2019 Publications
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Steven R, Barnes M, Garnett ST, Garrard G, O’Connor J, Oliver JL, Robinson C, Tulloch A & Fuller RA (2019) Aligning citizen science with best practice: Threatened species conservation in Australia. Conservation Science and Practice, 1, e100.
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Well‐designed citizen science projects can improve the capacity of the scientific community to detect and understand declines in threatened species, and with the emergence of frameworks to guide good design, there is an opportunity to test whether projects are aligned with best practice. We assessed the current landscape of citizen science projects for threatened species conservation via a content analysis of the online communique of citizen science projects across Australia. Only 2% of projects stated clear research questions, although approximately 86% had implied project objectives aimed at threatened species conservation. Most projects were focused on field‐based monitoring activities with half using structured ecological survey methods. Most reviewed projects (65%) shared data with open access biodiversity databases and the vast majority use at least one social media platform to communicate with potential and existing participants (up to 81%). Approximately 50% present citizen‐sourced data summaries or publications on their websites. Our study shows there is a very strong foundation for public participation in threatened species conservation activities in Australia, yet there is scope to further integrate the principles of citizen science best practice. Improved integration of these principles will likely yield better outcomes for threatened species as well as for the citizen scientists themselves.
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Ma Z, Chen Y, Melville DS, Fan J, Liu J, Dong J, Tan K, Cheng X, Fuller RA, Xiao X & Li B (2019) Changes in area and number of nature reserves in China. Conservation Biology, 33, 1066-1075.
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Nature reserves (NR) are the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. Over the past 60 years, the rapid expansion of NRs in China, one of the world’s megadiverse countries, has played a critical role in slowing biodiversity loss. We examined the changes in the number and area of China’s NRs from 1956 to 2014 and analyzed the effect of economic development on the expansion of China’s NRs from 2005 to 2014 with linear models. Despite a continuing increase in the number of NRs, the total area of China’s NRs decreased by 3% from 2007 to 2014. This loss resulted from downsizing and degazettement of existing NRs and a slowdown in the establishment of new ones. Nature reserves in regions with rapid economic development exhibited a greater decrease in area, suggesting that downsizing and degazettement of NRs are closely related to the intensifying competition between economic growth and conservation. For example, boundary adjustments to national NRs, the most strictly protected NRs, along the coast of China’s Yellow Sea, a global biodiversity hotspot with a fast‐growing economy, resulted in the loss of one‐third of the total area. One of the most important ecosystems in these NRs, tidal wetlands, decreased by 27.8% because of boundary adjustments and by 25.2% because of land reclamation. Our results suggest conservation achievement, in terms of both area and quality, are declining at least in some regions in the Chinese NR estate. Although the designation of protected areas that are primarily managed for sustainable use has increased rapidly in recent years in China, we propose that NRs with biodiversity conservation as their main function should not be replaced or weakened.
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Fuller RA, Milton DA, Rothlisberg P, Clemens RS, Coleman J, Murray K, Dhanjal-Adams KL, Edwards D, Finn PG, Skilleter G, Stigner M & Woodworth BK (2019) Migratory shorebirds of Moreton Bay. Pp. 431-444 in: Tibbetts IR, Rothlisberg PC, Neil DT, Homburg TA, Brewer DT & Arthington AH (eds) Moreton Bay Quandamooka & Catchment: Past, present and future. The Moreton Bay Foundation. Brisbane, Australia.
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Tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds return to Moreton Bay each year from their breeding grounds in the Arctic. The extensive tidal flats provide a rich feeding resource for the birds while they recuperate from their long migration flight and prepare for their next one. The abundance of many migratory shorebird species has declined dramatically in Moreton Bay, and while some of the causes are located elsewhere along the birds’ migration routes, there are significant threats to the birds and their habitats within the Bay, ranging from habitat loss to disturbance. New partnerships between conservation management agencies and NGOs have led to exciting examples of conservation action to reduce some of these threats, including collecting high quality monitoring data, careful zoning of recreational and commercial uses to avoid important areas for shorebirds, and extensive awareness-raising activities. Migratory shorebird conservation will become more and more critical as the human population using the Bay continues to increase over the coming decades.
