Making evolutionary history count: biodiversity planning for coral reef fishes and the conservation of evolutionary processes

Anthropogenic activities are having devastating impacts on marine systems with numerous knock-on effects on trophic functioning, species interactions and an accelerated loss of biodiversity. Establishing conservation areas can not only protect biodiversity, but also confer resilience against changes to coral reefs and their inhabitants. Planning for protection and conservation in marine systems is complex, but usually focuses on maintaining levels of biodiversity and protecting special and unique landscape features while avoiding negative impacts to socio-economic benefits. Conversely, the integration of evolutionary processes that have shaped extant species assemblages is rarely taken into account. However, it is as important to protect processes as it is to protect patterns for maintaining the evolutionary trajectories of populations and species. This review focuses on different approaches for integrating genetic analyses, such as phylogenetic diversity, phylogeography and the delineation of management units, temporal and spatial monitoring of genetic diversity and quantification of adaptive variation for protecting evolutionary resilience, into marine spatial planning, specifically for coral reef fishes. Many of these concepts are not yet readily applied to coral reef fish studies, but this synthesis highlights their potential and the importance of including historical processes into systematic biodiversity planning for conserving not only extant, but also future, biodiversity and its evolutionary potential.     

AFLP: a useful tool for biodiversity conservation and management

The access to new molecular markers is not always possible for all researchers, due to limited laboratory and economical resources. A new technique, called AFLP, seems to be a simple and robust method to obtain a large number of variable molecular markers. In this article I show the results of AFLP analysis in three different conservation projects requiring different level of genetic variability. I also compare the multi-locus AFLP results with single-locus markers (microsatellites) and haploid organellar marker (mtDNA) sequences. The results suggest that the AFLP technique could be very useful in a wide range of conservation studies.     

Integrating phylogenetic and functional biodiversity facets to guide conservation: a case study using anurans in a global biodiversity hotspot

The Cerrado is one of the most threatened biomes in Brazil, with little spatial representation within the Protected Area network. Recently, proposed conservation plans worldwide have advocated for the use of multiple biodiversity facets to protect unique evolutionary and functional processes. Our aim was to identify areas with high biodiversity representativeness applying this multifaceted perspective, and propose conservation plans based on the joint analysis of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity. We used a database of the Brazilian National Program for Research in Biodiversity, which employs a standard protocol for sampling tadpoles. The Cerrado database includes samples from 165 water bodies spread over 15 localities, covering most of the Central Brazilian Cerrado. We selected four morphological traits to calculate functional diversity and used a dated phylogeny available in the literature to compute phylogenetic diversity. Our approach selected five priority areas for conservation, one of which is already protected. Our results highlighted the importance of four new areas which show high values of diversity, including original lineages and traits, and urgently need conservation prioritization. Furthermore, unlike the current protected network, our approach performs significantly better than random at protecting sites with high phylogenetic and functional diversity. We therefore discuss how the multifaceted indices considered can help protect key ecosystem functions and evolutionary legacy in anuran communities of the Brazilian Cerrado.     

森林与人类休戚相关,需要我们更多呵护

1992年6月3-14日,联合国环境与发展大会于巴西里约热内卢召开,大会通过了5个重要文件,其中包括<生物多样性公约>,该公约于1993年12月29日生效.为了纪念公约生效,联合国大会于1994年12月19日通过49/119号决议,将每年的12月29日确定为国际生物多样性日(International Day of Biodiversity).由于12月29日离西方的圣诞节很近,很多国家都很难组织庆祝活动.     

Micro-invertebrates conservation: forgotten biodiversity

The concern about the preservation of biodiversity is due, in part, to a great level of media coverage granted in the last few years to global warming and consequential climatic changes. However, there are still considerably large gaps in scientific knowledge regarding the ecological status of many species, which results in an absence of conservation strategy for most of Earth’s biodiversity in need of it. The extinction of many animal and plant species can have catastrophic consequences on the ecosystems’ balance and also in human well-being, resultant from the break of ecological services. To exemplify how a specific group of microscopic animals can be endangered, I have analyzed the case of the phylum Tardigrada. Tardigrades are microscopic animals that inhabit most environments: terrestrial, freshwater and marine. Even though many species are widespread and the terrestrial ones granted with cryptobiotic skills, they are adapted to each habitat type and, additionally, to local environmental patterns. This means that these tiny metazoans can be under significant environmental pressure in the various habitat types they are found in. The potential need of protective and compensatory measures aiming for appropriate conservation of these life forms is discussed, as is the need of studying for their objective elaboration.     

