[{"id":147,"title":"Entrepreneurial Competitions to Control Invasive Species ","sha":"448c1bb80a9804da8604b6a516bbb3bf","user_id":524,"state":"published","body":"Commercializing certain invasive species creates business opportunities while controlling harmful populations, if it respects population biology(1). To exert effective control, harvest efforts must outstrip a population’s reproductive potential and solely aim to reach eradication, without conflicting with legislation or creating a cultural identity around the species(2). \r\n\r\nTo promote enterprises that truly control invading populations, an entrepreneurial competition cooperatively judged by scientists and business leaders should be established to attract new talent and ideas. Scientific representation would ensure plans could viably control or eradicate invaders, instead of simply building an industry around the species. Winning proposals would receive funding to be implemented. The result would be a short-term venture aimed for profit margins by radically reducing the target population. Grants or crowd funding could subsidize the cost of the venture and successful launches could return a percentage of profits to continue the competition.\r\n\r\nA business could reduce populations until their costs exceeded their revenue, where a government agency could remove the remaining individuals. The entrepreneur could exit with profits, or replicate their venture on another species. Research into a fund to promote self-funding, short-term business plans may provide an ecologically feasible method to eradicate certain invasive species. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n1.Review.of.harvest.incentives.to.control.invasive.species.http://www.reabic.net/journals/mbi/2014/3/MBI_2014_Pasko_Goldberg.pdf\r\n2.Why.eating.invasive.species.is.a.bad.idea.http://ensia.com/voices/why-eating-invasive-species-is-a-bad-idea/\r\n","created_at":"2015-04-16T03:00:06.847Z","updated_at":"2015-04-16T19:13:43.408Z","zenodo_id":27118,"doi":"http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16871","subject":null,"tags":["invasive species","entrepreneurship","conservation biology"],"vote_count":1,"view_count":1,"score":1.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"id":554,"title":"Towards a unified framework for studying the impact of linear infrastructures","sha":"dccdc384e08088258406f10565ba060e","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Linear infrastructures such as roads, railways and power lines have considerable negative impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems ([van der Ree et al. 2015](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781118568170); [Borda-de-Água et al. 2017](https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319574950); [D’Amico et al. 2018](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-018-1025-z)). All these impacts, including among others non-natural mortality and fragmentation, have been traditionally studied by focusing on single infrastructures (e.g. 1: bird collisions with power lines, [Barrientos et al. 2011](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01699.x); e.g. 2: road-avoidance responses by ungulates, [D’Amico et al. 2016](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.12572)). Nevertheless, most species can simultaneously suffer from negative impacts due to different infrastructures (e.g. 1: both roads and power lines determine high mortality rates for the little bustard *Tetrax tetrax*, [Marcelino et al. 2018](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bird-conservation-international/article/tracking-data-of-the-little-bustard-tetrax-tetrax-in-iberia-shows-high-anthropogenic-mortality/643D8349348F42F1962CB0188A4B886A); e.g. 2: the reindeer *Rangifer tarandus* generally avoid both roads and power lines, [Nellemann et al. 2001](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320701000829)). As a consequence, we claim that considering at the same time all linear infrastructures would substantially improve our understanding of related impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, thus providing more robust outcomes for planning both mitigation measures and more sustainable human developments.","created_at":"2019-01-08T17:13:03.501Z","updated_at":"2019-03-02T17:59:16.959Z","zenodo_id":2548952,"doi":"https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2548952","subject":null,"tags":["ecology","conservation biology","road ecology","biodiversity","railway ecology","landscape ecology","wildlife"],"vote_count":1,"view_count":1,"score":1.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null},{"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":941,"title":"Environmental Impact Assessment and wildlife: from a descriptive to an experimental approach","sha":"9276c6cd719fb5d362b2111976ac6786","user_id":null,"state":"published","body":"Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) aim to identify, quantify and mitigate or compensate for the impacts and cumulative effects of projects, such as transport infrastructures and power plants, on ecosystems. Therefore, consultants should provide evidence on wildlife for decision-making (i.e. to approve, modify or reject the project). Moreover, consultants should monitor wildlife populations to adapt the mitigation measures over time because of long response times (e.g. extinction debt) and because the impacts may change (i.e. adaptive management). However, consultants often only inventory the local biodiversity but do not predict the impacts of projects on wildlife. Any project is a disturbance, and any disturbance opens up an experimental scenario. Therefore, consultants should apply experimental approaches for assessing the impacts of projects on wildlife populations at the landscape scale. For instance, [Noguera et al. (2010)](https://www.ardeola.org/en/volumes/571/articles/41-53/) created an index to estimate the raptor collision risk in wind farms, and [Torres at al. (2011)](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320711002242) applied a Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) study design to assess the impact of a motorway on a *Otis tarda* population. In conclusion, project developers should provide funding and time for consultants to work as researchers: environmental impact reports should be treated as research articles. If not, the competent authority should apply the precautionary principle.","created_at":"2022-05-11T21:00:10.784Z","updated_at":"2022-07-14T21:59:36.956Z","zenodo_id":6644355,"doi":"https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6644355","subject":null,"tags":["conservation biology","environmental impact assessment","mitigation measures","projects","wildlife consulting"],"vote_count":3,"view_count":1,"score":3.1,"deleted":false,"muted":false,"tweeted":true,"attachment_file_name":null,"attachment_content_type":null,"attachment_file_size":null,"attachment_updated_at":null}]