Assessing opportunities to support coral reef climate change refugia in MPAs: A case study at the Revillagigedo Archipelago

Coral reef refugia are habitats which possess physical, biological and ecological characteristics that make them likely to be relatively resilient to future climate change. Identification of refugia locations will be important to ensure suitable marine conservation planning is undertaken to protect sites where coral ecosystems will be better preserved now and in the future. This paper presents (1) a review of current knowledge of the oceanographic conditions and coral community in the Revillagigedo Archipelago Large Scale Marine Protected Area, (2) the first assessment of the potential for the Revillagigedo Archipelago to act as a climate refugia site for corals and coral reefs in the eastern tropical Pacific, and (3) consequent management and learning opportunities, to inform reef conservation both locally and globally. Through utilising published literature, remote and in situ environmental data, and field observations it was found that the Revillagigedo area exhibits a combination of distinctive characteristics in the coral community and in oceanographic processes which support conditions of refugia. The potential for refugia is further enhanced due to the absence of significant secondary anthropogenic stressors. This leads to a recommendation to establish the Revillagigedo as a globally significant ‘sentinel site’ where, through long-term monitoring of oceanographic conditions and of the coral and associated ecosystems, the effects of climate change can be quantified, and the effectiveness of specific refugia attributes established. This information may then be used to underpin the recognition of potential coral refugia elsewhere, and to guide MPA designation and management decisions to enhance their effectiveness

Population genomics applications for conservation: the case of the tropical dry forest dweller Peromyscus melanophrys

Recent advances in genomic sequencing have opened new horizons in the study of population genetics and evolution in non-model organisms. However, very few population genomic studies have been performed on wild mammals to understand how the landscape affects the genetic structure of populations, useful information for the conservation of biodiversity. Here, we applied a genomic approach to evaluate the relationship between habitat features and genetic patterns at spatial and temporal scales in an endangered ecosystem, the Tropical Dry Forest (TDF). We studied populations of the Plateau deer mouse Peromyscus melanophrys to analyse its genomic diversity and structure in a TDF protected area in the Huautla Mountain Range (HMR), Mexico based on 8,209 SNPs obtained through Genotyping-by-Sequencing. At a spatial scale, we found a significant signature of isolation-by-distance, few significant differences in genetic diversity indices among study sites, and no significant differences between habitats with different levels of human perturbation. At a temporal scale, while genetic diversity levels fluctuated significantly over time, neither seasonality nor disturbance levels had a significant effect. Also, outlier analysis revealed loci potentially under selection. Our results suggest that the population genetics of P. melanophrys may be little impacted by anthropogenic disturbances, or by natural spatial and temporal habitat heterogeneity in our study area. The genome-wide approach adopted here provides data of value for conservation planning, and a baseline to be used as a reference for future studies on the effects of habitat fragmentation and seasonality in the HMR and in TDF

Ecosystems-based adaptation: Are we being conned? Evidence from Mexico

This paper scrutinises claims made about the promise and efficacy of ecosystems-based adaptation (EBA), through an exploration of EBA-relevant interventions in two fieldsites in Mexico. Our data starts to fill important gaps in current global debates about EBA. We find evidence of the important contribution of interventions relevant to EBA objectives at a small scale and under very specific conditions. However, the viability of similar interventions is substantially reduced, and arguably rendered null, as an incentive for conservation in a more populous fieldsites. Furthermore, evidence suggests that other adaptation options risked being overlooked if the context were viewed solely through the lens of EBA. We conclude that EBA needs to: a) engage with and address the trade-offs which characterised earlier attempts to integrate conservation and development, and; b) acknowledge the implications for its objectives of a globally predominant, neoliberal political economy

Payments for ecosystem services and rural development: Landowners' preferences and potential participation in western Mexico

Incentive-based mechanisms can contribute to rural development and deliver environmental services, but need to be attractive to landowners and communities to ensure their participation. Here we study the views of landowners and agrarian communities (ejidos) from central Jalisco in Mexico to identify characteristics that payment for environmental services (PES) programs conserving/enhancing forest cover could include in their design. A choice experiment was applied to 161 landowners and ejido-landowners. Results show that importance and dependency on cash payments can decrease if interventions to promote local development through improved health and education services and generation of employment and productive projects are included. Responses indicate that communal forested areas in ejidos would be most likely to enroll into PES. In some cases grasslands could be afforested. Agroforestry practices providing other environmental services could also be implemented (e.g. windbreaks). Potential enrollment is lower in agricultural and peri-urban areas due to higher opportunity costs. Higher payments favor enrollment but may compromise the program's efficiency since aggregated cash-flow over long periods can exceed the present value of the land itself in some areas. Offering a mix of cash and non-cash benefits based on local developmental needs might be the best way to promote participation in PES

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