A novel and cost-effective monitoring approach for outcomes in an Australian biodiversity conservation incentive program

Eight things you should never do in a monitoring program: an Australian perspective

Monitoring is critical to gauge the effect of environmental management interventions as well as to measure the effects of human disturbances such as climate change. Recognition of the critical need for monitoring means that, at irregular intervals, recommendations are made for new government-instigated programs or to revamp existing ones. Using insights from past well-intentioned (but sadly also often failed) attempts to establish and maintain government-instigated monitoring programs in Australia, we outline eight things that should never be done in environmental monitoring programs (if they aim to be useful). These are the following: (1) Never commence a new environmental management initiative without also committing to a monitoring program. (2) Never start a monitoring program without clear questions. (3) Never implement a monitoring program without first doing a proper experimental design. (4) Never ignore the importance of matching the purpose and objectives of a monitoring program to the design of that program. (5) Never change the way you monitor something without ensuring new methods can be calibrated with the old ones. (6) Never try to monitor everything. (7) Never collect data without planning to curate and report on it. (8) If possible, avoid starting a monitoring program without the necessary resources secured. To balance our "nevers", we provide a checklist of actions that will increase the chances a monitoring program will actually measure the effectiveness of environmental management. Scientists and resource management practitioners need to be part of a stronger narrative for, and key participants in, well-designed, implemented, and maintained government-led monitoring programs. We argue that monitoring programs should be mandated in threatened species conservation programs and all new environmental management initiatives.

A checklist of attributes for effective monitoring of threatened species and threatened ecosystems

Monitoring of threatened species and threatened ecosystems is critical for determining population trends, identifying urgency of management responses, and assessing the efficacy of management interventions. Yet many threatened species and threatened ecosystems are not monitored and for those that are, the quality of the monitoring is often poor. Here we provide a checklist of factors that need to be considered for inclusion in robust monitoring programs for threatened species and threatened ecosystems. These factors can be grouped under four broad themes - the design of monitoring programs, the structure and governance of monitoring programs, data management and reporting, and appropriate funding and legislative support. We briefly discuss key attributes of our checklist under these themes. Key topics in our first theme of the design of monitoring programs include appropriate objective setting, identification of the most appropriate entities to be measured, consistency in methodology and protocols through time, ensuring monitoring is long-term, and embedding monitoring into management. Under our second theme which focuses on the structure and governance of monitoring programs for threatened species and ecosystems, we touch on the importance of adopting monitoring programs that: test the effectiveness of management interventions, produce results that are relevant to management, and engage with (and are accepted by) the community. Under Theme 3, we discuss why data management is critical and highlight that the costs of data curation, analysis and reporting need to be factored into budgets for monitoring programs. This requires that appropriate levels of funding are made available for monitoring programs, beyond just the cost of data collection - a key topic examined in Theme 4. We provide examples, often from Australia, to highlight the importance of each of the four themes. We recognize that these themes and topics in our checklist are often closely inter-related and therefore provide a conceptual model highlighting these linkages. We suggest that our checklist can help identify the parts of existing monitoring programs for threatened species and threatened ecosystems that are adequate for the purpose or may be deficient and need to be improved.

Optimization of an ecological integrity monitoring program for protected areas: Case study for a network of national parks

Over the last few years, several of the world’s national park networks have implemented ecological integrity monitoring programs. These programs are based on a series of indicators to detect changes in ecosystem integrity. There are many scientific and logistical challenges in developing these programs due to limits in both our knowledge of ecosystems functioning and the resources for implementing such programs. Thus, the relatively quick and simple implementation of many monitoring programs has been to the detriment of their scientific validity. Few studies have focused on evaluating an entire monitoring program. This project presents an approach to evaluate the ecological and statistical relevance of ecosystem integrity indicators measured within a program with the goal of iterative optimization. The approach is based on three complementary elements: (1) spatial characterization of park ecosystems based on the classification of satellite imagery, (2) ecological validation of indicators based on ecosystem conceptual models and (3) statistical validation of indicators based on analyses of statistical power. This innovative approach allows a systematic, quantified, reproducible and generalizable review of the indicators of an ecological integrity monitoring program. It provides managers with an overview of the spatial representativeness of indicators, their ecological and statistical relevance according to different parameters such as the period monitored, the amount of change to be detected, and the degree of significance. Thus, the approach identifies monitoring gaps and offers various alternatives for improving sampling. The approach was developed and tested in the network of Quebec national parks, more specifically in the Frontenac, Jacques-Cartier and Bic national parks. The results clearly identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current program in place and possible improvements are proposed for these parks. This approach is a relevant tool for park networks, particularly for those that have limited resources for monitoring ecological integrity.

