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Extensive wildfires can have profound impacts on fauna communities by altering the vegetation structure and resource availability. However, unburnt areas within a fire mosaic may be important habitat for wildlife while the surrounding area recovers after fire. To understand the importance of unburnt vegetation for reptiles, we studied community assemblages at 15 burnt and 15 unburnt sites in a subtropical woodland 12 months after a 25 000 ha wildfire. We tested the relative importance of unburnt areas and structural attributes on reptile abundance, richness, and community composition across this landscape. Unburnt areas had higher species richness and diversity, but not overall abundance. Reptile community composition differed significantly between burnt and unburnt areas. Woody debris, which was retained in unburnt areas but depleted in burnt areas, was positively associated with increased reptile diversity and richness. Our results suggest that unburnt areas are vital for maintaining reptile diversity and richness within a woodland landscape after wildfire. These findings demonstrate the importance of ensuring fire management programs retain unburnt patches of vegetation in fire‐prone landscapes to sustain reptile communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Global Change Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Biodiversity offsetting is a globally influential policy mechanism for reconciling trade‐offs between development and biodiversity loss. However, there is little robust evidence of its effectiveness. We evaluated the outcomes of a jurisdictional offsetting policy (Victoria, Australia). Offsets under Victoria's Native Vegetation Framework (2002–2013) aimed to prevent loss and degradation of remnant vegetation, and generate gains in vegetation extent and quality. We categorised offsets into those with near‐complete baseline woody vegetation cover ("avoided loss", 2702 ha) and with incomplete cover ("regeneration", 501 ha), and evaluated impacts on woody vegetation extent from 2008 to 2018. We used two approaches to estimate the counterfactual. First, we used statistical matching on biophysical covariates: a common approach in conservation impact evaluation, but which risks ignoring potentially important psychosocial confounders. Second, we compared changes in offsets with changes in sites that were not offsets for the study duration but were later enrolled as offsets, to partially account for self‐selection bias (where landholders enrolling land may have shared characteristics affecting how they manage land). Matching on biophysical covariates, we estimated that regeneration offsets increased woody vegetation extent by 1.9%–3.6%/year more than non‐offset sites (138–180 ha from 2008 to 2018) but this effect weakened with the second approach (0.3%–1.9%/year more than non‐offset sites; 19–97 ha from 2008 to 2018) and disappeared when a single outlier land parcel was removed. Neither approach detected any impact of avoided loss offsets. We cannot conclusively demonstrate whether the policy goal of 'net gain' (NG) was achieved because of data limitations. However, given our evidence that the majority of increases in woody vegetation extent were not additional (would have happened without the scheme), a NG outcome seems unlikely. The results highlight the importance of considering self‐selection bias in the design and evaluation of regulatory biodiversity offsetting policy, and the challenges of conducting robust impact evaluations of jurisdictional biodiversity offsetting policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ibis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Australia's biodiversity is facing a crisis due to factors such as habitat destruction, invasive species, disruption of Indigenous practices, and climate change. This has led to high extinction rates and significant implications for the economy, human health, and culture. To address this issue, the Biodiversity Council has been established, consisting of experts from various fields, including Indigenous knowledge. The Council aims to promote biodiversity conservation by enhancing public understanding, shaping public discourse, raising awareness of threats, and holding agencies accountable. They work in a politically neutral manner and collaborate with government officials, ecologists, First Peoples groups, and conservation practitioners to amplify their expertise and encourage action. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Addressing threats to biodiversity from pest species is a global challenge. One such challenge is to mitigate the impact of an overabundant Australian songbird, the noisy miner Manorina melanocephala, on woodland birds. The overabundance of noisy miners is listed as a key threatening process under federal biodiversity legislation, but current understanding of where and how noisy miner populations can be managed to yield conservation benefits is unclear. We evaluated the effectiveness of noisy miner removal across 12 treatment areas totaling 3913 ha and nine control areas totaling 1487 ha important for the critically endangered regent honeyeater Anthochaera phrygia. Removal of noisy miners significantly reduced their densities in all but one of the treatment areas. In 10 of the 12 treatment areas, noisy miner densities remained below an impact threshold of 0.65–0.83 birds ha−1 for at least 3 to more than 12 months. The percentage of suitable noisy miner habitat in the surrounding landscape was not a strong predictor of noisy miner management success. Regent honeyeaters occupied six treatment areas, nesting successfully in four. The abundance of other songbirds increased post‐miner removal in seven areas, decreased in three, and was mixed in two. Data from the control areas showed some variation in songbird numbers was independent of noisy miner management. We conclude that noisy miners can be managed in areas of high conservation value for a minimum cost of AUD $10 ha−1. Larger treatment areas may be more important than the broader landscape context in maintaining long‐term noisy miner suppression. Standardized, long‐term monitoring is crucial to identify not only the drivers of pest species recolonization but also locations where threats from pests on endangered species can be addressed effectively while minimizing animal welfare and financial costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As fragmented landscapes become increasingly common around the world, managing the spatial arrangement of landscape elements (i.e., landscape configuration) may help to promote the conservation of biodiversity. However, the relative effects of landscape configuration on different dimensions of biodiversity across species assemblages are largely unknown. Thus, a key challenge consists in understanding when it is necessary to focus on landscape configuration, in addition to landscape composition, to achieve multifunctional landscapes. We tested the effects of landscape composition (the percentage of tree cover and built infrastructure) and landscape configuration (degree of fragmentation) on landscape‐level species richness and different metrics of functional diversity of urban birds. We collected data on different bird guilds (nectarivores/frugivores, insectivores) from Brisbane, Australia. Using structural equation models, we found that landscape structure (landscape composition and configuration) affected functional diversity via two main pathways: (1) through effects of landscape composition, mediated by landscape configuration (indirect effects), and (2) through direct ("independent") effects of landscape composition and configuration, filtering species with extreme trait values. Our results show that landscape‐level species richness declined with the extent of built infrastructure, but patterns of trait diversity did not necessarily correlate with this variable. Landscape configuration had a stronger mediating effect on some metrics of the functional diversity of insectivores than on the functional diversity of frugivores/nectarivores. In addition, fragmentation increased the effects of built infrastructure for some traits (body size and dispersal capacity), but not for others (habitat plasticity and foraging behavior). These results suggest that differential approaches to managing landscape structure are needed depending on whether the focus is on protecting functional diversity or species richness and what the target guild is. Managing landscape fragmentation in areas with high levels of built infrastructure is important if the objective is to protect insectivore species with uncommon traits, even if it is not possible to preserve high levels of species richness. However, if the target is to enhance both functional diversity and species richness of multiple guilds, the focus should be on improving composition through the reduction of negative effects of built infrastructure, rather than promoting specific landscape configurations in growing cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, woodlands have been cleared for agricultural production and their bird communities are in decline. To reverse these declines and foster bird community resilience, government agencies, non‐government organizations, and private landholders have implemented restoration actions, commonly including grazing exclusion and replanting. These actions are rarely implemented in an experimental framework, making it difficult to measure their effectiveness. However, ecological monitoring datasets, and citizen science datasets in particular, can provide useful opportunities for measuring effects of restoration actions and act as a baseline upon which adaptive management can be built. We examined the effect of revegetation actions on the terrestrial bird community in Australia's south‐eastern temperate woodlands using long‐term, community‐collected monitoring datasets. We explored the response of bird abundance, species richness, and a newly developed index of ecological community condition, to grazing exclusion and replanting over a 20‐year period using an uneven control‐impact study design. Grazing exclusion plus replanting had strong positive effects on all three bird community metrics, which increased with time, compared to control sites where neither action occurred. Bird abundance, but not species richness or community condition, increased over time with grazing exclusion alone, while control sites with continued grazing and no replanting showed no change in all three measures. We demonstrate that citizen science datasets with imperfect study designs can be used to gain insights on conservation action effectiveness and highlight the value of metrics that capture information about community condition more precisely than just abundance or species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving global sustainability objectives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals or Aichi Targets, including remaining within planetary boundaries, necessitates proactively avoiding a proportion of the environmental impacts otherwise expected to result from economic development. Quantifying these "avoided" impacts is important for monitoring progress toward meeting sustainability objectives, but doing so in a consistent way is fraught with difficulty. Using the mitigation of biodiversity impacts by development projects as an example, we explored the challenges of defining and measuring impact avoidance. Avoidance can be defined as either action‐based or outcome‐based, and classified by whether it is achieved through project cancellation, spatial avoidance, design‐based avoidance, or temporal avoidance. We also examined what drives different types of project proponents to implement avoidance measures. To support empirical quantification of the contribution that avoidance makes toward conservation goals, we present a framework for structuring assessments of biodiversity impact avoidance. Our framework has widespread applicability in conservation science, policy, and practice, as well as relevance for broader policies that seek to avoid environmental and social impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity offsetting is increasingly used to mitigate biodiversity impacts from development, but the practice of offsetting rarely considers how to also mitigate losses of ecosystem services. Offset rules, such as how near an offset must be to an impact site, may help ensure biodiversity offsets also counterbalance losses of ecosystem services but this has not yet well understood.We explored how different rules for siting coastal offsets could change net impacts to a provisioning ecosystem service: fishery resources in Queensland, Australia. A spatially explicit model incorporating supply, flow and demand of fishery resources was developed to simulate contributions of offset sites to commercial fisheries in Queensland, Australia. We simulated offsets for losses due to 63 real projects that damaged mangroves and 14 projects damaging seagrasses.We found that the percentage of species suffering net negative outcomes for the whole commercial fishery increased from about 68% when offsets were located close to impact sites to >85% when there were no restrictions on offset location. All fisheries for seagrass offsets suffered net economic losses under both scenarios, but these were worse when offsets were not required to be near to impact sites.Offsetting outcomes varied substantially across species. Species with shorter maximum dispersal distance and higher dispersal decay parameters suffered greater net losses.Synthesis and applications. Our model quantified impacts of fishery habitat depletion and offsets on fishery resources and the approach can be applied to assess impacts of losses of fishery habitats globally. The findings suggest that to minimize losses of fishery resources caused by habitat depletion, offset policy should generally locate offset sites at the locations available for restoration that are nearest to impact sites, unless specific information about the relative contributions of sites to impacted fisheries is available to guide offset location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, government and corporate policies on ecological compensation (e.g., offsetting) are requiring "net gain" outcomes for biodiversity. This presents an opportunity to align development with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework's (GBF) proposed ambition for overall biodiversity recovery. In this perspective, we describe three conditions that should be accounted for in net gain policy to align outcomes with biodiversity recovery goals: namely, a requirement for residual losses from development to be compensated for by (1) absolute gains, which are (2) scaled to the achievement of explicit biodiversity targets, where (3) gains are demonstrably feasible. We show that few current policies meet these conditions, which risks undermining efforts to achieve the proposed Post‐2020 GBF milestones and goals, as well as other jurisdictional policy imperatives to halt and reverse biodiversity decline. To guide future decision‐making, we provide a supporting decision tree outlining net gain compensation feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling problem species for conservation can be fraught, particularly when native species are subject to lethal control. The noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), has been the target of numerous lethal control efforts. Outcomes of these noisy miner removals have varied substantially, so identifying the circumstances under which they are effective is essential for ethical and effective management. We compiled data for all identified noisy miner removals (n = 45), including both permit‐based and unofficial removals. We investigated whether methodological and ecological factors explained the effectiveness of removals in reducing noisy miner density or increasing woodland bird richness and abundance. The only predictor of any measure of success was time between first and final culls which was positively related to reduction in noisy miner density. Surprisingly, despite removals mainly failing to reduce noisy miner density to below a threshold above which noisy miners impact smaller birds, woodland birds usually still increased. Disrupted social structure as noisy miners recolonized may have led to less effective aggressive exclusion of small birds. Further removals may not need to reduce noisy miner density to below this threshold to benefit woodland birds, but consistent monitoring and reporting would support better evaluation of effectiveness and correlates of success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new global biodiversity framework (GBF) being developed under the Convention on Biological Diversity must drive action to reverse the ongoing decline of the Earth's biodiversity. Explicit, measurable goals that specify the outcomes we want to achieve are needed to set the course for this action. However, the current draft goals and targets fail to set out these clear outcomes. We argue that distinct outcome goals for species, ecosystems, and genetic diversity are essential and should specify net outcomes required for each. Net outcome goals such as "no net loss" do, however, have a controversial history, and loose specification can lead to perverse outcomes. We outline seven general principles to underpin net outcome goal setting that minimize risk of such perverse outcomes. Finally, we recommend inclusion of statements of impact in action targets that support biodiversity goals, and we illustrate the importance of this with an example from the draft GBF action targets. These modifications would help reveal the specific contribution each action would make to achieving the outcome goals and provide clarity on whether the successful achievement of action targets would be adequate to achieve the outcome goals and, in turn, the 2050 vision: living in harmony with nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fulfilment of the benefits resulting from services provided by nature requires an integrated framework that combines appropriate ecosystem service governance with spatially explicit models of service provision.Here, we propose using a social‐ecological network approach to develop a 'landscape governance framework' that identifies how different types of governance can act on supply, demand and flow of ecosystem services through changes in landscape structure and connections.Starting from undesirable situations where demand exceeds supply, we exemplify the application of this conceptual model considering hierarchical (e.g. creation of protected areas), market (e.g. payments for environmental services) and community‐based (e.g. enhancing links between stakeholders) governance approaches.We show how interventions associated with each of these approaches act in distinct ways to regulate different components of the service provision chain in heterogeneous landscapes. Filling such knowledge gaps can help identify appropriate governance interventions depending on factors that limit provision: restricted supply, demand or flow.The application of the landscape governance framework entails challenges related to availability of data and limited understanding of key underlying mechanisms. However, it opens important new research questions at the interface between governance and ecosystem services, with great potential as a tool for landscape management that aims to achieve ecosystem service sustainability. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppressing expert knowledge can hide environmentally damaging practices and policies from public scrutiny. We surveyed ecologists and conservation scientists from universities, government, and industry across Australia to understand the prevalence and consequences of suppressing science communication. Government (34%) and industry (30%) respondents reported higher rates of undue interference by employers than did university respondents (5%). Internal communications (29%) and media (28%) were curtailed most, followed by journal articles (11%), and presentations (12%). When university and industry researchers avoided public commentary, this was mainly for fear of media misrepresentation, while government employees were most often constrained by senior management and workplace policy. One third of respondents reported personal suffering related to suppression, including job losses and deteriorating mental health. Substantial reforms are needed, including to codes of practice, and governance of environmental assessments and research, so that scientific advice can be reported openly, in a timely manner and free from interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Applied Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The conflict of large carnivores and agro‐pastoral communities is a key driver of carnivore decline globally. The East African state of Uganda relies heavily on tourism as a GDP contributor and large carnivores are important for generating visitor revenue in its national parks. African leopards, spotted hyenas and African lions are three species that draw significant tourist attention but also cause damage to the livestock of human communities living on Ugandan national park edges. A private safari lodge in the Lake Mburo National Park has been using a financial compensation scheme in an attempt to stem conflict between these species and human communities living in the region since 2009. Financial compensations have produced mixed results with some studies reporting successes in reducing carnivore deaths, while others warn against their use, citing moral hazard, financial unsustainability and weakened protection of livestock by farmers. We sought to assess the characteristics of this compensation scheme and the patterns of conflict between Bahima pastoralist communities and carnivores that the scheme aims to mitigate. Using a dataset of 1,102 leopard and hyena depredation events (January 2009–December 2018) we found that spotted hyenas were responsible for the overwhelming majority of livestock depredation (69%) around Lake Mburo. Depredations occurred mostly at night (97% and 89% of all depredation for spotted hyenas and leopards respectively) and inside livestock protective pens (bomas). Depredation was more likely to occur in rugged areas, closer to human settlements, and the national park border, and further away from water. We could find no evidence of seasonality in depredation events. Our most important, albeit worrying result was that conflict had increased dramatically over time and the number of depredation claims had tripled in the period from 2014–2018 when compared to 2009–2013, risking financial unsustainability of the scheme. Our results are important for future conservation stakeholders attempting to implement financial compensation in the broader Ugandan landscape. They suggest that careful thought needs to be placed into fund sustainability, increasing claims over time and the development of clear rules that underpin compensation claims. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal vocalisations can signify diverse behavioural contexts, knowledge of which can be applied in bioacoustic monitoring programs. Australia's endemic black cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus sp., family Cacatuidae) are highly vocal species that are threatened in many locations. In this study, we describe the nest‐associated vocal behaviours of two endangered subspecies of black cockatoo, the south‐eastern red‐tailed black cockatoo, C. banksii graptogyne and the Kangaroo Island glossy black cockatoo, C. lathami halmaturinus. Breeding success is limiting their recoveries and nest monitoring is challenging, but vocal recordings might provide valuable long‐term information hard to obtain otherwise. We recorded daily vocal activity at wild nests of both cockatoos using autonomous sound recorders. Combined with behavioural observations and video footage, we identified vocalisations characteristic of six behavioural contexts at nests: birds in flight, while perched, during begging (adult females), during courtship displays (adult males), when entering or sitting near to the nest hollow entrance (adult females), and from nestlings. Linear discriminant analysis on 12 acoustic measurements correctly classified 58.4% of calls of the red‐tailed black cockatoo (n = 907 calls from eight nests) and 62.9% of calls of the glossy black cockatoo (n = 1632 calls from 11 nests). In both subspecies, the female nest call and nestling calls are the most conspicuous vocal indicators of active nesting, and therefore should be considered for their bioacoustic potential. Other adult vocalisations indicate a range of behavioural contexts that could be informative for monitoring nesting behaviour, and its association to habitat features, in these endangered subspecies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the effectiveness of management actions for threatened species recovery is critical for adaptive management. However, decision makers frequently lack the resources and time to develop data‐driven models for rigorous monitoring and evaluation. Expert knowledge can be useful in such situations, but can be challenging to translate into specific expectations about system responses. We describe a case study of the Saving Our Species program in New South Wales, Australia, showing how an integrated process drawing from structured decision making, conceptual modeling and structured expert elicitation can help species' managers formalize how a species is expected to respond to management over time and the assumptions about the mechanisms driving that response. The process described uses step‐by‐step guidelines to assist managers in defining the scope, documenting factors that influence outcomes and identifying indicators and target values for adaptive management plans. This case study demonstrates a robust, yet practical process for estimating species response to site management in situations where empirical monitoring data is absent or incomplete. In doing so it provides a useful tool that helps species' managers in data poor situations to take a more evidence‐informed approach to conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proponents of development projects (e.g., new roads, mines, dams) are frequently required to assess and manage their impacts on threatened biodiversity. Here, we propose that the environmental legislation and standards that mandate such assessments are failing those threatened species and ecological communities listed as vulnerable. Using a case study of Australia's key environmental legislation, we highlight that vulnerable ecological communities receive no statutory protection, while vulnerable species are held to a less stringent standard in the impact assessment process compared with those that are endangered or critically endangered. In the 19 years since Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 was enacted, four times as many vulnerable species have declined in their threat status than have improved. Beyond Australia, we demonstrate the global relevance of this issue, as it applies to internationally recognized best practice impact assessment guidelines. These cases provide a cautionary tale: without greater attention and stricter assessment criteria in the impact assessment process, the vulnerable species of today risk becoming the endangered species of tomorrow, with all the attendant costs and missed opportunities for recovery that this implies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Invasive mammals are a major threat to biodiversity. Understanding how their distributions and abundance could be affected by different temporal and spatial control strategies is fundamental for planning effective management programs.We developed a spatially explicit, agent‐based model to test the impacts of different spatiotemporal management strategies on a pest population. As a case study, we used the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) population in the Cape‐to‐City treatment area in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.We found striking differences in the effectiveness of different spatial control strategies – a well designed spatial control strategy could be up to twice as cost effective as poorly designed ones.The optimal spatial control strategy may depend on the total control effort. At low control effort, habitat‐targeted control was more effective; at high control effort, homogeneously distributed control was more effective.Immigration rather than in situ breeding is likely to initiate the population recovery in treated areas after an initial knockdown. Therefore, increasing the size of treatment areas and maximizing the use of natural barriers to immigration could prolong treatment persistence.Synthesis and applications. We have demonstrated how a spatially explicit, agent‐based model can be used to identify key criteria for a control strategy of open pest populations. The integration of available information on pest habitat use, population dynamics and actual levels of control allowed us to assess the deployment of control sites and assisted the choice of spatial control strategies. Important roles for this type of model are to help predict hotspots of mammalian pest activities, to suggest the most effective control strategy and to identify important parameters and data for improving predictions. Ultimately, further integration of spatial and temporal analyses is critical for updating and optimizing management strategies. We have demonstrated how a spatially explicit, agent‐based model can be used to identify key criteria for a control strategy of open pest populations. The integration of available information on pest habitat use, population dynamics and actual levels of control allowed us to assess the deployment of control sites and assisted the choice of spatial control strategies. Important roles for this type of model are to help predict hotspots of mammalian pest activities, to suggest the most effective control strategy and to identify important parameters and data for improving predictions. Ultimately, further integration of spatial and temporal analyses is critical for updating and optimizing management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, insectivorous birds are at high risk of decline. One explanation of this relates to changes in invertebrate resources due to anthropogenic pressures. The northern population of the eastern bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus) relies heavily on invertebrate food resources, and has experienced an 80% population reduction over the past 40 years. We investigated invertebrate abundance and nutritional quality across 23 currently and historically occupied northern bristlebird sites to determine whether extant territories were associated with more, or more nutritious, invertebrate resources. Pitfall and leaf‐litter invertebrate sampling were done in both breeding and non‐breeding seasons from 2014 to 2016. There was no difference in abundance, biomass or nutritional value of invertebrates between occupied and abandoned territories; however, within territories invertebrate abundance and nutritional value did correspond to the habitat characteristics with which bristlebirds are associated. Nutritional value of invertebrates increased with proximity to rainforest, while the abundance of macro‐invertebrates (>1 mm) was correlated with grass height. Bristlebird territories are often close to rainforest margins, and these ecotones may provide more nutritious mesic‐associated invertebrates. Higher abundances of large invertebrates in tall grasses may also contribute to the known association of bristlebirds with tall grasses. Maintenance of tall grass adjacent to rainforest through appropriate fire and grazing management is likely to be important for northern bristlebird recovery and long‐term persistence of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thresholds in the relationship between species richness and natural land cover can inform landscape‐level vegetation protection and restoration targets. However, landscapes differ considerably in composition and other environmental attributes. If the effect of natural land cover on species richness depends on (i.e., interacts with) these attributes, and this affects the value of thresholds in this relationship, such dependencies must be considered when using thresholds to guide landscape management.We hypothesized that the amount of natural land cover at which a threshold occurs would differ in predictable ways with particular anthropogenic, abiotic, and biotic attributes of landscapes. To test this, we related woodland bird species richness in 251 landscapes, each 100 km2, to natural land cover in south‐east Australia. We compared the fit of exponential and threshold models of the richness–natural land cover relationship, focussing on the extent of natural land cover at which thresholds presented among landscapes that differed in matrix land use intensity, heterogeneity, productivity, and the prevalence of strong biotic interactors. We used linear mixed modelling to examine how interactions between natural land cover and the various landscape attributes affected the fit of models of species richness.Threshold models of the richness–natural land cover relationship were always a better fit than exponential models. Threshold values did not vary consistently with specific landscape attributes, with the exception of landscapes that were classified by the prevalence of strong biotic interactors (hypercompetitive native birds of the genus Manorina).Natural land cover had a more positive effect on species richness in landscapes when Manorina prevalence was higher. This positive interaction provided the biggest improvement in explanatory power of models of species richness.Synthesis and applications. While we detected an interaction between Manorina prevalence and the area of natural land cover, generalities relating to the underlying nature of thresholds in the richness–natural land cover relationship remain elusive. Complex interactions, relating to various landscape attributes and associated ecological processes, likely underpin variation in threshold values. Until these complexities are better understood, the use of thresholds for informing landscape management and conservation target setting should be approached with caution. While we detected an interaction between Manorina prevalence and the area of natural land cover, generalities relating to the underlying nature of thresholds in the richness–natural land cover relationship remain elusive. Complex interactions, relating to various landscape attributes and associated ecological processes, likely underpin variation in threshold values. Until these complexities are better understood, the use of thresholds for informing landscape management and conservation target setting should be approached with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Many conservation efforts now focus on mitigating biodiversity loss due to climate change. While a focus on impacts from mean, long‐term changes in climate is warranted, the vast majority of conservation plans largely ignore another key factor of climate change—changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather and climate events. A typology of the full range and severity of ecological responses to extreme events would help underpin tracking of their impacts. Location: Global. Methods: Here, we review 519 observational studies of ecological responses to extreme events between 1941 and 2015. We include responses from amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals, plants and reptiles to cyclones, drought, flood, cold waves and heat waves. Results: Negative ecological responses were the most commonly reported, accounting for 57% of all documented responses. There were over 100 cases of a >25% population decline and 31 cases of local extirpation. Sixty per cent of the studies in our review observed ecological responses for more than 1 year, and of the studies that monitored species or ecosystem recovery following exposure to an extreme event, 38% showed species or ecosystems did not recover to pre‐disturbance levels. Main conclusions: Extreme weather and climate events have profound implications for species and ecosystem management. We discuss current conceptual challenges associated with incorporating extreme events into conservation planning efforts, which include how to quantify species sensitivity and adaptive capacity to extreme events, how to account for interactions between extreme events and other stressors, and how to maximize adaptive capacity to more frequent and intense extreme events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Most terrestrial ecological communities are defined primarily on their constituent flora. We aimed to develop a repeatable approach to defining a community, both intact and degraded, based on its fauna. We demonstrate how the approach can be used to guide conservation—for example, determining whether a multispecies community of animals is threatened. Location: Temperate and subtropical woodlands of Australia. Methods: We used expert opinion to develop a definition of the Australian Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Community and metrics of its condition. Using continental‐scale vegetation change mapping, and national bird atlas data, we assessed this community against criteria for listing as a threatened ecological community under national biodiversity conservation law. Results: We defined and described a recognizable and consistent Australian Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Community. Although taxonomically and functionally very similar, we identified six community variants that show species‐ or genus‐level substitutions. The community was evaluated to be Endangered or Critically Endangered across its extent based on criteria from Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. We used a novel metric of condition using historical changes in woodland extent and bird species, to demonstrate the community has declined substantially in geographical extent and integrity and is subject to severe and ongoing threats. Conclusions: The consequences of global change affect entire communities, not just single species; however, defining ecological communities based predominantly on plant species composition can fail to illuminate the complex associations of animals that are both sustained by, and sustain, the vegetation. In this study, we present a process for defining and evaluating the status of a fauna community against threat criteria. The explicit recognition and protection of fauna communities can be an important complement to the protection of plant‐based ecological communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Applied Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Biodiversity offsetting aims to compensate for development‐induced biodiversity loss through commensurate conservation gains and is gaining traction among governments and businesses. However, cost shifting (i.e., diversion of offset funds to other conservation programs) and other perverse incentives can undermine the effectiveness of biodiversity offsetting. Additionality—the requirement that biodiversity offsets result in conservation outcomes that would not have been achieved otherwise—is fundamental to biodiversity offsetting. Cost shifting and violation of additionality can go hand in hand. India's national offsetting program is a case in point. Recent legislation allows the diversion of offset funds to meet the country's preexisting commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). With such diversions, no additional conservation takes place and development impacts remain uncompensated. Temporary additionality cannot be conceded in light of paucity of funds for preexisting commitments unless there is open acknowledgement that fulfillment of such commitments is contingent on offset funds. Two other examples of perverse incentives related to offsetting in India are the touting of inherently neutral offsetting outcomes as conservation gains, a tactic that breeds false complacency and results in reduced incentive for additional conservation efforts, and the clearing of native vegetation for commercial plantations in the name of compensatory afforestation, a practice that leads to biodiversity decline. The risks accompanying cost shifting and other perverse incentives, if not preempted and addressed, will result in net loss of forest cover in India. We recommend accurate baselines, transparent accounting, and open reporting of offset outcomes to ensure biodiversity offsetting achieves adequate and additional compensation for impacts of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Volunteers are behind much of the ecological restoration work done in Australia. Private landholders, environmental nongovernment organisations (ENGOs) and community groups all donate time and money to much‐needed restoration and revegetation efforts. Biodiversity offsetting has emerged as a potential source of financial support for such work. We consider the question: should it matter to practitioners of restoration, particularly landholders and volunteers, how it is financed? We argue it should, because when offsets fund restoration work, the net environmental outcome is usually intended to be neutral – not an environmental gain. This is often not clear, because only the localised environmental gain is seen by the restoration practitioner, not the associated loss. For mandated offsets, the restoration work is required to occur regardless of whether the volunteer contributes to it or not, so their contribution only replaces work that would otherwise be done by a commercial provider. We contend that informed involvement in offset provision requires full disclosure, particularly to volunteers and landholders. Unfortunately, however, such transparency does not always occur. We acknowledge that there are valid reasons why well‐informed practitioners might willingly subsidise offset provision, but they might equally choose not to. Furthermore, offsets are intended to cover the full cost of biodiversity damage, creating a disincentive for damage by developers. Yet, subsidies from offset providers work against sending market signals that reflect the true replacement cost of biodiversity. We recommend that all ENGOs, developers, offset funders and brokers commit to transparency, particularly to landholders, donors and volunteers, about the environmental impact that is to be offset and the fact that their involvement generates no additional environmental benefit, as the offset is a condition of approval for a permitted loss, much like the rehabilitation of a mine site. Providing restoration services in partnership with industry may be something that landholders, volunteers and ENGOs are happy to support. But this must be decided consciously, not through unnoticed incremental changes that contradict some volunteers’ values or donors’ understanding of an organisation's mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Interspecific aggression by the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), a highly despotic species, is homogenizing woodland avifaunas across eastern Australia. Although a native species, the noisy miner's aggressive exclusion of small birds is a Key Threatening Process under national law. Large‐scale removal of noisy miners has been proposed as a management response to this threat following increases in miner presence due to anthropogenic land use practices. We tested this proposal by experimentally removing noisy miners from eucalypt woodland remnants (16–49 ha), assigned randomly as control (n = 12) or treatment (miner removal) sites (n = 12). Standardized bird surveys were conducted before and after removal, and generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate the effect of miner removal on bird assemblage metrics. Despite removing 3552 noisy miners in three sessions of systematic shooting, densities of noisy miners remained similarly high in treatment and control sites, even just 14 days after their removal. However, there was evidence of an increase in richness and abundance of small birds in treatment sites compared to controls—an effect we only expected to see if noisy miner densities were drastically reduced. We suggest that miner removal may have reduced the ability of the recolonizing miners to aggressively exclude small birds, even without substantially reducing miner densities, due to the breakdown of social structures that are central to the species' despotic behaviour. However, this effect on small birds is unlikely to persist in the long term. Synthesis and applications: Despite evidence from other studies that direct removal of noisy miners can result in rapid and sustained conservation benefit for bird communities at small scales, our findings cast doubt on the potential to scale‐up this management approach. The circumstances under which direct control of noisy miners can be achieved remain unresolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity offsets are most commonly used to mitigate the adverse impacts of development on biodiversity, but some offsets are now also designed to support ecosystem services (ES) goals. Here, we assemble a global database of biodiversity offsets (n = 70) to show that 41% already take ES into consideration, with the objective of enhancing cultural, regulating, and provisioning services. We found that biodiversity offsets were more likely to consider ES when (1) development projects reported impacts on services, (2) offsets had voluntary biodiversity goals, and (3) conservation organizations were involved. However, offsets that considered ES were similar in design (eg offsetting approach, extent, and location) to offsets focused solely on biodiversity, suggesting that including ES goals may represent an attempt to strengthen community support for development projects, rather than to offset known ES impacts. We also found that 34% of all offsets displaced people and negatively affected livelihoods. Therefore, when biodiversity and ES are linked, current practices may not actually improve outcomes, instead incurring additional costs to communities and companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aim: The persistence of animal populations depends on individuals moving successfully around a landscape, but habitat fragmentation can hinder this by reducing functional connectivity. The proximate cause of population declines in fragmented habitat is dependent on the spatial and temporal scales of movement restrictions. Location: Global. Methods: We present a conceptual framework highlighting the relationship between spatial and temporal scales, and three mechanisms through which detrimental impacts can occur when movement is disrupted in fragmented landscapes: limited resource access, restricted demographic exchange and impeded gene flow. We then review the literature to identify the proportion of studies conducted on each mechanism and whether biases existed in how often each was studied among different geographic zones or taxa. A random selection of 250 articles was classified by the mechanism, geographic region and taxon studied in each article. Results: Our conceptual framework highlighted that each of the three mechanisms tends to be characterized by movement restriction at progressively larger spatial and temporal scales. In our literature review, we found that the overwhelming majority (77%) of articles investigated impeded gene flow, and only 17% and 10% explored restricted demographic exchange and limited resource access, respectively. Work on limited resource access was disproportionately low for particular taxonomic groups, such as reptiles and amphibians. Main conclusions: Distinguishing which mechanisms are disrupted in a particular system is crucial because addressing each is likely to require a distinct conservation management response. We encourage greater focus on the less‐studied mechanisms of restricted demographic exchange and limited resource access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Biodiversity conservation policies incorporating a no net loss ( NNL) principle are being implemented in many countries. However, there are linguistic and conceptual inconsistencies in the use of terms underlying these NNL policies., We identify inconsistencies that emerge in the usage of eight key terms and phrases associated with NNL policies: biodiversity, frames of reference (i.e. baselines, counterfactuals), no net loss, mitigation hierarchy, biodiversity offset, in-kind/out-of-kind, direct/indirect and multipliers., For each term, we make recommendations to support conceptual convergence, reduce ambiguity and improve clarity in communication and policy documentation. However, we also warn of the challenges in achieving convergence, especially given the linguistic inconsistencies in several of these key concepts among countries in which NNL policies are employed., Policy implications. The recommendations made in this article, on improving clarity and supporting convergence on key no net loss ( NNL) concepts, should help eliminate ambiguity in policy documentation. This is crucial if policymakers are to design robust policies that are (i) transparent, (ii) translatable into practice in a consistent manner and (iii) sufficiently understood and supported by stakeholders to be effective in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation vertical structure is important for biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. In cities, however, while variation in the spatial extent and distribution of vegetation has been widely investigated, vertical vegetation structure and its potential drivers have not. Understanding how vegetation vertical structure varies across cities and identifying the potential drivers of this variation will improve the management of urban vegetation for biodiversity and ecosystem services., We used light detection and ranging (Li DAR) data to quantify the vertical structure of vegetation across Brisbane, Australia, at 1-km2 and 1-ha spatial scales and investigated how this structure varied in response to biophysical, socioeconomic, urban form and landscape structure variables., Using model selection techniques, we found that landscape structure variables related to tree cover (tree cover extent and spatial configuration) best explained the vegetation vertical structure at both spatial scales. Biophysical and urban form variables were also important, but only in combination with landscape structure., Mean vegetation vertical complexity, foliage projective cover and canopy height at a site all decreased as the treed proportion of the surrounding urban landscape decreased. In general, these vertical structure variables also increased where patches of vegetation were clustered together spatially., Synthesis and applications. Using light detection and ranging (Li DAR) data and model selection techniques, we show that the extent and vertical structure of urban vegetation are not independent and that reduced extent and increased fragmentation of urban vegetation are associated with simplification of its vertical structure. If common, this relationship means that managing urban vegetation for biodiversity and ecosystem services should not focus solely on the amount of tree cover or green space present across cities, but also on identifying where interventions to improve vegetation vertical complexity are required. Our study provides important insights into where these locations may be in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic growth is often in conflict with environmental goals. Biodiversity offsetting attempts to resolve this conflict by requiring industries to compensate for the biodiversity loss they cause, by generating an equivalent biodiversity gain elsewhere. Offsets for environmental impacts are increasingly being seen as a way to help meet preexisting conservation targets, such as those relating to the establishment and management of protected areas. We examine how using offsets to meet a state or organization's genuine commitments, which are not contingent on the offsets, results in no additional conservation benefit. In this case, either the offset or the preexisting commitment is invalid. For example, the use of offsets to meet commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity requires an admission that those commitments would otherwise not be met. This interaction between international agreements around protected areas and offset policy can generate perverse incentives, which must be carefully managed to avoid poor conservation outcomes. We propose separate accounting for conservation gains generated using offsets, and that future conservation agreements and targets should explicitly separate commitments met using offset gains from those which are not reliant on equivalent losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offsetting is a policy instrument intended to provide flexibility for development. We developed a simple calculator to predict when no net loss is feasible using biodiversity offsetting. Assuming offset ratios ≤10:1 are indicative of operational feasibility and employing a discount rate of 3%, we predicted that no net loss is feasible where biodiversity can be restored within 55 years, which restricts the impacts on biodiversity that can be offset using restoration. Alternatively, no net loss is feasible by avoiding loss to biodiversity that is declining under the counterfactual at an annual rate ≥6%. However, this is considerably higher than typical background rates of biodiversity loss so restricts where avoided-loss offsets are feasible. No net loss is theoretically feasible in the broadest range of circumstances if biodiversity gains are provided in advance of development. However, these gains are procured by restoration or avoided loss, so constraints presented by these approaches also apply. We concluded that no net loss is feasible in a limited range of development scenarios unless offset ratios greater than 10:1 are more widely tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ecological restoration of modified and degraded landscapes is an important challenge for the 21st century, with potential for major gains in the recovery of biodiversity. However, there is a general lack of agreement between plant- and animal-based approaches to restoration, both in theory and practice. Here, we review these approaches, identify limitations from failing to effectively integrate their different perspectives, and suggest ways to improve outcomes for biodiversity recovery in agricultural landscapes. We highlight the need to strengthen collaboration between plant and animal ecologists, to overcome disciplinary and cultural differences, and to achieve a more unified approach to restoration ecology. Explicit consideration of key ecosystem functions, the need to plan at multiple spatial and temporal scales, and the importance of plant-animal interactions can provide a bridge between plant- and animal-based methods. A systematic approach to restoration planning is critical to achieving effective biodiversity outcomes while meeting long-term social and economic needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between environmental factors can dramatically influence the relationships between a species and its environment. However, multiple types of interaction are possible, and as such, some may be overlooked. We used a Bayesian network to model the response of a riparian tree species, Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., to the interactive influences of hydrological factors. We used a novel conceptual framework, which included not only synergistic and antagonistic interactions but also qualitative interactions (i.e. the effect of an environmental factor that switches from positive to negative or vice versa depending on the value of another factor). Synergistic, antagonistic and qualitative interactions were all detected in the response of E. camaldulensis to hydrological factor interactions. The predicted influence of environmental factors varied dramatically when interactions were considered. In some instances, the likelihood of a certain outcome differed by greater than 80% when interactions were considered. For example, the negative impact of grazing on E. camaldulensis was far greater in areas of deep groundwater relative to areas of shallow groundwater. Interactions also led to qualitatively different predictions (i.e. a qualitative interaction occurred). For example, frequent wetland inundation had a positive influence on tree vigour in wetlands minimally impacted by weirs, but a negative influence in wetlands close to weirs. Considering interactions may therefore substantially change understanding of ecohydrological relationships. Thinking of interactions between factors as potentially qualitative, and not only as synergistic and antagonistic, is likely to be important in situations where multiple management interventions are proposed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest vertebrate fauna provide critical services, such as pollination and seed dispersal, which underpin functional and resilient ecosystems. In turn, many of these fauna are dependent on the flowering phenology of the plant species of such ecosystems. The impact of changes in climate, including climate extremes, on the interaction between these fauna and flora has not been identified or elucidated, yet influences on flowering phenology are already evident. These changes are well documented in the mid to high latitudes. However, there is emerging evidence that the flowering phenology, nectar/pollen production, and fruit production of long-lived trees in tropical and subtropical forests are also being impacted by changes in the frequency and severity of climate extremes. Here, we examine the implications of these changes for vertebrate fauna dependent on these resources. We review the literature to establish evidence for links between climate extremes and flowering phenology, elucidating the nature of relationships between different vertebrate taxa and flowering regimes. We combine this information with climate change projections to postulate about the likely impacts on nectar, pollen and fruit resource availability and the consequences for dependent vertebrate fauna. The most recent climate projections show that the frequency and intensity of climate extremes will increase during the 21st century. These changes are likely to significantly alter mass flowering and fruiting events in the tropics and subtropics, which are frequently cued by climate extremes, such as intensive rainfall events or rapid temperature shifts. We find that in these systems the abundance and duration of resource availability for vertebrate fauna is likely to fluctuate, and the time intervals between episodes of high resource availability to increase. The combined impact of these changes has the potential to result in cascading effects on ecosystems through changes in pollinator and seed dispersal ecology, and demands a focused research effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Resource bottlenecks - periods of severe restriction in resource availability - triggered by increased climate variability represent important and little-understood mechanisms through which climate change will affect biodiversity. In this review, we aim to synthesize the key global change processes that exacerbate the severity of bottlenecks in resource availability on animal populations, and outline how adaptation responses can help buffer the impacts. Location Global. Methods We collate examples from the literature of population-level impacts of resource bottlenecks induced by extreme weather and climate events to explore the types of population impacts that have most frequently been recorded, and the type of extreme events associated with them. We then develop a conceptual framework that captures the factors contributing to species' vulnerability to climate-induced spatial and temporal resource bottlenecks in increasingly variable environments. Results Increases in the frequency, severity and/or duration of extreme weather and climate events can trigger resource bottlenecks that act as powerful demographic constraints on terrestrial fauna, and often exacerbate other human-induced pressures such as land use change. Such phenomena are likely to become more frequent and severe, with potentially nonlinear increases in impact. Forty-nine instances of population-level impacts from climate-induced resource bottlenecks were recorded from the literature, including four extinctions and ten population crashes. Anthropogenic land use change interacts with increasing climatic variability to exacerbate these resource 'crunches', but can sometimes act as a buffer for species. Main Conclusions Resource bottlenecks are likely to be a large class of climate-sensitive stressors whose impacts may play out at the population scale, even well within a species' apparent climatic envelope. More effective conservation responses to climate-related threats include explicit actions, such as managing protected area networks for spatial and temporal resource complementarities, that buffer vulnerable species against bottlenecks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term critical habitat is used to describe the subset of habitat that is essential to the survival and recovery of species. Some countries legally require that critical habitat of listed threatened and endangered species be identified and protected. However, there is little evidence to suggest that the identification of critical habitat has had much impact on species recovery. We hypothesized that this may be due at least partly to a mismatch between the intent of critical habitat identification, which is to protect sufficient habitat for species persistence and recovery, and its practice. We used content analysis to systematically review critical habitat documents from the United States, Canada, and Australia. In particular, we identified the major trends in type of information used to identify critical habitat and in occupancy of habitat identified as critical. Information about population viability was used to identify critical habitat for only 1% of the species reviewed, and for most species, designated critical habitat did not include unoccupied habitat. Without reference to population viability, it is difficult to determine how much of a species' occupied and unoccupied habitat will be required for persistence. We therefore conclude that the identification of critical habitat remains inconsistent with the goal of protecting sufficient habitat to support persistence and recovery of the species. Ensuring that critical habitat identification aligns more closely with its intent will improve the accuracy of the designations and may therefore help improve the benefits to species recovery when combined with adequate implementation and enforcement of legal protections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]