Conservation and development practitioners increasingly promote community forestry as a way to conserve ecosystem services, consolidate resource rights, and reduce poverty. However, outcomes of community forestry have been mixed, with many initiatives failing to achieve intended objectives. There is a rich literature on community forestry institutional arrangements, but fewer efforts to examine the role of socioeconomic, market, and biophysical factors in shaping both land cover change dynamics, and individual and collective livelihood outcomes. We systematically reviewed the peer-reviewed literature on community forestry to examine and quantify existing knowledge gaps about these factors in the community forestry literature. In examining 697 cases of community forest management, extracted from 267 peer-reviewed publications, we find three key trends that limit our understanding of community forestry. First, there are substantial data gaps linking population dynamics, market forces, and biophysical characteristics to both environmental and livelihood outcomes. Second, most studies focus on environmental outcomes, and the majority of studies that do assess socio-economic outcomes rely on qualitative data, making it difficult to make comparisons across cases. Finally, we find a heavy bias towards studies on South Asian forests, indicating that the literature on community forestry might not be representative of decentralization policies and community forest management globally.

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Approaches to prioritize conservation actions are gaining popularity. However, limited empirical evidence exists on which species might benefit most from threat mitigation and on what combination of threats, if mitigated simultaneously, would result in the best outcomes for biodiversity. We devised a way to prioritize threat mitigation at a regional scale with empirical evidence based on predicted changes to population dynamics—information that is lacking in most threat-management prioritization frameworks that rely on expert elicitation. We used dynamic occupancy models to investigate the effects of multiple threats (tree cover, grazing, and presence of an hyperaggressive competitor, the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) on bird-population dynamics in an endangered woodland community in southeastern Australia. The 3 threatening processes had different effects on different species. We used predicted patch-colonization probabilities to estimate the benefit to each species of removing one or more threats. We then determined the complementary set of threat-mitigation strategies that maximized colonization of all species while ensuring that redundant actions with little benefit were avoided. The single action that resulted in the highest colonization was increasing tree cover, which increased patch colonization by 5% and 11% on average across all species and for declining species, respectively. Combining Noisy Miner control with increasing tree cover increased species colonization by 10% and 19% on average for all species and for declining species respectively, and was a higher priority than changing grazing regimes. Guidance for prioritizing threat mitigation is critical in the face of cumulative threatening processes. By incorporating population dynamics in prioritization of threat management, our approach helps ensure funding is not wasted on ineffective management programs that target the wrong threats or species.

El Uso de Modelos Empíricos de la Colonización de Especies bajo Procesos Múltiples de Amenazas para Identificar Estrategias Complementarias de Mitigación de Amenazas

Las estrategias para priorizar las acciones de conservación están ganando popularidad. Sin embargo, existe evidencia empírica limitada sobre cuáles especies pueden beneficiarse más de la mitigación de amenazas y sobre cuál combinación de amenazas, si son mitigadas simultáneamente, tendría mejores resultados para la biodiversidad. Diseñamos una forma de priorizar la mitigación de amenazas a escala regional con evidencia empírica basada en los cambios pronosticados para las dinámicas poblacionales – información faltante en la mayoría de los marcos de trabajo de priorización que dependen de la obtención de información de expertos. Usamos modelos de ocupación dinámica para investigar los efectos de las amenazas múltiples (cobertura de árboles, pastoreo y presencia de un competidor hiperagresivo, Manorina melanocephala) sobre las dinámicas poblacionales de las aves de una comunidad boscosa en peligro de extinción en el sureste de Australia. Los tres procesos amenazantes tuvieron diferentes efectos sobre diferentes especies. Usamos probabilidades de colonización de fragmentos para estimar el beneficio de remover una o más amenazas para cada especie. Después determinamos el conjunto complementario de estrategias de mitigación de amenazas que maximizaron la colonización de todas las especies, a la vez que aseguraban que se evitaran las acciones redundantes y con pocos beneficios. La única acción que resultó en la mayor colonización fue el incremento de la cobertura de árboles, lo que aumentó la colonización del fragmento en un 5 % y 11 % en promedio para todas las especies y para las especies en declive, respectivamente. Combinar el control de Manorina melanocephala con el incremento de la cobertura de árboles aumentó la colonización de especies en un 10 % y 19 % en promedio para todas las especies y para las especies en declive, respectivamente, y fue una mayor prioridad que cambiar los regímenes de pastoreo. La guía es crítica para la priorización de mitigación de amenazas de frente a los procesos amenazantes acumulativos. Si incorporamos las dinámicas poblacionales en la priorización del manejo de amenazas, nuestra estrategia ayuda a asegurar que el financiamiento no se desperdicie en programas de manejo poco efectivos que enfoquen las amenazas o las especies incorrectas.

