1
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Hanson JO, Schuster R, Strimas-Mackey M, Morrell N, Edwards BPM, Arcese P, Bennett JR, Possingham HP. Systematic conservation prioritization with the prioritizr R package. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024:e14376. [PMID: 39268847 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024]
Abstract
Plans for expanding protected area systems (prioritizations) need to fulfill conservation objectives. They also need to account for other factors, such as economic feasibility and anthropogenic land-use requirements. Although prioritizations are often generated with decision support tools, most tools have limitations that hinder their use for decision-making. We outlined how the prioritizr R package (https://prioritizr.net) can be used for systematic conservation prioritization. This decision support tool provides a flexible interface to build conservation planning problems. It can leverage a variety of commercial (e.g., Gurobi) and open-source (e.g., CBC and SYMPHONY) exact algorithm solvers to identify optimal solutions in a short period. It is also compatible with a variety of spatially explicit (e.g., ESRI Shapefile, GeoTIFF) and nonspatial tabular (e.g., Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet) data formats. Additionally, it provides functionality for evaluating prioritizations, such as assessing the relative importance of different places selected by a prioritization. To showcase the prioritizr R package, we applied it to a case study based in Washington state (United States) for which we developed a prioritization to improve protected area coverage of native avifauna. We accounted for land acquisition costs, existing protected areas, places that might not be suitable for protected area establishment, and spatial fragmentation. We also conducted a benchmark analysis to examine the performance of different solvers. The prioritization identified 12,400 km2 of priority areas for increasing the percentage of species' distributions covered by protected areas. Although open source and commercial solvers were able to quickly solve large-scale conservation planning problems, commercial solvers were required for complex, large-scale problems.. The prioritizr R package is available on the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN). In addition to reserve selection, it can inform habitat restoration, connectivity enhancement, and ecosystem service provisioning. It has been used in numerous conservation planning exercises to inform best practices and aid real-world decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey O Hanson
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Nature Conservancy of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Nina Morrell
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Peter Arcese
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Joseph R Bennett
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hugh P Possingham
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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2
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Ager A. Improving the evaluation of spatial optimization models for prioritizing landscape restoration and wildfire risk reduction investments. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 360:121001. [PMID: 38776656 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Alan Ager
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory, 5775 US Highway 10W, Missoula, MT, 59808, USA.
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3
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Hua F, Liu M, Wang Z. Integrating forest restoration into land-use planning at large spatial scales. Curr Biol 2024; 34:R452-R472. [PMID: 38714177 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.02.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
Forest restoration is being scaled up globally, carrying major expectations of environmental and societal benefits. Current discussions on ensuring the effectiveness of forest restoration are predominantly focused on the land under restoration per se. But this focus neglects the critical issue that land use and its drivers at larger spatial scales have strong implications for forest restoration outcomes, through the influence of landscape context and, importantly, potential off-site impacts of forest restoration that must be accounted for in measuring its effectiveness. To ensure intended restoration outcomes, it is crucial to integrate forest restoration into land-use planning at spatial scales large enough to account for - and address - these larger-scale influences, including the protection of existing native ecosystems. In this review, we highlight this thus-far neglected issue in conceptualizing forest restoration for the delivery of multiple desirable benefits regarding biodiversity and ecosystem services. We first make the case for the need to integrate forest restoration into large-scale land-use planning, by reviewing current evidence on the landscape-level influences and off-site impacts pertaining to forest restoration. We then discuss how science can guide the integration of forest restoration into large-scale land-use planning, by laying out key features of methodological frameworks required, reviewing the extent to which existing frameworks carry these features, and identifying methodological innovations needed to bridge the potential shortfall. Finally, we critically review the status of existing methods and data to identify future research efforts needed to advance these methodological innovations and, more broadly, the effective integration of forest restoration design into large-scale land-use planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangyuan Hua
- Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Mingxin Liu
- Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Zhen Wang
- Institute of Ecology and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
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4
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Albers HJ, Chang CH, Dissanayake STM, Helmstedt KJ, Kroetz K, Dilkina B, Zapata-Mor An I, Nolte C, Ochoa-Ochoa LM, Spencer G. Anticipating anthropogenic threats in acquiring new protected areas. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024; 38:e14176. [PMID: 37668112 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Biodiversity continues to decline despite protected area expansion and global conservation commitments. Biodiversity losses occur in existing protected areas, yet common methods used to select protected areas ignore postimplementation threats that reduce effectiveness. We developed a conservation planning framework that considers the ongoing anthropogenic threats within protected areas when selecting sites and the value of planning for costly threat-mitigating activities (i.e., enforcement) at the time of siting decisions. We applied the framework to a set of landscapes that contained the range of possible correlations between species richness and threat. Accounting for threats and implementing enforcement activities increased benefits from protected areas without increasing budgets. Threat information was valuable in conserving more species per spending level even without enforcement, especially on landscapes with randomly distributed threats. Benefits from including threat information and enforcement were greatest when human threats peaked in areas of high species richness and were lowest where human threats were negatively associated with species richness. Because acquiring information on threats and using threat-mitigating activities are costly, our findings can guide decision-makers regarding the settings in which to pursue these planning steps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi J Albers
- Department of Economics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Charlotte H Chang
- Department of Biology and Environmental Analysis Program, Pomona College, Claremont, California, USA
- David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship Program, Society for Conservation Biology, Washington, DC, USA
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | | | - Kate J Helmstedt
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Kailin Kroetz
- School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
- Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Bistra Dilkina
- Department of Computer Science, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | | | - Christoph Nolte
- Department of Earth & Environment, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Leticia M Ochoa-Ochoa
- Departamento de Biolog´ıa Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico
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5
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Domingues GF, Hughes FM, Dos Santos AG, Carvalho AF, Calegario AT, Saiter FZ, Marcatti GE. Designing an optimized landscape restoration with spatially interdependent non-linear models. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 873:162299. [PMID: 36801326 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a biodiversity hotspot drastically fragmented due to different land use practices. Our understanding on the impacts of fragmentation and restoration practices on ecosystem functionality significantly increased during the last decades. However, it is unknown to our knowledge how a precision restoration approach, integrated with landscape metrics, will affect the decision-making process of forest restoration. Here, we applied Landscape Shape Index and Contagion metrics in a genetic algorithm for planning forest restoration in watersheds at the pixel level. We evaluated how such integration may configure the precision of restoration with scenarios related to landscape ecology metrics. The genetic algorithm worked toward optimizing the site, shape, and size of forest patches across the landscape according to the results obtained in applying the metrics. Our results, obtained by simulations of scenarios, support aggregation of forest restoration zones as expected, with priority restoration areas indicated where most of the aggregation of forest patches occurs. Our optimized solutions for the study area (Santa Maria do Rio Doce Watershed) predicted an important improvement of landscape metrics (LSI = 44 %; Contagion/LSI = 73 %). Largest shifts are suggested based on LSI (i.e., three larger fragments) and Contagion/LSI (i.e., only one well-connected fragment) optimizations. Our findings indicate that restoration in an extremely fragmented landscape will promote a shift toward more connected patches and with reduction of the surface:volume ratio. Our work explores the use of genetic algorithms to propose forest restoration based on landscape ecology metrics in a spatially explicit innovative approach. Our results indicate that LSI and Contagion:LSI ratio may affect the choice concerning precise location of restoration sites based on forest fragments scattered in the landscape and reinforce the usefulness of genetic algorithms to yield an optimized-driven solution for restoration initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Getulio Fonseca Domingues
- Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica (INMA), Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Escola Agrícola de Jundiaí, Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
| | - Frederic Mendes Hughes
- Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica (INMA), Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Programa de Pós-graduação em Bioinformática, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais (MG), Brazil; Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), Conselho de Curadores das Coleções Científicas, Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil; Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana (UEFS), Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Bahia, Brazil.
