19th Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology BOOK OF ABSTRACTS Universidade de Brasília Universidade de Brasília Brasília, DF, Brazil 15th -19th July 2005 Universidade de Brasília, Brazil, July 2005 Local Organizing Committees EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SPECIAL EVENTS COMMITTEE Miguel Ângelo Marini, Chair (OPENING, ALUMNI/250TH/BANQUET) Zoology Department, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil Danielle Cavagnolle Mota (Brazil), Chair Jader Soares Marinho Filho Regina Macedo Zoology Department, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil Fiona Nagle (Topic Area Networking Lunch) Regina Helena Ferraz Macedo Camilla Bastianon (Brazil) Zoology Department, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil John Du Vall Hay Ecology Department, Universidade de Brasília, Brazil WEB SITE COMMITTEE Isabella Gontijo de Sá (Brazil) Delchi Bruce Glória PLENARY, SYMPOSIUM, WORKSHOP AND Rafael Cerqueira ORGANIZED DISCUSSION COMMITTEE Miguel Marini, Chair Jader Marinho PROGRAM LOGISTICS COMMITTEE Regina Macedo Paulo César Motta (Brazil), Chair John Hay Danielle Cavagnolle Mota Jon Paul Rodriguez Isabella de Sá Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Venezuela Javier Simonetti PROGRAM AND ABSTRACTS COMMITTEE Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Cien- cias, Universidad de Chile, Chile Reginaldo Constantino (Brazil), Chair Gustavo Fonseca Débora Goedert Conservation International, USA and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil Eleanor Sterling SHORT-COURSES COMMITTEE American Museum of Natural History, USA Guarino Rinaldi Colli (Brazil), Chair Martin Acosta (Cuba) CONTRIBUTED ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS COMMITTEE STUDENT ACTIVITIES Jader Marinho, Chair Cristian Olivo (Bolívia), Chair Alfredo Cuarón (México) Fiona Nagle (USA) Aubrey Tauer (USA) Adrian Garda (Brazil) TRAVEL AWARDS COMMITTEE John Hay, Chair STUDENT-ASSISTANTS COMMITTEE Lorena Calvo (Guatemala) Carla Morsello (Brazil), Chair FIELD TRIPS COMMITTEE Marcelo Gonçalves de Lima (Brazil), Chair FUNDRAISING/SPONSORSHIP/ EXHIBITORS COMMITTEE Regina Macedo, Chair Arturo Sánchez (Canadá) Isabella de Sá (Brazil) ii XIX Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology ABSTRACTS Ordered by last name of first author Author Index at the end of this book iii XIX Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology ABSTRACTS 1. IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MARINE response strategies and action plans for managers to stem the in- CONSERVATION THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF troduction and expansion of introduced species on coral reefs and SOCIO-ECONOMIC MONITORING METHODS. Aalbers- related habitats. berg, William; Guilbeaux, Michael D.; Mejia, Manuel N.; Reynolds, Jim; Seeto, Pamela; SALAFSKY, NICK; Tawake, Alifereti. Community Conservation Network; 212 3. TOWARDS A BASIN-WIDE STRATEGY FOR CON- Merchant Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813, USA. Email: SERVING THE AQUATIC BIODIVERSITY OF THE AMA- [email protected] (T) 808-780-1855 (MDG). ZON BASIN. ABELL, ROBIN; McGrath, David. World Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th St. NW, Washington, DC 20037, Marine conservation projects in the Indo-Pacific typically strug- USA, [email protected], (RA); Núcleo de Altos Estudos gle through similar challenges, many in isolation, losing precious Amazônicos, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, Brasil. time in their efforts to stem the rapid depletion of marine resources 66.075-900, [email protected] (DM). and biodiversity. In a effort to better link biological knowledge and conservation action with the measurement and achievement Conservation biologists and managers agree that river basins are of conservation success, a “Learning Network” of community- appropriate units for freshwater biodiversity and water resource based marine projects has been initiated which focuses on capac- planning and implementation, but how can this principle be ap- ity building, evaluation of project success, and sharing learning. plied to the Amazon River Basin, the largest watershed in the The Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) Network operates world? What elements of planning and implementation need to in eight countries, numerous sites, and uses a common framework extend across the entire Amazon, and which can be targeted over to determine conditions under which an LMMA approaches work, smaller areas, from sub-basins down to individual water bodies? don’t work, and why. An LMMA is defined as an area of wa- In this presentation we address these questions, drawing from ter that is actively being managed by local communities. Socio- work in the Amazon and in other large river basins around the economic information, in addition to bio-physical data, is volun- world. We argue that while important work can and does occur tarily collected by participating projects which assists in providing over smaller areas, a basin-wide plan that identifies the scales over feedback to stakeholders and in the evaluation of project success. which drivers and threats operate is critical to ensuring that basin- Collective sharing of skills, data, experiences, and lessons allows wide processes are maintained. We present a step-wise framework projects to learn more quickly and adapt and improve their man- for basin-wide planning in the Amazon, and also discuss neces- agement activities. In some countries, such as Fiji, the practition- sary institutional mechanisms for implementation, especially con- ers and villages participating in the LMMA Network have devel- sidering the transnational nature of the basin. We also discuss how oped locally-appropriate socio-economic monitoring approaches smaller-scale innovations can be either scaled up or replicated. We which have provided important feedback to community members, conclude with a discussion of research and collaborative needs, in- NGOs, government agencies, and policy makers. For example, cluding ways of integrating terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity when elements of a mangrove ecosystem were managed for sus- conservation that capitalize on efforts to designate protected areas. tainability in Verata Village, the community witnessed a signifi- cant increase in clams, mud lobsters, and household income. Other potential success stories and lessons learned from the Network ex- 4. EFFECT OF CHROMOSOMAL POLYMORPHISM perience. IN THE CONSERVATION OF BRAZILIAN DWARF RED BROCKET DEER (Mazama nana). ABRIL, VANESSA V.; 2. NON-INDIGENOUS MARINE SPECIES: AN EMERG- Duarte, José M. B. Departamento de Genética e Melhoramento ING THREAT TO IMPACTED CORAL REEFS. ABDULLA, Animal, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinária, Univer- AMEER; Floerl, Oliver. Global Marine Programme, IUCN- sidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, SP, 14884-900, Brazil, World Conservation Union, Parque Tecnologico de Andalucia, [email protected] (VVA). Calle Maria Curie, 35, Malaga, Spain, [email protected]; National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, New The Mazama nana populations have several troubles with strong Zealand, O.fl[email protected]. antropic pressure in the remaining forest fragments of its distribu- tion’s areas. Besides this problem previous studies had detected a The spread of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) has become a chromosomal polymorphism in the species that can negatively in- global environmental issue due to a rapid increase in commercial terfere in the reproductive rates, speeding up the species extinction shipping and recreational boating over the past century, activities process. This work looked for to identify the rearrangements and that may introduce species to locations outside their native biogeo- involved chromosomes, with the aim of establish a relation be- graphical range. Outbreaks of marine NIS can have serious eco- tween the karyotypic variants and the possibility of reproductive logical and economic impacts in affected regions, and may even isolation between specimens. We analyzed 24 captive individuals pose a threat to human health. In tropical waters, disturbed or de- by C-banding, G-banding and NOR-banding techniques. A poly- graded habitats such as bleached or tsunami-hit coral reefs may morphic system of Robertsonian fusions was characterized by 9 be at particular risk of being colonized by marine NIS. One such chromosomal variants (2n=36 to 41, NF=54 and 56) that are not area, the Seychelles archipelago, experienced 80-95% coral mor- related to the geog raphic origin of the animals. The majority of tality following the 1997/1998 El-Nino. We conducted a baseline the individuals had been heterozygous for different centric fusions. survey for the distribution of marine NIS in the main port and other This rearrangement type has minimal impact and generally does shipping environments on the main island of Mahe, as well as sur- not cause severe problems in the production of balanced gametes rounding healthy and degraded coral reefs. The results of these in the heterozygote. The possibility of polymorphism to interfere surveys are presented and their implications on reef recovery are with the intrapopulation fertility exists and will depend on the fu- discussed. Targeted monitoring of high-value areas is essential for sion characteristics, the involved chromosomes and the number of early detection of NIS in degraded and protected coral reef habi- rearrangements. This should be considered in the development of tats. This understanding must be complemented with incursion in and ex situ conservation programs to this species. 1 ABSTRACTS Universidade de Brasília, Brazil, July 2005 5. PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE HUMAN SETTLE- humid tropics, fire incidence is one measure