Biodiversity Conservation in Local Planning

Abstract:  Local land-use policy is increasingly being recognized as fundamental to biodiversity conservation in the United States. Many planners and conservation scientists have called for broader use of planning and regulatory tools to support the conservation of biodiversity at local scales. Yet little is known about the pervasiveness of these practices. We conducted an on-line survey of county, municipal, and tribal planning directors (n = 116 ) in 3 geographic regions of the United States: metropolitan Seattle, Washington; metropolitan Des Moines, Iowa; and the Research Triangle, North Carolina. Our objectives were to gauge the extent to which local planning departments address biodiversity conservation and to identify factors that facilitate or hinder conservation actions in local planning. We found that biodiversity conservation was seldom a major consideration in these departments. Staff time was mainly devoted to development mandates and little time was spent on biodiversity conservation. Regulations requiring conservation actions that might benefit biodiversity were uncommon, with the exception of rules governing water quality in all 3 regions and the protection of threatened and endangered species in the Seattle region. Planning tools that could enhance habitat conservation were used infrequently. Collaboration across jurisdictions was widespread, but rarely focused on conservation. Departments with a conservation specialist on staff tended to be associated with higher levels of conservation actions. Jurisdictions in the Seattle region also reported higher levels of conservation action, largely driven by state and federal mandates. Increased funding was most frequently cited as a factor that would facilitate greater consideration of biodiversity in local planning. There are numerous opportunities for conservation biologists to play a role in improving conservation planning at local scales.     

Dispersal Can Limit Local Plant Distribution

The ability of species to establish new populations at unoccupied sites is a critical feature in the maintenance of biological diversity, and it has taken on new importance as a result of global climate change and expected changes in species distribution. To examine the dispersal potential of plant species, seeds of four annual plant species were experimentally dispersed 40 to 600 m from existing populations in Massachusetts (U.S.A.) to 34 nearby unoccupied but apparently suitable sites. At three of these sites new populations were established that persisted for four generations and expanded slowly in area. At seven sites, a small initial population eventually died out. At the 24 other sites, new populations did not become established, indicating that the sites were in some way unsuitable, that not enough seeds arrived, or that conditions suitable for seed germination do not occur every year. These results suggest that some species may be unable to disperse naturally out of their existing ranges in response to global climate change, particularly if habitat fragmentation creates barriers to dispersal. These species may have to be assisted to reach suitable sites nearby to prevent their extinction in the wild.     

Local spatial modeling of white-tailed deer distribution

Complex spatial heterogeneity of ecological systems is difficult to capture and interpret using global models alone. For this reason, recent attention has been paid to local spatial modeling techniques. We used one local modeling approach, geographically weighted regression (GWR), to investigate the effects of local spatial heterogeneity on multivariate relationships of white-tailed deer distribution using land cover patch metrics and climate factors. The results of these analyses quantify differences in the contributions of model parameters to estimates of deer density over space. A GWR model with local kernel bandwidth was compared to a GWR model with global kernel bandwidth and an ordinary least-squares regression (OLS) model with the same parameters to evaluate their relative abilities in modeling deer distributions. The results indicated that the GWR models predicted deer density better than the traditional ordinary least-squares model and also provided useful information regarding local environmental processes affecting deer distribution. GWR model comparisons showed that the local kernel bandwidth GWR model was more realistic than the global kernel bandwidth GWR model, as the latter exaggerated local spatial variation. The parameter estimates and model statistics (e.g., model R²) of the GWR models were mapped using geographic information systems (GIS) to illustrate local spatial variation in the regression relationship and to identify causes of large-scale model misspecifications and low estimation efficiencies.     

Local multiplicity adjustments for spatial cluster detection

The spatial scan statistic is a widely applied tool for cluster detection. The spatial scan statistic evaluates the significance of a series of potential circular clusters using Monte Carlo simulation to account for the multiplicity of comparisons. In most settings, the extent of the multiplicity problem varies across the study region. For example, urban areas typically have many overlapping clusters, while rural areas have few. The spatial scan statistic does not account for these local variations in the multiplicity problem. We propose two new spatially-varying multiplicity adjustments for spatial cluster detection, one based on a nested Bonferroni adjustment and one based on local averaging. Geographic variations in power for the spatial scan statistic and the two new statistics are explored through simulation studies, and the methods are applied to both the well-known New York leukemia data and data from a case–control study of breast cancer in Wisconsin.     

