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Whose backyard? Some precautions in choosing recipient sites for assisted colonisation of A ustralian plants and animals
Author(s) -
Harris Stephen,
Arnall Sophie,
Byrne Margaret,
Coates David,
Hayward Matt,
Martin Tara,
Mitchell Nicola,
Garnett Stephen
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
ecological management and restoration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.472
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1442-8903
pISSN - 1442-7001
DOI - 10.1111/emr.12041
Subject(s) - colonisation , threatened species , ecology , biota , iucn red list , biology , geography , habitat , colonization
Summary In cases where assisted colonisation is the appropriate conservation tool, the selection of recipient sites is a major challenge. Here, we propose a framework for site selection that can be applied to the Australian biota, where planning for assisted colonisation is in its infancy. Characteristics that will be important drivers in the decision‐making process include the size of a recipient site, the potential to augment corridors and respond to niche gaps, the maximisation of climatic buffering, bioregional similarity, tenure security, and the minimisation of opportunities for hybridisation and invasiveness. Sites we suggest be precluded from assisted colonisation include sites of high species endemism, IUCN category 1 reference reserves and fully‐functioning threatened ecological communities.