NCEAS Project 2290
Developing and testing methods for classifying species conservation status and estimating risk
- Mark Burgman
- Sandy J. Andelman
| Activity | Dates | Further Information |
|---|---|---|
| Graduate Student | 1st July 1999—31st March 2001 | Participant List |
| Working Group | 1st—7th August 1999 | Participant List |
| Postdoctoral Fellow | 29th September 1999—30th June 2000 | Participant List |
| Undergraduate Intern | 1st February—30th April 2000 | Participant List |
| Working Group | 24th—29th February 2000 | Participant List |
| Working Group | 17th—21st April 2000 | Participant List |
| Working Group | 6th—12th November 2000 | Participant List |
| Working Group | 21st—28th July 2001 | Participant List |
| Working Group | 11th—17th February 2002 | Participant List |
Abstract
Decisions about species conservation status have critical implications for allocation of public and private funding, land use planning decisions, and regulatory actions. Currently, a broad range of methods is used to classify species conservation status at a variety of geographic scales (e.g., local, national, international). Different methods produce very different results, yet there is no rationale or benchmark for judging their adequacy or appropriateness. Existing systems also are incomplete because they lack rules that allow decisions to be made when the data are uncertain. No systematic testing of any such system has been undertaken. In this project, we will synthesize and evaluate existing protocols for classifying species conservation status applied in the United States, Australia, and internationally. We will measure their performance in three ways: first, by comparing the classifications resulting from individual protocols with assessments of extinction risk from detailed population and metapopulation studies for specific species; second, by comparing classifications with simulations of hypothetical species for which ¿true¿ underlying dynamic processes are known; and third, by comparing classifications with the conservation outcomes for a large number of existing species, for which some populations have gone extinct. The synthesis of these lines of evidence will allow us to evaluate critically the current techniques, and to recommend new approaches and testing procedures.
| Type | Products of NCEAS Research |
|---|---|
| Book Chapter | Akçakaya, H. Resit; Regan, Helen M. 2001. Population models: Metapopulations. Edited by Pastorok, R. A.; Bartell, S. M.; Ferson, S.; Ginzburg, L. R.. Ecological Modeling in Risk Assessment: Chemical Effects on Populations, Ecosystems and Landscapes. Lewis Publishers. Boca Raton, FL. Pages 83-95. |
| Journal Article | Bartell, S. M.; Pastorok, R. A.; Akçakaya, H. Resit; Regan, Helen M.; Ferson, Scott; Mackay, C. 2003. Realism and relevance of ecological models used in chemical risk assessment. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. Vol: 9. Pages 907-938. |
| Presentations | Burgman, Mark. 2000. The science and psychology of environmental risk assessment. BHP, Office for Health. |
| Journal Article | Burgman, Mark; Possingham, Hugh P.; Lynch, A. Jasmyn J.; Keith, David A.; McCarthy, Michael A.; Hopper, S. D.; Drury, W. L.; Passioura, J. A.; DeFries, Ruth S. 2001. A method for setting the size of plant conservation target areas. Conservation Biology. Vol: 15. Pages 603-616. |
| Presentations | Burgman, Mark. 2001. Uncertainty and risk. Society for Conservation Biology Conference. |
| Journal Article | Burgman, Mark. 2002. Are listed threatened plant species actually at risk?. Australian Journal of Botany. Vol: 50. Pages 1-13. |
| Presentations | Burgman, Mark. 2002. Extinctions: Gaps in science or gaps in nature?. University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley, Ca. |
| Presentations | Burgman, Mark. 2002. Practical applications: Critical habitat on the ground. Canadian Wildlife Service Workshop. |
| Presentations | Burgman, Mark. 2002. Uncertainty in habitat models: Epistemic and vague quantities. Archbold Biological Station. |
| Journal Article | Burgman, Mark; Fox, Charles. 2003. Bias in species range estimates from minimum convex polygons: Implications for conservation and options for improved planning. Animal Conservation. Vol: 6. Pages 19-28. |
| Presentations | Burgman, Mark. 2003. GM regulation and scientific inference: Can science be trusted?. San Diego State University. San Diego, CA. |
| Presentations | Burgman, Mark. 2003. Uncertainty in habitat models: Epistemic and vague quantities. University of Wisconsin, Madison. Madison, WI. |