| | | | - Antônio F Carvalho
- Instituto Nacional da Mata Atlântica (INMA), Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil; Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Global Conservation Program, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | | | | | - Gustavo Eduardo Marcatti
- Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei (UFSJ), Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, Campus Sete Lagoas, MG, Brazil
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6
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Weerasena L, Shier D, Tonkyn D, McFeaters M, Collins C. A sequential approach to reserve design with compactness and contiguity considerations. Ecol Modell 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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7
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Zhu G, Giam X, Armsworth PR, Cho SH, Papeş M. Biodiversity conservation adaptation to climate change: Protecting the actors or the stage. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 33:e2765. [PMID: 36259369 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
To be able to protect biodiversity in coming decades, conservation strategies need to consider what sites will be important for species not just today but also in the future. Different methods have been proposed to identify places that will be important for species in the future. Two of the most frequently used methods, ecological niche modeling and climate resilience, have distinct aims. The former focuses on identifying the suitable environmental conditions for species, thus protecting the "actor," namely, the species, whereas the latter seeks to safeguard the "stage," or the landscape in which species occur. We used the two methods to identify climate refugia for 258 forest vertebrates under short- and long-term climatic changes in a biodiversity hotspot, the Appalachian ecoregion of the United States. We also evaluated the spatial congruence of the two approaches for a possible conservation application, that of protecting 30% of the Appalachian region, in line with recent national and international policy recommendations. We detected weak positive correlations between resilience scores and baseline vertebrate richness, estimated with ecological niche models for historical (baseline) climatic conditions. The correlations were stronger for amphibians and mammals than for birds and reptiles. Under climate change scenarios, the correlations between estimated vertebrate richness and resilience were also weakly positive; a positive correlation was detected only for amphibians. Locations with estimated future gain of suitable climatic conditions for vertebrates showed low correlation with resilience. Overall, our results indicate that climate resilience and ecological niche modeling approaches capture different characteristics of projected distributional changes of Appalachian vertebrates. A climate resilience (the stage) approach could be more effective in safeguarding species with low dispersal abilities, whereas an ecological niche modeling (the actor) approach could be more suitable for species with long-distance dispersal capacity because they may be more broadly impacted by climate and less sensitive to geophysical features captured by a climate resilience approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gengping Zhu
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Xingli Giam
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Paul R Armsworth
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Seong-Hoon Cho
- Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Monica Papeş
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
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8
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Daberger M, Kuemmerle T, Khaleghi Hamidi A, Khalatbari L, Abolghasemi H, Mirzadeh HR, Ghoddousi A. Prioritizing livestock grazing right buyouts to safeguard Asiatic cheetahs from extinction. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tobias Kuemmerle
- Geography Department Humboldt‐University Berlin Berlin Germany
- Integrative Research Institute on Transformations of Human‐Environment Systems (IRI THESys) Humboldt‐University Berlin Berlin Germany
| | | | - Leili Khalatbari
- CIBIO/InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources Vairão Portugal
- Mohitban Society Tehran Iran
| | | | | | - Arash Ghoddousi
- Geography Department Humboldt‐University Berlin Berlin Germany
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9
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Proctor CA, Schuster R, Buxton RT, Bennett JR. Prioritization of public and private land to protect species at risk habitat. CONSERVATION SCIENCE AND PRACTICE 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada
- Nature Conservancy of Canada Vancouver British Columbia Canada
| | | | - Joseph R. Bennett
- Department of Biology Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada
- Institute of Environmental and Interdisciplinary Science Carleton University Ottawa Ontario Canada
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10
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Alagador D, Cerdeira JO. Operations research applicability in spatial conservation planning. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 315:115172. [PMID: 35525048 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
A large fraction of the current environmental crisis derives from the large rates of human-driven biodiversity loss. Biodiversity conservation questions human practices towards biodiversity and, therefore, largely conflicts with ordinary societal aspirations. Decisions on the location of protected areas, one of the most convincing conservation tools, reflect such a competitive endeavor. Operations Research (OR) brings a set of analytical models and tools capable of resolving the conflicting interests between ecology and economy. Recent technological advances have boosted the size and variety of data available to planners, thus challenging conventional approaches bounded on optimized solutions. New models and methods are needed to use such a massive amount of data in integrative schemes addressing a large variety of concerns. This study provides an overview on the past, present and future challenges that characterize spatial conservation models supported by OR. We discuss the progress of OR models and methods in spatial conservation planning and how those models may be optimized through sophisticated algorithms and computational tools. Moreover, we anticipate possible panoramas of modern spatial conservation studies supported by OR and we explore possible avenues for the design of optimized interdisciplinary collaborative platforms in the era of Big Data, through consortia where distinct players with different motivations and services meet. By enlarging the spatial, temporal, taxonomic and societal horizons of biodiversity conservation, planners navigate around multiple socioecological/environmental equilibria and are able to decide on cost-effective strategies to improve biodiversity persistence under complex environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diogo Alagador
- Biodiversity Chair, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research, Universidade de Évora, Rua Joaquim Henrique da Fonseca, Casa Cordovil, 2°, 7000-890, Évora, Portugal; MED - Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, CHANGE - Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Universidade de Évora, Évora, Portugal.
| | - Jorge Orestes Cerdeira
- Department of Mathematics, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Quinta da Torre, 282 -516, Costa da Caparica, Portugal; Centre for Mathematics and Applications, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Quinta da Torre, 282 -516, Costa da Caparica, Portugal.
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11
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Martin AE, Neave E, Kirby P, Drever CR, Johnson CA. Multi-objective optimization can balance trade-offs among boreal caribou, biodiversity, and climate change objectives when conservation hotspots do not overlap. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11895. [PMID: 35831324 PMCID: PMC9279314 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15274-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The biodiversity and climate change crises have led countries-including Canada-to commit to protect more land and inland waters and to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations. Canada is also obligated to recover populations of at-risk species, including boreal caribou. Canada has the opportunity to expand its protected areas network to protect hotspots of high value for biodiversity and climate mitigation. However, co-occurrence of hotspots is rare. Here we ask: is it possible to expand the network to simultaneously protect areas important for boreal caribou, other species at risk, climate refugia, and carbon stores? We used linear programming to prioritize areas for protection based on these conservation objectives, and assessed how prioritization for multiple, competing objectives affected the outcome for each individual objective. Our multi-objective approach produced reasonably strong representation of value across objectives. Although trade-offs were required, the multi-objective outcome was almost always better than when we ignored one objective to maximize value for another, highlighting the risk of assuming that a plan based on one objective will also result in strong outcomes for others. Multi-objective optimization approaches could be used to plan for protected areas networks that address biodiversity and climate change objectives, even when hotspots do not co-occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda E Martin
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology, National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.