Multibillion dollar investments in land restoration make it critical that conservation goals are achieved cost-effectively. Approaches developed for systematic conservation planning offer opportunities to evaluate landscape-scale, temporally dynamic biodiversity outcomes from restoration and improve on traditional approaches that focus on the most species-rich plantings. We investigated whether it is possible to apply a complementarity-based approach to evaluate the extent to which an existing network of restoration plantings meets representation targets. Using a case study of woodland birds of conservation concern in southeastern Australia, we compared complementarity-based selections of plantings based on temporally dynamic species occurrences with selections based on static species occurrences and selections based on ranking plantings by species richness. The dynamic complementarity approach, which incorporated species occurrences over 5 years, resulted in higher species occurrences and proportion of targets met compared with the static complementarity approach, in which species occurrences were taken at a single point in time. For equivalent cost, the dynamic complementarity approach also always resulted in higher average minimum percent occurrence of species maintained through time and a higher proportion of the bird community meeting representation targets compared with the species-richness approach. Plantings selected under the complementarity approaches represented the full range of planting attributes, whereas those selected under the species-richness approach were larger in size. Our results suggest future restoration policy should not attempt to achieve all conservation goals within individual plantings, but should instead capitalize on restoration opportunities as they arise to achieve collective value of multiple plantings across the landscape. Networks of restoration plantings with complementary attributes of age, size, vegetation structure, and landscape context lead to considerably better outcomes than conventional restoration objectives of site-scale species richness and are crucial for allocating restoration investment wisely to reach desired conservation goals.

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Many have argued that monitoring conducted exclusively by scientists is insufficient to address ongoing environmental challenges. One solution entails the use of mobile devices in broadly-applied participatory monitoring (PM) programs. But how digital data entry affects programs with varying levels of stakeholder participation, from volunteer data collectors to those entirely administered by non-scientists, remains unclear. We reviewed the successes, in terms of management interventions and sustainability, of 107 published programs and compared this analysis with case studies from our PM experiences in Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greenland, and Vietnam. Our meta-analysis found participatory programs were less likely to use digital devices, while two of our three most participatory cases were also slow to adopt digital data entry. Published programs that were participatory and used digital devices were more likely to report management actions, an association shared with our Ethiopian, Greenlandic, and Australian cases. We found published programs involving volunteers were more frequently sustained than those depending on paid data-collectors; but those involving digital data entry were less sustainable when engaging volunteer data-collectors. In our Vietnamese and Canadian cases, sustainability was undermined by a mismatch in stakeholder objectives; in our Ghanaian case, complex field protocols diminished monitoring sustainability. We propose the use of digital data entry in PM can be understood using a participatory adaptive monitoring framework. In this, technology is less important than collaboratively defined objectives, conceptual models, and protocols determined through effective partnerships. Implemented effectively, digital data entry can enable the collection of more data of higher quality. Implemented ineffectively, or where it is unnecessary, digital data entry can be an additional expense that distracts from core monitoring objectives and undermines project sustainability. The appropriate role of digital data entry in PM likely depends more on the context in which it is used and less on the technology itself.

