Poor understanding of evolutionary theory is a barrier to effective conservation management

The green python (Morelia viridis) is an iconic snake species highly sought after in the pet trade and is the target of illegal collection. Despite their popularity, some important ecological attributes of green pythons remain unknown, making their effective conservation management difficult. Detection-only surveys were conducted throughout the potential range of the green python in Australia, and intensive mark–recapture surveys were conducted in the areas where there have been previous records. In total, 298 green pythons were located in the Iron, McIlwraith and Kawadji–Ngaachi ranges of Cape York, distributed over an estimated area of 2289 km2, where they frequented rainforest habitats and adjacent vine thickets. They were not found in the Lockerbie Scrub or Jardine River Catchment, despite anecdotal records. Green python density was estimated to be 540 km–2 in the Iron Range and 200 km–2 in the McIlwraith Range, where the percentages of adults captured were 56% and 83%, respectively. The differences between abundance and population demographics in the Iron and McIlwraith ranges may be due to differences in prey abundance and the impacts of collection. The results of this study provide baseline data to conservation managers and policy makers for the future conservation management of this species in Australia.

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Advances in Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna

10.1071/9781486303021 ◽

2015 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Management Strategy ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Future Directions ◽

Policy Makers ◽

New Science ◽

Regulatory Frameworks ◽

Timely Review ◽

Emerging Themes ◽

Effective Conservation

The publication of Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna nearly 20 years ago introduced the new science of ‘reintroduction biology’. Since then, there have been vast changes in our understanding of the process of reintroductions and other conservation-driven translocations, and corresponding changes in regulatory frameworks governing translocations. Advances in Reintroduction Biology of Australian and New Zealand Fauna is a timely review of our understanding of translocation from an Australasian perspective, ensuring translocation becomes an increasingly effective conservation management strategy in the future. Written by experts, including reintroduction practitioners, researchers and policy makers, the book includes extensive practical advice and example case studies, identifies emerging themes and suggests future directions. Conservation practitioners and researchers, as well as conservation management agencies and NGOs will find the book a valuable resource. Although it is based on Australasian examples, it will be of interest globally due to synergies with reintroduction programs throughout the world. 2015 Whitley Awards Certificate of Commendation for Conservation Biology.

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Mapping ecological vulnerability to fire for effective conservation management of natural protected areas

Ecological Modelling ◽

10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.09.017 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 295 ◽

pp. 163-175 ◽

Cited By ~ 43

Author(s):

Roberta Aretano ◽

Teodoro Semeraro ◽

Irene Petrosillo ◽

Antonella De Marco ◽

Maria Rita Pasimeni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Natural Protected Areas ◽

Ecological Vulnerability ◽

Effective Conservation

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Landscape ecology and conservation: moving from description to application

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc940170 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 170 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Richard J. Hobbs

Keyword(s):

Landscape Ecology ◽

Conservation Biology ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Patch Dynamics ◽

Single Species ◽

Landscape Scale ◽

Metapopulation Dynamics ◽

Quantitative Methodology ◽

Effective Conservation ◽

Conservation Of Biodiversity

The focus of conservation biology has been predominantly the study of single species, and conservation management and legislation has been directed mostly at the species level. Increasingly, however, there has been a recognition that ecosystems and landscapes need to be considered, since they form the physical and biotic context within which species exist. Increased emphasis on the landscape scale suggests that the emerging discipline of landscape ecology might have much to offer conservation biology. Landscape ecology is still a young science with no well-defined theoretical framework and little rigorous quantitative methodology. It aims to study patterns, processes and changes at the scale of hectares to square kilometers. Its focus on the pattern and dynamics of ecosystems or patches within a landscape offers much which is of relevance to conservation biology. Topics such as disturbance, patch dynamics, metapopulation dynamics, landscape flows, connectivity and fragmentation all have relevance to the conservation of biodiversity in natural, altered and rapidly changing systems. The papers in this issue provide a cross section of Australian research into landscape ecology which is of relevance to conservation biology. Methodological, theoretical and practical aspects are covered. I suggest that effective conservation of biodiversity will be achieved only if the landscape context is taken into account.