| | - Erin Neave
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology, National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | - Patrick Kirby
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology, National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
| | | | - Cheryl A Johnson
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Science and Technology, National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
- Department of Applied Geomatics, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada
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12
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Allan JR, Possingham HP, Atkinson SC, Waldron A, Di Marco M, Butchart SHM, Adams VM, Kissling WD, Worsdell T, Sandbrook C, Gibbon G, Kumar K, Mehta P, Maron M, Williams BA, Jones KR, Wintle BA, Reside AE, Watson JEM. The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity. Science 2022; 376:1094-1101. [PMID: 35653463 DOI: 10.1126/science.abl9127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Ambitious conservation efforts are needed to stop the global biodiversity crisis. In this study, we estimate the minimum land area to secure important biodiversity areas, ecologically intact areas, and optimal locations for representation of species ranges and ecoregions. We discover that at least 64 million square kilometers (44% of terrestrial area) would require conservation attention (ranging from protected areas to land-use policies) to meet this goal. More than 1.8 billion people live on these lands, so responses that promote autonomy, self-determination, equity, and sustainable management for safeguarding biodiversity are essential. Spatially explicit land-use scenarios suggest that 1.3 million square kilometers of this land is at risk of being converted for intensive human land uses by 2030, which requires immediate attention. However, a sevenfold difference exists between the amount of habitat converted in optimistic and pessimistic land-use scenarios, highlighting an opportunity to avert this crisis. Appropriate targets in the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to encourage conservation of the identified land would contribute substantially to safeguarding biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- James R Allan
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands.,Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Hugh P Possingham
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.,The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA 22203, USA
| | - Scott C Atkinson
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.,United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York, NY, USA
| | - Anthony Waldron
- Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Department of Zoology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.,Faculty of Science and Engineering ARU, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
| | - Moreno Di Marco
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, I-00185 Rome, Italy.,School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Stuart H M Butchart
- BirdLife International, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
| | - Vanessa M Adams
- School of Geography, Planning, and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
| | - W Daniel Kissling
- Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, 1090 GE Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | | | - Chris Sandbrook
- Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QZ, UK
| | - Gwili Gibbon
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK
| | - Kundan Kumar
- Rights and Resources Initiative, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Piyush Mehta
- Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA
| | - Martine Maron
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.,School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Brooke A Williams
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.,School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | | | - Brendan A Wintle
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - April E Reside
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.,School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - James E M Watson
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia.,School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia
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13
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Benez-Secanho FJ, Dwivedi P, Ferreira S, Hepinstall-Cymerman J, Wenger S. Trade-offs Between the Value of Ecosystem Services and Connectivity Among Protected Areas in the Upper Chattahoochee Watershed. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2022; 69:937-951. [PMID: 35103811 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-021-01584-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The Upper Chattahoochee Watershed supplies most of the drinking water to the Atlanta Metropolitan Area, a region with one of the fastest urban growth rates in the United States. Smart conservation planning is necessary to conciliate urban development and the provision of critical ecosystem services (ESs) such as water quality, carbon storage, and wildlife habitat. We employed optimization models to compare the value of the ESs provided by alternative allocations of land parcels for conservation. We adopted boundary penalties to determine the trade-offs of choosing higher connectivity among parcels regarding economic values provided by carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and water quality. We used InVEST models to quantify and map ESs and value transfer to assign economic values to them. We set low and high ESs economic value bounds and discounted their values to perpetuity using 3% and 7% discount rates. Our results indicate that incorporating boundary penalties results in solutions with larger, fewer, and more connected parcels but yields lower economic benefits than unconstrained models. However, these differences are relatively small (between 2.6% and 7.3% loss in economic value). Additional transaction costs of purchasing more parcels and improving ecological networks provided by larger forest patches might justify the selection of solutions with higher connectivity. Decision-makers can use the developed models for estimating the economic cost of selecting connected parcels for conservation purposes at the landscape level.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Puneet Dwivedi
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - Susana Ferreira
- College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | | | - Seth Wenger
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
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14
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Ng LWK, Chisholm C, Carrasco LR, Darling ES, Guilhaumon F, Mooers AØ, Tucker CM, Winter M, Huang D. Prioritizing phylogenetic diversity to protect functional diversity of reef corals. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Linus W. K. Ng
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
| | | | - Luis Roman Carrasco
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
- Centre for Nature‐based Climate Solutions National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
| | | | | | - Arne Ø. Mooers
- Department of Biological Sciences Simon Fraser University Burnaby Canada
| | - Caroline M. Tucker
- Environment, Ecology and Energy Program University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill North Carolina USA
| | - Marten Winter
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Leipzig Germany
| | - Danwei Huang
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
- Centre for Nature‐based Climate Solutions National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
- Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum and Tropical Marine Science Institute National University of Singapore Singapore Singapore
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15
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Baisero D, Schuster R, Plumptre AJ. Redefining and mapping global irreplaceability. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2022; 36:e13806. [PMID: 34254360 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Irreplaceability is a concept used to describe how close a site is to being essential for achieving conservation targets. Current methods for measuring irreplaceability are based on representative combinations of sites, giving them an extrinsic nature and exponential computational requirements. Surrogate measures based on efficiency (complementarity) are often used as alternatives, but they were never intended for this purpose and do not measure irreplaceability. Current approaches used to estimate irreplaceability have key limitations. Some of these are a result of the tools used, but some are due to the nature of the current definition of irreplaceability. For irreplaceability to be stable and useful for conservation purposes and to resolve limitations, irreplaceability measures should adhere to five axioms; baseline coherence, monotonic responsiveness, proportional responsiveness, intrinsic stability, and bounded outputs. We designed a robust method for measuring a site's proximity to irreplaceability that adheres to these requirements and used it to develop the first systematic global map of irreplaceability based on data for terrestrial vertebrates (n = 29,837 species, >1 million grid cells). At least 3.5% of land surface was highly irreplaceable, and 47.6% of highly irreplaceable cells were contained in 12 countries. More generous thresholds of irreplaceability flag greater portions of land surface that would still be realistic to protect under current global objectives. Irreplaceable sites should form a critical component of any global conservation plan and should be part of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's post2020 Global Biodiversity Framework strategy, forming part of the 30% protection by 2030 target that is gaining support. The reliable identification of irreplaceable sites will be crucial to halting extinctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Baisero
- Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat, c/o BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
- Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew J Plumptre
- Key Biodiversity Areas Secretariat, c/o BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
- Conservation Science Group, Zoology Department, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
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16
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Antongiovanni M, Venticinque EM, Tambosi LR, Matsumoto M, Metzger JP, Fonseca CR. Restoration priorities for Caatinga dry forests: Landscape resilience, connectivity and biodiversity value. J Appl Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marina Antongiovanni
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte Natal Brazil
| | | | - Leandro R. Tambosi
- Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas Universidade Federal do ABC Santo André Brazil
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17
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Akasaka M, Kadoya T, Fujita T, Fuller RA. Narrowly distributed taxa are disproportionately informative for conservation planning. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2229. [PMID: 35140248 PMCID: PMC8828766 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03119-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological atlas data can be used as inputs into conservation decision-making, yet atlases are sometimes infrequently updated, which can be problematic when the distribution of species is changing rapidly. Despite this, we have a poor understanding of strategies for efficiently updating biological atlas data. Using atlases of the distributions of 1630 threatened plant taxa, we quantitatively compared the informativeness of narrowly distributed and widespread taxa in identifying areas that meet taxon-specific conservation targets, and also measured the cost-efficiency of meeting those targets. We also explored the underlying mechanisms of the informativeness of narrowly distributed taxa. Overall, narrowly distributed taxa are far more informative than widespread taxa for identifying areas that efficiently meet conservation targets, while their informativeness for identifying cost-efficient areas varied depending on the type of conservation target. Narrowly distributed taxa are informative mainly because their distributions disproportionately capture areas that are either relatively taxon rich or taxon poor, and because of larger number of taxa captured with given number of records. Where resources for updating biological data are limited, a focus on areas supporting many narrowly distributed taxa could benefit conservation planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Munemitsu Akasaka
- Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan. .,School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia. .,Institute of Global Innovation Research, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8509, Japan. .,Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan.
