Baselines and Benchmarks

Map of the annual cycle for whimbrels from the Mackenzie Delta breeding population.

The annual cycle of whimbrels

January 13, 2022

Nightjar Network to Begin Exciting New Chapter

April 2, 2022

Published by Center for Conservation Biology at January 14, 2022

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Annual Report

Cover of the CCB 2021 Annual Report.

By Bryan Watts
1/14/2022

Our perception of the natural world around us is shaped by first-hand experience. But our world is rapidly changing and through generation upon generation our baselines are shifting. Today, we think little of traveling two hours for the privilege of hearing a species that was part of everyday experience in the time of our grand parents. As conservation biologists, one of our greatest fears is that one day a generation will wake up with no awareness that the species ever existed – that a choir of 10,000 unique voices will fade into the haze of generational amnesia.

Mother and daughter shop in the Andes of Peru. Although we may have cultural differences, we as humans all share a need for dignity, joy, fulfillment, community and a deep dependence on the natural world. It will be the prerogative of new generations to decide how much they value and want to maintain wild populations and the natural world we all depend on. One of our roles in the present is to establish benchmarks that will inform their decisions. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Seaside sparrow standing on eelgrass wrack in the Chesapeake Bay. Seaside sparrows depend entirely on coastal marshes and historically were the most abundant marsh bird in the region. The Center has established population benchmarks over the past 30 years that suggest seasides are experiencing ongoing declines. Photo by Bryan Watts.

As observers we stand along the shoreline and marvel as the osprey dips down and plucks a fish from the water. As scientists we stand along the same shoreline and wonder how many osprey would have fished these waters a century ago. Our charge is to measure the rise and fall of populations in order to inform societal decisions. Quantitative comparisons back to previous benchmarks are how we assess population change. One of our frustrations is the dearth of credible population benchmarks from the past. Without points of reference, we are lost on a featureless sea without any sense of direction.

Cliff swallow feeding young. Cliff swallows have been expanding their breeding range eastward from the mountains and piedmont into the coastal plain. We know the rate and distribution of this expansion because The Center has established benchmarks over time. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Michael Academia changes a memory card on a nest camera set up on an osprey nest in the Chesapeake Bay to document diet and provisioning rates. The Center has established multiple population, distribution, demographic and ecological benchmarks for this population since 1970. Photo by Bryan Watts.

Establishing population and ecological benchmarks has become a specialty of The Center for Conservation Biology. We have established hundreds of benchmarks. Beyond considering the integrity of the benchmarks themselves, we have given care to repeatability. These benchmarks are gifts to future researchers and managers who will be charged with safeguarding the natural world into the future. They will be referenced over and over through the generations to come. The brief 2021 CCB annual report is dedicated to our work establishing benchmarks.