Not all seabird species can overcome marine threats when predator removal at their colonies is prioritised

AbstractSeabirds are globally threatened. In the face of multiple threats, it is critical to understand how conservation strategies that mitigate one threat intersect with others to impact population viability. Marine threats, including pollution, climate change, and fisheries could derail gains to seabird populations resulting from arduous predator eradication efforts. However, this potentially negative effect is yet to be evaluated. We test whether mortality from marine threats can subvert the on-going recovery of 17 seabird species from 37 colonies on islands worldwide where predators were removed. We use demographic modelling to estimate potential adult mortality from fisheries, plastic ingestion, and climate change. For 82% of the species we examine, marine threats do not impede recovery following predator eradication. However, for six colonies of three species, Calonectris diomedea, C. borealis, and Ardenna carneipes, mortality from multiple marine threats may interrupt their recovery. Combining our demographic approach with comparative phylogenetic methods, we explore whether foraging niche, range, and morphometric traits inform the vulnerability to marine threats using an expanded dataset of 81 seabird species. Our analyses reveal surface filtering and pursuit diving species, and species with smaller at-sea distributions to be most vulnerable to declines due to multiple threats. However, these traits do not necessarily predict species’ vulnerability to marine threats in the absence of predators at nesting colonies, suggesting that shared traits may not be useful to infer vulnerability to multiple marine threats. Post-eradication monitoring to determine whether species require additional conservation management following predator eradication are essential in the face of intensifying pressures in the marine environment.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Assisted colonization: Integrating conservation strategies in the face of climate change.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.10103966.10867068 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Erica Smithwick

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

The Face ◽

Assisted Colonization

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Strategies for conservation of germplasm in endemic redwoods in the face of climate change: a review

Plant Genetic Resources ◽

10.1017/s1479262111000153 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 411-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

M. R. Ahuja

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Genetic Diversity ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Phenotypic Traits ◽

Coast Redwood ◽

Giant Sequoia ◽

The Face

This study reviews the various conservation strategies applied to the four redwood species, namely coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Sierra redwood or giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) and South American redwood or alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), which are endemic in the USA, China and South America, respectively. All four redwood genera belong to the family Cupressaceae; they are monospecific, share a number of common phenotypic traits, including red wood, and are threatened in their native ranges due to human activity and a changing climate. Therefore, the management objective should be to conserve representative populations of the native species with as much genetic diversity as possible for their future survival. Those representative populations exhibiting relatively high levels of genetic diversity should be selected for germplasm preservation and monitored during the conservation phase by using molecular markers. In situ and ex situ strategies for the preservation of germplasm of the redwoods are discussed in this study. A holistic in situ gene conservation strategy calls for the regeneration of a large number of diverse redwood genotypes that exhibit adequate levels of neutral and adaptive genetic variability, by generative and vegetative methods for their preservation and maintenance in their endemic locations. At the same time, it would be desirable to conserve the redwoods in new ex situ reserves, away from their endemic locations with similar as well as different environmental conditions for testing their growth and survival capacities. In addition, other ex situ strategies involving biotechnological approaches for preservation of seeds, tissues, pollen and DNA in genebanks should also be fully exploited in the face of global climate change.

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A framework for selectively breeding corals for assisted evolution

10.1101/2021.02.23.432469 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adriana Humanes ◽

John Bythell ◽

Elizabeth Beauchamp ◽

Mitch Carl ◽

Jamie Craggs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Selective Breeding ◽

Coral Cover ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Acropora Digitifera ◽

Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽

The Face

AbstractCoral cover on tropical reefs has declined during the last three decades due to the combined effects of climate change, destructive fishing, pollution, and land use change. Drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions combined with effective coastal management and conservation strategies are essential to slow this decline. Innovative approaches, such as selective breeding for adaptive traits combined with large-scale sexual propagation, are being developed with the aim of pre-adapting reefs to increased ocean warming. However, there are still major gaps in our understanding of the technical and methodological constraints to producing corals for such restoration interventions. Here we propose a framework for selectively breeding corals and rearing them from eggs to 2.5-year old colonies using the coral Acropora digitifera as a model species. We present methods for choosing colonies for selective crossing, enhancing early survivorship in ex situ and in situ nurseries, and outplanting and monitoring colonies on natal reefs. We used a short-term (7-day) temperature stress assay to select parental colonies based on heat tolerance of excised branches. From six parental colonies, we produced 12 distinct crosses, and compared survivorship and growth of colonies transferred to in situ nurseries or outplanted to the reef at different ages. We demonstrate that selectively breeding and rearing coral colonies is technically feasible at small scales and could be upscaled as part of restorative assisted evolution initiatives. Nonetheless, there are still challenges to overcome before selective breeding can be implemented as a viable conservation tool, especially at the post-settlement and outplanting phases. Although interdisciplinary approaches will be needed to overcome many of the challenges identified in this study, selective breeding has the potential to be a viable tool within reef managers’ toolbox to support the persistence of selected reefs in the face of climate change.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Assisted colonization: Integrating conservation strategies in the face of climate change.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.10103966.13118057 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Mark Lonsdale ◽