| | - Taku Kadoya
- Center for Environmental Biology and Ecosystem Studies, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan.,Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8571, Japan
| | - Taku Fujita
- The Nature Conservation Society of Japan, 1-16-10, Shinkawa, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0033, Japan
| | - Richard A Fuller
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
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18
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Jung M, Arnell A, de Lamo X, García-Rangel S, Lewis M, Mark J, Merow C, Miles L, Ondo I, Pironon S, Ravilious C, Rivers M, Schepaschenko D, Tallowin O, van Soesbergen A, Govaerts R, Boyle BL, Enquist BJ, Feng X, Gallagher R, Maitner B, Meiri S, Mulligan M, Ofer G, Roll U, Hanson JO, Jetz W, Di Marco M, McGowan J, Rinnan DS, Sachs JD, Lesiv M, Adams VM, Andrew SC, Burger JR, Hannah L, Marquet PA, McCarthy JK, Morueta-Holme N, Newman EA, Park DS, Roehrdanz PR, Svenning JC, Violle C, Wieringa JJ, Wynne G, Fritz S, Strassburg BBN, Obersteiner M, Kapos V, Burgess N, Schmidt-Traub G, Visconti P. Areas of global importance for conserving terrestrial biodiversity, carbon and water. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:1499-1509. [PMID: 34429536 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01528-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
To meet the ambitious objectives of biodiversity and climate conventions, the international community requires clarity on how these objectives can be operationalized spatially and how multiple targets can be pursued concurrently. To support goal setting and the implementation of international strategies and action plans, spatial guidance is needed to identify which land areas have the potential to generate the greatest synergies between conserving biodiversity and nature's contributions to people. Here we present results from a joint optimization that minimizes the number of threatened species, maximizes carbon retention and water quality regulation, and ranks terrestrial conservation priorities globally. We found that selecting the top-ranked 30% and 50% of terrestrial land area would conserve respectively 60.7% and 85.3% of the estimated total carbon stock and 66% and 89.8% of all clean water, in addition to meeting conservation targets for 57.9% and 79% of all species considered. Our data and prioritization further suggest that adequately conserving all species considered (vertebrates and plants) would require giving conservation attention to ~70% of the terrestrial land surface. If priority was given to biodiversity only, managing 30% of optimally located land area for conservation may be sufficient to meet conservation targets for 81.3% of the terrestrial plant and vertebrate species considered. Our results provide a global assessment of where land could be optimally managed for conservation. We discuss how such a spatial prioritization framework can support the implementation of the biodiversity and climate conventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Jung
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program (BNR), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.
| | - Andy Arnell
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Xavier de Lamo
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
| | | | - Matthew Lewis
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program (BNR), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jennifer Mark
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Cory Merow
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut, Stamford, CT, USA
| | - Lera Miles
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Ian Ondo
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, UK
| | | | - Corinna Ravilious
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Malin Rivers
- Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Richmondy, UK
| | - Dmitry Schepaschenko
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program (BNR), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.,Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
| | - Oliver Tallowin
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Arnout van Soesbergen
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Bradley L Boyle
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Brian J Enquist
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Xiao Feng
- Department of Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA
| | - Rachael Gallagher
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Brian Maitner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Shai Meiri
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Mark Mulligan
- Department of Geography, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Gali Ofer
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Uri Roll
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Jeffrey O Hanson
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos da Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Walter Jetz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Moreno Di Marco
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - D Scott Rinnan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.,Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Myroslava Lesiv
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program (BNR), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Vanessa M Adams
- School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Samuel C Andrew
- CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Joseph R Burger
- Department of Biology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Lee Hannah
- Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA
| | - Pablo A Marquet
- Departamento de Ecología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.,Instituto de Ecología y Biodiversidad (IEB), Santiago, Chile.,Centro de Cambio Global UC, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.,The Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA.,Instituto de Sistemas Complejos de Valparaíso (ISCV), Valparaíso, Chile
| | | | - Naia Morueta-Holme
- Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Erica A Newman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Daniel S Park
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Patrick R Roehrdanz
- Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science, Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Center for Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World (BIOCHANGE), Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.,Section for Ecoinformatics and Biodiversity, Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Cyrille Violle
- CEFE, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ. Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France
| | | | | | - Steffen Fritz
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program (BNR), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria
| | - Bernardo B N Strassburg
- Rio Conservation and Sustainability Science Centre, Department of Geography and the Environment, Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Programa de Pós Graduacão em Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.,Botanical Garden Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Michael Obersteiner
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program (BNR), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.,Environmental Change Institute, Centre for the Environment, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Valerie Kapos
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | - Neil Burgess
- UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Piero Visconti
- Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program (BNR), International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria.
