Joe Bennett, Institute of Environmental Sciences
Despite the efforts of global and national conservation agencies, the number of species threatened with extinction continues to grow. New techniques to objectively prioritize conservation actions for threatened species have shown great promise for helping to save more species from extinction, and have been implemented by some agencies. However, these techniques can be limited by entrenched biases toward certain species over others, and by uncertainties in determining which species are more at risk of extinction. I will show how biases toward popular, ‘flagship’ species can be utilized to help support rather than hinder objective prioritization, through careful promotion of shared actions among species. I will also outline new research that will determine the value of new data in determining priorities, and will help conservation agencies answer the question of when to monitor and when to act on existing information.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016 in Science Cafe
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