What drives policy decision-making related to species conservation?

Martín‐López, Berta; Montes, Carlos; Ramírez, Lucía Constanza Corrales; Benayas, Javier

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2009.01.030

Cited by 167 publications

(137 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

130

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The result is that species which are more charismatic are likely to have a greater research effort, as found in other studies (e.g. Amori & Gippoliti 2000, Martín-López et al 2009). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Is research effort associated with the conservation status of European bird species?

Murray¹,

Green²,

Williams³

et al. 2015

Endang. Species. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research effort is critical to the success of interventions which aim to reduce declines in biodiversity and so can be considered as a conservation resource. European bird species are among the best studied and most popular groups of animals, yet 1 in 10 are currently globally threatened or near threatened, and many have been prioritised by various multilateral environmental agreements. To investigate how research effort is directed towards European bird species, and in particular whether conservation listing prompts additional research, the number of outputs from a Web of Science search related to conservation was used to develop an index of research effort for each species. This index was then analysed against a set of population, morphological, ecological and socioeconomic parameters collated from the literature, plus measures of threat level. A series of generalised linear models revealed that the most important factors in explaining the distribution of research effort amongst European bird species included 'European population size', 'potential research investment' and 'habitat type', which were linked to ease of study. Also important were the species' generation length, 1990−2000 European population trend and migration status. Research effort was not well targeted with respect to either European or global threat status, and there was little support for the suggestion that inclusion of species in legislative instruments such as Annex I of the EU Birds Directive might stimulate research. Research effort must become better prioritised to achieve the greatest net conservation benefit.

show abstract

“…The result is that species which are more charismatic are likely to have a greater research effort, as found in other studies (e.g. Amori & Gippoliti 2000, Martín-López et al 2009). …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 53%

Is research effort associated with the conservation status of European bird species?

Murray¹,

Green²,

Williams³

et al. 2015

Endang. Species. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Research biases may have implications for our relative understanding of threatened species (Pawar 2003) and conservation prioritization (Hoffman et al 2010), but also have important implications for research funding (Darwall et al 2011) and international decision-making and policy (Martín-López et al 2009). Although these discrepancies are not easily rectified, there may be opportunities to refocus research objectives and international policy development based on common threats (Fig.…”

Section: Focus On Common Threatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the widespread adoption of such conservation policies, biodiversity continues to decline (Rands et al 2010) and current extinction rates are about 1000 times the expected background rate (Pimm et al 2014). The effectiveness of the CBD and other such policy instruments are dependent on a range of factors, including country-specific constraints such as funding, government involvement, social capital, ecosystems and ecosystem services, and multiple other factors that drive conservation policy (Martín-López et al 2009). Even so, having the best available science to inform policy development and environmental decision making is assumed to be beneficial.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomic bias and international biodiversity conservation research

Donaldson

Burnett

Braun

et al. 2017

FACETS

179

129

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While greater research on threatened species alone cannot ensure their protection, understanding taxonomic bias may be helpful to address knowledge gaps in order to identify research directions and inform policy. Using data for over 10 000 animal species listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, we investigated taxonomic and geographic biodiversity conservation research trends worldwide. We found extreme bias in conservation research effort on threatened vertebrates compared with lesser-studied invertebrates in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats at a global scale. Based on an analysis of common threats affecting vertebrates and invertebrates, we suggest a path forward for narrowing the research gap between threatened vertebrates and invertebrates.

show abstract

“…This decreasing population status is echoed with the brown hare . Martín-López (2009) found that the European rabbit received considerable funding in Spain because it is a prey item for the Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and Spanish Imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti). However, focusing more research on some leporid species and not on others (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of Leporid Research and Landscape Ecology Metrics in a European Landscape

Gilcrease¹

2013

Journal of Landscape Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Leporids play a dynamic role in the ecosystem and assessments must be undertaken in order to improve research efforts and methods. Landscape ecology metrics are used to quantify components of leporid habitat such as vegetation structure, vegetation cover, habitat type, and fragmentation; however, the degree to which the metrics are utilized in leporid research is relatively unknown. This paper assessed fifty-three published, peer reviewed papers on leporids from various European countries on where the study was done, the species of leporid that was studied, the content of the study (i.e. what the paper focused on), the length of the study, the size of the study area, and the method of study. The quantified landscape metrics within these papers were assessed. This study found that most of the studies occurred in Spain, the European rabbit and European hare were the most studied leporids, many papers were concerned with habitat relationships, many of the studies were conducted in a year or less, many papers utilized pellet surveys and trapping, and the most common landscape metric utilized was habitat type. This survey of research on leporids highlights that there is a lack of utilizing landscape structure and function metrics such as slope, fragmentation, and edge effect. These are important variables to help connect structure and function of ecological processes in the context of leporid habitat and landscapes. It is recommended that leporid researchers and landscape planners exchange research findings so that the best planning practices can occur on the ground for the leporids.

show abstract

What drives policy decision-making related to species conservation?

Cited by 167 publications

References 33 publications

Is research effort associated with the conservation status of European bird species?

Is research effort associated with the conservation status of European bird species?

Taxonomic bias and international biodiversity conservation research

An Assessment of Leporid Research and Landscape Ecology Metrics in a European Landscape

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About