Global Ecology and Conservation 3 (2015) 736–743 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Global Ecology and Conservation journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gecco Review paper Application of habitat thresholds in conservation: Considerations, limitations, and future directions Yntze van der Hoek a,b,* , Benjamin Zuckerberg c , Lisa L. Manne a,b a College of Staten Island, 6S-117, 2800 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA b Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016, USA c Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA article info Article history: Received 20 February 2015 Received in revised form 27 March 2015 Accepted 27 March 2015 Available online 8 April 2015 Keywords: Extinction threshold Minimum area requirements Tipping points Area-sensitivity Habitat abstract Habitat thresholds are often interpreted as the minimum required area of habitat, and subsequently promoted as conservation targets in natural resource policies and plan- ning. Unfortunately, several recent reviews and messages of caution on the application of habitat thresholds in conservation have largely fallen on deaf ears, leading to a dan- gerous oversimplification and generalization of the concept. We highlight the preva- lence of oversimplification/over-generalization of results from habitat threshold studies in policy documentation, the consequences of such over-generalization, and directions for habitat threshold studies that have conservation applications without risking overgener- alization. We argue that in order to steer away from misapplication of habitat thresholds in conservation, we should not focus on generalized nominal habitat values (i.e., amounts or percentages of habitat), but on the use of habitat threshold modeling for comparative exercises of area-sensitivity or the identification of environmental dangers. In addition, we should remain focused on understanding the processes and mechanisms underlying species responses to habitat change. Finally, studies could that focus on deriving nominal value threshold amounts should do so only if the thresholds are detailed, species-specific, and translated to conservation targets particular to the study area only. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Contents 1. On the applicability of habitat thresholds for conservation.............................................................................................................. 737 2. Over-generalization: dissemination and communication of threshold findings to policy makers and practitioners .................. 737 3. Example of consequences of oversimplification of habitat thresholds as conservation targets .................................................... 738 4. Future directions: potential of habitat threshold studies for conservation and management ....................................................... 740 4.1. Identifying vulnerable species and landscapes...................................................................................................................... 740 4.2. Identifying and understanding broad-scale environmental threats .................................................................................... 741 4.3. Threshold estimation with ecologically relevant predictor variables .................................................................................. 741 5. Concluding remarks ............................................................................................................................................................................. 742 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................................................... 742 References............................................................................................................................................................................................. 742 * Corresponding author at: College of Staten Island, 6S-117, 2800 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY 10314, USA. E-mail address: yntzevanderhoek@gmail.com (Y. van der Hoek). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2015.03.010 2351-9894/© 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).