This document discusses the use of surrogate species for biodiversity monitoring and inventory preparation. It defines surrogate species as species used to represent other species or aspects of the environment. The document outlines different types of surrogate species including biodiversity indicators, umbrella species, focal species, landscape species, flagship species, and keystone species. It provides criteria for selecting surrogate species and discusses their use in defining conservation areas, documenting environmental impacts, and as management indicators. The document also describes a case study comparing the effectiveness of an inventory-based conservation plan versus a focal species plan for an area in North Carolina. The inventory plan was more effective but also more costly than the focal species plan.

1. Use of surrogate species for biodiversity monitoring & inventory
preparation
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SUBMITTED BY :-
SOUBHAGYA SMRUTI RANJAN
TRIPATHY
01SAF/16

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species that are used to
represent other species or
aspects of the
environment to attain a
species that represent the
whole pool or subsets of
the species pool, or they
may be species groups
that represent the species
pool.
are likely to be most useful
when the number of
species being protected or
monitored is uncertain, or
the spatial extent of the
surrogate species or surrogate taxa, defined as

3. Considerations before selecting……………….
 The nature of the system :- depends on the spatial scale considered and the
species richness of the system.
 In small area & At regional or continental scales
 The management context :- may not be useful where the primary objective
is to foster game species.
 The level of knowledge :- lack of sufficient information, poor understanding
of ecology & life history of species, feasibility of using detailed species-
specific information in management.
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4.  CRITERIA FOR SELECTING SURROGATE SPECIES :-
The criteria for selecting surrogates that can be used to
identify, select, and rank conservation areas are strongly
influenced by the spatial scale of the analysis.
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• the surrogates typically selected are
biodiversity indicators .
At global, continental,
national geographic
• landscape species and umbrella species
perform better as surrogates .
At regional and local
spatial scales

5. Taxonomy of Surrogate Species:-
Surrogate species is divided into three major categories.
1. Species used to define areas of conservation interest
• biodiversity indicators
• umbrella species
• focal species
• landscape species
2. used to document effects of environmental or management conditions
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6.  Common to Focal, Umbrella, and Landscape Species
1. Species are representative
2. Use large areas
3. Occupy a variety of habitats
4. Vulnerable to environmental stressors
5. Feasible to monitor
 Focal Species (Lambeck 1997) (Most demanding of resources/area)
 Umbrella Species (Well-known natural history and ecology, High
probability of population persistence)
 Landscape Species (Requires processes and ecological functions at the
landscape level, Social and economic significance)
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7. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING SURROGATES AS
BIODIVERSITY INDICATORS
 Represents other species or some other
ecologically important feature
 Species at risk
 Restricted range
 Biome restricted species sets
 Species that congregate during a life
stage
 Feasible to monitor
 Available data
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8. UMBRELLA SPECIES
 May be stated as the presence of a particular species
in a geographical area indicates that other species
will also be present.
 so focusing conservation effort on the umbrella
species will benefit other members of the biotic
community .
 Classic umbrella species
 Local umbrella species
 Management umbrella species.
 Early applications of the umbrella species concept
focused on large mammals and birds. E.g- northern
spotted owl, amur tiger(russia)
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9. FOCAL SPECIES
 Lambeck (1997) argued that it would
be more appropriate to use a set of
species rather than a single umbrella
species.
 He recommended using a suite of
species, each of which is used to define
the characteristics of different
landscape attributes
 He called this set of species “focal
species” and argued that the spatial,
compositional, and functional
requirements of these “focal species”
could be used to develop explicit
guidelines.
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Bison is a focal species for
N.American prairie

10. LANDSCAPE SPECIES
 Sanderson defined as those use large,
diverse areas & have significant
impacts on the structure and function
of natural ecosystems.
 A landscape species integrates
elements from several types of
surrogate species and results in the
ability to define the conservation needs
of a landscape.
 E.g ixoras in deccan, Lagerstroemia
flosreginae , Rosenberg’s goanna
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Rosenberg’s goanna

