Learning Objectives

23.5.1 Summarize why the rarity of a species may be both helpful and misleading as an indicator of its endangerment.

23.5.2 Describe the potential benefits of using a surrogate species to help conserve habitat and other species found in that habitat.

Conservation efforts can succeed. Indeed, an analysis concluded that conservation actions have reduced the rate of loss of threatened vertebrates by over 20% (Hoffmann et al. 2010). But such successes are outweighed by the severity of ongoing threats. How do we allocate the limited resources that are available for species conservation? Do we protect those species that are most threatened, or do we focus on those that play a substantial ecological role? And how should conservation biologists and policymakers decide which areas are critical to protect?