Use of optimization algorithms to prioritize protected areas in Mazandaran Province of Iran

A systematic approach for prioritization of protected areas is the use of artificial intelligence. This approach employs computer algorithms based on an objective function to identify the best network of areas to be protected. Site selection algorithms are commonly used to identify areas of high conservation value. This study used three types of heuristic algorithms (simulated annealing, greedy, rarity) to prioritize areas for protection in Mazandaran Province of Iran using Marxan software. The goal was to select a conservation network with the smallest possible area in which maximum protection targets are achievable. The effects of spatial scale, algorithm, and zone compactness were also examined. We found that the existing network of protected areas is inadequate to achieve conservation targets. The algorithm results provided the best areas for supplementation of the current network. The simulated annealing algorithm provided the most plausible results for all scenarios. These results can be used to modify the existing boundaries of the protected areas network and introduce new sites for protection of plant and animal species.     

Conservation of Neotropical carnivores under different prioritization scenarios: mapping species traits to minimize conservation conflicts

Aim To define priority sets of ecoregions that should be sufficiently covered in a reserve system to represent all Neotropical carnivores (Mammalia: Carnivora) under three distinct conservation scenarios. Location The Neotropical region. Methods We used broad‐scale biogeographical data of species distribution to define priority sets of ecoregions for conservation of carnivores and mapped four species traits (phylogenetic diversity, body size, rarity and extinction risk), which were used as constraints in prioritization analyses, based on the complementarity concept. We proposed three scenarios: a very vulnerable one, one of species persistence and another of lower human impact. We used the simulated annealing algorithm to generate ecoregion‐irreplaceability pattern and to find the combinations of ecoregions in each conservation scenario. Results We found that only 8% of Neotropical ecoregions are needed to represent all 64 carnivore species at least once. Rain forest ecoregions harbour a greater amount of carnivore phylogenetic diversity, whereas the tropical Andes hold large‐bodied carnivores. Western and southern Neotropical ecoregions have more rare species as well as higher threat levels. In the lower human‐impact set, 12 ecoregions were needed to represent all species. These coincide only partially with those attained by other prioritization scenarios. In the very vulnerable and in the species persistence scenario, 14 and 12 ecoregions were represented, respectively, and the congruence between either one and the lower human‐impact set was fairly low. Shared ecoregions are located in Mexico, Costa Rica, northern Amazon and western Chile. Main conclusions Our results highlight areas of particular interest for the conservation of Neotropical carnivores. The inclusion of evolutionary and ecological traits in conservation assessments and planning helps to improve reserve networks and therefore to increase the effectiveness of proposed priority sets. We suggest that conservation action in the highlighted areas is likely to yield the best return of investments at the ecoregion scale.     

Soil chemical factors and grassland species density in Emas National Park (central Brazil)

Studies of grasslands on specific soil types suggest that different nutrients can limit biomass production and, hence, species composition and number. The Brazilian cerrado is the major savanna region in America and once covered about 2 million km(2), mainly in the Brazilian Central Plateau, under seasonal climate, with wet summer and dry winter. In view of the importance of soil chemical factors in the distribution of the vegetation forms within the Cerrado domain and which may influence the number of species, we analyzed some soil characteristics in three herbaceous vegetation forms -- hyperseasonal cerrado, seasonal cerrado, and wet grassland -- in Emas National Park, a core cerrado site, to investigate the relationship between number of species and soil characteristics. We collected vegetation and soil samples in these three vegetation forms and submitted the obtained data to multiple linear regression. We found out that aluminum and pH were the best predictors of species density, the former positively related to species density and the latter negatively related. Since the predictable variation in species density is important in determining areas of conservation, we can postulate that these two soil factors are indicators of high species density areas in tropical grasslands, which could be used in selecting priority sites for conservation.     

