Recovering endangered species and restoring ecosystems: conservation planning for the twenty-first century in the United States

The Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended, is one of the most significant pieces of conservation legislation ever passed in the United States. The passage of this act spawned the creation of the Endangered Species Program of the US. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Under the Act, the USFWS has responsibility for implementing many provisions of the Act: listings, consultations, enforcement of prohibitions and recovery planning. Recovering threatened and endangered species, as well as other declining species yet to be listed, is accomplished through many of the activities that occur under the auspices of the Act, not only through the formal recovery planning process. The Act is fundamentally an instrument for ecosystem conservation, although this aspect of the Act is often over-looked. Planning and implementing an ecosystem approach to conservation activities is a priority for the USFWS, not only for threatened and endangered species but for all wildlife. The recent emphasis on regional habitat conservation planning and the development of regional and multi-species recovery plans are indicative of the priority placed on sound ecosystem conservation planning. All of these processes are implemented with the participation of the potentially affected communities and state wildlife management agencies through a public review process. State conservation agencies are part of the process through a special grant programme.     

Valuation of wildlife populations above survival

Biodiversity valuation studies often address the willingness to pay (WTP) for species survival. Many policy initiatives, however, target more generally the population levels of wildlife. This study investigated the empirical question of WTP for enhancing species populations also beyond the survival level. Respondents’ WTP for increases in population levels of endangered species as well as of general wildlife in three habitats were evaluated in a choice experiment, by trading off against income tax and restrictions in recreational access. Any person may have several motives for deriving value from enhanced wildlife populations, and variation in values were analysed in a Latent Class model. We document considerable discrete variations in WTP and respondents fall into several distinct groups. The first group express a significant WTP for saving endangered species only and has no positive WTP for higher population levels, indicating that existence values dominate their WTP. The second group put emphasis on wildlife, but with equal weight attached to moderate and high increases in population for ‘Endangered’ as well as ‘General’ wildlife. Thus, they appear insensitive to scope. The pattern suggests that WTP may be affected by warm glow or deontological motivations. The third group reveal significant WTP, but for at least one of the wildlife attributes they prefer moderate increases over high. This could be due to moral motivations or reflect provision cost concerns. Our findings point to the caution needed when using results from studies focusing on species survival in valuing broader initiatives.     

Can we save Australia’s endangered wildlife by increasing species recognition?

Australia’s species extinction rate is one of the highest in the world. Yet, there is limited evidence regarding people’s recognition of, and preferences and support for, Australian endangered wildlife. This paper presents survey responses from 223 Zoos Victoria visitors (response rate: 39.1 %) and 90 community members (Victoria, Australia). We examined people’s top 10 overall (global) and Australian favourite animals, and conducted an in-depth exploration of recognition of, and preferences and support for, seven Australian endangered species identified as being at risk of extinction within the next decade, including: the leadbeater’s possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri), eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii), helmeted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix), southern corroboree frog (Pseudophryne corroboree), Lord Howe Island (LHI) stick insect (Dryococelus australis), Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), and the orange-bellied parrot (Neophema chrysogaster). Results indicate that the only Australian animals to feature in the overall top 10 favourite list were the kangaroo (ranked 9th for both sample groups) and koala (ranked 6th and 10th for the community and zoo sample, respectively). The Tasmanian devil had the highest rate of recognition (>86 %), in comparison to the remaining six species (1.2–7.3 % across both samples). Endangered species were not prominent in the top favourite Australian species. Australian endangered species’ likeability ratings typically followed the pattern of mammals being most likeable (Tasmanian devil and leadbeater’s possum), followed by birds, frogs, and insects (helmeted honeyeater, southern corroboree frog, and LHI stick insect). Importantly, for most endangered native species featured (4/7 and 6/7; zoo and community, respectively), simply being able to recognise species significantly (p <.05) increased people’s willingness to support their conservation. Findings underscore several powerful opportunities for future conservation programs to contribute to Australian endangered species conservation by striving to increase public familiarity with Australian species most at risk of extinction.     

