U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Selecting Species as Drivers of Landscape-scale Conservation

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America CONCEPTS associated with "species selection" CHALLENGES associated with "species selection" APPLICATIONS of "species selection" SURROGATE SPECIES as a form of "species selection" Session Objectives Encourage FEEDBACK and INVOLVEMENT in exploring and understanding:

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America A Daunting Responsibility Unrealistic to: set population objectives, translate these to habitat objectives, deliver habitat conservation specifically for, and evaluate and monitor every aspect of a functional landscape Responsibility for myriad species/resources Conservation of landscapes capable of sustaining all species is impractical on a species-by-species basis

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America How Can We Begin to Focus?... in ways that best preserve our broad responsibilities to many species? We all focus to some degree already! How do YOU do it? What do you consider?

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Selecting Species - Inherent Challenges - Objective(s) Scope & Scale Selection Criteria Assumptions, Uncertainties, Limitations, Risks Implications to Decision Making Requires Consideration of:

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Establishing new reserves (e.g., Africa) Evaluating effectiveness of certain mgt. or cons. efforts Addressing most vulnerable species Maximizing recreational opportunities (e.g., harvest) Maintaining biodiversity Conserving ecosystems Determining the Objective(s) Selecting Species - Inherent Challenges -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Geographic scales relevant to your objective(s) (e.g., ecosystem, range, watershed, hemisphere) Scale at which your conservation actions occur (e.g., site specific to increasingly broad) Taxonomic scope (birds? fish? species? guilds?) Exactness; accuracy, precision, uncertainty Timeframes, urgency Scope & Scale Considerations Selecting Species - Inherent Challenges -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Large spatial needs “Marketability” or “societal recognition” (charisma) Conservation status or degree of vulnerability Societal valuation ($$, cultural, recreational) Elements or processes of habitat/systems structural characteristics composition – e.g., other species functions/dynamics – e.g., fire Selection Criteria Considerations Selecting Species - Inherent Challenges -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Is information available to assess criteria? What are inherent assumptions of approach? - some species more important than others? - haves vs have nots? (resource implications) - habitat = key limiting factor? - 1:1 benefits? 1:many benefits? Practicalities/realities in applying? Can approach and results be evaluated? Assumptions, limitations, uncertainties, risks Selecting Species - Inherent Challenges -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America How will/should the approach influence decisions? - about “priorities” - about $$ investments - about staff & resource commitments - about why, where and how work gets done? Decision Making Selecting Species - Inherent Challenges -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Priority vs. Surrogate Species - Concepts - Priority SpeciesSurrogate Species Emphasize as many species as possible Not intended to imply relative rank/importance Inclusionary approach 1:many intended species benefits Broader species benefits explicitly stated, evaluated Emphasize a subset based on any number of criteria Implies relative rank/importance Exclusionary approach 1:1 species benefits Any broader benefits implied/assumed

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Surrogate Species: Species used to represent other species or aspects of the environment. 2 7 Priority vs. Surrogate Species - Concepts -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Priority vs Surrogate Species - Basis & examples - Priority SpeciesSurrogate Species Umbrella Keystone/Engineering Indicator Focal Conservation status & vulnerability Economically important Culturally important Program specific Organization specific E.g., Spotlight Species, Birds of Conservation Concern, ESA listed, etc

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America The Power (& Pain) of Terminology Surrogate Species Umbrella Keystone Landscape Indicator Focal EngineeringFlagship

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America The Power (& Pain) of Terminology Clarity of meaning and intent are important –Example: “Football” An oblong leather ball A “religion” An American sport An International sport – Soccer

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America The Power (& Pain) of Terminology “Surrogate Species” USFWS “Initiative” Species themselves Process for Selecting Ecological concept Species that are used to represent other species or aspects of the environment

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Surrogate Species Approaches Variety of Specific Approaches: Umbrella, Indicator, Keystone, Focal, Representative... Suitability of any particular surrogate species concept depends on specific conservation objectives of the application, and relevant geographic scale

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Surrogate Species as Priorities? Efforts to apply and identify surrogate species can be PRIORITIES, but surrogate species per se should not be confused with the traditional context of “priority species.”

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Should Surrogates Drive Resource Investments? Like “priority species”, Yes! Should they drive all investments? No! If concepts sound, and application successful: investments in surrogates should equate with investments in other species. The reciprocal must also be true!

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Key Surrogate Assumption Undertaking actions that support conservation objectives for surrogate species in a given area will contribute to supporting the needs of larger sets of species characteristic of the area

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America What does “Support” Mean? Sustainability Viability Persistence Desired levels Can not simply mean MATCHING PRESENCE!

