Browsing by Subject "endangered species"

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    Evaluation of Tiger Conservation in India: the use of comparative effectiveness research
    (2010-04-25T19:59:48Z) Post, Gerald
    Tigers, the largest of the felids, are now a globally threatened species with only approximately 3000 wild tigers surviving. India contains about 60% or 2000 of the animals, yet despite aggressive conservation efforts the number of tigers is declining. The causes of the decline are prey depletion, habitat destruction and poaching. Over the past 30 years of tiger conservation efforts in the various protected areas within India, success has been incredibly variable, with few documented cases of parks were the numbers of tigers have risen, but many more cases of parks where tiger populations have plummeted. There are very few scientific papers that assess the effectiveness of conservation efforts and when it is considered, implementation rather than outcome is evaluated. Recent literature suggests that evaluating outcomes in more predictive of conservation success. This thesis attempts to use comparative research effectiveness techniques, a methodology used to evaluate medical therapy effectiveness, to evaluate tiger conservation in India. Various tiger conservation experts were polled and a list of 7 successful protected areas—Kanha, Corbett, Pench, Kaziranga, Bhadra, Bandipur, and Nagarhole—and 5 failed protected areas—Palamau, Dampa, Panna, Sariska and Namdapha—were generated. A list of variables that could impact outcome at these protected areas was generated and included biologic (tiger density, prey density, area of the reserve, the presence/absence of a biological corridor), geographical (the Indian State the reserve is in eco-region of the reserve), economic (number of tourists, revenue from tourism, forestry, funding per sq km) and socio-political factors (human population data, presence/absence of a “conservation hero”, Park Management Effectiveness Rating, poaching). The factors that were positively correlated with success included tiger density and the presence of a biological corridor. Population density and level of funding did not correlate with success or failure. Many of the successful reserves were in areas of high human population density and many of the failures were in areas of low human population density. Although not statistically correlated, the presence of a “conservation hero” was seen in 5 of the 7 successes but in only 1 of the failures. The lack of correlation between many of the independent variables evaluated and success or failure of the tiger reserves has revealed that tiger conservation can be successful despite factors such as high human population densities and only average funding to the reserve. Comparative effectiveness research techniques can be used to evaluate conservation outcomes.
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    In the Spotlight: An Assessment of Beachfront Lighting at Four Hotels and Recommendations for Mitigation Necessary to Safeguard Sea Turtles Nesting in Barbados, West Indies
    (2007-12-07T18:15:56Z) Knowles, John English
    Artificial beachfront lighting is an increasing problem for sea turtle hatchlings and adult females. Barbados, the easternmost Caribbean island, exhibits particularly acute light pollution on the south and west coasts, which overlap one of the largest hawksbill sea turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, rookeries in the region. A predominant source of arti-ficial beachfront lighting is from hotels. To address the industry’s impact, and following the recommendations of a 2000 national workshop titled, “Sea Turtles and Beachfront Lighting: An Interactive Workshop for Industry Professionals and Policy-Makers in Barbados,” four leading hotels participated in a six-month voluntary lighting assessment. The lighting assessments followed standard guidelines and a ranking system was devel-oped to objectively evaluate each light fixture based on intensity. The ranking system highlights fixtures most detrimental to sea turtle orientation, and encourages hoteliers to evaluate progress made toward sea turtle friendly lighting regimes over time. The results of the assessment were presented to the four hotels in user friendly assessment reports that included mitigation recommendations for each fixture type. The assessment reports establish a lighting baseline for future assessments and act as a clearing house of recom-mendations for problematic lighting schemes. The hotel industry bears responsibility for the effects of their properties on sea turtle nesting grounds; therefore, encouraging them to rectify beachfront light pollution is crucial to the management of sea turtle populations in the Caribbean and throughout the world. The study, and the willingness of major beachfront hotels to participate, provides a replicable model for other countries to follow.
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    Landowner and Agency Perceptions of Voluntary Conservation Programs in the Great Plains
    (2019-04-18) Frediani, Virginia
    Private landowners are a key partner to protect endangered species in the Great Plains but fear of the Endangered Species Act’s regulatory provisions and working with government make this a challenge. Landowners can enroll in voluntary conservation programs to implement conservation practices on their property to protect wildlife while receiving benefits to participate. These program benefits come in the form of financial incentives, technical assistance and regulatory assurances. This study surveyed landowners and agency employees to understand their perceptions towards these programs to protect species on private land. The surveys revealed landowners and agency employees perceive these programs positively as important aspects of species conservation efforts but find administrative issues a hindrance to landowner participation and agency implementation. These administrative issues are caused by a lack of funding and staff dedicated to the management of these programs and reinforce the distrust many landowners have towards government. To mitigate these issues, this study recommends consistent and increased funding towards agencies managing these programs; implementing a package approach to streamline administration; consistent training of agency staff at the local, state and federal level; and safeguards to protect landowner privacy. Voluntary conservation programs are an essential aspect to protect endangered species on private property but need substantially increased funding and staff resources to reach their full potential.
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    Species Distribution Modeling for Bog Turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) in North Carolina
    (2013-12-06) Dick, Kevin
    The bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is the smallest turtle species in North America and is listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. Accurate detection of its specialized wetland habitat and subsequent tagging of individuals for monitoring purposes is critical for improving conservation efforts with this species. Parts of the Piedmont region in North Carolina have historically served as habitat for bog turtles, but few populations are now known to occur there. Increases in residential development, agricultural land use, and the draining of wetland areas over the past several decades have likely contributed to their current extirpation from this part of the state. Most wildlife managers no longer survey for bog turtles in most of the Piedmont as efforts are both time and cost prohibitive, and funding generally all allocated for work in counties where they have a better chance of locating bog turtles during a given survey event. Several managers acknowledge that there may still be bog turtles living in the Piedmont, but because of present limitations, there is currently no conservation plan for them. GIS and predictive modeling were used as a low-cost method for locating potential sites within four North Carolina counties that exhibit suitable habitat characteristics for bog turtles. Such predictions may prove useful in documenting new occurrences of bog turtles in both the Piedmont counties of Iredell, Davie, and Davidson, as well as in the higher quality bog turtle habitat regions of Wilkes County. The Maxent distribution model was used as it is capable of producing accurate habitat predictions for species with small sample sizes. A total of 28 areas with species presence and 16 different environmental variables were used in the analysis. The model returned several sites within Wilkes County exhibiting higher levels of predicted suitability, and a smaller number of sites within Iredell County with moderate levels of suitability. The predicted sites in Iredell County were previously unknown to wildlife managers, and may help to direct future survey work in those locations. If these model predictions can be translated to positive detection of turtles in the field, spatial modeling work of this kind may begin to play a larger role in the conservation efforts for the species.