Saving endangered species using adaptive management

Graeme Caughley emphasized the difficulty in conserving naturally rare yet broadly distributed species that often overlap with valuable resources, leading to potential conflicts. This challenge is particularly pronounced in large-landscape species like North America's woodland caribou, whose habitats intersect with lucrative petroleum deposits and forests. The declining caribou populations create a conflict between conservation goals and economic interests. The issue involves intricate ecosystem dynamics across three trophic levels, affecting vegetation, herbivores, and carnivores. Being less reproductive and susceptible to predators, Caribou face the risk of extinction due to apparent competition, where predators thrive on more abundant generalist herbivores. This suggests applying adaptive management, initially designed for sustainable resource consumption, to recover endangered species like caribou. Drawing on the example of California's Channel Island fox, success may be achieved through the simultaneous reduction of prey and predators. However, for woodland caribou, persistent prey subsidies are expected due to lasting changes in forest age distributions. Traditional conservation approaches like protecting critical habitat may need to be revised, prompting the need for simultaneous treatments, which could have an additive impact on caribou population growth.

The central focus is on the complex conservation challenges faced by the woodland caribou in North America, emphasizing the inherent conflicts between preserving these naturally rare yet widely distributed species and the economic interests associated with overlapping valuable natural resources, such as petroleum deposits and forests. Graeme Caughley's work highlights the intricate dynamics, spanning vegetation, herbivores, and carnivores across the caribou's expansive habitat.

       The article advocates for adaptive management, initially designed for sustainable resource consumption, as a potential solution to recover endangered species like the woodland caribou. The case of the caribou underscores the difficulties in simultaneously managing various factors affecting their populations, such as prey and predators, especially in the context of long-term changes to the distribution of forest ages. Traditional conservation approaches, like protecting critical habitat, may not be adequate, and the article suggests that  simultaneous treatments could yield additive benefits for caribou population growth. The overall theme revolves around the need for innovative and adaptive strategies to address the unique conservation challenges of widely distributed species with overlapping resource conflicts.