Public attitudes and willingness to pay toward the conservation of Crested Ibis: Insights for management

In order to better design conservation programs to conserve threatened species, social, economic and political factors must be carefully considered. The wild population of the endangered Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon) is currently only distributed in Yangxian County, Shaanxi province of China, and as the gradual dispersal of its population from the mountains to the plains, the possibility of human-wildlife interaction has increased, which poses certain challenges for conservation and management. Here, we used a questionnaire to investigate public attitudes and willingness to pay (WTP) toward Crested Ibis conservation, and to evaluate relevant influencing factors, with a view to providing recommendations for its management. The results showed that local residents strongly support the conservation of ibis and factors like education level, income, residential area, perception for ibis and prior experiences significantly affected their support for conservation. Results also indicated that the annual WTP was US$18.28 per household, and the potential value of donations is about US$2.45 million per year for Crested Ibis conservation. Regression analysis indicated that income, perception for ibis, prior experience, support for conservation and environmental attitudes had a significant effect on WTP. The comparison between the original research value of the ibis and the predicted value from the Meta-regression analysis function indicated that the benefit transfer values are able to inform policy decisions. Our results can be applied not only to the design of tailored outreach programs and management policies for the Crested Ibis, but also to facilitate conservation and management of other endangered species by encouraging decision makers to use benefit transfer models for the rapid valuation in the absence of species economic information.     

Environmental attitudes and preference for wetland conservation in Malaysia

The incorporation of latent psychological factors in wetland valuation studies may improve our understanding of why some people value ecosystem services while others do not. This article focuses on public preferences for enhanced protection of the Setiu Wetland in Malaysia and explores the influence of environmental attitude on preference and the willingness to pay (WTP) for wetland conservation. The study reported here employs a discrete choice experiment to investigate household's WTP for a set of wetland attributes. A scale-adjusted latent class (SALC) model is applied to identify a latent preference structure combining choice attributes with attitude measures derived from the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP). We identified four NEP components in the respondent population to integrate with SALC model, and this revealed four latent classes and two scale classes which varied in their preferences. Class 1 was largely against wetland protection, although it showed a flooding preference, and was more likely to be ‘Anthropocentric’ but less likely to be ‘Biocentric’. Class 2 had a positive preference for all attributes, and was more likely to be ‘Biocentric’. Class 3 did not refer to any of the NEP components. A handful of responses in Class 4 were respondents more likely to be in the ‘Risk of overuse’ group and less likely to be ‘Anthropocentric’. The result suggests that natural resource managers need to evaluate people's concerns over environmental protection to understand potentially conflicting views across populations.     

基于选择实验的三江平原湿地生态系统服务功能价值评价及偏好异质性研究

维持与保护生态系统服务功能是实现可持续发展的基础,定量评价湿地生态系统服务功能的经济价值已成为当前生态学领域研究的前沿课题。以三江平原湿地为研究对象,应用选择实验法,选取湿地面积、生物多样性、水源涵养和自然景观等4项湿地属性,运用随机参数Logit模型(RPL)对其进行货币化评价,并结合潜在分类模型(LCM)证实并解释公众对湿地生态系统服务功能的偏好异质性。研究结果显示:湿地生态系统服务功能的价值依次为水源涵养湿地面积生物多样性自然景观。对于维持当前各项湿地生态系统服务功能的总价值为14.61亿元/a,改善价值为98.58亿元/a。此外,研究发现受访者可分为资源偏好型、景观偏好型和价格敏感型等3个潜在类别,不同类型的群体对湿地生态系统服务功能存在不同偏好;女性和更高学历的受访者更偏好于资源保护,高收入和到景区旅游次数多的受访者更偏好于景观保护,而教育和收入水平越低的受访者更倾向于选择价格较低的湿地管理方案。研究有助于湿地可持续管理政策的优化设计,为相关环境政策的制定提供理论依据。     

