Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management

1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence-based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision-making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence-based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.Peer reviewe

Surrogate species versus landscape metric : does presence of a raptor species explains diversity of multiple taxa more than patch area?

Prioritizing conservation areas is a central theme in conservation biology. The use of surrogate species and landscape metrics to identify areas with high conservation value is common. However, few studies have examined the relative efficacy of these two surrogates. In this study, we compared the efficacy of the presence/absence (PA) of a top predator (Eastern Marsh Harrier, Circus spilonotus) and wetland patch area on species richness, total abundance, and community composition of birds, plants, and small mammals, but species richness and community composition only for plants, in a fragmented wetland landscape. Although harrier PA was an effective indicator of the distribution of birds, it had no significant efficacy on the distributions of plants and small mammals. Patch area was more effective indicator of the distributions of plants and small mammals. These results suggest that surrogate species can be more effective indicators than landscape surrogates when there are ecological linkages between surrogate species and the focal taxa (e.g., similarity of habitat requirements between surrogate species and focal taxa or hetero-specific attraction). On the other hand, landscape surrogates would be useful when ecological knowledge about the relationships is limited

Traffic noise reduces foraging efficiency in wild owls

Anthropogenic noise has been increasing globally. Laboratory experiments suggest that noise disrupts foraging behavior across a range of species, but to reveal the full impacts of noise, we must examine the impacts of noise on foraging behavior among species in the wild. Owls are widespread nocturnal top predators and use prey rustling sounds for localizing prey when hunting. We conducted field experiments to examine the effect of traffic noise on owls' ability to detect prey. Results suggest that foraging efficiency declines with increasing traffic noise levels due to acoustic masking and/or distraction and aversion to traffic noise. Moreover, we estimate that effects of traffic noise on owls' ability to detect prey reach >120 m from a road, which is larger than the distance estimated from captive studies with bats. Our study provides the first evidence that noise reduces foraging efficiency in wild animals, and highlights the possible pervasive impacts of nois

Mobbing call experiment suggests the enhancement of forest bird movement by tree cover in urban landscapes across seasons

Local scale movement behavior is an important basis to predict large-scale bird movements in heterogeneous landscapes. Here we conducted playback experiments using mobbing calls to estimate the probability that forest birds would cross a 50-m urban area during three seasons (breeding, dispersal, and wintering seasons) with varying amounts of tree cover, building area, and electric wire density. We examined the responses of four forest resident species: Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris), Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius), Japanese Tit (P. minor), and Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) in central Hokkaido, northern Japan. We carried out and analyzed 250 playback experiments that attracted 618 individuals. Our results showed that tree cover increased the crossing probability of three species other than Varied Tit. Building area and electric wire density had no detectable effect on crossing probability for four species. Seasonal difference in the crossing probability was found only for Varied Tit, and the probability was the highest in the breeding season. These results suggest that the positive effect of tree cover on the crossing probability would be consistent across seasons. We therefore conclude that planting trees would be an effective way to promote forest bird movement within an urban landscape

Citizens promote the conservation of flagship species more than ecosystem services in wetland restoration

Assessing the non-market value of biodiversity conservation is crucial to justify it economically. Using a choice experiment on wetland restoration in Hokkaido, northern Japan, we assessed the willingness of citizens to pay for different ecological statuses of a flagship species (absence, occasional occupancy, permanent occupancy, and breeding) and other principal conservation targets (establishment of a birdwatching station and wetland sizes). The results showed that the fundraising potential of the flagship species surpassed those of other conservation targets, irrespective of its ecological status, highlighting the superior publicity generated by charismatic species. We also showed that upgrading ecological status from occupancy to breeding did not result in additional financial support. Our study emphasizes that, although publicizing ecologically important statuses such as breeding is critical for successful conservation efforts, focusing much effort on flagship species rather than other conservation targets may be important to increase the economic value of conservation practices if such species are available

Urban permeability for birds : An approach combining mobbing-call experiments and circuit theory

The urban matrix was recently shown to be a mosaic of heterogeneous dispersal habitats. We conducted a playback experiment of mobbing calls to examine the probabilities of forest birds to cross a distance of 50 m over urban matrix with different land-cover types in an urban area. We treated the reciprocal of the crossing probabilities as a movement resistance for forest birds. We drew resistance surfaces based on the land-cover maps of urban Sapporo. We applied a circuit theory to examine the relative role of a detour route consisting of a riparian corridor and urban matrix for dispersing forest bird individuals from continuous forest to an isolated green space in the midst of an urban area. Our results showed that wood cover had the highest crossing probability, while open land (grassland and pavement) had the lowest probabilities. Buildings and water surface displayed an intermediate probability. Resistance surfaces and flow maps at 25- and 50-m resolutions were very similar and suggested that dispersing individuals are likely to use the intervening building areas that dominate the urban matrix rather than detour through riparian corridors. Our results showed the useful combination of experimental approaches and circuit theory, and the importance of the spatial configuration of corridors, as well as the composition and management of dispersal habitats, to landscape connectivity

Effects of land use and climate on the distribution of the Jungle Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus in Hokkaido, northern Japan

Although the relative importance of land use and climate to large-scale bird distributions has received great attention, it is difficult to separate the effects of land use and climate, and there are few studies on bird abundance distributions on a large scale. Here, we examined the effects of land use and climate on the abundance of the nocturnal Jungle Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus in Hokkaido, northern Japan. We chose 125 sampling sites with low correlations (vertical bar r vertical bar<0.58) between land use and climate, and combined a playback method with a hierarchical model (N-mixture model). We thereby accounted for the possibility that we could not detect all individuals during the field survey. Results show that Jungle Nightjar abundance was greater at sites within a 4-km radius of moderate forest cover (similar to 75%) and with high average temperatures during the breeding season. Moreover, the effects of land-use were greater than those of climate. Mapping predictions of Jungle Nightjar abundance indicated that suitable areas are distributed in southern and central Hokkaido and around the margins of montane zones. Factoring in the covariation of land use and climate, land use may be the most important driver of the distribution of the Jungle Nightjar in Hokkaido