Progress 06/18/02 to 09/30/03
Outputs
We critically reviewed scientific literature on Florida panthers to identify strengths and weaknesses of existing research, and to recommend future analyses and research priorities. A quarter-century of research strongly supports many published conclusions, including that forests are important as daytime rest sites of panthers, that the most important threats to panther persistence include limited habitat area and continued habitat loss and fragmentation, and that recovery of the panther depends most critically on establishing additional populations outside of south Florida. The genetic outcrossing program begun in 1995 seems to have been a great success. On the other hand, we also found poorly supported inferences. The conclusions that panthers prefer large forest patches and are reluctant to travel from forests are unreliable because the analyses excluded (without mention or rationale) a large fraction of the available data, ignored errors inherent in telemetry data,
and did not rigorously compare used habitats to habitats available to the radio-tagged panthers. Re-analysis of existing data can address most issues related to habitat use. The conclusion that Everglades National Park and most of Big Cypress National Preserve are poor habitat for panthers is not scientifically supported; future performance of panthers in these areas will resolve this issue. Population Viability Analyses (PVA) conducted to date have used relatively inflexible software, and the most recent PVA used an unwarranted estimate of 80% annual survival of newborn panthers. We recommend analysis of existing data to estimate vital rates and variation in those rates. To guide the re-analysis of existing data on contentious issues (such as habitat preference), we recommend that stakeholders develop research protocols in a workshop setting. To address the longer-term issues of future research and monitoring, the Scientific Review Team recommends the creation of a Scientific
Steering Committee that would be encouraged to communicate directly with the public, and to which researchers, agency employees, and other stakeholders would have direct access. As an appendix to this report, we provide an annotated bibliography of literature on the Florida panther.
Impacts
Our report was accepted by funding agencies (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and US Fish and Wildlife Service) in December 2003. Our report should lead the Fish and Wildlife Service to abandon procedures previously used to evaluate impact of projects that removed natural vegetation in panther habitat. We also expect that future research priorities will be influenced by our recommendations.
Publications
- Beier, P., M. R. Vaughan, M. J. Conroy, and H. Quigley. 2004 In preparation. The role of science in endangered species management: the Florida panther as a case study. To be submitted as a Wildlife Monograph.
- Beier, P., M. R. Vaughan, M. J. Conroy, and H. Quigley. 2003. An analysis of scientific literature related to the Florida panther. Report to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and US Fish and Wildlife Service. 211 pages, including an annotated bibliography. Available at http://oak.ucc.nau.edu/pb1/vitae/Panther-SRT.pdf
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