Standardized Assessment of Biodiversity Trends in Tropical Forest Protected Areas: The End Is Not in Sight

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cg.contributor.crpForests, Trees and Agroforestry
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002357
cg.issn1545-7885
cg.issue1
cg.journalPLOS Biology
cg.numbere1002357
cg.subject.ciforFOREST MANAGEMENT
cg.volume14
dc.contributor.authorBeaudrot, L.
dc.contributor.authorAhumada, Jorge A.
dc.contributor.authorO'Brien, T.
dc.contributor.authorÁlvarez Loayza, P.
dc.contributor.authorBoekee, K.
dc.contributor.authorCampos Arceiz, A.
dc.contributor.authorEichberg, D.
dc.contributor.authorEspinosa, S.
dc.contributor.authorFegraus, E.
dc.contributor.authorFletcher, C.
dc.contributor.authorGajapersad, K.
dc.contributor.authorHallam, C.
dc.contributor.authorHurtado, J.
dc.contributor.authorJansen, P.A.
dc.contributor.authorKumar, A.
dc.contributor.authorLarney, E.
dc.contributor.authorMoreira Lima, M.G.
dc.contributor.authorMahony, C.
dc.contributor.authorMartin, E.H.
dc.contributor.authorMcWilliam, A.
dc.contributor.authorMugerwa, B.
dc.contributor.authorNdoundou-Hockemba, M.
dc.contributor.authorRazafimahaimodison, J.C.
dc.contributor.authorRomero Saltos, H.
dc.contributor.authorRovero, F.
dc.contributor.authorSalvador, J.
dc.contributor.authorSantos, F.
dc.contributor.authorSheil, D.
dc.contributor.authorSpironello, W.R.
dc.contributor.authorWillig, M.R.
dc.contributor.authorWinarni, Nurul L.
dc.contributor.authorZvoleff, A.
dc.contributor.authorAndelman, Sandy J.
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-03T10:56:51Zen
dc.date.available2018-07-03T10:56:51Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/94043
dc.titleStandardized Assessment of Biodiversity Trends in Tropical Forest Protected Areas: The End Is Not in Sighten
dcterms.abstractExtinction rates in the Anthropocene are three orders of magnitude higher than background and disproportionately occur in the tropics, home of half the world’s species. Despite global efforts to combat tropical species extinctions, lack of high-quality, objective information on tropical biodiversity has hampered quantitative evaluation of conservation strategies. In particular, the scarcity of population-level monitoring in tropical forests has stymied assessment of biodiversity outcomes, such as the status and trends of animal populations in protected areas. Here, we evaluate occupancy trends for 511 populations of terrestrial mammals and birds, representing 244 species from 15 tropical forest protected areas on three continents. For the first time to our knowledge, we use annual surveys from tropical forests worldwide that employ a standardized camera trapping protocol, and we compute data analytics that correct for imperfect detection. We found that occupancy declined in 22%, increased in 17%, and exhibited no change in 22% of populations during the last 3–8 years, while 39% of populations were detected too infrequently to assess occupancy changes. Despite extensive variability in occupancy trends, these 15 tropical protected areas have not exhibited systematic declines in biodiversity (i.e., occupancy, richness, or evenness) at the community level. Our results differ from reports of widespread biodiversity declines based on aggregated secondary data and expert opinion and suggest less extreme deterioration in tropical forest protected areas. We simultaneously fill an important conservation data gap and demonstrate the value of large-scale monitoring infrastructure and powerful analytics, which can be scaled to incorporate additional sites, ecosystems, and monitoring methods. In an era of catastrophic biodiversity loss, robust indicators produced from standardized monitoring infrastructure are critical to accurately assess population outcomes and identify conservation strategies that can avert biodiversity collapse.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.available2016-01-19
dcterms.bibliographicCitationBeaudrot, L., Ahumada, J.A., O'Brien, T., Alvarez-Loayza, P., Boekee, K., Campos-Arceiz, A., Eichberg, D., Espinosa, S., Fegraus, E., Fletcher, C., Gajapersad, K., Hallam, C., Hurtado, J., Jansen, P.A., Kumar, A., Larney, E., Moreira Lima, M.G., Mahony, C., Martin, E.H., McWilliam, A., Mugerwa, B., Ndoundou-Hockemba, M., Razafimahaimodison, J.C., Romero-Saltos, H., Rovero, F., Salvador, J., Santos, F., Sheil, D., Spironello, W.R., Willig, M.R., Winarni, N.L., Zvoleff, A., Andelman, S.J.. 2016. Standardized Assessment of Biodiversity Trends in Tropical Forest Protected Areas : The End Is Not in Sight. Plos Biology, 14 (1) : e1002357. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002357en
dcterms.issued2016
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-4.0
dcterms.publisherPublic Library of Science
dcterms.subjectprotected areasen
dcterms.subjecttropical forestsen
dcterms.subjectpopulationsen
dcterms.subjectsystematic reviewsen
dcterms.subjectconservationen
dcterms.subjectbiodiversityen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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