Barking up the right tree: comparative use of arboreal and terrestrial artificial refuges to survey reptiles in temperate eucalypt woodlands

Context Artificial refuges (cover boards) are a popular method to survey and monitor herpetofauna worldwide. However, one limitation of using artificial refuges in terrestrial environments is the low detection rates of arboreal species. Furthermore, destructive search techniques can damage critical microhabitat such as exfoliating rock or flaking bark of mature trees. Aim We tested a non-destructive, passive method of sampling arboreal reptiles in fragmented agricultural landscapes in south-eastern Australia. Methods We installed 84 artificial bark refuges consisting of strips of non-toxic, closed-cell foam attached to eucalypt trees in 13 patches of remnant vegetation. We used Bayesian statistics to compare differences in detection rates among artificial bark refuges, terrestrial artificial refuges and active searches of natural habitat over a 4-year period. Key results Active searches combined with terrestrial artificial refuges detected the highest number of reptile species, including several cryptic fossorial species. Artificial bark refuges detected, on average, 132 times more individuals of the arboreal southern marbled gecko, Christinus marmoratus, than did terrestrial refuges. Gecko abundance patterns were related to tree characteristics such as tree size, bark thickness and stand basal area, as well as survey year. Conclusions Traditional survey methods such as terrestrial cover boards, in combination with active searches of natural habitat, may significantly underestimate counts for arboreal gecko species. Implications Artificial bark refuges provide a cost-effective, non-destructive and durable method for surveying and monitoring arboreal reptiles in woodland environments over short to medium time frames. Foil-backed, closed-cell foam has broad application for use in spatial capture–recapture studies and long-term monitoring of arboreal reptiles. This method also may be effective for procuring records of threatened arboreal geckos or as a solution for providing temporary habitat in ecological restoration projects.

How economics can further the success of ecological restoration

Restoration scientists and practitioners have recently begun to include economic and social aspects in the design and investment decisions for restoration projects. With few exceptions, ecological restoration studies that include economics focus solely on evaluating costs of restoration projects. However, economic principles, tools, and instruments can be applied to a range of other factors that affect project success. We considered the relevance of applying economics to address 4 key challenges of ecological restoration: assessing social and economic benefits, estimating overall costs, project prioritization and selection, and long-term financing of restoration programs. We found it is uncommon to consider all types of benefits (such as nonmarket values) and costs (such as transaction costs) in restoration programs. Total benefit of a restoration project can be estimated using market prices and various nonmarket valuation techniques. Total cost of a project can be estimated using methods based on property or land-sale prices, such as hedonic pricing method and organizational surveys. Securing continuous (or long-term) funding is also vital to accomplishing restoration goals and can be achieved by establishing synergy with existing programs, public-private partnerships, and financing through taxation.

Effects of past and present livestock grazing on herpetofauna in a landscape-scale experiment

Livestock grazing is the most widespread land use on Earth and can have negative effects on biodiversity. Yet, many of the mechanisms by which grazing leads to changes in biodiversity remain unresolved. One reason is that conventional grazing studies often target broad treatments rather than specific parameters of grazing (e.g., intensity, duration, and frequency) or fail to account for historical grazing effects. We conducted a landscape-scale replicated grazing experiment (15,000 km² , 97 sites) to examine the impact of past grazing management and current grazing regimes (intensity, duration, and frequency) on a community of ground-dwelling herpetofauna (39 species). We analyzed community variables (species richness and composition) for all species and built multiseason patch-occupancy models to predict local colonization and extinction for the 7 most abundant species. Past grazing practices did not influence community richness but did affect community composition and patch colonization and extinction for 4 of 7 species. Present grazing parameters did not influence community richness or composition, but 6 of the 7 target species were affected by at least one grazing parameter. Grazing frequency had the most consistent influence, positively affecting 3 of 7 species (increased colonization or decreased extinction). Past grazing practice affected community composition and population dynamics in some species in different ways, which suggests that conservation planners should examine the different grazing histories of an area. Species responded differently to specific current grazing practices; thus, incentive programs that apply a diversity of approaches rather than focusing on a change such as reduced grazing intensity should be considered. Based on our findings, we suggest that determining fine-scale grazing attributes is essential for advancing grazing as a conservation strategy.