Giant panda reintroduction: factors affecting public support

Reintroducing captive-born individuals of some extirpated flagship animal species is a helpful and remedy measure for promoting biodiversity conservation, and a successful reintroduction relies heavily on public support. However, little information is available on the factors affecting the public support for reintroduction of large carnivore species. In order to evaluate public support and willingness to pay for the Giant Panda Reintroduction Project (GPRP), we conducted 1100 interviews in August 2014 at Huaying city, Sichuan, China, close to where captive-born giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) will be reintroduced. The results showed that local people strongly support this project and that 78.5 % of them are willing to pay an annual contribution. Per capita annual payments averaged USD31, and the potential value of donations to the GPRP in Huaying is about 11 million USD per year. Factors like interviewees’ residential area, occupation, education level, liking of wildlife, level of concern for wildlife conservation, the degree of familiarity with giant pandas, and the frequency of visiting captive giant pandas significantly affected their attitudes and willingness to pay for the project. The notion of “because I love pandas” was the main reason why respondents were willing to pay for the project; respondents’ doubts about the appropriate use of donated funds made them be unwilling to pay for the project. The results suggest that the GPRP is highly and socially acceptable amongst locals due to perceived social, economic and ecological benefits of the reintroduction. These findings clearly indicate, for the chances of reintroduction to be most socially accepted, governments should improve management and accountability when using donated funds, and create more opportunities for the public to engage with giant pandas, thereby encouraging people to become involved in conservation work benefiting conservation for the giant pandas and other endangered species.     

生态旅游资源非使用价值评估——以达赉湖自然保护区为例

以达赉湖自然保护区为例,使用条件价值法对达赉湖自然保护区生态旅游资源的非使用价值进行了研究,并探讨了在虚拟情景和真实情景下被调查者支付意愿的差别。采用实地调研方式,进行支付意愿问卷调查,共发放调查问卷700份,回收有效问卷551份。同时,引入8个变量,并采用logit模型分别在虚拟和真实情景下建立各变量和支付意愿之间的关系。结果显示:(1)在真实情景下被调查者的支付意愿(47元/a)要小于虚拟情景下的支付意愿(59元/a),可见,在虚拟情景下评估结果会夸大被调查者的支付意愿。(2)达赉湖自然保护区2010年生态旅游资源非使用价值从4634×104元/a到12765×104元/a。该值仅是根据呼伦贝尔市人口来估计的支付意愿值,其总价值是有限的。但如果用全国总人口进行估计,其内在价值将成倍增加。研究表明:对于达赉湖自然保护区生态旅游资源的保护不仅从生态学角度是非常必要的,而且它对人类也具有巨大的经济价值。对其资源无序的开发既会降低达赉湖自然保护区生态系统的质量也会减少其经济价值。研究结果使得达赉湖自然保护区的开发和保护的价值对比成为可能,并为该保护区制定保护管理策略提供理论基础与科学依据。     

Using choice experiments to understand public demand for the conservation of nature: A case study in a protected area of Chile

We conducted a choice experiment for the economic valuation of benefits of components of biodiversity that are provided by the natural systems protected in the Peñuelas Lake National Reserve, located in the Mediterranean zone of Chile. The Mediterranean zone of central Chile is one of the world's 34 biodiversity hotpots. Furthermore, we estimated the economic benefits of the water supply provided by the reserve. Unlike most of the previous studies on willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation, part of the data that we produce refers to: (a) public WTP for unpopular species of fauna (an endemic amphibian currently in danger of extinction); and (b) public WTP for flora present at the Reserve (endemic orchid species). Specifically the attributes of the study were the following: existence of endemic orchid species; chances of observing animals with scenic attraction; additional protection for an endemic amphibian; and, availability of drinkable water in the future. A rate of entry to the area was incorporated to estimate WTP for additional protection for the selected attributes. WTP data were obtained from a representative sample of Chilean tourists that visit the area. Factors influencing the visitors’ WTP were also explored.Three hundred and four Chilean visitors of the reserve were randomly selected for interviews. Multinomial Logit and Random Parameter Logit models results show that visitors are willing to pay to protect the selected attributes. Marginal mean WTP/visitor for the single levels of variation of the attributes range from about $1.7 per visitor per visit for securing the existence of five species of endemic orchids to about $8.9 for guaranteeing the availability of drinkable water for 50 years. The analysis of visitors’ WTP for different levels of protection allowed an improved understanding of the sensitivity of the participants to the scope of the information provided.     

