Populations of mesopredators (mid-sized mammalian carnivores) are expanding in size and range amid declining apex predator populations and ever-growing human presence, leading to significant ecological impacts. Despite their obvious importance, population dynamics have scarcely been studied for most mesopredator species. Information on basic population parameters and processes under a range of conditions is necessary for managing these species. Here we investigate survival, recruitment, and population growth rate of a widely distributed and abundant mesopredator, the northern raccoon (Procyon lotor), using Pradel's temporal symmetry models and >6 years of monthly capture-mark-recapture data collected in a protected area. Monthly apparent survival probability was higher for females (0.949, 95% CI = 0.936-0.960) than for males (0.908, 95% CI = 0.893-0.920), while monthly recruitment rate was higher for males (0.091, 95% CI = 0.078-0.106) than for females (0.054, 95% CI = 0.042-0.067). Finally, monthly realized population growth rate was 1.000 (95% CI = 0.996-1.004), indicating that our study population has reached a stable equilibrium in this relatively undisturbed habitat. There was little evidence for substantial temporal variation in population growth rate or its components. Our study is one of the first to quantify survival, recruitment, and realized population growth rate of raccoons using long-term data and rigorous statistical models.

Mesopredators play an increasingly important role in ecosystems where apex predators have been eliminated, but population ecology of these midsized mammalian carnivores remains poorly understood. We applied Pradel's temporal symmetry models to > 6 years of monthly capture mark recapture data and investigated factors influencing apparent survival, recruitment, and realized population growth rate of the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), an important mesopredator with unique life-history characteristics. Apparent survival did not vary temporally; monthly survival probabilities were 0.86 +/- 0.01 (SE) for females and 0.76 +/- 0.02 for males. Recruitment rate varied monthly, with the highest recruitment in December (0.32 +/- 0.12 for females and 0.57 +/- 0.22 for males). Realized population growth rate varied monthly and was also highest in December (1.30 +/- 0.17). Both recruitment and population growth rate were positively influenced by the monthly coefficient of variation of precipitation. There was no evidence of density-dependent influences on opossum population dynamics, nor was there evidence of competition from the raccoon (Procyon lotor), a sympatric and abundant mesopredator. Our study is the 1st to simultaneously report survival, recruitment, and population growth rate of Virginia opossums and to investigate factors influencing these rates. In doing so, we provide important insights into the population dynamics of an increasingly influential mesopredator.

Predicting where threatened species occur is useful for making informed conservation decisions. However, because they are usually rare, surveying threatened species is often expensive and time intensive. Here, we show how regions where common species exhibit high genetic and morphological divergence among populations can be used to predict the occurrence of species of conservation concern. Intraspecific variation of common species of birds, bats and frogs from Ecuador were found to be a significantly better predictor for the occurrence of threatened species than suites of environmental variables or the occurrence of amphibians and birds. Fully 93 per cent of the threatened species analysed had their range adequately represented by the geographical distribution of the morphological and genetic variation found in seven common species. Both higher numbers of threatened species and greater genetic and morphological variation of common species occurred along elevation gradients. Higher levels of intraspecific divergence may be the result of disruptive selection and/or introgression along gradients. We suggest that collecting data on genetic and morphological variation in common species can be a cost effective tool for conservation planning, and that future biodiversity inventories include surveying genetic and morphological data of common species whenever feasible.

Understanding the biotic consequences of Pleistocene range shifts and fragmentation remains a fundamental goal in historical biogeography and evolutionary biology. Here, we combine species distribution models (SDM) from the present and two late Quaternary time periods with multilocus genetic data (mitochondrial DNA and microsatellites) to evaluate the effect of climate-induced habitat shifts on population genetic structure in the Large-blotched Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi), a plethodontid salamander endemic to middle and high-elevation conifer forest in the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges of southern California and northern Baja California. A composite SDM representing the range through time predicts two disjunct refugia, one in southern California encompassing the core of the species range and the other in the Sierra San Pedro Mártir of northern Baja California at the southern limit of the species range. Based on our spatial model, we would expect a pattern of high connectivity among populations within the northern refugium and, conversely, a pattern of isolation due to long-term persistence of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir population. Our genetic results are consistent with these predictions based on the hypothetical refugia in that (i) historical measures of population connectivity among stable areas are correlated with gene flow estimates; and (ii) there is strong geographical structure between separate refugia. These results provide evidence for the role of recent climatic change in shaping patterns of population persistence and connectivity within the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges, an evolutionary hotspot.