| Journal Article | Burgman, Mark. 2004. Evaluating methods for assessing extinction risk. Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology. Vol: 26. Pages 65-66. |
| Data Set | Burgman, Mark; Regan, Tracey. 2006. Main causes for discrepancies in species classifications. (Abstract) (Online version) |
| Journal Article | Elith, Jane; Burgman, Mark; Regan, Helen M. 2002. Mapping epistemic uncertainties and vague concepts in predictions of species distribution. Ecological Modelling. Vol: 157. Pages 313-329. |
| Journal Article | Keith, David A.; McCarthy, Michael A.; Regan, Helen M.; Regan, Tracey; Bowles, Christy; Drill, Claire; Craig, Cory; Pellow, Belinda; Burgman, Mark; Master, Larry; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Mackenzie, Berin; Andelman, Sandy J.; Wade, Paul. 2004. Protocols for listing threatened species can forecast extinction. Ecology Letters. Vol: 7. Pages 1101-1108. |
| Journal Article | Keith, David A.; Burgman, Mark. 2004. The Lazarus effect: Can the dynamics of extinct species lists tell us anything about the status of biodiversity?. Biological Conservation. Vol: 117(1). Pages 41-48. |
| Journal Article | Lindenmayer, D. B.; McCarthy, Michael A. 2001. The spatial distribution of non-native plant invaders in a pine-eucalypt landscape mosaic in south-eastern Australia. Biological Conservation. Vol: 102. Pages 77-87. |
| Journal Article | Maunder, Mark N. 2004. Population viability analysis based on combining Bayesian, integrated, and hierarchical analyses. Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology. Vol: 26. Pages 85-94. |
| Report or White Paper | McCarthy, Michael A. 2000. Report on activities while a post-doc at NCEAS. (Online version) |
| Journal Article | McCarthy, Michael A.; Lindenmayer, D. B.; Possingham, Hugh P. 2001. Assessing spatial PVA models of arboreal marsupials using significance tests and Bayesian statistics. Biological Conservation. Vol: 98. Pages 191-200. |
| Journal Article | McCarthy, Michael A.; Thompson, Colin. 2001. Expected minimum population size as a measure of threat. Animal Conservation. Vol: 4. Pages 351-355. |
| Presentations | McCarthy, Michael A.; Andelman, Sandy J.; Possingham, Hugh P. 2001. Relative risks in PVA: Accuracy in the face of uncertainty. Society for Conservation Biology. Hilo, HI. |
| Presentations | McCarthy, Michael A.; Andelman, Sandy J.; Possingham, Hugh P. 2001. Reliability of relative predictions in population viability analysis. Ecological Society of America. Madison, WI. |
| Journal Article | McCarthy, Michael A.; Possingham, Hugh P.; Day, Jon; Tyre, Andrew. 2001. Testing the accuracy of population viability analysis. Conservation Biology. Vol: 15. Pages 1030-1038. |
| Journal Article | McCarthy, Michael A.; Possingham, Hugh P.; Gill, A. M. 2001. Using stochastic dynamic programming to determine optimal fire management for Banksia ornata. Journal of Applied Ecology. Vol: 38. Pages 585-592. |
| Presentations | McCarthy, Michael A. 2002. Extinction models for work and play. School of Botany Seminar, University of Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne, Australia. |
| Journal Article | McCarthy, Michael A.; Andelman, Sandy J.; Possingham, Hugh P. 2003. Reliability of relative predictions in population viability analysis. Conservation Biology. Vol: 17(4). Pages 982-989. |
| Journal Article | McCarthy, Michael A.; Keith, David A.; Tietjen, Justine; Burgman, Mark; Maunder, Mark N.; Master, Larry; Brook, Barry W.; Mace, Georgina; Possingham, Hugh P.; Medellin, Rodrigo A.; Andelman, Sandy J.; Regan, Helen M.; Regan, Tracey; Ruckelshaus, Mary. 2004. Comparing predictions of extinction risk using models and subjective judgement. Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology. Vol: 26. Pages 67-74. |
| Journal Article | O'Grady, J. J.; Burgman, Mark; Keith, David A.; Master, Larry; Andelman, Sandy J.; Brook, Barry W.; Hammerson, Geoffrey A.; Regan, Tracey; Frankham, R. 2004. Correlations among extinction risks assessed by different systems of threatened species categorization. Conservation Biology. Vol: 18. Pages 1624-1635. |
| Journal Article | Parris, Kirsten; McCarthy, Michael A. 2001. Identifying effects of toe clipping on anuran return rates: The importance of statistical power. Amphibia-Reptilia. Vol: 22. Pages 275-289. |
| Journal Article | Pastorok, R. A.; Akçakaya, H. Resit; Regan, Helen M.; Ferson, Scott; Bartell, S. M. 2003. Role of ecological modeling in risk assessment. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. Vol: 9(4). Pages 939-972. |
| Book Chapter | Possingham, Hugh P.; Lindenmayer, D. B.; McCarthy, Michael A. 2001. Population viability analysis. Edited by Levin, S.. Encyclopedia of Biodiversity. Academic Press. San Diego, CA. Pages 831-843. |
