Biological Conservation最新文献

We evaluated the potential role of old-growth forests (>100 years), secondary forests of two different ages (35–40 years and 15–20 years, respectively), shaded coffee polycultures, and cattle pastures for conserving amphibian diversity, particularly threatened species, in a human-modified landscape originally covered by cloud forest. In 2017, we sampled 9000 m² of each of these five habitats and recorded a total of 681 amphibians belonging to 14 species, six of which were threatened. When all species were considered, there were no significant differences in species richness between studied land covers. However, considering only threatened species revealed a monotonic decrease in species number from old-growth forests (where all threatened species were recorded) to cattle pastures (where only one threatened species was observed). Additionally, the most threatened species (critically endangered and endangered) were only recorded in old-growth forest and older secondary forest. Assemblage structure and species composition of threatened species were most similar between the two types of secondary forests, followed by the old-growth forest. Tree density, herbaceous cover, and leaf-litter depth were the variables best explaining observed patterns of overall amphibian diversity. These findings suggest that the protection of old-growth forest fragments is essential for conserving threatened amphibian species, especially salamanders, in highly modified landscapes, and that conserving or promoting secondary forests could also facilitate the recovery of this threatened biota. Shade coffee plantations seem to have a very limited role for threatened amphibian species, while cattle pastures play no role in conserving these species.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity has set the target of protecting 30 % of the world's land and sea by 2030. Previous conservation planning approaches have been based primarily on biodiversity elements, particularly for Peru, a mega-biodiverse country whose protected areas network need to be expanded. However, achieving this ambitious 30 % target requires careful consideration of numerous ecological and social aspects. To cover these aspects, we present a terrestrial conservation planning approach that integrates biodiversity, ecosystem services, human impact, ecological connectivity and ecoregional representativeness. Our approach has been co-produced with national organisations and NGOs and includes advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods. Our results identify areas of high ecological value to supplement the 17.88 % of areas already protected, to reach 30 %. The integration of these areas could close gaps in the current system, particularly those vital for water related ecosystem services, ecoregional representativity and ecological connectivity. Integrated AI-based optimization methods (i.e., integer linear programming, constraint programming, reference point method) enabled us to obtain optimal, constraint-satisfying and balanced protected areas selected on the basis of integrated variables, and constitute a robust alternative compared with heuristic methods (e.g., Marxan, Zonation) commonly used. This work can be used as a fundamental component of Peru's territorial planning, and paves the way on future research on conservation planning, which should integrate advanced spatial conservation planning methods, ecological and social factors in an even more comprehensive way.

Compassionate conservation is an ethical framework proposed to instill greater compassion for individual animals in conservation science and practice. In addition to highlighting compassion as a virtue, compassionate conservationists propose four ethical principles (first do no harm, individuals matter, inclusivity, and peaceful coexistence) to capture what it means to act compassionately in conservation. In this paper I argue for a revision of this framework. I begin by showing how compassionate conservationists also implicitly promote the virtue of respect, which better accounts for the principles individuals matter and inclusivity, yet entails a further principle: respect for autonomy. I further suggest that, to reflect genuine compassion for wild animals, the principles first, do no harm and peaceful coexistence should be replaced by empathy, understanding, and minimize harm. In the second half of the paper, I discuss the implications of this revised framework. I argue that, due to the prevalence of suffering even in well-conserved ecosystems, compassion and respect motivate a more active management of natural environments in order to reduce the harms (natural and anthropogenic) that wild animals face. This reveals a greater need for discussions on how to balance the flourishing of wild animals against the preservation of biodiversity, as well as a need to identify new approaches to conservation which better promote both ends.