title: Minimizing species extinctions through strategic planning for conservation fencing.
abstract: Conservation fences are an increasingly common management action, particularly for species threatened by invasive predators. However, unlike many conservation actions, fence networks are expanding in an unsystematic manner, generally as a reaction to local funding opportunities or threats. We conducted a gap analysis of Australia's large predator-exclusion fence network by examining translocation of Australian mammals relative to their extinction risk. To address gaps identified in species representation, we devised a systematic prioritization method for expanding the conservation fence network that explicitly incorporated population viability analysis and minimized expected species' extinctions. The approach was applied to New South Wales, Australia, where the state government intends to expand the existing conservation fence network. Existing protection of species in fenced areas was highly uneven; 67% of predator-sensitive species were unrepresented in the fence network. Our systematic prioritization yielded substantial efficiencies in that it reduced expected number of species extinctions up to 17 times more effectively than ad hoc approaches. The outcome illustrates the importance of governance in coordinating management action when multiple projects have similar objectives and rely on systematic methods rather than expanding networks opportunistically.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Goddard Building, St Lucia, 4067, Australia.
authors.forename: Jeremy L
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0704-5212
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ringma
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wintle
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Goddard Building, St Lucia, 4067, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Goddard Building, St Lucia, 4067, Australia.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bode
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001315:Australia; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D009517:New South Wales; D000070318:Strategic Planning
keywords: cerca de exclusión de depredadores; especies no-nativas invasoras; invasive alien species; optimización espacial; population viability; predator exclusion fence; spatial optimization; translocation; traslocación; viabilidad poblacional