Open AccessEvaluating Trade‐Offs between Target Persistence Levels and Numbers of Species Conserved
Author(s) -
Di Fonzo Martina M. I.,
Possingham Hugh P.,
Probert William J. M.,
Bennett Joseph R.,
Joseph Lia.,
Tulloch Ayesha I.T.,
O'Connor Shaun,
Densem Jodie,
Maloney Richard F.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
conservation letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.153
H-Index - 79
ISSN - 1755-263X
DOI - 10.1111/conl.12179
Subject(s) - persistence (discontinuity) , prioritization , biodiversity , global biodiversity , trade off , environmental resource management , ecology , business , biology , environmental science , engineering , process management , geotechnical engineering
A focus of conservation planning is to maximize the probability of species persistence, but this may reduce the number of species that can be secured with a limited budget. Using a data set of 700 New Zealand species, we examine the trade‐off between providing a high level of persistence for some species and a lower level of persistence for more species. We find that the target persistence level that delivers the highest conservation outcome is a function of the annual budget, such that lower budgets have lower optimal targets. However, it is never optimal to manage species below a 75% probability of persistence. We introduce a prioritization approach that maximizes biodiversity gains based on a flexible persistence target, and demonstrate how strategies with fixed high‐persistence targets can be inefficient. We also illustrate the risks in spreading conservation resources too thinly by undertaking low levels of management on more species.