Environmental Science and Policy Department, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America.
Biology Department, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 14;16(4):e0249378. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249378. eCollection 2021.
Conservation actions such as habitat protection, restoration, and translocations are critical actions in preventing further extinctions of threatened species. We used the 152 threatened species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List with conservation translocations as a recommended conservation action to access the habitat quality of these species' ranges. We determined where multi-species conservation translocation and forest restoration efforts can be concentrated. To determine the habitat quality of species' ranges, we assessed forest cover, forest restoration potential, protected area status, and invasive species concerns. Forty-four percent (67 species) of species with translocations recommended have part of their range in a protected area, existing forest cover, and currently no invasive species risk. However, the majority (85 species) currently need habitat management (63 species), invasive species control (71 species), or protection (34 species). We also identified key differences between species recommended for reintroductions (115 species) and benign introductions (37 species), such as the percentage of a species' range within a protected area, in which reintroductions (median = 7.4%) had more than benign introductions (median = 0.9%). Mauritius, central Africa, eastern Australia and Himalaya regions each have areas with range overlap of three or more species recommended for translocations and forest restoration potential. For those species with CT programs in place, mean forest cover was 32% and restoration potential was 16%, suggesting potential minimum habitat requirements for initial releases. Results provide a global perspective on reintroduction and translocation needs of threatened species with evidenced-based information on habitat quality, i.e. forest restoration potential, forest cover, protected areas, and invasive species control, to aid conservation translocation scientists and ultimately improve the success of such projects.
保护行动，如栖息地保护、恢复和转移，是防止受威胁物种进一步灭绝的关键行动。我们使用了国际自然保护联盟濒危物种红色名录上的 152 个受威胁物种，这些物种都有保护转移建议，以此来评估这些物种分布区的栖息地质量。我们确定了多物种保护转移和森林恢复的重点区域。为了确定物种分布区的栖息地质量，我们评估了森林覆盖、森林恢复潜力、保护区状况和入侵物种问题。有 44%（67 种）的受保护转移物种的分布区有一部分位于保护区内，有现有的森林覆盖，目前没有入侵物种的风险。然而，大多数物种（85 种）目前需要进行栖息地管理（63 种）、入侵物种控制（71 种）或保护（34 种）。我们还发现了建议重新引入（115 种）和良性引入（37 种）物种之间的关键区别，例如，物种分布区有多大比例在保护区内，重新引入（中位数=7.4%）比良性引入（中位数=0.9%）的比例更高。毛里求斯、中非、澳大利亚东部和喜马拉雅地区都有 3 个或更多受保护转移和森林恢复潜力建议物种的分布区重叠。对于那些有 CT 项目的物种，平均森林覆盖率为 32%，恢复潜力为 16%，这表明初始释放的最低潜在栖息地需求。研究结果提供了一个全球视角，说明了受威胁物种重新引入和转移的需求，以及基于证据的栖息地质量信息，即森林恢复潜力、森林覆盖、保护区和入侵物种控制，以帮助保护转移科学家，最终提高这些项目的成功率。
