Ecological history and latent conservation potential: large and giant tortoises as a model for taxon substitutions
نویسندگان
چکیده
D. M. Hansen ([email protected]), Dept of Biology, Stanford Univ., 371 Serra Mall, CA 94305, USA. C. J. Donlan, Advanced Conservation Strategies, P.O. Box 1201, Midway, UT 84049, USA, and Copeland Fellow in Global Sustainability, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002, USA, and Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. C. J. Griffiths, School of Biological Sciences, Univ. of Bristol, Woodland Road, Bristol, BS8 1UG, UK, and Inst. of Environmental Sciences, Univ. of Zurich, 190 Winterthurerstrasse, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. K. J. Campbell, Island Conservation, LML, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA, and School of Integrative Systems, Univ. of Queensland, Gatton, Queensland 4343, Australia.
منابع مشابه
Does a giant tortoise taxon substitute enhance seed germination of exotic fleshy - fruited plants ?
Aims The use of exotic species as taxon substitutes to restore lost ecological interactions is currently hotly debated. Aldabrachelys gigantea giant tortoises have recently been introduced to three islands in the Mascarene archipelago (Ile aux Aigrettes, Round Island and Rodrigues) to resurrect herbivory and seed dispersal functions once performed by extinct giant tortoises. However, potential ...
متن کاملA cryptic taxon of Galápagos tortoise in conservation peril.
As once boldly stated, 'bad taxonomy can kill', highlighting the critical importance of accurate taxonomy for the conservation of endangered taxa. The concept continues to evolve almost 15 years later largely because most legal protections aimed at preserving biological diversity are based on formal taxonomic designations. In this paper we report unrecognized genetic divisions within the giant ...
متن کاملNon-native megaherbivores: the case for novel function to manage plant invasions on islands
There is a heated debate about whether all non-native species are 'guilty until proven innocent', or whether some should be accepted or even welcomed. Further fanning the flames, I here present a case where introductions of carefully vetted, non-native species could provide a net conservation benefit. On many islands, native megaherbivores (flightless birds, tortoises) recently went extinct. He...
متن کاملThe ecological consequences of megafaunal loss: giant tortoises and wetland biodiversity
The giant tortoises of the Galápagos have become greatly depleted since European discovery of the islands in the 16th Century, with populations declining from an estimated 250 000 to between 8000 and 14 000 in the 1970s. Successful tortoise conservation efforts have focused on species recovery, but ecosystem conservation and restoration requires a better understanding of the wider ecological co...
متن کاملExploring conservation discourses in the Galapagos Islands: A case study of the Galapagos giant tortoises.
Conservation discourses change rapidly both at global and local scales. To be able to capture these shifts and the relationships between humans and nature, we focused on a local and iconic conservation case: the Galapagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.). We used the Q methodology to contextualize conservation for science and decision making and to explore the multidimensionality of the conse...
متن کامل