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Wildlife population trends in protected areas predicted by national socio-economic metrics and body size

Barnes, MD; Craigie, ID; Harrison, LB; Geldmann, J; Collen, B; Whitmee, S; Balmford, A; ... Woodley, S; + view all (2016) Wildlife population trends in protected areas predicted by national socio-economic metrics and body size. Nature Communications , 7 , Article 12747. 10.1038/ncomms12747. Green open access

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Abstract

Ensuring that protected areas (PAs) maintain the biodiversity within their boundaries is fundamental in achieving global conservation goals. Despite this objective, wildlife abundance changes in PAs are patchily documented and poorly understood. Here, we use linear mixed effect models to explore correlates of population change in 1,902 populations of birds and mammals from 447 PAs globally. On an average, we find PAs are maintaining populations of monitored birds and mammals within their boundaries. Wildlife population trends are more positive in PAs located in countries with higher development scores, and for larger-bodied species. These results suggest that active management can consistently overcome disadvantages of lower reproductive rates and more severe threats experienced by larger species of birds and mammals. The link between wildlife trends and national development shows that the social and economic conditions supporting PAs are critical for the successful maintenance of their wildlife populations.

Type: Article
Title: Wildlife population trends in protected areas predicted by national socio-economic metrics and body size
Location: England
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12747
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12747
Language: English
Additional information: The Author(s) 2016. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1516618
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