Saving endangered species using adaptive management

Adaptive management is a powerful means of learning about complex ecosystems, but is rarely used for recovering endangered species. Here, we demonstrate how it can benefit woodland caribou, which became the first large mammal extirpated from the contiguous United States in recent history. The contin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2019-03, Vol.116 (13), p.6181-6186
Main Authors: Serrouya, Robert, Seip, Dale R., Hervieux, Dave, McLellan, Bruce N., McNay, R. Scott, Steenweg, Robin, Heard, Doug C., Hebblewhite, Mark, Gillingham, Michael, Boutin, Stan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptive management
Animals
Biological Sciences
Conservation of Natural Resources - methods
Ecosystem
Ecosystems
Emergency management
Endangered & extinct species
Endangered Species
Environmental restoration
Food Chain
Forests
Population growth
Predators
Prey
Recovery
Reindeer
Restoration
Strategic management
Translocation
United States
Woodlands
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Summary:Adaptive management is a powerful means of learning about complex ecosystems, but is rarely used for recovering endangered species. Here, we demonstrate how it can benefit woodland caribou, which became the first large mammal extirpated from the contiguous United States in recent history. The continental scale of forest alteration and extended time needed for forest recovery means that relying only on habitat protection and restoration will likely fail. Therefore, population management is also needed as an emergency measure to avoid further extirpation. Reductions of predators and overabundant prey, translocations, and creating safe havens have been applied in a design covering >90,000 km². Combinations of treatments that increased multiple vital rates produced the highest population growth. Moreover, the degree of ecosystem alteration did not influence this pattern. By coordinating recovery involving scientists, governments, and First Nations, treatments were applied across vast scales to benefit this iconic species.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1816923116