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Ordóñez C, Threlfall CG, Kendal D, Hochuli DF, Davern M, Fuller RA, van der Ree R & Livesley SJ (2019) Urban forest governance and decision-making: A systematic review and synthesis of the perspectives of municipal managers. Landscape and Urban Planning, 189, 166-180.
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Empirical research on the views of municipal managers can provide insights into urban forest governance and decision-making. However, current research is fragmented across a diversity of case studies using a variety of methods. To address this issue, we undertook a systematic review and synthesis of empirical studies based on the views of municipal managers. We extracted information on the concerns, priorities, factors, and actors that influence municipal manager decision-making using a governance framework to extract ideas on the discourses, actors, rules, and resources that influence their decision-making. Out of >1400 articles found in searches, only 60 were relevant empirical studies, with 32 of them based in the US. Most studies elicited views from managers using pre-determined surveys/questionnaires. This literature is focused heavily on themes of resources, such as budgets and personnel, as important influences in program performance and urban forest success. Themes related to coordination of actors, such as the coordination of departmental units, were also frequently mentioned but were not explicitly associated with program performance or urban forest success. Future research aimed at gaining insights on urban forest governance and decision-making from the perspective of municipal managers will benefit from distinguishing operational capacities (i.e., budgets, personnel) from management processes (i.e., coordination), and focus on how municipal managers understand, facilitate, and find support in management processes. This will reveal how they implement co-governance and collaborative decision-making. Future research could better extend the knowledge base of existing studies by establishing clear governance frameworks and methods based on the views of managers.
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Morelli F, Benedetti Y, Møller AP & Fuller RA (2019) Measuring avian specialization. Ecology and Evolution, 9, 8378-8386.
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Measuring the extent to which a species is specialized is a major challenge in ecology, with important repercussions for fundamental research as well as for applied ecology and conservation. Here, we develop a multidimensional index of specialization based on five sets of ecological characteristics of breeding bird species. We used two recent databases of species traits of European birds based on foraging ecology, habitat, and breeding characteristics. The indices of specialization were calculated by applying the Gini coefficient, an index of inequality. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion on a scale between 0 and 1, reflecting a gradient from low to high specialization, respectively. Finally, we tested the strength of the phylogenetic signal of each specialization index to understand how the variance of such indices is shared throughout the phylogeny. The methods for constructing and evaluating a multidimensional index of bird specialization could also be applied to other taxa and regions, offering a simple but useful tool, particularly suited for global or biogeographic studies, as a contribution to comparative estimates of the degree of specialization of species.
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Shanahan DF, Astell-Burt T, Barber EA, Brymer E, Cox DTC, Dean J, Depledge M, Fuller RA, Hartig T, Irvine KN, Jones A, Kikilus H, Lovell R, Mitchell R, Niemelä J, Nieuwenhuijsen M, Pretty J, Townsend M, van Heezik Y, Warber S & Gaston KJ (2019) Nature-based interventions for improving health and wellbeing: The purpose, the people and the outcomes. Sports, 7, 141.
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Engagement with nature is an important part of many people’s lives, and the health and wellbeing benefits of nature–based activities are becoming increasingly recognised across disciplines from city planning to medicine. Despite this, urbanisation, challenges of modern life and environmental degradation are leading to a reduction in both the quantity and the quality of nature experiences. Nature–based health interventions (NBIs) can facilitate behavioural change through a somewhat structured promotion of nature–based experiences and, in doing so, promote improved physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. We conducted a Delphi expert elicitation process with 19 experts from seven countries (all named authors on this paper) to identify the different forms that such interventions take, the potential health outcomes and the target beneficiaries. In total, 27 NBIs were identified, aiming to prevent illness, promote wellbeing and treat specific physical, mental or social health and wellbeing conditions. These interventions were broadly categorized into those that change the environment in which people live, work, learn, recreate or heal (for example, the provision of gardens in hospitals or parks in cities) and those that change behaviour (for example, engaging people through organized programmes or other activities). We also noted the range of factors (such as socioeconomic variation) that will inevitably influence the extent to which these interventions succeed. We conclude with a call for research to identify the drivers influencing the effectiveness of NBIs in enhancing health and wellbeing.
