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Invited
Symposia
Conservation in a Warmer World: Great Lakes Ecosystems, Climate
Change and the Need for New Approaches for Ecosystem Protection
When:
Sunday, 29 June 2003, 10:00 AM
Organizer:
Susanne C. Moser, Union of Concerned Scientists (smoser@ucsusa.org)
Goals:
To highlight the potential impacts of climate change on Great
Lakes bioregion ecosystems, to explore the implications for conservation
management, and to begin to develop a research agenda focused
on this interface.
Justification:
The symposium will present the summary of findings from a new
scientific assessment of the potential ecological impacts of climate
change on the Great Lakes bioregion. The assessment, conducted
under the leadership of George Kling, University of Michigan,
and sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Ecological
Society of America, released in the spring of 2003. The findings
suggest that Great Lakes ecosystems are under multiple stresses
from human activities and climate change. Moreover, the simplistic
notion of poleward species migration in search of more amenable
habitat is complicated by the presence of major barriers, such
as the Canadian Shield and human development. Such barriers will
also have important impacts on metapopulation exchange and dynamics.
How will conservation planners deal with the issues of multiple
stressors and these natural barriers? What approaches are available
when buffer zones are stressed as much as those areas we want
to protect, and when migration corridors lead to inhospitable
territory? The symposium will present perspectives from science,
conservation managers, land trusts, government agencies and the
private natural resources sector and engage the audience in exploring
such possibilities, aim to define a research agenda to systematically
study such questions further, and explore management options for
a dynamic environment.
Speakers:
When the Climate Gets Tough, Will Tough Species Get Going? - Sound
Science in Support of Conservation Management - Susanne C. Moser,
Union of Concerned Scientists
Confronting
Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Past, Current, and Future
Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region - John J. Magnuson, University
of Wisconsin-Madison
Confronting
Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Ecological Vulnerability
to Climate Change - Lucinda Johnson, Natural Resources Research
Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth
Climate
Change and Birds in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts, Potential
Surprises and the Need to Adapt Management Practices - Jeff Price,
American Bird Conservancy
Back
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The Interface of Land-Use Planning and Biodiversity Protection
When:
Sunday, 29 June 2003, 10:00 AM
Organizer:
Richard Knight, Colorado State University (knight@cnr.colostate.edu)
Goals
and Justification: Approximately two thirds of the U.S. is
in private ownership. Importantly, these private lands are the
best-watered, occur at the lowest elevations and have the most
productive soils when compared with those lands in public ownership.
Importantly, whereas most public lands are in some form of protection,
most private lands are essentially unprotected. While public lands
are critical for biodiversity protection, particularly for certain
categories of species, what happens on private lands is critically
important for the maintenance of species, both large and small.
Due
to the ever-accelerating rate of exurban development the fate
of private lands beyond incorporated city limits is more at risk
than at any time since the end of World War II. What exacerbates
this trend is the apparent aversion to land-use planning as we
presently understand it. To combat the pervasive dislike of traditional
approaches to land-use planning an ever-increasing number of alternative
approaches are being tested on landscapes and communities across
the U.S. The purpose of this symposium would be to expose the
members of the Society for Conservation Biology to the diversity
of these approaches, and to explore the strengths, successes,
and weaknesses of efforts already underway.
Speakers:
Land Use Planning that Works - Dave Tremble, Sauk County Department
Of Planning and Zoning
Conservation
Easements: Universal and Unique - Lynn Huntsinger, University
of California, Berkeley
An
Urban Wilderness: Land-Use Planning and Biodiversity Protection
- Paul Heltne, Center for Humans and Nature
Evaluating
Land Use Planning Alternatives on Private Lands - David Theobald,
Colorado State University
Assembling
the Pieces: A Bricks-and-Mortar Approach to Conservation - Michael
W. Klemens, Wildlife Conservation Society
Back
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Maintaining Connections for Nature: The Importance of Connectivity
for Conservation
When:
Sunday, 29 June 2003, 2:00 PM
Organizers:
Kevin Crooks, University of Wisconsin-Madison (kcrooks@wisc.edu);
Sanjayan Muttulingam, The Nature Conservancy (msanjayan@tnc.org)
Goals
and Justification: Conservation biologists have been inspired
to address massive habitat destruction and fragmentation by promoting
special efforts to connect landscapes in our dissected world.
The vision of maintaining connections for nature is indeed compelling,
but the practice of connectivity conservation is not such a simple
matter. What is clear is that concern for connecting landscapes
is increasingly becoming a part of land management worldwide.
This symposium will provide new directions on the role of connectivity
for conservation. We will explore new material on experimental
approaches, modeling, and implementation that will advance our
efforts to protect, maintain, and restore connectivity. We will
examine applications and tradeoffs inherent in connectivity conservation
across multiple spatial and temporal scales, for a variety of
targets in a range of systems, and within the constructs of the
socio-political environment. As such, the symposium will delve
beyond theory and into real world application of connectivity
concepts. We hope the symposium will challenge and guide scientists
and conservation practitioners to address key questions regarding
connectivity and its conservation.
