Transcript Surrogate Species

Selecting Species as Drivers of
Landscape-scale Conservation
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Session Objectives
Encourage FEEDBACK and INVOLVEMENT in exploring and
understanding:
• CONCEPTS associated with "species selection"
• CHALLENGES associated with "species selection"
• APPLICATIONS of "species selection"
• SURROGATE SPECIES as a form of "species selection"
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
A Daunting Responsibility
Responsibility for
myriad species/resources
Unrealistic to:
set population objectives,
Conservation
capable
translate theseoftolandscapes
habitat objectives,
of sustaining all species is impractical
deliver on
habitat
conservation specifically
a species-by-species
basis for,
and evaluate and monitor
every aspect of a functional landscape
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
How Can We Begin to Focus?
. . . in ways that best preserve our
broad responsibilities to many
species?
We all focus to some degree
already!
How do YOU do it?
What do you consider?
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Selecting Species
- Inherent Challenges Requires Consideration of:
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Objective(s)
Scope & Scale
Selection Criteria
Assumptions, Uncertainties, Limitations, Risks
Implications to Decision Making
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Selecting Species
- Inherent Challenges Determining the Objective(s)
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Establishing new reserves (e.g., Africa)
Evaluating effectiveness of certain mgt. or cons. efforts
Addressing most vulnerable species
Maximizing recreational opportunities (e.g., harvest)
Maintaining biodiversity
Conserving ecosystems
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Selecting Species
- Inherent Challenges Scope & Scale Considerations
• Geographic scales relevant to your objective(s)
(e.g., ecosystem, range, watershed, hemisphere)
• Scale at which your conservation actions occur
(e.g., site specific to increasingly broad)
• Taxonomic scope (birds? fish? species? guilds?)
• Exactness; accuracy, precision, uncertainty
• Timeframes, urgency
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Selecting Species
- Inherent Challenges Selection Criteria Considerations
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Large spatial needs
“Marketability” or “societal recognition” (charisma)
Conservation status or degree of vulnerability
Societal valuation ($$, cultural, recreational)
Elements or processes of habitat/systems
structural characteristics
composition – e.g., other species
functions/dynamics – e.g., fire
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Selecting Species
- Inherent Challenges Assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, risks
• Is information available to assess criteria?
• What are inherent assumptions of approach?
- some species more important than others?
- haves vs have nots? (resource implications)
- habitat = key limiting factor?
- 1:1 benefits? 1:many benefits?
• Practicalities/realities in applying?
• Can approach and results be evaluated?
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Selecting Species
- Inherent Challenges Decision Making
• How will/should the approach influence decisions?
- about “priorities”
- about $$ investments
- about staff & resource commitments
- about why, where and how work gets done?
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Priority vs. Surrogate Species
- Concepts Priority Species
• Emphasize a subset
based on any number of
criteria
• Implies relative
rank/importance
• Exclusionary approach
• 1:1 species benefits
• Any broader benefits
implied/assumed
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Surrogate Species
• Emphasize as many
species as possible
• Not intended to imply
relative rank/importance
• Inclusionary approach
• 1:many intended species
benefits
• Broader species benefits
explicitly stated, evaluated
Priority vs. Surrogate Species
- Concepts 1
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Surrogate5 Species: Species used to represent
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other species
or aspects of the environment.
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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Priority vs Surrogate Species
- Basis & examples Priority Species
• Conservation status &
vulnerability
• Economically important
• Culturally important
• Program specific
• Organization specific
• E.g., Spotlight Species,
Birds of Conservation
Concern, ESA listed, etc
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Surrogate Species
• Umbrella
• Keystone/Engineering
• Indicator
• Focal
The Power (& Pain) of Terminology
Surrogate Species
Landscape
Umbrella
Focal
Keystone
Indicator
Flagship
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Engineering
The Power (& Pain) of Terminology
• Clarity of meaning and intent are
important
– Example: “Football”
An oblong
leather ball
An American
sport
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
A “religion”
An International
sport – Soccer
The Power (& Pain) of Terminology
“Surrogate Species”
USFWS
“Initiative”
Process for
Selecting
Species
themselves
Ecological
concept
Species that are used to represent other species
or aspects of the environment
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Surrogate Species Approaches
Variety of Specific Approaches:
Umbrella, Indicator, Keystone, Focal,
Representative . . .
• Suitability of any particular surrogate
species concept depends on specific
conservation objectives of the application,
and relevant geographic scale
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Surrogate Species as Priorities?
Efforts to apply and identify surrogate
species can be PRIORITIES, but surrogate
species per se should not be
confused with the traditional context of
“priority species.”
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Should Surrogates Drive Resource
Investments?
Like “priority species”, Yes!
Should they drive all investments? No!
If concepts sound, and application successful:
investments in surrogates should equate with
investments in other species.
The reciprocal must also be true!
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Key Surrogate Assumption
Undertaking actions that support
conservation objectives for surrogate
species in a given area will contribute to
supporting the needs of larger sets of
species characteristic of the area
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
What does “Support” Mean?
