Interpol launches new Tiger conservation initiatives

Interpol on Wednesday launched a new initiative to coordinate the global fight against tiger poaching.

Interpol's new Project Predator is designed to help coordinate efforts of police, customs and wildlife officials in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to INTERPOL tackling tiger crime requires an enforcement response that employs advanced, intelligence-led methods of investigation and the engagement of the whole criminal justice system. The response must target the individuals who control this lucrative trade, bring them to justice, and seize any assets obtained through their crimes. The Project has three aims: organize collaborative, high-level international efforts to improve political will; transform this will into departmental support, and train officers in the necessary skills. Activities will focus on capacity building, intelligence management, operational initiatives and advocacy. Police, customs and wildlife enforcement seminars will help develop departmental support. The Project will also call upon countries to establish National Tiger Crime Task Forces that will be connected regionally and internationally through the INTERPOL National Central Bureaus. Through these task forces, the Project hopes to encourage the use of modern intelligence-led enforcement practices for tiger conservation.  

This is an ambitious on-going project continuously seeking support from individuals, organizations and institutions.
If you are interested in helping INTERPOL please click HERE

Noninvasive sampling - Optimized protocols designed to reduce the costs and effort

Optimized methods for high-throughput analysis of hair samples for American black bears (Ursus americanus)

T. Kristensen, K. Faries, D. White, Jr and L. Eggert

Wildl. Biol. Pract., 2011 June 7(1): 123-128

 Traditional methods of studying wildlife are being increasingly replaced by noninvasive sampling particularly for the study of species that are difficult or dangerous to study. Genotyping large numbers of samples is prohibitively costly and labor intensive. Here is a paper that would be of great interest to you, if you are dealing with noninvasive sampling. The methodology holds great promise.

Here the researchers describe optimized protocols designed to reduce the costs and effort required for microsatellite genotyping and sex determination for American black bears (Ursus americanus). The methodology adopted by the researchers here might come in handy for other animals also.

The researchers redesigned primers for six microsatellite loci, designed novel primers for the amelogenin gene for genetic determination of sex, and optimized conditions for a nine-locus multiplex PCR.

The researchers sign off with following words “Our optimized methods will reduce the time and costs of analysis for the larger number of samples that will become commonplace in studies of wild populations of elusive species. For American black bears, they will provide important data that will assist population managers as they attempt to anticipate and reduce levels of human-wildlife conflict.”

New UNEP report tracks the changing global environment over the past two decades

The new UNEP report, Keeping Track of our Changing Environment: From Rio to Rio+20, focuses on the urgent need to curb resource depletion and ensure human activities do not destroy the very environment that supports economies and sustains life.

Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), said the report was a timely reminder for world leaders of the areas that continue to need urgent attention such as the rapid build-up of greenhouse gases, the erosion of biodiversity and the use of natural resources, which increased by 40 per cent from 1992 to 2005, a much faster pace than population growth.

The report is part of UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook-5 (GEO-5) series, which assesses the state and trends of the global environment. The full GEO-5 report will be launched next May, one month ahead of Rio+20.

Read the 111-page report HERE. On slower connection it might take couple of minutes for the report to download

IUCN - arborvitae Issue 44 - Forests: a legal challenge

This issue of arborvitae, produced in conjunction with IUCN’s Commission on Environmental Law and the IUCN Environmental Law Centre, looks at how forest law is impacting local forest management around the world and how reforms are progressing in several countries.
The issue also includes a set of three articles examining forest law in India from different perspectives. IUCN says many of the challenges of forest law enactment and enforcement are well illustrated by India’s experience."
Click HERE to read it

Conservation planning: using only one habitat model (even if validated), as the foundation of a conservation plan is risky.

Comparison of statistical and theoretical habitat models for conservation planning: the benefit of ensemble prediction

D. Todd Jones-Farrand, Todd M. Fearer, Wayne E. Thogmartin,Frank R. Thompson III,Mark D. Nelson, and John M. Tirpak

Ecological Applications  Volume 21, Issue 6 (September 2011)

In conservation planning process selection of a suitable modeling approach is a very important step.

