Data from thousands of cameras confirms protected areas promote mammal diversity

Date:
January 27, 2022
Source:
University of British Columbia
Summary:
Researchers at UBC's faculty of forestry analyzed data from a
global data set drawing from 8,671 camera trap stations spanning
four continents.

They found more mammal diversity in survey areas where habitat had
a protected designation -- compared to forests and other wilderness
areas that lacked that designation.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A new University of British Columbia study offers new evidence that
protected areas are effective at conserving wildlife.


========================================================================== Researchers at UBC's faculty of forestry analyzed data from a global data
set drawing from 8,671 camera trap stations spanning four continents. They found more mammal diversity in survey areas where habitat had a protected designation -- compared to forests and other wilderness areas that lacked
that designation.

This was true even when these protected areas experienced human
disturbances such as recreational use and logging.

"This is not shocking news in itself, but it is exciting evidence
of the critical role that parks and nature reserves play in wildlife conservation," says Dr. Cole Burton (he/him), the study's senior author
and a conservation biologist who researches mammal populations and human-wildlife coexistence.

"As international discussions continue on new global targets for expanding protected areas, it's important to be able to measure the benefits of
the protections that do currently exist." This is the largest number of wildlife cameras ever analyzed in a single study, notes first author Cheng
Chen (he/him), a forestry PhD student who relied on two international
wildlife camera databases for his analysis.

"By drawing on such a wide dataset, we were able to synthesize 91 camera
trap surveys from 23 countries to come up with a global picture of the
effect of protected areas on mammal diversity," said Chen.

The study analyzed for the presence of a wide range of mammal species,
from caribou in Canada to leopard cat in China.

Protected areas are the final strongholds of many endangered mammals,
notes Burton, adding that mammals are a particularly challenging group
to protect because they require large areas for habitat, and so tend to
come into conflict with people.

"If we want to keep larger mammals around, along with the critical
roles they play in ecosystems, we need to continue focusing on the
growth of the protected area network," said Burton. "In fact, under the Convention on Biological Diversity, the world is currently discussing
new targets for how much of the earth's surface should be covered
by parks. We need to have better information to inform these policy discussions. Hopefully this study helps fill the gaps in our knowledge." special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_British_Columbia. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Related Multimedia:
* Camera_trap_images_of_mammals ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Cheng Chen, Jedediah F. Brodie, Roland Kays, T. Jonathan Davies,
Runzhe
Liu, Jason T. Fisher, Jorge Ahumada, William McShea, Douglas Sheil,
Bernard Agwanda, Mahandry H. Andrianarisoa, Robyn D. Appleton,
Robert Bitariho, Santiago Espinosa, Melissa M. Grigione,
Kristofer M. Helgen, Andy Hubbard, Cindy M. Hurtado, Patrick
A. Jansen, Xuelong Jiang, Alex Jones, Elizabeth L. Kalies,
Cisquet Kiebou‐Opepa, Xueyou Li, Marcela Guimara~es Moreira
Lima, Erik Meyer, Anna B. Miller, Thomas Murphy, Renzo Piana,
Rui‐Chang Quan, Christopher T. Rota, Francesco Rovero,
Fernanda Santos, Stephanie Schuttler, Aisha Uduman, Joanna Klees
Bommel, Hilary Young, A. Cole Burton. Global camera trap synthesis
highlights the importance of protected areas in maintaining mammal
diversity. Conservation Letters, 2022; DOI: 10.1111/conl.12865 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220127120156.htm

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