Speakers:
The Importance of Connectivity for Conservation: Introduction
to the Symposium - Kevin Crooks, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Connectivity
Considerations in Regional-Scale Conservation Planning - Reed
Noss, The Wildlands Project and University of Central Florida
The
Influence of Natural Landscape Fragmentation and Resource Availability
on Connectivity and Distribution of Marine Gray Wolf (Canis Lupus)
Populations on Central Coast, BC - Paul C. Paquet, University
of Calgary
Using
Analysis and Modelling of Individual-Based Puma and Bobcat Movement
to Assess Landscape Connectivity in the Southern California Ecoregion
- Jeff A. Tracey, University of Wisconsin-Madison
When
Does Connectivity Matter: Insights from Spatially-Explicit Population
Models - Carlos Carroll, Klamath Center for Conservation Research
Quantifying
Connectivity: Exploring the Relationships of Landscape Fragmentation
to Extinction Risk, Biodiversity and Spatial Scale - William Fagan,
University of Maryland
Habitat
Linkages at the Land-Sea Interface - Drew M. Talley, University
of California, Davis
Genetic
Assessment of Population Dynamics and Connectivity at Various
Spatial Scales in Lahontan Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus Clarki
Henshawi) - Helen Neville Arsenault, University of Nevada
Demographic
and Genetic Measures Indicate Effect of Highways on Connectivity
- L. Scott Mills, University of Montana
Escaping
the Minimalist Trap: Design and Implementation of Large-Scale
Biodiversity Corridors - James Sanderson, Conservation International
The
Missing Linkages Project as a Template for Designing a Wilderness
Network - Paul Beier, Northern Arizona University
Rewilding
North America to Preserve an Enduring Resource of Wilderness -
Dave Foreman, The Wildlands Project
Back
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Human Interaction with Aquatic Systems: How Knowledge of Aquatic
Systems Impacts Individual and Institutional Action
When:
Sunday, 29 June 2003, 2:00 PM
Organizer:
Institute for Social, Economic and Ecological Sustainability (ISEES),
University of Minnesota (isees@fw.umn.edu)
Coordinators:
Julia Frost Nerbonne, University of Minnesota (jaf@fw.umn.edu);
Karen Mumford, University of Georgia (mumford@cviog.uga.edu);
Tsegaye Nega, Carleton College (tnega@carleton.edu)
Goals
and Justification: Aquatic systems are central to the life
and livelihood of human communities around the world. Today, more
than ever before, these common pool resources are being impacted
by the demands of diverse stakeholders. This symposium will focus
on the ways that humans have come to understand water resources,
and how knowledge is utilized by individuals, communities, and
institutions to use, manage, or protect these systems. We begin
by looking at how individuals value water resources, and then
explore the ways that society, through technology, has come to
alter natural systems and how this alteration, in turn, reorganized
society. Our speakers explore knowledge communities and institutions
at multiple scales: from the individual angler developing a personal
value system regarding local waters, to regional adaptive management
projects struggling to define communal goals and regulations,
to international communities trying to understand and regulate
populations of transgenic fish.
The
symposium will take place in two parts. First we will host 6 speakers
who will explore how various human communities come to understand
and interact with aquatic systems. We will then have a 20 minute
discussion. Next we will host 5 speakers who will discuss the
ways in which science and technology, and the policies that promote
them, mediate the relationship between humans and natural communities.
This will be followed by another 20 minute discussion.
Speakers:
Understanding Individual Angler Knowledge and Ethics: Promoting
User Ethics in Fisheries - David Fulton, University of Minnesota
Mobilizing
Resources for Conservation: Promoting Citizen Action Through Stream
Monitoring - Julia Frost Nerbonne, University of Minnesota
On-Farm
Monitoring Program: A Step Towards Aquatic Conservation in Central
Thailand - Wansuk Senanan, Burapha University
Lake
Views: The Ecological Determinants of Institutional Structure
in Minnesota Lake Associations - Daniel Kramer, University of
Minnesota
After
the Deluge: Conservation and Flood Protection in the Red River
Basin - Cheryl Miller, Consultant
Science,
Institutions and Stakeholders: Lessons from Implementation of
Adaptive Management in River Restoration - Kristen Blann, University
of Minnesota
Intersections
of Technology, Values and Knowledge in Managing Aquatic Species
in the Laurentian Great Lakes - Thomas Fish, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
Unraveling
the Technological 'Black Box': The Contribution of Sociology to
Conservation Biologists Understanding of Technology - Tsegaye
Nega, Carleton College
International
Governance of the Biotechnology-Biodiversity Interface: Scientific
Analysis and Social Deliberation - Emily E. Pullins, University
of Minnesota
Back
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The Future of Conservation Biology in Austral and Neotropical
America
When:
Monday, 30 June 2003, 9:30 AM
Organizers:
Jon Paul Rodríguez, President, Austral and Neotropical
America Section, and Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano
de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC) (jonpaul@ivic.ve);
Javier A. Simonetti, President Elect, Austral and Neotropical
America Section, and Universidad de Chile (jsimonet@uchile.cl)
Goals:
1) Present and discuss the three-year strategic plan of the Austral
and Neotropical America Section of the Society for Conservation
Biology (2003-2005). 2) Evaluate the current status of conservation
biology training opportunities and scientific output in Austral
and Neotropical America. 3) Present the Cuban National Conservation
Strategy as an example of a successful initiative from the region.