The price of tolerance: wolf damage payments after recovery

The costs of wildlife conservation distribute unequally across society. Compensation can potentially redress inequities and raise local tolerance for endangered wildlife that damage property. However, the rules for payments generate controversy, particularly as costs mount and species recover. In Wisconsin (USA), gray wolf damage payments grew notably over 28 years and eventually undermined budgets for conserving other endangered species. We measured attitudes to compensation among 1,364 state residents, including those who voluntarily contributed funds and those likely to receive compensation, and we interviewed elected officials about the politics of payment rules. Most respondents endorsed compensation for wolf damages to livestock—even when wolves are no longer endangered—but opposed payments for wolf damage to hunting dogs on public land. Most donors opposed killing wolves and over one-fourth unconditionally rejected a wolf hunt. We predict the latter donors would stop contributing funds for compensation if the state were to implement a proposed wolf hunt. Controversy over payment rules reveals clashing values regarding wildlife between those receiving and those paying for compensation. Moreover, the costs of compensation ratchet up as endangered species recover and claims of entitlement expand. Hence we recommend conservationists use sunset clauses and an adaptive management of compensation programs.     

Managing Minor Ailments; The Public’s Preferences for Attributes of Community Pharmacies. A Discrete Choice Experiment

Background

Demand for health services continues to rise. Greater use of community pharmacy services instead of medical services for minor ailments could help relieve pressure on healthcare providers in high-cost settings. Community pharmacies are recognised sources of treatment and advice for people wishing to manage these ailments. However, increasing the public’s use of pharmacy services may depend on attributes of pharmacies and their staff. This study aimed to determine the general public’s relative preferences for community pharmacy attributes using a discrete choice experiment (DCE).

Method

A UK-wide DCE survey of the general public was conducted using face-to-face computer-assisted personal interviews. Attributes and levels for the DCE were informed by a literature review and a cohort study of community pharmacy customers. The context for the experiment was a minor ailment scenario describing flu-like symptoms. The DCE choice sets described two hypothetical community pharmacy services; respondents were asked to choose which (if either) of the two pharmacies they would prefer to help them manage symptoms. Data from 1,049 interviews were analysed using an error components logit model. Willingness to pay (WTP), a monetary measure of benefit, was estimated for the different attribute levels.

Results

When seeking help or treatment for flu-like symptoms, respondents most valued a pharmacy service that would improve their understanding and management of symptoms (WTP = £6.28), provided by staff who are trained (WTP (pharmacist) = £2.63: WTP(trained assistant) = £3.22), friendly and approachable (WTP = £3.38). Waiting time, pharmacy location and availability of parking also contributed to respondents’ preferences. WTP for a service comprising the best possible combination of attributes and levels was calculated as £55.43.

Conclusion

Attributes of a community pharmacy and its staff may influence people’s decisions about which pharmacy they would visit to access treatment and advice for minor ailments. In line with the public’s preferences, offering community pharmacy services that help people to better understand and manage symptoms, are provided promptly by trained staff who are friendly and approachable, and in a local setting with easy access to parking, has the potential to increase uptake amongst those seeking help to manage minor ailments. In this way it may be possible to shift demand away from high-cost health services and make more efficient use of scarce public resources.     

Freshwater megafauna diversity: Patterns,status and threats

Aim

Freshwater megafauna remain underrepresented in research and conservation, despite a disproportionately high risk of extinction due to multiple human threats. Therefore, our aims are threefold; (i) identify global patterns of freshwater megafauna richness and endemism, (ii) assess the conservation status of freshwater megafauna and (iii) demonstrate spatial and temporal patterns of human pressure throughout their distribution ranges.

Location

Global.

Methods

We identified 207 extant freshwater megafauna species, based on a 30 kg weight threshold, and mapped their distributions using HydroBASINS subcatchments (level 8). Information on conservation status and population trends for each species was extracted from the IUCN Red List website. We investigated human impacts on freshwater megafauna in space and time by examining spatial congruence between their distributions and human pressures, described by the Incident Biodiversity Threat Index and Temporal Human Pressure Index.

