 2. We report on a 30-year inventory of the critically endangered Fennoscandian arctic fox Vulpes lagopus L., including yearly surveys of 600 fox dens covering 21 000 km 2. These surveys showed that the population was close to extinction in 2000, with 40-60 adult animals left. However, the population subsequently showed a fourfold increase in size. 3. During this time period, conservation actions through supplementary feeding and predator removal were implemented in several regions across Scandinavia, encompassing 79% of the area. To evaluate these actions, we examined the effect of supplemental winter feeding and red fox control applied at different intensities in 10 regions. A path analysis indicated that 47% of the explained variation in population productivity could be attributed to lemming abundance, whereas winter feeding had a 29% effect and red fox control a 20% effect. 4. This confirms that arctic foxes are highly dependent on lemming population fluctuations but also shows that red foxes severely impact the viability of arctic foxes. This study also highlights the importance of implementing conservation actions on extensive spatial and temporal scales, with geographically dispersed actions to scientifically evaluate the effects. We note that population recovery was only seen in regions with a high intensity of management actions. 5. Synthesis and applications. The present study demonstrates that carnivore population declines may be reversed through extensive actions that target specific threats. Fennoscandian arctic fox is still endangered, due to low population connectivity and expected climate impacts on the distribution and dynamics of lemmings and red foxes. Climate warming is expected to contribute to both more irregular lemming dynamics and red fox appearance in tundra areas; however, the effects of climate change can be mitigated through intensive management actions such as supplemental feeding and red fox control.
Human–wildlife conflict, habitat loss, and prey hunting are the main threats to carnivore species worldwide. Forest conversion as consequence of deforestation and agricultural expansion increases the proximity between carnivores and humans, thereby escalating conflicts. Knowledge about carnivore species in data-poor countries, such as Colombia, is scarce which has the potential to result in poor landscape planning decisions. For many species, the only existing spatial information resides in expert-driven approaches which result in coarse-resolution ‘extent-of-occurrence’ maps. There is an increasing need for the development of methodologies to identify conservation and management areas at appropriate scales. Multi-criteria approaches will allow the inclusion of diverse species attributes enabling environmental institutions to address complex landscape decisions that result in conservation and management of carnivore habitat. We present a multi-criteria spatial identification tool for conservation and management areas, focused on Jaguars (Panthera onca) in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in northern Colombia. Our approach identifies areas based on the relationship between three spatial criteria: (1) suitable habitat patches, (2) habitat connectivity, and (3) zones of higher likelihood of human–jaguar conflict. We identified areas with the presence of at least one spatial criteria in 32% of the study area. Only 16.28% of these occur within protected areas (PAs) and the remaining fall on private lands (83.72%), either within (35.68%) or outside (48.04%) buffer zones of PAs. Our results highlight the need for multi-stakeholder collaborative approaches given that most proposed conservation areas fall on private rather than public lands.