A comparison of reserve selection algorithms using data on terrestrial vertebrates in Oregon

• Published in: Biological conservation Vol. 80; no. 1; pp. 83 - 97
• Main Authors: Csuti, Blair, Polasky, Stephen, Williams, Paul H., Pressey, Robert L., Camm, Jeffrey D., Kershaw, Melanie, Kiester, A.Ross, Downs, Brian, Hamilton, Richard, Huso, Manuela, Sahr, Kevin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.04.1997; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Vertebrata; Oregon; United States; North America; America; USA, Oregon; Terrestrial environment; Vertebrata; Spatial distribution; Nature reserve; Selection criterion; Linear programming; Mathematical model; Algorithm; Comparative study; Environmental protection
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3207(96)00068-7

We compare the number of species represented and the spatial pattern of reserve networks derived using five types of reserve selection algorithms on a set of vertebrate distribution data for the State of Oregon (USA). The algorithms compared are: richness-based heuristic algorithms (four variations), weighted rarity-based heuristic algorithms (two variations), progressive rarity-based heuristic algorithms (11 variations), simulated annealing, and a linear programming-based branch-and-bound algorithm. The linear programming algorithm provided optimal solutions to the reserve selection problem, finding either the maximum number of species for a given number of sites or the minimum number of sites needed to represent all species. Where practical, we recommend the use of linear programming algorithms for reserve network selection. However, several simple heuristic algorithms provided near-optimal solutions for these data. The near-optimality, speed and simplicity of heuristic algorithms suggests that they are acceptable alternatives for many reserve selection problems, especially when dealing with large data sets or complicated analyses.