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PubMed2003

Beta2-microglobulin amyloidosis: insights from conservation analysis and fibril modelling by protein docking techniques.

Current data suggest that globular domains may form amyloids via different mechanisms. Nevertheless, there are indications that the initiation of the process takes place invariably in the less stable segments of a protein domain. We have studied the sequence and structural conservation of beta(2)-microglobulin that deposits into fibrils in dialysis-related amyloidosis. The dataset includes 51 high-resolution non-redundant structures of the antibody constant domain-like proteins (C1) and 132 related sequences. We describe a set of 30 conserved residues. Among them, 23 are conserved structurally, 16 are conserved sequentially and nine are conserved both sequentially and structurally. Strands A (12-18), G (91-95) and D (45-55) are the less conserved and stable segments of the domain, while strands B (22-28), C (36-41), E (62-70) and F (78-83) are the conserved and stable segments. We find that the conserved residues form a cluster with a network of interactions. The observed pattern of conservation is consistent with experimental data including H/D exchange, urea denaturation and limited proteolysis that suggest that strands A and G do not participate in the amyloid fibril. Additionally, the low conservation of strand D is consistent with the observation that this strand may acquire different conformations as seen in crystal structures of bound and isolated beta(2)-microglobulin. We used a docking technique to suggest a model for a fibril via stacking of beta(2)-microglobulin monomers. Our analysis suggests that the favored monomer building block for fibril elongation is the conformation of the isolated beta(2)-microglobulin, without the beta-bulge on strand D and without strands A and G participating in the fibril beta-sheet structure. This monomer retains all the conserved residues and their network of interactions, increasing the likelihood of its existence in solution. The inter-strand interaction between the two (monomer) building blocks forms a new continuous beta-sheet such that addition of monomers results in a fibril model that has the characteristic cross-beta structure.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

Intronic sequences flanking alternatively spliced exons are conserved between human and mouse.

Comparison of the sequences of mouse and human genomes revealed a surprising number of nonexonic, nonexpressed conserved sequences, for which no function could be assigned. To study the possible correlation between these conserved intronic sequences and alternative splicing regulation, we developed a method to identify exons that are alternatively spliced in both human and mouse. We compiled two exon sets: one of alternatively spliced conserved exons and another of constitutively spliced conserved exons. We found that 77% of the conserved alternatively spliced exons were flanked on both sides by long conserved intronic sequences. In comparison, only 17% of the conserved constitutively spliced exons were flanked by such conserved intronic sequences. The average length of the conserved intronic sequences was 103 bases in the upstream intron and 94 bases in the downstream intron. The average identity levels in the immediately flanking intronic sequences were 88% and 80% for the upstream and downstream introns, respectively, higher than the conservation levels of 77% that were measured in promoter regions. Our results suggest that the function of many of the intronic sequence blocks that are conserved between human and mouse is the regulation of alternative splicing.

3' Flanking Region↗
PubMed2006

Gaps and mismatches between global conservation priorities and spending.

Several international conservation organizations have recently produced global priority maps to guide conservation activities and spending in their own and other conservation organizations. Surprisingly, it is not possible to directly evaluate the relationship between priorities and spending within a given organization because none of the organizations with global priority models tracks how they spend their money relative to their priorities. We were able, however to evaluate the spending patterns of five other large biodiversity conservation organizations without their own published global priority models and investigate the potential influence of priority models on this spending. On average, countries with priority areas received greater conservation investment; global prioritization systems, however explained between only 2 and 32% of the U.S. dollars 1.5 billion spent in 2002, depending on whether the United States was removed from analyses and whether conservation spending was adjusted by the per capita gross domestic product within each country. We also found little overlap in the spending patterns of the five conservation organizations evaluated, suggesting that informal coordination or segregation of effort may be occurring. Our results also highlight a number of potential gaps and mismatches in how limited conservation funds are spent and provide the first audit of global conservation spending patterns. More explicit presentation of conservation priorities by organizations currently withoutpriority models and better tracking of spending by those with published priorities are clearly needed to help make future conservation activities as efficient as possible.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Conservation science and forest service policy for roadless areas.

Questions persist regarding whether the science of conservation biology can successfully affect environmental decision making. One of the most prominent fields of intersection between conservation science and environmental policy is public-lands debates in the United States. I reviewed the role of conservation science in the roadless-area policies of the U.S. Forest Service. Since 1971, the Forest Service has systematically evaluated roadless areas on national forests three times, most recently during the Clinton administration's Roadless Area Conservation Review (1998-2000) (U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service 2000b). Drawing on the agency's environmental impact statements and supporting documents and the internal records of conservation organizations, I examined the changing goals, methodology, and outcome of roadless-area advocacy and policy Since the 1970s, conservation science has successfully informed public and administrative concern for roadless-area protection. Conservation science has transformed public discourse regarding roadless areas and has changed the scope and rationale of national conservation organizations' goals for roadless-area policy from protecting some to protecting all remaining national forest roadless areas. The Forest Service has increasingly drawn on the lessons of conservation biology to justify its methodology and its administrative recommendations to protect roadless areas. The 2000 Roadless Area Conservation Review resulted in a recommendation to protect all remaining national forest roadless areas, up from 22% of roadless areas in the first roadless review. Despite the scientific merits of recent roadless-area advocacy and policy, however such initiatives have faced political difficulties. The emphasis on large-scale, top-down, national approaches to conservation policy has rendered such policies politically problematic.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed2001

Evolution of gene order conservation in prokaryotes.

BACKGROUND: As more complete genomes are sequenced, conservation of gene order between different organisms is emerging as an informative property of the genomes. Conservation of gene order has been used for predicting function and functional interactions of proteins, as well as for studying the evolutionary relationships between genomes. The reasons for the maintenance of gene order are still not well understood, as the organization of the prokaryote genome into operons and lateral gene transfer cannot possibly account for all the instances of conservation found. Comprehensive studies of gene order are one way of elucidating the nature of these maintaining forces. RESULTS: Gene order is extensively conserved between closely related species, but rapidly becomes less conserved among more distantly related organisms, probably in a cooperative fashion. This trend could be universal in prokaryotic genomes, as archaeal genomes are likely to behave similarly to bacterial genomes. Gene order conservation could therefore be used as a valid phylogenetic measure to study relationships between species. Even between very distant species, remnants of gene order conservation exist in the form of highly conserved clusters of genes. This suggests the existence of selective processes that maintain the organization of these regions. Because the clusters often span more than one operon, common regulation probably cannot be invoked as the cause of the maintenance of gene order. CONCLUSIONS: Gene order conservation is a genomic measure that can be useful for studying relationships between prokaryotes and the evolutionary forces shaping their genomes. Gene organization is extensively conserved in some genomic regions, and further studies are needed to elucidate the reason for this conservation.

Conserved Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Hydration in drug design. 3. Conserved water molecules at the ligand-binding sites of homologous proteins.

Water molecules are known to play an important rôle in mediating protein-ligand interactions. If water molecules are conserved at the ligand-binding sites of homologous proteins, such a finding may suggest the structural importance of water molecules in ligand binding. Structurally conserved water molecules change the conventional definition of 'binding sites' by changing the shape and complementarity of these sites. Such conserved water molecules can be important for site-directed ligand/drug design. Therefore, five different sets of homologous protein/protein-ligand complexes have been examined to identify the conserved water molecules at the ligand-binding sites. Our analysis reveals that there are as many as 16 conserved water molecules at the FAD binding site of glutathione reductase between the crystal structures obtained from human and E. coli. In the remaining four sets of high-resolution crystal structures, 2-4 water molecules have been found to be conserved at the ligand-binding sites. The majority of these conserved water molecules are either bound in deep grooves at the protein-ligand interface or completely buried in cavities between the protein and the ligand. All these water molecules, conserved between the protein/protein-ligand complexes from different species, have identical or similar apolar and polar interactions in a given set. The site residues interacting with the conserved water molecules at the ligand-binding sites have been found to be highly conserved among proteins from different species; they are more conserved compared to the other site residues interacting with the ligand. These water molecules, in general, make multiple polar contacts with protein-site residues.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Transboundary Conservation: An Ecoregional Approach to Protect Neotropical Migratory Birds in South America

