Conservation Letters最新文献

{"title":"Advances and shortfalls in applying best practices to global tree-growing efforts","authors":"Spencer C. Schubert,&nbsp;Katherine E. Battaglia,&nbsp;Christina N. Blebea,&nbsp;Cole J. P. Seither,&nbsp;Helena L. Wehr,&nbsp;Karen D. Holl","doi":"10.1111/conl.13002","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13002","url":null,"abstract":"<p>As global tree-growing efforts have escalated in the past decade, copious failures and unintended consequences have prompted many reforestation best practices guidelines. The extent to which organizations have integrated these ecological and socioeconomic recommendations, however, remains uncertain. We reviewed websites of 99 intermediary organizations that promote and fund tree-growing projects to determine how well they report following best practices. Nearly half the organizations stated tree or area planting targets, but only 25% had measurable, time-bound objectives. Most organizations discussed the benefits local communities would receive from trees, but only 38% reported measures of these outcomes. Nonprofit organizations with greater prior experience converged more closely on best practices, and their level of scientific expertise was positively associated with clearer project selection standards. Although many tree-growing organizations acknowledge the importance of clear goals, local community involvement, and monitoring, our results raise questions regarding whether long-term benefits are being achieved and emphasize the need for stronger public accountability standards.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139510962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Small mice create big problems: Why Predator Free New Zealand should include house mice and other pest species","authors":"Araceli Samaniego,&nbsp;Andrea E. Byrom,&nbsp;Markus Gronwald,&nbsp;John G. Innes,&nbsp;James T. Reardon","doi":"10.1111/conl.12996","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12996","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Predator Free 2050 (PF2050) is a government initiative aiming to eradicate selected invasive mammals (mustelids, rats, and possums) from New Zealand (NZ) by 2050. Selecting which of 32 introduced mammal species to include has received little evaluation, yet targeting a few species often results in perverse ecological outcomes given interactions within the invasive guild. We explore how PF2050 could be improved strategically by focusing on biodiversity outcomes instead of selectively targeting invasives, using rodents as an example. Current PF2050 targets include all rat species (<i>Rattus exulans</i>, <i>R. norvegicus</i>, and <i>R. rattus</i>), but not the house mouse (<i>Mus musculus</i>). Mice can be as damaging as rats when competition and predation are removed, negating benefits of rat removal. Multirodent eradications are more cost-effective and prevent mesopredator release. Using a case study, we show adding mice to a rat eradication would raise costs modestly, comparing favorably to independent mouse eradication later, which would be riskier and more socially and economically costly than the preceding rat eradication. Missing the opportunity to tackle all rodents simultaneously, leaving mice to multiply in numbers and impacts, could have serious environmental and socioeconomic consequences. Naïve eradication strategies neglecting ecological expertise risk biodiversity outcomes and NZ's eradication science reputation.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12996","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139431676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bycatch in drift gillnet fisheries: A sink for Indian Ocean cetaceans","authors":"Brianna Elliott,&nbsp;Jeremy J. Kiszka,&nbsp;Sylvain Bonhommeau,&nbsp;Umair Shahid,&nbsp;Rebecca Lent,&nbsp;Lauren Nelson,&nbsp;Andrew J. Read","doi":"10.1111/conl.12997","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12997","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In 1992, the UN banned the use of large-scale pelagic driftnets on the high seas (UNGA Resolution 46/215). Three decades later, however, drift gillnets remain one of the primary fishing gears in the Indian Ocean, accounting for approximately 30% of tuna catches in this ocean. Recent estimates indicate that several million small cetaceans have been killed in Indian Ocean gillnets over the past few decades. National agencies and the regional fisheries management organization charged with managing tuna fisheries, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, have yet to effectively document the bycatch of small cetaceans in these fisheries. Here, we review current information on cetacean bycatch in Indian Ocean drift gillnets and propose potential solutions to this important conservation issue.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12997","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139091749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Collaborative fisheries research reveals reserve size and age determine efficacy across a network of marine protected areas","authors":"Shelby L. Ziegler,&nbsp;Rachel O. Brooks,&nbsp;Lyall F. Bellquist,&nbsp;Jennifer E. Caselle,&nbsp;Steven G. Morgan,&nbsp;Timothy J. Mulligan,&nbsp;Benjamin I. Ruttenberg,&nbsp;Brice X. Semmens,&nbsp;Richard M. Starr,&nbsp;Joe Tyburczy,&nbsp;Dean E. Wendt,&nbsp;Andre Buchheister,&nbsp;Jose R. Marin Jarrin,&nbsp;Christina Pasparakis,&nbsp;Salvador J. Jorgensen,&nbsp;Jennifer A. Chiu,&nbsp;Jordan Colby,&nbsp;Connor L. Coscino,&nbsp;Leon Davis,&nbsp;Francine de Castro,&nbsp;Jack T. Elstner,&nbsp;Christopher Honeyman,&nbsp;Erica T. Jarvis Mason,&nbsp;Erin M. Johnston,&nbsp;Sadie L. Small,&nbsp;Jay Staton,&nbsp;Grant T. Waltz,&nbsp;Bonnie Basnett,&nbsp;Erin V. Satterthwaite,&nbsp;Helen Killeen,&nbsp;Connor D. Dibble,&nbsp;Scott L. Hamilton","doi":"10.1111/conl.13000","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A variety of criteria may influence the efficacy of networks of marine protected areas (MPA) designed to enhance biodiversity conservation and provide fisheries benefits. Meta-analyses have evaluated the influence of MPA attributes on abundance, biomass, and size structure of harvested species, reporting that MPA size, age, depth, and connectivity influence the strength of MPA responses. However, few empirical MPA evaluation studies have used consistent sampling methodology across multiple MPAs and years. Our collaborative fisheries research program systematically sampled 12 no-take or highly protective limited-take MPAs and paired fished reference areas across a network spanning 1100 km of coastline to evaluate the factors driving MPA efficacy across a large geographic region. We found that increased size and age consistently contributed to increased fish catch, biomass, and positive species responses inside MPAs, while accounting for factors such as latitude, primary productivity, and distance to the nearest MPA. Our study provides a model framework to collaboratively engage diverse stakeholders in fisheries research and provide high-quality data to assess the success of conservation strategies.