Institutional fit in the maintenance of dynamic habitat networks for metapopulations

Abstract

Species living in metapopulations depend on connected habitat networks for survival. If habitat networks experience fast temporal dynamics, species conservation requires preventing habitat discontinuities that could lead to metapopulation extinctions. Few institutional solutions exist for the maintenance of dynamic habitat networks.

Institutional fit is a conceptual framework to study how well institutions are aligned with the realities they manage or govern. We studied the institutional fit of false heath fritillary (Melitaea diamina) conservation in Finland from the perspective of conservation institutions' ability to manage early successional habitat availability for this endangered species.

We carried out thematic interviews to detail the goals, priorities, decision-making processes, collaborations and practices of false heath fritillary conservation in Finland. We contrasted our findings against literature on (false heath fritillary) metapopulation dynamics in dynamic habitat networks. We found functional, spatial and temporal misfits in the institutions that manage habitat availability for the false heath fritillary. Consequently, we identified four institutional arrangements that enable effective conservation management of dynamic habitat networks - they provide institutional flexibility for responding to temporal changes in habitat availability and therefore alleviate the found institutional misfits.

(1) Acknowledgment of habitat dynamics in the levels and forms of governance that control local-level task prioritization, operational tools and resources is needed to address habitat discontinuities as a conservation challenge. Such acknowledgement could be invoked e.g. in the documented causes of threat or in the objectives of species-specific recovery plans.

(2) Monitoring changes in the habitat network, organized at shorter time intervals than the expected habitat lifetimes, allows management plans to be iterated based on up-to-date data on the system state. The use of standardized measures in monitoring accumulates data for predicting system dynamics and for estimating the annual need for maintenance.

(3) Management of resources for fluctuating resource needs allows conservation managers to respond to changes in the habitat network across time and space with activities that best minimize habitat discontinuities for the species of interest. This requires understanding of the species' metapopulation dynamics and budgets that can be allocated flexibly in time and space despite land property type.

(4) Scaling of activities through flexible collaborations enables fast responses to increased maintenance needs. Wider time frames of resource availability, longer planning horizons and long-term contracts enable the build-up of collaboration networks.

References: 1. Fabritius H, Jokinen A & Cabeza M. 2017. Metapopulation perspective to institutional fit: Maintenance of dynamic habitat networks. Ecology and Society 22.