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Recovery planning for species listed under the Endangered Species Act has been hampered by a lack of consistency and transparency, which can be improved by implementing a standardized approach for evaluating species status and developing measurable recovery criteria. However, managers lack an assessment method that integrates threat abatement and can be used when demographic data are limited. To help meet these needs, we demonstrate an approach for evaluating species status using data on habitat configuration. We applied three established persistence measures to compare two conservation strategies (critical habitat designated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service's Carbonate Habitat Management Strategy) and two threat scenarios (limestone mining at two intensities: removal of all habitat areas with mining claims – “maximum mining”, or removal of only areas with existing operations and high-quality ore – “minimum mining”) against a baseline of existing habitat for three federally listed plant species. We found that protecting all area within the designated critical habitat would maintain a similar level (83.9-99.9%) of species persistence as the baseline, whereas maximum mining would greatly reduce persistence (0.51-38.4% maintained). The three persistence measures provided complementary insights reflecting different aspects of habitat availability (habitat area, number of patches, patch size and connectivity). These measures can be used to link recovery criteria developed following the “3 R principles” (representation, redundancy, and resilience) to the resulting improvements in species viability. By focusing on amount and distribution of habitat, our analysis provides a means of assessing the status of data-poor species to inform decision-making under the Act.

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Population viability analysis is widely used for assessing population-level impacts of environmental changes on species. When combined with sensitivity analysis, PVA yields insights into the effects of parameter and model structure uncertainty. This helps researchers to prioritize efforts for further data collection so that model improvements are efficient, and helps managers prioritize conservation and management actions. Usually sensitivity is analyzed by varying one input parameter at a time and observing the influence that variation has over model outcomes. This approach does not account for interactions among parameters. Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) overcomes this limitation by varying several model inputs simultaneously. Then regression techniques allow measuring the importance of input parameter uncertainties. In many conservation applications, the goal of demographic modeling is to assess how different scenarios of impact or management cause changes in a population. This is challenging because the uncertainty of input parameter values can be confounded with the effect of impacts and management actions. We developed a GSA method that separates model outcome uncertainty resulting from parameter uncertainty from that resulting from projected ecological impacts or simulated management actions; effectively separating the two main questions that sensitivity analysis asks. We applied this method to Snowy Plover, assessing the effects of predicted sea-level rise. A relatively small number of replicate models (approximately 100) resulted in consistent measures of variable importance when not trying to separate the effects of ecological impacts from parameter uncertainty. However, many more replicate models (approximately 500) were required to separate these effects. These differences are important to consider when using demographic models to estimate ecological impacts of management actions.

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The trade in wild animals involves one third of the world's bird species and thousands of other vertebrate species. While a few species are known to be imperiled as a result of the wildlife trade, the lack of field studies makes it difficult to gauge how serious a threat it is to biodiversity. We combined data on changes in bird abundances across space and time with trapper interviews to evaluate the effects of trapping wild birds for pets in Sumatra, Indonesia, an international pet trade hotspot. In southern Sumatra we analyzed bird abundance changes over time using a rare 14-year dataset of repeated bird surveys from the same extensive forest. In northern Sumatra we surveyed birds along a gradient of trapping accessibility, from the edge of roads to five km into the forest interior. We also interviewed 49 bird trappers in northern Sumatra to learn which species they target and how far they go into the forest to trap. We found that market price was a significant predictor of species declines over time in southern Sumatra, implicating the pet trade in those declines. In northern Sumatra, we found no relationship between price and change in abundance as a function of remoteness. However, high-value species were rare or absent across our surveys there. Notably, the median maximum distance trappers went into the forest each day was 5.0 km. This suggests that trapping has depleted bird populations across our remoteness gradient. Alarmingly, we found that less than half of Sumatra's remaining forests are >5km from a major road. These results indicate that trapping for the pet trade is a threat to birds in Sumatra. Given the popularity of pet birds across Southeast Asia, additional studies are urgently needed to determine the extent and magnitude of the threat posed by the pet trade.

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Continuing coral-reef degradation in the western Atlantic is resulting in loss of ecological and geologic functions of reefs. With the goal of assisting resource managers and stewards of reefs in setting and measuring progress toward realistic goals for coral-reef conservation and restoration, we examined reef degradation in this region from a geological perspective. The importance of ecosystem services provided by coral reefs—as breakwaters that dissipate wave energy and protect shorelines and as providers of habitat for innumerable species—cannot be overstated. However, the few coral species responsible for reef building in the western Atlantic during the last approximately 1.5 million years are not thriving in the 21st century. These species are highly sensitive to abrupt temperature extremes, prone to disease infection, and have low sexual reproductive potential. Their vulnerability and the low functional redundancy of branching corals have led to the low resilience of western Atlantic reef ecosystems. The decrease in live coral cover over the last 50 years highlights the need for study of relict (senescent) reefs, which, from the perspective of coastline protection and habitat structure, may be just as important to conserve as the living coral veneer. Research is needed to characterize the geological processes of bioerosion, reef cementation, and sediment transport as they relate to modern-day changes in reef elevation. For example, although parrotfish (family Scaridae) remove nuisance macroalgae, possibly promoting coral recruitment, they will not save Atlantic reefs from geological degradation. In fact, these fish are quickly nibbling away significant quantities of Holocene reef framework. The question of how different biota covering dead reefs affect framework resistance to biological and physical erosion needs to be addressed. Monitoring and managing reefs with respect to physical resilience, in addition to ecological resilience, could optimize the expenditure of resources in conserving Atlantic reefs and the services they provide.

