AUTHOR=Albers Heidi J. , Cisneros-Pineda Alfredo , Tschirhart John TITLE=Conservation Actions in Multi-Species Systems: Species Interactions and Dispersal Costs JOURNAL=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution VOLUME=9 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution/articles/10.3389/fevo.2021.707375 DOI=10.3389/fevo.2021.707375 ISSN=2296-701X ABSTRACT=

We use the General Equilibrium Ecosystem Model (GEEM) parameterized to Wyoming sagebrush to explore the impact of two common simplifications in bio-economic policy frameworks on species conservation decisions. First, we compare conservation policies based on 2-species food web models to those based on a more complex food web. We find that using the simpler model can miss opportunities for more conservation benefits in the presence of species interactions. Second, we define the impact of species dispersal costs on population distributions in a heterogenous landscape and explore conservation policies to reduce those costs to enable species to move away from disturbed areas. Conservation actions that reduce dispersal costs for all species reflect species interactions and thresholds that determine which species disperse.