Practical Recommendations to Help Students Bridge the Research–Implementation Gap and Promote Conservation

Seasoned conservation researchers often struggle to bridge the research–implementation gap and promote the translation of their work into meaningful conservation actions. Graduate students face the same problems and must contend with obstacles such as limited opportunities for relevant interdisciplinary training and a lack of institutional support for application of research results. However, students also have a crucial set of opportunities (e.g., access to academic resources outside their degree programs and opportunities to design research projects promoting collaboration with stakeholders) at their disposal to address these problems. On the basis of results of breakout discussions at a symposium on the human dimensions of the ocean, a review of the literature, and our own experiences, we devised recommendations on how graduate students can create resources within their academic institutions, institutionalize resources, and engage with stakeholders to promote real‐world conservation outcomes. Within their academic institutions, graduate students should foster links to practitioners and promote knowledge and skill sharing among students. To institutionalize resources, students should cultivate student leaders and faculty sponsors, systematically document their program activities, and engage in strategic planning to promote the sustainability of their efforts. While conducting research, students should create connections to and engage actively with stakeholders in their relevant study areas and disseminate research results both to stakeholders and the broader public. Our recommendations can serve as a template for graduate students wishing to bridge the research–implementation gap, both during their current studies and in their future careers as conservation researchers and practitioners. Recomendaciones Prácticas para Ayudar a Estudiantes a Vencer la Brecha entre Investigación e Implementación y Promover la Conservación     

How Broad-Scale Studies of Patterns and Processes Can Serve to Guide Conservation Planning in Africa

Abstract:  Analysis of large-scale biodiversity patterns can uncover general relationships and problems that need to be taken into account when conservation strategies are developed. Nevertheless, these large-scale patterns need to be supplemented with information from local studies that can identify specific problems and determine how the land can be divided between conservation and development interests. I analyzed biodiversity patterns at three different scales to show how various scales of research contributed to conservation planning. A gap analysis for all of sub-Saharan Africa revealed that the network of wildlife reserves provides insufficient protection of narrowly endemic and threatened species, mainly because such species are aggregated in certain areas with dense human populations. A more fine-grained analysis of the distribution of forest birds of eastern Africa generally confirmed the results obtained with coarse-scale data and added precision by identifying forest tracts where conservation actions should be concentrated. Detailed local distribution data for one of the prioritized areas, the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania, suggest that the actions to halt the loss of biodiversity should be concentrated in the submontane zone, immediately adjacent to densely populated areas. To achieve conservation on the ground, these general planning tools must be supplemented with other kinds of research concerning land-use and local knowledge and with approaches that promote more sustainable development. Different types of institutions will be needed for these different tasks, but it is essential that researchers maintain a dialogue with planners in this area .     

Genetics, Taxonomy, and Conservation of the Threatened California Gnatcatcher

Abstract: The California Gnatcatcher (   Polioptila californica ) has become a flagship species in the dispute over development of southern California's unique coastal sage scrub habitat, a fragile, geographically restricted ecosystem with high endemism. One aspect of the controversy concerns the status of the subspecies of this bird in southern California coastal sage scrub that is currently listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. To investigate the recent population history of this species and the genetic distinctiveness of subspecies and to inform conservation planning, we used direct sequencing of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) for 64 individuals from 13 samples taken throughout the species' range. We found that coastal sage scrub populations of California Gnatcatchers are not genetically distinct from populations in Baja California, which are dense and continuously distributed throughout the peninsula. Rather, mtDNA sequences from this species contain the signatures of population growth and support a hypothesis of recent expansion of populations from a southern Baja California refugium northward into the southern coastal regions of California. During this expansion, stochastic events led to a reduction in genetic variation in the newly occupied range. Thus, preservation of coastal sage scrub cannot be linked to maintaining the genetic diversity of northern gnatcatcher populations, despite previous recognition of subspecies. Our study suggests that not all currently recognized subspecies are equivalent to evolutionarily significant units and illustrates the danger of focusing conservation efforts for threatened habitats on a single species.     

Molecular Taxonomy and the Conservation of the Red Wolf and Other Endangered Carnivores

Recent publications have reaffirmed that the red wolf ( Canis rufus ) is a hybrid of the coyote and the gray wolf. Besides the implications these results will likely have for future conservation efforts and allotment of resources through the Endangered Species Act for recovery of the red wolf, it is likely that broader consequences will be felt throughout the conservation community as species come under the scrutiny of a more powerful means of taxonomic identification. As molecular technology is refined in its ability to resolve taxonomic histories and uncertainties, it is likely that hybridization event(s) will be recognized in more species. This may be of particular importance for large carnivores, whose small population sizes make them susceptible to hybridization episodes with closely related, sympatric species. Because of negative perceptions, powerful antipredator advocates, conservation and resource constraints, and an enigmatic hybrid policy within the Endangered Species Act, how red-wolf taxonomy is decided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may affect the future of large carnivores in general.     

Conservation Deficits for the Continental United States: an Ecosystem Gap Analysis

Abstract:  Few attempts have been made to analyze the status of conservation efforts at a continental scale, mainly because of the lack of high-quality data sets at this scale. Given that land management agencies want to prioritize conservation efforts and spend limited resources wisely, we recognized the need to undertake a national gap analysis. We developed the most detailed national vegetation cover map feasible to analyze the degree of representation of ecosystem analysis units (an initial representation of ecosystem types) in the network of conservation lands for the continental United States. We combined The Nature Conservancy's ecoregions with the natural land-cover types of the National Land Cover Data Set and examined the conservation status of each combination. The majority of ecosystem analysis units have a small percentage of their total area residing in lands that are managed to support biodiversity. The median percentage of area conserved on status 1 and 2 lands (highest of four levels of protection) as designated by the Gap Analysis Program for the 554 ecosystem analysis units is 4.0% (SD 18.1%). This finding, which highlights our national conservation deficits, points to the need to address the size and diversity of the conservation estate.