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19
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Carroll KA, Inman RM, Hansen AJ, Lawrence RL, Barnett K. A framework for collaborative wolverine connectivity conservation. iScience 2021; 24:102840. [PMID: 34368656 PMCID: PMC8326200 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Maintaining connectivity between high-elevation public lands is important for wolverines and other species of conservation concern. This work represents the first effort to prioritize wolverine connectivity under future climate conditions using a systematic conservation planning framework. We optimized 10, 15, 20, and 50% of habitat features for wolverines using integer linear programming. We identified 369 privately owned areas in the 10% solution, 572 in the 15% solution, 822 in the 20% solution, and 3,996 in the 50% solution where voluntary landowner easements would improve the long-term landscape functionality for wolverine connectivity. The median estimated easements ranged from $8,762 to $12,220 across the four solutions (total costs $14,874,371 to $196,346,714). Overall, this effort demonstrates the utility of optimization problems for conserving connectivity, provides a proactive tool to engage potential collaborators, identifies easements that will likely protect various subalpine species, and offers a framework for the conservation of additional species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen A. Carroll
- Montana State University, Ecology Department, Montana State University, PO Box 173460, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, 1630 Linden Dr, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Robert M. Inman
- Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, 1420 E 6th Avenue, Helena, MT 59620, USA
| | - Andrew J. Hansen
- Montana State University, Ecology Department, Montana State University, PO Box 173460, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | - Rick L. Lawrence
- Montana State University, Land Resources and Environmental Sciences Department, 334 Leon Johnson Hall, P.O. Box 173120, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA
| | - Kevin Barnett
- The Wilderness Society, 503 W Mendenhall St, Bozeman, MT 59715, USA
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20
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Moore JF, Udell BJ, Martin J, Turikunkiko E, Masozera MK. Optimal allocation of law enforcement patrol effort to mitigate poaching activities. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2021; 31:e02337. [PMID: 33780061 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Revised: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Poaching is a global problem causing the decline of species worldwide. Optimizing the efficiency of ranger patrols to deter poaching activity at the lowest possible cost is crucial for protecting species with limited resources. We applied decision analysis and spatial optimization algorithms to allocate efforts of ranger patrols throughout a national park. Our objective was to mitigate poaching activity at or below management risk targets for the lowest monetary cost. We examined this trade-off by constructing a Pareto efficiency frontier using integer linear programming. We used data from a ranger-based monitoring program in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda. Our measure of poaching risk is based on dynamic occupancy models that account for imperfect detection of poaching activities. We found that in order to achieve a 5% reduction in poaching risk, 622 ranger patrol events (each corresponding to patrolling 1-km2 sites) were needed within a year at a cost of US$49,760. In order to attain a 60% reduction in poaching risk, 15,560 patrol events were needed at a cost of US$1,244,800. We evaluated the trade-off between patrol cost and poaching risk based on our model by constructing a Pareto efficiency frontier and park managers found the solution for a 50% risk reduction to be a practical trade-off based on funding constraints (comparable to recent years) and the diminishing returns between risk mitigation and cost. This expected reduction in risk required 8,558 patrol events per year at a cost of US$684,640. Our results suggest that optimal solutions could increase efficiency compared to the actual effort allocations from 2006 to 2016 in Nyungwe National Park (e.g., risk reductions of ~30% under recent budgets compared to ~50% reduction in risk under the optimal strategy). The modeling framework in this study took into account imperfect detection of poaching risk as well as the directional and conditional nature of ranger patrol events given the spatial adjacency relationships of neighboring sites and access points. Our analyses can help to improve the efficiency of ranger patrols, and the modeling framework can be broadly applied to other spatial conservation planning problems with conditional, multilevel, site selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer F Moore
- Department of Wildlife Conservation and Ecology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Bradley J Udell
- Department of Wildlife Conservation and Ecology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 32611, USA
| | - Julien Martin
- U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Gainesville, Florida, 32653, USA
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21
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Giménez J, Cañadas A, de Stephanis R, Ramírez F. Expanding protected areas to encompass the conservation of the endangered common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) in the Alboran Sea. MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2021; 168:105305. [PMID: 33773411 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The Natura 2000 network is the centerpiece of the European Union conservation strategy to safeguard priority species and habitats. The question of whether other co-occurring species of conservation concern may also benefit from this network, however, remains largely unknown. Here, we used a systematic approach (MARXAN) for i) evaluating if the current Natura 2000 network in the Alboran Sea (western Mediterranean Sea), initially proposed to protect the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and priority habitats, is also spatially protecting the endangered common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), and ii) identifying additional marine areas that should be protected to reach adequate conservation targets for the common dolphin. While the current Natura 2000 network encompass ca. 22% of predicted abundances for common dolphins, this percentage might be enhanced by protecting coastal areas nearby the Strait of Gibraltar. However, dolphins and fisheries largely overlap spatially nearby the coastline, and only segregate in offshore areas that represent the marginal distribution of the species. Thus, conservation decision-makers must achieve a trade-off between cetacean conservation and fisheries by combining an area-based approach (i.e., new protected areas close to the Strait of Gibraltar) together with a basin-wide threat-based approach (e.g., regulation of fisheries).
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Affiliation(s)
- Joan Giménez
- MaREI Centre, Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences (BEES), University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC), Américo Vespucio 26, Isla de la Cartuja, 41092, Sevilla, Spain.
| | - Ana Cañadas
- ALNILAM Research & Conservation, Pradillos 29, 28491 Navacerrada, Madrid, Spain; Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Nicholas School of Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Renaud de Stephanis
- Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans (CIRCE), Cabeza de Manzaneda 3, 11390 Pelayo-Algeciras, Cádiz, Spain; Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), Centro Oceanográfico de Santander, Promontorio San Martín s/n 39004, Santander-Cantabria, Spain
| | - Francisco Ramírez
- Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC), Department of Renewable Marine Resources, Passeig Maritim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
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22
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Smart Fishery: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda for Sustainable Fisheries in the Age of AI. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su13116037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Applications of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for improving the sustainability of the smart fishery have become widespread. While sustainability is often claimed to be the desired outcome of AI applications, there is as yet little evidence on how AI contributes to the sustainable fishery. The purpose of this paper is to perform a systematic review of the literature on the smart fishery and to identify upcoming themes for future research on the sustainable fishery in the Age of AI. The findings of the review reveal that scholarly attention in AI-inspired fishery literature focuses mostly on automation of fishery resources monitoring, mainly detection, identification, and classification. Some papers list marine health and primary production which are vital dimensions for Large Marine Ecosystems to recycle nutrients to sustain anticipated production levels. Very few reviewed articles refer to assessing individual needs, particularly fishers, from AI deployment in fisheries and policy response from governments. We call for future AI for sustainable fishery studies on how fishers perceive AI needs, and how governments possess a tangible strategy or depth of understanding on the regulation of AI concerning smart fishery systems and research on resilience-enhancing policies to promote the value and potentials of the AI-inspired smart fishery in different locations.
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23
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Hermoso V, Clavero M, Filipe AF. An accessible optimisation method for barrier removal planning in stream networks. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 752:141943. [PMID: 33207516 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 08/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Barriers associated to human infrastructure are a widespread impact in freshwater ecosystems worldwide, disrupting connectivity along river networks and key processes. Restoration of connectivity has risen in the last decade, with thousands of dams, weirs and culverts removed. Spatial optimisation methods can help inform decision on what barriers to remove to maximise gain in connectivity under limited budgets. However, current optimisation approaches rely on programming skills that are not easily accessible to stakeholders, which restrict the use of these methods. We demonstrate how Marxan, a publicly available tool, can be used to prioritise the allocation of barrier removal projects. We mapped the distribution of >900 barriers in the Tagus River (Iberian Peninsula) and 29 freshwater fish species with different movement abilities and needs. We assessed the passability of each barrier by all species and relative removal cost. We then identified priority barriers for removal to increase connectivity of populations of all species simultaneously. We tested two alternative scenarios: i) locking out barriers assesses as non-removable for their high strategic value or removal cost and ii) making all barriers available for removal. We found that connectivity recovery targets could be achieved by removing a small proportion of barriers, and avoiding large infrastructure. However, for some species, large recovery targets could only be achieved by removing some of these large infrastructures at high increases in cost. We also found some spatial differences in the recovery value of particular barriers for improving upstream and downstream connectivity. Our study demonstrates how to use a robust optimisation approach in an accessible tool, to address the complexity of prioritisation exercises commonly faced by stakeholders when deciding where to invest in barrier removal projects. This will improve decision-making for river connectivity restoration through a transparent, reproducible, and better-informed approach than traditional opportunistic or ranking-based approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virgilio Hermoso
- Centre de Ciència i Tecnologia Forestal de Catalunya (CTFC), Solsona, Lleida, Spain; Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
| | | | - Ana Filipa Filipe
- CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal; Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
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24
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Southee FM, Edwards BA, Chetkiewicz CLB, O’Connor CM. Freshwater conservation planning in the far north of Ontario, Canada: identifying priority watersheds for the conservation of fish biodiversity in an intact boreal landscape. Facets (Ott) 2021. [DOI: 10.1139/facets-2020-0015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Freshwater ecosystems show more biodiversity loss than terrestrial or marine systems. We present a systematic conservation planning analysis in the Arctic Ocean drainage basin in Ontario, Canada, to identify key watersheds for the conservation of 30 native freshwater fish, including four focal species: lake sturgeon, lake whitefish, brook trout, and walleye. We created species distribution models for 30 native fish species and accounted for anthropogenic impacts. We used the “prioritizr” package in R to select watersheds that maximize species targets, minimize impacts, and meet area-based targets based on the Convention on Biological Diversity commitment to protect 17% of terrestrial and freshwater areas by 2020 and the proposed target to protect 30% by 2030. We found that, on average, 17.4% and 29.8% of predicted species distributions were represented for each of the 30 species in the 17% and 30% area-based solutions, respectively. The outcomes were more efficient when we prioritized for individual species, particularly brook trout, where 24% and 36% of its predicted distribution was represented in the 17% and 30% solutions, respectively. Future conservation planning should consider climate change, culturally significant species and areas, and the importance of First Nations as guardians and stewards of the land in northern Ontario.