Results

Freshwater megafauna occur in 76% of the world’s main river basins (level 3 HydroBASINS), with species richness peaking in the Amazon, Congo, Orinoco, Mekong and Ganges‐Brahmaputra basins. Freshwater megafauna are more threatened than their smaller counterparts within the specific taxonomic groups (i.e., fishes, mammals, reptiles and amphibians). Out of the 93 freshwater megafauna species with known population trends, 71% are in decline. Meanwhile, IUCN Red List assessments reported insufficient or outdated data for 43% of all freshwater megafauna species. Since the early 1990s, human pressure has increased throughout 63% of their distribution ranges, with particularly intense impacts occurring in the Mekong and Ganges‐Brahmaputra basins.

Main conclusions

Freshwater megafauna species are threatened globally, with intense and increasing human pressures occurring in many of their biodiversity hotspots. We call for research and conservation actions for freshwater megafauna, as they are highly sensitive to present and future pressures including a massive boom in hydropower dam construction in their biodiversity hotspots.

     

Estimating economic values of vegetation restoration with choice experiments: a case study of an endangered species in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan

As the pace of ecosystem restoration increases, more attention has been directed towards understanding public preferences for ecosystem restoration projects. This paper utilizes a choice experiments technique to evaluate the restoration project of an endangered species, Nymphoides peltata (known locally as asaza) in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan. The restoration project evaluated in this paper consists of two attributes: an extinction risk and a lakeshore ecosystem. First, we observe a positive willingness-to-pay for the vegetation restoration project: the mean willingness-to-pay for restoring the endangered specie and avoiding extinction was about JPY6,800 and the mean willingness-to-pay for restoring the covering area to the ideal condition that the species originally inhabited in 1996 was about JPY1,600. Second, we clarify what kinds of individual characteristics affect preferences for restoration projects compared with preferences for the status quo. The results show that respondents who have strong environmental attitudes, visit experience, high income, and are female are more likely to prefer restoration projects to the status quo. Third, we investigate whether knowledge and comprehension of ecological information have any influence on respondents’ value formations. We find that respondents’ comprehension of ecological information is positively related to their willingness-to-pay for the avoidable level of extinction risk attribute, while respondents’ knowledge of ecological terms has no effect. Overall, our findings suggest that the public strongly desires the avoidance of extinction of endangered species, and indicates that researchers should be careful about how ecological information is given.

国家濒危物种红色名录的生物多样性保护意义

IUCN濒危物种红色名录与国家濒危物种红色名录都是物种灭绝风险的测度, 前者是全球性评估, 后者则是国别研究。IUCN濒危物种红色名录预警了全球物种的濒危状况, 为全球生物多样性研究提供了大数据; 国别红色名录确定了各国物种受威胁状况, 填补了前者的知识空缺, 两份名录互为补充。目前对国家濒危物种红色名录重视不够。基于如下原因, 应当重视国别濒危物种红色名录的意义: (1)国家是濒危物种保护的行为主体, 物种在一个国家的生存状况是确定其保护级别、开展濒危物种保育的依据; (2)对于仅分布于一个国家的特有物种来说, 其国别濒危物种红色名录等级即是其全球濒危等级; (3)对于跨国境分布的物种来说, 国别濒危物种红色名录等级则确定了该物种在本国的生存状况; (4)结合IUCN濒危物种红色名录, 国别濒危物种红色名录为建立跨国保护地、保护迁徙物种的栖息地与跨国迁徙洄游通道提供依据; (5)国别濒危物种红色名录所特有的“区域灭绝”等级, 反映了一个物种边缘种群在该国的区域灭绝, 恢复“区域灭绝”物种是该物种原分布国重引入保育工作的重点; (6)国别濒危物种红色名录提供了该国物种编目、分类、分布和生存状况的最新信息。然而, 国别濒危物种红色名录的重要性在许多情况下被忽视了。目前正值全球新冠肺炎大流行, 人们正在重新审视人与野生动物的关系。我国将修订有关野生动物保护与防疫法法律以及《国家重点保护野生动物名录》, 防控新的人与野生动物共患疾病再次暴发。对于确定国家重点保护野生动物物种名录来言, 物种受威胁程度是物种列为国家重点保护物种的特征之一。重视国别红色名录有特别的意义。     