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Linking diversity to biological processes is central for developing informed and effective conservation decisions. Unfortunately, observable patterns provide only a proportion of the information necessary for fully understanding the mechanisms and processes acting upon a particular population or community. Here, we suggest conservation managers utilise the often overlooked information imbedded in species absences, paying particular attention to the dark diversity (i.e. a set of species that are absent from a site but can potentially disperse to and establish there, in other words, the absent portion of a habitat-specific species pool). Together with existing ecological metrics, concepts and conservation tools, dark diversity can be used to complement and further develop conservation prioritisation and management decisions through an understanding of biodiversity relativized by its potential (i.e. its species pool). Furthermore, through a detailed understanding of the population, community and functional dark diversity, the restoration potential of degraded habitats can be more rigorously assessed further, and so to, the likelihood of successful species invasions. We suggest the application of the dark diversity concept is currently an underappreciated source of information that is valuable for conservation applications ranging from macro-scale conservation prioritization to more locally-scaled restoration ecology and the management of invasive species.

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The invasive ant Pheidole megacephala, listed on “100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species”, has caused serious impacts on native ecosystems in tropical and subtropical areas. In Japan, P. megacephala was introduced to the Ryukyu Islands and the Ogasawara Islands. However, P. megacephala demonstrates no invasiveness in Ryukyu, so this species is not registered on the list of “Invasive Alien Species” (IASs), species of which are subjected to strict monitoring and prohibition of their trafficking under the IAS Act. Therefore, potential threats of this species have been overlooked in Ogasawara, despite the area's status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (WHS). In the present study, the current distribution range of P. megacephala was surveyed in the Minamizaki area of Hahajima Island of Ogasawara, designated as a core zone of the WHS. We investigated how P. megacephala affects endemic achatinellid snails because these snails are excellent indicators for assessing the impact of ants. In addition, land snails have high conservation value in Ogasawara as a WHS. The present study documents that P. megacephala has dispersed into the natural forests of the Minamizaki area. Achatinellid snails were mostly absent in the area invaded by P. megacephala, whereas these snails were abundant in other areas. Comparison of the current distribution and density of the snails with those of 10 years ago demonstrates that P. megacephala mostly decimated achatinellid snails in the natural forests. Feeding experiments conducted in the laboratory support this conclusion. The decline of achatinellid snails is an important sign of impacts of P. megacephala on ecosystem. The present findings raise an issue and limitation in using an official “black list” such as IAS. Any stakeholders using the list of invasive species to develop conservation programs should recognize that invasiveness of the nonnative species differ depending on an ecosystem's properties.

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Coral reefs of the world face rapid degradation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and marine protected areas (MPAs) are a commonly applied solution. Nevertheless, coral reefs continue to decline worldwide, raising questions about the adequacy of management and protection efforts. We argue that expanding the range of MPA targets to also include degraded reefs (i.e. 'DR-MPA'), could help reverse this trend. This approach requires new ecological criteria for MPA design, siting, and management. Rather than focusing solely on preserving healthy reefs, the proposed approach focuses on the potential for biodiversity recovery and renewal of ecosystem services. The new criteria highlight sites with the highest potential for recovery, the greatest resistance to future threats (e.g., temperature and acidification) and the largest contribution to connectivity of MPA networks. The DR-MPA approach is not a substitute for traditional MPA selection criteria; it is rather a complimentary framework when traditional approaches are inadequate. We believe that the DR-MPA approach can help to: 1. Enhance the natural, or restoration-assisted, recovery of degraded reefs and their ecosystem services, 2. Increase the total reef area available for protection, 3. Promote more resilient and better-connected MPA networks, and 4. More effectively contribute to improved conditions for human communities dependent on these ecosystem services.