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Affiliation(s)
- F. Meg Southee
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, 344 Bloor St W, Suite 204, Toronto, ON M5S 3A7, Canada
| | - Brie A. Edwards
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, 344 Bloor St W, Suite 204, Toronto, ON M5S 3A7, Canada
| | | | - Constance M. O’Connor
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, 344 Bloor St W, Suite 204, Toronto, ON M5S 3A7, Canada
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Pinsky ML, Rogers LA, Morley JW, Frölicher TL. Ocean planning for species on the move provides substantial benefits and requires few trade-offs. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:6/50/eabb8428. [PMID: 33310845 PMCID: PMC7732182 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abb8428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Societies increasingly use multisector ocean planning as a tool to mitigate conflicts over space in the sea, but such plans can be highly sensitive to species redistribution driven by climate change or other factors. A key uncertainty is whether planning ahead for future species redistributions imposes high opportunity costs and sharp trade-offs against current ocean plans. Here, we use more than 10,000 projections for marine animals around North America to test the impact of climate-driven species redistributions on the ability of ocean plans to meet their goals. We show that planning for redistributions can substantially reduce exposure to risks from climate change with little additional area set aside and with few trade-offs against current ocean plan effectiveness. Networks of management areas are a key strategy. While climate change will severely disrupt many human activities, we find a strong benefit to proactively planning for long-term ocean change.
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Affiliation(s)
- M L Pinsky
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey, 14 College Farm Rd., New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
| | - L A Rogers
- The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA
| | - J W Morley
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Coastal Studies Institute, 850 NC 345, Wanchese, NC 27981, USA
| | - T L Frölicher
- Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Global priority areas for ecosystem restoration. Nature 2020; 586:724-729. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2784-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 235] [Impact Index Per Article: 58.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
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Bryant BP, Kelsey TR, Vogl AL, Wolny SA, MacEwan D, Selmants PC, Biswas T, Butterfield HS. Shaping Land Use Change and Ecosystem Restoration in a Water-Stressed Agricultural Landscape to Achieve Multiple Benefits. FRONTIERS IN SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Schuster R, Hanson JO, Strimas-Mackey M, Bennett JR. Exact integer linear programming solvers outperform simulated annealing for solving conservation planning problems. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9258. [PMID: 32518737 PMCID: PMC7261139 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 05/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
The resources available for conserving biodiversity are limited, and so protected areas need to be established in places that will achieve objectives for minimal cost. Two of the main algorithms for solving systematic conservation planning problems are Simulated Annealing (SA) and exact integer linear programing (EILP) solvers. Using a case study in BC, Canada, we compare the cost-effectiveness and processing times of SA used in Marxan versus EILP using both commercial and open-source algorithms. Plans for expanding protected area systems based on EILP algorithms were 12–30% cheaper than plans using SA, due to EILP’s ability to find optimal solutions as opposed to approximations. The best EILP solver we examined was on average 1,071 times faster than the SA algorithm tested. The performance advantages of EILP solvers were also observed when we aimed for spatially compact solutions by including a boundary penalty. One practical advantage of using EILP over SA is that the analysis does not require calibration, saving even more time. Given the performance of EILP solvers, they can be used to generate conservation plans in real-time during stakeholder meetings and can facilitate rapid sensitivity analysis, and contribute to a more transparent, inclusive, and defensible decision-making process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Ecosystem Science and Management Program, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - Jeffrey O Hanson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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Spatial conservation planning under uncertainty using modern portfolio theory and Nash bargaining solution. Ecol Modell 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.109016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Abstract
Environmental change is rapidly accelerating, and many species will need to adapt to survive1. Ensuring that protected areas cover populations across a broad range of environmental conditions could safeguard the processes that lead to such adaptations1-3. However, international conservation policies have largely neglected these considerations when setting targets for the expansion of protected areas4. Here we show that-of 19,937 vertebrate species globally5-8-the representation of environmental conditions across their habitats in protected areas (hereafter, niche representation) is inadequate for 4,836 (93.1%) amphibian, 8,653 (89.5%) bird and 4,608 (90.9%) terrestrial mammal species. Expanding existing protected areas to cover these gaps would encompass 33.8% of the total land surface-exceeding the current target of 17% that has been adopted by governments. Priority locations for expanding the system of protected areas to improve niche representation occur in global biodiversity hotspots9, including Colombia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and southwest China, as well as across most of the major land masses of the Earth. Conversely, we also show that planning for the expansion of protected areas without explicitly considering environmental conditions would marginally reduce the land area required to 30.7%, but that this would lead to inadequate niche representation for 7,798 (39.1%) species. As the governments of the world prepare to renegotiate global conservation targets, policymakers have the opportunity to help to maintain the adaptive potential of species by considering niche representation within protected areas1,2.