Justification:
With the creation of regional sections in 2002, the Society for
Conservation Biology initiated the process of internationalization.
Now we face the exciting challenge of developing a strategic plan
for each section, as well as mechanisms for successful cooperation
between sections, and with the "central" components
of the organization. For sections in the developing world, internationalization
certainly presents potential opportunities for increasing the
flow of technical and financial resources to build up the discipline
of conservation biology in our respective regions. However, we
also view internationalization as a process whereby the SCB grows
and is strengthened as it incorporates ideas, priorities, activities
towards the achievement of its mission, in addition to increasing
the membership throughout the world.
Between
24 and 26 November, 2002, the Board of Officers of the Austral
and Neotropical America (ANA) Section of the Society for Conservation
Biology held its first meeting in Havana, Cuba. The fundamental
objectives of the meeting were to 1) discuss the problems and
limitations of the discipline of conservation biology in ANA,
2) better define the roles and functions of the section and of
the Board of Officers, and 3) develop a strategic plan for 2003-2005.
This
symposium is designed to 1) inform the SCB membership about the
future plans of the ANA Section, 2) encourage participation, comments
and suggestions, and 3) identify common interests and concerns
with members of other sections. The symposium consists of four
oral presentations and a discussion session. The first presentation
will be a summary of the proposed three-year strategic plan for
the ANA Section. The second and third talks will present analyses
of the current status of conservation biology 1) training opportunities,
and 2) scientific output, respectively, in ANA. The final talk
will be a presentation of the Cuban National Conservation Strategy
as a case study of a successful conservation initiative from the
region. An open discussion will follow the talks. We invite all
SCB members to participate and join the ANA Section in moving
forward in the internationalization of the society.
Speakers:
Three Year Strategic Plan for the Austral and Neotropical America
(ANA) Section of the Society for Conservation Biology (2003-2005)
- Javier A. Simonetti, Universidad de Chile
Education
in Conservation Biology in Latin America and the Caribbean - Miguel
Marini, Universidade de Brasilia
Scientific
Productivity in Conservation Biology in Austral and Neotropical
America - Cristian Olivo, Board Director, Austral and Neotropical
America Section
Achievements
of the Cuban National Conservation Strategy - Miguel A. Vales,
Ministry of Sciences Technology and Environment, Cuba
Back
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Values, Ecology and Management: Integrating Biodiversity and Great
Lakes Fisheries Management
When:
Monday, 30 June 2003, 9:30 AM
Organizers:
Lisa Eby, University of Montana (leby@forestry.umt.edu);
Karen Mumford, University of Georgia (kgm@fw.umn.edu)
Goals:
The Great Lakes have undergone significant change over the last
century. Losses of native species, such as lake trout and deepwater
ciscoes, intentional and unintentional introductions of non-native
species such as Pacific salmon and sea lamprey, and an increase
in the diversity of users pose significant challenges for long-term
management and protection. This symposium will examine the interplay
between the social and ecological changes in the Great Lakes fish
community, as well as, explore the possibilities of and barriers
to incorporating biodiversity and other conservation objectives
into Great Lakes fisheries management. The key goal of this workshop
is to investigate fish biodiversity issues in Great Lakes ecosystem
within the context of changing fish communities, human values,
and uses.
Justification:
This symposium is an ideal candidate for the 2003 SCB meeting
because of its focus on the Great Lakes and its emphasis on understanding
the social and ecological implications of changing aquatic biodiversity.
Understanding the interplay between changing species diversity,
values, use and ecology of aquatic systems is imperative if we
are to protect the existing structure and function of complex
ecological systems and the capacity for these systems to adapt
over time.
