Conservation Biology最新文献

The urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change necessitates a comprehensive understanding of carbon cycling dynamics. Traditionally, global carbon cycle models have focused on vegetation, but recent research suggests that animals can play a significant role in carbon dynamics under some circumstances, potentially enhancing the effectiveness of nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change. However, links between animals, plants, and carbon remain unclear. We explored the complex interactions between defaunation and ecosystem carbon in Earth's most biodiverse and carbon-rich biome, tropical rainforests. Defaunation can change patterns of seed dispersal, granivory, and herbivory in ways that alter tree species composition and, therefore, forest carbon above- and belowground. Most studies we reviewed show that defaunation reduces carbon storage 0−26% in the Neo- and Afrotropics, primarily via population declines in large-seeded, animal-dispersed trees. However, Asian forests are not predicted to experience changes because their high-carbon trees are wind dispersed. Extrapolating these local effects to entire ecosystems implies losses of ∼1.6 Pg CO₂ equivalent across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and 4−9.2 Pg across the Amazon over 100 years and of ∼14.7−26.3 Pg across the Congo basin over 250 years. In addition to being hard to quantify with precision, the effects of defaunation on ecosystem carbon are highly context dependent; outcomes varied based on the balance between antagonist and mutualist species interactions, abiotic conditions, human pressure, and numerous other factors. A combination of experiments, large-scale comparative studies, and mechanistic models could help disentangle the effects of defaunation from other anthropogenic forces in the face of the incredible complexity of tropical forest systems. Overall, our synthesis emphasizes the importance of—and inconsistent results when—integrating animal dynamics into carbon cycle models, which is crucial for developing climate change mitigation strategies and effective policies.

Fire regimes are changing globally, leading to an increased need for management interventions to protect human lives and interests, potentially conflicting with biodiversity conservation. We conceptualized 5 major aspects of the process required to address threats to flora and used this conceptual model to examine and identify areas for improvement. We focused on threat identification, policy design, and action implementation. We illustrated the application of the conceptual model through a case study in southeastern Australia, where policies have been designed to prevent hazard reduction burns from exposing threatened flora to high-frequency fire (HFF). We examined whether threatened species have been accurately identified as threatened by HFF, species were accounted for in key policies, and implementation of the policy reduced the incidence of HFF for target species. Species were mostly identified accurately as being threatened by HFF, and, broadly, the policy effectively minimized the threat from HFF. However, 96 species did not have HFF identified as a threat, and another 36 were missing from the policy entirely. Outcomes regarding the reduction of threat from HFF since policy introduction were species specific, despite an average increase in fire interval of 2 years. Despite the policy, over half (55%) the species studied have been affected by HFF since the policy was introduced. Although relatively minor improvements could optimize threat identification and policy design, the mixed success of action implementation highlights limitations that warrant further investigation. Our conceptual model enabled us to make clear and targeted recommendations for how different aspects of the policy could be improved and where further work is needed. We propose the conceptual model can be useful in a variety of contexts.

Less than 7000 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) persist in Africa. Although human-wildlife conflict, habitat degradation, and loss of prey are major threats to cheetah populations, illegal trade in live cubs for pets may have the most significant impact on populations in the Horn of Africa. We developed a novel, stepwise decision support tool to predict probable trafficking routes by leveraging the power of distinct modeling approaches. First, we created a cheetah habitat suitability index (HSI) to determine where source cheetah populations may occur. We then created a trafficking network model linking known and predicted cheetah populations with documented destinations in the Arabian Peninsula. A significant area in Eastern Ethiopia and Northern Somalia was estimated to harbor undocumented cheetahs. When these predicted populations were used as a supply source, the trafficking network model showed multiple routes passing through Somaliland and across the Gulf of Aden to Yemen, supporting the notion that undocumented cheetahs may be supplying pet market demands. Though we demonstrate how our decision support tool can inform law enforcement, conservation strategies, and community engagement, we caution that our results are not fully validated due to limited accessibility, alternative trafficking routes, and the cryptic nature of illegal wildlife trade.

