Pathways for achieving conservation targets under metacoupled anthropogenic disturbances

Area of Science:

• Conservation Science
• Urban Ecology
• Landscape Ecology

Background:

• Global conservation efforts prioritize protected area connectivity, especially in human-impacted coastal zones.
• Quantitative assessment of human-nature interactions within protected areas is lacking.
• Rapid urbanization poses significant challenges to biodiversity and ecosystem function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To model connectivity between protected areas in rapidly urbanizing regions of China.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of adding new sites versus expanding existing ones for connectivity.
• To identify key 'stepping stone' sites within the protected area network.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the metacoupling framework to analyze connected corridors at multiple distances.
• Modeled connectivity patterns in a rapidly urbanizing coastal region.
• Assessed the impact of different protected area expansion strategies on network connectivity.

Main Results:

• Adding new protected areas significantly enhances connectivity compared to expanding existing ones.
• Identified specific 'stepping stone' sites crucial for maintaining network connectivity.
• Demonstrated the importance of considering human activities and natural environments in conservation planning.

Conclusions:

• Prioritizing the establishment of new protected areas is more effective for connectivity gains.
• Connectivity conservation strategies are critical for regional biodiversity targets.
• A pragmatic methodology is proposed for local protection initiatives in urbanizing areas.