Ashton Drew, Louise Alexander, Jaime Collazo

Two Joint Projects: 1. Revise the Recovery Plan (1986) for the Puerto Rican population of Antillean manatee 2. Identify a suite of potential Manatee Protection Areas for Puerto Rico USFWS Strategic Habitat Conservation projects must be science-based and support adaptive management

“Open Standards” Approach  Framework to guide conservation planning Complements USFWS management approach Language for elicitation Miradi software to assemble elicitation results Defines clear targets and methods to achieve targets Conservation Measures Partnership (2007) Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation

TermOpen Standards Definition Targetspecific species, ecological systems/habitats, or ecological processes around which a project is focused Scopethe thematic focus or geographic area of a project Visionthe desired state or condition, which if achieved, would also signify success Conservation Target Antillean manatees in Puerto Rico

TermOpen Standards Definition Key ecological attributes the biological characteristics of or elements required by a target central to its success Threatsan anthropogenic activity that may cause the destruction, degradation, and/or impairment of target Opportunitiesfactors which can alleviate a threat

TermOpen Standards Definition Conceptual diagram a network representation of causal relationships between targets, key ecological attributes, threats, and opportunities Results chaina pathway from action to target detailing expected intermediate and final outcomes with timeline and measures of success

Requires site specific knowledge, details change with site Objectives, metrics, timeline would be part of Recovery Plan process Manage Watercraft to Reduce Take

Entire Population Scope the coastal shelf and estuarine waters of Puerto Rico excluding Mona, Monito, Desecheo Islands, and the US Virgin Islands Vision the long term conservation and recovery of the endangered Antillean Manatee and its habitats in coastal-shelf and estuarine waters in Puerto Rico Recovery Plan

Entire Population Population Within MPAs Scope the coastal shelf and estuarine waters of Puerto Rico excluding Mona, Monito, Desecheo Islands, and the US Virgin Islands an area providing access to seagrass, sheltered waters, and freshwater within a 5 km radius where an MPA would reduce take Vision the long term conservation and recovery of the endangered Antillean Manatee and its habitats in coastal-shelf and estuarine waters in Puerto Rico the prevention of anthropogenic take, harassment, and disturbance of manatees within an area that provides high quality habitat Recovery PlanMPA Strategy

Recovery Plan Key Ecological Attributes  Seagrass  Freshwater  Shelter Threats  Land-based contaminants  Oil spills  Entanglement  Poaching  Motorized Watercraft  Etc…

Marine Protected Area components Key Ecological Attributes  Seagrass  Freshwater  Shelter Threats  Land-based contaminants  Oil spills  Entanglement  Poaching  Motorized Watercraft  Etc…

KEA & Threat Modeling: Seagrass A. Map of presence within the scope B. Value of the resource as availability within 5km radius

Shelter WatercraftFreshwater Seagrass MPA Value

Why a structured, expert-based approach?  Whole-system perspective of conceptual diagram Strategic decisions What can and cannot be controlled  Guidance to merge data from diverse sources Defined objectives and scale  Mechanistic with assumptions & hypotheses Accommodates change Promotes adaptive learning

Acknowledgements  Experts: R. Armstrong, B. Bonde, A. Dieppa, D. Flemming, M. García, C. Gonzáles, N. Jimenez, A. Mignucci-Giannoni, E. Muñiz, E. Nieves, F. Pérez, C. Pacheco, M. Rivera, R. Rosario, G. Rodríguez, J. Saliva, M. Vargas, V. Vicente, and J. Zegarra  CoPIs for MPA models: J. Reid, D. Slone  Research Assistant: K. Henderson  Funding: USFWS & USGS