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Surrogate Species A LENS through which to consider and approach broad responsibilities for ecosystem conservation

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Use of Surrogate Species East Gulf Coastal Plain Open Pine Decision Support Tool Select species to represent important habitat characteristics “... a species whose conservation is expected to confer protection to a large number of naturally co- occurring species…” ECGP Surrogates in Open Pine Red-cockaded Woodpecker Southeastern American Kestrel Bachman’s Sparrow Brown-headed Nuthatch Northern Bobwhite Henslow’s Sparrow

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Use of Surrogate Species East Gulf Coastal Plain Open Pine Decision Support Tool Brown-headed Nuthatch Henslow’s Sparrow Northern Bobwhite Red-cockaded Woodpecker Bachman’s Sparrow SE American Kestrel

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Use of Surrogate Species Real-World Examples Open Pine Decision Support Tool (EGCPJV)

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Develop tools that enable more strategic conservation of open pine habitats. Guide decisions – where, when, how, and why to undertake conservation actions. Comprehensive landscape analysis; application of conservation biology principles (patch size, fire, viability, juxtaposition). Maximize conservation benefits for birds and other wildlife. Use of Surrogate Species East Gulf Coastal Plain

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Use of Surrogate Species Lower Mississippi Valley Forest Breeding Bird Decision Support Tool Selected species to represent three size classes of forest core MAV Forest Breeding Bird Surrogates Swallow-tailed Kite Cerulean Warbler Swainson’s Warbler

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Use of Surrogate Species Lower Mississippi Valley Ecological Suites Swainson’s Warbler Prothonotary Warbler Hooded Warbler Wood Thrush Acadian Flycatcher Cerulean Warbler Kentucky Warbler Summer Tanager Yellow-billed Cuckoo Eastern Wood-Pewee Swallow-tailed Kite Red-shouldered Hawk Broad-winged Hawk Pileated Woodpecker Cooper’s Hawk Habitat Needs Forest Blocks ≥ 4,000ha Forest Blocks ≥ 8,000ha Forest Blocks ≥ 40,000ha* 500 Pairs ~80 Pairs

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Other Examples Applications not restricted to bird world THE POINT – all efforts involving use of surrogate species must tie back to effective conservation of “functional landscapes”

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Umbrella Keystone Landscape Indicator Focal EngineeringFlagship Decision process best conducted within a community of stakeholders Finally, keep in mind that you could actually be talking about the same thing, just using different terminology! Going it alone or in independent directions won’t be effective Surrogate Species - Final Thoughts -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Questions?

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Learning Objectives Discuss how the surrogate species approach differs from a priority species approach and what the benefits and ramifications of this approach are. Discuss how different surrogate species approaches are appropriate for different conservation objectives. Given the Service’s mission, describe the surrogate species approach that would be most appropriate to achieve it.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Brief Outline of This Session Selecting Target Species Concepts & Applications Discuss the key concepts inherent in “species selection” Sort through common terms used in species selection, with an eye toward 1.Avoiding confusion 2.Focusing on concepts as opposed to the terms themselves Discuss the assumed benefits & drawbacks of the surrogate species approach Clarify the similarities and differences between priority species and surrogate species Use examples to hi-light many of these ideas

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America List types of surr species? Umbrella (applications in range size and size of reserves), Indicator (Biol., Ecol., Mgt., etc... Variety of applications), Focal (loosely use, misused), Flagship, Iconic, Egnineerng/Keystone Species (disprop. Ecol influence, e.g., beaver)etc Focal species, often synon. w/ Priorities, because derived on basis of a number of criteria that may not always have surrogacy/representativeness as objective

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Types of Surrogate Species Umbrella Species A species, generally with a large area requirements Conservation Objective Reserve design Conserve all species in a geography The cheetah can be considered an umbrella species in its sub-Saharan range. Photo C. Michael Hogan

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Types of Surrogate Species Landscape Species A species, generally with a large area requirements Use large, ecologically diverse areas and often have significant impacts on the structure and function of natural ecosystems Often cultural icons Conservation Objective Use wildlife to define and conserve functional landscapes (Wildlife Conservation Society 2008)

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Types of Surrogate Species Indicator Species Assess concentration of pollutants Assess changes in the environment Assess changes from management ….. Conservation Objective Various Some definitions incorporate several objectives Same term used for different conservation objectives It is important to be clear on terminology

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Conserving the Nature of America Need New Title Surrogate Species Umbrella Keystone Landscape Indicator Focal EngineeringFlagship GCPO LCC Example “Conservation Targets” & “Surrogate Species”