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- All Subjects: Conservation Biology
Description
Limited funding hinders endangered species recovery. Thus, decision makers need to strategically allocate resources to save the most species. Decision science provides guidance on efficient prioritization of conservation actions. However, endangered species recovery cost estimates are incomplete, so decision makers need to understand the implications of different cost estimation approaches. To test how different ways of estimating the expected costs of recovery action influence suggested recovery priorities, I used three different cost estimation scenarios for prioritizing recovery effort for 29 endangered species in Arizona. My scenarios explored “remaining” costs, calculated by subtracting historical spending from recovery plan cost estimates, “average” costs which substituted the average cost for actions in recovery plans, and “micro” and “macro” overlaps accounting for efficiency of costs due to implementing shared recovery actions for species with overlapping ranges. These different methods of estimating costs resulted in different numbers of recovery plans funded. At a representative budget, the macro overlap scenario recommended funding for 97% of plans as compared to 93% of plans under the baseline cost scenario. In contrast, the micro overlap (59%), the average (28%), and remaining (24%) cost estimation approaches all resulted in less plans recommended for funding than the baseline. There were also differences in how individual plans were ranked across the scenarios and variation in species chosen for funding. The order of recovery plans was similar between the baseline and the remaining scenario (WS = 0.833), and the baseline and the average scenario (WS=0.811). The similarity metric is based on the identity of species ranked equally. In contrast, there was less similarity in plan ranking between the baseline, the macro (WS=0.777), and micro (WS=0.442) overlap scenarios. A group of 4 plans remained within the top priority ranks, 5 plans were ranked as high priority for all scenarios except the remaining cost scenario, and 5 plans were consistently ranked as low priority. My results show how cost estimation approaches influence species priority rankings and can be used to help decision makers determine implications when they are exploring options for prioritization.
ContributorsSansonetti, Alice Maria (Author) / Gerber, Leah (Thesis advisor) / Iacona, Gwen (Thesis advisor) / Maas, Amy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Cactaceae are the fifth most Threatened group of living organisms to have been evaluated for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, with 31% of cactus species Threatened with extinction, primarily from poaching and habitat loss. Including the predicted impacts of climate change, 60-90% of all cactus species are expected to experience anthropogenic threat impacts in the next 50 years. Seed banking, cryopreservation, and living collections for conservation, collectively “ex situ” conservation, are recognized as valuable tools for preventing extinctions. Ex situ conservation entails removing propagules from “in situ” threat impacts and growing or breeding plants for reintroduction to their natural habitats in the future. However, collection trips to gather samples of wild propagules that are sufficiently genetically diverse to preserve the viability of in situ populations can be expensive. At a time when conservation need outpaces conservation budgets, conservation institutions bear a responsibility to plan collection trips strategically to achieve the maximum benefit. This study explores how the Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) in Phoenix, Arizona, can use a project prioritization protocol, a tool from decision science, to best invest resources to minimize extinction across 27 IUCN Threatened and Near-Threatened cactus species in the Sonoran Desert. I developed and applied a novel protocol for estimating cost-efficiency of collection projects for these species. The results suggest that the DBG can achieve 70% of the estimated total conservation benefit by collecting six populations of four species: Grusonia reflexispina, Mammillaria johnstonii, Echinocereus leucanthus, and Echinocereus barthelowanus. All four are Endangered or Critically Endangered species that have few in situ populations and are poorly represented in the DBG. These projects would require two collection trips in Mexico: first to Guaymas, Sonora, and then to the Magdalena and Santa Margarita Barrier Islands, Baja California Sur. This study explores what information is critical to improving decision-making in plant conservation and databases like the IUCN Red List and botanical garden networks. By aiming to unveil the data and assumptions that underpin all decisions, prioritizations are valuable tools for achieving the continuous improvement of conservation decisions.
ContributorsEsch, Ryan (Author) / Hernández-Hernández, Tania (Thesis advisor) / Pigg, Kathleen (Thesis advisor) / Iacona, Gwen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024