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Kalogianni E, Koutsikos N, Karaouzas I, Smeti E, Kapakos Y, Laschou S, Dimitriou E, Vardakas L. REVIVE: A feasibility assessment tool for freshwater fish conservation translocations in Mediterranean rivers. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 862:160595. [PMID: 36470387 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160595] [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: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 11/22/2022] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Conservation translocation is a management action applied for population recovery of threatened freshwater fishes, often however with partially successful outcome, mainly due to inadequate feasibility assessment prior to the translocation. Up to date, feasibility assessments have been mainly focused on economically important species (e.g., salmonids) inhabiting perennial rivers, while little attention has been given to fish translocations in rivers in Mediterranean climate areas. In this study, we developed a robust feasibility assessment tool for freshwater fish translocations in Mediterranean-type riverine ecosystems within an interdisciplinary, multispecies approach. The REVIVE tool integrates quantitative and semi-quantitative data, incorporates uncertainty and consists of two main components. The first component is the evaluation of the potential release water bodies (R-WBs) for their suitability for the planned translocation, incorporating a number of essential criteria for Mediterranean rivers, with emphasis on flow regime and habitat quantity. Additional criteria include the current and historical presence of the target species, water and biological quality, habitat suitability in terms of the ecological requirements of the target species, alien invasive species' pressure, and hydromorphological pressures, including their mitigation potential. The second component is the evaluation of the potential source water bodies (S-WBs) in terms of genetic compatibility and provision of a sufficient number of propagules. A trial application in a Mediterranean basin (Vassilopotamos River, Southern Greece) for the potential translocation of two threatened cyprinids in five R-WBs indicated the robustness of the tool. This integrative, flexible tool combines several elements identified as essential in reintroduction biology and can have wider applications, for a multitude of freshwater fish taxa and riverine systems, maximizing the success of planned translocation actions by natural resources' managers. Modifications to enable its transferability to other river types or fish taxa are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Kalogianni
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece
| | - Nicholas Koutsikos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece
| | - Ioannis Karaouzas
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece
| | - Evangelia Smeti
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece
| | - Yiannis Kapakos
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece
| | - Sofia Laschou
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece
| | - Elias Dimitriou
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece
| | - Leonidas Vardakas
- Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Inland Waters, Anavissos PO 19013, Attica, Greece.
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Backus GA, Huang Y, Baskett ML. Comparing management strategies for conserving communities of climate-threatened species with a stochastic metacommunity model. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210380. [PMID: 35757886 PMCID: PMC9237742 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many species are shifting their ranges to keep pace with climate change, but habitat fragmentation and limited dispersal could impede these range shifts. In the case of climate-vulnerable foundation species such as tropical reef corals and temperate forest trees, such limitations might put entire communities at risk of extinction. Restoring connectivity through corridors, stepping-stones or enhanced quality of existing patches could prevent the extinction of several species, but dispersal-limited species might not benefit if other species block their dispersal. Alternatively, managers might relocate vulnerable species between habitats through assisted migration, but this is generally a species-by-species approach. To evaluate the relative efficacy of these strategies, we simulated the climate-tracking of species in randomized competitive metacommunities with alternative management interventions. We found that corridors and assisted migration were the most effective strategies at reducing extinction. Assisted migration was especially effective at reducing the extinction likelihood for short-dispersing species, but it often required moving several species repeatedly. Assisted migration was more effective at reducing extinction in environments with higher stochasticity, and corridors were more effective at reducing extinction in environments with lower stochasticity. We discuss the application of these approaches to an array of systems ranging from tropical corals to temperate forests. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Ecological complexity and the biosphere: the next 30 years’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A Backus
- Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Yansong Huang
- Spanish Institute of Oceanography, Oceanographic Center of the Balearic Islands, Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain
| | - Marissa L Baskett
- Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
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Backus GA, Baskett ML. Identifying robust strategies for assisted migration in a competitive stochastic metacommunity. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2021; 35:1809-1820. [PMID: 33769601 PMCID: PMC9290962 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2019] [Revised: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Assisted migration (AM) is the translocation of species beyond their historical range to locations that are expected to be more suitable under future climate change. However, a relocated population may fail to establish in its donor community if there is high uncertainty in decision-making, climate, and interactions with the recipient ecological community. To quantify the benefit to persistence and risk of establishment failure of AM under different management scenarios (e.g., choosing target species, proportion of population to relocate, and optimal location to relocate), we built a stochastic metacommunity model to simulate several species reproducing, dispersing, and competing on a temperature gradient as temperature increases over time. Without AM, the species were vulnerable to climate change when they had low population sizes, short dispersal, and strong poleward competition. When relocating species that exemplified these traits, AM increased the long-term persistence of the species most when relocating a fraction of the donor population, even if the remaining population was very small or rapidly declining. This suggests that leaving behind a fraction of the population could be a robust approach, allowing managers to repeat AM in case they move the species to the wrong place and at the wrong time, especially when it is difficult to identify a species' optimal climate. We found that AM most benefitted species with low dispersal ability and least benefited species with narrow thermal tolerances, for which AM increased extinction risk on average. Although relocation did not affect the persistence of nontarget species in our simple competitive model, researchers will need to consider a more complete set of community interactions to comprehensively understand invasion potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory A. Backus