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13000","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139091754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"What is the risk of overcollecting for translocation? An opportunistic assessment of a wingless grasshopper","authors":"Michael R. Kearney,&nbsp;Hiromi Yagui,&nbsp;Ary A. Hoffmann,&nbsp;Ben L. Phillips","doi":"10.1111/conl.12999","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12999","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Translocation is an increasingly used tool in conservation management, but there is a risk that source populations are overcollected. The risk depends critically on the detection probability and the source population size. We quantified this risk for a wingless grasshopper population in a patch of remnant habitat in suburban Melbourne that was condemned to be cleared for housing development. We collected ∼2000 grasshoppers in five samples spread over 1 month and used the results to estimate the initial population size (∼3400) with high confidence. Despite our perception of substantially depleting the population, we removed only an estimated 60%, and this relatively high fecundity (∼50 eggs per lifetime) annual species had recovered by the following year to near its original density. Wild-to-wild translocation is likely to be a low-cost and effective strategy in the conservation of many invertebrates, and our findings highlight the feasibility of using natural source populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12999","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139061504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The fear factor—Snakes in Africa might be at an alarming extinction risk","authors":"Harith Farooq,&nbsp;Jonas Geldmann","doi":"10.1111/conl.12998","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12998","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Snakes in Africa are responsible for over 20,000 deaths annually, their indiscriminate killing. As a result, snakes are vulnerable to human population increases even at low intensities. Thus, the predicted doubling of Africa's population by 2050 is likely to pose a disproportionate threat to snakes compared to other taxa. Here we quantify the current and future overlap of snake distributions and human population density under three scenarios of population growth. We find that by 2050, on average, 71% of snake ranges of conservation concern will overlap with areas occupied by ten or more people per km², a 22% increase from 2020. In addition, the number of Least Concern species with most of their range within areas with high human population density will more than double, likely increasing the number of threatened species over the next decades. Our results call for immediate policy action targeting people's perceptions and fears of snakes, and incorporating snakes directly into development and conservation plans to reduce the impact of future urban expansions across Africa.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12998","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139061559","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Decisive conservation action in areas beyond national jurisdiction is urgently required for seabird recovery in the face of global change","authors":"Moses F. Gee,&nbsp;Caio F. Kenup,&nbsp;Igor Debski,&nbsp;Alexandra Macdonald,&nbsp;Graeme A. Taylor,&nbsp;Rohan H. Clarke,&nbsp;Stefano Canessa,&nbsp;John G. Ewen,&nbsp;Johannes H. Fischer","doi":"10.1111/conl.12989","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12989","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Areas beyond national jurisdiction, or the high seas, are vital to life on Earth. However, the conservation of these areas, for example, through area-based management tools (ABMTs), is challenging, particularly when accounting for global change. Using decision science, integrated population models, and a Critically Endangered seabird (Kuaka; <i>Pelecanoides whenuahouensis)</i> as a case study, we evaluated potential ABMTs in the high seas under global change and different governance structures, while accounting for uncertainty and imperfect compliance. Our study highlighted that global change in these areas will likely cause population declines of ∼60% by 2050. However, decisive conservation action could cost-effectively address predicted declines, particularly when implemented as soon as possible and under the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty. We illustrate how decision science can transparently navigate a complex seascape of management decisions and we advocate for its wider integration in the management of the largest sections of our planet, the high seas.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12989","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138442223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conflict between cultural development and wildlife conservation: A potential threat to Reeves's pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii)","authors":"Xinming Li,&nbsp;Bochi Wang,&nbsp;Jing Zhang,&nbsp;Geoffrey W. H. Davison,&nbsp;Nan Wang","doi":"10.1111/conl.12995","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12995","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Reeves's pheasant feathers are used to make headgears for the Chinese opera—Xiqu; however, this posed a considerable threat to the bird's population before it was banned from hunting/trade. It is unclear whether Xiqu-troupes currently use feathers from wild or captive breeding; therefore, we investigated their source and scale of feather utilization. Through interviews, we clarified the current status of feather-use by state-run troupes. We conducted a cluster analysis