5 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Training future generations to deliver evidence-based conservation and ecosystem management
Data availability statement: No data was used in this study.Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1002/2688-8319.12032.Supporting Information: eso312032-sup-0001-SuppMat.docx (21.1 KB) available at: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1002%2F2688-8319.12032&file=eso312032-sup-0001-SuppMat.docx. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.Copyright © 2021 The Authors. 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.
Making informed conservation and ecosystem management choices is based upon a sound understanding of the relevant evidence. There is an increasing wealth of conservation science available, and access to this is becoming easier. But, are conservation practitioners being trained to utilize this information?
In conservation, decision-making is often based upon past experience or expert knowledge, as opposed to the full body of scientific literature (e.g., Pullin, Knight, Stone, & Charman, 2004; Rafidimanantsoa, Poudyal, Ramamonjisoa, & Jones, 2018). The failure to include scientific evidence in decision-making has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of management, or even lead to detrimental actions being undertaken (Walsh, Dicks, & Sutherland, 2015). Evidence-based conservation (EBC) seeks to avoid this by providing tools to facilitate and inform decision-making. To do this, scientific evidence is collated and critically appraised for its quality and relevance, and integrated with other knowledge, experience, values and costs (Sutherland, Pullin, Dolman, & Knight, 2004). Wider adoption of EBC requires conservation professionals to be trained in its principles and taught how to use it to inform conservation decision-making.MAVA Foundation; Arcadia Fund
Larval Host Choice of the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus L.) on Four Native California Desert Milkweed Species
Active galactic nuclei: what’s in a name?
Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are energetic astrophysical sources powered by
accretion onto supermassive black holes in galaxies, and present unique
observational signatures that cover the full electromagnetic spectrum over more
than twenty orders of magnitude in frequency. The rich phenomenology of AGN has
resulted in a large number of different "flavours" in the literature that now
comprise a complex and confusing AGN "zoo". It is increasingly clear that these
classifications are only partially related to intrinsic differences between
AGN, and primarily reflect variations in a relatively small number of
astrophysical parameters as well the method by which each class of AGN is
selected. Taken together, observations in different electromagnetic bands as
well as variations over time provide complementary windows on the physics of
different sub-structures in the AGN. In this review, we present an overview of
AGN multi-wavelength properties with the aim of painting their "big picture"
through observations in each electromagnetic band from radio to gamma-rays as
well as AGN variability. We address what we can learn from each observational
method, the impact of selection effects, the physics behind the emission at
each wavelength, and the potential for future studies. To conclude we use these
observations to piece together the basic architecture of AGN, discuss our
current understanding of unification models, and highlight some open questions
that present opportunities for future observational and theoretical progress.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics Review, 56
pages, 25 figure