Speakers:
Implications of Biodiversity Loss in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Somewhat
Salty Perspective on Threats to Biodiversity and Fisheries in
the Great Lakes - Larry B. Crowder, Duke University
Incorporating
Biodiversity Objectives into Fisheries Management: Lessons from
Workshops - Lisa Eby, University of Montana
Governance
Capacity for Managing Native and Non-Native Fish Species on Lake
Michigan - Karen Mumford, University of Georgia
Incorporating
Ecological and Economic Values in Risk Analyses of Nonindigenous
Species in the Great Lakes - David Lodge, University of Notre
Dame
Aquaculture
in the Great Lakes: Conserving Biodiversity Using the Environmental
Assessment Tool for Aquaculture in the Great Lakes Basin - Deborah
Brister, University of Minnesota
Sovereignty:
Political and Biological Diversity in Resource Management - George
Spangler, University of Minnesota
Back
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Reversing the Paradigm: Science-Based Conservation Planning in
the Boreal Forest
When:
Monday, 30 June 2003, 1:30 PM
Organizers:
David Schindler, University of Alberta (d.schindler@ualberta.ca);
Fiona Schmiegelow, University of Alberta (fiona.schmiegelow@ualberta.ca)
Goals
and Justification: Boreal landscapes offer the last opportunities
worldwide to conserve large, intact forest ecosystems relatively
free from human influence. Particularly in Canada and Russia,
which together hold the vast majority of the world's remaining
boreal forests, there is a chance to reverse the conventional
model of conservation planning -- a network of reserves embedded
in a human-dominated matrix -- and pro-actively design landscapes
with conservation as an explicit consideration. Threats to the
integrity of boreal ecosystems are increasing as the climate changes,
and as forestry, mining, oil and gas interests turn northward,
and northern freshwaters are dammed and diverted, to satisfy a
growing demand for natural resources. Although conservation opportunities
are seemingly abundant in a relative sense, conservation decisions
regarding land and water allocation must be made quickly before
large regions of intact boreal forest are irreversibly altered.
This challenge is intensified by the nature of the boreal zone,
which is characterized by little topographic diversity, cold climate,
low productivity, large, stand-replacing fires, and extensive
freshwaters and wetlands. In fact, until recently, there was little
information on boreal ecology and biodiversity.
This
symposium brings together several of the leading scientists and
practitioners involved in the long-term study, conservation and
management of boreal ecosystems. The symposium is timely for introducing
what may soon become the Northern Hemisphere's most critical conservation
issue. The program will address the cumulative effects of climate
warming, forestry, land-use changes and freshwater usage on boreal
landscapes, fauna and flora. Papers will identify problems with
traditional approaches, present new research findings, and emphasize
conservation solutions and new approaches to forest management.
Speakers:
Overview of Boreal Forests in Canada and Beyond - Peter G. Lee,
Global Forest Watch Canada
Alberta's
Boreal Forest: A Landscape in Transition - Implications for Sustainable
Landscapes and Landuse - J. Brad Stelfox, Forem Technologies
Woodland
Caribou as a Focal Species for Conservation - Stan Boutin, University
of Alberta
Boreal
Birds : Harbingers of Ecosystem Degradation or Models of Resilience?
- Marc-André Villard, Université de Moncton
Data
and Tools for Conservation, Management and Restoration of Boreal
Forest Ecosystems at Multiple Scales - Per Angelstam, Swedish
University of Agricultural Sciences
Large-Scale
Conservation Planning for Canada's Boreal Forests - Fiona K.A.
Schmiegelow, University of Alberta
Panel
Discussion - Moderator: David Schindler, University of Alberta
Back
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Freshwater Biodiversity Conservation: Transitioning from Priorities
to Action
When:
Monday, 30 June 2003, 1:30 PM
Organizers:
Robin Abell, World Wildlife Fund (robin.abell@wwfus.org);
Jonathan Higgins, The Nature Conservancy (jhiggins@tnc.org)
Goals
and Justification: Data on the status of species indicate
that obligate inhabitants of freshwater ecosystems are the most
threatened component of biodiversity in North America, and recent
analyses indicate that this is a global pattern. Ongoing efforts
by many conservation organizations are resulting in the identification
of places that are priorities for conservation action. In these
places, the next step is identifying and implementing strategies
to protect and restore the resident biota, and then monitoring
the success of these strategies. The relative lack of biotic and
abiotic data, complex dynamics and connectivity of flowing systems,
land/water interactions, and the dominating human impacts from
land use and water management present significant challenges to
conservation.
The
goals and significance of this symposium are to provide a forum
for many of the leading thinkers in freshwater conservation to
present critical issues, challenges, and ideas. This will promote
attention to these topics as well as exchange of ideas and development
of future directions for research. The Society for Conservation
Biology is a global forum for conservation theory and practice,
yet despite the catastrophic status of freshwater biodiversity,
SCB has had relatively few sessions at annual meetings addressing
freshwater biodiversity conservation. This session will address
several important themes in a series of presentations with international
examples.
