Implications of large-scale infrastructure development for biodiversity in Indonesian Borneo.

Indonesia is embarking on an ambitious relocation of its capital city to Kalimantan, Borneo, bringing with it major urban and road infrastructure. Yet, despite being one of the world's most biologically diverse regions, the potential implications of this development for wildlife have yet to be fully assessed. We explored the potential impacts of the capital relocation, and road expansion and upgrades to critical habitat for medium-large mammals (>1 kg) using camera trap data from 11 forested landscapes. We applied Bayesian multi-species occupancy models to predict community and species-level responses to anthropogenic and environmental factors. We extrapolated spatial patterns of occupancy and species diversity across the forests of Kalimantan and identified "critical habitats" as the top 20th percentile of occupancy and species richness values. We subsequently overlapped these critical habitat layers with infrastructure impact zones to estimate the area that could potentially be affected by direct or secondary impacts. At both the community and species-level, distance to primary roads had the strongest negative influence on habitat-use. Occupancy was also influenced by forest quality and multidimensional poverty conditions in adjacent villages, demonstrating the sensitivity of biodiversity to socio-ecological pressures. Less than 1 % of the critical habitat for the threatened mammal community lay within the direct impact zone (30 km radius) of the capital relocation. However, approximately 16 % was located within 200 km and could potentially be affected by uncontrolled secondary impacts such as urban sprawl and associated regional development. The often-overlooked secondary implications of upgrading existing roads could also intersect a large amount of critical habitat for lowland species. Mitigating far-reaching secondary impacts of infrastructure development should be fully incorporated into environmental impact assessments. This will provide Indonesia with an opportunity to set an example of sustainable infrastructure development in the tropics.

Effectiveness of 20 years of conservation investments in protecting orangutans.

Conservation strategies are rarely systematically evaluated, which reduces transparency, hinders the cost-effective deployment of resources, and hides what works best in different contexts. Using data on the iconic and critically endangered orangutan (Pongo spp.), we developed a novel spatiotemporal framework for evaluating conservation investments. We show that around USD 1 billion was invested between 2000 and 2019 into orangutan conservation by governments, nongovernmental organizations, companies, and communities. Broken down by allocation to different conservation strategies, we find that habitat protection, patrolling, and public outreach had the greatest return on investment for maintaining orangutan populations. Given the variability in threats, land-use opportunity costs, and baseline remunerations in different regions, there were differential benefits per dollar invested across conservation activities and regions. We show that although challenging from a data and analysis perspective, it is possible to fully understand the relationships between conservation investments and outcomes and the external factors that influence these outcomes. Such analyses can provide improved guidance toward a more effective biodiversity conservation. Insights into the spatiotemporal interplays between the costs and benefits driving effectiveness can inform decisions about the most suitable orangutan conservation strategies for halting population declines. Although our study focuses on the three extant orangutan species of Sumatra and Borneo, our findings have broad application for evidence-based conservation science and practice worldwide.

Using knowledge mapping to rethink the gap between science and action.

Scholars have long stressed the need to bridge the gap between science and action and seek the most efficient use of knowledge for decision making. Many contributors have attempted to consider and understand the sociopolitical forces involved in knowledge generation and exchange. We argue, however, that a model is still needed to adequately conceptualize and frame the knowledge networks in which these processes are embedded. We devised a model for knowledge mapping as a prerequisite for knowledge management in the context of conservation. Using great ape conservation to frame our approach, we propose that knowledge mapping should be based on 2 key principles. First, each conservation network results from the conglomeration of subnetworks of expertise producing and using knowledge. Second, beyond the research-management gradient, other dimensions, such as the scale of operation, geographic location, and organizational characteristics, must also be considered. Assessing both knowledge production and trajectory across different dimensions of the network opens new space for investigating and reducing the gap between science and action.

Uso del Conocimiento del Mapeo para Replantear la Separación entre la Ciencia y la Acción Resumen Durante mucho tiempo los académicos han hecho énfasis en la necesidad de cerrar la brecha entre la ciencia y la acción, así como encontrar el uso más eficiente del conocimiento para la toma de decisiones. Muchos contribuyentes han intentado considerar y entender las fuerzas sociopolíticas involucradas en la generación e intercambio de conocimiento. Sin embargo, argumentamos que todavía se necesita un modelo para conceptualizar y enmarcar adecuadamente las redes de conocimiento en las que están incorporados estos procesos. Diseñamos un modelo para el mapeo del conocimiento como prerrequisito para el manejo del conocimiento como parte del contexto de la conservación. Usamos la conservación de los grandes simios para enmarcar nuestra estrategia y proponemos que el mapeo del conocimiento debería estar basado en dos principios clave. Primero, cada red de conservación es resultado de la conglomeración de subredes de experiencias que produce y usa conocimiento. Segundo, más allá del gradiente de manejo de investigaciones, otras dimensiones como la escala de operación, la ubicación geográfica y las características de organización también deben considerarse. La evaluación de la producción y la trayectoria del conocimiento a través de diferentes dimensiones de la red de conservación abre un nuevo espacio para la investigación y la reducción de la brecha entre la ciencia y la acción.

How populations differentiate despite gene flow: sexual and natural selection drive phenotypic divergence within a land fish, the Pacific leaping blenny.

BACKGROUND: Divergence between populations in reproductively important features is often vital for speciation. Many studies attempt to identify the cause of population differentiation in phenotype through the study of a specific selection pressure. Holistic studies that consider the interaction of several contrasting forms of selection are more rare. Most studies also fail to consider the history of connectivity among populations and the potential for genetic drift or gene flow to facilitate or limit phenotypic divergence. We examined the interacting effects of natural selection, sexual selection and the history of connectivity on phenotypic differentiation among five populations of the Pacific leaping blenny (Alticus arnoldorum), a land fish endemic to the island of Guam. RESULTS: We found key differences among populations in two male ornaments--the size of a prominent head crest and conspicuousness of a coloured dorsal fin--that reflected a trade-off between the intensity of sexual selection (male biased sex ratios) and natural selection (exposure to predators). This differentiation in ornamentation has occurred despite evidence suggesting extensive gene flow among populations, which implies that the change in ornament expression has been recent (and potentially plastic). CONCLUSIONS: Our study provides an early snapshot of divergence in reproductively important features that, regardless of whether it reflects genetic or plastic changes in phenotype, could ultimately form a reproductive barrier among populations.