Recovery criteria, the thresholds mandated by Endangered Species Act that define when species may be considered for downlisting or removal from endangered list, are a key component of conservation planning in United States. We recommend improvements definition and scientific justification recovery addressing both data-rich data-poor situations. emphasize distinction between actions criteria use quantitative population analyses to measure impacts threats explicitly tie status. To this end, we...

Effective conservation and management of animal populations requires knowledge abundance trends. For many species, these quantities are estimated using systematic visual surveys. Additional individual-level data available for some species. Integrated population modeling (IPM) offers a mechanism leveraging sets into single estimation framework. IPMs that incorporate both population- have previously been developed birds, but rarely applied to cetaceans. Here, we explore how can be used improve...

Abstract Cook Inlet beluga whales (CIBWs; Delphinapterus leucas ), are an isolated and declining endangered population in Alaska, USA. Their critical habitat has been broadly defined, with little empirical data on use to direct management actions. This article examines collected during surveys for a long‐term photo‐ID study gain insight into the of by CIBW groups individuals, focus areas where belugas were observed feeding, calving, rearing young, transit. It also describes patterns group...

Habitat restoration frequently focuses on reaching an idealized steady state, but this is unrealistic for disturbance‐dependent ecosystems where temporal variability inherent and habitat conditions are expected to fluctuate. Understanding the ways in which outcomes of change over time can better inform adaptive management plans increase likelihood that efforts will be effective. We conducted a decade‐long experiment test how disturbance levels impact quality populations endangered butterfly...

Many populations exhibit boom-bust dynamics in which abundance fluctuates dramatically over time. Past research has focused on identifying whether the cause of fluctuations is primarily exogenous, e.g., environmental stochasticity coupled with weak density dependence, or endogenous, over-compensatory dependence. Far fewer studies have addressed mechanism responsible for matters respect to at-risk species management. Here, we ask best strategy restoring habitat across a landscape differs...

Abstract Knowledge about the demographic and environmental factors underlying population dynamics is fundamental to designing effective conservation measures recover depleted wildlife populations. However, sparse monitoring data or persistent knowledge gaps threats make it difficult identify drivers of dynamics. In situations where small, declining, populations show continued evidence decline for unknown reasons, integrated models can efficient use available improve our understanding...

Abstract Despite acquisition of a substantial catalog telemetry data from Steller sea lions ( Eumetopias jubatus ) over the past two decades, scientists still lack comprehensive regionally explicit knowledge about lion habitat use. The Platforms Opportunity contain records sightings throughout species’ entire range and have potential to fill gaps in their spatial use; however, not previously been used because effort e.g ., time spent surveying or area sampled) was recorded when were...

Abstract Mortality is a demographic metric crucial for understanding the dynamics of endangered populations such as Cook Inlet beluga whales (CIBWs, Delphinapterus leucas ), but patterns mortality are currently not well understood CIBWs, making decisions about recovery actions challenging. We combined long‐term photo‐ID data from approximately 420 individual belugas identified during period 2005–2017 with stranding 95 dead to identify respect age, sex, geographic range, cause death, and...

Remote sensing data can be a powerful and cost-effective method for determining the extent, composition, structure of ecosystems across large areas. To use this tool effective conservation individual species, we need to test assumption that remotely sensed habitat indices correspond both patch suitability (i.e., presence) value demographic rates) species reliant on those habitats. We built an open pine quality index (HQI) from spectral identify condition stands. correlated HQI with presence,...

During a marine oil spill, injured birds often die on the water, some eventually washing ashore, but others becoming waterlogged and sinking or being scavenged before reaching shoreline. Birds that disappear they can be deposited shoreline are difficult to enumerate, commonly represent large fraction of total spill-related mortality. As part process quantifying overall impact seabirds resulting from Deepwater Horizon it was necessary estimate number dead lost at sea. We conducted study...

Abstract Understanding the survival and reproductive rates of a population is critical to determining its long‐term dynamics viability. Mark‐resight models are often used estimate these demographic rates, but estimation challenging, especially for wide‐ranging, patchily distributed, or cryptic species. In particular, existing mark‐resight cannot accommodate data from populations in which offspring remain with parents multiple years, not always detected, be aged certainty. Here we describe...

The conservation and management of wild populations ecosystems almost always involves making decisions in the face uncertainty risk. application science to ecological decision-making process was something that late Professor Daniel Goodman thought deeply about. In this paper we outline three main principles Dr. espoused for good practice when conducting analyses decision-making: 1) results should be conditioned on all relevant data information, 2) there must a full characterization...

Bayesian statistics, in contrast to classical uses probability represent uncertainty about the state of knowledge. statistics has often been associated with idea that knowledge is subjective and a distribution represents personal degree belief. Dr. Daniel Goodman considered this viewpoint problematic for issues public policy. He sought ground his approach data, advocated construction prior as an empirical histogram “similar” cases. In way, posterior results from analysis combined comparable...

Bayesian statistics, in contrast to classical uses probability represent uncertainty about the state of knowledge. statistics has often been associated with idea that knowledge is subjective and a distribution represents personal degree belief. Dr. Daniel Goodman considered this viewpoint problematic for issues public policy. He sought ground his approach data, advocated construction prior as an empirical histogram “similar” cases. In way, posterior results from analysis combined comparable...

The conservation and management of wild populations ecosystems almost always involves making decisions in the face uncertainty risk. application science to ecological decision-making process was something that late Professor Daniel Goodman thought deeply about. In this paper we outline three main principles Dr. espoused for good practice when conducting analyses decision-making: 1) results should be conditioned on all relevant data information, 2) there must a full characterization...