Local likelihood disease clustering: development and evaluation

This paper illustrates a method based on local likelihood (LL) for detecting disease clusters. The approach is based on estimating a lasso distance for each region: within which regions are considered to be clustered. An important advantage in implementing this approach is that it does not require any special Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) algorithm, e.g., reversible jump MCMC, which is essential in hidden Markov model approach. Another advantage is that extending the model to incorporate covariates is straightforward. We illustrate three ways of doing this by using Eastern Germany lip cancer data. By using simulated data, we have made a comparison with the BYM model [Besag et al. (1991) Annals of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, 43, 1–59] and the mixture model [Lawson and Clark (2002) Disease Mapping and Risk Assessment for Public Health, Chapman and Hall]. We also did a limited examination of the ability of the LL model to recover true relative risk under different priors for lasso parameter. In order to check the edge effects, which has been overlooked in many spatial clustering models for disease mapping but deserves special attention as it lacks observable neighbors, we have adapted here a simple approach to observe the changes in relative risks when the edge regions are omitted. An erratum to this article is available at .     

试论自然保护区与社区协调发展

概括了自然保护区与社区的统一性和矛盾 ,分析了自然保护区与社区协调发展存在的主要问题 ,提出了自然保护区与社区协调发展的途径与方法 ,总结了一些保护区与社区协调发展的有效模式 ,包括政区合署模式、协调机构模式、保护与扶贫相结合模式、经济上双赢模式和公众参与模式     

Evaluating the Predicted Local Extinction of a Once-Common Mouse

Abstract:  In an earlier paper ( Pergams & Nyberg 2001 ) we found that the proportion of the prairie deer mouse ( Peromyscus maniculatus bairdii ), among all local Peromyscus museum specimens collected in the Chicago region, had significantly declined over time. This proportion changed from about 50% before 1900 to <10% in the last 25 years. Based on this proportion a regression model predicted the local extinction of the prairie deer mouse in 2009. To evaluate that prediction, we estimated current deer mouse abundance by live trapping small mammals at 15 preserves in Cook and Lake counties, Illinois (USA) at which prairie deer mice had previously been caught or that still contained their preferred open habitat. In 1900 trap nights, 477 mammals were caught, including 251 white-footed mice ( P. leucopus ), but only one prairie deer mouse. The observed proportion of Peromyscus that were prairie deer mice, 0.4%, was even lower than the 4.5% predicted for 2000. Here we also introduce a simple, new community proportions model, which for any given geographic region compares the proportions of species recently caught with the proportions of species in museums. We compared proportions of seven species collected in Cook and Lake counties and examined by Hoffmeister (1989) with proportions of these species that we caught. Ten percent of the museum community was prairie deer mice, but only 0.2% of our catch was. The current local scarcity of the prairie deer mouse is consistent with the regression-based prediction of its eminent local extinction. More conservation attention should be paid to changes in relative abundance of once-common species.     

Improving Conservation Outcomes with Insights from Local Experts and Bureaucracies

We describe conservation built on local expertise such that it constitutes a hybrid form of traditional and bureaucratic knowledge. Researchers regularly ask how local knowledge might be applied to programs linked to protected areas. By examining the production of conservation knowledge in southern Mexico, we assert local expertise is already central to conservation. However, bureaucratic norms and social identity differences between lay experts and conservation practitioners prevent the public valuing of traditional knowledge. We make this point by contrasting 2 examples. The first is a master's thesis survey of local experts regarding the biology of the King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa) in which data collection took place in communities adjacent to the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. The second is a workshop sponsored by the same reserve that instructed farmers on how to monitor endangered species, including the King Vulture. In both examples, conservation knowledge would not have existed without traditional knowledge. In both examples, this traditional knowledge is absent from scientific reporting. On the basis of these findings, we suggest conservation outcomes may be improved by recognizing the knowledge contributions local experts already make to conservation programming. Mejorando los Resultados de la Conservación con la Percepción de Expertos y Burócratas Locales Haenn et al.     

