Effective monitoring for adaptive wildlife management: Lessons from the Galapagos Islands

Successful monitoring underpins effective wildlife management insofar as monitoring serves to track the response of wildlife resources to management and to identify whether management should be continued or changed. Here we provide both general guidelines and specific examples for the design and implementation of effective monitoring programs for adaptive wildlife management based, in part, on lessons we have learned in the Galapagos Islands, where development of a comprehensive monitoring program for its wildlife is underway. To be effective, wildlife monitoring programs should (1) be framed by well-articulated objectives that are closely linked to management goals; (2) measure a subset of informative indicators with sampling methods that permit unbiased and statistically powerful results while minimizing costs and logistical problems; (3) ensure program continuity despite the vagaries of change in personnel, technology, and program objectives; and (4) quickly make accessible appropriately analyzed information to a wide audience, particularly policymakers. Only through such an integrated process can the adaptive "loop" in wildlife management be closed and management practices and policies evolve in a manner ultimately beneficial to wildlife, both in Galapagos and elsewhere.