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The North Atlantic right whale (NARW) (Eubalaena glacialis) is one of the world's most threatened whales. It came close to extinction after nearly a millennium of exploitation and currently persists as a population of only approximately 500 individuals. Setting appropriate conservation targets for this species requires an understanding of its historical population size, as a baseline for measuring levels of depletion and progress toward recovery. This is made difficult by the scarcity of records over this species’ long whaling history. We sought to estimate the preexploitation population size of the North Atlantic right whale and understand how this species was distributed across its range. We used a spatially explicit data set on historical catches of North Pacific right whales (NPRWs) (Eubalaena japonica) to model the relationship between right whale relative density and the environment during the summer feeding season. Assuming the 2 right whale species select similar environments, we projected this model to the North Atlantic to predict how the relative abundance of NARWs varied across their range. We calibrated these relative abundances with estimates of the NPRW total prewhaling population size to obtain high and low estimates for the overall NARW population size prior to exploitation. The model predicted 9,075–21,328 right whales in the North Atlantic. The current NARW population is thus <6% of the historical North Atlantic carrying capacity and has enormous potential for recovery. According to the model, in June–September NARWs concentrated in 2 main feeding areas: east of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and in the Norwegian Sea. These 2 areas may become important in the future as feeding grounds and may already be used more regularly by this endangered species than is thought.

Una Estimación Espacialmente Explícita de la Abundancia Previa a la Caza de la Ballena Franca del Atlántico Norte en Peligro de Extinción

La ballena franca del Atlántico Norte (BFAN) (Eubalaena glacialis) es una de las ballenas más amenazadas del mundo. Su extinción estuvo próxima después de casi un milenio de explotación y actualmente persiste una población de aproximadamente 500 individuos. El establecimiento de objetivos de conservación apropiados para esta especie requiere del entendimiento del tamaño histórico de la población como la línea base para la medida de los niveles de disminución y el progreso hacia la recuperación. Esto se dificulta por la escasez de registros sobre la larga historia de la caza de esta especie. Buscamos estimar el tamaño poblacional previo a la explotación de la ballena franca del Atlántico Norte y entender cómo se distribuía esta especie a lo largo de su extensión. Usamos un conjunto de datos espacialmente explícitos sobre las capturas históricas de las ballenas francas del Pacífico Norte (BFPN) (Eubalaena japonica) para modelar la relación entre la densidad relativa de ballenas francas y el ambiente durante la temporada de verano de alimentación. Cuando asumimos que las dos especies de ballenas francas seleccionan ambientes similares, pudimos proyectar este modelo hacia el Atlántico Norte y así poder predecir cómo la abundancia relativa de las BFAN varió a lo largo de su extensión. Calibramos estas abundancias relativas con los estimados del tamaño poblacional total previo a la caza de las BFPN y así obtener estimados altos y bajos para el tamaño poblacional general de las BFAN previo a la explotación. El modelo predijo la existencia de 9, 075 – 21, 328 ballenas francas en el Atlántico Norte. La población actual de BFAN es entonces <6 % a la capacidad de carga histórica del Atlántico Norte, por lo que tiene un potencial enorme para la recuperación. De acuerdo al modelo, entre junio y septiembre, las BFAN se concentraron en dos áreas de alimentación principales: al este de los Grandes Bancos de Terranova y en el Mar de Noruega. Estas dos áreas pueden volverse importantes en el futuro como sitios de alimentación y puede que ya sean usadas por esta especie de manera más regular de lo que se cree.

The wildlife trade is a lucrative industry involving thousands of animal and plant species. The increasing use of the internet for both legal and illegal wildlife trade is well documented but there is evidence that trade may be emerging on new online technologies such as social media. We carry out the first systematic survey of trade on an international social-media website, using the orchid trade as a case study. We analyzed an online community consisting of 150 orchid focused groups on a large social media website, using social network analysis. Closely linked communities were found reflecting language groups, with most trade occurring in a community of English-speaking and Southeast Asian groups. In addition we randomly sampled 30 groups to assess the prevalence of trade in cultivated and wild plants. We found that 8.9% of posts contained trade, 22–46% of which was in wild-collected orchids. Although total numbers of trade posts are relatively small, the high proportion of wild plants for sale supports calls for better monitoring of social media for trade in wild-collected plants.