Here the researchers look at two statistical and three theoretical habitat modeling approaches These represens those currently being used for avian conservation planning at landscape and regional scales: hierarchical spatial count (HSC), classification and regression tree (CRT), habitat suitability index (HSI), forest structure database (FS), and habitat association database (HA).

The researchers focused their comparison on models for five priority forest-breeding species in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region: Acadian Flycatcher, Cerulean Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Worm-eating Warbler. They used two approaches to compare models: rank correlations among model outputs and comparison of spatial correspondence.

The researchers found that rank correlations were significantly positive among models for each species. This is an indication of general agreement among the models. Worm-eating Warblers had the highest pairwise correlations, all of which were significant (P < 0.05). Redheaded Woodpeckers had the lowest agreement among models, suggesting greater uncertainty in the relative conservation value of areas within the region.

The researchers assessed model uncertainty by mapping the spatial congruence in priorities (i.e., top ranks) resulting from each model for each species and calculating the coefficient of variation across model ranks for each location. This in turn allowed identification of areas more likely to be good targets of conservation effort for a species, those areas that were least likely, and those in between where uncertainty is higher and thus conservation action incorporates more risk.

The researchers sign off with the following words “Based on our results, models developed independently for the same purpose (conservation planning for a particular species in a particular geography) yield different answers and thus different conservation strategies. We assert that using only one habitat model (even if validated) as the foundation of a conservation plan is risky. Using multiple models (i.e., ensemble prediction) can reduce uncertainty and increase efficacy of conservation action when models corroborate one another and increase understanding of the system when they do not.”

A Q-method study that explores ecologists' thought processes as they evaluate the merits of potential research topics.

What research should be done and why? Four competing visions among ecologists

Mark W Neff

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment  Volume 9, Issue 8 (October 2011)

Research on various aspects of our planet depends, in part, on the questions scientists ask regarding the natural world. The authors of this paper say asking other questions might lead to different innovations and alternative understandings of policy problems and their potential solutions.

We have infinite number of potential study subjects. Then why do we zero in on a specific subject in spite of limited resources with which to study them?

In this paper the researcher present a Q-method study that explores ecologists' thought processes as they evaluate the merits of potential research topics. The study underscores four competing visions that ecologists have for their discipline.

On the basis of his findings, the researcher contend that ecology might be more effective in informing policy if priority setting were a more deliberative process and open to insights from individuals and institutions outside of ecology.

How does birds avoid collisions with objects and each other?

Optic Flow Cues Guide Flight in Birds

Partha S. Bhagavatula, Charles Claudianos,Michael R. Ibbotson and Mandyam V. Srinivasan

Current Biology, 27 October 2011

The moment-to-moment challenges of rapid flight of birds through cluttered environments have always fascinated people. Australian scientists have unraveled the mystery surrounding how birds avoid collisions with objects and each other.

The researchers say the birds do this by using cues derived from the image motion that is generated in the eyes during flight.

The scientists investigated the ability of budgerigars to fly through narrow passages in a collision-free manner, by filming their trajectories during flight in a corridor where the walls are decorated with various visual patterns.

The researchers sums up like this “The results demonstrated unequivocally and for the first time, that birds negotiate narrow gaps safely by balancing the speeds of image motion that are experienced by the two eyes and that the speed of flight is regulated by monitoring the speed of image motion that is experienced by the two eyes.”

Conservation biology and wildlife management – Beyond classrooms and in to practical, real-world issues

The other day Ramesh, my friend wanted me to recommend a book that takes the reader beyond what has been learned in the classrooms of conservation biology and wildlife management. My immediate recommendation was “Problem-Solving in Conservation Biology and Wildlife Management” authored by James P. Gibbs, Malcolm L. Hunter, Jr and Eleanor J. Sterling. If you have better recommendations please share it here for the benefit of Ramesh. Ramesh would be delighted to get your recommendations.
 