/ Future conservation efforts will need to transcend geopolitical boundaries in efforts to protect entire landscapes and ecosystems. Neotropical migratory birds are as a group a useful conservation tool for linking diverse landscapes and people due to their dependence on multiple habitats, sensitivity to habitat changes, and universal public appeal. The conservation of neotropical migrants can therefore function as a powerful hemispheric umbrella for ecosystem protection. Efforts to protect neotropical migratory birds on their nonbreeding grounds have traditionally been focused on Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. To assess the importance of South America to neotropical migrants, an ecoregional classification system was used to determine species distributions in the Andean/Southern Cone Region (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela). The occurrence of migrants in protected areas that are part of The Nature Conservancy's Parks in Peril program was also assessed. Of the 406 neotropical migrant species, nearly one third (132) occur as regular nonbreeding residents in the region and for almost half of these species (53), South America is their main nonbreeding ground. All Parks in Peril sites were found to harbor neotropical migrants. Forty-eight species (36%) have declining long-term North American Breeding Bird Survey population trends and/or high Partners in Flight concern scores and thus are of significant conservation concern. Most importantly, 29 species (22%) of conservation concern use South America as their primary nonbreeding ground, indicating a need for focused conservation action. The nature of the ecoregional approach used in this endeavor makes future prioritization of ecoregions and conservation strategies for neotropical migrants across national boundaries possible. The ability to link diverse landscapes using a common element such as migratory birds allows for unique transboundary partnerships and opportunities for habitat conservation, which support the goal of the Conservancy's new Migratory Bird Initiative.KEY WORDS: Neotropical migratory birds; Transboundary conservation; Ecoregions; Protected areas; South America

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Comparison of conservation within and between the Ser/Thr and Tyr protein kinase family: proposed model for the catalytic domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor.

The protein kinase family can be subdivided into two main groups based on their ability to phosphorylate Ser/Thr or Tyr substrates. In order to understand the basis of this functional difference, we have carried out a comparative analysis of sequence conservation within and between the Ser/Thr and Tyr protein kinases. A multiple sequence alignment of 86 protein kinase sequences was generated. For each position in the alignment we have computed the conservation of residue type in the Ser/Thr, in the Tyr and in both of the kinase subfamilies. To understand the structural and/or functional basis for the conservation, we have mapped these conservation properties onto the backbone of the recently determined structure of the cAMP-dependent Ser/Thr kinase. The results show that the kinase structure can be roughly segregated, based upon conservation, into three zones. The inner zone contains residues highly conserved in all the kinase family and describes the hydrophobic core of the enzyme together with residues essential for substrate and ATP binding and catalysis. The outer zone contains residues highly variable in all kinases and represents the solvent-exposed surface of the protein. The third zone is comprised of residues conserved in either the Ser/Thr or Tyr kinases or in both, but which are not conserved between them. These are sandwiched between the hydrophobic core and the solvent-exposed surface. In addition to analyzing overall conservation in the kinase family, we have also looked at conservation of its substrate and ATP binding sites. The ATP site is highly conserved throughout the kinases, whereas the substrate binding site is more variable. The active site contains several positions which differ between the Ser/Thr and Tyr kinases and may be responsible for discriminating between hydroxyl bearing side chains. Using this information we propose a model for Tyr substrate binding to the catalytic domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR).

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2006

Linkage disequilibrium of evolutionarily conserved regions in the human genome.

BACKGROUND: The strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) recently found in genic or exonic regions of the human genome demonstrated that LD can be increased by evolutionary mechanisms that select for functionally important loci. This suggests that LD might be stronger in regions conserved among species than in non-conserved regions, since regions exposed to natural selection tend to be conserved. To assess this hypothesis, we used genome-wide polymorphism data from the HapMap project and investigated LD within DNA sequences conserved between the human and mouse genomes. RESULTS: Unexpectedly, we observed that LD was significantly weaker in conserved regions than in non-conserved regions. To investigate why, we examined sequence features that may distort the relationship between LD and conserved regions. We found that interspersed repeats, and not other sequence features, were associated with the weak LD tendency in conserved regions. To appropriately understand the relationship between LD and conserved regions, we removed the effect of repetitive elements and found that the high degree of sequence conservation was strongly associated with strong LD in coding regions but not with that in non-coding regions. CONCLUSION: Our work demonstrates that the degree of sequence conservation does not simply increase LD as predicted by the hypothesis. Rather, it implies that purifying selection changes the polymorphic patterns of coding sequences but has little influence on the patterns of functional units such as regulatory elements present in non-coding regions, since the former are generally restricted by the constraint of maintaining a functional protein product across multiple exons while the latter may exist more as individually isolated units.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed1999