Speakers:
Making the Transition from Freshwater Conservation Planning to
Conservation Action: Going from Where to How - Jonathan Higgins,
The Nature Conservancy
Hydrologic
Connectivity: A Neglected Dimension of Conservation Biology -
Catherine M. Pringle, University of Georgia
Ecologists
as Catalysts for Conserving Aquatic Biodiversity - Paul L. Angermeier,
Virginia Tech
Restoring
Engangered Alluvian Processes as a Recovery Strategy for the
Trinity River - Bill Trush, McBain and Trush
Maintaining
and Restoring Conservation Potential for Interior Cutthroat Trout:
Paradigms and Possibilities - Robert Hilderbrand, University of
Maryland
From
Priorities to Action: The Mekong Fish Conservation Project (Cambodia)
- Zeb Hogan, University of California, Davis
Conservation
of Riverine Biodiversity in Asia: Threats, Information, Priorities
and Action - David Dudgeon, University of Hong Kong
Back
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Protecting Moving Targets: Integrating Movement Ecology and Conservation
Practice
When:
Monday, 30 June 2003, 1:30 PM
Organizers:
Sarah E. Mabey, North Carolina State University (semabey@unity.ncsu.edu);
Kimberly R. Hall, Michigan State University (hallkim@msu.edu
); Maile C. Neel, University of Massachusetts (mailen@forwild.umass.edu);
Neal M. Williams, Princeton University (nealw@princeton.edu);
Erika Zavaleta, University of California, Berkeley (esz@uclink.berkeley.edu)
Goals:
The goal of this symposium is to demonstrate the relevance of
movement to biological conservation by bringing together empirical
and theoretical studies linking movement to community and ecosystem
functioning with real-world examples of conservation strategies
designed to protect movement processes. This symposium will address
large- and small-scale plant and animal movements in the context
of both ecological and evolutionary time. Contributions to this
symposium will help conservation scientists and practitioners
understand how patterns and rates of movement and related ecological
functions are altered through habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation
resulting from land use and climate change and how such alterations
in movement processes can be slowed or reversed through conservation
action. Participants in this symposium will each integrate three
specific aspects of this problem: state-of-the-art theory, empirical
data, and real-world conservation solutions. In addition to addressing
a large range of spatial and temporal scales, speakers have been
chosen to present both model-based and empirical approaches, illustrate
a range of different techniques (e.g., stable isotopes, genetic
methods, and field-based mark-recapture methods), and represent
a broad array of taxa.
Justification:
The movement of organisms is a fundamental biological process
with cascading effects, influencing not only the populations involved,
but also functions and relationships within and among communities
and ecosystems. Movement operates over a dramatic continuum of
spatial and temporal scales from localized movements of foraging
pollinators to the inter-polar migrations of marine mammals and
birds to the flow of genes across evolutionary time. Movement
is, by nature, sensitive to habitat degradation, landuse changes,
and environmental perturbations. The consequences of interrupting
or re-directing movement affect genes, individuals, populations,
species, communities, ecosystems and the functional relationships
among all of these elements. It is impossible to conserve biodiversity
without understanding and allowing for movement. Yet, movement
presents a serious challenge to traditional, site-based conservation.
Only by designing conservation strategies to include movement
across the continuum of scales can we maintain or increase ecological
and evolutionary integrity.
Speakers:
The Many Ways in Which Phylogenetic Analysis Is Refining Conservation
Priorities for Malagasy Mammals - Anne D. Yoder, Yale University
Movement
as a Response to Climate Change: What Trees Tell Us about Dispersal,
Climate Change and Conflicting Conservation Objectives - Mark
Schwartz, University of California, Davis
Moving
from Metapopulations to Landscapes: Conservation of Dispersal-Limited
Vertebrates - Peter Trenham, University of California, Davis
Patch-Matrix
Movement of Pollinators Determines Connectivity at Different Levels
- Neal M. Williams, Princeton University
Dispersal
and Conservation in Marine Environments: Application and Limitation
of Genetic Approaches - Paul H. Barber, Boston University
Changing
Life History Trade-Offs: The Consequences of Altering Migratory
Bird Stopover Habitat - Sarah E. Mabey, North Carolina State University
Back
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Coastal Wetland Vegetation as a Harbinger of Environmental Change
When:
Tuesday, 1 July 2003, 9:30 AM
Organizers:
Carol Johnston, Natural Resources Research Institute, University
of Minnesota Duluth (cjohnsto@d.umn.edu);
Joy Zedler, University of Wisconsin-Madison (jbzedler@facstaff.wisc.edu)
Goals:
1) To examine responses of coastal wetland plants and plant assemblages
to environmental stress, 2) To present examples of plant indicators
of coastal wetland condition at field to landscape scales, and
3) To explore commonalities and differences between saltwater
and freshwater coastal wetlands with respect to vegetation biodiversity
and response to environmental stress.