 “Problem-Solving in Conservation Biology and Wildlife Management” gives a set of 32 exercises expressly created for students and teachers of conservation biology and wildlife management. The book empowers the readers to take what has been learned in the classroom to the field and apply it to practical, real-world issues.

 A wide range of conservation issues is dealt with: genetic analysis, population biology and management, taxonomy, ecosystem management, land use planning, the public policy process and a lot more. All exercises discuss how to take what has been learned and apply it to practical, real-world issues. Additional plus points are a detailed instructor's manual and a student website with software and support material.

James Gibbs is Associate Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Malcolm J. Hunter Jr is the Libra Professor of Conservation Biology and Professor of Wildlife Ecology at the University of Maine, Orono. He is also the former President of the Society for Conservation Biology.
Eleanor J. Sterling is Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology at Columbia University.

Problem-Solving in Conservation Biology and Wildlife Management

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Published on: 08/31/2011

Print ISBN: 9781405152877

Imprint: Wiley-Blackwell

By: James P. Gibbs, Malcolm L. Hunter, Jr., Eleanor J. Sterling

During breeding time Antarctic fur seals have uncanny ability to return to where they themselves were born

Extreme natal philopatry in female Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella)

Joseph Ivan Hoffman and  Jaume Forcada

 Mammalian Biology  doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2011.09.002

Scientists led by Dr Joe Hoffman from the University of Bielefeld in Germany have discovered that majority of female Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) give birth to pups within 2 metres of where they themselves were born

The truly amazing fact is that these seals may have spent up to five years feeding hundreds of kilometres out at sea before coming home.

The scientist quantified fine-scale patterns of natal philopatry in an intensively studied colony of Antarctic fur seals, where a scaffold walkway allows individual locations to be measured to the nearest metre. Using subcutaneous PIT tags, they tracked the early life histories of 335 females born within the colony, of which 38 were resighted as breeding adults.

The researchers  found that individual females returned to as little as one body length (2 m) of their birth locations. Distances between natal and pupping sites were not correlated with female age, but tended to decrease with the number of seasons an individual was sighted ashore. The researchers say this suggests that breeding experience may be a better predictor than age of the ability of females to occupy preferred sites within fur seal colonies.

The mystery of how woodpeckers avoid head injuries cracked

Why Do Woodpeckers Resist Head Impact Injury: A Biomechanical Investigation

Lizhen Wang, Jason Tak-Man Cheung, Fang Pu, Deyu Li, Ming Zhang, Yubo Fan

PLoS ONE 6(10): e26490. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026490

Woodpeckers peck tree trunks at speeds of six to seven meters a second, dozens of times a minute. How they avoid head injury has remained a mystery till now. A team of bioengineers from School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, Department of Health Technology and Informatics, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Li Ning Sports Science Research Center, Beijing has solved it

Two synchronous high-speed video systems were used to observe the pecking process, and a force sensor was used to measure the peck force. The mechanical properties and macro/micro morphological structure in woodpecker's head were investigated using a mechanical testing system and micro-CT scanning. Finite element (FE) models of the woodpecker's head were established to study the dynamic intracranial responses.

 The result showed that macro/micro morphology of cranial bone and beak can be recognized as a major contributor to non-impact-injuries. This biomechanical analysis makes it possible to visualize events during woodpecker pecking.

Woodpecker skulls have evolved with several varied layers of protection that allow them to absorb the fierce up to 1,000 G. The unequal length of the upper and lower parts of their beaks, serves to steer the impact force downwards, away from the brain, when it hits the tree. The woodpecker’s brain is contained within a unique skull casing, constructed from uneven, spongy plates. The heart-shaped hyoid bone, which reaches from their beak, loops over the top of the skull to completely surround their brains. This firmly keeps the brain in place, especially during the head’s backwards motion.

 

The researchers sign off with the following words ‘The design of intelligent helmet or impact-related injury resistant device would be enlightened greatly by the optimizations of woodpecker's skull morphology and microstructure and is helpful in developing new concepts for minimizing head impact injuries in future work.”

