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Delaying conservation actions for improved knowledge: how long should we wait?
Author(s) -
Grantham Hedley S.,
Wilson Kerrie A.,
Moilanen Atte,
Rebelo Tony,
Possingham Hugh P.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01287.x
Subject(s) - habitat , biodiversity , environmental resource management , action (physics) , habitat destruction , set (abstract data type) , geography , outcome (game theory) , ecology , computer science , environmental science , biology , physics , mathematics , mathematical economics , quantum mechanics , programming language
Decisions about where conservation actions are implemented are based on incomplete knowledge about biodiversity. The Protea Atlas is a comprehensive database, containing information collated over a decade. Using this data set in a series of retrospective simulations, we compared the outcome from different scenarios of information gain, and habitat protection and loss, over a 20‐year period. We assumed that there was no information on proteas at the beginning of the simulation but knowledge improved each year. Our aim was to find out how much time we should spend collecting data before protecting habitat when there is ongoing loss of habitat. We found that, in this case, surveying for more than 2 years rarely increased the effectiveness of conservation decisions in terms of representation of proteas in protected areas and retention within the landscape. If the delay is too long, it can sometimes be more effective just using a readily available habitat map. These results reveal the opportunity costs of delaying conservation action to improve knowledge.