Biased data reduce efficiency and effectiveness of conservation reserve networks

Complementarity-based reserve selection algorithms efficiently prioritize sites for biodiversity conservation, but they are data-intensive and most regions lack accurate distribution maps for the majority of species. We explored implications of basing conservation planning decisions on incomplete and biased data using occurrence records of the plant family Proteaceae in South Africa. Treating this high-quality database as 'complete', we introduced three realistic sampling biases characteristic of biodiversity databases: a detectability sampling bias and two forms of roads sampling bias. We then compared reserve networks constructed using complete, biased, and randomly sampled data. All forms of biased sampling performed worse than both the complete data set and equal-effort random sampling. Biased sampling failed to detect a median of 1-5% of species, and resulted in reserve networks that were 9-17% larger than those designed with complete data. Spatial congruence and the correlation of irreplaceability scores between reserve networks selected with biased and complete data were low. Thus, reserve networks based on biased data require more area to protect fewer species and identify different locations than those selected with randomly sampled or complete data.     

Nature reserve selection in the Transvaal, South Africa: what data should we be using?

Iterative reserve selection algorithms were applied to two mammal databases, generalized to sixteenth degree grid squares, for the Transvaal region of South Africa. Based on primary point data, 24 grid squares are required to represent all species at least once, while only 13 grid squares are required when based on distribution map data; only two of these grid squares are common to both analyses. As the number of representations per species is increased from one to five, the number of selected grid squares increased to 86 and 71 or 72 respectively, with only 17 of these common to both analyses. These differences in the selection of sites are further reflected in the degree of congruence between selected grid squares and existing conservation areas which is on average 63.3% for grid squares selected from the primary database and only 42.5% for those selected from the distribution map database. These results emphasize the importance of quality data input when evaluating regional reserve networks. Highly generalized distribution map data sets, on the one hand, are extrapolations of limited data sets and contain non-quantifiable levels of false-positives which could have significant implications if used for establishing regional reserve networks. On the other hand, although there are problems associated with the establishment of primary diversity databases, namely data currency and uneven and non-random sampling (leading to false negatives), they remain our most reliable option for assigning conservation value.     

Complementary representation and zones of ecological transition

Minimum complementary sets of sites that represent each species at least once have been argued to provide a nominal core reserve network and the starting point for regional conservation programs. However, this approach may be inadequate if there is a tendency to represent several species at marginal areas within their ranges, which may occur if high efficiency results from preferential selection of sites in areas of ecological transition. Here we use data on the distributions of birds in South Africa and Lesotho to explore this idea. We found that for five measures that are expected to reflect the location of areas of ecological transition, complementary sets tend to select higher values of these measures than expected by chance. We recommend that methods for the identification of priority areas for conservation that incorporate viability concerns be preferred to minimum representation sets, even if this results in more costly reserve networks.     

Place prioritization for biodiversity reserve network design: a comparison of the SITES and ResNet software packages for coverage and efficiency

Abstract. The place prioritization problem in conservation biology is that of establishing a sequentially prioritized list of places on the basis of biodiversity content. Such a list can then be used to select reserve networks that are designed to be fully representative of the biodiversity of an area as efficiently as possible (for instance, with minimum area or cost). The usual goal is the representation of all chosen biodiversity surrogates up to or beyond a required target, or to the greatest available extent. The purpose of this paper is to compare the respective performances of two place prioritization software packages, SITES and ResNet, on four datasets (distributions of termite genera in Namibia, breeding bird species in the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas, vertebrate species in Texas and flora and fauna species that are at risk in Québec), to determine their respective merits. The two software packages implement radically different algorithms: SITES is based on a simulated annealing procedure for finding (local) optima; ResNet uses an algorithm based on rarity and complementarity. This analysis indicates that the rarity‐complementarity based algorithm of ResNet surpasses the simulated annealing approach of SITES with respect to time and completeness. SITES, however, contains other features that are useful in conservation planning. Ways in which the two packages can be used together effectively are suggested.     

