The Species Conservation
Toolkit Initiative (SCTI)

Software for Saving Species

The Species Conservation Toolkit Initiative (SCTI) is a partnership to ensure that the new innovations and tools needed for species risk assessment, conservation planning, and managing populations are developed, are globally available, and are used effectively. The initiative leverages expertise in population biology, computer programming, and species conservation planning to: build and support modeling tools that are essential to guiding conservation actions for thousands of threatened species in the wild; facilitate the intensive management of hundreds of species that are being protected within ex situ programs; and integrate conservation efforts across the spectrum of management approaches.
In 2023, Species360 brought in the Species Conservation Toolkit Initiative, which embodies our dedication to providing practical solutions for conservation challenges. This community funded initiative develops and disseminates tools, resources, and guidelines to empower conservation practitioners and institutions in their mission to protect species.
The software “toolbox” provided by SCTI allows us to assess risks to wildlife, evaluate conservation options, and guide active population management with greater efficiency and realism.

The toolkit contains:

PMx

A package of demographic and genetic analysis tools to assist with the management of breeding programs for wildlife species. PMx is crucial to ZIMS for Studbooks.

Vortex

Provides a stochastic simulation of the extinction process, enabling us to model many of the extinction vortices that threaten the survival of small species populations.

Outbreak

Provides a stochastic simulation of disease dynamics. A crucial tool in helping to predict the survival and potential for disease dynamics of reintroduced species populations.

Metamodel Manager

Links multiple models for simulation of interacting systems. “Metamodels” provide a novel approach to species risk assessment for systems in which diverse threats are most effectively addressed through different disciplines, act at different spatiotemporal scales, or interact in non-linear ways.

Spatial

An agent-based model of the movements of animals on landscapes, which simulates the movements over time, and displays final location, tracks, or density of occupancy.

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Global information
serving conservation.

Species360 facilitates international collaboration in the collection and sharing of data to serve global plant and animal management and conservation goals.