A typology of time‐scale mismatches and behavioral interventions to diagnose and solve conservation problems

Wilson, Robyn S.; Hardisty, David J.; Epanchin‐Niell, Rebecca S.; Runge, Michael C.; Cottingham, Kathryn L.; Urban, Dean L.; Maguire, Lynn A.; Hastings, Alan; Mumby, Peter J.; Peters, Debra P. C.

doi:10.1111/cobi.12632

Cited by 34 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Actual implementation of management approaches is a much more complex problem than described here, and as noted adaptive management (29) must play some role in real-world applications. Including more detailed aspects of the human dimensions of management problems (32) leads to even more complex problems with timescales that must be accounted for.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timescales and the management of ecological systems

Hastings

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Human management of ecological systems, including issues like fisheries, invasive species, and restoration, as well as others, often must be undertaken with limited information. This means that developing general principles and heuristic approaches is important. Here, I focus on one aspect, the importance of an explicit consideration of time, which arises because of the inherent limitations in the response of ecological systems. I focus mainly on simple systems and models, beginning with systems without density dependence, which are therefore linear. Even for these systems, it is important to recognize the necessary delays in the response of the ecological system to management. Here, I also provide details for optimization that show how general results emerge and emphasize how delays due to demography and life histories can change the optimal management approach. A brief discussion of systems with density dependence and tipping points shows that the same themes emerge, namely, that when considering issues of restoration or management to change the state of an ecological system, that timescales need explicit consideration and may change the optimal approach in important ways. management | timescales | Spartina | grazers E cologists and others are increasingly recognizing the importance of using models as a guide for managing ecological systems, and this need is even more important in the face of global change (1). In many ways, these efforts build on the relative success of the field of fisheries bioeconomics (2). It is important to recognize that many of the questions require ongoing actions and that the problem is a dynamic one, so time and timescales are a central part of the problem. The challenge of determining appropriate timescales is exemplified by issues arising in ecological restoration (3), and is especially critical given both the complexity of many systems and the need to act in the face of limited data. Specific examples, such as attempts to restore habitat for grassland butterfly communities (4), indicate the importance of understanding the role of time lags in understanding restoration as well as in making management decisions.Another feature of ecological management is that decisions often have to be made in the face of limited data or knowledge of the systems, so the development of heuristics to guide decisions is an important step. In this spirit, here I will examine the role of timescales in ecological management using very simple models with the aim of elucidating general principles, and ignoring complications such as stochasticity until the discussion. The overall goal is to illustrate when and how it is important to consider time in management, recognizing that this includes both choice of actions and evaluation.Several cross-cutting themes will emerge regarding the importance of understanding and including time. First, there are cases where it is simply important to recognize that the response of ecological systems to management actions must play out over time, so that any evaluation of re...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Timescales and the management of ecological systems

Hastings

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Thus encouraging behavior that facilitates management of invasive species is key. A variety of tools are available for altering individuals' behavior, either by changing how they perceive an issue or by altering the consequences of a decision (Heberlein 2012;McKenzie-Mohr 2013;Wilson et al 2016;Marzano et al this issue). Such tools can be classified as either cognitive (information-based) or structural (consequencebased).…”

Section: The Role Of Private Decision-makers In Invasion Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Market-based and regulatory tools from economics typically focus on altering the consequences of a decision and hence are a subset of structural tools. Additional approaches that can be effective for achieving environmental outcomes include those that appeal to people's existing environmental values, invoke appropriate social cues to guide behavior (e.g., social norms), or make the desired behavior easier to perform (such as providing uninfested firewood at campsites to avoid transport of pests or making native plants more available at nurseries to encourage native plant use in gardens) (Wilson et al 2016).…”

Section: The Role Of Private Decision-makers In Invasion Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economics of invasive species policy and management

Epanchin‐Niell

2017

Biol Invasions

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This article examines the use of economic analysis to inform bioinvasion management, with particular focus on forest resources. Economics is key for understanding invasion processes, impacts, and decision-making. Biological invasions are driven by and affect economic activities at multiple scales and stages of an invasion. Bioeconomic modeling seeks to inform how resources can be optimally allocated across invasion management activities-including prevention, surveillance programs for early detection and management, and controlling invasion populations and spread-to minimize the long-term costs and damages. Economic analysis facilitates understanding of decisions by public and private decision-makers, gaps between these, and the design of policies to achieve socially desirable outcomes. Private decisionmakers may undercontrol invasions relative to socially optimal levels, because they generally account for their own costs and benefits of control but less often for broader ecosystem impacts or future spread across the landscape. Economic analysis considers approaches for increasing private invasion management and evaluates feedbacks between ecological and economic systems that can affect policy outcomes. Future research should continue evaluation and design of control strategies across the biosecurity continuum and across species to enhance cost-effectiveness, better incorporate uncertainty into policy design, increase focus on incentives and behavioral tools to influence private behaviors that affect invasion spread, and incorporate invasive species consideration within broader systems-focused science. In addition, challenges in valuing biodiversity and ecosystem service impacts and the costs and effectiveness of control measures are key data gaps. Greater collaboration between decision-makers and researchers will facilitate development and communication of usable economic research.

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“…We assume dc < de (see SI Materials and Methods for discussion and justification) (51,52). The discounting time horizon m and n are the amount of foresight applied to decisions for economic and conservation utilities, respectively (14,53).…”

Section: [4]mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As previous research on human-environment systems has found, the importance of human behavior in conservation biology is undeniable, suggesting that an integrated human-environment approach is necessary for successful conservation (13)(14)(15)(16). In addition to consumption, human-environment interactions can be motivated by endangerment of species and ecosystems, ecosystem services valuation, and related policies and subsidies (17).…”

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confidence: 99%

Alternative stable states and the sustainability of forests, grasslands, and agriculture

Henderson

Bauch

Anand

2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Endangered forest-grassland mosaics interspersed with expanding agriculture and silviculture occur across many parts of the world, including the southern Brazilian highlands. This natural mosaic ecosystem is thought to reflect alternative stable states driven by threshold responses of recruitment to fire and moisture regimes. The role of adaptive human behavior in such systems remains understudied, despite its pervasiveness and the fact that such ecosystems can exhibit complex dynamics. We develop a nonlinear mathematical model of coupled human-environment dynamics in mosaic systems and social processes regarding conservation and economic land valuation. Our objective is to better understand how the coupled dynamics respond to changes in ecological and social conditions. The model is parameterized with southern Brazilian data on mosaic ecology, land-use profits, and questionnaire results concerning landowner preferences and conservation values. We find that the mosaic presently resides at a crucial juncture where relatively small changes in social conditions can generate a wide variety of possible outcomes, including complete loss of mosaics; large-amplitude, long-term oscillations between land states that preclude ecosystem stability; and conservation of the mosaic even to the exclusion of agriculture/silviculture. In general, increasing the time horizon used for conservation decision making is more likely to maintain mosaic stability. In contrast, increasing the inherent conservation value of either forests or grasslands is more likely to induce large oscillations-especially for forests-due to feedback from rarity-based conservation decisions. Given the potential for complex dynamics, empirically grounded nonlinear dynamical models should play a larger role in policy formulation for humanenvironment mosaic ecosystems.

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A typology of time‐scale mismatches and behavioral interventions to diagnose and solve conservation problems

Cited by 34 publications

References 52 publications

Timescales and the management of ecological systems

Timescales and the management of ecological systems

Economics of invasive species policy and management

Alternative stable states and the sustainability of forests, grasslands, and agriculture

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