Conservation Science Blog Feed

New paper examines how multiple aspects of climate change affect biodiversity loss

Fri, 02 May 2014 15:30:26 UTC

A new paper in the journal Science by Raquel Garcia and coauthors provides one of the first comprehensive reviews of how different aspects of climate change are projected to differentially affect the regions of the earth, and what those contrasts … Continue reading →

Society for Conservation Biology is hiring a North America Policy Director

Tue, 04 Feb 2014 11:48:10 UTC

A great opportunity for someone with a background in conservation law and policy: The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is a global community of conservation professionals with over 4,000 members (resource managers, educators, government and private conservation workers, informed members … Continue reading →

Perceptive new paper critiques the “New Conservation Science”

Mon, 16 Dec 2013 11:57:02 UTC

A perceptive new paper by Dan Doak and colleagues in the journal TREE (link) critiques the “New Conservation Science” (NCS). NCS is a trend by some scientists and environmental NGOs to prioritize human-centered goals such as ecosystem services, and view … Continue reading →

New study forecasts genetic risks to wolves in western US unless dispersal can connect isolated populations

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 10:13:08 UTC

In a new study published in the journal Conservation Biology (link), researchers have found that long-term prospects for recovery of gray wolves in the western US may hinge on wolves being able to successfully disperse between widely-separated populations. While previous … Continue reading →

New version of Connectivity Analysis Toolkit (1.3.1) released

Mon, 19 Aug 2013 12:26:14 UTC

The Connectivity Analysis Toolkit is a software interface that provides conservation planners with tools for both linkage mapping and landscape-level ‘centrality’ analysis. We have just released Version 1.3.1 with the following changes: Updated LEMON to version 1.3. Turned off arc … Continue reading →

Society for Conservation Biology meeting hosts symposium on defining the meaning of endangered species recovery

Fri, 16 Aug 2013 10:39:35 UTC

On July 24, a symposium at the ICCB conference in Baltimore, Maryland brought together a multi-disciplinary group of biologists and policy experts from the US and Canada to address policy questions surrounding the definition of recovery, as well as the … Continue reading →

SCB seeks a director for the North American Policy Program

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 11:19:47 UTC

The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is a global community of conservation professionals with over 4,000 members (resource managers, educators, government and private conservation workers, informed members of the public, and students) dedicated to advancing the science and practice of … Continue reading →

New version of the Connectivity Analysis Toolkit (1.3.0) released

Mon, 08 Jul 2013 17:19:13 UTC

The Connectivity Analysis Toolkit is a software interface that provides conservation planners with tools for both linkage mapping and landscape-level ‘centrality’ analysis. We have just released Version 1.3 with the following changes: Updated python and python packages, including NetworkX to … Continue reading →

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

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:26:16 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 UTC

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 →