- Department of Environmental Science and PolicyUniversity of California, DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Marissa L. Baskett
- Department of Environmental Science and PolicyUniversity of California, DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
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Peterson KA, Barnes MD, Jeynes‐Smith C, Cowen S, Gibson L, Sims C, Baker CM, Bode M. Reconstructing lost ecosystems: A risk analysis framework for planning multispecies reintroductions under severe uncertainty. J Appl Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katie A. Peterson
- School of Mathematical Sciences Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Qld Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
- National Socio‐Environmental Synthesis Center University of Maryland Annapolis MD USA
| | - Megan D. Barnes
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Perth WA Australia
| | - Cailan Jeynes‐Smith
- School of Mathematical Sciences Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Qld Australia
| | - Saul Cowen
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Perth WA Australia
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Western Australia Perth WA Australia
| | - Lesley Gibson
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Perth WA Australia
- School of Biological Sciences The University of Western Australia Perth WA Australia
| | - Colleen Sims
- Biodiversity and Conservation Science Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Perth WA Australia
| | - Christopher M. Baker
- School of Mathematics and Statistics The University of Melbourne Melbourne Vic. Australia
- Melbourne Centre for Data Science The University of Melbourne Melbourne Vic. Australia
- Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis The University of Melbourne Melbourne Vic. Australia
| | - Michael Bode
- School of Mathematical Sciences Queensland University of Technology Brisbane Qld Australia
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Baker CM, Bode M, Dexter N, Lindenmayer DB, Foster C, MacGregor C, Plein M, McDonald-Madden E. A novel approach to assessing the ecosystem-wide impacts of reintroductions. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS : A PUBLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2019; 29:e01811. [PMID: 30312496 DOI: 10.1002/eap.1811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Reintroducing a species to an ecosystem can have significant impacts on the recipient ecological community. Although reintroductions can have striking and positive outcomes, they also carry risks; many well-intentioned conservation actions have had surprising and unsatisfactory outcomes. A range of network-based mathematical methods has been developed to make quantitative predictions of how communities will respond to management interventions. These methods are based on the limited knowledge of which species interact with each other and in what way. However, expert knowledge isn't perfect and can only take models so far. Fortunately, other types of data, such as abundance time series, is often available, but, to date, no quantitative method exists to integrate these various data types into these models, allowing more precise ecosystem-wide predictions. In this paper, we develop mathematical methods that combine time-series data of multiple species with knowledge of species interactions and we apply it to proposed reintroductions at Booderee National Park in Australia. There have been large fluctuations in species abundances at Booderee National Park in recent history, following intense feral fox (Vulpes vulpes) control, including the local extinction of the greater glider (Petauroides volans). These fluctuations can provide information about the system isn't readily obtained from a stable system, and we use them to inform models that we then use to predict potential outcomes of eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) and long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) reintroductions. One of the key species of conservation concern in the park is the Eastern Bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus), and we find that long-nosed potoroo introduction would have very little impact on the Eastern Bristlebird population, while the eastern quoll introduction increased the likelihood of Eastern Bristlebird decline, although that depends on the strength and form of any possible interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M Baker
- School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
- CSIRO EcosystemSciences, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, Queensland, 4102, Australia
| | - Michael Bode
- School of Mathematical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, 4000, Australia
| | - Nick Dexter
- Booderee National Park, Parks Australia, Jervis Bay, Jervis Bay Territory, 2540, Australia
| | - David B Lindenmayer
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
- Long Term Ecological Research Network, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - Claire Foster
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - Christopher MacGregor
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2601, Australia
| | - Michaela Plein
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
| | - Eve McDonald-Madden
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, School of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, 4072, Australia
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Hale SL, Koprowski JL. Ecosystem-level effects of keystone species reintroduction: a literature review. Restor Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/rec.12684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Hale
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment; University of Arizona, 1064 East Lowell Street; Tucson AZ 85721 U.S.A
| | - John L. Koprowski
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment; University of Arizona, 1064 East Lowell Street; Tucson AZ 85721 U.S.A
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