Thread by @benflips

1/10. Hi, I'm Ben Phillips, a population biologist @BioSci_UniMelb. In this #SCBMelb21 plenary, I point out the value of an evolutionary perspective in conservation.

2/10. Conservation tends to think about the number of individuals of a species. Is the number increasing, or decreasing? Do we have sufficient habitat to keep the population stable? And so on. #SCBMelb21

3/10. Evolution tends to think about traits, and how they vary. When we look closely, trait variation is everywhere. Even sheep -- those paragons of homogeneity -- vary in body size, wool characters, personality, running speed, fecundity, and so on. #SCBMelb21

4/10. When we think about conservation problems -- any of them -- it is clear that traits are involved. Cats kill bettongs; cane toads invade new areas; tassie devils are susceptible to transmissible cancer; bats are susceptible to heat waves; and so on #SCBMelb21

5/10. But when we think about traits, we think of variation. Not all cats will hunt bettongs; some toads prefer to stay at home; devils vary in disease susceptibility; bats vary in heat tolerance. #SCBMelb21

6/10. This perspective opens up new ideas for conservation. Instead of controlling all cats, why not just target the bettong killers? Can variation in disease resistance rescue devil populations? Can we halt an invasion using homebody toads? bit.ly/3unTyXg #SCBMelb21

7/10. An evolutionary perspective also tells us that selection is ubiquitous, and we would do well to pay attention to it. Threatening processes impose selection, but so do management actions. #SCBMelb21

8/10. Selection driven by management actions may cause unintended consequences. Pests animals might evolve to avoid control efforts; conservation havens may cause rapid loss of antipredator traits. bit.ly/3zS61DV #SCBMelb21

9/10. Almost all of the conservation dollar is spent in the future: ongoing management with ongoing expense into an indefinite future. Management that harnesses variation and natural selection promises a solution; problems that are solved, not patched. #SCBMelb21

10/10. An evolutionary perspective can't solve every problem, but it often provides new ideas and insight. So, whatever conservation problem you work on, think about traits, think about variation, think about selection. Doing so will be worthwhile. #SCBMelb21