Breast conservation therapy in the United States following the 1990 National Institutes of Health Consensus Development Conference on the treatment of patients with early stage invasive breast carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: A National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference on the treatment of patients with early stage invasive breast carcinoma, held in June 1990, recommended breast conservation therapy for the majority of women with Stage I or II breast carcinoma. The authors evaluated the national use of breast conservation therapy before and after the conference to determine whether the conference had had an impact on utilization. METHODS: Women with Stage I or II breast carcinoma (n = 109,880), diagnosed during the years 1983-1995, were identified via 9 population-based cancer registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute. The likelihood of breast conservation surgery versus mastectomy and, among women who underwent breast conservation surgery, the likelihood of postoperative radiation therapy versus none, were assessed for 3 time periods (January 1983 to April 1985, May 1985 to June 1990, and July 1990 to December 1995). Associations between the use of breast conservation surgery or postoperative radiotherapy according to patient stage, age, race, and region were compared among women diagnosed before and after the NIH Consensus Development Conference. RESULTS: From 1985 (the year that the U.S. randomized controlled trial demonstrating equivalent efficacy between breast conservation therapy and mastectomy was published) through 1989, approximately 35% of women with Stage I and 19% of women with Stage II breast carcinoma underwent breast conservation surgery; these percentages remained constant throughout this period. Beginning in 1990, the year of the NIH Consensus Development Conference, the use of breast conservation surgery increased in each subsequent year; by 1995, 60% of women with Stage I and 39% of women with Stage II breast carcinoma received such treatment. However, regional variation in use was observed (Stage I, range 41.4-71.4% for 1995) and no registry reported breast conservation therapy for the majority of women with Stage II disease (range, 23.8-48.0%). The use of postoperative radiotherapy for women who underwent breast conservation surgery was similar in the periods before and after the conference. CONCLUSIONS: Although breast conservation therapy was performed more frequently following the NIH Consensus Development Conference, variation in use by region of the U.S. suggests the continued presence of barriers to widespread adoption of the recommendations formulated at the conference.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) in children--role of conservative management.

Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is an annoying postoperative complication. Though the diagnosis can be made easily, the role of conservative management in children is controversial. Hence a study was conducted to determine the role of conservative management, and to identify the factors that can predict / influence the outcome of conservative treatment in children with ASBO. Children admitted with ASBO from 1980 to 2002 (22 year period) formed the material for this study. The data was analyzed with respect to the influence of age at the time of presentation, primary disease for which original laparotomy was done, time interval between the primary surgery and the development of ASBO and the number of laparotomies prior to the development of ASBO on the outcome of conservative management. There were 74 episodes of ASBO in 69 children (Five children had two episodes). Out of 74 episodes, 5 episodes (6.75%) needed immediate laparotomy for suspected gangrene. All others were managed conservatively. Of the 69 episodes managed conservatively, 36 responded to conservative treatment (2-5 days) while 33 required subsequent surgical intervention, with 11 of them requiring bowel resection (two for gangrene and 9 for bowel damage during adhesiolysis) and in the rest 22 cases adhesiolysis. A substantial number of children with ASBO respond well to conservative treatment. Majority of the children developed ASBO within three months after the primary laparotomy. Children below the age of one year (at the time of presentation with ASBO) responded poorly to the conservative management. Children who had primary surgery for Hirschsprung's disease and intussusception also appeared to have responded poorly to conservative management, but statistically not significant. Time interval between the primary surgery and the number of laparotomies before the child developed ASBO did not influence the outcome of conservative management.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Protein simple sequence conservation.

Protein simple sequences, a subset of low-complexity sequences, are regions of sequence highly enriched in one or a few residue types. Simple sequences are exceedingly common, the average being more than one per protein sequence. Despite being so common, such sequences are not well-studied. The simple sequences that have been subjected to detailed study are often found to possess important functions. Here we present a survey of protein simple sequences, generally enriched in a single residue type, with the aim of studying their conservation. We find that the majority of such simple sequences are not conserved. However, conserved protein simple sequences are relatively common, with approximately 11% of the surveyed protein families possessing a conserved simple sequence. The data obtained in this study support the idea that simple sequences are conserved for functional reasons. Such functions can range from substrate binding, to mediating protein-protein interactions, to structural integrity. A perhaps surprising finding is that the residue enriching a conserved simple sequence is itself not necessarily conserved. Neither is the length of many of the highly conserved simple sequences. In the few cases where structural and functional data is available it is found that the conserved simple sequences are consistent with both local structure and function. The data presented support the idea that protein simple sequences can be conserved and have important roles in protein structure and function.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

Statistical evidence for a more than 800-million-year-old evolutionarily conserved genomic region in our genome.

