Content of review 1, reviewed on September 10, 2021

This paper focuses on the concept of social-ecological mismatch; a key challenge increasingly being acknowledged in the conservation and environmental management literature. Using four examples they authors’ aim is to argue that social-ecological mismatches are an important aspect of many conflicts over introduced species management, specifically by showing how the spatial or temporal social-ecological mismatches in each example create challenges to the management of each particular species. The paper addresses an important topic, it is well written and the examples provided are interesting. However, I have key concerns that I explain below.
1) While there has been important conceptual and theoretical development in the literature on the topic of social-ecological mismatches the authors fail to address entirely, with the exception of a brief reference to Cumming et al 2006. If the focus is on using the social-ecological mismatch concept to explore challenges in invasive species control I suggest it is important to acknowledge and consider how the conceptual and theoretical developments have been applied to date. 2) Related to the above point, the way the authors treat the concept of “social-ecological mismatch”is not in alignment with conceptual and theoretical developments. In the abstract, the authors state: “We extend the concept to other types of spatio-temporal mismatches” and later they define it as “(1) the spatial and/or temporal scales of the perceived benefits and harmful impacts, or the value assigned to benefits and impacts at different spatial or temporal scales, different among stakeholders, or (2) the spatial or temporal scale at which feasible management approaches are acceptable to segments of society are inadequate to deal with the scale at which perceived harmful impacts occur.” While the second part of this definition is in alignment to conceptual and theoretical developments to date, the first one deviates from it quite noticeably. The deviation wouldn’t be problematic if the authors were to provide solid arguments as to why the concept should be extended in this way. In particular, the extended definition concerns differences in stakeholder values. This is an important issue that has consequences for effective management and invasive species, but it is unclear to me why we should conceptualise these differences as a social-ecological mismatch? The arguments are lacking. The authors provide examples, but these do more to support a value-conflict issue than a social-ecological mismatch issue. 3) Of the four case studies discussed, only case study 1 constitutes an example of social-ecological mismatch. The issues highlighted in case studies, 2, 3 and 4 can be better explained as a value conflict issue than a social-ecological mismatch. While there are temporal and spatial factors in the issues highlighted, they are, in my opinion, not the crux of the issue and presenting them as such distracts from the real issue (the value conflict). My overall suggestion is that if you want to retain the four case studies, that you revise the manuscript to tackle both issues: challenges arising from social-ecological mismatches (temporal and spatial) and challenges arising from value conflicts. In this way I think you will be able to better reflect on the management challenges in your case studies, and be in a better position to make suggestions as to how to tackle them. I suggest some literature below in relation to each issue. Social-ecological mismatches: Epstein, G., et al. (2015). "Institutional fit and the sustainability of social–ecological systems." Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 14: 34-40. Young, O. R. (2002). The institutional dimensions of environmental change: fit, interplay, and scale. Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, MIT Press. Galaz, V., et al. (2008). The problem of fit among biophysical systems, environmental and resource regimes, and broader governance systems: insights and emerging challenges. Institutions and Environmental Change: Principal Findings, Applications, and Research Frontiers. O. Young, L. A. King and H. Schroeder. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press: 147-186. Folke, C., et al. (2007). "The problem of fit between ecosystems and institutions: Ten years later." Ecology and Society 12(1): http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol12/iss11/art30/. Guerrero, A. M., et al. (2013). "Scale Mismatches, Conservation Planning, and the Value of Social-Network Analyses." Conservation Biology 27(1): 35-44. Dallimer, M. and N. Strange (2015). "Why socio-political borders and boundaries matter in conservation." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 30(3): 132-139. Brondizio, E. S., et al. (2009). "Connectivity and the Governance of Multilevel Social-Ecological Systems: The Role of Social Capital." Annual Review of Environment and Resources 34: 253-278. de Oliveira Faria, C. and A. Magrini (2016). "Biodiversity Governance from a Cross-Level and Cross-Scale Perspective: The case of the Atlantic Forest biome in Brazil." Environmental Policy and Governance: n/a-n/a. Wilson, R. S., Hardisty, D. J., Epanchin‐Niell, R. S., Runge, M. C., Cottingham, K. L., Urban, D. L., Maguire, L. A., Hastings, A. , Mumby, P. J. and Peters, D. P. (2016), A typology of time‐scale mismatches and behavioral interventions to diagnose and solve conservation problems. Conservation Biology, 30: 42-49. doi:10.1111/cobi.12632 Some empirical studies addressing scale mismatches: Guerrero, A. M., et al. (2015). "Achieving cross‐scale collaboration for large scale conservation initiatives." Conservation Letters 8(2): 107-117. Bodin, O., et al. (2014). "Conservation success as a function of good alignment of social and ecological structures and processes." Conservation Biology 28(5): 1371-1379. Guerrero, A., et al. (2015). "Achieving social-ecological fit through bottom-up collaborative governance: an empirical investigation." Ecology and Society 20(4). Pittman, J. and D. Armitage (2017). "How does network governance affect social-ecological fit across the land–sea interface? An empirical assessment from the Lesser Antilles." Ecology and Society 22(4). Sayles, J. S. and J. A. Baggio (2017). "Who collaborates and why: Assessment and diagnostic of governance network integration for salmon restoration in Puget Sound, USA." Journal of Environmental Management 186: 64-78. Bergsten, A., et al. (2014). "The problem of spatial fit in social-ecological systems: detecting mismatches between ecological connectivity and land management in an urban region." Ecology and Society 19(4): http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol19/iss14/art16/.

Value conflicts Redpath, S. M., et al. "Understanding and managing conservation conflicts." Trends in Ecology & Evolution 28(2): 100-109. Gregory, R., et al. (2012). "When experts disagree (and better science won't help much): Using structured deliberations to support endangered species recovery planning." Journal of Environmental Management 105: 30-43. Manfredo, M. J., Bruskotter, J. T., Teel, T. L., Fulton, D. , Schwartz, S. H., Arlinghaus, R. , Oishi, S. , Uskul, A. K., Redford, K. , Kitayama, S. and Sullivan, L. (2017), Why social values cannot be changed for the sake of conservation. Conservation Biology, 31: 772-780. doi:10.1111/cobi.12855 Guerrero, A. M., et al. (2017). "Using structured decision‐making to set restoration objectives when multiple values and preferences exist." Restoration Ecology 25(6): 858-865. Veríssimo, D. and B. Campbell (2015). "Understanding stakeholder conflict between conservation and hunting in Malta." Biological Conservation 191: 812-818. Santo, A. R., et al. (2017). "Examining Private Landowners’ Knowledge Systems for an Invasive Species." Human Ecology. Abel, N., et al. (1998). "Mental models in rangeland research, communication and management." Rangeland Journal 20(1): 77-91. Moon, K. and V. M. Adams (2016). "Using quantitative influence diagrams to map natural resource managers’ mental models of invasive species management." Land Use Policy 50: 341-351.

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References

    A., B. E., Daniel, S., L., C. S., Robert, A., A., J. H., L., P. S. 2019. Social-ecological mismatches create conservation challenges in introduced species management. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.