The importance of considering multiple interacting species for conservation of species at risk.

Autor: Burgar JM; Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.; School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada., Burton AC; Department of Forest Resources Management, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada., Fisher JT; School of Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada.; Ecosystem Management Unit, InnoTech Alberta, 3-4476 Markham Street, Victoria, BC, V8Z 7X8, Canada.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology [Conserv Biol] 2019 Jun; Vol. 33 (3), pp. 709-715. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Dec 19.
DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13233
Abstrakt: Conservation of species at risk of extinction is complex and multifaceted. However, mitigation strategies are typically narrow in scope, an artifact of conservation research that is often limited to a single species or stressor. Knowledge of an entire community of strongly interacting species would greatly enhance the comprehensiveness and effectiveness of conservation decisions. We investigated how camera trapping and spatial count models, an extension of spatial-recapture models for unmarked populations, can accomplish this through a case study of threatened boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou). Population declines in caribou are precipitous and well documented, but recovery strategies focus heavily on control of wolves (Canis lupus) and pay less attention to other known predators and apparent competitors. Obtaining necessary data on multispecies densities has been difficult. We used spatial count models to concurrently estimate densities of caribou, their predators (wolf, black bear [Ursus americanus], and coyote [Canis latrans]), and alternative prey (moose [Alces alces] and white-tailed deer [Odocoileus virginianus]) from a camera-trap array in a highly disturbed landscape within northern Alberta's Oil Sands Region. Median densities were 0.22 caribous (95% Bayesian credible interval [BCI] = 0.08-0.65), 0.77 wolves (95% BCI = 0.26-2.67), 2.39 moose (95% BCI = 0.56-7.00), 2.64 coyotes (95% BCI = 0.45-6.68), and 3.63 black bears (95% BCI = 1.25-8.52) per 100 km 2 . (The white-tailed deer model did not converge.) Although wolf densities were higher than densities recommended for caribou conservation, we suggest the markedly higher black bear and coyote densities may be of greater concern, especially if government wolf control further releases these species. Caribou conservation with a singular focus on wolf control may leave caribou vulnerable to other predators. We recommend a broader focus on the interacting species within a community when conserving species.
(© 2018 Society for Conservation Biology.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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