ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Steven was born in South Africa, studied computer science and maths as an undergrad there (University of Natal), followed by a PhD in computer science at Stanford in the U.S., and now 15 years at AT&T Research.
Indices for site prioritization are widely used as a means of addressing the question: which sites are the most important for conservation of biodiversity? We investigate the theoretical underpinnings of target-based prioritization indices, which prioritize sites according to the degree to which they contribute to achieving a set of predetermined conservation targets. We show a strong connection between existing work on site prioritization and the mathematical theory of voting power. Some well-known paradoxes of voting power also apply to commonly-used site prioritization indices; by negating such paradoxes, we develop a set of intuitive axioms that we would like a single-species site prioritization index to obey. We introduce an extremely simple new index, called “fraction-of-spare,” that satisfies all the axioms. As an experimental evaluation, we study the multi-year scheduling of site acquisitions for conservation of forest types in New South Wales, under specific assumptions about clearing rates. We find that for this application, the fraction-of-spare index outperforms 52 existing prioritization indices. We are also able to compute the optimal schedule of acquisitions (under the assumed clearing rates) using mathematical programming techniques, which allows us to conclude that there is still further potential for improvement in the use of site prioritization indices for conservation scheduling.
An international team of scientists has found leaving more big fish in the sea reduces the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the Earth’s atmosphere. When a fish dies in the ocean it si
Australian scientists have discovered a massive detached coral reef just off Cape York on the Great Barrier Reef that’s taller than the Empire State Building or the Sydney Tower. The scientists f
A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades. Lead author Dr Andy Dietzel, from the ARC Centre of Excell
Scientists have found that as the world undergoes profound environmental change, identifying and protecting ‘novel’ communities of species can help prevent extinctions within vulnerable ecosystems
Abstract: Increasing human populations around the world’s coastline have caused extensive loss, degradation and fragmentation of coastal ecosystems. Swift losses of coastal ecosystems have been rec
Abstract: CHE is not a particular theory or a single approach but a collection of lines of research that address human-environmental interactions in coastal and marine systems at the local scale
Abstract: How can we care about something we never see or experience? Virtual reality has the potential to connect people with far-away places, and is an effective medium to generate empathy and sel
Abstract: When abundant, seabirds feeding in the open ocean transport large quantities of nutrients onto islands, enhancing the productivity of island fauna and flora. These nutrients can leach int
Abstract: Current-day populations of coral reef fish suffer when exposed acutely to elevated temperatures, but future warming will occur over greater timescales. Recent studies show that developmenta
Abstract: There is often a mismatch between the scales at which ecosystems are threatened by human impacts and those at which management and policy are implemented. Better understanding the scales ov
Abstract: Ocean warming and acidification are challenging the tolerance limits of scleractinian corals. However, beneficial acclimation and stress-hardening via phenotypic plasticity may be pathw
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