Hazel Ruth Parry

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

The Face ◽

Assisted Colonization

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Thermal Requirements Underpinning Germination Allude to Risk of Species Decline from Climate Warming

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9060796 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 796 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jennifer Anne Cochrane

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Local Climate ◽

Thermal Requirements ◽

The Past ◽

Warming Climate ◽

Species Vulnerability ◽

The Face ◽

Germination Timing ◽

Regeneration Phase ◽

Gradient Plate

The storage of seeds is a commonly used means of preserving plant genetic diversity in the face of rising threats such as climate change. Here, the findings of research from the past decade into thermal requirements for germination are synthesised for more than 100 plant species from southern Western Australia. This global biodiversity hotspot is predicted to suffer major plant collapse under forecast climate change. A temperature gradient plate was used to assess the thermal requirements underpinning seed germination in both commonly occurring and geographically restricted species. The results suggest that the local climate of the seed source sites does not drive seed responses, neither is it indicative of temperatures for optimal germination. The low diurnal phase of the temperature regime provided the most significant impact on germination timing. Several species germinated optimally at mean temperatures below or close to current wet quarter temperatures, and more than 40% of species were likely to be impacted in the future, with germination occurring under supra-optimal temperature conditions. This research highlights both species vulnerability and resilience to a warming climate during the regeneration phase of the life cycle and provides vital information for those aiming to manage, conserve and restore this regional flora.

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An Experimental Framework for Selectively Breeding Corals for Assisted Evolution

Frontiers in Marine Science ◽

10.3389/fmars.2021.669995 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Adriana Humanes ◽

Elizabeth A. Beauchamp ◽

John C. Bythell ◽

Mitch K. Carl ◽

Jamie R. Craggs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Selective Breeding ◽

Coral Cover ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Conservation Strategies ◽

Acropora Digitifera ◽

Interdisciplinary Approaches ◽

The Face

Coral cover on tropical reefs has declined during the last three decades due to the combined effects of climate change, destructive fishing, pollution, and land use change. Drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions combined with effective coastal management and conservation strategies are essential to slow this decline. Innovative approaches, such as selective breeding for adaptive traits combined with large-scale sexual propagation, are being developed with the aim of pre-adapting reefs to increased ocean warming. However, there are still major gaps in our understanding of the technical and methodological constraints to producing corals for such restoration interventions. Here we propose a framework for selectively breeding corals and rearing them from eggs to 2.5-year old colonies using the coral Acropora digitifera as a model species. We present methods for choosing colonies for selective crossing, enhancing early survivorship in ex situ and in situ nurseries, and outplanting and monitoring colonies on natal reefs. We used a short-term (7-day) temperature stress assay to select parental colonies based on heat tolerance of excised branches. From six parental colonies, we produced 12 distinct crosses, and compared survivorship and growth of colonies transferred to in situ nurseries or outplanted to the reef at different ages. We demonstrate that selectively breeding and rearing coral colonies is technically feasible at small scales and could be upscaled as part of restorative assisted evolution initiatives. Nonetheless, there are still challenges to overcome before selective breeding can be implemented as a viable conservation tool, especially at the post-settlement and outplanting phases. Although interdisciplinary approaches will be needed to overcome many of the challenges identified in this study, selective breeding has the potential to be a viable tool within a reef managers toolbox to support the persistence of selected reefs in the face of climate change.

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The Role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in Climate Change

10.4018/978-1-7998-7492-8.ch001 ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-23

Author(s):

Stewart Lee Kugara ◽

Andrew Tapiwa Tapiwa Kugedera ◽

Nyasha Sakadzo ◽

Emmerson Chivhenge ◽

Taona Museva

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Global Climate ◽

Knowledge Systems ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Indigenous Knowledge Systems ◽

The Face ◽

Negative Effect ◽

Development Goals

Climate change is projected to have a negative effect towards food security and attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Africa. Its impact is expected to be extremely severe in regions of Africa that depend on rainwater agriculture and have limited resources to mitigate and adapt to climate change. Much of the climate awareness on climate change comes from models or scenarios that face certain degrees of uncertainty. The knowledge of local and indigenous peoples, commonly mentioned to as local knowledge systems (LKS) or indigenous knowledge systems (IKS), is gradually being recognized as an imperative source of information for climate mitigation and adaptation. It is essential that policymakers draw on the best available knowledge in the face of global climate change.

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