SummaryThe conservation performance of protected areas (PAs) is typically measured according to whether species are likely to be present within PAs. However, to attain the goal of long-term conservation it is important to consider the performance of PAs in terms of their ability to support the persistence of the species they contain. We used the concept of minimum viable population (MVP) size to examine the potential for PAs within a large national PA network to support mammal species over the long term. By developing habitat models for each species and estimating the area required to support the MVP size for each species, we identified whether each PA had sufficient habitat to meet the species’ requirements. We found that as a whole the PA network is able to support at least one viable population for all species studied. However, the extent of protection offered to species by the PA network varies considerably, with many PAs not able to support viable populations of individual species on their own. By understanding the capacity of PAs to provide long-term protection to species, our findings can guide strategies to increase the resilience of PA networks as a whole, including by improving habitat quality within and connectivity between PAs.

中文翻译：

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公共和私人保护区可以共同努力，促进哺乳动物的长期生存

摘要保护区 (PA) 的保护绩效通常根据保护区内是否可能存在物种来衡量。然而，为了实现长期保护的目标，重要的是要考虑保护区在支持其所含物种持续存在的能力方面的表现。我们使用最小可行种群 (MVP) 大小的概念来检查大型国家 PA 网络中 PA 长期支持哺乳动物物种的潜力。通过为每个物种开发栖息地模型并估算支持每个物种的 MVP 大小所需的面积，我们确定了每个 PA 是否有足够的栖息地来满足物种的需求。我们发现，作为一个整体，PA 网络能够支持所有研究物种的至少一个可行种群。然而，保护区网络为物种提供的保护程度差异很大，许多保护区无法独自支持单个物种的生存种群。通过了解保护区为物种提供长期保护的能力，我们的研究结果可以指导提高保护区网络整体弹性的策略，包括改善保护区内的栖息地质量和保护区之间的连通性。