Richard Fuller - Conserving Mobile Species

Question 1

Runge et al. 2014

Answer 1

Review: Conserving Mobile Species

• Only a few examples of conservation planning that caters for species that move in space and time
• Connectivity between lots of sites and corridors important to migration is needed (bottlenecks, multiple routes, feeding/breeding sites)
• otherwise loss of a seemingly small area could result in potential extinction due to its importance to migratory function
• Collaboration between multiple stakeholders often needed
• Conservation plans need to be flexible and able to change depending on situation… state-based conservation.
• Unknown/complex effects of climate change & habitat loss may mean maximising evolutionary potential should be a conservation goal (e.g. saving sub-populations), Hoffman & Scro 2011

Question 2

Runge et al. 2015 (Science)

Answer 2

Only 9% of migratory birds are adequately protected across their range, compared to 45% of non-migrators.
- This figure is likely over-generous, as it does not consider the inadequate management of many supposedly protected areas

Question 3

Runge et al. 2015 (Cons. Biol.)

Answer 3

IUCN red list doesn’t take into account fluctuations in range-size of migratory species, therefore may not assess them as sufficiently threatened

Question 4

Boere 1995

Answer 4

The African-Eurasian waterbird agreement (successful example of international collaboration for the sake of bird conservation)

Question 5

Clemens et al. 2016

Answer 5

Declines in 17 of 19 migratory shorebirds in Australia in 15 years (found using a citizen-science dataset!). Non-migrators not as bad, so problem must be happening outside Australia…

Question 6

Murray & Fuller 2014

Answer 6

Yellow sea ‘coastal collapse’, 2/3rd of tidal flats have been lost, can explain 90% of migratory shorebird declines observed in Australia!

Question 7

Shuter et al. 2011

Answer 7

Mobile species can perform important ecosystem functions and conserving the movement process they perform may be just as important as conserving the species themselves

Question 8

Robinson et al. 2009

Answer 8

12% of the worlds vertebrates make long-distance movements and migrators are present in every continent and ocean