Should you share location data of threatened species?
Scientists publishing locations of rare species have been blamed for helping poachers drive them to extinction, such as the聽.
But an international group of scientists lead by from the University of Sydney and the University of Queensland believes that data publishing is important to help many species.
The findings are published today in聽.
Exact population locations of the recently rediscovered elusive night parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis), in the arid zone of Australia, were kept secret; however historical published data is helping conservation managers to understand the species better. Credit Nicholas P. Leseberg. Top of page:聽Researchers recommend data 聽about Malaysia鈥檚 Rafflesia be published with restrictions to protect populations from tourists and poachers. Photo by聽聽via Wikimedia Commons.
鈥淪pecies, like Australia鈥檚 tiny grassland earless dragon, have received greater environmental protection because published data was available to show that they were in trouble,鈥� said Dr Tulloch.
鈥淭he challenge is to share data in a way that avoids perverse outcomes such as local species extinctions from human exploitation.
鈥淚t is undeniable that in some cases, poachers have used published data to hunt down rare animals for the illegal wildlife trade.
鈥淎nd even well-meaning people like bird watchers and sight seers can sometimes do damage when enough of them trample a patch of habitat.
鈥淲hich is why scientists and conservationists have in nature photos to help preserve species.
A key aspect is identifying whether poaching or disturbance from eager spectators poses a threat.
鈥淏ut stopping all data publishing is not the answer. Data publishing has also led to improved protection and conservation for many species.聽
鈥淕ood data helps conservation managers know where action is needed.鈥�
Dr Tulloch - whose affiliations include The Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions and the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the National Environmental Science Program; and the聽聽- said sharing data takes a balanced approach.
To address the challenge, Dr Tulloch, along with Professors and from the collaborated with local and international scientists to design a framework to help researchers and conservationists choose how to share sensitive data.
鈥淎 key aspect is identifying whether poaching, illegal trade or disturbance from eager spectators really poses a real threat which can鈥檛 be managed," Dr Tulloch said.
鈥淭hen there are a number of ways you can deal with that data, such as only showing locations in 100km grid squares, that could allow it to be published without putting those species at risk.
鈥淭he sharing of species information is here to stay; being clear about the pros and cons of making the data public will ensure that species are not put in more danger from new data being out in the public domain.鈥�
