Conservation Science Blog Feed

Does wolf recovery trigger trophic cascades?: New research from Yellowstone, the Great Lakes, and Europe

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:26:16 PDT

A lot of media attention continues to be focused on the question of whether and how wolves trigger trophic cascades in ecosystems, by suppression of herbivory by ungulates and consequent release of vegetation and species such as birds that are … Continue reading →

New paper and software for detecting dispersal barriers and restoring habitat connectivity

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 16:43:20 PST

An interesting new paper by Brad McRae and colleagues has been published in the journal PLoS One. Entitled “Where to Restore Ecological Connectivity? Detecting Barriers and Quantifying Restoration Benefits” (download link), the research uses techniques to identify connectivity barriers that … Continue reading →

Do top predators increase the amount of carbon stored in ecosystems?

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:17:10 PDT

In a new paper in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Chris Wilmers and colleagues examine how much carbon is stored (in the form of kelp) in North Pacific coastal ecosystems which either have or lack sea otters. … Continue reading →

Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) overhauls its website to provide more resources for conservation scientists

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 10:32:15 PDT

The Society for Conservation Biology recently completed a major overhaul of the SCB website. The new website provides a wealth of information on recent issues in conservation policy. You can access regular updates on conservation policy news by subscribing to … Continue reading →

Citizen involvement strengthens Endangered Species Act implementation

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 10:13:37 PDT

A new study published in Science by Brosi and Biber compares species listed under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA) in response to citizen petitions versus initiatives from within the agencies (FWS and NMFS). The authors asked whether citizen involvement, … Continue reading →

Ecological implications of complex trophic cascades among carnivores

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:27:08 PDT

A new paper by Levi and Wilmers in the journal Ecology uses a 30-year time series of wolf, coyote, and fox relative abundance from the state of Minnesota, USA, to show that wolves suppress coyote populations, which in turn releases … Continue reading →

Grizzly bears as surrogates for balancing trade-offs between fisheries and ecosystem services

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:57:55 PDT

A new paper in PLoS Biology by Levi and colleagues (here) describes a new approach for assessing trade-offs between economic and ecological goals in “Ecosystem Based Management” (EBM). The paper concludes: “Commercial fisheries that harvest salmon for human consumption can … Continue reading →

Inadvertent advocacy and scientific integrity

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:31:36 PDT

Conservation biologists have long debated whether and how it is appropriate for scientists to influence policy decisions. A pair of essays in the journal Conservation Biology (one published, another in press) asks whether it’s appropriate for scientists to review and … Continue reading →

Interaction of herbivore and climate impacts on bird and plant communities

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:00:39 PST

A new paper in the journal Nature Climate Change finds evidence that declining snowfall in the southwestern US indirectly influences plants and associated birds by allowing greater over-winter herbivory by elk. Abundances of deciduous trees and associated songbirds have declined … Continue reading →

New version of Connectivity Analysis Toolkit software released

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:13:44 PDT

The Connectivity Analysis Toolkit is a software interface that provides conservation planners with tools for both linkage mapping and landscape-level ‘centrality’ analysis. 450 people from around the world have downloaded the CAT since it became available in 2010. We have … Continue reading →

Are current management practices ‘trapping’ forest ecosystems?

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 16:25:39 PDT

Two new articles published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discuss whether management can push forests and other ecosystems into ‘landscape traps’ which may be difficult to restore to former conditions. The ‘landscape trap’ concept resembles previous … Continue reading →

New Handbook on Assessment and Planning for Ecological Connectivity

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:53:17 PDT

A new report titled “Assessment & Planning for Ecological Connectivity: A Practical Guide” has been produced by a team of scientists convened by the Wildlife Conservation Society’s North America Program. The report can be downloaded here.

Species ranges are shifting upward and poleward faster than expected

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:55:07 PDT

A new paper in the Journal Science by Chen and colleagues finds that species ranges are moving upward in elevation and towards the poles faster than has been expected from previous studies. Species’ ranges have climbed an average of 11 … Continue reading →

Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:33:46 PDT

A new paper in Science by Jim Estes and colleagues reviews contemporary findings on the consequences of removing large apex consumers (e.g., top predators) from nature—a process they term trophic downgrading. The authors highlight the ecological theory that predicts trophic … Continue reading →

Observed increase in extinction risk due to climate change is as bad as predicted by models

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:13:50 PDT

A new paper by Maclean and Wilson in the journal PNAS compares threat of extinction, as documented by IUCN Red List data on recent changes in population and range size, with that predicted by previous studies that used models to … Continue reading →