Managing ski resorts to improve biodiversity conservation: Australian reptiles as a case study

Alpine/subalpine environments are diverse systems that support many endemic species. Worldwide, these ecosystems are under threat from ski resort disturbances – even in areas broadly designated for biodiversity conservation. The effects of ski resorts on reptiles are largely unknown, making it difficult to implement effective conservation actions. Many ski resorts do not currently address the needs of reptiles, even those listed as threatened, in their management plans. If reptiles are to continue inhabiting ski resorts in Australia, strategies must be implemented that target their conservation. To begin to address this problem, we summarise current research investigating the effects of ski resorts on reptiles. Based on this information, we recommend strategies that will enhance the conservation of reptiles in areas affected by ski‐related disturbances. Suggested strategies include (i) restricting intensive disturbances to already highly modified areas of Australian ski resorts, (ii) avoiding disturbance of remaining native vegetation and structural complexity in ski resorts and (iii) re‐establishing structural complexity at highly modified sites through revegetation programmes, or through the cessation of mowing during peak reptile activity periods. While these strategies are designed to facilitate the persistence of reptiles in ski resorts, their long‐term success can only be evaluated by monitoring their effectiveness.     

以经济手段促进生物多样性保护

当前各国协调经济与生态的关系呈加速态势, 主要表现在: (1)深化。从“发展优先, 兼顾保护”到二者并重, “在发展中保护, 在保护中发展”, 再到“保护优先”, 越来越强调统筹协同“以保护优化发展, 以发展促进保护”; (2)分化。发展中国家大多依赖财政与金融, 发达国家则将市场作为主要资金渠道, 逐步形成以系统化的法律体系、多元化的激励机制、契约化的公私合作模式和市场化交易为主体的生态产品价值实现体系; (3)多元化。自然价值的多元性决定政府需要综合运用多种举措, 以减少单一政策的局限性; (4)市场化。加强市场解决财政在环保投入不足的主体作用已成为主流。本文为探索我国向“自然受益型”经济转型, 梳理了30多个国家在不同行业实施经济手段的150个实例, 以多元化视角归纳为8种举措: 顶层设计、环经核算、生态转型、绿色金融、市场认证、激励改革、气候协同和实施配套; 并从10个方面分析以经济手段促进生物多样性保护的国际经验和趋势, 各国之间的共性及分化; 最后提出利用“2020后全球生物多样性框架”提供协调各国行动一致的平台机制, 以外促内, 内外结合, 通过创新政策工具和组合应用, 促进我国经济政策与生态环境政策融合的建议。     

Operationalizing biodiversity for conservation planning

Biodiversity has acquired such a general meaning that people now find it difficult to pin down a precise sense for planning and policy-making aimed at biodiversity conservation. Because biodiversity is rooted in place, the task of conserving biodiversity should target places for conservation action; and because all places contain biodiversity, but not all places can be targeted for action, places have to be prioritized. What is needed for this is a measure of the extent to which biodiversity varies from place to place. We do not need a precise measure of biodiversity to prioritize places. Relative estimates of similarity or difference can be derived using partial measures, or what have come to be called biodiversity surrogates. Biodiversity surrogates are supposed to stand in for general biodiversity in planning applications. We distinguish between true surrogates, those that might truly stand in for general biodiversity, and estimator surrogates, which have true surrogates as their target variable. For example, species richness has traditionally been the estimator surrogate for the true surrogate, species diversity. But species richness does not capture the differences in composition between places; the essence of biodiversity. Another measure, called complementarity, explicitly captures the differences between places as we iterate the process of place prioritization, starting with an initial place. The relative concept of biodiversity built into the definition of complementarity has the level of precision needed to undertake conservation planning.     

