Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America
Conservation efforts often focus on a single species, but this approach is inefficient for agencies dealing with many declining species at risk of extinction. Leveraging already-funded management for additional species can help stretch limited resources to conserve more biodiversity. However, evalua...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198942200258X |
| _version_ | 1818084879592587264 |
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| author | Demi M. Gary Krista Mougey Nancy E. McIntyre Kerry L. Griffis-Kyle |
| author_facet | Demi M. Gary Krista Mougey Nancy E. McIntyre Kerry L. Griffis-Kyle |
| author_sort | Demi M. Gary |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conservation efforts often focus on a single species, but this approach is inefficient for agencies dealing with many declining species at risk of extinction. Leveraging already-funded management for additional species can help stretch limited resources to conserve more biodiversity. However, evaluation of the efficacy of such an umbrella approach is typically lacking, does not explicitly consider outcomes of management treatments, or only evaluates one or a few species. We developed a method to evaluate the ability of management for the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) to offer an umbrella of protection for non-target species at risk of decline. To accomplish this, we predicted the conservation outcomes of lesser prairie-chicken management for overlapping at-risk species and created an index of conservation benefit to evaluate the effectiveness of the lesser prairie-chicken as an umbrella species for conservation. We conducted a literature review for 77 at-risk species that overlap in range with the lesser prairie-chicken to determine the effects (benefit, cost, or neutral) of the primary conservation actions taken to manage lesser prairie-chicken habitat. We determined that 84 % of the species were expected to receive a net conservation benefit from management for lesser prairie-chicken, 8 % would incur a net cost, and 8 % would have a net balance of costs and benefits. These results suggest that the lesser prairie-chicken functions as an umbrella of protection for other grassland species, providing a net conservation benefit. Our index-based approach serves as a model for evaluating the efficacy of proposed surrogate species on a community of organisms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:00:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1f22984309764b72ac57a9e774e78909 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2351-9894 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T20:00:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Global Ecology and Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-1f22984309764b72ac57a9e774e789092022-12-22T01:35:31ZengElsevierGlobal Ecology and Conservation2351-98942022-10-0138e02256Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North AmericaDemi M. Gary0Krista Mougey1Nancy E. McIntyre2Kerry L. Griffis-Kyle3Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2125, USAGeography, Environmental Studies, and Water Issues Lab, Department of Social Sciences and Cultural Studies, Montana State University, Billings, MT 59101, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-3131, USADepartment of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-2125, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Natural Resources Management, Texas Tech University, Box 42125, Lubbock, TX 79409-2125, USA.Conservation efforts often focus on a single species, but this approach is inefficient for agencies dealing with many declining species at risk of extinction. Leveraging already-funded management for additional species can help stretch limited resources to conserve more biodiversity. However, evaluation of the efficacy of such an umbrella approach is typically lacking, does not explicitly consider outcomes of management treatments, or only evaluates one or a few species. We developed a method to evaluate the ability of management for the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) to offer an umbrella of protection for non-target species at risk of decline. To accomplish this, we predicted the conservation outcomes of lesser prairie-chicken management for overlapping at-risk species and created an index of conservation benefit to evaluate the effectiveness of the lesser prairie-chicken as an umbrella species for conservation. We conducted a literature review for 77 at-risk species that overlap in range with the lesser prairie-chicken to determine the effects (benefit, cost, or neutral) of the primary conservation actions taken to manage lesser prairie-chicken habitat. We determined that 84 % of the species were expected to receive a net conservation benefit from management for lesser prairie-chicken, 8 % would incur a net cost, and 8 % would have a net balance of costs and benefits. These results suggest that the lesser prairie-chicken functions as an umbrella of protection for other grassland species, providing a net conservation benefit. Our index-based approach serves as a model for evaluating the efficacy of proposed surrogate species on a community of organisms.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198942200258XGreat PlainsUmbrella speciesNet conservation benefitLesser prairie-chickenTympanuchus pallidicinctus |
| spellingShingle | Demi M. Gary Krista Mougey Nancy E. McIntyre Kerry L. Griffis-Kyle Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America Global Ecology and Conservation Great Plains Umbrella species Net conservation benefit Lesser prairie-chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus |
| title | Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America |
| title_full | Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America |
| title_fullStr | Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America |
| title_full_unstemmed | Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America |
| title_short | Species as conservation umbrellas: A case study with lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) in the southern Great Plains of North America |
| title_sort | species as conservation umbrellas a case study with lesser prairie chicken tympanuchus pallidicinctus in the southern great plains of north america |
| topic | Great Plains Umbrella species Net conservation benefit Lesser prairie-chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235198942200258X |
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