A decision framework for prioritizing multiple management actions for threatened marine megafauna

Fuentes, M.M.P.B., Blackwood, J., Jones, B., Kim, M., Leis, B., Limpus, C.J., Marsh, H., Mitchell, J., Pouzols, F.M., Pressey, R.L., and Visconti, P. (2015) A decision framework for prioritizing multiple management actions for threatened marine megafauna. Ecological Applications, 25 (1). pp. 200-214.

[img] PDF (Published Version) - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only

View at Publisher Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-1524.1
 
32
4


Abstract

Resources for conserving biodiversity are invariably insufficient. This situation creates the need for transparent, systematic frameworks to help stakeholders prioritize the allocation of resources across multiple management actions. We developed a novel framework that explicitly prioritizes actions to minimize the impacts of several threats across a species' range. The framework uses a budget constraint and maximizes conservation outcomes from a set of management actions, accounting for the likelihood of the action being successfully applied and accepted by local and Indigenous communities. This approach is novel in that it integrates local knowledge and expert opinion with optimization software, thereby minimizing assumptions about likelihood of success of actions and their effectiveness. To test the framework, we used the eastern Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait population of the flatback turtle, Natator depressus, as a case study. This approach allowed the framework to be applied in a data-poor context, a situation common in conservation planning. The framework identified the best set of actions to maximize the conservation of flatback eggs for scenarios with different budgets and management parameters and allowed comparisons between optimized and preselected scenarios. Optimized scenarios considered all implementable actions to explore how to best allocate resources with a specified budget and focus. Preselected scenarios were used to evaluate current allocations of funds and/or potential budget allocations suggested by different stakeholders. Scenarios that used a combination of aerial and ground strategies to reduce predation of eggs performed better than scenarios that focused only on reducing harvest of eggs. The performances of optimized and preselected scenarios were generally similar among scenarios that targeted similar threats. However, the cost-effectiveness of optimized scenarios was usually higher than that of preselected scenarios, demonstrating the value of conducting a systematic optimization approach. Our method provides a foundation for more effective conservation investments and guidance to prioritize actions within recovery plans while considering the sociopolitical and cultural context of decisions. The framework can be adapted easily to a wide range of species, geographical scales, and life stages.

Item ID: 38328
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1939-5582
Keywords: biodiversity; Cape York, Australia; conservation; cost-effectiveness; decision support tool; marine turtles; Natator depressus; performance; prioritization; resource allocation; return on investment; RobOff software
Funders: Australian Research Council (ARC), Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (ARC CoE Coral Reef Studies), European Research Council (ERC)
Projects and Grants: European Research Coucil ERC-StG project GEDA grant 260393
Date Deposited: 18 Jun 2015 00:02
FoR Codes: 05 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 0502 Environmental Science and Management > 050205 Environmental Management @ 50%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0603 Evolutionary Biology > 060311 Speciation and Extinction @ 50%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960507 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments @ 50%
96 ENVIRONMENT > 9606 Environmental and Natural Resource Evaluation > 960609 Sustainability Indicators @ 50%
Downloads: Total: 4
More Statistics

Actions (Repository Staff Only)

Item Control Page Item Control Page