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5029258 
Book/Book Chapter 
Chapter 26: Contributions of meta-analysis to conservation and management 
Cote, IM; Stewart, GB 
2013 
Princeton University Press 
Princeton, NJ 
Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution 
English 
is part of a larger document 5029185 Handbook of Meta-analysis in Ecology and Evolution
This chapter looks back through the relatively short history of meta-analyses and systematic reviews of conservation interest and highlights four areas to which these methods have contributed significantly. These include challenging conventional wisdom, measuring effectiveness of management interventions, replacing large-scale monitoring with small-scale surveys, and identifying gaps in knowledge. The chapter shows that meta-analyses and systematic reviews have contributed to answering a number of important applied questions. However, although these answers often have clear implications for conservation policy and legislation, they currently remain the focus of primarily academic interest. Given a little more time, evidence bases that are collated using systematic reviews, particularly in association with meta-analysis, are expected to increasingly influence decision making in the environmental sector, just as they have in medical fields.