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Davies ZG, Dallimer M, Fisher JC & Fuller RA (2019) Biodiversity and Health: Implications for Conservation. Pp. 283-294 in: Marselle MR, Stadler J, Korn H, Irvine KN & Bonn A (eds) Biodiversity and Health in the Face of Climate Change. Springer International Publishing, Cham, Switzerland.
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The human health and well-being benefits of contact with nature are becoming increasingly recognised and well understood, yet the implications of nature experiences for biodiversity conservation are far less clear. Theoretically, there are two plausible pathways that could lead to positive conservation outcomes. The first is a direct win-win scenario where biodiverse areas of high conservation value are also disproportionately beneficial to human health and well-being, meaning that the two sets of objectives can be simultaneously and directly achieved, as long as such green spaces are safeguarded appropriately. The second is that experiencing nature can stimulate people’s interest in biodiversity, concern for its fate, and willingness to take action to protect it, therefore generating conservation gains indirectly. To date, the two pathways have rarely been distinguished and scarcely studied. Here we consider how they may potentially operate in practice, while acknowledging that the mechanisms by which biodiversity might underpin human health and well-being benefits are still being determined.
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Wang X, Cao L, Fox AD, Fuller R, Griffin L, Mitchell C, Zhao Y, Moon O-K, Cabot D, Xu Z, Batbayar N, Kölzsch A, van der Jeugd HP, Madsen J, Chen L & Nathan R (2019) Stochastic simulations reveal few green wave surfing populations among spring migrating herbivorous waterfowl. Nature Communications, 10, 2187.
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Tracking seasonally changing resources is regarded as a widespread proximate mechanism underpinning animal migration. Migrating herbivores, for example, are hypothesized to track seasonal foliage dynamics over large spatial scales. Previous investigations of this green wave hypothesis involved few species and limited geographical extent, and used conventional correlation that cannot disentangle alternative correlated effects. Here, we introduce stochastic simulations to test this hypothesis using 222 individual spring migration episodes of 14 populations of ten species of geese, swans and dabbling ducks throughout Europe, East Asia, and North America. We find that the green wave cannot be considered a ubiquitous driver of herbivorous waterfowl spring migration, as it explains observed migration patterns of only a few grazing populations in specific regions. We suggest that ecological barriers and particularly human disturbance likely constrain the capacity of herbivorous waterfowl to track the green wave in some regions, highlighting key challenges in conserving migratory birds.
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Dhanjal-Adams KL, Fuller RA, Murray NJ, Studds CE, Wilson HB, Milton DA & Kendall BE (2019) Distinguishing local and global correlates of population change in migratory species. Diversity and Distributions, 25, 797-808.
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Aim: Understanding the processes driving population declines in migratory species can be challenging. Not only are monitoring data spatially and temporally sparse, but conditions in one location can carry over to indirectly (and disproportionately) affect the population in another location. Here, we explore whether remote factors can sequentially, and potentially cumulatively, influence local population fluctuations in declining populations of shorebirds.
Location: Moreton Bay (Australia) and the East Asian–Australasian Flyway.
Methods: We use N‐mixture models to account for variable observer effort and estimate yearly population growth rate. We then use least squares regressions to correlate population growth rates with remotely sensed climate anomalies at different migratory stages. From this, we estimate species‐specific climate sensitivity indices and explore whether species which are declining more rapidly, or which rely more heavily on areas undergoing rapid habitat loss, have higher climate sensitivity indices.
