Riley F Bernard | Geology Reports

USGS2021

Rapid assessment indicates context-dependent mitigation for amphibian disease risk

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans ( Bsal ) is a fungal pathogen that can cause the emerging infectious disease Bsal chytridiomycosis in some amphibians and is currently causing dramatic declines in European urodeles. To date, Bsal has not been detected in North America but has the potential to cause severe declines in naïve hosts if introduced. Therefore, it is critical that wildlife managers are prepared with effective management actions to combat the fungus. Research has been initiated to identify strategies; however, managers need guidance to prepare for an outbreak until results are available. We conducted a workshop at the Joint Meeting of The Wildlife Society and American Fisheries Society on 30 September 2019 with participants of a Bsal symposium. Our goals were to describe the expected effects of 11 management actions that could be implemented for Bsal in salamander communities in the northwestern, northeastern, and southeastern United States. Participants expected a variety of proposed management actions to decrease pathogen transmission and increase host survival, but also that the selection of a management action may depend on the specific membership of the amphibian community. Collectively, our assessment will help refine research and modeling priorities in an effort to mitigate the risk of Bsal to native U.S. amphibians.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗

USGS2020

Moving from decision to action in conservation science

Biodiversity loss is a major threat to the integrity of ecosystems and is projected to worsen, yet the path to successful conservation remains elusive. Decision support frameworks (DSFs) are increasingly applied by resource managers to navigate the complexity, uncertainty, and differing socio-ecological objectives inherent to conservation problems. Most published conservation research that uses DSFs focuses on analytical stages (e.g., identifying an optimal decision), making it difficult to assess and learn from previous examples in a conservation practice context. Here, we (1) evaluate the relationship between the application of decision science and the resulting conservation outcomes, and (2) identify and address existing barriers to the application of DSFs to conservation practice. To do this, we develop a framework for evaluating conservation initiatives using decision science that emphasizes setting attainable goals, building momentum, and obtaining partner buy-in. We apply this framework to a systematic review of amphibian conservation decision support projects, including a follow-up survey of the pertinent conservation practitioners, stakeholders, and scientists. We found that all projects identified optimal solutions to reach stated objectives, but positive conservation outcomes were limited when implementation challenges arose. Further, we identified multiple barriers (e.g., dynamic and hierarchical leadership, scale complexity, limited resource availability) that can inhibit the progression from decision identification to action implementation (i.e., ‘decision-implementation gap’), and to successful conservation outcomes. Based on these results, we provide potential actionable steps and avenues for future development of DSFs to facilitate the transition from decision to action and the realization of conservation successes.

Biological Conservation↗