Past and Present Effectiveness of Protected Areas for Conservation of Naturally and Anthropogenically Rare Plant Species

Abstract:  The Global Strategy of Plant Conservation states that at least 60% of threatened plant species should be within protected areas. This goal has been met in some regions with long traditions of plant protection. We used gap analysis to explore how particular groups of species of conservation interest, representing different types of natural or anthropogenic rarity, have been covered by protected areas on a national scale in Estonia during the last 100 years. Species-accumulation curves indicated that plant species that are naturally rare (restricted global or local distribution, always small populations, or very rare habitat requirements) needed almost twice as many protected areas to reach the 60% target as plant species that are rare owing to lack of suitable management (species depending on grassland management, moderate forest disturbances, extensive traditional agriculture, or species potentially threatened by collecting). Temporal analysis of the establishment of protected areas suggested that grouping plant species according to the predominant cause of rarity accurately reflected the history of conservation decision making. Species found in very rare habitats have previously received special conservation attention; species dependent on traditional extensive agriculture have been largely ignored until recently. Legislative initiative and new nature-protection schemes (e.g., Natura 2000, network of protected areas in the European Union) have had a positive influence on all species groups. Consequently, the species groups needing similar action for their conservation are sensitive indicators of the effectiveness of protected-area networks. Different species groups, however, may not be uniformly conserved within protected areas, and all species groups should fulfill the target of 60% coverage within protected areas.     

On the consequences of aggressive male mate-locating behaviour and micro-climate for female host plant use in the butterfly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lycaena hippothoe</Emphasis>

The distribution of ecological resources and their significance for males and females may vary considerably. Intersexual behavioural interactions may lead, combined with particular resource configurations, to sexual spatial segregation. We investigated this issue relative to host plant use in females of the purple-edged copper butterfly, Lycaena hippothoe. Males exhibited nectar resource-based territoriality, which is an uncommon mate-locating system in butterflies. They perched and patrolled in large territories harassing every passing female. In our study system, the percentage of spatial dimension shared for adult and larval resources was estimated at 50%, and males monopolised 28% of the nectar-rich zones. Under these conditions of harassment, females travelled between nectar-rich zones for feeding and zones with suitable host plants for egg laying, but often without nectar and hence with low male density. This is likely to limit their time budget and, potentially, their realised fecundity as suggested by the low number of eggs found relative to population size. Females were also highly specialised in selecting host plants under particular environmental conditions. Using test choice in experimental cages, we showed that, in the absence of males, only micro-climatic conditions may significantly influencing egg-laying decisions. Moreover, results of egg-rearing experiments under different temperature treatments suggested that eggs were laid in thermally suitable micro-environments. The highly selective egg-laying behaviour can be viewed as a preference-performance choice. Knowledge of individuals' behaviour, including sexual interactions, can be highly significant for our understanding of habitat use, which in turn can be essential for conservation. We discuss this for L. hippothoe, a species of regional conservation concern.     

Organchlorine content and shell thickness in brown booby (Sula leucogaster) eggs in the Gulf of California and the southern Pacific coast of Mexico

We determined egg concentrations of organochlorines and thickness of eggshells from brown boobies at eight colonies ranging from the northern Gulf of California to southern Mexico. The only common residue was that of DDE, which was found in almost all eggs. DDE content apparently reflected pre-1990 DDT use in nearby agricultural areas and, at one site, intensive mosquito control for high-end tourism development. There were no inter-colony differences in eggshell thickness, and variation in this variable likely reflected individual bird characteristics and/or individual feeding source. This variable was not a good proxy to DDE exposure of brown boobies, under current DDE levels in the brown booby trophic chain. In the northern Gulf of California, eggshell thickness has recovered to pre-DDT conditions. Our data indicate that the Gulf of California and southwestern coast of Mexico have a healthy near-shore marine environment, as far as organochlorines are concerned.     

Grassland Bird Responses to Land Management in the Largest Remaining Tallgrass Prairie

Abstract: Extensive habitat loss and changing agricultural practices have caused widespread declines in grassland birds throughout North America. The Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma—the largest remaining tallgrass prairie—is important for grassland bird conservation despite supporting a major cattle industry. In 2004 and 2005, we assessed the community, population, and demographic responses of grassland birds to the predominant management practices (grazing, burning, and haying) of the region, including grasslands restored under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We targeted 3 species at the core of this avian community: the Dickcissel (Spiza americana), Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), and Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna). Bird diversity was higher in native prairie hayfields and grazed pastures than CRP fields, which were dominated by Dickcissels. Although Dickcissel density was highest in CRP, their nest success was highest and nest parasitism by Brown‐headed Cowbirds (Moluthrus ater) lowest in unburned hayfields (in 2004). Conversely, Grasshopper Sparrow density was highest in grazed pastures, but their nest success was lowest in these pastures and highest in burned hayfields, where cowbird parasitism was also lowest (in 2004). Management did not influence density and nest survival of Eastern Meadowlarks, which were uniformly low across the region. Nest success was extremely low (5–12%) for all 3 species in 2005, perhaps because of a record spring drought. Although the CRP has benefited grassland birds in agricultural landscapes, these areas may have lower habitat value in the context of native prairie. Hayfields may provide beneficial habitat for some grassland birds in the Flint Hills because they are mowed later in the breeding season than elsewhere in the Midwest. Widespread grazing and annual burning have homogenized habitat—and thus grassland‐bird responses—across the Flint Hills. Diversification of management practices could increase habitat heterogeneity and enhance the conservation potential of the Flint Hills for grassland birds.     

