Cost-efficient conservation for the white-banded tanager (Neothraupis fasciata) in the Cerrado, central Brazil

Population viability analyses are widely used to support decisions for the management of single species, but there are few studies that explicitly take into account realistic economic costs. In this study we determine the most cost-efficient conservation management options for the white-banded tanager (Neothraupis fasciata) in the protected areas of the Cerrado in central Brazil. We use the PVA model VORTEX to simulate the ability of different management options to improve population persistence and then assess the effectiveness of each option given a fixed budget. We discover that the best strategy for improving the viability of white-banded tanager populations is to use fire management and nest protection to increase fecundity. In small reserves and a low budget then fire management alone is the best strategy, but if the budget is larger fire management with nest protection as a mixed strategy is better. In large reserves the best strategy is to do nest protection and with large budgets there is a negligible difference between spending all the money on nest protection versus a mixed strategy. If we had not included financial considerations in our analysis of management options then we would have discarded fire management as an option, even though it can be the best strategy.