An efficient formulation to select an optimal set of complementary species

In Tulloch, A. I. T., Chadès, I., Dujardin, Y., Westgate, M. J., Lane, P. W. and Lindenmayer, D. (2016), Dynamic species co-occurrence networks require dynamic biodiversity surrogates. Ecography, 39: 1185–1196. doi:10.1111/ecog.02143, we provide an efficient optimisation formulation to select complementary set of species. This paper was published in December 2016.

My original formulation and solution methods although correct were inefficient for the large datasets that Ayesha was dealing with. Luckily, Yann saved the day with a mathematical programming formulation. This efficient formulation is worth understanding as it can be used to solve many complementary problems in optimal monitoring, conservation planning, project prioritisation, value of information or priority threat management.

Ayesha uses this formulation to show that co-occurence species networks require dynamic set of surrogates.

We also provide the code. As usual, send me an email if you’d like to receive the paper.

 

Accounting for complementary to maximize monitoring power for species management

Congratulations to Ayesha Tulloch. We have a new paper in Conservation Biology that addresses how to monitor management actions. I really like that paper and I hope it will become a good reference, check it out! Note that we also provide the Matlab code.

One challenge faced by researchers and conservation practitioners is designing and implementing effective monitoring programs particularly when funds are limited. Decisions about how to monitor are hindered by uncertainty in management outcomes. This research demonstrates a new framework for addressing the uncertainties in selecting species for monitoring change due to a management action or policy, using network theory and decision analysis.

Tulloch A.I.T., Chadès I., Possingham H.P. (2013) Accounting for Complementarity to Maximize Monitoring Power for Species Management. Conservation Biology 27, 988-999. Abstract