Sound science or social hook: a response to Brooker's application of the focal species approach

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Brooker [Landscape and Urban Planning, in press] recently published a worked example of the focal species approach using bird assemblages in fragmented landscapes of western Australia. We have some concerns about the scientific validity of the focal species approach. As a threat-based biodiversity surrogate scheme, the focal species approach is likely to suffer from similar deficiencies that have been identified for related forms of species-based surrogate schemes such as umbrella species and indicator species approaches. We also raise concerns that the responses of birds, which are the sole group for which the focal species approach has been applied, may not be good species-based indicators of the responses of other vertebrates (such as reptiles, amphibians and mammals) for which selected focal species purport to be a surrogate. There are also non-trivial issues regarding field sampling intensity and patch or fragment size and the potential to underestimate the conservation value of small remnants during applications of the focal species approach. Despite these scientific concerns, we nevertheless consider that the focal species approach may be an important social hook to stimulate restoration activities in degraded landscapes that are now increasingly common not only in Australia, but also in many other parts of the world. However, we make a plea for the development of additional approaches for the restoration of degraded landscapes and that these methods (as well as the focal species approach) be subject to rigorous field testing.

Original languageEnglish
JournalLandscape and Urban Planning
Volume62
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)149-158
Number of pages10
ISSN0169-2046
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.02.2003
Externally publishedYes

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Non-material contributions of nature expressed by former tourists of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
  2. Different Subcultures in Residential Groups in Germany – Implications for Participation and the Victimization of Children and Young People
  3. Crossroads of cloth
  4. Koproduktives Stadtmachen als Motor der Quartiersentwicklung?
  5. (Voluntary) Health Care Management in SMEs
  6. Unter Druck und Zwang
  7. Ad Hoc Expert Panels: Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs)
  8. Schätzen - Die Kunst des Messens ohne Messgerät
  9. Selbstbild und Selbstvertrauen
  10. Can rare arable plants benefit biological pest control potential of cereal aphids in croplands?
  11. Systematisch zur (E-) Learning Excellence
  12. Mehr Gender-Strategie tut gut
  13. Arbeitsmaterial zu "Die Chroniken von Narnia - Der König von Narnia"
  14. Transformative pedagogy for sustainable entrepreneurship and technology innovation: The case of EIT climate KIC training
  15. Editorial
  16. Optimal Harvest Licensing when Harvest Success is Uncertain
  17. Do student ratings of classroom management teil us more about teachers or about classroom composition?
  18. A New and Rapid Method for Monitoring the New Oxazolidinone Antibiotic Linezolid in Serum and Urine by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Integrated Sample Preparation
  19. Growth and phycocyanin synthesis in the heterotrophic microalga Galdieria sulphuraria on substrates made of food waste from restaurants and bakeries
  20. Vertiefungsrichtung Ernährung
  21. Landscape diversity and the resilience of agricultural returns
  22. Gesprochene Schulsprache in der Primarstufe
  23. What are community energy companies trying to accomplish? An empirical investigation of investment motives in the German case
  24. Selbst is(s)t der Mann - Essen kochen in der Jugendarbeit
  25. Von der Suderburger Wiesenbauschule zur Modelluniversität
  26. Exports and productivity
  27. Nascent entrepreneurs
  28. Effect of salinity on filtration rates of mussels Mytilus edulis with special emphasis on dwarfed mussels from the low-saline Central Baltic Sea
  29. IT-Effizienzverstärker oder Komplexitätsbetreiber in der analytischen Unternehmenssteuerung?