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The role of artificial intelligence in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nat Commun 2020; 11:233. [PMID: 31932590 PMCID: PMC6957485 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14108-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 213] [Impact Index Per Article: 53.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and its progressively wider impact on many sectors requires an assessment of its effect on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Using a consensus-based expert elicitation process, we find that AI can enable the accomplishment of 134 targets across all the goals, but it may also inhibit 59 targets. However, current research foci overlook important aspects. The fast development of AI needs to be supported by the necessary regulatory insight and oversight for AI-based technologies to enable sustainable development. Failure to do so could result in gaps in transparency, safety, and ethical standards. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more common in people’s lives. Here, the authors use an expert elicitation method to understand how AI may affect the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Rodewald AD, Strimas-Mackey M, Schuster R, Arcese P. Tradeoffs in the value of biodiversity feature and cost data in conservation prioritization. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15921. [PMID: 31685869 PMCID: PMC6828800 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52241-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Decision-support tools are commonly used to maximize return on investments (ROI) in conservation. We evaluated how the relative value of information on biodiversity features and land cost varied with data structure and variability, attributes of focal species and conservation targets, and habitat suitability thresholds for contrasting bird communities in the Pacific Northwest of North America. Specifically, we used spatial distribution maps for 20 bird species, land values, and an integer linear programming model to prioritize land units (1 km2) that met conservation targets at the lowest estimated cost (hereafter ‘efficiency’). Across scenarios, the relative value of biodiversity data increased with conservation targets, as higher thresholds for suitable habitat were applied, and when focal species occurred disproportionately on land of high assessed value. Incorporating land cost generally improved planning efficiency, but at diminishing rates as spatial variance in biodiversity features relative to land cost increased. Our results offer a precise, empirical demonstration of how spatially-optimized planning solutions are influenced by spatial variation in underlying feature layers. We also provide guidance to planners seeking to maximize efficiency in data acquisition and resolve potential trade-offs when setting targets and thresholds in financially-constrained, spatial planning efforts aimed at maximizing ROI in biodiversity conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda D Rodewald
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA. .,Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
| | | | - Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.,Ecosystem Science and Management Program, 3333 University Way, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada
| | - Peter Arcese
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Gupta A, Dilkina B, Morin DJ, Fuller AK, Royle JA, Sutherland C, Gomes CP. Reserve design to optimize functional connectivity and animal density. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2019; 33:1023-1034. [PMID: 31209924 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Revised: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Ecological distance-based spatial capture-recapture models (SCR) are a promising approach for simultaneously estimating animal density and connectivity, both of which affect spatial population processes and ultimately species persistence. We explored how SCR models can be integrated into reserve-design frameworks that explicitly acknowledge both the spatial distribution of individuals and their space use resulting from landscape structure. We formulated the design of wildlife reserves as a budget-constrained optimization problem and conducted a simulation to explore 3 different SCR-informed optimization objectives that prioritized different conservation goals by maximizing the number of protected individuals, reserve connectivity, and density-weighted connectivity. We also studied the effect on our 3 objectives of enforcing that the space-use requirements of individuals be met by the reserve for individuals to be considered conserved (referred to as home-range constraints). Maximizing local population density resulted in fragmented reserves that would likely not aid long-term population persistence, and maximizing the connectivity objective yielded reserves that protected the fewest individuals. However, maximizing density-weighted connectivity or preemptively imposing home-range constraints on reserve design yielded reserves of largely spatially compact sets of parcels covering high-density areas in the landscape with high functional connectivity between them. Our results quantify the extent to which reserve design is constrained by individual home-range requirements and highlight that accounting for individual space use in the objective and constraints can help in the design of reserves that balance abundance and connectivity in a biologically relevant manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amrita Gupta
- School of Computational Science and Engineering, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 266 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30332, U.S.A
| | - Bistra Dilkina
- School of Computational Science and Engineering, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 266 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30332, U.S.A
| | - Dana J Morin
- New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 211 Fernow Hall, 226 Mann Drive, Ithaca, NY, 14853, U.S.A
| | - Angela K Fuller
- U.S. Geological Survey, New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 211 Fernow Hall, 226 Mann Drive, Ithaca, NY, 14853, U.S.A
| | - J Andrew Royle
- U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, 12100 Beech Forest Road, Laurel, MD, 20708, U.S.A
| | - Christopher Sutherland
- New York Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, 211 Fernow Hall, 226 Mann Drive, Ithaca, NY, 14853, U.S.A
| | - Carla P Gomes
- Department of Computer Science, Institute for Computational Sustainability, Cornell University, 353 Gates Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, U.S.A
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36
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Hanson JO, Schuster R, Strimas‐Mackey M, Bennett JR. Optimality in prioritizing conservation projects. Methods Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey O. Hanson
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane QLD Australia
| | - Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology Carleton University Ottawa ON Canada
- Ecosystem Science and Management Program University of Northern British Prince George BC Canada
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37
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Chazdon RL. Towards more effective integration of tropical forest restoration and conservation. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin L. Chazdon
- Tropical Forests and People Research Centre University of the Sunshine Coast Sippy Downs Queensland Australia
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut
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38
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Schuster R, Wilson S, Rodewald AD, Arcese P, Fink D, Auer T, Bennett JR. Optimizing the conservation of migratory species over their full annual cycle. Nat Commun 2019; 10:1754. [PMID: 30988288 PMCID: PMC6465267 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09723-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Limited knowledge of the distribution, abundance, and habitat associations of migratory species hinders effective conservation actions. We use Neotropical migratory birds as a model group to compare approaches to prioritize land conservation needed to support ≥30% of the global abundances of 117 species. Specifically, we compare scenarios from spatial optimization models to achieve conservation targets by: 1) area requirements for conserving >30% abundance of each species for each week of the year independently vs. combined; 2) including vs. ignoring spatial clustering of species abundance; and 3) incorporating vs. avoiding human-dominated landscapes. Solutions integrating information across the year require 56% less area than those integrating weekly abundances, with additional reductions when shared-use landscapes are included. Although incorporating spatial population structure requires more area, geographical representation among priority sites improves substantially. These findings illustrate that globally-sourced citizen science data can elucidate key trade-offs among opportunity costs and spatiotemporal representation of conservation efforts. Conservation decisions to protect land used by migratory birds rely on understanding species’ dynamic habitat associations. Here the authors identify conservation scenarios needed to maintain >30% of the abundances of 117 migratory birds across the Americas, considering spatial and temporal patterns of species abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada. .,Ecosystem Science and Management Program, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada.