Local Population Dynamics in Metapopulation Models: Implications for Conservation

Abstract: Habitat fragmentation and the division of populations into spatially separated units have led to the increasing use of metapopulation models to characterize these populations. One prominent model that has served as a heuristic tool was introduced by Levins and is based on a collection of simplifying assumptions that exclude information on the dynamics and spatial distribution of local populations. Levins's and similar models predict the proportion of occupied habitat patches at equilibrium and the conditions needed to avoid total extinction. There are many obvious concerns about using such models, including how realistic alterations might change the predictions and whether occupancy has any relationship to population-level processes. Although many of the assumptions of these simple models are known to be unrealistic, we do not know how the assumptions affect model predictions. We simulated a metapopulation, and our results show that assumptions such as homogeneity of habitat patches, random migration among patches, equivalent extinction probabilities in all patches, and a large number of patches can lead to large overestimations of habitat occupancy. But when we explicitly modeled the underlying population dynamics within each patch, we found (1) that there was a strong correlation between proportion of occupied patches and total metapopulation size and (2) that the distribution of individuals among patches was relatively insensitive to model assumptions. Thus, our results show that although realistic modifications will change model predictions for occupancy, occupancy and population trends will be correlated. These correlations between occupancy and population size suggest that occupancy models may have some utility in conservation applications.     

Two Hundred Years of Local Avian Extinctions in Eastern Amazonia

Local, regional, and global extinctions caused by habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation have been widely reported for the tropics. The patterns and drivers of this loss of species are now increasingly well known in Amazonia, but there remains a significant gap in understanding of long‐term trends in species persistence and extinction in anthropogenic landscapes. Such a historical perspective is critical for understanding the status and trends of extant biodiversity as well as for identifying priorities to halt further losses. Using extensive historical data sets of specimen records and results of contemporary surveys, we searched for evidence of local extinctions of a terra firma rainforest avifauna over 200 years in a 2500 km² eastern Amazonian region around the Brazilian city of Belém. This region has the longest history of ornithological fieldwork in the entire Amazon basin and lies in the highly threatened Belém Centre of Endemism. We also compared our historically inferred extinction events with extensive data on species occurrences in a sample of catchments in a nearby municipality (Paragominas) that encompass a gradient of past forest loss. We found evidence for the possible extinction of 47 species (14% of the regional species pool) that were unreported from 1980 to 2013 (80% last recorded between 1900 and 1980). Seventeen species appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, and many of these are large‐bodied. The species lost from the region immediately around Belém are similar to those which are currently restricted to well‐forested catchments in Paragominas. Although we anticipate the future rediscovery or recolonization of some species inferred to be extinct by our calculations, we also expect that there are likely to be additional local extinctions, not reported here, given the ongoing loss and degradation of remaining areas of native vegetation across eastern Amazonia. Doscientos Años de Extinciones Locales de Aves en la Amazonia Oriental     

Local level sustainability planning for livelihoods: A Cambodian experience

How do Cambodian villagers perceive sustainability and what do they do 'on the ground'? Looking at sustainability issues through the lens of two local resource management committees, and using a triangulation of social science research methods, this paper examines the roles and responsibilities of these groups and how they grapple with resource degradation and related activities. The committees have experimented with a range of resource management strategies, from creating fishing sanctuaries to resolving fishing gear theft. The results indicate that one reason villagers are willing to engage in community-based management is when they believe that they can improve livelihoods within their community. Community-based management is being carried out in the absence of formal legislation; it is recognized through government policy and administrative approvals. In this regard, local-level support and leadership has been key, and the current arrangement has created the political space for experimentation and learning.     