Sustainability
Viability
Persistence
Desired levels
Can not simply mean MATCHING
PRESENCE!
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Surrogate Species
A LENS through which to consider and approach
broad responsibilities for ecosystem conservation
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Use of Surrogate Species
East Gulf Coastal Plain
Open Pine Decision Support Tool
• Select species to represent
important habitat characteristics
• “... a species whose conservation is
expected to confer protection to a
large number of naturally cooccurring species…”
ECGP Surrogates in Open Pine
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
Southeastern American Kestrel
Bachman’s Sparrow
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Northern Bobwhite
Henslow’s Sparrow
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Use of Surrogate Species
East Gulf Coastal Plain
Open Pine Decision Support Tool
Red-cockaded
Woodpecker
SE American
Kestrel
Bachman’s
Sparrow
Brown-headed
Nuthatch
Henslow’s
Sparrow
Northern
Bobwhite
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Use of Surrogate Species
Real-World Examples
Open Pine Decision Support Tool (EGCPJV)
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Use of Surrogate Species
East Gulf Coastal Plain
• Develop tools that enable more strategic
conservation of open pine habitats.
• Guide decisions – where, when, how, and
why to undertake conservation actions.
• Comprehensive landscape analysis;
application of conservation biology principles
(patch size, fire, viability, juxtaposition).
• Maximize conservation benefits for birds and
other wildlife.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Use of Surrogate Species
Lower Mississippi Valley
Forest Breeding Bird Decision Support Tool
• Selected species to represent three
size classes of forest core
MAV Forest Breeding Bird
Surrogates
Swallow-tailed Kite
Cerulean Warbler
Swainson’s Warbler
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Use of Surrogate Species
Lower Mississippi Valley
Ecological Suites
Swainson’s Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Wood Thrush
Acadian Flycatcher
Cerulean Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Summer Tanager
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Swallow-tailed Kite
Red-shouldered Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Pileated Woodpecker
Cooper’s Hawk
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Habitat Needs
Forest Blocks
≥ 4,000ha
500 Pairs
Forest Blocks
≥ 8,000ha
500 Pairs
Forest Blocks
≥ 40,000ha*
~80 Pairs
Other Examples
• Applications not restricted to bird world
THE POINT – all efforts involving use of
surrogate species must tie back to effective
conservation of “functional landscapes”
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Surrogate Species
- Final Thoughts • Decision process best conducted within a
community of stakeholders
Landscape
Umbrella
• Finally,
keep in mind
that you could actually be
Focal
talking aboutKeystone
the same thing, just using different
Indicator
terminology!
Flagship
Engineering
• Going it alone or in independent directions won’t
be effective
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Questions?
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Learning Objectives
• Discuss how the surrogate species approach
differs from a priority species approach and what
the benefits and ramifications of this approach are.
• Discuss how different surrogate species
approaches are appropriate for different
conservation objectives.
• Given the Service’s mission, describe the
surrogate species approach that would be most
appropriate to achieve it.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Selecting Target Species
Concepts & Applications
Brief Outline of This Session
• Discuss the key concepts inherent in “species selection”
• Sort through common terms used in species selection, with an
eye toward
1.
Avoiding confusion
2.
Focusing on concepts as opposed to the terms themselves
• Discuss the assumed benefits & drawbacks of the surrogate
species approach
• Clarify the similarities and differences between priority species
and surrogate species
• Use examples to hi-light many of these ideas
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
• List types of surr species?
• Umbrella (applications in range size and size
of reserves), Indicator (Biol., Ecol., Mgt., etc .
. . Variety of applications), Focal (loosely use,
misused), Flagship, Iconic,
Egnineerng/Keystone Species (disprop. Ecol
influence, e.g., beaver)etc
• Focal species, often synon. w/ Priorities,
because derived on basis of a number of
criteria that may not always have
surrogacy/representativeness as objective
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Types of Surrogate Species
Umbrella Species
Conservation Objective
• A species, generally with
a large area requirements
• Reserve design
• Conserve all species in a
geography
The cheetah can be considered an umbrella
species in its sub-Saharan range. Photo C.
Michael Hogan
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Types of Surrogate Species
Landscape Species
• A species, generally with
a large area requirements
• Use large, ecologically
diverse areas and often
have significant impacts
on the structure and
function of natural
ecosystems
• Often cultural icons
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Conservation Objective
• Use wildlife to define and
conserve functional
landscapes (Wildlife
Conservation Society
2008)
Types of Surrogate Species
Indicator Species
• Assess concentration of
pollutants
• Assess changes in the
environment
• Assess changes from
management
• …..
Conservation Objective
• Various
• Some definitions
incorporate several
objectives
• Same term used for
different conservation
objectives
It is important to be
clear on terminology
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Need New Title
Surrogate Species
• GCPO LCC Example
Umbrella
Landscape
Focal
“Conservation Keystone
Targets” & “Surrogate Species”
Indicator
Flagship
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Conserving the Nature of America
Engineering