Priority areas for the conservation of subtropical indigenous forest in southern Africa: a case study from KwaZulu-Natal

Southern Africa's subtropical forest biome, though small and highly fragmented, supports much of the region's biodiversity. With limited resources available for conservation and the exploitative use of forest escalating, identifying a network of priority forest reserves is important. We examine the distribution of forest birds, butterflies and mammals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Using an iterative algorithm we explore the efficiency of existing protected areas, species richness and rarity hotspots, prime forest sites (selected by forest area) and complementary networks as alternative approaches to priority reserve selection, as well as the potential use of indicator taxa. Existing protected areas represent 98% of species but are relatively inefficient in terms of area. Alternative selection criteria represent a high proportion of species (86–92%) and provide efficient bases for developing fully representative reserve networks. All species are represented within a network of 22 complementary quarter degree cells. This network includes several larger forests and existing protected areas and is recommended for priority conservation. Complementary networks identified separately for birds, butterflies and mammals overlap little, but each represents a high proportion of the remaining taxa, supporting their potential as representative 'indicator' taxa. The evolutionary history of the three main forest types in KwaZulu-Natal explains observed spatial patterns of alternative reserve networks. Priority areas are concentrated in scarp and coastal forest belts, regions of comparatively recent evolutionary activity with high species richness. Afromontane forest is older and less diverse, but its inclusion in any reserve network is necessary for the full representation of forest diversity.     

Biogeographic patterns, β-diversity and dominance in the cerrado biome of Brazil

From a total woody flora of ca. 1000 species, a suite of 121 species forms an oligarchy dominating the cerrado biome. This mirrors patterns of dominance described in western Amazonian rain forests. Widespread sampling shows that across the biome this suite of species contributes on average 66% of the total species composition, and 75% of the total Importance Value Index in cerrado communities. An analysis of the floristic similarity between six cerrado phytogeographic provinces (southern, central and south-eastern, central-western, far-western, north-eastern, disjunct Amazonian) reveals great heterogeneity within the biome, principally of the less common species. Of the 951 species recorded from 375 floristic surveys across the biome, 494 species (more than half of the total) are found in only one of the provinces, with very few species (37, i.e., 3.9%) found in all six provinces. Each of the provinces contains a significant number of species which are apparently confined to it, ranging from 15 species (1.6% of the total woody cerrado flora) in the far-western province (primarily in the state of Rondônia) to 162 species (17%) in the central-western province. At the local level, floristic similarity can be very high. An analysis of the floristic composition of 13 sites within the Federal District shows a woody flora of 236 species, indicating that 25% of the total woody flora of the cerrado biome is represented in 0.3% of its area, illustrating the great conservation importance of this region. Floristic similarity between sites within the Federal District is high, although much of this similarity is accounted for by oligarch species which account for between 59 and 89% of total species recorded per site. Informed conservation judgements within the cerrado need to take account of regional floristic patterns to ensure maximum protection of biodiversity, as the majority of species are not geographically widespread within the biome.     

自然保护地保护成效评估: 进展与展望

自然保护地(protected areas)保护成效是指自然保护地对主要保护对象的保护效果, 及其在维持生物多样性和保障生态系统服务功能等方面的综合成效。近年来自然保护地保护成效评估逐渐成为国内外的研究热点之一。 本文分别从不同空间尺度、评估对象、评估方法以及评估指标等方面综述了相关的研究进展。总体来看, 近年来的研究已基本覆盖了全球、区域、国家和单个自然保护地等不同尺度, 针对森林、湿地、草地和荒漠等代表性生态系统以及野生动植物等主要保护对象进行了评估, 发展了“matching”技术等更为有效的分析方法, 探索了系统的自然保护地保护成效评估指标体系, 并应用一些指标进行了保护成效的案例研究。自然保护区(nature reserve)是我国自然保护地的主体, 近年来我国自然保护区相关管理部门也相继开展了保护成效评估工作, 建议未来进一步加强自然保护区网络尺度和各类型自然保护区的保护成效评估研究, 将自然保护区保护成效评估与管理评估相结合, 研究自然保护区保护成效面临的新问题和潜在影响, 为提升我国自然保护区管理质量提供科学依据。     

Sharp genetic breaks among populations of Haptosquilla pulchella (Stomatopoda) indicate limits to larval transport: patterns, causes, and consequences