 Yes better lightweight helmets could be on the way aided by the study of woodpeckers

 

Breaking new ground in Quantitative training for students of ecology

Introducing data–model assimilation to students of ecology 

Hobbs, N. Thompson, and Kiona Ogle

Ecological Applications, Volume 21, Issue 5

Here is a paper that advocates a new approach to quantitative training for students of ecology.

Quantitative training for students of ecology usually comprises two sets of topics.

The components are

1) Mathematical modeling

2) Statistical analysis.

Traditionally these two topics are taught separately, modeling courses stressing on mathematical techniques for symbolic analysis and statistics courses stressing on procedures for analyzing data.

Here the researchers plumb for a merger of two separate courses by outlining a curriculum for an introductory course in data–model assimilation. Traditional introductory material in statistics is replaced by an emphasis on principles needed to develop hierarchical models of ecological systems, fusing models of data with models of ecological processes.

Here is the outline of the course devised by the researchers

 (1) Models as routes to insight.

 (2) Uncertainty

 (3) Basic probability theory

 (4) Hierarchical models

 (5) Data simulation

 (6) Likelihood and Bayes

 (7) Computational methods

 (8) Research design

 (9) Problem solving.

The researchers say the outcome of teaching these combined elements can be the fundamental understanding and quantitative confidence needed by students to create revealing analyses for a broad array of research problems.

Applying eigenvalue perturbation theory (EPT) to select optimum networks of protected areas based on connectivity

Optimal networks of nature reserves can be found through eigenvalue perturbation theory of the connectivity matrix

Jacobi, Martin Nilsson, and Per R. Jonsson

Volume 21, Issue 5 (July 2011) Ecological Applications

A functional network of protected areas is sine qua non for optimal conservation and management of natural resources and biodiversity. Improved criteria to select functional networks of protected areas assume great significance.

Usually connectivity within networks due to dispersal gets scant attention. This is partly because it is unclear how connectivity information can be included in the selection of protected areas.

In this paper the authors present what they claim a novel and general method that applies eigenvalue perturbation theory (EPT) to select optimum networks of protected areas based on connectivity.

The authors say at low population densities, characteristic of threatened populations, this procedure selects networks that maximize the growth rate of the overall network. They claim their method offers an improved link between connectivity and metapopulation dynamics.

The framework designed by the researchers is applied to connectivities estimated for marine larvae. It amply demonstrates that, for open populations, the best strategy is to protect areas acting as both strong donors and recipients of recruits.

The researchers sign off saying,  “It should be possible to implement an EPT framework for connectivity analysis into existing holistic tools for design of protected areas.

The Kingfisher that flew from Poland to England

My British contacts have sent me this amazing story of a Kingfisher that flew to England from Poland and in the process set a record.

The kingfisher that had been ringed in Poland has been caught and released in Suffolk’s Orford Ness reserve. The Kingfisher must have flown around 1,000km. Once it is discovered where in Poland the kingfisher was ringed an accurate distance will be known.

Even though Kingfishers that have been rung in Germany and Spain have been caught previously this is a new record for the distance travelled.

The previous record set by a British kingfisher for migration was a bird ringed in Marloes, Pembrokeshire, and found in Irun, Spain

The dilemma of alternative land uses in conservation prioritization

Balancing alternative land uses in conservation prioritization

Atte Moilanen,Barbara J. Anderson,Felix Eigenbrod,Andreas Heinemeyer, David B. Roy, Simon Gillings, Paul R. Armsworth, Kevin J. Gaston, and Chris D. Thomas.

 Ecological applications, Volume 21, Issue 5 (July 2011)

As the population burgeons there is increasing pressure on ecosystems to provide various often-conflicting services.

Success of various conservation prioritizations will be much more effective if we assess the needs of competing land uses at the planning stage itself.