| | - Scott Wilson
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada.,Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1S 5B6
| | - Amanda D Rodewald
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.,Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Fernow Hall, #111, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Peter Arcese
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Daniel Fink
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Tom Auer
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Joseph R Bennett
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada
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39
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Domisch S, Friedrichs M, Hein T, Borgwardt F, Wetzig A, Jähnig SC, Langhans SD. Spatially explicit species distribution models: A missed opportunity in conservation planning? DIVERS DISTRIB 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sami Domisch
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany
| | - Martin Friedrichs
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany
- Department of Biology Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Thomas Hein
- Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Florian Borgwardt
- Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Austria
| | - Annett Wetzig
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany
| | - Sonja C. Jähnig
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany
| | - Simone D. Langhans
- Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany
- Department of Zoology University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand
- BC3 – Basque Centre for Climate Change Leioa Spain
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40
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Hanson JO, Fuller RA, Rhodes JR. Conventional methods for enhancing connectivity in conservation planning do not always maintain gene flow. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey O. Hanson
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Richard A. Fuller
- School of Biological SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Jonathan R. Rhodes
- School of Earth and Environmental SciencesThe University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland Australia
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41
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Strategic approaches to restoring ecosystems can triple conservation gains and halve costs. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 3:62-70. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0743-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 138] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Afán I, Giménez J, Forero MG, Ramírez F. An adaptive method for identifying marine areas of high conservation priority. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2018; 32:1436-1447. [PMID: 29968335 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2017] [Revised: 03/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Identifying priority areas for biodiversity conservation is particularly challenging in the marine environment due to the open and dynamic nature of the ocean, the paucity of information on species distribution, and the necessary balance between marine biodiversity conservation and essential supporting services such as seafood provision. We used the Patagonian seabird breeding community as a case study to propose an integrated and adaptive method for delimiting key marine areas for conservation. Priority areas were defined through a free decision-support tool (Marxan) that included projected at-sea distributions of seabirds (approximately 2,225,000 individuals of 14 species); BirdLife Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) for pelagic bird species; and the economic costs of potential regulations in fishing practices. The proposed reserve network encompassed approximately 300,000 km2 that was largely concentrated in northern and southern inshore and northern and central offshore regions. This reserve network exceeded the minimum threshold of 20% conservation of the abundance of each species proposed by the World Parks Congress. Based on marine currents in the study area, we further identified the 3 primary water masses that may influence areas of conservation priority through water inflow. Our reserve network may benefit from enhanced marine productivity in these highly connected areas, but they may be threatened by human impacts such as marine pollution. Our method of reserve network design is an important advance with respect to the more classical approaches based on criteria defined for one or a few species and may be particularly useful when information on spatial patterns is data deficient. Our approach also accommodates addition of new information on seabird distribution and population dynamics, human activities, and alterations in the marine environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Afán
- Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory (LAST-EBD), Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), C/AméricoVespucio, 26, 41092, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Joan Giménez
- Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), 41092, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Manuela G Forero
- Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), 41092, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Francisco Ramírez
- Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
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43
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Designing a Protected Area to Safeguard Imperiled Species from Urbanization. JOURNAL OF FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 2018. [DOI: 10.3996/072017-jfwm-060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Reserve design is a process that can address ecological, social, and political factors to identify parcels of land needed to sustain wildlife populations and other natural resources. Acquisition of parcels for a large terrestrial reserve is difficult because it typically occurs over a long timeframe and thus invokes consideration of future conditions such as climate and urbanization changes. In central Florida, the U.S. government has authorized a new protected area, the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge. The new refuge will host important threatened and endangered species and habitats, and will be located to allow for species adaptation from climate change impacts. For this study we combined habitat objectives defined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and projections from two urbanization models to provide guidance for Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge design. We used Marxan with Zones to find near-optimal solutions for protecting explicit amounts of five target habitats. We identified parcels for inclusion into the reserve design that the models allocated among two zones representing different methods of protection: fee-simple purchase (up to 20,234 ha authorized by the U.S. government), and conservation easement agreements (up to 40,469 ha authorized). As expected, for all scenarios we found an increase in costs as the proportion of fee-simple purchases was increased, reflecting the lesser cost of easements, but the number of parcels required for protection differed little among scenarios. The two urbanization models showed considerable agreement over which habitat patches they did not forecast to be developed, and some agreement over which parcels might be developed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may benefit from focusing on parcels that our analyses select frequently under both urban scenarios because these parcels are more likely to be in areas where there are fewer urbanization threats and a lower demand for land. The reserve designs we generated met U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service habitat goals within fee and easement zone restrictions, and we found reserve configurations that fell well below the mandated size limit.
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Runting RK, Beyer HL, Dujardin Y, Lovelock CE, Bryan BA, Rhodes JR. Reducing risk in reserve selection using Modern Portfolio Theory: Coastal planning under sea-level rise. J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca K. Runting
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
- ARC Centre for Excellence for Environmental Decisions; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
| | - Hawthorne L. Beyer
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
- School of Biological Sciences; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
| | - Yann Dujardin
- CSIRO; Ecosciences Precinct; Dutton Park QLD Australia
| | | | - Brett A. Bryan
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences; Deakin University; Burwood VIC Australia
| | - Jonathan R. Rhodes
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
- ARC Centre for Excellence for Environmental Decisions; The University of Queensland; Brisbane QLD Australia
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Jantke K, Jones KR, Allan JR, Chauvenet AL, Watson JE, Possingham HP. Poor ecological representation by an expensive reserve system: Evaluating 35 years of marine protected area expansion. Conserv Lett 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin Jantke
- Research Unit Sustainability and Global Change Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany
| | - Kendall R. Jones
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
| | - James R. Allan
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx New York United States
| | - Alienor L.M. Chauvenet
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
| | - James E.M. Watson
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- Global Conservation Program, Wildlife Conservation Society Bronx New York United States
| | - Hugh P. Possingham
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland Brisbane Australia
- The Nature Conservancy Arlington Virginia United States
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Dujardin Y, Chadès I. Solving multi-objective optimization problems in conservation with the reference point method. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0190748. [PMID: 29293650 PMCID: PMC5749871 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2015] [Accepted: 12/10/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Managing the biodiversity extinction crisis requires wise decision-making processes able to account for the limited resources available. In most decision problems in conservation biology, several conflicting objectives have to be taken into account. Most methods used in conservation either provide suboptimal solutions or use strong assumptions about the decision-maker’s preferences. Our paper reviews some of the existing approaches to solve multi-objective decision problems and presents new multi-objective linear programming formulations of two multi-objective optimization problems in conservation, allowing the use of a reference point approach. Reference point approaches solve multi-objective optimization problems by interactively representing the preferences of the decision-maker with a point in the criteria (objectives) space, called the reference point. We modelled and solved the following two problems in conservation: a dynamic multi-species management problem under uncertainty and a spatial allocation resource management problem. Results show that the reference point method outperforms classic methods while illustrating the use of an interactive methodology for solving combinatorial problems with multiple objectives. The method is general and can be adapted to a wide range of ecological combinatorial problems.
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Hanson JO, Rhodes JR, Possingham HP, Fuller RA. raptr: Representative and adequate prioritization toolkit in R. Methods Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12862] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey O. Hanson
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Qld. Australia
| | - Jonathan R. Rhodes
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Qld. Australia
| | - Hugh P. Possingham
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Qld. Australia
- The Nature Conservancy South Brisbane Qld. Australia
| | - Richard A. Fuller
- School of Biological Sciences University of Queensland Brisbane Qld. Australia
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Schuster R, Law EA, Rodewald AD, Martin TG, Wilson KA, Watts M, Possingham HP, Arcese P. Tax Shifting and Incentives for Biodiversity Conservation on Private Lands. Conserv Lett 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/conl.12377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Richard Schuster
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, 2424 Main Mall; University of British Columbia; Vancouver V6T 1Z4 Canada
- The Nature Trust of British Columbia; 260 - 1000 Roosevelt Crescent North Vancouver B.C. V7P 3R4 Canada
| | - Elizabeth A. Law
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
- School of Biological Sciences; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Amanda D. Rodewald
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Department of Natural Resources; Cornell University; Ithaca NY USA
| | - Tara G. Martin
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, 2424 Main Mall; University of British Columbia; Vancouver V6T 1Z4 Canada
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Kerrie A. Wilson
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
- School of Biological Sciences; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Matthew Watts
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
| | - Hugh P. Possingham
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
- School of Biological Sciences; The University of Queensland; Queensland 4072 Australia
- The Nature Conservancy; South Brisbane Queensland 4101 Australia
| | - Peter Arcese
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, 2424 Main Mall; University of British Columbia; Vancouver V6T 1Z4 Canada
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50
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Kaim A, Watts ME, Possingham HP. On which targets should we compromise in conservation prioritization problems? Methods Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Kaim
- UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchDepartment of Computational Landscape Ecology Leipzig Germany
| | - Matthew E. Watts
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental DecisionsCentre for Biodiversity and Conservation ScienceThe University of Queensland Brisbane QLD Australia
| | - Hugh P. Possingham
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental DecisionsCentre for Biodiversity and Conservation ScienceThe University of Queensland Brisbane QLD Australia
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