Biocomplexity and conservation of biodiversity hotspots: three case studies from the Americas

The perspective of 'biocomplexity' in the form of 'coupled natural and human systems' represents a resource for the future conservation of biodiversity hotspots in three direct ways: (i) modelling the impact on biodiversity of private land-use decisions and public land-use policies, (ii) indicating how the biocultural history of a biodiversity hotspot may be a resource for its future conservation, and (iii) identifying and deploying the nodes of both the material and psycho-spiritual connectivity between human and natural systems in service to conservation goals. Three biocomplexity case studies of areas notable for their biodiversity, selected for their variability along a latitudinal climate gradient and a human-impact gradient, are developed: the Big Thicket in southeast Texas, the Upper Botanamo River Basin in eastern Venezuela, and the Cape Horn Archipelago at the austral tip of Chile. More deeply, the biocomplexity perspective reveals alternative ways of understanding biodiversity itself, because it directs attention to the human concepts through which biodiversity is perceived and understood. The very meaning of biodiversity is contestable and varies according to the cognitive lenses through which it is perceived.     

天际线扫描: 环境与生物多样性保护研究的新方法

<正>环境问题迫切需要开展未来学研究,许多过去看来是边际的问题已经成为政府议事日程中主要的问题,例如全球变化、恐怖主义等,能源、食物和水资源安全以及由于生物多样性丧失而导致的生态系统服务功能丧失很快将成为下一批类似的问题(Sutherland et al.,2009)。针对英国制定未来保护政策和环境问题决策的迫切需要,剑桥大学保护生物学教授Sutherland等(2008)提出了对环境与生     

Arguments for biodiversity conservation: factors influencing their observed effectiveness in European case studies

Making a strong case for biodiversity protection is central to meeting the biodiversity targets in international agreements such as the CBD and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Effective arguments are needed to convince diverse actors that protection is worthwhile, and can play a crucial role in closing the implementation gap between biodiversity policy targets and outcomes. Drawing on a database of arguments from 11 European case studies, along with additional interview and case study material from all 13 case studies of the BESAFE project, we analysed relationships between potential and observed effectiveness of arguments. Our results show that strong logic, robustness, and timing of arguments are necessary but not sufficient conditions for arguments to be effective. We find that use of multiple and diverse arguments can enhance effectiveness by broadening the appeal to wider audiences, especially when arguments are repeated and refined through constructive dialogue. We discuss the role of framing, bundling and tailoring arguments to audiences in increasing effectiveness. Our results provide further support for the current shift towards recognition of value pluralism in biodiversity science and decision-making. We hope our results will help to demonstrate more convincingly the value of biodiversity to stakeholders in decision processes and thus build better cases for its conservation.     

基于C-Plan规划软件的生物多样性就地保护优先区规划——以中国东北地区为例

以中国东北地区为研究区域,根据生物多样性属性特征,选择研究区域内具有代表性的濒危物种作为指示物种,利用系统保护规划方法(Systematic Conservation Planning,SCP)和保护规划软件(C-Plan),对该区域进行了优先保护规划研究。通过计算规划单元的不可替代性值(Irreplaceability,IR),找出区域生物多样性热点地区和保护空缺地区,然后利用C-Plan规划软件对该地区进行保护优先等级划分,确定必须保护(Mandatory Reserved,MR)、协商保护(Negotiated Reserved,NR)和部分保护(PartiallyReserved,PR)3个等级保护区域的具体位置和面积,并针对保护现状提出保护规划建议。结果显示,必须保护区域的总面积占区域总面积的8.17%,主要分布于长白山核心地区和大兴安岭北部原始林区;协商保护区域占总面积的7.51%,主要分布于大兴安岭东南部和松嫩平原湿地;部分保护区域占总面积的9%。保护空缺分析结果显示,现有国家级自然保护区对生物多样性的保护存在3个明显的保护空缺,即长白山林区的龙岗山地区、老爷岭北部和张广才岭南部;大兴安岭北部原始林区、呼玛河—黑龙江流域的平原湿地和伊勒呼里山东南部山区;大兴安岭南部森林草原过渡区的东南部森林地区。结合区域内已建立的国家级自然保护区情况,利用C-Plan规划软件对不同时期建立的保护区实现保护目标的贡献率做了分析。截止2000年,已建保护区可实现预期保护目标的17.5%,通过对贡献率大小的比较确定了不同时期保护的有效程度。研究打破了传统的对称几何形状的单元划分方法,根据植被类型和自然地形地貌,采用自然多边形进行单元划分,提高了物种分布范围准确度。研究通过C-Plan规划软件的实际应用,丰富了系统保护规划研究的方法,从理论上为区域保护规划提供了科学依据,并可指导我国自然保护区管理政策的制定和中长期规划的编制。     

