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The role of emerging technology in conservation discussed at Brazilia conference Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology July 26, 2005 Below are papers discussing the role of technolgy in conservation submitted for the conference. All descriptions are excepts from the official "Book of Abstracts" from the meeting. More abstracts. CHRISTEN, CATHERINE; Leimgruber, Peter. Smithsonian's National Zoological Park, Conservation and Research Center, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA, christenc((AT))si.edu. Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and remote sensing provide powerful conservation tools. Using these technologies effectively, conservation biologists can collect spatial data to quantify landscape patterns, predict outcomes of landscape changes, model habitat suitability, and analyze animal movements and home ranges. In Latin America, training in these technologies' conservation applications is scarce, but demand is high. Our Conservation GIS Laboratory's hands-on curriculum focuses on geospatial technologies' practical applications for conservation, with lab and field exercises based on realworld research. Our 2004 course for Latin Americans and U. S. Latinos trained fifteen fellows (from 650 applicants). All trainees completed a post-course evaluation. However, true training impact must be measured through longer-term developments in research and conservation projects, so our tracking includes periodic research updates from all 2004 trainees. The 2005 fellowship course, a collaboration with University of Puerto Rico, integrates 3- and 6-month on-site follow-ups, both to measure progress and to provide essential project-based support. To expand the capacity building, we are planning to collaborate with Latin American institutions to initiate a regional network of training nodes offering low-cost applied conservation GIS training and follow-up to conservation groups, wildlife managers, and university students APPLYING THE EXPERIENCE OF THE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE MOVEMENT TO CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY. TIEMANN, MICHAEL; Souza, Bruno. Red Hat, NC State University Centennial Campus, 1801 Varsity Drive, Raleigh, NC, 27606 USA. The open source software movement has been very successful in ensuring a free exchange of information and intellectual creations. Recent developments to patent and restrict biodiversity information led scientists and conservationists to face similar problems, battles and cultural hurdles to those I saw when I founded Cygnus, the world's first company based exclusively on free software. Although the analogies of my experiences are helpful, a second factor is even more important: open source innovation has led to products and technologies that can give scientists efficiencies and abilities unavailable under a proprietary IP regime. Put another way, open source could be both the fulcrum and the lever that scientists could use to "move the world" out of the rut of excessive IP fragmentation and back onto the road to enlightenment. WhateverABSTRACTS Universidade de Brasília, Brazil, July 2005 technologies or applications that open source lack, scientists can provide if the right partnerships are in place. This is exactly the kind of cross-pollination that stimulates new, unexpected innovation GIS AS A TOOL TO ASSESS THE EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON BIRD DIVERSITY IN PUERTO RICO. SUAREZ-RUBIO, MARCELA; Thomlinson, John R. Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico, PO Box 21910, San Juan, PR 00931-1910, USA, xilecram((AT))yahoo.com. Human population growth and expansion and intensification of human land use have resulted in fragmentation of natural habitats through conversion of native vegetation into pastures, agriculture and urban development. Urbanization may have greatest local effect on wildlife due to its persistence on the landscape and its dissimilarity to natural land cover. An accelerating pattern of rural development and deforestation is one of the most important factors affecting bird populations in Puerto Rico. Only 1.2% of lowland moist seasonal evergreen forests are protected. Generally, these forests occur at lower elevations where rates of land-cover conversion to urban and developed areas are highest. Therefore, Puerto Rico offers a unique opportunity to assess how spatial arrangement of remnant forest patches influences the bird community in an urbanized landscape. The urban landscape is a complex mosaic of biological and physical patches within a matrix of infrastructure. GIS enables us to manage large quantities of spatial and nonspatial data and analyze, measure, and plan for future monitoring, and provides another perspective on the data, integrating information in spatial overlays. GIS is a profitable tool to assess extent of changes and predict future conditions of bird communities as protected areas increase or decrease over tim REMOTE SENSING AND THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY: POTENTIAL FOR INTEGRATION INTO REGULAR, GLOBAL ASSESSMENTS. STEININGER, MARC; NASA-NGO group. Conservation International M St., NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20036, USA, m.steininger((AT))conservation.org. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the United Nations (UN) has set a goal of reducing the rate of loss of the components of global biodiversity by 2010. The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) was created for technical oversight and in order to assess progress towards reaching that goal, SBSTTA has created the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on indicators. In decision VII/30, the Conference of the Parties identified "trends in the extent of selected biomes, ecosystems and habitats" as an indicator of th e goal. Subsequently, the AHTEG identified remote sensing as a means for measuring biome, ecosystem and habitat trends (AHTEG, October 2004). While biological diversity cannot be directly monitored from space, maps of land cover change from satellite data can approximate rates of habitat loss and/or conversion from which species loss can be inferred. A judicious combination of remotely sensed data, ground sampling, expert knowledge of species trends and species use of habitats form a solid basis for assessing biodiversity. Nations are encouraged to conduct their own independent monitoring. However there will also be global analyses necessary to assess progress. The NASA-NGO group consists of members from 10 Conservation NGOs.ABSTRACTS Universidade de Brasília, Brazil, July 2005. Society for Conservation Biology - Brasilia 2005 News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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