Understanding and managing the interactions of impacts from nature-based recreation and climate change.

Disturbance to ecosystems in parks and protected areas from nature-based tourism and recreation is increasing in scale and severity, as are the impacts of climate change-but there is limited research examining the degree to which these anthropogenic disturbances interact. In this perspective paper, we draw on the available literature to expose complex recreation and climate interactions that may alter ecosystems of high conservation value such that important species and processes no longer persist. Our emphasis is on ecosystems in high demand for tourism and recreation that also are increasingly experiencing stress from climate change. We discuss the importance of developing predictive models of direct and indirect effects, including threshold and legacy effects at different levels of biological organization. We present a conceptual model of these interactions to initiate a dialog among researchers and managers so that new research approaches and managerial frameworks are advanced to address this emerging issue.

Predictors of Participation in Invasive Species Control Activities Depend on Prior Experience with the Species.

The increasing worldwide spread of non-native species is both a component and a consequence of environmental change, and islands are especially vulnerable to negative effects. Efforts to control non-native species often include public education intended to promote behaviors designed to reduce or reverse their spread. To inform the use of information strategies to control the invasive, non-native frog Eleutherodactylus coqui in Hawaii, USA, we surveyed over 700 property owners about their attitudes and behaviors regarding the species. Included were residents of the island of Hawaii, where the species is common and management emphasizes prevention of further spread, and three other islands where the species is largely absent and management emphasizes detection and eradication. Where frogs are present, 61% of respondents reported taking actions to reduce their population, typically clearing vegetation or hand-capturing individual frogs. For these individuals, intentions to engage in future control activities were not significantly related to reports of past behavior. Intentions to participate in future control efforts on the island of Hawaii were best predicted by attitudes toward practices. On the other islands, behavioral intentions were best predicted by subjective norms (i.e., beliefs about others' expectations that they should manage frogs). Thus, intentions to engage in non-native species management behaviors appear to be influenced by prior exposure to, and experience with, that species. Understanding the predictors of behavioral intentions at different stages of invasion have implications for the design of information strategies that can promote participation in control activities.

Successes and challenges from formation to implementation of eleven broad-extent conservation programs.

Integration of conservation partnerships across geographic, biological, and administrative boundaries is increasingly relevant because drivers of change, such as climate shifts, transcend these boundaries. We explored successes and challenges of established conservation programs that span multiple watersheds and consider both social and ecological concerns. We asked representatives from a diverse set of 11 broad-extent conservation partnerships in 29 countries 17 questions that pertained to launching and maintaining partnerships for broad-extent conservation, specifying ultimate management objectives, and implementation and learning. Partnerships invested more funds in implementing conservation actions than any other aspect of conservation, and a program's context (geographic extent, United States vs. other countries, developed vs. developing nation) appeared to substantially affect program approach. Despite early successes of these organizations and benefits of broad-extent conservation, specific challenges related to uncertainties in scaling up information and to coordination in the face of diverse partner governance structures, conflicting objectives, and vast uncertainties regarding future system dynamics hindered long-term success, as demonstrated by the focal organizations. Engaging stakeholders, developing conservation measures, and implementing adaptive management were dominant challenges. To inform future research on broad-extent conservation, we considered several challenges when we developed detailed questions, such as what qualities of broad-extent partnerships ensure they complement, integrate, and strengthen, rather than replace, local conservation efforts and which adaptive management processes yield actionable conservation strategies that account explicitly for dynamics and uncertainties regarding multiscale governance, environmental conditions, and knowledge of the system?