Top 40 Priorities for Science to Inform US Conservation and Management Policy

Fleishman, Erica; Blockstein, David E.; Hall, John A.; Mascia, Michael B.; Rudd, Murray A.; Scott, James M.; Sutherland, William J.; Bartuska, Ann M.; Brown, Alastair; Christen, Catherine A.; Clement, Joel; DellaSala, Dominick A.; Duke, Clifford S.; Eaton, Marietta; Fiske, Shirley J.; Gosnell, Hannah; Haney, J. Christopher; Hutchins, Michael; Klein, Mary L.; Marqusee, Jeffrey; Noon, Barry R.; Nordgren, John R.; Orbuch, Paul M.; Powell, Jimmie; Quarles, Steven P.; Saterson, Kathryn A.; Savitt, Charles C.; Stein, Bruce A.; Webster, Michael S.; Vedder, Amy

doi:10.1525/bio.2011.61.4.9

Cited by 127 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The need for integrated research is therefore a well-recognizable feature of the priority list similar to the other national exercises (e.g. Fleishman et al 2011. No wonder, that almost half of the questions require an interdisciplinary approach: economics; engineering; law; and, regional studies are the most frequently associated disciplines (beside natural sciences) in addition to psychology, sociology and historical ecology (see e.g.…”

Section: Hungarian Priorities In a Wider Policy Contextmentioning

confidence: 95%

Bridging the research-practice gap: Conservation research priorities in a Central and Eastern European country

Mihók

Kovács

Balázs

et al. 2015

Journal for Nature Conservation

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Halting biodiversity loss is a critical aim for the forthcoming decades, but is hindered by the gap between research and practice. Bridging this gap is a significant challenge in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, where, compared to Western European countries, biodiversity is higher but the research budget is lower. Approaches to address bridging this gap include participatory research prioritizing exercises. These demand-driven collaborative ranking processes have proven to be a useful tool in providing a research agenda derived from a review of critical challenges based on stakeholder engagement. However, for research agendas to be effectively realized, they are best developed and implemented at the operative level of research financing and implementation. This paper shows the process and the outcome of an exercise conducted in Hungary aiming to compile the most important conservation research questions at the country-level and outlines a set of further measures and tools required for dissemination and advocacy for the research agenda. During the process 792 research questions were collated from conservation practitioners and natural resource managers based on interviews and via an online questionnaire; the final 50 most important questions were identified by practitioners and policy makers during an expert workshop. Questions are embedded in global and EU biodiversity targets and imply a pragmatic approach with the aim of identifying research that supports policy-and decision-making regarding habitat management, landuse and regional development, while also focussing on conflicting issues. The outcome of the process includes the potential for lobbying, therefore post-publication activities and dissemination strategies are outlined as an integrated part of the exercise.

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Section: Hungarian Priorities In a Wider Policy Contextmentioning

confidence: 95%

Bridging the research-practice gap: Conservation research priorities in a Central and Eastern European country

Mihók

Kovács

Balázs

et al. 2015

Journal for Nature Conservation

Self Cite

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“…Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of chemical contaminants affect species that are critical components of the food web (e.g., microbes, sensitive invertebrates, and top consumers), herbicides can cause direct loss of food sources such as aquatic plants and algae (leading to food shortages for higher trophic levels), and exotic chemicals can reduce the ability of species and individuals to cope with normal predation risk and environmental stresses (because of altered behaviors, slower somatic growth, and increased disease susceptibility) (29). If the basal layers of food webs are being depleted by the rapidly expanding presence of contaminants (53,54), it could negate many ongoing restoration efforts. Furthermore, fish migrating from the oceans to freshwater transport persistent industrial pollutants acquired at sea.…”

Section: Uncertainty About the Carrying Capacity Ofmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a broader scientific foundation for river restoration: Columbia River food webs

Naiman

Alldredge

Beauchamp

et al. 2012

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

119

100

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Well-functioning food webs are fundamental for sustaining rivers as ecosystems and maintaining associated aquatic and terrestrial communities. The current emphasis on restoring habitat structure-without explicitly considering food webs-has been less successful than hoped in terms of enhancing the status of targeted species and often overlooks important constraints on ecologically effective restoration. We identify three priority food web-related issues that potentially impede successful river restoration: uncertainty about habitat carrying capacity, proliferation of chemicals and contaminants, and emergence of hybrid food webs containing a mixture of native and invasive species. Additionally, there is the need to place these food web considerations in a broad temporal and spatial framework by understanding the consequences of altered nutrient, organic matter (energy), water, and thermal sources and flows, reconnecting critical habitats and their food webs, and restoring for changing environments. As an illustration, we discuss how the Columbia River Basin, site of one of the largest aquatic/riparian restoration programs in the United States, would benefit from implementing a food web perspective. A food web perspective for the Columbia River would complement ongoing approaches and enhance the ability to meet the vision and legal obligations of the US Endangered Species Act, the Northwest Power Act (Fish and Wildlife Program), and federal treaties with Northwest Indian Tribes while meeting fundamental needs for improved river management.

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“…Understanding these potential interactions and their consequences is critical for conserving and managing ecosystems in a period of increasing climate-driven disturbance activity (5,6). Widespread outbreaks of native bark beetles (Circulionidae: Scolytinae) during the last decade have caused extensive tree mortality over tens of millions of hectares of conifer forests in North America (7,8) and Eurasia (9,10).…”

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confidence: 99%

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks, wildfire severity, and postfire tree regeneration in the US Northern Rockies

Harvey

Donato

Turner

2014

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

119

123

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Widespread tree mortality caused by outbreaks of native bark beetles (Circulionidae: Scolytinae) in recent decades has raised concern among scientists and forest managers about whether beetle outbreaks fuel more ecologically severe forest fires and impair postfire resilience. To investigate this question, we collected extensive field data following multiple fires that burned subalpine forests in 2011 throughout the Northern Rocky Mountains across a spectrum of prefire beetle outbreak severity, primarily from mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae). We found that recent (2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010) beetle outbreak severity was unrelated to most field measures of subsequent fire severity, which was instead driven primarily by extreme burning conditions (weather) and topography. In the red stage (0-2 y following beetle outbreak), fire severity was largely unaffected by prefire outbreak severity with few effects detected only under extreme burning conditions. In the gray stage (3-10 y following beetle outbreak), fire severity was largely unaffected by prefire outbreak severity under moderate conditions, but several measures related to surface fire severity increased with outbreak severity under extreme conditions. Initial postfire tree regeneration of the primary beetle host tree [lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia)] was not directly affected by prefire outbreak severity but was instead driven by the presence of a canopy seedbank and by fire severity. Recent beetle outbreaks in subalpine forests affected few measures of wildfire severity and did not hinder the ability of lodgepole pine forests to regenerate after fire, suggesting that resilience in subalpine forests is not necessarily impaired by recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks. disturbance interactions | forest resilience | fire ecology | serotiny | conifer forest

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Top 40 Priorities for Science to Inform US Conservation and Management Policy

Cited by 127 publications

References 52 publications

Bridging the research-practice gap: Conservation research priorities in a Central and Eastern European country

Bridging the research-practice gap: Conservation research priorities in a Central and Eastern European country

Developing a broader scientific foundation for river restoration: Columbia River food webs

Recent mountain pine beetle outbreaks, wildfire severity, and postfire tree regeneration in the US Northern Rockies

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