Linking conservation and welfare: A theoretical model with application to Nepal

Theoretical articles linking conservation and welfare find a negative relationship between these two variables while empirical studies show that land protection may be positively related to welfare. Several authors attribute this empirical result to the development of ecotourism in protected areas. We thus argue that the gap between the theory and existing empirical results is partly explained by the fact that most theoretical models do not account for a productive activity on protected land. Therefore, we develop a theoretical model in which conservation allows developing an alternative sector and show that the relationship between conservation and welfare is U-shaped. We test this theoretical prediction using Nepalese data and find that conservation combined with ecotourism is indeed positively related to local welfare.     

Natural Resource Assessment: An Approach to Science Based Planning in National Parks

We conducted a natural resource assessment at two national parks, New River Gorge National River and Shenandoah National Park, to help meet the goals of the Natural Resource Challenge—a program to help strengthen natural resource management at national parks. We met this challenge by synthesizing and interpreting natural resource information for planning purposes and we identified information gaps and natural significance of resources. We identified a variety of natural resources at both parks as being globally and/or nationally significant, including large expanses of unfragmented, mixed-mesophytic forests that qualify for wilderness protection, rare plant communities, diverse assemblages of neotropical migratory birds and salamanders, and outstanding aquatic recreational resources. In addition, these parks function, in part, as ecological reserves for plants in and wildlife. With these significant natural resources in mind, we also developed a suite of natural resource management recommendations in light of increasing threats from within and outside park boundaries. We hope that our approach can provide a blueprint for natural resource conservation at publically owned lands.     

Six Common Mistakes in Conservation Priority Setting

A vast number of prioritization schemes have been developed to help conservation navigate tough decisions about the allocation of finite resources. However, the application of quantitative approaches to setting priorities in conservation frequently includes mistakes that can undermine their authors’ intention to be more rigorous and scientific in the way priorities are established and resources allocated. Drawing on well‐established principles of decision science, we highlight 6 mistakes commonly associated with setting priorities for conservation: not acknowledging conservation plans are prioritizations; trying to solve an ill‐defined problem; not prioritizing actions; arbitrariness; hidden value judgments; and not acknowledging risk of failure. We explain these mistakes and offer a path to help conservation planners avoid making the same mistakes in future prioritizations. Seis Errores Comunes en la Definición de Prioridades de Conservación     

In the mixed world of predictive biology—Contradiction or support

Statistical prediction is a tool and aim in ecology and wildlife management and conservation. A prediction may either be supported by or contradicted by observations of an unknown set of observations. A contradiction occurs if the prediction is not included within the range of the unknown observations, i.e. the prediction misses the cloud of observations completely. Mixed-effects models, frequently used for statistical assessment of clustered data, carry information needed for calculating the probability of such contradictions. Here we present a new versatile statistic, the probability of contradiction (P (Contra)), that describes how often we would anticipate a new cluster of observations contradicting our predictions. Some benefits of P (Contra) are: (1) easy to calculate and intuitive interpretation, (2) comparability between datasets, (3) inclusion of residual correlation, (4) summary of the multitude of information from mixed models into one statistics, and (5) applicable to local mixed-effect models.     

Differences in bioregional classifications among four aquatic biotic groups: Implications for conservation reserve design and monitoring programs

Bioregional classifications are used extensively for conservation management and monitoring programs. This study used generalised dissimilarity modelling (GDM) to test the ability of different regional classifications of four groups of aquatic biota to be used as surrogates for each other. Classifications were derived for aquatic macrophytes, macroinvertebrates, freshwater fish and frogs using community-level modelling, or GDM, which relates the biotic assemblage structure with environmental variables. Six regions were defined for each biotic group for the State of New South Wales. Regional classifications differed markedly between the different biotic groups because the environmental drivers that were related to species turnover throughout the region differed among groups. Altitude and rainfall were the strongest drivers of species turnover among the groups. Results suggest that physiographic variables should be incorporated in reserve design and monitoring programs to explicitly address differences in classifications between similar biotic groups.     

Legal Framework for Biosphere Reserves as Learning Sites for Sustainable Development: A Comparative Analysis of Ukraine and Sweden

The Biosphere Reserve (BR) concept aims at encouraging sustainable development (SD) towards sustainability on the ground by promoting three core functions: conservation, development, and logistic support. Sweden and Ukraine exemplify the diverse governance contexts that BRs need to cope with. We assessed how the BR concept and its core functions are captured in national legislations. The results show that the core functions are in different ways reflected in legal documents in both countries. While in Ukraine the BR concept is incorporated into legislation, in Sweden the concept is used as a soft law. In Ukraine managers desired stronger legal enforcement, while in Sweden managers avoided emphasis on legislation when collaborating with local stakeholders. Hence, BR implementation have adapted to different political cultures by development of diverse approaches. We conclude that a stronger legal support might not be needed for BRs, rather SD needs to be recognized as an integrated place-based process at multiple levels.