An Ecoinformatic Approach to Developing Recovery Goals and Objectives
RC-1475
Objective
Schematic for Recovery Database
A profound lack of data hinders managers' abilities to set scientifically defensible recovery goals and criteria for all but a few species. Because most listed species are poorly known, recovery plans commonly recommend a list of research needs and recovery actions that differ little among species. Such blanket recommendations inhibit Department of Defense (DoD) land managers' capacities to prioritize efforts for individual species and make prioritizations among species nearly impossible. This is of particular concern to DoD as its lands harbor more endangered species than any other federal land manager. An ecoinformatic recovery-planning framework, which takes advantage of the fact that more is known about at-risk species as a group than is realized, represents a significant departure from such one-size-fits-all approaches.
The objective of this project is to develop and implement methods that will quantify scientifically defensible recovery goals for federally listed species on DoD-managed lands via a sophisticated comparison approach with a diverse set of well-studied species. For each federally listed species on DoD-managed lands, the project will (1) quantify scientifically defensible recovery goals and criteria and (2) categorize the most appropriate types of recovery actions.
Technical Approach
The core novelty in this effort is the development of a framework and methodology by which end users can directly compare even the most poorly known species to ecologically relevant sets of species to provide defensible means of choosing appropriate recovery criteria and setting quantitative recovery goals. Two web-based conservation databases will be built–one for well-studied species for which recovery strategies already have been recommended based on extensive scientific data and analyses and one focused on federally listed species for which recovery goals need to be developed. Tree-based statistical modeling will be used to identify sets of well-studied species that constitute reasonable, individualized comparison sets for each listed species. Inverse function models then will be employed to develop predictive models that mathematically describe the relationships among biological traits, extrinsic threats, and recovery goals for each comparison set of well-studied species. Finally, recovery goals will be calculated for listed species on DoD-managed lands by substituting the traits and threats of each listed species into the inverse functions arising from its comparison set.
Benefits
The comparative ecoinformatic approaches developed by this project will constitute an analytical framework intermediate between more generic conservation rules of thumb and expensive, time-consuming, and often unattainable single-species approaches such as population viability analyses. For as many of the listed species as is practicable, these approaches will provide (1) the units of measure that constitute the most relevant recovery criteria for a particular species; (2) quantitative, scientifically defensible recovery goals for listed species based on those criteria; (3) the available scientific information for informing key management decisions or refining recovery criteria, goals, and actions; and (4) classes of monitoring actions that are needed to assess how well recovery goals are being met. Both conservation databases will be linked by an integrated platform and provided to DoD, thus arming its installation land managers with the tools necessary for prioritizing their endangered species conservation efforts and expenditures. (Anticipated Project Completion - 2012)
Symposium & Workshop
FY 2013 New Start Project Selections
Points of Contact
Principal Investigator
Dr. William Fagan
University of Maryland, College Park
Phone: 301-405-4672
Fax: 301-314-9358
Program Manager
Resource Conservation and Climate Change
SERDP and ESTCP
Document Types
- Fact Sheet - Brief project summary with links to related documents and points of contact.
- Final Report - Comprehensive report for every completed SERDP and ESTCP project that contains all technical results.
- Cost & Performance Report - Overview of ESTCP demonstration activities, results, and conclusions, standardized to facilitate implementation decisions.
- Technical Report - Additional interim reports, laboratory reports, demonstration reports, and technology survey reports.
- Guidance - Instructional information on technical topics such as protocols and user’s guides.
- Workshop Report - Summary of workshop discussion and findings.
- Multimedia - On demand videos, animations, and webcasts highlighting featured initiatives or technologies.
- Model/Software - Computer programs and applications available for download.
- Database - Digitally organized collection of data available to search and access.