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Many conservation actions are justified on the basis of managing biodiversity. Biodiversity, in terms of species richness is largely the product of rare species. This is problematic because the intensity of sampling needed to characterise communities, patterns of rarity or justify the use of surrogates has biased sampling in favour of space over time. However, environmental fluctuations interacting with community dynamics leads to temporal variations in where and when species occur, potentially affecting conservation planning by generating uncertainty about results of species distribution modelling (including range determinations), selection of surrogates for biodiversity and the proportion of biodiversity comprised of rare species. To have confidence in the evidence base for conservation actions we must consider whether temporal replication is necessary to produce broad inferences. Using c 20 years macrofaunal data from tidal flats in two harbours, we explored variation in the identity of rare, common, restricted-range and widespread species over time and space. Over time, rare taxa were more likely to increase in abundance or occurrence than to remain rare or disappear, and to exhibit temporal patterns. Space-time congruency in ranges (i.e., spatially widespread taxa were also temporally widespread) was only observed where samples were collected across an environmental gradient. 15% of the taxa in both harbours changed over time from being spatially restricted range to widespread. Our findings suggest rare species can provide stability against environmental change, as the majority are not random transients, but that selection of biodiversity surrogates requires temporal validation. Importantly, rarity needs to be considered both spatially and temporally, with species that occur randomly over time likely to play a different role in ecosystem functioning than those exhibiting temporal structure (e.g., seasonality). Moreover, the presence of temporal structure would offer the opportunity to place management and conservation activities within windows of maximum opportunity.

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We examined the associations between geography, biodiversity, national spending on conservation, governance and cultural traits. Cultural traits and social metrics of modernization correlate positively with national spending on conservation. Further, we show the global distribution of this spending culture is poorly aligned with the distribution of biodiversity. Specifically, biodiversity increases towards the tropics where cultures tend to spend less on conservation, and have higher collectivism, formalized and hierarchical leadership, and weaker governance. Consequently, nations lacking social traits frequently associated with modernization, environmentalism, and conservation spending have the largest component of the Earth's biodiversity. This has significant implications for setting policies and priorities for resource management given that biological diversity is rapidly disappearing and cultural traits change slowly. Therefore, we suggest that natural resource management adapt to and utilize characteristics of existing social organization rather than wait for or promote social values associated with conservation spending. Supporting bio-cultural traditions, engaging leaders to increase conservation commitments, cross-national efforts that complement attributes of cultures, and avoiding interference with nature may work best to conserve nature in collective and hierarchical societies. Spending in modernized nations may be a symbolic response to a symptom of economic development and environmental degradation, and must therefore, be accountable for conservation impact.

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Conservation actions need to be prioritised, often taking into account species’ extinction risk. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List provides an accepted objective framework for the assessment of extinction risk, but field data to apply the IUCN Red List criteria are often limited. Information collected through remote sensing can inform these assessments, and forests are perhaps the best-studied habitat type for use in this approach. Using an open-access 30 m resolution map of tree cover and its change between 2000 and 2012, the extent of forest cover and loss within the distributions of 11,186 forest-dependent amphibians, birds and mammals worldwide was assessed. Sixteen species have experienced sufficiently high rates of forest loss to be considered at elevated extinction risk under Red List criterion A, owing to inferred rapid population declines. This number would increase to 23 if data deficient species (i.e., those with insufficient information previously to apply the Red List criteria) were included. Some 484 species (855 if data deficient species are included) may be considered at elevated extinction risk under Red List criterion B2, owing to restricted areas of occupancy resulting from little forest cover remaining within their ranges. This would increase the proportion of species of conservation concern by 32.8% for amphibians, 15.1% for birds and 24.7% for mammals. Central America, the Northern Andes, Madagascar, the Eastern Arc forests in Africa and the islands of South-East Asia are hotspots for these species. The analyses illustrate the utility of satellite imagery for global extinction risk assessment and measurement of progress towards international environmental agreement targets. We highlight areas for which subsequent analyses could be performed on satellite image data in order to improve our knowledge of extinction risk of species.