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Environmental offsets, resilience and cost-effective conservation

Royal Society Open Science ◽

10.1098/rsos.140521 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2 (7) ◽

pp. 140521 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

L. R. Little ◽

R. Q. Grafton

Keyword(s):

Conservation Management ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Ecological Function ◽

General Interest ◽

Environmental Disturbances ◽

Trade Offs ◽

Spatially Distributed ◽

Reef Fish Species ◽

Effective Conservation

Conservation management agencies are faced with acute trade-offs when dealing with disturbance from human activities. We show how agencies can respond to permanent ecosystem disruption by managing for Pimm resilience within a conservation budget using a model calibrated to a metapopulation of a coral reef fish species at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. The application is of general interest because it provides a method to manage species susceptible to negative environmental disturbances by optimizing between the number and quality of migration connections in a spatially distributed metapopulation. Given ecological equivalency between the number and quality of migration connections in terms of time to recover from disturbance, our approach allows conservation managers to promote ecological function, under budgetary constraints, by offsetting permanent damage to one ecological function with investment in another.

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Sexual size dimorphism and microhabitat use of the orange-tail skink (Gongylomorphus spp.) on Flat Island, Mauritius: conservation implications

Amphibia-Reptilia ◽

10.1163/156853808785112093 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 349-359 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Toby Ross ◽

Diana Bell ◽

Carl Jones ◽

Angelo Pernetta

Keyword(s):

Hind Limb ◽

Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Head Width ◽

Microhabitat Use ◽

Grass Cover ◽

Size Dimorphism ◽

Conservation Implications ◽

Putative Species ◽

Effective Conservation

Abstract The Gongylomorphus skinks are an endemic genus of Mauritius and comprise two described species. Following the recent discovery of a third putative species, endemic to Flat Island, 11 km off the coast of Mauritius, this study was conducted to examine morphometrics and the pattern of microhabitat use by the species in an effort to provide effective conservation recommendations. There was a clear sexual size dimorphism with males significantly larger than females in terms of; snout-vent length, head length, head width, snout-mouth length, snout-ear length, upper and lower fore- and hind-limb lengths and fourth toe length. There was no sexual dimorphism in other measures including pelvic width, width at the base of the tail, head depth or body weight. Microhabitat use was found to be non-random with lizards occurring in areas with high humidity, high numbers of natural refugia, increased leaf litter coverage and plant species diversity, and low grass cover. We found no evidence that microhabitat use varied in relation to sex or age of lizards. The implications of these results for the conservation management of Flat Island for the orange-tail skink are discussed.

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Deciphering the Taxonomic Delimitation of Ottelia acuminata (Hydrocharitaceae) Using Complete Plastomes as Super-Barcodes

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.681270 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Yunheng Ji ◽

Jin Yang ◽

Jacob B. Landis ◽

Shuying Wang ◽

Zhenyan Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Delimitation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Species Conservation ◽

Phylogenetic Inference ◽

Independent Sequence ◽

Varietal Identification ◽

Effective Conservation ◽

Conservation And Management

Accurate species delimitation and identification, which is a challenging task in traditional morphology-based taxonomy, is crucial to species conservation. Ottelia acuminata (Hydrocharitaceae) is a severely threatened submerged macrophyte endemic to southwestern China. The taxonomy of O. acuminata, which has long been in dispute, remains unresolved, impeding effective conservation and management practices. Here, we aim to address the long-standing issues concerning species boundary and intraspecific subdivision of O. acuminata using complete plastome sequences as super-barcodes. The taxonomic delimitation of O. acuminata was explored using phylogenetic inference and two independent sequence-based species delimitation schemes: automatic barcode gap discovery (ABGD) and multi-rate Poisson tree processes (mPTP). The reciprocally reinforcing results support the reduction of the closely related congeneric species, O. balansae and O. guanyangensis, as two conspecific varieties of O. acuminata. Within the newly defined O. acuminata, accurate varietal identification can be achieved using plastome super-barcodes. These findings will help inform future decisions regarding conservation, management and restoration of O. acuminata. This case study suggests that the use of plastome super-barcodes can provide a solution for species delimitation and identification in taxonomically difficult plant taxa, thus providing great potential to lessen the challenges of inventorying biodiversity, as well as biologically monitoring and assessing threatened species.

