How can we efficiently create protected areas in inaccessible, yet threatened, areas?

Delphine Ducros discusses the latest research with colleagues which saw how a suite of modelling tools can be used to identify and protect remote, data-poor natural areas in regions that are in need of urgent conservation policy. The challenge of sampling remote areas Human footprint is increasing worldwide, reaching even the most remote places, with potential threats to biodiversity. In isolated places, assessing and anticipating … Continue reading How can we efficiently create protected areas in inaccessible, yet threatened, areas?

Resolving a heated debate: How useful is prescribed burning for lowland heaths?

Prescribed burning is a controversial management tool. Here, Barbara Smith discusses new research she and colleagues conducted into the impact of burning on lowland heaths at three trophic levels over a 20 year period. Its findings provide evidence for ecologists, land managers and policy makers to support decision making in protected area management. Background Lowland heathlands, with their unique assemblage of species, were created by … Continue reading Resolving a heated debate: How useful is prescribed burning for lowland heaths?

FAR-sighted conservation: Facing the inevitability of ongoing environmental change

Chris Thomas and colleagues describe their latest Perspective article outlining a new framework – Facilitate-Accept-Resist (FAR) – that operationalizes conservation decision-making in a way that leads to greater adoption of positive biodiversity change. Conservation is in a bind. The biological world is changing, and so are our human priorities. When we declare a nature reserve on the basis of a particular species, for example, is … Continue reading FAR-sighted conservation: Facing the inevitability of ongoing environmental change

Time to integrate global climate change and biodiversity science-policy agendas

This year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) will be held in Glasgow in November. In the lead up to the conference, we’re asking our editors and authors to share their research at the interface of climate and ecology. In this post, Nathalie Pettorelli (ZSL) explains how the conference presents a clear window for developing coherent policy frameworks that align targets across the nexus of biodiversity … Continue reading Time to integrate global climate change and biodiversity science-policy agendas

Habitat selection modelling reveals sea turtles use protected areas in greater proportion to their availability

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designated regions to help conserve wildlife but how are they used by the species they protect? In their latest research, Kelsey Roberts and colleagues evaluate the use of these protected areas by sea turtles to help inform better design and management of MPAs. Scientists agree that area-based conservation efforts are key to preserving biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as ocean-based … Continue reading Habitat selection modelling reveals sea turtles use protected areas in greater proportion to their availability

Editor’s Choice 57:09 – Multi-species connectivity in a trans-frontier conservation landscape

As the September Editor’s Choice for Journal of Applied Ecology, research from Angela Brennan and colleagues moves away from a single-species approach and instead looks at movement corridors and connectivity on a large scale and across multiple species. Associate Editor, Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi shares the important impact this could have on future conservation and development plans. Continue reading Editor’s Choice 57:09 – Multi-species connectivity in a trans-frontier conservation landscape

Protected high-value reefs and movement pathways improve conservation of reef sharks

New research from Gerardo Martín and colleagues looks at how we might support shark species if protected areas are multi-use and still open to fishing. The key is focusing on reefs preferred by sharks and developing our knowledge of shark movement pathways. Here the authors share their work and look at how we can improve species conservation while still supporting communities that depend on coral … Continue reading Protected high-value reefs and movement pathways improve conservation of reef sharks

How can movement ecology support marine protected areas in preventing illegal fishing?

In their recently published work, David Jacoby and colleagues combine long-term shark tracking data with that of enforcement patrols to see how behaviour can influence the vulnerability of marine life to illegal fishing in one of the world’s largest marine protected areas. Continue reading How can movement ecology support marine protected areas in preventing illegal fishing?

Wildlife conservation modelling and Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes are a way of bringing potential ‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’ of ecosystem services together for a mutually beneficial exchange. In their recently published work, Kragt and colleagues present an ecological model in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic that predicts how community-based patrolling can protect critically endangered species from poaching. Here they show how this model could benefit PES schemes. Laos … Continue reading Wildlife conservation modelling and Payment for Ecosystem Services schemes

Conservation optimism: applied ecologists lead the way

Linking to their upcoming summit in Oxford, UK, Conservation Optimism’s E.J. Milner-Gulland brings together a selection of recent research papers that celebrate conservation success and look for solutions. These are both difficult and hopeful times for applied ecologists. On the one hand, the scale and severity of the strain that our ecological systems are under is becoming more and more apparent; a look through the … Continue reading Conservation optimism: applied ecologists lead the way