Justification:
Coastal wetlands are the focal point of much human activity, both
direct and indirect, that threatens their condition and existence.
Coastal wetlands provide a variety of important ecological services,
so their degradation and loss has far-reaching impacts. Wetland
plants and their assemblages can provide early warning of environmental
stress in coastal ecosystems. Plants have the advantage over many
faunal indicators that they remain in place, simplifying sampling
and increasing the likelihood that the biotic indicator is spatially
coincident with in situ stressors. New remote sensing techniques
show promise for mapping species diversity, detecting invasive
plant species, quantifying plant productivity, and monitoring
stress of emergent wetland plants. Most of the speakers in the
symposium are investigators in research projects sponsored by
EPA's EaGLe (Estuarine and Great Lakes) Program, designed to develop
the next generation of environmental indicators to assess the
biological health of coastal estuaries and the Great Lakes. Indicators
evaluated and developed by the EaGLe programs will be used by
the states in their long-term monitoring programs to establish
the integrity and sustainability of the nation's coastal ecosystems.
The
proposed symposium focuses on biodiversity issues at the land/water
ecotone, at scales ranging from individual wetlands to coastal
watersheds. Wetlands are a featured ecosystem of the 2003 Annual
Meeting.
Speakers:
Biomass and Species Composition as Indicators of Ecosystem Condition
of Two Contrasting Coastal Plain Wetland Types - Mark Brinson,
East Carolina University
GIS-Derived
Indicators of Environmental Stressors and Ecosystem Responses
of Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands - Carol Johnston, Natural Resources
Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth
Plant
Species Diveristy in Tidal Freshwater and Tidal Brackish Wetlands
of the Mid-Atlantic Coast - Dennis Whigham, Smithsonian Environmental
Research Center
Types
of Dominance by Wetland Plants Indicate Environmental Stress -
Christin B. Frieswyk, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Indicators
of Coastal Wetland Responses to Rising Sea Level - James T. Morris,
University of South Carolina
Back
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Community Involvement in Crane and Ecosystem Conservation on Three
Continents
When:
Tuesday, 1 July 2003, 9:30 AM
Organizers:
James Harris, International Crane Foundation (harris@savingcranes.org);
Jeb Barzen, International Crane Foundation (jeb@savingcranes.org);
Buddy Huffaker, Aldo Leopold Foundation (buddy@aldoleopold.org)
Goals:
We will present a series of case studies regarding local community
involvement in the protection and sustainable use of wetlands
and watersheds to compare challenges, methods, and outcomes. In
particular, we will examine the processes of learning and successful
intervention by practitioners working at sites in the USA, Asia
and Africa.
Justification:
Because cranes inhabit the interface between aquatic and terrestrial
environs, their survival depends on ecosystem and landscape approaches
to conservation. Though local conditions vary, protection and
restoration of ecosystems that exist along this gradient are generally
the most critical crane conservation needs in North America, Asia
and Africa. In turn, the health of these systems depends on human
land uses and activities within areas where uplands grade into
wetlands. Thus a critical component of conservation efforts throughout
the world, including conservation for cranes, is the engagement
of local communities that share these landscapes with cranes and
other charismatic species or ecosystems. To sustain the resource
base on which wildlife and people alike depend, we must focus
upon solutions that emphasize human needs as well as biological
diversity as we pursue ecological restoration.
Seven
case examples in this symposium illustrate the iterative cycles
of learning among local communities and among conservation biologists
managing the interventions. While conservationists from developed
countries frequently attempt to transfer methods and perspectives
to developing countries, the presentations in this symposium involve
two-way transfer of experience and awareness.
In
addition to case examples, we will provide a contextual setting,
and a half hour discussion among presenters and participants.
We will focus on the process of learning, particularly involving
practitioners working in diverse cultural and socio-economic situations.
Given the acute sensitivity of wetlands to the ways in which people
use both upland and aquatic portions of the landscape, successful
involvement of local communities is a critical predictor of long-term
outcomes in wetland conservation programs. Given the global nature
of the resource -- wetlands and cranes -- international collaborations
and exchange deserve careful attention.