Results: We find that species which rely more on the Yellow Sea during migratory stopover (a region which has undergone severe habitat loss) are more sensitive to rainfall anomalies in their Arctic breeding grounds, suggesting that habitat loss reduces the resilience of shorebirds to climate extremes. Furthermore, species with higher sensitivities to climatic conditions during stopover are also those which are declining quickest, suggesting that declining populations may also be less resilient to climate fluctuations at bottleneck sites. We also observed species‐specific correlations between climate anomalies at all migratory stages and population growth rates, primarily for eastern curlew and lesser sand plover.
Main conclusion: By applying methods in combination, it is possible to use citizen science data from a single location in a flyway of over 160 sites up to 11,680 km apart, to investigate how different stressors correlate with local population dynamics.
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Hanson JO, Fuller RA & Rhodes JR (2019) Conventional methods for enhancing connectivity in conservation planning do not always maintain gene flow. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56, 913-922.
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1. Protected area systems need to conserve species in places with suitable habitat that are configured to facilitate gene flow. Since genetic data require considerable resources to obtain, many proxy methods have been developed to generate plans for protected area systems (prioritizations) that facilitate gene flow without needing genetic data. However, the effectiveness of such methods—such as minimising fragmentation or enforcing contiguity among priority areas—remains largely untested.
2. We investigated the ability of prioritizations to maintain gene flow when they are generated using conventional methods for promoting connectivity. Using existing environmental, genetic, and occurrence datasets, we created maps of habitat suitability and resistance to gene flow for nine alpine plant species. Next, we generated multispecies prioritizations that secured 10% of the suitable habitat for each species and attempted to maintain gene flow by (a) penalizing fragmentation, (b) representing species in contiguous areas of suitable habitat, and (c) representing species in contiguous areas with minimal resistance to gene flow as modelled from genetic data.
3. We found that prioritizations generated using fragmentation penalties failed to represent seven of the nine species in areas that would maintain high levels of gene flow. Similarly, prioritizations that represented species in contiguous areas of suitable habitat were unable to maintain high levels of gene flow for six species—potentially because a few areas with high resistance can disrupt gene flow throughout an entire prioritization. Although prioritizations generated using genetic data successfully maintained gene flow, they also selected over three times more land than other prioritizations, suggesting that failing to account for gene flow when setting priorities may underestimate the scale of conservation action required.
4. Synthesis and applications. We found that conventional methods for enhancing connectivity in conservation planning, such as spatially clustering priority areas or providing connected sections of suitable habitat, were generally unable to maintain high levels of gene flow. Our results suggest that conservation plans could be substantially improved by directly using genetic data, although whether this is a good choice for a particular situation will also depend on the costs of obtaining these data.
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Jackson MV, Carrasco LR, Choi C-Y, Li J, Ma Z, Melville DS, Mu T, Peng H-B, Woodworth BK, Yang Z, Zhang L & Fuller RA (2019) Multiple habitat use by declining migratory birds necessitates joined-up conservation. Ecology and Evolution, 9, 2505-2515.