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The use and importance of reintroduction as a conservation tool to return a species to its historical range from which it has been extirpated will increase as climate change and human development accelerate habitat loss and population extinctions. Although the number of reintroduction attempts has increased rapidly over the past 2 decades, the success rate is generally low. As a result of population differences in fitness-related traits and divergent responses to environmental stresses, population performance upon reintroduction is highly variable, and it is generally agreed that selecting an appropriate source population is a critical component of a successful reintroduction. Conservation genomics is an emerging field that addresses long-standing challenges in conservation, and the potential for using novel molecular genetic approaches to inform and improve conservation efforts is high. Because the successful establishment and persistence of reintroduced populations is highly dependent on the functional genetic variation and environmental stress tolerance of the source population, we propose the application of conservation genomics and transcriptomics to guide reintroduction practices. Specifically, we propose using genome-wide functional loci to estimate genetic variation of source populations. This estimate can then be used to predict the potential for adaptation. We also propose using transcriptional profiling to measure the expression response of fitness-related genes to environmental stresses as a proxy for acclimation (tolerance) capacity. Appropriate application of conservation genomics and transcriptomics has the potential to dramatically enhance reintroduction success in a time of rapidly declining biodiversity and accelerating environmental change.

El Papel de la Genómica y los Transcriptomas en la Selección de Poblaciones Fuente para Reintroducción

El uso y la importancia de la reintroducción como herramienta de conservación para regresar a las especies a su extensión histórica de la que han sido extirpadas incrementarán conforme el cambio climático y los establecimientos humanos aceleren la pérdida de hábitat y la extinción de poblaciones. Aunque el número de intentos de reintroducción ha incrementado en las últimas dos décadas, la tasa de éxitos es generalmente baja. Como resultado de las diferencias poblacionales en los caracteres relacionados con la adecuación y las respuestas divergentes a los estreses ambientales, el desempeño poblacional tras la reintroducción es altamente variable y es un acuerdo general que la selección de una población fuente adecuada es un componente crítico de la reintroducción exitosa. La genómica de la conservación es un campo emergente que se enfoca en los retos de larga duración que enfrenta la conservación. El potencial para utilizar estrategias novedosas de genética molecular para informar y mejorar los esfuerzos de conservación es alto. Ya que el establecimiento exitoso y la persistencia de las poblaciones reintroducidas es altamente dependiente de la variación genética funcional y la tolerancia al estrés ambiental de la población fuente, proponemos la aplicación de la genómica de la conservación y los transcriptomas para guiar las prácticas de reintroducción. Específicamente, proponemos usar loci funcionales a nivel genoma para estimar la variación genética de las poblaciones fuente. Este estimado puede usarse para predecir el potencial de adaptación de la población. También proponemos usar evaluaciones por perfiles de transcripción para medir la respuesta de expresión a los estreses ambientales de los genes relacionados con la adecuación como sustitutos de la capacidad de aclimatación (tolerancia). La aplicación adecuada de la genómica de la conservación y los transcriptomas tiene el potencial de mejorar dramáticamente el éxito de reintroducción en tiempos de declinación crítica de la biodiversidad y de cambios ambientales acelerados.

The fate of Pantanal, one of the world's largest, most pristine and diverse wetlands, stands in the balance. The most recent (2014) and comprehensive land-cover change assessment of the Upper Paraguay River Basin (UPRB), comprising both lowlands (the Pantanal floodplain) and its surrounding upland savannas (Cerrado plateaus), demonstrates the extent of decline of native vegetation (Fig. 1a). Around 80% of the Pantanal floodplain native vegetation remains, whereas more than 60% of its Cerrado plateaus have been converted into pasture and croplands (Fig. 1b) (SOS-Pantanal et al. 2015). The most worrying aspect is the fast rate of land clearing during the last 30 years (Supporting Information). In fact, the Cerrado is experiencing higher native vegetation conversion rates than Amazon and Atlantic Forest ecosystems in recent years, but still is largely neglected by enforcement and protection policies (Overbeck et al. 2015).

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