Speakers:
Cranes, Communities, and Conservation Biology: Connections in
Time and Space - Curt Meine, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts
and Letters
Environmental
Flows for the Sustainable Management of Cahora Bassa Dam and the
Lower Zambezi Valley, Mozambique - Richard Beilfuss, International
Crane Foundation
From
Apathy to Partnership: Involving Local Communities at Muraviovka
Park for Sustainable Land Use (Amur Region, Russia) - Sergei Smirenski,
Moscow State University
Bringing
Community into Community-Based Conservation: Two Contrasting Case
Studies - Wellington Huffaker, Aldo Leopold Foundation
Building
Trust and Long Term Commitment Through Wetland and Crane Conservation
in Southeast Asia - Triet Tran, Vietnam National University -
Ho Chi Minh City
Community-Based
Conservation of Cranes and Wetlands in the Lake Victoria Basin
of East Africa - Jimmy Muheebwa-Muhoozi, Wildlife Clubs of Uganda;
Maurice Wanjala, Kipsaina Wetlands Conservation Group
Community
Involvement in Wetland and Watershed Management at Cao Hai National
Nature Reserve, China - Fengshan Li, International Crane Foundation
Is
There a Contradiction Between Economically Viable Potato Production
and Ecosystem Management on Farms and Adjoining Lands? - Deana
Sexson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Panel
Discussion - Moderator: Jeb Barzen, International Crane Foundation
Back
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Comparing Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems: Implications for
Conservation Theory and Practice
When:
Wednesday, 2 July 2003, 9:30 AM
Sponsor:
SCB Marine Section
Organizer:
Leah R. Gerber, Science Chair, SCB Marine Section and Arizona
State University (Leah.Gerber@asu.edu)
Goals:
To improve communication between marine and terrestrial conservation
biologists in SCB.
To identify similarities and differences between the ecology and
conservation of marine and terrestrial systems.
To discuss scientific challenges in applying lessons learned from
terrestrial systems to marine systems (and vice versa).
To review and explore strategies for improved conservation of
both systems based on enhanced communication.
Justification:
Although there is an increasingly well-developed theory of terrestrial
conservation biology, a corresponding theory for marine systems
is nascent. The extent to which terrestrial-based theories may
be applied to marine conservation (and vice versa) depends, in
part, on the degree of similarity between these systems. Our proposed
symposium will explore the differences in ecological and evolutionary
processes between marine and terrestrial ecosystems and implications
for patterns of human impacts and conservation strategies. We
will review the theories that have been developed for conservation
in each system. For example, the theories that have been developed
for marine reserves differ markedly from terrestrial reserve theory.
While terrestrial reserve design generally focuses on preserving
species or habitat richness and effects of fragmentation on metapopulations
of reserves, marine reserves have tended to make less use of the
details of multi-species community and biogeographic patterns.
Increased communication between marine and terrestrial conservation
biologists is critical to developing practical strategies for
applying both generalized and system-dependent conservation strategies
in marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
Speakers:
Comparing Marine and Terrestrial Ecosystems: Implications for
the Design of Coastal Marine Reserves - Mark Carr, University
of California, Santa Cruz
Using
Landscape Ecology to Define Thresholds of Resistance to Fishing
Disturbance in Marine Systems - Carolyn J. Lundquist, National
Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
Double
the Trouble: Sustaining Marine and Riverine Processes in the Estuarine
Reserva de la Biosfera Alto Golfo de California y Delta Del Rio
Colorado, Mexico - Kirsten Rowell, University of Arizona
Metapopulation
Dynamics in Marine vs. Terrestrial Systems - Will F. Figueira,
Duke University Marine Laboratory
Fish,
Fowl or Forest: Does It Matter for Conservation Policy? - Michael
Mascia, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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Education in Conservation Biology: Translating Education into
Practice
When:
Wednesday, 2 July 2003, 9:30 AM
Organizers:
The Education Committee for the Society for Conservation Biology
Coordinator:
Stephen Trombulak, Middlebury College (trombulak@middlebury.edu)
Goals:
The goals of this symposium are to provide an interactive forum
for the exploration of the question "How should we train
students so that they can competently apply their acquired knowledge
of conservation biology in practice?" After an opening session
in which educational resources and needs are discussed by a panel
of both educators and practitioners, attendees of the symposium
will be invited to participate in facilitated break-out discussion
groups to explore specific strategies for better training students
to become effective conservation practitioners. Groups will be
organized around different educational models (e.g., university,
small college, graduate programs) and specific educational tools
(e.g., web-based curricula, case studies) so all participants
can better match their needs and experience with the larger discussion.
Following these sessions, all participants will return to the
larger group for a closing summary. Information developed during
the discussions will be transcribed and made available to the
SCB on its web site of educational resources so that the entire
membership can benefit from the dialog.
Justification:
Education is not only a part of the SCB mission, it is also central
to what will be required to achieve the goals of conservation
worldwide. The Education Committee conceives of this symposium
as part of its work to meet the charge it has been given by the
Board of Governors and as the first of an ongoing series held
at each annual meeting on the subject of Education in Conservation
Biology.
Speakers:
The symposium will consist of informal presentations and panel
discussions.
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Conservation Planning for Wide-Ranging Species: Challenges and
Strategies
When:
Wednesday, 2 July 2003, 1:30 PM
Organizer:
Thomas Good, National Marine Fisheries Service (tom.good@noaa.gov)
Goals:
The goals of this symposium are to 1) gather experts in conservation
science of wide-ranging species, 2) discuss scientific challenges
particular to conservation planning for those species, and 3)
review present and explore future strategies in conservation planning
with respect to wide-ranging species.
