Trade-offs in the design of cost-effective habitat networks when conservation costs are variable in space and time

The consideration of economic costs can dramatically influence the cost-effective allocation of resources spent on the conservation of biodiversity. In the face of ecological and economic data scarcity, simple rules are needed for the design of cost-effective habitat networks. A conceptual semi-analytical ecological-economic model is developed that is based on metapopulation theory and takes into account that the costs of conservation may be spatially heterogeneous and changing in time. The model is used to study trade-offs between amount, spatial connectivity and temporal continuity of habitat. The cost-effective levels of habitat connectivity and continuity are determined as functions of species attributes and economic parameters like the distribution of conservation costs. The results are relevant for the design of cost-effective conservation instruments.