To help stem the precipitous decline of coral reef ecosystems world-wide, conservation efforts are focused on establishing interconnected reserve networks to protect threatened populations. Because many coral reef organisms have a planktonic or pelagic larval dispersal phase, it is critical to understand the patterns of ecological connectivity between reserve populations that result from larval dispersal. We used genetics to infer dispersal patterns among 24 Indo-West Pacific populations of the mantis shrimp, Haptosquilla pulchella. Contrary to predictions of high dispersal facilitated by the strong currents of the Indonesian throughflow, mitochondrial DNA sequences from 393 individuals displayed striking patterns of regional genetic differentiation concordant with ocean basins isolated during periods of lowered sea level. Patterns of genetic structuring indicate that although dispersal within geographical regions with semicontiguous coastlines spanning thousands of kilometres may be common, ecologically meaningful connections can be rare among populations separated by as little as 300 km of open ocean. Strong genetic mosaics in a species with high dispersal potential highlight the utility of genetics for identifying regional patterns of genetic connectivity between marine populations and show that the assumption that ocean currents will provide ecological connectivity among marine populations must be empirically tested in the design of marine reserve networks.     

The importance of species range attributes and reserve configuration for the conservation of angiosperm diversity in Western Australia

In order to better understand the relationship between reserve design and the species represented by such designs, we examined the effectiveness of the Western Australian reserve system for conserving angiosperm diversity, and examined the characteristics of those species conserved. We overlayed species distribution data for 14 plant lineages with the distribution of the reserve system (8.5% of the State’s area) and identified the species that remained unprotected. We found that, depending upon the method employed, between 174 (5.7%) and 570 (18.7%) of species were not included within the reserve system. Two main unprotected regions were identified, one of which was also a centre of high diversity. Geographical range sizes of unprotected species were six times smaller than those species that were protected, while species richness of small-ranged endemic species coincided with general patterns of species richness. At the level of Western Australia’s bioregions we found that conservation effectiveness was most dependent on characteristics of the reserve system rather than characteristics (size and positioning) of species ranges. At this scale, the most effective way to conserve more species in Western Australia would be to conserve more land, while conservation would be most successful in a uniformly dispersed reserve system. Our results highlight the fact that reserve systems may take on two design approaches based on scale––at continental scales, reserves should be clustered around the hotspots of endemic species, while within regions, an evenly distributed reserve system will most adequately sample species.     

Conservation biogeography of anurans in Brazilian Cerrado

The increasing rates of declines in anuran populations worldwide are creating demands for urgent strategies to maximize conservation efforts. This may be critical in regions for which few detailed data on diversity, abundance and distribution are available, such as in the Cerrado of Central Brazil. In this paper, we used a macroecological approach based on the extent of occurrence of 131 species of Anura (Amphibia) in the Cerrado region to design a regional network of potential areas that preserves all anuran species. The final network, obtained using a simulation annealing algorithm based on complementarity, has a total of 17 cells, widely distributed throughout the biome. Minimum costs solutions were obtained in respect to total human population size, soybean production and bovine density, because these are the factors associated with human occupation that historically are more likely to cause broad scale habitat losses. The macro-scale approach used here can provide overall guidelines for conservation and define the focus for more local and effective conservation efforts.     

Small mammals of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park (Cerrado of Central Brazil): ecologic, karyologic, and taxonomic considerations.

This work is based on a survey of small mammals carried out in the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, a natural reserve located in the mountains of the Planalto Central Goiano in the Cerrado of Central Brazil. The 227 specimens collected represented six marsupial and 13 rodent species. Taxonomic, karyologic, and ecologic considerations are present and discussed in the present work. Our data reflected the faunal heterogeneity with respect to both elevation and vegetation because only eight of the 19 species were collected at both high and low elevations. The composition of the small mammal fauna of the park is influenced by predominance of forest formations at low elevations and cerrado with rupestrian areas at high elevations. Presence of endemic species and one undescribed demonstrated that the cerrado has an endemic fauna and a little known diversity of small mammals.     

