Author: AER | ESE

Research summaries

Conservation is becoming more evidence-based, but it still has a long way to go

Written by Alec Christie, Centre for Environmental Policy, Imperial College London. For more than two decades, conservationists have been encouraged to use the best available evidence to inform their decisions – a concept called ‘Evidence-based Conservation’. The idea is simple: rather than relying only on personal experience, tradition, or intuition, practitioners should draw on evidence from the wider literature and other forms of knowledge to … Continue reading Conservation is becoming more evidence-based, but it still has a long way to go

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Winner – Sylvia Ascher: Misplaced fears? What the evidence reveals of the ecological effects of tidal power generation

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Our paper focuses on understanding whether the ecological fears surrounding tidal energy are actually backed by evidence. Tidal power is a reliable, clean, and predictable renewable energy source, yet projects are frequently delayed or cancelled due to concerns about environmental harm. We systematically reviewed the empirical literature, 54 papers spanning decades, covering both tidal range (barrages) … Continue reading Winner – Sylvia Ascher: Misplaced fears? What the evidence reveals of the ecological effects of tidal power generation

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Muhammad Iqbal Md Jamaluddin: Ecological corridors enhance adaptation success of translocated conflict elephants

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize About the research Overview My research investigates the ecological adaptation of a translocated sub-adult male Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) as a strategy to mitigate increasing human-elephant conflict (HEC). By tracking a satellite-collared individual relocated from its original conflict zone, I sought to determine if a relocated elephant can successfully integrate into new habitats without exhibiting homing behaviour or resuming conflict. … Continue reading Muhammad Iqbal Md Jamaluddin: Ecological corridors enhance adaptation success of translocated conflict elephants

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Winner – Allan Edelsparre: Fast-tracking species at risk conservation: A framework for addressing recovery actions through multi-agency collaboration

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize About the research Overview Our paper asks a simple but uncomfortable question: why do so many species recovery strategies fail to translate into recovery outcomes? Using more than a decade of collaborative work on the endangered semi-aquatic queensnake (Regina septemvittata) in Ontario, we developed and tested a framework for coordinating recovery actions across agencies and organizations. Recovery actions are … Continue reading Winner – Allan Edelsparre: Fast-tracking species at risk conservation: A framework for addressing recovery actions through multi-agency collaboration

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Jessica Gauld: Towards a process of translational palaeoecology: A practical guide to research co-production

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Palaeoecology – the ecology of the past – has much to offer in addressing complex conservation challenges. By providing a long-term perspective of ecological change, palaeoecology can provide insight on pre-disturbance conditions, long-term processes, and the responses of ecological systems to dynamic climatic and anthropogenic change. However, the persistence of a palaeoecology research – conservation practice … Continue reading Jessica Gauld: Towards a process of translational palaeoecology: A practical guide to research co-production

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Rachel Nichols: Forming and managing a Farmer Cluster for improved farmland biodiversity in Europe

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize About the research Overview Farmer Clusters are groups of neighbouring farmers that come together to select their own biodiversity targets in a “bottom-up” approach and therefore offer an amazing opportunity to tackle agricultural biodiversity declines across the landscape. They allow farmers to take control of the conservation initiatives on their land, each tailored to their specific goals, and work … Continue reading Rachel Nichols: Forming and managing a Farmer Cluster for improved farmland biodiversity in Europe

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Munib Khanyari – Finding the ghosts: Snow leopard density and distribution in the multi-use region of Jammu and Kashmir, India

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Jammu and Kashmir has been an extremely understudied area, especially its high elevation. Over 2 years of political instability has made this task even more challenging. In this paper, we wanted to first understand where snow leopards are found in Jammu and Kashmir. Following this large-scale survey, we then wanted to understand the status and … Continue reading Munib Khanyari – Finding the ghosts: Snow leopard density and distribution in the multi-use region of Jammu and Kashmir, India

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Juliano Zardetto: Widespread negative effects of Leucaena leucocephala (white-popinac) invasion on regenerating areas of the Atlantic Forest

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Our research provides evidence on the severe impacts caused by a widespread invasive species in Brazil: Leucaena leucocephala (white-popinac). We reinforce the urgency of avoiding the use of white-popinac in restoration projects and agroforestry, and focusing on early detection and management in recently invaded areas. Against some common sense, we found that white-popinac invasions can … Continue reading Juliano Zardetto: Widespread negative effects of Leucaena leucocephala (white-popinac) invasion on regenerating areas of the Atlantic Forest

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Careers, Research summaries

Emily Warner: Integrated above- and below-ground ecological monitoring for nature-based solutions

Shortlisted for the Georgina Mace Prize About the research Overview Our research produced an ecological monitoring framework for practitioners developing nature-based solutions (NbS) projects. Biodiversity should be at the heart of NbS, underpinning the benefits they provide to humans. Being able to effectively track above- and below-ground biodiversity outcomes of projects is key, but can be an overwhelming task for practitioners, faced with a wide … Continue reading Emily Warner: Integrated above- and below-ground ecological monitoring for nature-based solutions

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Luisana Barrios: Archetypes of nature-based solutions for farming in the North York Moors National Park

Shortlisted for the Chico Mendes Prize About the research Overview We investigate how Nature-based Solutions (NbS) have been applied within the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme in the North York Moors National Park, analysing how different interventions contribute to biodiversity, ecosystem services and climate adaptation. Our research identifies common archetypes and approaches across 31 projects, such as ecological restoration, water quality enhancement, tree planting and … Continue reading Luisana Barrios: Archetypes of nature-based solutions for farming in the North York Moors National Park

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