Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Department of Aquatic Ecology, Uberlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
Ecol Appl. 2011 Oct;21(7):2548-54. doi: 10.1890/10-2047.1.
Conservation scientists have noted that conservation managers rarely use scientific information when making decisions. One of the reasons why managers rarely use scientific information may be that conservation scientists rarely provide their knowledge in a way that can directly be used by conservation practitioners. Here we show how quantitative recommendations for conservation can be derived. Previous research on terrestrial habitat selection behavior of toads (Bufo bufo and Bufo viridis) showed that wood deposits are a key resource in the terrestrial habitat. We used habitat-dependence analysis to estimate the amount of this key resource, wood deposits, that individual toads require. Based on these estimates we then quantify the requirements for wood deposits for a population. Additionally, we quantified the area that a population requires. Although wood deposits vary strongly in size, we found little evidence for size preferences: only one species preferred smallest sizes of wood deposits. We report all the estimates in a way that can be directly used by conservation managers. Habitat-dependence analysis is a simple and useful tool to quantify habitat requirements. Provisioning of wood deposits may improve the quality of terrestrial habitat for amphibians. Thereby, managers may increase the carrying capacity of terrestrial habitats and support elevated population densities.
保护科学家注意到，保护管理者在做决策时很少使用科学信息。管理者很少使用科学信息的原因之一可能是，保护科学家很少以可以直接被保护从业者使用的方式提供他们的知识。在这里，我们展示如何推导出定量的保护建议。先前对蟾蜍（Bufo bufo 和 Bufo viridis）的陆生栖息地选择行为的研究表明，木材沉积物是陆生栖息地的关键资源。我们使用栖息地依赖分析来估计个体蟾蜍所需的这种关键资源，即木材沉积物的数量。基于这些估计，我们然后量化了种群对木材沉积物的需求。此外，我们量化了种群所需的面积。尽管木材沉积物的大小差异很大，但我们几乎没有发现大小偏好的证据：只有一个物种更喜欢最小的木材沉积物。我们以可以直接被保护管理者使用的方式报告所有的估计。栖息地依赖分析是量化栖息地需求的简单而有用的工具。提供木材沉积物可以提高两栖动物的陆生栖息地质量。因此，管理者可以增加陆生栖息地的承载能力，并支持更高的种群密度。
