Wildlife Conservation on Private Land: A Social-Ecological Systems Study

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Citizen Science

Background:

• Human activity is a major driver of wildlife population decline.
• Private land conservation presents complex challenges within social-ecological systems.
• Effective wildlife management requires integrating diverse data and stakeholder knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate wildlife management challenges on private land through a citizen science project.
• To analyze the relationships between wildlife populations and various ecological, socio-economic, and land management variables.
• To provide actionable insights for landowners to improve wildlife conservation outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A transdisciplinary collaboration involving landholders, researchers, and an environmental organization (WildTracker project).
• Integration of diverse data: social surveys, ecological data, motion sensor cameras, acoustic recorders, and machine learning.
• Statistical analyses including correlation, Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS), and Random Forest machine learning.

Main Results:

• Complex relationships exist between wildlife populations and ecological, socio-economic, and land management factors.
• Both site-scale habitat and landscape-scale vegetation patterns predict mammal and bird activity, with distinct relationships for each group.
• Threatened species, like the eastern quoll, were found in human-modified habitats, highlighting the value of heterogeneous landscapes.

Conclusions:

• Ecologically heterogeneous, mixed agricultural landscapes are vital for wildlife conservation.
• Thresholds in habitat fragmentation emphasize the need for cross-private land collaboration.
• Participatory research models are effective tools for addressing complex conservation issues in the Anthropocene.