Identification of conserved genomic regions between different species is crucial for the reconstruction of their last common ancestor. Indeed, such regions of conservation in today's species (if not due to chance) may either constitute stigmata of an ancestrally conserved region or result from a series of independent convergent events. The more phylogenetically distant the compared species are, the more we expect rearrangements and thus difficulties in finding regions of conservation. Here we decipher with strong evidence conserved genomic regions between vertebrates (human and zebrafish) and arthropods (Drosophila and Anopheles). This work includes a robust phylogenetic analysis in conjunction with a stringent statistical testing that allowed the significant rejection of a "by chance" conservation hypothesis. The conservation of gene clusters across four different species from two phylogenetically distant groups makes the hypothesis of an ancestral conservation more likely and parsimonious than the hypothesis of individual convergent events. This result shows that, in spite of more than 800 million years of divergence and evolution from their last common ancestor, we can still reveal stigmata of conservation between all these species. The last common ancestor of zebrafish, human, Drosophila, and Anopheles is the common ancestor of all protostomes and deuterostomes known as "Urbilateria." This study reveals clusters of probably ancestrally conserved genes and constitutes an advance toward the reconstruction of the genome of Urbilateria. Thus this work allows a better understanding of the evolutionary history of metazoan genomes, including our genome.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The relationship between conservation, thermodynamic stability, and function in the SH3 domain hydrophobic core.

To investigate the relationships between sequence conservation, protein stability, and protein function, we have measured the thermodynamic stability, folding kinetics, and in vitro peptide-binding activity of a large number of single-site substitutions in the hydrophobic core of the Fyn SH3 domain. Comparison of these data to that derived from an analysis of a large alignment of SH3 domain sequences revealed a very good correlation between the distinct pattern of conservation observed at each core position and the thermodynamic stability of mutants. Conservation was also found to correlate well with the unfolding rates of mutants, but not to the folding rates, suggesting that evolution selects more strongly for optimal native state packing interactions than for maximal folding rates. Structural analysis suggests that residue-residue core packing interactions are very similar in all SH3 domains, which provides an explanation for the correlation between conservation and mutant stability effects studied in a single SH3 domain. We also demonstrate a correlation between stability and the in vivo activity of mutants, and between conservation and activity. However, the relationship between conservation and activity was very strong only for the three most conserved hydrophobic core positions. The weaker correlation between activity and conservation seen at the other seven core positions indicates that maintenance of protein stability is the dominant selective pressure at these positions. In general, the pattern of conservation at hydrophobic core positions appears to arise from conserved packing constraints, and can be effectively utilized to predict the destabilizing effects of amino acid substitutions.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2003

High intron sequence conservation across three mammalian orders suggests functional constraints.

Several studies have demonstrated high levels of sequence conservation in noncoding DNA compared between two species (e.g., human and mouse), and interpreted this conservation as evidence for functional constraints. If this interpretation is correct, it suggests the existence of a hidden class of abundant regulatory elements. However, much of the noncoding sequence conserved between two species may result from chance or from small-scale heterogeneity in mutation rates. Stronger inferences are expected from sequence comparisons using more than two taxa, and by testing for spatial patterns of conservation in addition to primary sequence similarity. We used a Bayesian local alignment method to compare approximately 10 kb of intron sequence from nine genes in a pairwise manner between human, whale, and seal to test whether the degree and pattern of conservation is consistent with neutral divergence. Comparison of the three sets of conserved gapless pairwise blocks revealed the following patterns: The proportion of identical intron nucleotides averaged 47% in pairwise comparisons and 28% across the three taxa. Proportions of conserved sequence were similar in unique sequence and general mammalian repetitive elements. We simulated sequence evolution under a neutral model using published estimates of substitution rate heterogeneity for noncoding DNA and found pairwise identity at 33% and three-taxon identity at 16% of nucleotide sites. Spatial patterns of primary sequence conservation were also nonrandomly distributed within introns. Overall, segments of intron sequence closer to flanking exons were significantly more conserved than interior intron sequence. This level of intron sequence conservation is above that expected by chance and strongly suggests that intron sequences are playing a larger functional role in gene regulation than previously realized.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Designing large-scale conservation corridors for pattern and process.