The extraordinary growth of human populations and development in coastal areas over the last half century has eliminated and degraded coastal habitats and threatened the persistence of associated wildlife. Moreover, human‐induced sea‐level rise ( SLR ) is projected to further eliminate and alter the same coastal ecosystems, especially low‐lying regions. Whereas habitat loss and wildlife population declines from development are well documented, contemporary SLR has not yet been implicated in declines of coastal faunal populations. In addition, the projection of severe synergistic impacts from the combination of development and SLR is well described, yet the scientific literature offers little empirical evidence of the influence of these forces on coastal wildlife. Analysis of aerial photographs from 1959 to 2006 provided evidence of a 64% net loss of the endangered L ower K eys marsh rabbit's ( S ylvilagus palustris hefneri ; LKMR ) habitat, the majority due to SLR (>48%). Furthermore, there was a strong negative relationship between the proportion of development per island and the amount of new habitat formed. Islands with modest development (less than 8% of land area) saw formation of new areas of marsh vegetation suitable for rabbits, whereas islands with 8% or more of their lands developed between 1959 and 2006 saw little to no addition of LKMR habitat. Only 8% of habitat loss was directly due to conversion to impervious surfaces, indicating that the greatest threats from development were indirect, including blocking of the inland migration of habitat triggered by SLR . Our results were consistent with an ongoing squeeze of coastal ecosystems between rising seas and development as a threat to LKMR habitat, which raises concern for a wide variety of coastal species. Our results provide evidence that SLR has become a contemporary conservation concern, one that is exacerbated by development, and expected to increase in magnitude as ocean waters continue to rise.

Abstract Undergraduate and graduate programs in natural resource management focus on interventions to sustainably manage wildlife, fisheries, and forests. Coursework usually provides in-depth content on the biology and ecology of species and ecosystems. Topics such as climate change are framed as environmental problems, and risks and impacts to the natural world are emphasized. Relatively few courses incorporate concepts from psychology, or more specifically ecopsychology, to present an underlying framework to help students understand the basis of why people's individual and collective actions may reflect denial, exacerbation, or problem-solving solutions to environmental hazards such as climate change. Incorporating a psychological approach into students' exploration of climate change issues provides the basis for learning about climate change risks and impacts in the context of daily life, communication in mass media, and in policy formation. Incorporating a psychological approach can improve the effect...

Human-induced land use changes are causing extensive habitat fragmentation. As a result, many species are not able to shift their ranges in response to climate change and will likely need to adapt in situ to changing climate conditions. Consequently, a prudent strategy to maintain the ability of populations to adapt is to focus conservation efforts on areas where levels of intraspecific variation are high. By doing so, the potential for an evolutionary response to environmental change is maximized. Here, we use modeling approaches in conjunction with environmental variables to model species distributions and patterns of genetic and morphological variation in seven Ecuadorian amphibian, bird, and mammal species. We then used reserve selection software to prioritize areas for conservation based on intraspecific variation or species-level diversity. Reserves selected using species richness and complementarity showed little overlap with those based on genetic and morphological variation. Priority areas for intraspecific variation were mainly located along the slopes of the Andes and were largely concordant among species, but were not well represented in existing reserves. Our results imply that in order to maximize representation of intraspecific variation in reserves, genetic and morphological variation should be included in conservation prioritization.

