Conservation Letters最新文献

Funding for conservation is limited and often biased towards charismatic megafauna. Funding agencies are less likely to support conservation focusing solely on herpetofauna that are relatively unknown to the public. Roadkill is a serious threat to the Hong Kong newt (Paramesotriton hongkongensis), which is named after the city where it was first discovered but remained relatively unknown to its 7 million human inhabitants. To raise awareness about this threatened species and raise funds for its conservation, we organized a crowd-funded, single-species eco-art exhibition that showcased different aspects of the Hong Kong newt through high-quality art in various formats, including photography, videography, scientific illustration, and installation art. In a relatively short time, we managed to crowdsource the funds (>$40,000) needed to host the exhibition, raise awareness about the conservation of this species, and conduct systematic research to inform decision-making on the roadkill issue threatening this species using the funds raised. Here, we share the lessons learned through this experience, reflect on its impact on the conservation of a lesser-known local fauna, and highlight the potential applicability of this model.

Mixed-source translocation can reduce immediate extinction risk by increasing population size, genetic diversity, and individual fitness, but their long-term consequences remain debated. To rescue the perennial plant Arenaria grandiflora from extinction in the Fontainebleau Forest (northern France), local and non-local (Chinon, Central France) plants were multiplied in vitro, and clones were translocated to unoccupied sites in their original area of distribution. Therefore, the translocated populations presented higher genetic diversity compared to either source populations. Since then, two decades of demographic and genetic monitoring revealed that the genetic diversity of the restored populations remained stable while the relative amount of non-local genetic ancestry increased over generations. We found no evidence of maladaptation and, instead, a higher fitness of admixed individuals compared to individuals resembling either local or non-local gene-pools. This study provides unique insights into the dynamics between admixture and fitness in a conservation translocation program spanning approximately five generations.

When multiple simultaneous or successive extreme climatic events occur, compound impacts can follow, where the effects of one event worsen the impacts of another. Surprisingly, the risks that these compound events pose to biodiversity have rarely been investigated. To address this, we assess European birds’ historical exposure to multiple extreme events and identify where and how the risk of compound events will change under different emissions scenarios. Under a moderate to severe (RCP8.5) scenario, birds across much of Europe, especially central and northern Europe, will face substantially increased annual risks of being exposed to multiple types of extreme events, most with little historical precedent. Under a more optimistic emissions scenario (RCP4.5), these risks are greatly mitigated. Given the rapid and widespread projected changes in multiple types of extreme climate events globally, analyses that focus on single types of events could substantially underestimate the risk these extreme events pose to biodiversity.

Delivering both social and ecological outcomes is regarded as essential for conservation actions to be effective, particularly in regions where Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and local communities (LCs) depend heavily on natural resources. In the Indo-Pacific, sustainable small-scale fisheries are seen as potential win–win solutions. Here, we evaluate the opportunities and challenges of supporting IPs and LCs to sustainably manage and add value to a high-value marine commodity using a case study from the Mwanus Endras Asi Resource Development Network (MEARDN) in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea. Between 2017 and 2018, MEARDN, with support from The Nature Conservancy, implemented management measures exceeding national requirements and exported beche-de-mer that had obtained sustainable certification directly to Hong Kong. While initially successful, this initiative struggled to remain viable amid rapidly shifting governance, market, cultural, and social dynamics. Our findings highlight the challenges of delivering conservation and sustainable livelihoods where natural resource systems are subject to intense economic pressures.