| Journal Article | Possingham, Hugh P.; Andelman, Sandy J.; Burgman, Mark; Medellin, Rodrigo A.; Master, Larry; Keith, David A. 2002. Limits to the use of threatened species lists. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. Vol: 17. Pages 503-507. |
| Presentations | Regan, Helen M. 2001. Challenges in risk assessment: Using population models for management in an uncertain world, December 2001. Ecology Department, San Diego State University. San Diego, CA. |
| Presentations | Regan, Helen M.; Andelman, Sandy J.; McCarthy, Michael A.; Burgman, Mark. 2001. How precautionary are we? The impact of uncertainty on threatened species classifications, July 2001. Abstract in Society for Conservation Biology. 15th Annual Meeting, Volume of Abstracts. Hilo, Hawaii. |
| Book Chapter | Regan, Helen M. 2001. Population models: Individual-based. Edited by Pastorok, R. A.; Bartell, S. M.; Ferson, S.; Ginzburg, L. R.. Ecological Modeling in Risk Assessment: Chemical Effects on Populations, Ecosystems and Landscapes. Lewis Publishers. Boca Raton, FL. Pages 65-82. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Helen M.; Hope, B. K.; Ferson, Scott. 2002. Analysis and portrayal of uncertainty in a food-web exposure model. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. Vol: 8(7). Pages 1757-1777. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Helen M.; Colyvan, Mark; Burgman, Mark. 2002. A taxonomy and treatment of uncertainty for ecology and conservation biology. Ecological Applications. Vol: 12. Pages 618-628. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Helen M.; Sample, B. E.; Ferson, Scott. 2002. Comparison of deterministic and probabilistic calculation of ecological soil screening levels. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Vol: 21(4). Pages 882-890. |
| Presentations | Regan, Helen M.; Auld, T. D.; Keith, David A.; Burgman, Mark. 2002. Using population models for conservation management of an endangered Australian plant, Grevillea caleyi. International Conference for Botanic Gardens. Science for Plant Conservation. Dublin. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Helen M.; Auld, T. D.; Keith, David A.; Burgman, Mark. 2003. The effects of fire and predators on the long-term persistence of an endangered shrub, Grevillea caleyi. Biological Conservation. Vol: 109. Pages 73-83. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Helen M.; Akçakaya, H. Resit; Ferson, Scott; Root, K. V.; Carroll, S.; Ginzburg, Lev. 2003. Treatments of uncertainty and variability in ecological risk assessment of single-species populations. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. Vol: 9. Pages 889-906. |
| Book Chapter | Regan, Helen M.; Auld, T. D. 2004. Australian shrub Grevillea caleyi: Recovery through management of fire and predation. Edited by Akcakaya, H. R.; Burgman, M. A.; Kindvall, O.; Wood, C. C.; Sjogren-Gulve, P.; Hatfield, J.; McCarthy, M.. Species Conservation and Management: Case Studies. Oxford University Press. Oxford. Pages 23-35. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Helen M.; Ferson, Scott; Berleant, D. 2004. Equivalence of methods for uncertainty propagation of real-valued random variables. International Journal of Approximate Reasoning. Vol: 36. Pages 1-30. |
| Presentations | Regan, Tracey; Keith, David A.; Regan, Helen M.; Tozer, M. 2002. A population viability analysis for a long lived perennial: Xanthorrhoea resinifera. An International Conference for Botanic Gardens. Science for Plant Conservation. Dublin. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Tracey; Master, Larry; Hammerson, Geoffrey A. 2004. Capturing expert knowledge for threatened species assessments: A case study using NatureServe conservation status ranks. Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology. Vol: 26. Pages 95-107. |
| Journal Article | Regan, Tracey; Burgman, Mark; McCarthy, Michael A. 2005. The consistency of extinction risk classification protocols . Conservation Biology. Vol: 19. Pages 1969-1977. |
| Journal Article | Taylor, R. J.; Regan, Tracey; Regan, Helen M.; Burgman, Mark; Bonham, K. 2003. Impacts of plantation development, harvesting schedules and rotation lengths on the rare snail Tasmaphena lamproides in northwest Tasmania: A population viability analysis. Forest Ecology and Management. Vol: 175. Pages 455-466. |
| Journal Article | Tyre, Andrew; Tenhumberg, B.; McCarthy, Michael A.; Possingham, Hugh P. 2000. Swapping space for time and unfair tests of ecological models. Austral Ecology. Vol: 25. Pages 327-331. |