Conservation research across scales in a national program: How to be relevant to local management yet general at the same time

Biological Conservation
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Abstract

Successfully addressing complex conservation problems requires attention to pattern and process at multiple spatial scales. This is challenging from a logistical and organizational perspective. In response to indications of worldwide declines in amphibian populations, the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) of the United States Geological Survey was established in 2000. This national program is unique in its structure, organization, and success in integrating information at multiple scales. ARMI works under the principle that a good study design is tailored to specific questions, but stipulates the use of methods that result in unbiased parameter estimates (e.g., occupancy). This allows studies to be designed to address local questions but also to produce data that can easily be scaled up to accomplish the objectives of a broad-scale monitoring program. Here we describe how the implementation of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative results in research that is applicable across scales – global, in contributing to the understanding of amphibian decline phenomena; continental, in synthesizing local data to understand large-scale drivers; regional, by characterizing threats and assessing status of species at the range scale; and local, by working with National Park, Wildlife Refuge, and other Federal and State land managers to identify research needs and serve conservation-relevant research results to inform management decisions.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Conservation research across scales in a national program: How to be relevant to local management yet general at the same time
Series title Biological Conservation
DOI 10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.027
Volume 236
Year Published 2019
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center
Description 7 p.
First page 100
Last page 106
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