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Many species depend on multiple habitats at different points in space and time. Their effective conservation requires an understanding of how and when each habitat is used, coupled with adequate protection. Migratory shorebirds use intertidal and supratidal wetlands, both of which are affected by coastal landscape change. Yet the extent to which shorebirds use artificial supratidal habitats, particularly at highly developed stopover sites, remains poorly understood leading to potential deficiencies in habitat management. We surveyed shorebirds on their southward migration in southern Jiangsu, a critical stopover region in the East Asian Australasian Flyway (EAAF), to measure their use of artificial supratidal habitats and assess linkages between intertidal and supratidal habitat use. To inform management, we examined how biophysical features influenced occupancy of supratidal habitats, and whether these habitats were used for roosting or foraging. We found that shorebirds at four of five sites were limited to artificial supratidal habitats at high tide for similar to 11-25 days per month because natural intertidal flats were completely covered by seawater. Within the supratidal landscape, at least 37 shorebird species aggregated on artificial wetlands, and shorebirds were more abundant on larger ponds with less water cover, less vegetation, at least one unvegetated bund, and fewer built structures nearby. Artificial supratidal habitats were rarely used for foraging and rarely occupied when intertidal flats were available, underscoring the complementarity between supratidal roosting habitat and intertidal foraging habitat. Joined-up artificial supratidal management and natural intertidal habitat conservation are clearly required at our study site given the simultaneous dependence by over 35,000 migrating shorebirds on both habitats. Guided by observed patterns of habitat use, there is a clear opportunity to improve habitat condition by working with local land custodians to consider shorebird habitat requirements when managing supratidal ponds. This approach is likely applicable to shorebird sites throughout the EAAF.
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Massingham E, Fuller RA & Dean AJ (2019) Pathways between contrasting ecotourism experiences and conservation engagement. Biodiversity and Conservation, 28, 827-845.
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It is commonly believed that nature experiences lead to increased concern for nature, and ultimately, the expression of conservation behaviours. Captive and non-captive ecotourism experiences with charismatic megafauna have been associated with conservation support. However, there is little research examining experiences with non-mammalian wildlife, or familiar species in domestic settings. We conducted interviews (N = 427) at two ecotourism destinations in Australia (a conservation-focused zoological park and a rainforest national park), to determine whether these experiences are associated with conservation engagement and if so, the pathways through which these might operate. Interviews identified the elements of experience (site, duration, animal encounter, educational shows, and interpretive signs), the subjective aspects of their experience (positive and negative emotions, learning, connection, reflection), and engagement in conservation (environmental intentions, policy support and signing a conservation-focused pledge). Regression analyses examined the relationship between elements of experience and conservation engagement, while controlling for demographics and nature-relatedness. Participating in non-captive bird feeding at the rainforest site was associated with greater support for conservation policies, whereas visiting the zoological park was associated with greater intention to seek and share conservation information. Mediation analysis demonstrated that both of these relationships were mediated by feeling upset about environmental problems, indicating a role for negative emotions alongside ecotourism experiences in prompting conservation engagement. No element of the experience was associated with signing the pledge, highlighting the challenges of eliciting behaviour change. Overall, these findings suggest that different types of ecotourism experiences may generate different types of conservation engagement, and that that associated negative emotions about the plight of species can foster stronger engagement in conservation issues.
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Boakes EH, Fuller RA & McGowan PJK (2019) The extirpation of species outside protected areas. Conservation Letters, e12608.
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Protected areas (PAs) are fundamental to conservation efforts but they are only part of a successful conservation strategy. We examine biodiversity outside PAs in Sundaland, one of the world’s most biologically degraded regions. Using the avian order Galliformes as a case study, we identify species that have not been sighted outside PAs within the last 20 years on each individual landmass (i.e., Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and Bali). We estimate these species’ extirpation dates outside PAs using optimal linear estimation and species’ sighting records. We conclude there have been up to 13 extirpations of Galliformes from outside PAs in Sundaland. Three Sundaic endemics now occur only inside PAs. Sumatra has suffered the highest proportion of extirpations (50% of its galliform species). Effective management of Sundaland’s PAs is thus critical to species’ persistence and the conservation strategy for species outside PAs must be improved.
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Murray NJ, Phinn SR, DeWitt M, Ferrari R, Johnston R, Lyons MB, Clinton N, Thau D & Fuller RA (2019) The global distribution and trajectory of tidal flats. Nature, 565, 222-225.