Conservation plans that explicitly account for the social landscape where people and wildlife co-occur can yield more effective and equitable conservation practices and outcomes. Yet, social data remain underutilized, often because social data are treated as aspatial or are analyzed with approaches that do not quantify uncertainty or address bias in self-reported data. We conducted a survey (questionnaires) of 177 households in a multiuse landscape in the Kenya–Tanzania borderlands. In a mixed-methods approach, we used Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify and map local attitudes toward African elephant (Loxodonta africana) conservation while accounting for response bias and then combined inference from attitude models with thematic analysis of open-ended responses and cointerpretation of results with local communities to gain deeper understanding of what explains attitudes of people living with wildlife. Model estimates showed that believing elephants have sociocultural value increased the probability of respondents holding positive attitudes toward elephant conservation in general (mean increase = 0.31 [95% credible interval, CrI, 0.02–0.67]), but experiencing negative impacts from any wildlife species lowered the probability of respondents holding a positive attitude toward local elephant conservation (mean decrease = −0.20 [95% CrI −0.42 to 0.03]). Qualitative data revealed that safety and well-being concerns related to the perceived threats that elephants pose to human lives and livelihoods, and limited incentives to support conservation on community and private lands lowered positive local attitude probabilities and contributed to negative perceptions of human–elephant coexistence. Our spatially explicit modeling approach revealed fine-scale variation in drivers of conservation attitudes that can inform targeted conservation planning. Our results suggest that approaches focused on sustaining existing sociocultural values and relationships with wildlife, investing in well-being, and implementing species-agnostic approaches to wildlife impact mitigation could improve conservation outcomes in shared landscapes.

Indigenous stewardship is essential to the conservation of biocultural diversity, yet conventional conservation models often treat Indigenous territories (ITs) as homogeneous or isolated units. We propose that archipelagos of Indigenous territories (AITs), clusters of ITs that span geographies but are connected through shared cultural or political ties maintained by Indigenous nations, are crucial for understanding and enhancing conservation strategies that recognize the complexity of Indigenous stewardship. We classified 3572 ITs in the Amazon into 4 categories-single or multiple nations with either singular IT or AIT-to assess their spatial heterogeneity, governance, and conservation potential. We then assessed species richness, carbon stocks, and pressures across these different categories. To examine how AITs can enhance biocultural conservation efforts, we conducted a case study of the Cofán Nation in Ecuador. AITs covered 45% of the Amazonian land area and had higher species richness and carbon stocks than single IT configurations. However, AITs faced greater pressures from development and extractive activities. In the case study, the Cofán AIT was shaped by colonization and land titling challenges, but their community-driven governance, cross-territorial collaboration, and adaptive responses-such as comanagement agreements and resisting extractive activities-enhanced their ecological and cultural resilience amid growing development pressures. Our findings suggest that AITs facilitate the exchange of resources, knowledge, and cultural practices, which strengthens social connectivity, reinforces governance structures, and enables adaptive management across ITs, thereby enhancing biocultural resilience across discontinuous spaces. This work advocates for a paradigm shift in conservation planning and practice that recognizes the vital role of AITs in sustaining Amazonian ecosystems and Indigenous lifeways, particularly in the face of increasing pressures.

Defaunation of tropical forests, particularly from unsustainable hunting, has diminished populations of key seed dispersers for many tree species, driving shifts in forest community composition toward small-fruited or wind-dispersed trees with low wood density. Such shifts can reduce aboveground biomass, prompting calls for overexploitation to be included in bioeconomic policy, but a synthesis of existing literature for wildlife impacts on carbon stores is lacking. We evaluated the role of wildlife in tropical forest tree recruitment and found that it was critical to tropical forest carbon dynamics. The emerging financial value of ecosystem services provided by tropical forest fauna highlights the need for carbon-based payments for ecosystem services schemes to include wildlife protection. We argue for three cost-effective actions within carbon finance schemes that can facilitate wildlife protection: support land security opportunities for Indigenous peoples and local communities; provide support for local people to protect forest fauna from overexploitation; and focus on natural regeneration in restoration projects. Incorporating defaunation in carbon-financing schemes more broadly requires an increased duration of carbon projects and an improved understanding of defaunation impacts on carbon stores and ecosystem-level models. Without urgent action to halt wildlife losses and prevent empty forest syndrome, the crucial role of tropical forests in tackling climate change may be in jeopardy.

Adopted in 2010 as a supplementary agreement to the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol (NP) mandates the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources provided by Indigenous peoples. Member states must newly enact or amend domestic laws to align with the NP. Consequently, many countries are currently implementing legislative, administrative, and policy measures to ensure fair benefit sharing from the use of Indigenous genetic resources. We examined the inclusion of intellectual property (IP) protection in the sharing of benefits from research and development that utilizes Indigenous genetic resources. The NP does not specify guidelines for IP-related benefit sharing, leaving each member state to establish its own rules. We used an economics-based approach to explore the optimal scope and duration of IP protection for maximizing stakeholder interests, including those of Indigenous peoples, at the national level. The optimal duration of IP protection was when the marginal social cost and benefit of IP protection were equal. When this point occurred varied depending on various factors, such as the type of genetic resources in the country, existence of alternatives, number of users, and competing actors. The optimal scope of IP protection was when the social benefit of investment in fundamental research equaled the social benefit of application development. Likewise, this point of implementation also varied based on various factors, such as the type, uniqueness, potential for further discovery, and diversity of providers in the country.

