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Spatial scale and the conservation of threatened species

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The spatial scale of conservation necessary to avoid species extinctions is one of the most vigorous debates in conservation biology. One approach holds that protecting sites should be the primary level for action on the ground, the other that conservation action targeting broader seascapes and landscapes is more important. We address this debate systematically by assessing the appropriate spatial scales of conservation for all 4,239 threatened mammals, birds, tortoises and turtles, and amphibians. We find that, in the short- to medium term, 20% of these species are dependent on conservation at single sites, 62% on multiple sites, 18% on both sites and sea- or landscape-scale efforts, and

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2008.00002.x
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