Indigenous Burning as Conservation Practice: Neotropical Savanna Recovery amid Agribusiness Deforestation in Central Brazil

International efforts to address climate change by reducing tropical deforestation increasingly rely on indigenous reserves as conservation units and indigenous peoples as strategic partners. Considered win-win situations where global conservation measures also contribute to cultural preservation, such alliances also frame indigenous peoples in diverse ecological settings with the responsibility to offset global carbon budgets through fire suppression based on the presumed positive value of non-alteration of tropical landscapes. Anthropogenic fire associated with indigenous ceremonial and collective hunting practices in the Neotropical savannas (cerrado) of Central Brazil is routinely represented in public and scientific conservation discourse as a cause of deforestation and increased CO₂ emissions despite a lack of supporting evidence. We evaluate this claim for the Xavante people of Pimentel Barbosa Indigenous Reserve, Brazil. Building upon 23 years of longitudinal interdisciplinary research in the area, we used multi-temporal spatial analyses to compare land cover change under indigenous and agribusiness management over the last four decades (1973–2010) and quantify the contemporary Xavante burning regime contributing to observed patterns based on a four year sample at the end of this sequence (2007–2010). The overall proportion of deforested land remained stable inside the reserve (0.6%) but increased sharply outside (1.5% to 26.0%). Vegetation recovery occurred where reserve boundary adjustments transferred lands previously deforested by agribusiness to indigenous management. Periodic traditional burning by the Xavante had a large spatial distribution but repeated burning in consecutive years was restricted. Our results suggest a need to reassess overreaching conservation narratives about the purported destructiveness of indigenous anthropogenic fire in the cerrado. The real challenge to conservation in the fire-adapted cerrado biome is the long-term sustainability of indigenous lands and other tropical conservation islands increasingly subsumed by agribusiness expansion rather than the localized subsistence practices of indigenous and other traditional peoples.     

Reserve selection and persistence: complementing the existing Atlantic Forest reserve system

This study is an exercise to check the efficiency of the existing reserve system, and to show how systematic conservation planning—using information available and the complementarity concept—can improve the basis for decisions and minimize costs. We verified the performance, in number of cells and primate species representation, of the existing Atlantic Forest (Brazil) reserve network with a quarter-degree resolution grid, with 1,884 cells. We used occurrence data of 20 endemic primate species, and the maps of 237 existing reserves. Reserve networks were selected to represent primate species first considering no pre-existing reserves in Atlantic Forest, and then, considering the existing reserve system, taking into account the minimum area for viable population of the larger species (Northern muriqui Brachyteles hypoxanthus). Reserve selection was carried out using the complementarity concept implemented by a simulated annealing algorithm. Primate species representation (at least one occurrence in the network) could be achieved with 8% of the existing reserve system (nine cells in relation to the 120 in the existing reserve system). We found that today’s reserve system represents 89% of endemic primate species, excluding the species Coimbra Filho’s titi monkey (Callicebus coimbrai) and Marcgraf’s capuchin (Cebus flavius). The networks selected without considering existing reserves contained nine cells. The networks selected considering existing reserves (120 cells), had two new cells necessary to represent all the primates. This does not mean that a viable alternative is to start from zero (i.e., nonexistent reserves). Identifying critical supplementary areas using biodiversity information to fill the gaps and then starting “conservation in practice” in these areas should be priorities.     

Combined Use of Systematic Conservation Planning,Species Distribution Modelling,and Connectivity Analysis Reveals Severe Conservation Gaps in a Megadiverse Country (Peru)

Conservation planning is crucial for megadiverse countries where biodiversity is coupled with incomplete reserve systems and limited resources to invest in conservation. Using Peru as an example of a megadiverse country, we asked whether the national system of protected areas satisfies biodiversity conservation needs. Further, to complement the existing reserve system, we identified and prioritized potential conservation areas using a combination of species distribution modeling, conservation planning and connectivity analysis. Based on a set of 2,869 species, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and plants, we used species distribution models to represent species'' geographic ranges to reduce the effect of biased sampling and partial knowledge about species'' distributions. A site-selection algorithm then searched for efficient and complementary proposals, based on the above distributions, for a more representative system of protection. Finally, we incorporated connectivity among areas in an innovative post-hoc analysis to prioritize those areas maximizing connectivity within the system. Our results highlight severe conservation gaps in the Coastal and Andean regions, and we propose several areas, which are not currently covered by the existing network of protected areas. Our approach helps to find areas that contribute to creating a more representative, connected and efficient network.     