Species distribution models are commonly used to predict species responses to climate change. However, their usefulness in conservation planning and policy is controversial because they are difficult to validate across time and space. Here we capitalize on small mammal surveys repeated over a century in Yosemite National Park, USA, to assess accuracy of model predictions. Historical (1900–1940) climate, vegetation, and species occurrence data were used to develop single‐ and multi‐species multivariate adaptive regression spline distribution models for three species of chipmunk. Models were projected onto the current (1980–2007) environmental surface and then tested against modern field resurveys of each species. We evaluated models both within and between time periods and found that even with the inclusion of biotic predictors, climate alone is the dominant predictor explaining the distribution of the study species within a time period. However, climate was not consistently an adequate predictor of the distributional change observed in all three species across time. For two of the three species, climate alone or climate and vegetation models showed good predictive performance across time. The stability of the distribution from the past to present observed in the third species, however, was not predicted by our modeling approach. Our results demonstrate that correlative distribution models are useful in understanding species' potential responses to environmental change, but also show how changes in species‐environment correlations through time can limit the predictive performance of models.

To better understand how environment shapes phenotypic and genetic variation, we explore the relationship between environmental variables across Ecuador and genetic and morphological variation in the wedge-billed woodcreeper (Glyphorynchus spirurus), a common Neotropical rainforest bird species. Generalized dissimilarity models show that variation in amplified fragment length polymorphism markers was strongly associated with environmental variables on both sides of the Andes, but could also partially be explained by geographic distance on the western side of the Andes. Tarsus, wing, tail, and bill lengths and bill depth were well explained by environmental variables on the western side of the Andes, whereas only tarsus length was well explained on the eastern side. Regions that comprise the highest rates of genetic and phenotypic change occur along steep elevation gradients in the Andes. Such environmental gradients are likely to be particularly important for maximizing adaptive diversity to minimize the impacts of climate change. Using a framework for conservation prioritization based on preserving ecological and evolutionary processes, we found little overlap between currently protected areas in Ecuador and regions we predicted to be important in maximizing adaptive variation.

Scarce resources and competing land-use goals necessitate efficient biodiversity conservation. Combining multicriteria analysis with conservation decision-support tools improves efficiency of conservation planning by maximizing outcomes for biodiversity while minimizing opportunity costs to society. An opportunity cost is the benefit that could have been received by taking an alternative course of action (i.e., costs to society of protecting an area for biodiversity rather than developing it for some other use). Although different ways of integrating multiple opportunity costs into conservation planning have been suggested, there have been no tests as to which method is most efficient. We compared the relative efficiency of 3 such procedures (Faith & Walker [1996], Sarkar et al. [2004], and a procedure of our own design) in a systematic conservation-planning framework for the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. We devised 14 opportunity costs and assigned these to 3 scenarios representing different conservation planning concerns: food security, macro-economic development, and biodiversity persistence. For each scenario, we compared the efficiency of the 3 methods in terms of amount of biodiversity protected relative to total expenditure for each opportunity cost. All 3 methods captured similar amounts of biodiversity, but differed in total cost. Our method had the least overall cost and was therefore most efficient. Nevertheless, there was a high correlation and geographical concordance among all 3 methods, indicating a high degree of spatial overlap. This suggests that choosing an appropriate approach may often depend on contextual factors related to the design of the planning question, rather than efficiency alone.

1 Biodiversity and Biocultural Conservation Laboratory, Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C0930, Austin, Texas, USA 78712 2 Wello Horld, Inc., 195 Morgan Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, USA 11237 3 Graduate Group in Ecology, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California at Davis, Davis, California, USA 95616 4 Department of Philosophy, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C3500, Austin, Texas, USA 78712 * For correspondence, email: sarkar@mail.utexas.edu

A two-stage protocol for the design of conservation area networks which allows multiple constraint synchronization is described. During the first stage areas are selected to represent components of biodiversity up to speci- fied targets as economically as possible. The principal heuristic used is complementarity. This process results in a set of conservation area networks which comprise the feasible alternatives for the subsequent analysis. Dur- ing the second stage, multiple criteria (including spatial configuration crite- ria, vulnerability criteria, and socio-political criteria) are used, first to select the non-dominated feasible alternatives, and then to refine the non-domi- nated set further. This refinement is performed using a modification of the analytic hierarchy process. Resumen Describimos un protocolo de dos etapas para el diseño de una red de zonas que permita la sincronización de múltiples limitantes. En la primera etapa, se eligen zonas representativas de la biodiversidad hasta obtener en la manera más económica posible las metas especificadas. La complementación es la heurística usada. Este proceso genera una red de áreas de conservación que constituyen en alternativas viables para ser analizadas subsecuentemente. Durante la segunda etapa, usamos criterios múltiple (incluyendo criterios de configuración espacial, de vulnerabilidad, y político-social) primero para seleccionar alternativas viables no dominantes, y luego para refinar aun mas la selección del grupo no dominante. Para lograr la selección usamos una variación del proceso de jerarquía analítica. Abstract