Land-use changes and the expansion of protected areas (PAs) have fostered increased interactions between humans and wildlife, resulting in an escalation of human-wildlife conflict (HWC) globally. However, HWC spatiotemporal pattern variation and its associations with PAs and land-use change remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we mapped and analyzed HWCs from 1990 to 2022 across China. We comprehensively mapped the spatiotemporal dynamics of HWCs in ArcGIS with data sets stratified by county, year, and species; assessed the impact of PAs through propensity score matching; and analyzed the effects of habitat transformation with linear mixed models. As PA increased from 0 to 20,000 km², the likelihood of HWCs initially increased (50%) before declining (20%). Conversely, as the distance from a PA grew, the likelihood of HWC gradually decreased (0 beyond 65 km). There was a temporal lag between the establishment of a PA and the occurrence of HWC. Habitat loss catalyzed HWCs, whereas decreased levels of habitat fragmentation sometimes initially caused a temporary increase in HWCs. In general, the distribution of PAs greatly affected HWC occurrence, and habitat loss and fragmentation were critical drivers of HWCs, both of which exhibited time-lagged effects. HWC has become more challenging to address as conservation initiatives have led to significant recovery of the habitats and populations of wild animals. Further measures to address the HWCs are needed to ensure the preservation of animal welfare while fostering the mutually beneficial coexistence of humans and animal species. Finally, our study provides an important starting point for informing future HWC research and conservation planning on a global scale.

Nearshore seagrass, kelp, and other macroalgae beds (submerged aquatic vegetation [SAV]) are productive and important ecosystems. Mitigating anthropogenic impacts on these habitats requires tools to quantify their ecological value and the debits and credits of impact and mitigation. To summarize and clarify the state of SAV habitat quantification and available tools, we searched peer-reviewed literature and other agency documents for methods that either assigned ecological value to or calculated equivalencies between impact and mitigation in SAV. Out of 47 tools, there were 11 equivalency methods, 7 of which included a valuation component. The remaining valuation methods were most commonly designed for seagrasses and rocky intertidal macroalgae rather than canopy-forming kelps. Tools were often designed to address specific resource policies and associated habitat evaluation. Frequent categories of tools and methods included those associated with habitat equivalency analyses and those that scored habitats relative to reference or ideal conditions, including models designed for habitat suitability indices and the European Union's Water and Marine Framework Directives. Over 29 tool input metrics spanned 3 spatial scales of SAV: individual shoots or stipes, bed or site, and landscape or region. The most common metric used for both seagrasses and macroalgae was cover. Seagrass tools also often employed density measures, and some categories used measures of tissue content (e.g., carbon, nitrogen). Macroalgal tools for rocky intertidal habitats frequently included species richness or incorporated indicator species to assess habitat. We provide a flowchart for decision-makers to identify representative tools that may apply to their specific management needs.

Effective governance is crucial for the success of conservation projects aimed at protecting wildlife populations and supporting human well-being. However, few large-scale, comprehensive syntheses have been conducted on the effects of different environmental governance types on conservation outcomes (i.e., biological and ecological effectiveness or effects of conservation on human well-being), and clarity on the quantity and quality of evidence remains dispersed and ambiguous. We attempted a systematic map of the evidence on the effectiveness of different governance types to meet desired conservation outcomes in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. However, early in this effort, we observed a general lack of empirical research on the links between governance and conservation outcomes. To fill observed data gaps in the evidence base, we tried triangulating governance data from alternative sources (Protected Planet database) and pooling evidence from research conducted within the same conservation areas. Limited data were contained in the Protected Planet database, and governance types in conservation areas and landscapes were complex, making it difficult to use these approaches to assign governance types to conservation areas. To illustrate our observations from the failed systematic map attempt, we prepared a rapid evidence map that outlines a subset of the evidence base of articles linking governance types and governance principles with conservation outcomes. Only 3.2% (34 of 1067) of the articles we screened directly related conservation outcomes to governance type, and even fewer related governance principles to conservation outcomes. Based on our findings, we recommend improving the evidence base by supporting empirical research and increasing the availability and quality of governance data in freely accessible databases. These recommendations are critical for enhancing understanding of the role of governance in conservation projects and improving conservation outcomes.