416 Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
are collated and participants have the opportunity to revise their responses based
on the summary (MacMillan and Marshall 2006). The process helps to narrow the
breadth of responses into a more cohesive narrative.
Results
Results are summarised in Figures 34.1–34.7 according to the four themes of (1)
purpose of threatened species monitoring; (2) decisions on which species to
monitor; (3) integration with management; and (4) program development and
implementation.
Discussion
We discuss here the narratives of each of the four themes and consider where and
why these experiences diverge from best practice. The results reveal that, although
different types of organisations share common primary goals for threatened
species monitoring, secondary reasons for monitoring diverge among
organisations. Beyond the common goal of species conservation, secondary
reasons (or purposes) for monitoring are linked to organisational strengths. For
example, when community participation was valued and considered a reason for
monitoring, the organisation cited good engagement and relationships as a good
component of their monitoring program. Conversely, reasons identified less
Fig. 3 4.1. Organisational purpose of threatened species monitoring. Responses given in bold were cited by
more than half of respondents in an institutional category.