关于物种濒危等级标准之探讨--对IUCN物种濒危等级的思考

为了保存地球上的生物多样性,我们需要根据物种的种群数量与分布、种群数量波动与分布区下降速率来评定濒危物种的濒危等级,并针对物种的濒危等级提出具体的保护措施。1994年11月,IUCN第40次理事会会议正式通过了经过修订的Mace-Lande物种濒危等级标准作为IUCN物种濒危等级标准。IUCN濒危物种红色名录虽然不是国际法和国家法律,但是对于政府间组织、非政府组织的保护决策以及各国的自然法律法规的制定有着深远的影响,在保护生物学理论研究中也发挥了一定作用。我们在研究制定中国水生野生生物濒危等级标准时发现,如果直接应用IUCN物种濒危等级标准评定水生野生生物濒危等级将存在一些问题。如：(1)如何区别对待那些本来就数量稀少、分布区狭窄的物种和那些由于人类活动而导致其种群数量与生境面积急剧下降的物种?(2)不同的动物类群能否应用同一濒危标准尺度?(3)如何区别对待物种边缘分布区和核心分布区的种群数量与密度的差异?(4)如何处理种群的局部灭绝、局部濒危?(5)一些濒危物种在野生环境中濒危,但是这些物种可以人工繁殖,如何处理可以人工繁殖的濒危物种?(6)如果没有种群与栖息地的精确历史资料和统计数据,怎样应用物种的濒危标准评估其濒危等级?在实践中,我们针对这些问题提出了解决方案。考虑与国际流行的IUCN物种濒危等级标准接轨,我们提出来一个由“无危”、“值得关注”、“受胁”、“濒危”和“灭绝”等5个级构成的濒危等级系统,其中“值得关注”、“受胁”、“濒危”又分为“一般”与“高度”两个亚等级。我们提出应区分“生态濒危物种”、“进化濒危物种”;对于不同生物类群,应区分物种的生活史对策,制定不同生活史物种的濒危标准。对于r-对策物种,引入“经济灭绝”这一等级,将这一等级对应于“受胁”等级,以解决缺少物种数量的统计数据和历史数据这一难题;区别对待特有物种,将其濒危等级提升一等;引进集合种群(metapopulation)概念,将集合种群的局域种群(local population)作为“个体”对待。     

城市河流生态系统服务的CVM估值及其偏差分析

城市河流具有特殊的景观生态学意义,并能提供重要的生态系统服务,其价值逐渐受到社会各界的广泛关注。以全国河道治理的样板工程——上海浦东张家浜综合整治为例,采用条件价值评估法(CVM),共回收507份有效二分式CVM调查问卷,研究了城市河流生态系统服务改善的支付意愿及其总经济价值,同时也重点对二分式CVM研究中的相关问题如问卷设计、偏差分析和CVM可靠性与有效性的计量经济学验证过程等进行了适量探讨。二分式CVM研究表明(1)张家浜生态系统服务改善的平均支付意愿为1289.08元/(a·户),张家浜作为一条城市河流在未来3a内每年为浦东新区提供的生态系统服务价值为RMB6.34亿元。这与国际上的研究结论在数量级上是接近的,但与国内研究结果相比明显较高,应与研究区域的经济水平差异有关。(2)二分式CVM问卷投标数额的设计较好地界定了支付意愿的范围和分布形态,支付意愿平均值具有较高的统计效率,问卷的设计调查过程较好地控制了CVM研究中一些常见的偏差。(3)收入、学历、捐款经历、环境态度等社会经济信息变量对支付意愿具有显著的影响水平,符合经济学理论,CVM的可靠性得到较好的验证。(4)58.10%的非张家浜沿线居民对张家浜生态系统服务的改善和保护具有正支付意愿,城市河流的非使用价值(存在价值)得到了良好体现,显示了条件价值评估法在估算生态系统服务非使用价值的有效性。     

