Dataset Information

Conservation resource allocation, small population resiliency, and the fallacy of conservation triage.

ABSTRACT: Some conservation prioritization methods are based on the assumption that conservation needs overwhelm current resources and not all species can be conserved; therefore, a conservation triage scheme (i.e., when the system is overwhelmed, species should be divided into three groups based on likelihood of survival, and efforts should be focused on those species in the group with the best survival prospects and reduced or denied to those in the group with no survival prospects and to those in the group not needing special efforts for their conservation) is necessary to guide resource allocation. We argue that this decision-making strategy is not appropriate because resources are not as limited as often assumed, and it is not evident that there are species that cannot be conserved. Small population size alone, for example, does not doom a species to extinction; plants, reptiles, birds, and mammals offer examples. Although resources dedicated to conserving all threatened species are insufficient at present, the world's economic resources are vast, and greater resources could be dedicated toward species conservation. The political framework for species conservation has improved, with initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other international agreements, funding mechanisms such as The Global Environment Facility, and the rise of many nongovernmental organizations with nimble, rapid-response small grants programs. For a prioritization system to allow no extinctions, zero extinctions must be an explicit goal of the system. Extinction is not inevitable, and should not be acceptable. A goal of no human-induced extinctions is imperative given the irreversibility of species loss.

SUBMITTER: Wiedenfeld DA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8518633 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Conservation resource allocation, small population resiliency, and the fallacy of conservation triage.

Wiedenfeld David A DA Alberts Allison C AC Angulo Ariadne A Bennett Elizabeth L EL Byers Onnie O Contreras-MacBeath Topiltzin T Drummond Gláucia G da Fonseca Gustavo A B GAB Gascon Claude C Harrison Ian I Heard Nicolas N Hochkirch Axel A Konstant William W Langhammer Penny F PF Langrand Olivier O Launay Frederic F Lebbin Daniel J DJ Lieberman Susan S Long Barney B Lu Zhi Z Maunder Michael M Mittermeier Russell A RA Molur Sanjay S Khalifa Al Mubarak Razan R Parr Michael J MJ Ratsimbazafy Jonah J Rhodin Anders G J AGJ Rylands Anthony B AB Sanderson Jim J Sechrest Wes W Soorae Pritpal P Supriatna Jatna J Upgren Amy A Vié Jean-Christophe JC Zhang Li L

Conservation biology. 20210504 5

Some conservation prioritization methods are based on the assumption that conservation needs overwhelm current resources and not all species can be conserved; therefore, a conservation triage scheme (i.e., when the system is overwhelmed, species should be divided into three groups based on likelihood of survival, and efforts should be focused on those species in the group with the best survival prospects and reduced or denied to those in the group with no survival prospects and to those in the g ...[more]

PMID: 33484006

Similar Datasets

Project description:ImportanceDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, many US states issued or revised pandemic preparedness plans guiding allocation of critical care resources during crises. State plans vary in the factors used to triage patients and have faced criticism from advocacy groups due to the potential for discrimination.ObjectiveTo analyze the role of comorbidities and long-term prognosis in state triage procedures.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional study used data gathered from parallel internet searches for state-endorsed pandemic preparedness plans for the 50 US states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico (hereafter referred to as states), which were conducted between November 25, 2021, and June 16, 2023. Plans available on June 16, 2023, that provided step-by-step instructions for triaging critically ill patients were categorized for use of comorbidities and prognostication.Main outcomes and measuresPrevalence and contents of lists of comorbidities and their stated function in triage and instructions to predict duration of postdischarge survival.ResultsOverall, 32 state-promulgated pandemic preparedness plans included triage procedures specific enough to guide triage in clinical practice. Twenty of these (63%) included lists of comorbidities that excluded (11 of 20 [55%]) or deprioritized (8 of 20 [40%]) patients during triage; one state's list was formulated to resolve ties between patients with equal triage scores. Most states with triage procedures (21 of 32 [66%]) considered predicted survival beyond hospital discharge. These states proposed different prognostic time horizons; 15 of 21 (71%) were numeric (ranging from 6 months to 5 years after hospital discharge), with the remaining 6 (29%) using descriptive terms, such as long-term.Conclusions and relevanceIn this cross-sectional study of state-promulgated critical care triage policies, most plans restricted access to scarce critical care resources for patients with listed comorbidities and/or for patients with less-than-average expected postdischarge survival. This analysis raises concerns about access to care during a public health crisis for populations with high burdens of chronic illness, such as individuals with disabilities and minoritized racial and ethnic groups.

