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Society for Conservation Biology: 2002 Annual Meeting

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Society for Conservation Biology: 2002 Annual Meeting


Society for Conservation Biology 16th Annual Meeting July 14-July 19 2002
co-hosted by DICE and the British Ecological Society


Abstracts for Planning and Reserve Design
Session Four

Thursday 18th July, 10.15 - 12.15, Grimond Lecture Theatre 1

Chair: Glenn Plumb




(BLOCK CAPITALS indicate the presenting author)

10.15 - 10.30
TOWNSEND, PATRICIA A. and Douglas J. Levey. Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA, <ptownsend@zoo.ufl.edu> (PT, DJ).

EFFECT OF HABITAT CORRIDORS ON PLANT-POLLINATOR INTERACTIONS

A central tenet in conservation biology is that the effects of fragmentation can be diminished if fragments are joined by a corridor connecting two or more fragments. The key assumption is that corridors increase movement rates of organisms between isolated fragments. This movement may be especially important for maintaining viable populations of insect-pollinated plants. I tested the hypothesis that corridors increase movement of insect pollinators and thereby increase pollen transfer of both butterfly-pollinated and hymenopteran-pollinated flowers (Lantana camara and Rudbeckia hirta, respectively). The hypothesis was tested in a large-scale experiment in which 40 one ha fragments of early successional habitat were created in a matrix of forest. Some of the fragments were connected to another by a corridor, and others were not connected. Fluorescent powder was used to track pollen transfer. For Lantana 55% of the flowers received pollen from another fragment in connected fragments while only 25% of the flowers received pollen in unconnected fragments (p<0.0001). For Rudbeckia 29% of the flowers received pollen from another fragment in connected fragments while only 12% of the flowers received pollen in unconnected fragments (p<0.0001). These results suggest that corridors may be important to maintaining plant populations in fragmented landscapes.

10.30 - 10.45
KELLY, DANIEL S., Melissa Songer, Chris Wemmer, and P. Leimgruber. Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA, <kellyd@crc.si.edu>
EFFECTS OF AGE AND HUMAN FOOTPRINT ON PROTECTED AREAS IN MYANMAR
The effectiveness of protected areas as a conservation tool has been hotly debated. Myanmar is the country with the highest remaining closed forest cover in all of mainland SE Asia. While development pressures are increasing, Myanmar has also increased the amount of protected area from 2% to over 5%. Two determinants of protection effectiveness are age of the protected area and the degree of human development pressures in surrounding areas, the human footprint. We used protected areas information and multi-year satellite imagery to determine the effect of these variables on Myanmar’s protected areas. As the distance from areas with major human development increased, protected areas experienced little to no conversion of land cover. Age of protected areas was only important in connection with proximity to human development. Many of Myanmar’s largest protected areas have great potential to preserve the region’s biodiversity, but lack of international aid for conservation may hamper the establishment, management, and integration of its protected areas system. Protected areas in Myanmar’s developed agricultural settings are in dire need of assistance to develop sustainable use without degradation and destruction.



10.45 - 11.00
MIQUELLE, DALE, and Andre Murzin. Wildlife Conservation Society 185th St. and Southern Bld., Bronx, NY 10460-1099, <dalemiq@online.marine.su>, Pacific Institute of Geography, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Primorski Krai Russia.

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF FAR EASTERN LEOPARD IN SOUTHWEST PRIMORSKI KRAI, AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THEIR CONSERVATION

We attempt to define spatial distribution and habitat requirements for the single remaining population of endangered Far Eastern Leopards (Panthera pardus orientalis) in Southwest Primorski Krai in the Russian Far East. Using data obtained from 4 recent surveys, we developed a GIS database with 16 natural and anthropogenic parameters assigned to 1707 topographic cells that encompassed all known leopard habitat, and conducted a logistic regression and univariate analyses to assess which factors explained leopard presence/absence. Increasing distance from road and landuse status were significantly human factors that helped explain leopard distribution. Elevation, habitat type, and presence of tigers also partially explained presence/absence patterns. A habitat suitability map generated from the consequent model provides some suggestions where conservation actions are needed. Based on the results of this analysis, we recommend landuse reforms for specific components of the landscape in Southwest Primorski Krai, and closer management coordination with potential leopard habitat in adjacent lands in China.



11.00 - 11.15
Miquelle, Dale, Endi Zhang, LINDA KRUEGER, and Xiaochen Yu. Wildlife Conservation Society, 185th St. and Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10460-1099, USA, <lkrueger@wcs.org> (DM, EZ, LK), Heilongjiang Wildlife Institute Heilongjiang Wildlife Institute, Harbin, Heilongjiang, People’s Republic of China (XY).

MANAGING TRANSBOUNDARY POPULATIONS OF AMUR TIGERS

Formerly distributed across Manchuria, the Korean Peninsula and Russian Far East, recent surveys confirm that at least 95% of the remaining Amur tigers, Panthera tigris altaica, are now found in two subpopulations concentrated in the Russian Far East. Extinction of tigers in Northeast China is apparently prevented only due to irregular immigration of tigers across the Sino-Russian border. Despite imminent extinction, recovery of tigers in Northeast China is possible via natural emigration from Russia, if steps are taken to protect habitat and increase prey populations. We propose a land use plan that manages tigers in two subpopulations — The Sikhote-Alin — Wandashan population, and the Tumen River population. We argue that long-term viability of the Tumen River population tiger population, as well as Far Eastern leopards, Panthera pardus orientalis, is dependent on steps taken on the Chinese side of the border. Creation of protected "core" areas, designation of "tiger management zones" and creation of ecological corridors can significantly increase population size, provide linkages between isolated habitat tracts, and save the last potential corridor linking Russian and Chinese habitat to potential habitat in DPR Korea. Our recommendations have already resulted in creation of the Hunchun Tiger Leopard Reserve along the Sino-Russian border.



11.15 - 11.30
BLAKE, STEPHEN. The Wildlife Conservation Society, 185th Street and Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York, 10460, USA, <Steveblake@worldnet.att.net>.

CONSERVING FOREST ELEPHANTS: ECOLOGY, LOGGING, AND ROAD DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AFRICA

Forest elephants, perhaps a distinct species, once existed throughout Africa’s equatorial forest, but now occur only where people do not. Humans live along roads and navigable rivers, which restricts elephants to the depths of the forest. In the remote Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park, northern Congo, the ecological determinants of elephant distribution and ranging were investigated, land use change, particularly logging and associated road building, was documented, and their implications for elephant conservation were assessed. GPS telemetry and dung surveys revealed that forest elephants disperse 100+ species of seeds, and roam over areas of at least ca. 2000km2 searching for fruit, minerals and browse. Ranging is severely disrupted by human activity. The few isolated, intact forest blocks where elephants remain abundant and free-ranging, also contain valuable timber, and are lucrative targets for the logging industry. The entirety of Congo’s exploitable forest will be selectively logged in coming decades, and road building will reduce the area of the Ndoki Forest more than 30km from a road, from over 25,000km2 in 1990 to just 264km2 by 2003. Road construction which maximises socio-economic gain while minimising ecological impact is expensive, but critical if viable elephant populations are to be maintained in central Africa.




11.30 - 11.45
MUORIA, PAUL, Nicholas Oguge, Jeanne Altmann and Ian Gordon. Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 24481 00502, Karen, Kenya, <paulmuoria@yahoo.com> (PM), Department of Zoology, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya (NO), Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, 401 Princeton 08544-1003, USA (JA), National Museums of Kenya and Arabuko-Sokoke Forest Management Team, P. O. Box 302, Watamu, Kenya (IG).

AN ECOLOGICAL CORRELATE TO CROP RAIDING BY ELEPHANTS AND YELLOW BABOONS IN ARABUKO-SOKOKE FOREST, KENYA

A major threat to conservation of the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, largest remaining coastal forest in East Africa, is crop raiding-driven human-wildlife conflict. This forest in eastern Kenya is an important conservation area due to high diversity of flora and fauna, some of which are endangered or endemic. We conducted a study to determine ecological correlates to crop raiding by elephants and yellow baboons between November 1995 and October 1997. During this period, the major crop raiding species included elephants (Loxodonta africana africana), yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus), sykes monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), vervet monkeys (C. aethiops), bush pigs (Potamochoerus larvatus) and porcupines (Hystrix cristata.). Spatial variations in crop raiding by elephants were associated with water availability (H=25.424, P < 0.001, df = 3) but not for baboons (H=1.002, df = 3, n.s.). Temporally, crop raiding was more intense in areas of water availability than by chance alone both for elephants (rs = 0.648, P < 0.01, n =24) and baboons (rs = 0.505, P < 0.05, n =24). Since this forest has no permanent water sources within it, provision of water all year round and a corridor to the near-by Dida-Rare River may provide a long-term mitigation to the local elephant menace.




11.45 - 12.00
MAIN, MARTIN, and Bruce Coblentz. University of Florida, Southwest Florida Research & Education Center, 2686 State Road 29 North, Immokalee, FL 34142, USA, <mbma@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu> (MM), Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Nash Hall 104, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA (BC).

SEX DIFFERENCES IN RESOURCE USE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION

Essential to the goal of conserving biodiversity is an understanding of the behaviour and ecology of those species we hope to conserve. Aspects of behaviour and ecology often overlooked, however, are the differences that often exist between sexes within a species. Among many taxa, these differences result in segregation of the sexes during non-breeding periods. Sexual segregation describes the behavioural pattern where males and females may use different habitats, geographical ranges, and patterns of resource use, all of which have implications for conservation planning. The impetus for sexual segregation is inherently linked to temporal differences in resource needs and reproductive strategies of the two sexes, with differences in behaviour being fine-tuned by tradeoffs between security and foraging opportunities. This presentation will briefly describe the behavioural pattern known as sexual segregation and provide examples of different taxa that segregate by sex and demonstrate sex differences in habitat use. Using ungulates as case studies, specific examples of the conservation implications of sexual segregation will be provided in respect to reserve design, impacts on native plant and wildlife communities, and sex-specific management strategies designed to achieve broader conservation goals.



12.00 - 12.15
PLUMB, GLENN and Wayne Brewster. Yellowstone Center for Resources, POB 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190, USA, <glenn_plumb@nps.gov> (GE, WB).

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT AT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: ARE BISON REALLY WILDLIFE?

Yellowstone National Park holds a special place in bison, Bison bison, stewardship; perhaps the first time the United States Federal government launched a conservation effort to save a species from extinction in the wild. Yet, at the beginning of the 21st century, only 2% of bison in North America remain in a wild free-ranging condition. Private sector "game ranching" of bison has greatly eroded the public’s understanding of bison as wildlife. In the United States, the bison is the only native ungulate species where the legal classification has been changed from wildlife to livestock. Hence, bison have been virtually absent from the evolution of wildlife principles, hunting ethics, conservation biology, or the ecological relationships of free-ranging populations. The odyssey of the Yellowstone bison speaks loudly to the challenges of maintaining native ecosystems in the face of increasing pressures from human systems. In the 21st century, bison will either regain a legitimate place among North American wildlife or will be consigned as a footnote of history. Here we report on the new science-based conservation and risk management strategies for the Yellowstone bison and creative ways to enhance opportunities for conservation management for wild bison.