In this paper the researchers develop such methods and illustrate them with data about competing land uses in Great Britain, with the aim of developing conservation priority ranking that balances between needs of biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, agricultural value, and urban development potential.

The researchers say, “While both carbon stocks and biodiversity are desirable features from the point of view of conservation, they compete with the needs of agriculture and urban development.”

In their application, the researchers were able to successfully balance the spatial allocation of alternative land uses. The conflicts between various demands were much smaller than had they been developed separately. The researchers say proposed methods and software, Zonation, are applicable to structurally similar prioritization problems globally.

Are we biased in locating our Protected Areas?

High and Far: Biases in the Location of Protected Areas

Joppa, L., & Pfaff, A. PLoS ONE, 4 (12) (2009).

This is a 2009 paper, which I came across the other day. I found it very interesting.

About an eighth of the earth's land surface is covered under protected areas. Majority of these parks came up during the 20^th century. Even though it looks very rosy the fact remains that many of the current PAs were not created with a systematic eye to achieving conservation priorities. Across 147 countries' national networks, protected areas are non-randomly located on the landscape.

The authors of this paper say many of the PAs are biased in their formation. The researchers try and examine each country's PA network for bias in elevation, slope, distances to roads and cities, and suitability for agriculture. Their analysis indicates that significant majority of park networks are biased to higher elevations, steeper slopes and greater distances to roads and cities. Another interesting feature is that within a country, PAs with higher protection status are more biased than are the PAs with lower protection statuses. In short parks are biased towards where they can least prevent land conversion. Hoekstra et al has previously shown us a clear bias in protection towards certain biomes and ecoregions.
All previous global studies have ignored political boundaries. This is a vital omission. Ecological processes cross borders but most PAs do not.

The authors categorically say investment in new PAs will need to be much more efficient. They should be based upon sophisticated conservation planning tools.

The researchers say their results support the idea that targeting and blocking threat may deserve higher priority in the future creation and management of PAs. Their results also highlight the increasing realization that future PA allocation must differ from historic protection strategies.

Sad news from Vietnam

Javan rhino is gone forever in Vietnam

Vietnam authorities and WWF have confirmed the sad news. The Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) is extinct in Vietnam.

Genetic analysis of dung samples collected from Cat Tien National Park have affirmed that it belonged to a rhinoceros that was found dead in the park in April 2010. Poaching is the likely cause of the death, as the rhino found dead had bullet in its leg and had its horn removed. With this sad loss Vietnam has lost part of its natural heritage.

The Javan rhinoceros is now confined to one population, less than 50 individuals, in Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia

Transgenic seeds and biodiversity - Alarm bells from Mexico

Six scientists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the National Commission for Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) have come up with the alarming finding that Wild cotton in Mexico has been contaminated with genetically modified material.

Wild cotton that harbors transgenes undergoes rapid evolution, with unpredictable consequences. The genetic diversity of wild populations is very high, and that of cultivated cotton is very low. Gene flow can reduce the differentiation between populations the scientist warn

Although seed migration out of fields of genetically modified crops may be low, once a single or a few transgenic individuals are dispersed into particular wild populations, they produce pollen that may fertilise local wild plants. Since transgenes are inserted within the nuclear genome, they can be dispersed both via pollen or seed.

The scientists warn that genetically modified organisms are going to contaminate all the varieties we have, and then we will have to depend on seeds from the big companies. Once we lose our native seeds, we won't have seeds to plant and the multinational seed companies are going to plunder us.

  

Journal reference

  

Recent long-distance transgene flow into wild populations conforms to historical patterns of gene flow in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) at its centre of origin

A. WEGIER, A. PIÑEYRO-NELSON, J. ALARCÓN, A. GÁLVEZ-MARISCAL, E. R. ÁLVAREZ-BUYLLA, D. PIÑERO

 Molecular Ecology, Volume 20, Issue 19, pages 4182–4194, October 2011

Wildlife award for farmer – Shining example from UK

This year’s prestigious Silver Lapwing Award has been conferred on South Lincolnshire fen farmer Nicholas Watts. He had turned his Vine House Farm into a paradise for birds. He meticulously records all birds on the farm and implements conservation plans based on these surveys.

