Dataset Information

Optimal conservation outcomes require both restoration and protection.

ABSTRACT: Conservation outcomes are principally achieved through the protection of intact habitat or the restoration of degraded habitat. Restoration is generally considered a lower priority action than protection because protection is thought to provide superior outcomes, at lower costs, without the time delay required for restoration. Yet while it is broadly accepted that protected intact habitat safeguards more biodiversity and generates greater ecosystem services per unit area than restored habitat, conservation lacks a theory that can coherently compare the relative outcomes of the two actions. We use a dynamic landscape model to integrate these two actions into a unified conservation theory of protection and restoration. Using nonlinear benefit functions, we show that both actions are crucial components of a conservation strategy that seeks to optimise either biodiversity conservation or ecosystem services provision. In contrast to conservation orthodoxy, in some circumstances, restoration should be strongly preferred to protection. The relative priority of protection and restoration depends on their costs and also on the different time lags that are inherent to both protection and restoration. We derive a simple and easy-to-interpret heuristic that integrates these factors into a single equation that applies equally to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service objectives. We use two examples to illustrate the theory: bird conservation in tropical rainforests and coastal defence provided by mangrove forests.

SUBMITTER: Possingham HP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4308106 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Optimal conservation outcomes require both restoration and protection.

Possingham Hugh P HP Bode Michael M Klein Carissa J CJ

PLoS biology 20150127 1

Conservation outcomes are principally achieved through the protection of intact habitat or the restoration of degraded habitat. Restoration is generally considered a lower priority action than protection because protection is thought to provide superior outcomes, at lower costs, without the time delay required for restoration. Yet while it is broadly accepted that protected intact habitat safeguards more biodiversity and generates greater ecosystem services per unit area than restored habitat, c ...[more]

PMID: 25625277

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundMigratory animals comprise a significant portion of biodiversity worldwide with annual investment for their conservation exceeding several billion dollars. Designing effective conservation plans presents enormous challenges. Migratory species are influenced by multiple events across land and sea-regions that are often separated by thousands of kilometres and span international borders. To date, conservation strategies for migratory species fail to take into account how migratory animals are spatially connected between different periods of the annual cycle (i.e. migratory connectivity) bringing into question the utility and efficiency of current conservation efforts.Methodology/principal findingsHere, we report the first framework for determining an optimal conservation strategy for a migratory species. Employing a decision theoretic approach using dynamic optimization, we address the problem of how to allocate resources for habitat conservation for a Neotropical-Nearctic migratory bird, the American redstart Setophaga ruticilla, whose winter habitat is under threat. Our first conservation strategy used the acquisition of winter habitat based on land cost, relative bird density, and the rate of habitat loss to maximize the abundance of birds on the wintering grounds. Our second strategy maximized bird abundance across the entire range of the species by adding the constraint of maintaining a minimum percentage of birds within each breeding region in North America using information on migratory connectivity as estimated from stable-hydrogen isotopes in feathers. We show that failure to take into account migratory connectivity may doom some regional populations to extinction, whereas including information on migratory connectivity results in the protection of the species across its entire range.Conclusions/significanceWe demonstrate that conservation strategies for migratory animals depend critically upon two factors: knowledge of migratory connectivity and the correct statement of the conservation problem. Our framework can be used to identify efficient conservation strategies for migratory taxa worldwide, including insects, birds, mammals, and marine organisms.

Project description:Expansive growth of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) is a prerequisite to the temporal waves of neuronal differentiation that generate the six-layered neocortex, while also placing a heavy burden on proteins that regulate chromatin packaging and genome integrity. This problem is further reflected by the growing number of developmental disorders caused by mutations in chromatin regulators. ATRX gene mutations cause a severe intellectual disability disorder (α-thalassemia mental retardation X-linked (ATRX) syndrome; OMIM no. 301040), characterized by microcephaly, urogenital abnormalities and α-thalassemia. Although the ATRX protein is required for the maintenance of repetitive DNA within heterochromatin, how this translates to disease pathogenesis remain poorly understood and was a focus of this study. We demonstrate that Atrx(FoxG1Cre) forebrain-specific conditional knockout mice display poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (Parp-1) hyperactivation during neurogenesis and generate fewer late-born Cux1- and Brn2-positive neurons that accounts for the reduced cortical size. Moreover, DNA damage, induced Parp-1 and Atm activation is elevated in progenitor cells and contributes to their increased level of cell death. ATRX-null HeLa cells are similarly sensitive to hydroxyurea-induced replication stress, accumulate DNA damage and proliferate poorly. Impaired BRCA1-RAD51 colocalization and PARP-1 hyperactivation indicated that stalled replication forks are not efficiently protected. DNA fiber assays confirmed that MRE11 degradation of stalled replication forks was rampant in the absence of ATRX or DAXX. Indeed, fork degradation in ATRX-null cells could be attenuated by treatment with the MRE11 inhibitor mirin, or exacerbated by inhibiting PARP-1 activity. Taken together, these results suggest that ATRX is required to limit replication stress during cellular proliferation, whereas upregulation of PARP-1 activity functions as a compensatory mechanism to protect stalled forks, limiting genomic damage, and facilitating late-born neuron production.

Dataset Information

Optimal conservation outcomes require both restoration and protection.

Publications

Optimal conservation outcomes require both restoration and protection.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets