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17 - Providing research for conservation from long-term field sites
- Edited by Christophe Boesch, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany, Roman Wittig, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany
- Edited in association with Catherine Crockford, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany, Linda Vigilant, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany, Tobias Deschner, Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie, Germany, Fabian Leendertz
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- Book:
- The Chimpanzees of the Taï Forest
- Published online:
- 25 November 2019
- Print publication:
- 28 November 2019, pp 272-289
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- Chapter
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Summary
Research for conservation covers a broad spectrum of topics at the interface of ecology, social sciences and economy. Conservation research is conducted in different experimental or observational settings from small to large spatial scales. Biological field stations and long-term research sites offer a unique opportunity to conduct conservation research when established data-collection infrastructure and extensive data records address specific conservation questions. These include the evaluation of conservation interventions or the development and validation of monitoring techniques, for which long-term observations, knowledge of species abundance, or behavioural or ecological data records are needed. This chapter will (i) outline aspects of a conservation research question qualifying it to be addressed at a long-term field site, (ii) list specific questions, studies and disciplines that successfully conducted at the Taï long-term field site and (iii) identify new questions for future conservation research at Taï or other long-term sites. We close the chapter with an outlook on how long-term study sites can attract conservation researchers, with mutual benefit for all parties.
Can methods applied in medicine be used to summarize and disseminate conservation research?
- IOAN FAZEY, JANET G. SALISBURY, DAVID B. LINDENMAYER, JOHN MAINDONALD, ROBERT DOUGLAS
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- Journal:
- Environmental Conservation / Volume 31 / Issue 3 / September 2004
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 11 January 2005, pp. 190-198
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- Article
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To ensure that the best scientific evidence is available to guide conservation action, effective mechanisms for communicating the results of research are necessary. In medicine, an evidence-based approach assists doctors in applying scientific evidence when treating patients. The approach has required the development of new methods for systematically reviewing research, and has led to the establishment of independent organizations to disseminate the conclusions of reviews. (1) Such methods could help bridge gaps between researchers and practitioners of environmental conservation. In medicine, systematic reviews place strong emphasis on reviewing experimental clinical trials that meet strict standards. Although experimental studies are much less common in conservation, many of the components of systematic reviews that reduce the biases when identifying, selecting and appraising relevant studies could still be applied effectively. Other methods already applied in medicine for the review of non-experimental studies will therefore be required in conservation. (2) Using systematic reviews and an evidence-based approach will only be one tool of many to reduce uncertainty when making conservation-related decisions. Nevertheless an evidence-based approach does complement other approaches (for example adaptive management), and could facilitate the use of the best available research in environmental management. (3) In medicine, the Cochrane Collaboration was established as an independent organization to guide the production and dissemination of systematic reviews. It has provided many benefits that could apply to conservation, including a forum for producing and disseminating reviews with emphasis on the requirements of practitioners, and a forum for feedback between researchers and practitioners and improved access to the primary research. Without the Cochrane Collaboration, many of the improvements in research communication that have occurred in medicine over the last decade would not have been possible.