Using empirical models of species colonization under multiple threatening processes to identify complementary threat-mitigation strategies

Approaches to prioritize conservation actions are gaining popularity. However, limited empirical evidence exists on which species might benefit most from threat mitigation and on what combination of threats, if mitigated simultaneously, would result in the best outcomes for biodiversity. We devised a way to prioritize threat mitigation at a regional scale with empirical evidence based on predicted changes to population dynamics-information that is lacking in most threat-management prioritization frameworks that rely on expert elicitation. We used dynamic occupancy models to investigate the effects of multiple threats (tree cover, grazing, and presence of an hyperaggressive competitor, the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) on bird-population dynamics in an endangered woodland community in southeastern Australia. The 3 threatening processes had different effects on different species. We used predicted patch-colonization probabilities to estimate the benefit to each species of removing one or more threats. We then determined the complementary set of threat-mitigation strategies that maximized colonization of all species while ensuring that redundant actions with little benefit were avoided. The single action that resulted in the highest colonization was increasing tree cover, which increased patch colonization by 5% and 11% on average across all species and for declining species, respectively. Combining Noisy Miner control with increasing tree cover increased species colonization by 10% and 19% on average for all species and for declining species respectively, and was a higher priority than changing grazing regimes. Guidance for prioritizing threat mitigation is critical in the face of cumulative threatening processes. By incorporating population dynamics in prioritization of threat management, our approach helps ensure funding is not wasted on ineffective management programs that target the wrong threats or species.

Text analysis tools for identification of emerging topics and research gaps in conservation science

Keeping track of conceptual and methodological developments is a critical skill for research scientists, but this task is increasingly difficult due to the high rate of academic publication. As a crisis discipline, conservation science is particularly in need of tools that facilitate rapid yet insightful synthesis. We show how a common text-mining method (latent Dirichlet allocation, or topic modeling) and statistical tests familiar to ecologists (cluster analysis, regression, and network analysis) can be used to investigate trends and identify potential research gaps in the scientific literature. We tested these methods on the literature on ecological surrogates and indicators. Analysis of topic popularity within this corpus showed a strong emphasis on monitoring and management of fragmented ecosystems, while analysis of research gaps suggested a greater role for genetic surrogates and indicators. Our results show that automated text analysis methods need to be used with care, but can provide information that is complementary to that given by systematic reviews and meta-analyses, increasing scientists' capacity for research synthesis.

Conservation covenants on private land: issues with measuring and achieving biodiversity outcomes in Australia

Conservation covenants and easements have become essential tools to secure biodiversity outcomes on private land, and to assist in meeting international protection targets. In Australia, the number and spatial area of conservation covenants has grown significantly in the past decade. Yet there has been little research or detailed policy analysis of conservation covenanting in Australia. We sought to determine how conservation covenanting agencies were measuring the biodiversity conservation outcomes achieved on covenanted properties, and factors inhibiting or contributing to measuring these outcomes. In addition, we also investigated the drivers and constraints associated with actually delivering the biodiversity outcomes, drawing on detailed input from covenanting programs. Although all conservation covenanting programs had the broad aim of maintaining or improving biodiversity in their covenants in the long term, the specific stated objectives of conservation covenanting programs varied. Programs undertook monitoring and evaluation in different ways and at different spatial and temporal scales. Thus, it was difficult to determine the extent Australian conservation covenanting agencies were measuring the biodiversity conservation outcomes achieved on covenanted properties on a national scale. Lack of time available to covenantors to undertake management was one of the biggest impediments to achieving biodiversity conservation outcomes. A lack of financial resources and human capital to monitor, knowing what to monitor, inconsistent monitoring methodologies, a lack of benchmark data, and length of time to achieve outcomes were all considered potential barriers to monitoring the biodiversity conservation outcomes of conservation covenants.