A major challenge for conservation assessments is to identify priority areas that incorporate biological patterns and processes. Because large-scale processes are mostly oriented along environmental gradients, we propose to accommodate them by designing regional-scale corridors to capture these gradients. Based on systematic conservation planning principles such as representation and persistence, we identified large tracts of untransformed land (i.e., conservation corridors) for conservation that would achieve biodiversity targets for pattern and process in the Subtropical Thicket Biome of South Africa. We combined least-cost path analysis with a target-driven algorithm to identify the best option for capturing key environmental gradients while considering biodiversity targets and conservation opportunities and constraints. We identified seven conservation corridors on the basis of subtropical thicket representation, habitat transformation and degradation, wildlife suitability, irreplaceability of vegetation types, protected area networks, and future land-use pressures. These conservation corridors covered 21.1% of the planning region (ranging from 600 to 5200 km2) and successfully achieved targets for biological processes and to a lesser extent for vegetation types. The corridors we identified are intended to promote the persistence of ecological processes (gradients and fixed processes) and fulfill half of the biodiversity pattern target. We compared the conservation corridors with a simplified corridor design consisting of a fixed-width buffer along major rivers. Conservation corridors outperformed river buffers in seven out of eight criteria. Our corridor design can provide a tool for quantifying trade-offs between various criteria (biodiversity pattern and process, implementation constraints and opportunities). A land-use management model was developed to facilitate implementation of conservation actions within these corridors.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed2006

The questionable effectiveness of science spending by international conservation organizations in the tropics.

The general context of conservation in the tropics--in the Amazon basin and elsewhere--is stagnant or declining funding and rapidly growing threat levels. For conservation programs this makes strategic deployment of limited conservation resources all the more important. International conservation organizations active in the tropics increasingly define themselves as science driven and expend considerable resources on science-based activities such as ecoregional analysis, field research, and monitoring of ecological variables. l argue that an overemphasis on science has generated a series of unintended but serious problems for conservation in the tropics. Spending on monitoring and ecoregional analysis has effectively starved protection and threat analysis of resources. A decoupling of biology from serious cost-benefit analysis has led to the privileging of small-scale and local analyses, rather than the systemic analyses essential for the strategic allocation of scarce conservation resources. Successful conservation in the tropics depends on the crossing of biogeography with sophisticated threat analysis to identify priority geographies for protection. This should be combined with much more systematic engagement with the principal drivers of tropical deforestation, especially agribusiness. Caution and a sense of proportion are required when balancing the financial demands of science and those of protection. I suggest that conservation organizations should cooperate far more in assembling and analyzing information on conservation spending and on threat levels and biogeography at the continental, national, and regional levels. Site selection should follow rather than precede this kind of strategic analysis, and sites should be considered elements of a network rather than stand-alone projects. More attention should be paid to market-driven conservation through techniques such as certification and responsible supply-chain management.

Brazil↗
PubMed2006

Measurement and meaningfulness in conservation science.

Incomplete databases often require conservation scientists to estimate data either through expert judgment or other scoring, rating, and ranking procedures. At the same time, ecosystem complexity has led to the use of increasingly sophisticated algorithms and mathematical models to aid in conservation theorizing, planning, and decision making. Understanding the limitations imposed by the scales of measurement of conservation data is important for the development of sound conservation theory and policy. In particular, biodiversity valuation methods, systematic conservation planning algorithms, geographic information systems (GIS), and other conservation metrics and decision-support tools, when improperly applied to estimated data, may lead to conclusions based on numerical artifact rather than empirical evidence. The representational theory of measurement is described here, and the description includes definitions of the key concepts of scale, scale type, and meaningfulness. Representational measurement is the view that measurement entails the faithful assignment of numbers to empirical entities. These assignments form scales that are organized into a hierarchy of scale types. A statement involving scales is meaningful if its truth value is invariant under changes of scale within scale type. I apply these concepts to three examples of measurement practice in the conservation literature. The results of my analysis suggest that conservation scientists do not always investigate the scale type of estimated data and hence may derive results that are not meaningful. Recognizing the complexity of observation and measurement in conservation biology, and the constraints that measurement theory imposes, the examples are accompanied by suggestions for informal estimation of the scale type of conservation data and for conducting meaningful analysis and synthesis of this information.

Algorithms↗