and established a “random forest” model using stable isotopes as variables to distinguish sources of feathers from Xiqu-troupes. Annual demand for feathers in China was estimated as 1159.4 pairs. Isotope analysis revealed that feathers used by Xiqu-troupes are likely derived from wild sources. We suggest strengthening the supervision of acquisition of Reeves's pheasant feathers and harvesting feathers through captive breeding. Stable isotope analysis can be an effective method for identifying the source of tail feathers, which will support law enforcement efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12995","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138442222","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Remote seamounts are key conservation priorities for pelagic wildlife","authors":"Christopher D. H. Thompson,&nbsp;Jessica J. Meeuwig,&nbsp;Alan M. Friedlander,&nbsp;Enric Sala","doi":"10.1111/conl.12993","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12993","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;The pelagic ocean is Earth's largest habitat, constituting 99% of the global biosphere by volume, directly or indirectly supporting most marine life, and supplying the majority of fish consumed by humans (Game et al., &lt;span&gt;2009&lt;/span&gt;; Pauly et al., &lt;span&gt;2002&lt;/span&gt;). However, the world's pelagic fauna is globally declining largely as a result of unsustainable fishing (Pauly &amp; Zeller, &lt;span&gt;2016&lt;/span&gt;). Industrial fishing has reduced the populations of tunas and their relatives by 60% and of oceanic sharks and rays by 71% over the past half century (Juan-Jordá et al., &lt;span&gt;2011&lt;/span&gt;; Pacoureau et al., &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;). Declines in pelagic wildlife weaken ecosystem functioning, drive biodiversity loss, and undermine food security and economic stability for many of the world's people.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Remote regions of the ocean that remain less impacted by humans are refuges for mobile and heavily targeted species. These regions harbor wildlife assemblages with higher diversity, greater abundance, larger size, and increased biomass, and can yield valuable insights into ecological processes (Campbell et al., &lt;span&gt;2020&lt;/span&gt;; Juhel et al., &lt;span&gt;2019&lt;/span&gt;; Thompson &amp; Meeuwig, &lt;span&gt;2022&lt;/span&gt;). Remote regions offer a glimpse of what the ocean was like prior to large-scale anthropogenic impact, a source from which the rest of the ocean can be regenerated, and a benchmark for marine protected areas (MPAs) and fisheries management. However, with human impacts now extending across the global ocean (Halpern et al., &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;; Tickler et al., &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;), remote areas are increasingly threatened. Urgent attention is required to ensure that remote regions avoid mirroring the degradation seen in areas more proximate to humans.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our knowledge of the pelagic ocean remains limited relative to shallow coastal habitats, making prioritizing conservation efforts difficult. This is especially the case in remote regions where scientific information is even more scarce. We do know, however, that pelagic species associate strongly with bathymetric features such as seamounts, undersea canyons, and oceanic islands (Bouchet, &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;; Morato et al., &lt;span&gt;2010&lt;/span&gt;; Thompson et al., &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;). Both physical and biological drivers make these features important locations for foraging, reproduction, navigation, and other essential functions of pelagic wildlife (Garrigue et al., &lt;span&gt;2015&lt;/span&gt;; Maguire et al., &lt;span&gt;2023&lt;/span&gt;; Rogers, &lt;span&gt;2018&lt;/span&gt;). Seamounts are particularly important to large pelagic animals and often hold relatively high densities of threatened and commercially important species such as sharks, tunas, and billfishes, some of which are generally highly mobile but show high residency at these features (Morato et al., &lt;span&gt;2008&lt;/span&gt;; Wright et al., &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;). However, the high economic value and conservative life histories of these species mean fishing can quickly decimate seamount co","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12993","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138442221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Testing a conservation compromise: No evidence that public wolf hunting in Slovakia reduced livestock losses","authors":"Miroslav Kutal,&nbsp;Martin Duľa,&nbsp;Alisa Royer Selivanova,&nbsp;José Vicente López-Bao","doi":"10.1111/conl.12994","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.12994","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Variation in the legal status and management of wolves (<i>Canis lupus</i>) across EU Member States provides a good opportunity to test the effectiveness of different practices to reduce livestock losses. This opportunity for testing is particularly useful for lethal interventions, as they are among the most controversial actions within the large carnivore management toolbox. We aimed to test a conservation compromise adopted in Slovakia, based on a public wolf-hunting scheme and annual hunting quotas between 2014 and 2019, and partially justified to reduce livestock losses. We assessed whether this hunting scheme influenced livestock depredation levels (at the district level). Wolves in the area fed mainly on wild ungulates (98.9% of consumed biomass). While domestic sheep comprised only 0.5% of the diet, they were dominant among the reported livestock killed by wolves (91.1%). Using two different approaches, we did not observe a relationship between the number of killed wolves and livestock losses. Alternatively, a negative relationship between wild prey biomass and livestock losses was found. Since 2021, public wolf hunting has not been conducted in Slovakia, and there is no merit in the previous justification for this conservation compromise to reduce livestock losses.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.12994","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138442227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}