利益相关者视角下的濒危物种价值评估与生态补偿——以翅果油树为例

濒危物种价值评估可为生物多样性保护提供重要的政策支撑。本文以国家二级重点保护植物翅果油树为例,从利益相关者视角作为切入点,基于选择实验法评价其偏好和支付意愿(WTP),进而探讨生态补偿机制。基于管理部门、企业和农户三方利益相关者的利益诉求,分析确定了5个翅果油树的物种属性,即种植面积、产品分类、树苗品种、保护投入和农户收益。运用随机参数Logit模型分析了利益相关者对不同物种属性变量的偏好和支付意愿。结果表明: 受访者对“保护增加投入”偏好最强和支付意愿最高,每户为331.00 yuan·a^-1;对产品开发的“高低端产品同时开发”和“高端产品开发为主”变量偏好次之,WTP分别为每户242.71和227.57 yuan·a^-1;对“农户收益”、“保护投入不变”、“树苗品种”和“种植面积”由强到弱依次表现出一定的偏好及支付意愿;而对“保护不投入”和“低端产品开发为主”偏好最弱且WTP为负值。通过直接和间接补偿方式对补偿客体(翅果油树及其生境)实施生态补偿,得到的补偿剩余价值为每户每年285.62元。     

Identification of 'extinct' freshwater mussel species using DNA barcoding

Freshwater mollusks are highly imperiled, with 70% of the North American species extinct, endangered, or at risk of extinction. Impoundments and other human impacts on the Coosa River of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee of the southeastern USA alone are believed to have caused 50 mollusk species extinctions, but uncertainty over boundaries among several putatively closely related species makes this number preliminary. Our examination of freshwater mussels collected during an extensive survey of the upper-drainage basin, DNA barcoding and molecular phylogenetic analyses confirm the rediscovery of four morphospecies in the genus Pleurobema (Unionidae) previously thought to be extinct from the upper Coosa basin. A fifth 'extinct' form was found in an adjoining basin. Molecular data show that the Coosa morphologies represent at least three species-level taxa: Pleurobema decisum, P. hanleyianum and P. stabile. Endemism is higher than currently recognized, both at the species level and for multispecies clades. Prompt conservation efforts may preserve some of these taxa and their ecosystem.     

Strategic collection planning: Theory and practice

Strategic collection planning is a relatively new concept for zoos. Until recently, personal preference, availability, and competition determined which species or subspecies were acquired. In the last few years, however, there have been attempts to employ systematic criteria for taxon selection that better serve conservation objectives. Planning currently occurs at three levels: global, regional, and institutional. The current planning process is reviewed and recommendations are made for ways the process might be improved. An efficient, economical, and effective collection planning process is critical if modern, professionally managed zoological institutions are to make a significant impact on wildlife and ecosystem conservation. Rather than selecting taxa solely on the possibility of a future reintroduction, serious consideration should be given to the ability of a species or subspecies to contribute to more immediate conservation goals, including public education, fund raising to support field conservation, and scientific research. Because resources are limited, perhaps zoos should focus their long-term breeding programs primarily on flagship species—that is, those that have the potential to excite public attention and help to protect habitat and other taxa—rather than on a broad array of species that are currently endangered. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

中国公众的国际野生动物保护意愿调查: 以非洲象为例

我国高度重视野生动物保护事业, 认真履行野生动物保护国际义务, 积极鼓励公众参与, 以扩大野生动物保护事业的公众基础。已有文献多关注了公众的国内野生动物保护意愿, 鲜有文献关注公众对国际野生动物的保护意愿, 难以为促进公众参与国际野生动物保护事业提供决策参考。本研究以全球旗舰物种非洲象(Loxodonta africana)为例, 结合非洲象保护的相关研究与实践, 构建拓展的计划行为理论框架, 通过线下和线上调研获取数据, 运用结构方程模型, 从态度、规范、知觉行为控制、过去经验及个体特征五个方面, 分析了我国公众的非洲象保护意愿及影响因素。结果表明: (1) 68.5%的公众具有非洲象保护愿意; (2)公众规范(系数为0.422)、过去经验(系数为0.253)、知觉行为控制(系数为0.160)、保护态度(系数为0.156)对保护意愿存在显著的正向影响; 男性公众(系数为-0.054)的保护意愿低于女性公众; 居住在西部地区的公众(系数为0.066)保护意愿更高; (3)模型整体通过了拟合检验, 表明研究结果具有稳健性。本研究的政策建议如下: (1)明确政策导向作用, 提升公众的道德义务感和社会责任感; (2)加强宣传教育, 丰富公众知识经验, 培育公众积极的保护态度; (3)拓宽保护参与渠道, 提高公众知觉行为控制; (4)制定合理方案, 提升保护宣教等实践活动成效。