A generic target for species recovery

作者：Hutchings Jeffrey A^*; Kuparinen Anna

来源：Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2014, 92(5): 371-376.

DOI：10.1139/cjz-2013-0276

• carrying capacity
• population growth rate
• policy implementation
• density dependence
• reference point

Recovery targets for threatened species are typically developed on a species-or population-specific basis. Such narrow taxonomic specificity stands in contrast with widely applied species-independent metrics of conservation status. Here, we propose a generic protocol that can be used to specify broadly applicable targets intended to recover the ecological and evolutionary functionality of threatened species. The method is based on basic density-dependent population dynamics, draws on first principles related to population growth, and explicitly incorporates habitat by accounting for changes in carrying capacity. It offers a consistently applied, methodologically transparent, and predictable biological benchmark for recovery purposes. The benefits of a generic method for articulating recovery targets, particularly from a policy-and statute-implementation perspective, are substantive.

• 出版日期2014-5