Justification:
Conservation of threatened and endangered species faces many scientific,
economic, and political challenges. Conservation planning for
wide-ranging species is particularly challenging, as organisms
can transcend international, jurisdictional, and ecosystem boundaries.
The breadth of presentations is intended to explore aspects of
conservation planning for a variety of terrestrial and marine
species, particularly the science that informs such planning,
that are unique among wide-ranging species (e.g. anadromy) as
well as some common themes (e.g., migration). The participants
include field biologists, theoreticians and practitioners of conservation
planning in academic, governmental, and non-governmental organizations.
In conjunction with the theme of the 2003 SCB meetings -- Conservation
of Land and Water Interactions -- the symposium will explore issues
that pertain to wetlands, large rivers/lakes, marine/coastal systems,
and interfaces among systems.
Speakers:
Conservation Planning for Pacific Salmonids: Crossing Ecosystem
and Management Boundaries - Thomas Good, National Marine Fisheries
Service
Life
History Analysis for Conservation and Recovery Planning: Lessons
from the Sea Turtle 'Success' Story - Selina S. Heppell, Oregon
State University
Penguins,
People, Pollution and Politics: When Science Is Not Enough - P.
Dee Boersma, University of Washington
History
and Prospects of Conservation Efforts to Preserve the Overwintering
Sites of the Monarch Butterfly in Mexico - Lincoln P. Brower,
Sweet Briar College
Conservation
Planning for Migratory Birds at Hemispheric and Continental Scales:
Lessons from Shorebirds - Laura X. Payne, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The
Role of Marine Protected Areas in Conserving Wide-Ranging Species:
Implications for Design and Efficacy - Leah R. Gerber, Arizona
State University
Incorporating
Wide-Ranging Species into Ecoregional Planning - Laura Landon,
The Nature Conservancy
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Marine Reserves: A Global Perspective
When:
Wednesday, 2 July 2003, 1:30 PM
Organizers:
Carolyn Lundquist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric
Research (c.lundquist@niwa.co.nz);
Elise Granek, Oregon State University (graneke@science.oregonstate.edu)
Goals:
1) To review the worldwide application of marine reserve design
and demonstrate how well empirical results match theoretical predictions,
2) To identify biological and socioeconomic strategies utilized
in reserve design and management that have been successful in
different habitats and in different countries, and 3) To discuss
the challenges of proving that marine reserves are beneficial
for the conservation of biodiversity and for protection and enhancement
of marine resources.
Justification:
Empirical and theoretical research supporting the predictions
of the benefits of marine reserves continues to accumulate. However,
an all-encompassing strategy for a reserve design suitable globally
is far from reality. Different habitats (e.g., coral reefs, kelp
forests, tropical mangroves, temperate estuaries) may require
different types of reserve networks to maintain biodiversity due
to differences in larval dispersal, adult movement rates, edge
effects, and other biological factors influencing transport and
survival within protected areas. Socioeconomic and political pressure
may result in different strategies based on local support (or
lack thereof) for marine reserves. In this symposium, we briefly
review reserve theory and its predictions of maintenance of biodiversity
and increased catch, in addition to discussing areas of research
concerning marine reserves that have yet to be examined. Speakers
will present strategies for the formation of reserve areas that
have worked in their countries, including the challenges that
they have faced. Our speakers also will present alternative management
scenarios that have been successfully implemented for resource
protection in the context of marine reserves, with a significant
contribution from typically under-represented areas.
Speakers:
A Review of Fully-Protected Marine Reserves: The Long Road to
Principles and Systems - Timothy Langlois, University of Auckland
Social,
Cultural and Economic Considerations for Marine Reserve Design
- Caroline Pomeroy, University of California, Santa Cruz
Chilean
"Caletas" and Associated Management and Exploitation
Areas for
Benthic Resources as Tools to Evaluate the Benefit of Marine Reserves
-
Juan Carlos Castilla, Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Chile
Processes
for Identifying and Choosing Marine Reserves: A Comparison Of
Conservation Trategies in the Galápagos Islands and Australia
- Rodrigo
Bustamante, Northern Fisheries and Torres Strait Ecosystems
Conservation
Benefits of Traditional Coral Reef Management: A Case
Study from Ahus Island, Manus Province, Papua New Guinea - Michael
Marnane, Wildlife Conservation Society, Asia Pacific Coral Reef
Program
Marine
Reserves in Chile: The Experience of Las Cruces and New
Challenges - Miriam Fernandez, Pontificia Universidad Católica
de Chile
Integrating
Traditional Fisheries in Marine Protected Area Management:
Co-Management Case Studies in South Africa - Jean Harris, Ezemvelo
KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife
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