The award in its 34th year recognizes long-term commitment to wildlife conservation by the farming community.

Nicholas Watts was presented with the Silver Lapwing Trophy and a cheque for £1,000. He has the distinction of being the only person to have won the award twice.

We at Tahrcountry salute Mr Nicholas Watts and the organizers of this award. This award model is worthy of emulation by other countries.

The two remaining wild populations of the endangered Indian rhinoceros - A study based on DNA and its implications for management

Genetic differences between the two remaining wild populations of the endangered Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)

Samuel Zschokke, Georg F.J. Armbruster, Sylvain Ursenbacher Bruno Baur
Biological Conservation, Volume 144, Issue 11, November 2011, Pages 2702-2709

Understanding the characterization of the genetic units within each species and their relationships to each other is of primary importance when it comes to the management of rare and endangered species.

The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is an endangered species with a current population size of c. 2800 individuals. The researchers analyzed 26 individuals of known origin kept in captivity and 21 wild ranging individuals of the two remnant large wild populations in Assam (India) and Nepal.

Mitochondrial and microsatellite markers were used to determine whether the two geographically isolated populations show distinct patterns of genetic diversity, and whether the genetic diversity of the populations is influenced by past demographic bottlenecks.

The researchers identified 10 different mitochondrial D-loop haplotypes, of which 4 were specific to the Assam population (10 sequences examined) and 6 specific to the Nepal population (19 sequences).

Microsatellite analysis demonstrated a strong genetic differentiation between the Assam and Nepal populations and allowed to assign each individual to its origin with high confidence.

The analyses revealed the occurrence of a bottleneck in the Assam population much earlier than the reported bottleneck in 1908.  It also revealed that the Nepal population is a recent (probably post-glacial) colonization.

The researchers contend that their data suggests separate conservation programs (even for captive individuals) as long as the persistence of the entire species is not severely threatened. The two populations should be treated as separate management units. The microsatellite markers can also be used to determine the origin of confiscated material such as horns.

Overcoming Impediments to invertebrate conservation

The seven impediments in invertebrate conservation and how to overcome them

Pedro Cardoso, Terry L. Erwin,Paulo A.V. Borges, Tim R. New
Biological Conservation
Volume 144, Issue 11, November 2011, Pages 2647-2655

Invertebrates often get step motherly treatment in biodiversity conservation policies despite their high diversity and importance for humankind. In this paper the researchers identify seven impediments to the effective protection of Invertebrates.

They are 
(1)    Invertebrates and their ecological services are mostly unknown to the general public (the public dilemma);

(2)Policymakers and stakeholders are mostly unaware of invertebrate conservation problems (the political dilemma);

(3)     Basic science on invertebrates is scarce and under funded (the scientific dilemma); 
(4)     Most species are undescribed (the   Linnean shortfall); 

(5) The distribution of described species is mostly unknown (the Wallacean shortfall);

(6) The abundance of species and their changes in space and time are unknown (the Prestonian shortfall);

(7) Species ways of life and sensitivities to habitat change are largely unknown (the Hutchinsonian shortfall).

The researchers say recent advances in science facilitate overcoming these impediments in both policy and practice.


Here are the suggestions from the researchers 

For the political dilemma: red-listing, legal priority listing and inclusion in environmental impact assessment studies.  For the scientific dilemma: parataxonomy, citizen science programs and biodiversity informatics.
For the Linnean shortfall: biodiversity surrogacy, increased support for taxonomy and advances in taxonomic publications.
 For the Wallacean shortfall: funding of inventories, compilation of data in public repositories and species distribution modeling.
For the Prestonian shortfall: standardized protocols for inventorying and monitoring, widespread use of analogous protocols and increased support for natural history collections.
 For the Hutchinsonian shortfall: identifying good indicator taxa and studying extinction rates by indirect evidence.