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Estimating patterns of vulnerability in a changing landscape: a case study of New Zealand's indigenous grasslands

Environmental Conservation ◽

10.1017/s0376892912000343 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 84-95 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

EMILY S. WEEKS ◽

JACOB M. OVERTON ◽

SUSAN WALKER

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Generalized Additive Models ◽

Additive Models ◽

Land Conversion ◽

Land Use Conversion ◽

Rapid Changes ◽

Poor Understanding ◽

Habitat Conversion ◽

Effective Conservation

SUMMARYEffective conservation planning must anticipate the rates and patterns of dynamic threats to biodiversity, such as rapid changes in land use. Poor understanding and prediction of drivers and patterns of conversion of habitat can hinder assessments of the relative vulnerability of areas of remaining indigenous habitat to conversion, and identification of habitats in most immediate need of protection. Methods developed to model vulnerability to conversion vary in their complexity and applicability to conservation management. Generalized additive models provide a simple robust method to explore predictors and patterns of land-use conversion, and may be used to predict future patterns of conversion using recent land conversion data. This paper provides the first data-derived and statistically validated measurement of the vulnerability of New Zealand's indigenous grasslands to conversion. Higher altitude and more marginal (for agriculture and forestry) land showed greater conversion, and models based on earlier conversion patterns performed more poorly in predicting current patterns of conversion. Up-to-date land conversion data appear crucial for accurately predicting future vulnerability to habitat conversion.

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Seascape Genetics and the Spatial Ecology of Juvenile Green Turtles

Genes ◽

10.3390/genes11030278 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 278

Author(s):

Michael P. Jensen ◽

Mayeul Dalleau ◽

Philippe Gaspar ◽

Maxime Lalire ◽

Claire Jean ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Green Turtle ◽

Spatial Ecology ◽

Conservation Management ◽

Marine Species ◽

Chelonia Mydas ◽

Ocean Currents ◽

Marine Animals ◽

Southwest Indian Ocean ◽

Green Turtles ◽

Effective Conservation

Understanding how ocean currents impact the distribution and connectivity of marine species, provides vital information for the effective conservation management of migratory marine animals. Here, we used a combination of molecular genetics and ocean drift simulations to investigate the spatial ecology of juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) developmental habitats, and assess the role of ocean currents in driving the dispersal of green turtle hatchlings. We analyzed mitochondrial (mt)DNA sequenced from 358 juvenile green turtles, and from eight developmental areas located throughout the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO). A mixed stock analysis (MSA) was applied to estimate the level of connectivity between developmental sites and published genetic data from 38 known genetic stocks. The MSA showed that the juvenile turtles at all sites originated almost exclusively from the three known SWIO stocks, with a clear shift in stock contributions between sites in the South and Central Areas. The results from the genetic analysis could largely be explained by regional current patterns, as shown by the results of passive numerical drift simulations linking breeding sites to developmental areas utilized by juvenile green turtles. Integrating genetic and oceanographic data helps researchers to better understand how marine species interact with ocean currents at different stages of their lifecycle, and provides the scientific basis for effective conservation management.

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Zoonotic schistosomiasis in non-human primates: past, present and future activities at the human–wildlife interface in Africa

Journal of Helminthology ◽

10.1017/s0022149x12000028 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 86 (2) ◽

pp. 131-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

C.J. Standley ◽

L. Mugisha ◽

A.P. Dobson ◽

J.R. Stothard

Keyword(s):

Conservation Management ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Mammalian Species ◽

Clinical Manifestations ◽

Zoonotic Diseases ◽

Zoonotic Infection ◽

The Status ◽

Reservoir Potential ◽

Epidemiological Significance ◽

Effective Conservation

AbstractSchistosomiasis is one of the world's most widely distributed and prevalent parasitic diseases. Less widely recognized is that some species of Schistosoma, including several that commonly affect humans, also cause disease in other mammalian species; in particular, infections in non-human primates are known. With interest increasing in emerging zoonotic diseases, the status of schistosomiasis as a zoonotic infection is in need of re-appraisal, especially in light of advances in application of molecular screening and epidemiological tools where newly reported infections raise general animal welfare and conservation concerns. Focusing on Africa, this review provides a summary of the occurrence of schistosomiasis in non-human primates and discusses new ways in which surveillance for schistosomiasis should be integrated into more effective conservation management and disease control strategies. Emphasis is on the more common forms of human schistosomiasis, their clinical manifestations and epidemiological significance in terms of infection reservoir potential.

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