verbs - why does the following title end "...守られる" and not "守られて いる"? just to save space?

I read the title of the article キタシロサイ、地球にたった1匹のオス、24時間体制で守られる as
"The last male rhino on earth is being protected by a system that is active 24-hrs per day."

The " ...is being protected... " makes me want to say "...守られ ている "

1. Were the title: "キタシロサイ、地球にたった1匹のオス、24時間体制で守られ ている ", how would the meaning change?


2. Were space not an issue, would the continuous tense have been used?

Answer

It is headline grammar, not "regular" grammar. Words are often omitted intentionally in article headlines in Japanese just as in English.

In English, you would see "[Name] Shot Dead" instead of "[Name] Has Been Shot Dead" as a headline, would you not?

1.Were the title: "キタシロサイ、地球にたった1匹のオス、24時間体制で守られ ている ", how would the meaning change?

The meaning would stay the same, but it would sound pretty awkward as a headline; It is just too long.

(For fairness, I wonder why you did not mention the absence of a subject marker as well. That, too, is intentional. No は/が in headlines, generally.)

2.Were space not an issue, would the continuous tense have been used?

No, for the reason I stated above, it would not have.