The concept of biodiversity hotspots has long guided spatial conservation planning. Although many marine-protected areas (MPAs) overlap with ecological hotspots, they often face resistance when they overlook existing livelihoods. Non-extractive economies in many coastal regions, such as dive tourism, already thrive but lack formal protection, leaving both ecosystems and local income vulnerable to degradation. We coined the concept of blue spots: spatial areas where socio-economic conditions already favor conservation. Using Cabo Pulmo National Park as a benchmark, we applied a national-scale spatial model across 392,000 km² territorial sea and identified 300 blue spots, including 30 high-priority sites. Bioeconomic simulations show that protecting these areas could increase tourism revenues by more than 70% over a decade while avoiding the opportunity costs of business-as-usual degradation. These findings suggest that blue spots can accelerate conservation outcomes, reduce socio-economic conflict, and deliver faster economic returns than conventional conservation strategies. Rather than requiring communities to transition away from extractive activities, blue spots offer a pragmatic pathway to scale fully protected MPAs by reinforcing existing ecotourism, community support, and infrastructure. Protecting what is already working today may be one of the most effective strategies to meet both ecological and socio-economic goals.

Numerous programs aim to address the social and environmental impacts of agricultural production, but few achieve desired levels of conservation implementation. Demonstration farm programs, in which farmer leaders adopt practices that can be seen and communicated throughout a region, could catalyze the adoption of conservation practices in agricultural regions by enhancing conservation norms and lessening barriers. Despite their potential, the impacts of demonstration farm networks are underexplored. Using spatial and programmatic data, we investigate a farm network's influence on cover crop adoption in the state of Wisconsin using an event study analysis and OLS regression models. We find that the likelihood of cover crop adoption increases for farmland inside the boundaries of an active program and in close proximity to demonstration farms. Additionally, adoption likelihood increases by 3% points after four years of program establishment, a 50% increase on the baseline adoption rate of the region. Farm demonstration programs are a promising approach to conservation adoption in agriculture, particularly when maintained over time.

As the world's most endangered mammals, lemurs are key to understanding how humans and wildlife can sustainably coexist. We present the first national assessment of the urban lemur meat trade. We interviewed 2600 participants across 17 cities to determine its scale, target species, distribution, and drivers. We reveal a considerable trade, with thousands of threatened lemurs sold annually. This trade is largely hidden, with 95% of sales occurring directly between suppliers and a trusted clientele, and targets some of the nation's most endangered species, often during critical breeding seasons. While entrepreneurial peri-urban suppliers are lured by a dependable economic opportunity, affluent urban consumers desire lemur meat as a luxury food perceived as providing wild-sourced flavor and vitality. We begin to discuss barriers and key interventions required for a multifaceted strategy to address this growing trade. Without a comprehensive data-driven approach, the world's most endangered mammals may soon be eaten into extinction.

Increasing livestock depredation by recovering large carnivore populations undermines local support for long-term conservation. Past studies on livestock depredation have primarily focused on biophysical predictors, often overlooking the role of household-level husbandry and protection practices in shaping depredation risk. We used multivariate logistic regression models on a database of 1180 households (including 597 livestock depredation events) from the tropical lowlands of Nepal to identify predictors of livestock depredation by tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus). In line with previous research, models reported significant biophysical and livestock husbandry predictors of depredation risk, which are intrinsic geospatial and livelihood variables and unlikely to respond to interventions. In addition, we found novel evidence that the low-cost protection strategies of fixed night lighting and domestic dog ownership significantly lowered the odds of small livestock depredation. With careful implementation, these two mitigation measures have the potential to reduce livestock depredation risk and contribute to human–wildlife coexistence.

To determine whether we can reduce the impacts of forest loss on biodiversity by altering forest pattern, we need to estimate the effects of forest pattern independent of forest amount. We evaluated the independent and interactive effects of forest amount, fragmentation, and connectivity (wooded corridors) on diversity of forest-associated plants, small mammals, and birds. We selected 70 forest sites in eastern Ontario, Canada with low correlations between these landscape predictors. We found positive effects of forest amount, neutral or positive effects of forest fragmentation, and an interaction effect between connectivity and forest amount. In landscapes with low forest amount, biodiversity increased with connectivity, while at high forest amount, biodiversity decreased with connectivity. Thus, forest patches should be protected regardless of size, and conservation actions aimed at improving connectivity by adding wooded corridors should be prioritized in areas where forest is scarce, for example agricultural and urban areas.