11. CRITERIA FOR SELECTING SURROGATES AS
MANAGEMENT OR ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
 Feasible to monitor
 Sensitive to the change of interest
 Response to change is known,
predictable, and have low variability
 Response to change should be specific
and not influenced by other factors
 Response of indicator should represent
beneficiary species
 Response can be anticipatory.
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12. INDICATOR SPECIES
 Moore 1st time used “indicator species” as a conservation tool.
Landres defined an indicator species as “an organism whose
characteristics (e.g., presence or absence, population density,
dispersion, reproductive success) are used as an index of attributes
too difficult, inconvenient, or expensive to measure for other species
or environmental conditions of interest.
3 main types.
 environmental conditions indicators- commonly used as surrogates
to monitor the effects of environmental conditions on ecological
systems.
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13. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS INDICATORS
 management indicators:-
species used to track the
effects of management
actions on the species.
e.g.- clams, oysters etc.
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biodiversity indicators :-
surrogates intended to
convey meaningful
information about
something larger than the
surrogate itself. E.g.-Beetles
& spiders in Switzerland

14. FLAGSHIP SPECIES
 Species used to reflect public support
for conservation efforts.
 not truly serve as a surrogate species
Uses of flagship species
I. Conservation awareness
II. Fund raising
III. Promoting ecotourism
IV. Community-based conservation
V. Promotion of funded research
VI. Protection of species/habitat
VII. Influencing policy
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The Seven-colored Tanager is a flagship
species for the forest birds of Brazil.

15. keystone species
 Introduced by Paine as a ‘species
whose population is “the keystone
of the community’s structure,”
whereby the integrity and stability
of the community are determined
by its activities and abundance.’
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 Used for measurements of
habitat or other direct physical
measurements as surrogates for
conservation targets
environmental surrogates

16. STEPS OF SELECTION
1. Develop and clearly specify management or conservation objectives
2. Specify the geographic scale
3. Determine which species to consider
4. Identify species that need special conservation planning
5. Determine whether to use a surrogate or a grouping approach
6. Decide which criteria to use in determining species groups or surrogates
7. Determine and implement the analysis to establish surrogates or groups
8. Test for logic and consistency
9. Identify knowledge gaps and uncertainties
10. Monitor the effectiveness of the approach
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17. Use of surrogate species in inventory preparation
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Biological
planning
Conservation
design
Conservation delivery
Out-come based
monitoring
Assumption based
research

18. Use of surrogate species in inventory preparation
 INTRODUCTION
1. Species used to define areas of conservation interest
2. Species used to document effects of environmental or management conditions
(B) USING SURROGATE SPECIES TO DEFINE IMPORTANT CONSERVATION AREAS
1 BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT
2 LANDSCAPE DESIGN
3 RESERVE SELECTION
4 ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SURROGATES
 SELECTING SURROGATE SPECIES
 THE VALIDITY OF THE SURROGACY ASSUMPTION
 ASSESSING USE AS A CONSERVATION TOOL
 CONCLUSIONS
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Study Area Triangle Region — North Carolina — USA
Inventories, surrogate approach: A case study

20. 20Approach
Inventory
Data
Habitat
Mapping
Conservation
Principles
Random
Selection
Inventory-
Based Plan
Focal Species
Plan
Simple
Plans
Selected
Model
Test Against Inventory Data
Effectiveness of each Plan

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Focal Species Plan
animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
www.owlpages.com
Extensive undisturbed
lands
Bobcat
Eastern box turtle
Riparian & bottomland
Barred owl
Upland
Ovenbird
Broad-winged hawk
wildwnc.org
www.birdperch.com
Inventory-based Plan
• Based on Natural
Heritage
Inventory.
• Considered
species habitat
needs and
community
extent.
• Created a map of
core conservation
lands.

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Effectiveness :-
Inventory plan more effective & used less land … but
more costly
Plan Effectiveness Area
Inventory 94%
335 km2
(5% of forest)
Focal Species 87%
2,446 km2
(37% of forest)
Most “effective” surrogate plans protected more than 35% of land

23. References . . .
I. 1999_08_CARO AND DOHERTY 1999
II. HTTP://BIOSCIENCE.OXFORDJOURNALS.ORG/
III. CARO2010CONSERVATION BY PROXY_INDICATOR,
IV. U.S FISH & WILD LIFE
V. HTTPS://WWW.FWS.GOV

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