生物多样性保护优先区抽样调查策略研究——以武陵山地区为例

生物多样性保护优先区是我国为加强生物多样性保护和监管划定的重要区域,目前部分优先区已陆续开展生物本底资料的调查评估工作,但受限于经费、时间等条件,对区内所有县域或网格全覆盖式科考,既不现实也无必要,因而区域尺度的抽样设计是一个亟需解决的关键问题。以武陵山生物多样性保护优先区为例,结合层次聚类和系统抽样方法,同时考虑历史调查资料的系统完整程度和空间保护属性,提出了一个科学可行的抽样方案。首先将研究区域内的所有县域聚为5类,每类挑选出2个重点县域,共获得6个历史上进行过系统科学考察的县域和4个本底资料相对缺乏的县域,进而挑选出76个重点调查网格（10 km×10 km）,其中生物多样性富集网格36个,保护区外的人类干扰网格40个,抽样比例为11.09%,每个网格平均调查经费为2.52万元。该抽样策略区分了调查层次并突出重点区域,使调查和评估更有针对性,进一步完善了保护优先区基础调查系统,也强化了项目管理能力,对其他保护优先区项目开展具有一定参考价值。     

Institutions and incentives for biodiversity conservation

Incentive measures for biodiversity conservation cannot be evaluated and compared outside the context of institutional performance and relationships. The institutional framework for biodiversity incentives includes a variety of organizations operating on different spatial scales. The institutional actors with an impact on biodiversity include community groups, local and national governmental structures, NGOs, business enterprises and international organizations. But the positve influence of conservation-oriented organizations is often significantly outweighed by the negative influence of other sets of institutional actors who are largely unaware of biodiversity as a concept and not unduly concerned with its conservation. There are several options for improving the institutional framework for biodiversity incentives: (1) decentralization of resource management decision making to local levels; (2) engaging and reorienting government institutions; (3) establishing new national and international institutions; and (4) establishing functional linkages between key institutional actors. The role of local, national and international institutions in designing and implementing effective incentive measures for biodiversity conservation will be critical. But the dynamics within and between institutional actors influencing biodiversity conservation are complex, variable and insufficiently understood, somewhat like biodiversity itself.     

Information pyramids for informed biodiversity conservation

We discuss a paradigm for informed ecosystem management that provides a quantitative and rigorous foundation for informing conservation decisions and sustainable ecosystem management. Information pyramids incorporate conceptual and technological advances in ecosystem depiction and provide a framework for the integration and generalization of raw data into forms that are spatially extensive and at the appropriate level of generalization for a particular use. The basic tenets of the pyramid are: (1) Higher levels of the pyramid are entirely derived from a foundation of underlying data. (2) The process of generalization and integration upward should be objective and explicit. (3) Pyramids for different purposes often overlap, with common data and common methods for integration. (4) All levels of the pyramid should be developed together, including base data, methods and kinds of integration, and algorithms for using the information for planning and decision-making. Information pyramids are a powerful approach to organizing research science, and provide a mechanism by which research, data collection, storage and generalization can be focused on conservation outcomes. Common data and methods lead to increased efficiency, while also allowing for separate disciplines and programs. A case study of an integrated pyramid from New Zealand is discussed, which illustrates the characteristics of information pyramids. Components of this pyramid are discussed that provide examples of integration and generalization at various levels of the pyramid, from base data, to derived data, to spatial predictions and classifications, to a method of integrating this information into conservation decisions.