ABSTRACT We analyse optimal and heuristic place prioritization algorithms for biodiversity conservation area network design which can use probabilistic data on the distribution of surrogates for biodiversity. We show how an Expected Surrogate Set Covering Problem (ESSCP) and a Maximal Expected Surrogate Covering Problem (MESCP) can be linearized for computationally efficient solution. For the ESSCP, we study the performance of two optimization software packages (XPRESS and CPLEX) and five heuristic algorithms based on traditional measures of complementarity and rarity as well as the Shannon and Simpson indices of α‐diversity which are being used in this context for the first time. On small artificial data sets the optimal place prioritization algorithms often produced more economical solutions than the heuristic algorithms, though not always ones guaranteed to be optimal. However, with large data sets, the optimal algorithms often required long computation times and produced no better results than heuristic ones. Thus there is generally little reason to prefer optimal to heuristic algorithms with probabilistic data sets.

We present a framework for systematic conservation planning for biodiversity with an emphasis on the Indian context. We illustrate the use of this framework by analyzing two data sets consisting of environmental and physical features that serve as surrogates for biodiversity. The aim was to select networks of potential conservation areas (such as reserves and national parks) which include representative fractions of these environmental features or surrogates. The first data set includes the entire subcontinent while the second is limited to the Eastern Himalayas. The environmental surrogates used for the two analyses result in the selection of conservation area networks with different properties. Tentative results indicate that these surrogates are successful in selecting most areas known from fieldwork to have high biodiversity content such as the broadleaf and subalpine conifer forests of the Eastern Himalayas. However, the place-prioritization algorithm also selected areas not known to be high in biodiversity content such as the coast of the Arabian Sea. Areas selected to satisfy a 10% target of representation for the complete surrogate set provide representation for 46.03% of the ecoregions in the entire study area. The algorithm selected a disproportionately small number of cells in the Western Ghats, a hotspot of vascular plant endemism. At the same target level, restricted surrogate sets represent 33.33% of the ecoregions in the entire study area and 46.67% of the ecoregions in the Eastern Himalayas. Finally, any more sophisticated use of such systematic methods will require the assembly of Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based biogeographical data sets on a regional scale. Key words: Indian biodiversity, Eastern Himalayas, complementarity, area prioritization, reserve selection, surrogacy Himalayan Journal of Sciences Vol.4(6) 2007 p.27-40

The coast of North Carolina provides important habitat for both migrating and wintering Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus). All three geographic populations of this species are known to use the North Carolina coastline during the non-breeding season. Migrating and wintering Piping Plovers face a number of threats in the state including habitat loss and degradation due to development, chronic human disturbance and beach and inlet stabilization projects. In the past, surveys for non-breeding Piping Plovers were conducted primarily in an opportunistic fashion and not compiled in one location. In 2001, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission created an Access database for non-breeding Piping Plover observations and compiled sightings in an effort to help identify some of the most important areas for non-breeding Piping Plovers. In recent years, systematic surveys conducted on Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores and at various locations in the state in association with beach stabilization projects coupled with the increase in sightings reported and the compilation of coast-wide data, have lead to an increase in our knowledge about non- breeding Piping Plovers in North Carolina. In addition, it has aided in the review of projects that have the potential to negatively impact Piping Plovers and in management efforts for non- breeding plovers. Much is still to be learned about non-breeding Piping Plovers in the state and the impacts of the aforementioned threats. Additional systematic surveys are needed in other areas along the coast such as difficult to reach shoals and more frequent surveys are required along sites of known importance to further our understanding of migrating and wintering Piping Plovers in the state.