STEP: Conservation Based on Science

Do Private Conservation Activities Match Science-Based Conservation Priorities?

BACKGROUND Private land conservation is an essential strategy for biodiversity protection in the USA, where half of the federally listed species have at least 80% of their habitat on private lands. We investigated the alignment between private land protection conducted by the world's largest land trust (The Nature Conservancy) and the science driven identification of priority areas for conserva...

Taxonomy based on science is necessary for global conservation

Scott A. Thomson*, Richard L. Pyle*, Shane T. Ahyong, Miguel Alonso-Zarazaga, Joe Ammirati, Juan Francisco Araya, John S. Ascher, Tracy Lynn Audisio, Valter M. Azevedo-Santos, Nicolas Bailly, William J. Baker, Michael Balke, Maxwell V. L. Barclay, Russell L. Barrett, Ricardo C. Benine, James R. M. Bickerstaff, Patrice Bouchard, Roger Bour, Thierry Bourgoin, Christopher B. Boyko, Abraham S. H. B...

Conservation Advisory Science Notes

Conservation Advisory Science Notes

What Is Conservation Science?

In 1985, Michael Soulé asked, “What is conservation biology?” We revisit this question more than 25 years later and offer a revised set of core principles in light of the changed global context for conservation. Most notably, scientists now widely acknowledge that we live in a world dominated by humans, and therefore, the scientific underpinnings of conservation must include a consideration of ...