How well do the existing and proposed reserve networks represent vertebrate species in Chile?

Increasingly, biogeographical knowledge and analysis are playing a fundamental role in assessing the representativeness of biodiversity in protected areas, and in identifying critical areas for conservation. With almost 20% of the country assigned to protected areas, Chile is well above the conservation target (i.e. 10–12%) proposed by many international conservation organizations. Moreover, the Chilean government has recently proposed new conservation priority sites to improve the current protected area network. Here, we used all 653 terrestrial vertebrate species present in continental Chile to assess the performance of the existing and proposed reserve networks. Using geographical information systems, we overlaid maps of species distribution, current protected areas, and proposed conservation priority sites to assess how well each species is represented within these networks. Additionally, we performed a systematic reserve selection procedure to identify alternative conservation areas for expanding the current reserve system. Our results show that over 13% of the species are not covered by any existing protected area, and that 73% of Chilean vertebrate species can be considered partial gaps, with only a small fraction of their geographical ranges currently under protection. The coverage is also deficient for endemic (species confined to Chile) and threatened species. While the proposed priority sites do increase coverage, we found that there are still several gaps and these are not the most efficient choices. Both the gap analysis and the reserve selection analysis identified important areas to be added to the existing reserve system, mostly in northern and central Chile. This study underscores the need for a systematic conservation planning approach to redefine the conservation priority sites in order to maximize the representation of species, particularly endemic and threatened species.     

Suitability for conservation as a criterion in regional conservation network selection

The process of selecting candidate areas for inclusion in a regional conservation network should include not only delineating appropriate land units for selection and defining targets for representing features of interest, but also determining the suitability of land units for conservation purposes. We developed an explicit rating of conservation suitability by applying fuzzy-logic functions in a knowledge base to ecological condition and socio-economic attributes of land units in the interior Columbia River basin, USA. Suitability was converted to unsuitability to comprise a cost criterion in selecting regional conservation networks. When unsuitability was the sole cost criterion or was combined with land area as cost, only about one-third of the area selected was rated suitable, due to inclusion of unsuitable land to achieve representation of conservation targets (vegetation cover-type area). Selecting only from land units rated suitable produced networks that were 100% suitable, reasonably efficient, and most likely to be viable and defensible, as represented in our knowledge-based system. However, several conservation targets were not represented in these networks. The tradeoff between suitability and effectiveness in representing targets suggests that a multi-stage process should be implemented to address both attributes of candidate conservation networks. The suitability of existing conservation areas was greater than that of most alternative candidate networks, but 59% of land units containing conservation areas received a rating of unsuitable, due in part to the presence of units only partially occupied by conservation areas, in which unsuitability derived from conditions in non-conserved areas.     

Using presence-absence data to establish reserve selection procedures that are robust to temporal species turnover

Previous studies suggest that a network of nature reserves with maximum efficiency (obtained by selecting the minimum area such that each species is represented once) is likely to be insufficient to maintain species in the network over time. Here, we test the performance of three selection strategies which require presence-absence data, two of them previously proposed (multiple representations and selecting an increasing percentage of each species' range) and a novel one based on selecting the site where each species has exhibited a higher permanence rate in the past. Multiple representations appear to be a safer strategy than selecting a percentage of range because the former gives priority to rarer species while the latter favours the most widespread. The most effective strategy was the one based on the permanence rate, indicating that the robustness of reserve networks can be improved by adopting reserve selection procedures that integrate information about the relative value of sites. This strategy was also very efficient, suggesting that the investment made in the monitoring schemes may be compensated for by a lower cost in reserve acquisition.