Project description:ImportanceThe COVID-19 pandemic prompted health care institutions worldwide to develop plans for allocation of scarce resources in crisis capacity settings. These plans frequently rely on rapid deployment of institutional triage teams that would be responsible for prioritizing patients to receive scarce resources; however, little is known about how these teams function or how to support team members participating in this unique task.ObjectiveTo identify themes illuminating triage team members' perspectives and experiences pertaining to the triage process.Design, setting, and participantsThis qualitative study was conducted using inductive thematic analysis of observations of Washington state triage team simulations and semistructured interviews with participants during the COVID-19 pandemic from December 2020 to February 2021. Participants included clinician and ethicist triage team members. Data were analyzed from December 2020 through November 2021.Main outcomes and measuresEmergent themes describing the triage process and experience of triage team members.ResultsAmong 41 triage team members (mean [SD] age, 50.3 [11.4] years; 21 [51.2%] women) who participated in 12 simulations and 21 follow-up interviews, there were 5 Asian individuals (12.2%) and 35 White individuals (85.4%); most participants worked in urban hospital settings (32 individuals [78.0%]). Three interrelated themes emerged from qualitative analysis: (1) understanding the broader approach to resource allocation: participants strove to understand operational and ethical foundations of the triage process, which was necessary to appreciate their team's specific role; (2) contending with uncertainty: team members could find it difficult or feel irresponsible making consequential decisions based on limited clinical and contextual patient information, and they grappled with ethically ambiguous features of individual cases and of the triage process as a whole; and (3) transforming mindset: participants struggled to disentangle narrow determinations about patients' likelihood of survival to discharge from implicit biases and other ethically relevant factors, such as quality of life. They cited the team's open deliberative process, as well as practice and personal experience with triage as important in helping to reshape their usual cognitive approach to align with this unique task.Conclusions and relevanceThis study found that there were challenges in adapting clinical intuition and training to a distinctive role in the process of scarce resource allocation. These findings suggest that clinical experience, education in ethical and operational foundations of triage, and experiential training, such as triage simulations, may help prepare clinicians for this difficult role.

Project description:To cope with sudden changes in their environment, bacteria can use a bet-hedging strategy by dividing the population into cells with different properties. This so-called bimodal or bistable cellular differentiation is generally controlled by positive feedback regulation of transcriptional activators. Due to the continuous increase in cell volume, it is difficult for these activators to reach an activation threshold concentration when cells are growing exponentially. This is one reason why bimodal differentiation is primarily observed from the onset of the stationary phase, when exponential growth ceases. An exception is the bimodal induction of motility in Bacillus subtilis, which occurs early during exponential growth. Several mechanisms have been put forward to explain this, including double-negative feedback regulation and the stability of the mRNA molecules involved. In this study, we used fluorescence-assisted cell sorting (FACS) to compare the transcriptomes of motile and nonmotile cells and noted that expression of ribosomal genes is lower in motile cells. This was confirmed using an unstable green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter fused to the strong ribosomal rpsD promoter. We propose that the reduction in ribosomal gene expression in motile cells is the result of a diversion of cellular resources to the synthesis of the chemotaxis and motility systems. In agreement with this, single-cell microscopic analysis showed that motile cells are slightly shorter than nonmotile cells, an indication of slower growth. We speculate that this growth rate reduction can contribute to the bimodal induction of motility during exponential growth. IMPORTANCE To cope with sudden environmental changes, bacteria can use a bet-hedging strategy and generate different types of cells within a population-so-called bimodal differentiation. For example, a Bacillus subtilis culture can contain both motile and nonmotile cells. In this study, we compared the gene expression between motile and nonmotile cells. It appeared that motile cells express fewer ribosomes. To confirm this, we constructed a ribosomal promoter fusion that enabled us to measure expression of this promoter in individual cells. This reporter fusion confirmed our initial finding. The reallocation of cellular resources from ribosome synthesis toward synthesis of the motility apparatus results in a reduction in growth. Interestingly, this growth reduction has been shown to stimulate bimodal differentiation.

Dataset Information

Conservation resource allocation, small population resiliency, and the fallacy of conservation triage.

Publications

Conservation resource allocation, small population resiliency, and the fallacy of conservation triage.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets