[{"id":232,"title":"A case for habitat-centric conservation strategy instead of flagship-species approach","sha":"0dbc3ce40ac708aecc6bcd8ab41ef049","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Massive conservation projects have relied around single flagship species and the surrounding ecological niche that supports it. Conservation of giant panda, tiger, and bald eagle are examples of such a species-centric or flagship-species strategy for conservation. While such flagship-species approaches have helped conserve other species that are part of the ecological niche, this strategy fails to address holistic problems of habitat conservation across the globe. In habitats with discontinuity of conserved areas or patchiness of species distribution in a contiguous habitat, focus on a single flagship species would end up being detrimental for the conservation of biodiversity. Flagship-species approach can be a sink for expenditure, where more land could be kept aside for conservation, if we were not focussed on a flagship-species. We are proposing a new approach for conservation based on preservation of large contiguous habitats. Our proposal does not preclude monitoring endangered species but we expect the list to be dynamically updated and not focussed on few relatable species that are “cute” by human standards.  This would allow conservation efforts to bear fruits for unnoticed but ecologically more significant microorganisms, flora and non-vertebrate animals, along with vertebrates that are usually the focus of current approaches. \r\n","created_at":"2015-09-17T07:17:08.247Z","updated_at":"2015-09-18T06:00:54.825Z","zenodo_id":61428,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.31118","subject":null,"tags":["conservation ecology","microbial ecology","conservation","conservation biology","project tiger","flagship-species","habitat-centric approach"],"vote_count":0,"view_count":1,"score":0.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":false,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":151,"title":"Using remote sensing data in ecological niche models to forecast species' extinction risks","sha":"8d31d132f078653e7f0b7a203681c9a1","user_id":557,"state":"published","body":"Traditionally, Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) are calculated with variables from long temporal data series, representing averaged weather conditions, and probably hiding current trends originated from the current environment. Satellite imagery can provide an instantaneous picture of the environment, identifying natural and human-induced changes, which in turn will be reflected in ENMs calculated only with remote sensing data (RS-ENMs). Human-induced changes (e.g. habitat degradation and fragmentation) will be associated with low values of habitat suitability, and thus to a low species' presence probability. Species living in places with larger environmental changes (e.g. urban areas) may be prone to higher extinction risks. Other variables like surface temperature will be associated to species' vulnerability to extreme weather periods. Considering climate change events, species adapted to cold habitats will present higher extinction risks with temperature increments, and species of hotter habitats, lower risks. Therefore, comparison by Gap Analysis of RS-ENMs of successive dates will identify potential expansions and contractions in species' ranges. Species with accumulated ranges' contractions will be more threatened. RS-ENMs will map quantitatively the spatial distribution of potential extinction risks to monitor how species respond to human-mediated environmental changes and to develop dynamic forecasts for future changes.","created_at":"2015-04-22T17:01:40.997Z","updated_at":"2019-01-08T18:14:18.385Z","zenodo_id":27861,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17123","subject":null,"tags":["conservation","environmental changes","spatial"],"vote_count":2,"view_count":1,"score":2.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null}]