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Increasing human populations around the global coastline have caused extensive loss, degradation and fragmentation of coastal ecosystems, threatening the delivery of important ecosystem services(1). As a result, alarming losses of mangrove, coral reef, seagrass, kelp forest and coastal marsh ecosystems have occurred(1-6). However, owing to the difficulty of mapping intertidal areas globally, the distribution and status of tidal flats-one of the most extensive coastal ecosystems-remain unknown(7). Here we present an analysis of over 700,000 satellite images that maps the global extent of and change in tidal flats over the course of 33 years (1984-2016). We find that tidal flats, defined as sand, rock or mud flats that undergo regular tidal inundation(7), occupy at least 127,921 km(2) (124,286-131,821 km(2), 95% confidence interval). About 70% of the global extent of tidal flats is found in three continents (Asia (44% of total), North America (15.5% of total) and South America (11% of total)), with 49.2% being concentrated in just eight countries (Indonesia, China, Australia, the United States, Canada, India, Brazil and Myanmar). For regions with sufficient data to develop a consistent multi-decadal time series-which included East Asia, the Middle East and North America-we estimate that 16.02% (15.62-16.47%, 95% confidence interval) of tidal flats were lost between 1984 and 2016. Extensive degradation from coastal development1, reduced sediment delivery from major rivers(8,9), sinking of riverine deltas(8,10), increased coastal erosion and sea-level rise(11) signal a continuing negative trajectory for tidal flat ecosystems around the world. Our high-spatial-resolution dataset delivers global maps of tidal flats, which substantially advances our understanding of the distribution, trajectory and status of these poorly known coastal ecosystems.
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Wauchope HS, Fuller RA, Shanahan DF & Shaw JD (2019) Restoring islands and identifying source populations for introductions. Conservation Biology, 33, 729-732.
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Conservation introductions, the intentional movement of species’ outside their natural range to achieve a conservation goal, are becoming an increasingly relevant strategy to help restore, maintain and protect biodiversity in a changing world. Most conservation introductions focus on a target species, often at risk of extinction, and identify habitat for introduction. Here, we present a novel, inverse scenario where an island-endemic species has gone extinct, and the drivers of extinction have now been removed, creating available habitat into which a population of a closely related species could be introduced. Island species are among the most threatened taxa globally and this proactive conservation approach might benefit not only the island’s ecosystems and values, but also provide an additional insurance population for the source species. Where an extinct species has multiple closely related extant species, a decision must be made about which source population to consider for a conservation introduction. Here we undertake a structured decision-making process to identify an optimal source population.
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Gallo-Cajiao E, Morrison TH, Fidelman P, Kark S & Fuller RA (2019) Global environmental governance for conserving migratory shorebirds in the Asia-Pacific. Regional Environmental Change, 19, 1113-1129.
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Understanding the sets of co-existing institutional arrangements and the role of different actors for transboundary conservation is not only paramount for migratory species survival but also for studying the transformation of international politics. We analyze the global environmental governance architecture for conserving migratory shorebirds in the Asia-Pacific. We ask, (i) how has the architecture emerged in relation to levels of governance, type of actors, formality, and topology?; and (ii) how does the topology and agency of actors vary across the architecture when accounting for different threats to these species (i.e., habitat loss and hunting)? We use a mixed method approach, based on qualitative data and quantitative network analysis, to characterize and examine the architecture, thereby extending the precision of singular approaches. We find that 28 institutional arrangements, involving 57 state and non-state actors, have emerged since the 1970s. The resulting architecture conforms to concepts and symptoms of institutional complexity, alternately exhibiting characteristics of a regime complex, fragmented governance, and polycentrism. Our results indicate increased interactions of actors across sectors of society and levels of governance, but do not support notions of state retreat and diffusion of power away from the nation-state. Instead, we show that actors beyond the nation-state have emerged as a complement to a nation state-centered architecture. Moreover, when we consider the subset of institutional arrangements for habitat conservation and hunting management separately, hunting management emerges as the exclusive domain of the nation-state. It remains unclear whether this difference is driven by differences in property rights or other sets of drivers.