Risk of Local Extinction of Odonata Freshwater Habitat Generalists and Specialists

Understanding the risk of a local extinction in a single population relative to the habitat requirements of a species is important in both theoretical and applied ecology. Local extinction risk depends on several factors, such as habitat requirements, range size of species, and habitat quality. We studied the local extinctions among 31 dragonfly and damselfly species from 1930 to 1975 and from 1995 to 2003 in Central Finland. We tested whether habitat specialists had a higher local extinction rate than generalist species. Approximately 30% of the local dragonfly and damselfly populations were extirpated during the 2 study periods. The size of the geographical range of the species was negatively related to extinction rate of the local populations. In contrast to our prediction, the specialist species had lower local extinction rates than the generalist species, probably because generalist species occurred in both low‐ and high‐quality habitat. Our results are consistent with source–sink theory. Riesgo de Extinción Local de Odonatos de Agua Dulce Generalistas y Especialistas de Hábitat     

Local Participation in Natural Resource Monitoring: a Characterization of Approaches

Abstract: The monitoring of trends in the status of species or habitats is routine in developed countries, where it is funded by the state or large nongovernmental organizations and often involves large numbers of skilled amateur volunteers. Far less monitoring of natural resources takes place in developing countries, where state agencies have small budgets, there are fewer skilled professionals or amateurs, and socioeconomic conditions prevent development of a culture of volunteerism. The resulting lack of knowledge about trends in species and habitats presents a serious challenge for detecting, understanding, and reversing declines in natural resource values. International environmental agreements require signatories undertake systematic monitoring of their natural resources, but no system exists to guide the development and expansion of monitoring schemes. To help develop such a protocol, we suggest a typology of monitoring categories, defined by their degree of local participation, ranging from no local involvement with monitoring undertaken by professional researchers to an entirely local effort with monitoring undertaken by local people. We assessed the strengths and weaknesses of each monitoring category and the potential of each to be sustainable in developed or developing countries. Locally based monitoring is particularly relevant in developing countries, where it can lead to rapid decisions to solve the key threats affecting natural resources, can empower local communities to better manage their resources, and can refine sustainable‐use strategies to improve local livelihoods. Nevertheless, we recognize that the accuracy and precision of the monitoring undertaken by local communities in different situations needs further study and field protocols need to be further developed to get the best from the unrealized potential of this approach. A challenge to conservation biologists is to identify and establish the monitoring system most relevant to a particular situation and to develop methods to integrate outputs from across the spectrum of monitoring schemes to produce wider indices of natural resources that capture the strengths of each.     

The Role of Local Government in the Conservation of Rare Species

In the U.S. rare and endangered species protection is a public policy responsibility commonly ascribed to the federal or state governments. We make three related claims: 1) the scale of local and regional land use control and open-space acquisitions matches the range sizes of many rare, endemic species, 2) land acquisition is the most attractive approach to conserving many rare taxa, especially endangered flora, and 3) at least some local governments and non-governmental organizations have the policy capacity necessary to identify, acquire, and manage critical habitats for endangered species. Although local involvement can have conservation payoffs throughout the United States, we focus on California in general and, in particular, use as a case study the biology and political resources of four adjoining counties in the central coast region of the state: San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, and Monterey. We close with a discussion of policy implications for coordinating local, state, and federal conservation efforts. These include 1) brokering land acquisition deals with input from public land managers and private owners, 2) shifting funding priorities for rare, well-known species away from research to habitat acquisition and management, and 3) encouraging biologists to invest more effort in local land use regulations so that they may make more effective use of local land management and conservation opportunities.     

Human Population Density and Prediction of Local Plant Extinction in Britain

Throughout the world, and particularly in densely populated countries like Britain, human activities exert a dominant influence on the abundance of both plants and animals. The commonness and rarity of plants in Britain has been plausibly linked to human land use. In Western Europe the identity of increasing and decreasing plants appears to depend on human population density, which is itself a crude measure of human impact on the landscape. The publication of new data on the changing distributions of scarce British plants allowed us to investigate the relationship between loss of scarce plants and human population density in Britain. Our results confirm that a direct effect of human population density on local plant extinctions can be detected at the regional scale in Britain. Although intensive agriculture is conventionally regarded as the greatest threat to British wildlife, our analysis suggests that urbanization may be at least as significant a danger.