Flagship species

The concept of flagship species is a surrogate species concept with its genesis in the field of conservation biology. The flagship species concept holds that by raising the profile of a particular species, it can successfully leverage more support for biodiversity conservation at large in a particular context.

Contents

Definitions

Several definitions have been advanced for the flagship species concept although the concept has for some time been immerse in confusion even in the academic literature.[1] Most of the latest definitions do however focus on the strategic and socio-economical character of the concept, with a recent publication establishing a clear link with the marketing field.[1]

However, more recently, work in the field of microbiology[4][5] has started to use the concept of flagship species is a distinct way. This work relates to the biogeography of micro-organisms and uses particular species as indicators of endemism since "eyecatching “flagships” with conspicuous size and/or morphology are the best distribution indicators".[4]

Examples

Examples of flagship species include the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris), the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), the Golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) and the African elephant (Loxodonta sp.).[1]

Flagship species can represent an environmental feature (e.g. a species or ecosystem), cause (e.g. climate change or ocean acidification), organization (e.g. NGO or government department) or geographic region (e.g. state or protected area).[1][6]

History

The flagship species concept appears have become popular around the mid 1980’s[7] within the debate on how to prioritise species for conservation. The first widely available references to use the flagship concept applied it to both neotropical primates[8] and African elephants and rhinos,[9] in the typical mammal centric approach that still dominates how the concept is used today[10]

The use of the concept has been largely dominated by large bodied species,[11] especially mammals,[10] although species from other taxonomic groups have occasionally been used[12]

Selection

Flagship species can be selected according to many different characteristics depending on what is valued by the audience they try to target.[1] This is best illustrated by the differences in recommendations made for flagship species selection targeting different target audiences such as local communities.[13] and tourists.[11]

Limitations

Several limitations have been recognised concerning he use of flagship species:

Other types of conservation flagships

Conservation flagships can also appear at broader levels, for example as ecosystems (such as coral reefs or rainforests or protected areas (Serengeti or Yellowstone).[1] A number of recent initiatives has developed new conservation flagships based on conservation values of particular areas or species. Examples of these are the EDGE project run by the Zoological Society of London and the Hotspots run by Conservation International.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Veríssimo, D., D. C. MacMillan, and R. J. Smith. 2011. Toward a systematic approach for identifying conservation flagships. Conservation Letters 4:1-8.
  2. ^ Walpole, M.J., Leader-Williams N. (2002) Tourism and flagship species in conservation. Biodiversity Conservation 11, 543–547.(Walpole & Leader-Williams 2002)
  3. ^ Heywood, V.H. (1995) Global biodiversity assessment. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
  4. ^ a b Foissner, W. 2005. Two new "flagship" ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) from Venezuela: Sleighophrys pustulata and Luporinophrys micelae. European Journal of Protistology, 41, 99-117.
  5. ^ Foissner, W. & Stoeck, T. 2006. Rigidothrix goiseri nov gen., nov spec. (Rigidotrichidae nov fam.), a new "flagship" ciliate from the Niger floodplain breaks the flexibility-dogma in the classification of stichotrichine spirotrichs (Ciliophora, Spirotrichea). European Journal of Protistology, 42, 249-267.
  6. ^ Veríssimo, D., D. C. MacMillan, and R. J. Smith. 2011. Marketing diversity: a response to Joseph and colleagues. Conservation Letters 4:326-327.
  7. ^ Frazier, J. 2005. Marine turtles: the role of flagship species in interactions between people and the Sea MAST, 3(2) and 4(1),5–38
  8. ^ Mittermeier, R. 1988. Primate diversity and the tropical forest. Pages 145-154 in E. O. Wilson, editor. Biodiversity. National Academy Press. , Washington, DC.
  9. ^ Mittermeier, R. A. 1986. Primate conservation priorities in the Neotropical region. Pages 221-240 in K. Benirschke, editor. Primates: The road to self-sustaining populations. . Springer- Verlag, New York
  10. ^ a b Leader-Williams, N., and H. T. Dublin. 2000. Charismatic megafauna as ‘flagship species’. Pages 53–81 in A. Entwistle, and N. Dunstone, editors. Priorities for the Conservation of Mammalian Diversity: Has the Panda Had Its Day. Cambridge University Press
  11. ^ a b Veríssimo, D., I. Fraser, R. Bristol., J. Groombridge, and D. MacMillan. 2009. Birds as tourism flagship species: A Case Study on Tropical Islands. Animal Conservation 12:549-558.
  12. ^ Guiney, M.S., Oberhauser K.S. (2008) Insects as flagship conservation species. Terr Arthropod Rev 1, 111–123.
  13. ^ Bowen-Jones E., Entwistle A. (2002) Identifying appropriate flagship species: the importance of culture and local contexts. Oryx 36, 189-195.
  14. ^ a b c Simberloff D. (1998) Flagships, umbrellas, and keystones: Is single-species management passe in the landscape era? Biological Conservation 83, 247-257.

Further reading