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The Role of Abundance Estimates in Conservation Decision-Making

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Applied Ecology and Human Dimensions in Biological Conservation

Abstract

Initial discussions about conservation of any species or population tend to include questions about just how many animals there are. Indeed, it is often assumed that abundance estimates are critically important to conservation, to the point where obtaining such estimates is sometimes viewed as a necessary prerequisite for management. At a minimum, this view produces a delay in management, and in the worst case, the monitoring of abundance comes to be equated with conservation. Abundance estimates can be important to conservation, but I believe that development of a clear idea of exactly how they are to be used in the conservation process should precede surveys designed to obtain them. In this chapter, I consider the explicit roles of abundance estimation in conservation, first focusing on the uses of such estimates in conservation programs and then turning to appropriate methods for obtaining those estimates.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD, 20708, USA

    James D. Nichols

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  1. James D. Nichols
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Correspondence to James D. Nichols .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Luciano M. Verdade

  2. Curso de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Santo Amaro, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Maria Carolina Lyra-Jorge

  3. Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción, Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y, Rios, Argentina

    Carlos I. Piña

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Nichols, J.D. (2014). The Role of Abundance Estimates in Conservation Decision-Making. In: Verdade, L., Lyra-Jorge, M., Piña, C. (eds) Applied Ecology and Human Dimensions in Biological Conservation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-54751-5_8

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