Global conservation priorities for marine turtles.

Where conservation resources are limited and conservation targets are diverse, robust yet flexible priority-setting frameworks are vital. Priority-setting is especially important for geographically widespread species with distinct populations subject to multiple threats that operate on different spatial and temporal scales. Marine turtles are widely distributed and exhibit intra-specific variations in population sizes and trends, as well as reproduction and morphology. However, current global extinction risk assessment frameworks do not assess conservation status of spatially and biologically distinct marine turtle Regional Management Units (RMUs), and thus do not capture variations in population trends, impacts of threats, or necessary conservation actions across individual populations. To address this issue, we developed a new assessment framework that allowed us to evaluate, compare and organize marine turtle RMUs according to status and threats criteria. Because conservation priorities can vary widely (i.e. from avoiding imminent extinction to maintaining long-term monitoring efforts) we developed a "conservation priorities portfolio" system using categories of paired risk and threats scores for all RMUs (n = 58). We performed these assessments and rankings globally, by species, by ocean basin, and by recognized geopolitical bodies to identify patterns in risk, threats, and data gaps at different scales. This process resulted in characterization of risk and threats to all marine turtle RMUs, including identification of the world's 11 most endangered marine turtle RMUs based on highest risk and threats scores. This system also highlighted important gaps in available information that is crucial for accurate conservation assessments. Overall, this priority-setting framework can provide guidance for research and conservation priorities at multiple relevant scales, and should serve as a model for conservation status assessments and priority-setting for widespread, long-lived taxa.

Regional management units for marine turtles: a novel framework for prioritizing conservation and research across multiple scales.

BACKGROUND: Resolving threats to widely distributed marine megafauna requires definition of the geographic distributions of both the threats as well as the population unit(s) of interest. In turn, because individual threats can operate on varying spatial scales, their impacts can affect different segments of a population of the same species. Therefore, integration of multiple tools and techniques--including site-based monitoring, genetic analyses, mark-recapture studies and telemetry--can facilitate robust definitions of population segments at multiple biological and spatial scales to address different management and research challenges. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To address these issues for marine turtles, we collated all available studies on marine turtle biogeography, including nesting sites, population abundances and trends, population genetics, and satellite telemetry. We georeferenced this information to generate separate layers for nesting sites, genetic stocks, and core distributions of population segments of all marine turtle species. We then spatially integrated this information from fine- to coarse-spatial scales to develop nested envelope models, or Regional Management Units (RMUs), for marine turtles globally. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The RMU framework is a solution to the challenge of how to organize marine turtles into units of protection above the level of nesting populations, but below the level of species, within regional entities that might be on independent evolutionary trajectories. Among many potential applications, RMUs provide a framework for identifying data gaps, assessing high diversity areas for multiple species and genetic stocks, and evaluating conservation status of marine turtles. Furthermore, RMUs allow for identification of geographic barriers to gene flow, and can provide valuable guidance to marine spatial planning initiatives that integrate spatial distributions of protected species and human activities. In addition, the RMU framework--including maps and supporting metadata--will be an iterative, user-driven tool made publicly available in an online application for comments, improvements, download and analysis.

Use of neotropical and Malagasy primate species in biomedical research.

There are 16 genera with 87 species of Neotropical primates, of which 18 (20.7%) are endangered. Only a handful of Neotropical species are utilized in biomedical research, and, of these, none are currently endangered. The few species utilized in biomedicine that are threatened in the wild are now bred largely from captive colonies. In Madagascar, there are 14 genera and 32 species, none of which are utilized widely in biomedical research. The current position should not induce complacency, as it presents an opportunity. Where knowledge is being gained, in laboratories and zoos, concerning the reproduction, genetics, social organization, behavior, and diseases of primates, it is vital that the relevant knowledge be transferred as far as possible to improve management of the same or related species in the field. Challenges for the future will require action plans for species and for habitats. There is a need for sound scientific knowledge on which to base such plans. In addition, the technological advances developed in laboratories, such as non-invasive assays, assisted reproduction, genetic profiles, and vaccines, are likely to play a growing part in future conservation programs. Finally, knowledge gained from field studies can greatly improve the care and management of species in captivity. Greater cooperation and more efficient mechanisms of communication between laboratory and field, zoos and the wild, and the many scientific disciplines involved are vital to ensure that global primate diversity is maintained. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.