Essential principles to guide monitoring of threatened biodiversity

Robinson, Natasha M.;Legge, Sarah;Scheele, Benjamin C.;Lindenmayer, David B.;Southwell, Darren M.;Wintle, Brendan A.;Bickerton, Doug;Brooks, Lyndon;Carter, Oberon;Dickman, Chris;Gillespie, Graeme;Kanowski, John;Koleck, Jessica;Lahoz-Monfort, Jose J.;Lintermans, Mark;Marsh, Helene;Paltridge, Rachel;Radford, Jim;Skroblin, Anja;Wayne, Adrian

Helene Marsh

Abstract

Monitoring of threatened species and ecological communities is currently inadequate in Australia. Monitoring biodiversity generally presents many challenges, but there are additional challenges associated with monitoring of threatened biodiversity that stem from the difficulties of reliably monitoring rare or rapidly declining species, or heavily fragmented and attenuated ecological communities. For threatened biota, the integration of monitoring into legal, management and policy settings is particularly crucial, as is good engagement with (and support from) the broader community. Clear guidance for both managers and monitoring practitioners is needed if we are to overcome these challenges and avoid the catastrophic consequences of absent or ineffective monitoring (e.g. species declines or extinction unnoticed because of inadequate data, and/or ineffectual links between monitoring and management action). This chapter presents the collective wisdom and experience from 26 threatened species monitoring practitioners and propose five principles that should be considered when designing monitoring programs for threatened species and ecological communities. These are: (1) engage people; (2) integrate monitoring with management; (3) plan, design and implement a fit-for-purpose monitoring program; (4) ensure good data management; and (5) communicate the value of monitoring. Our principles provide a clear framework in which to implement robust monitoring of threatened species and ecological communities in a way that guides management and enhances threatened biodiversity conservation outcomes, including avoiding extinctions.

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Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities

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978-1-4863-0771-5

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CSIRO

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Melbourne, VIC, Australia

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