[Conservation / Ornithology • 2020] Importance of Isolated Forest Fragments and Low Intensity Agriculture for the Long-term Cconservation of the Green Peafowl Pavo muticus

Green Peafowl Pavo muticus  

in Shwe, Sukumal, Oom, ... et Savini, 2020. 

 DOI: 10.1017/S0030605319000267 

photo: Niti Sukumal

oryxthejournal.org

Abstract

Low intensity subsistence agriculture is generally believed to be less damaging to wildlife than intensive farming. As Myanmar is undergoing rapid modernization, subsistence farming may shift to intensive agriculture, resulting in increased threats to species of conservation concern such as the green peafowl Pavo muticus. Here we investigate habitat use of the green peafowl in a low intensity agricultural landscape surrounding a small forest fragment in southern Shan State, Myanmar. The forest belongs to Nan Kone Buddha Monastery and the green peafowl is protected from hunting in the area on the basis of religious beliefs. We established three survey transects with a total length of 3,414 m. During February 2016–January 2017 we conducted surveys twice daily for 4 consecutive days every month, walking all transects in both directions in the mornings and afternoons and recording visual and auditory peafowl encounters. We estimated peafowl density to be 2.63 animals/km2 in the less disturbed western part of the study area and 1.13 animals/km2 in the eastern part, which had higher levels of human disturbance. The peafowl's habitat use was significantly non-random, with forest patches being the most utilized habitat, followed by croplands. Within a 300 m buffer zone around the forest patch, the order of habitat preference was crop > scrub > fallow, with crop significantly preferred over the other two habitats. We conclude that preserved isolated forest blocks adjacent to community-managed agricultural areas are important for green peafowl conservation, and discuss the implications for long-term conservation management of the species.

Keywords: Agriculture, Buddhist monastery, compositional analysis, green peafowl, fragmented forest, Myanmar, Pavo muticus, Shan plateau

Nay Myo Shwe, Niti Sukumal, Khin Maung Oom Simon Dowell, Stephen Browne and Tommaso Savini. 2020. Importance of Isolated Forest Fragments and Low Intensity Agriculture for the Long-term Cconservation of the Green Peafowl Pavo muticus. Oryx. First View. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605319000267

Conservation in unexpected places: communities and the green peafowl

oryxthejournal.org/blog/conservation-in-unexpected-places-communities-and-the-green-peafowl/

facebook.com/OryxTheJournal/photos/10157474729124102

Researchgate.net/publication/274070223_PEAFOWLS_SPECIES_AND_THEIR_MUTATIONS

        

[Conservation / Ornithology • 2019] Is Gurney's Pitta Hydrornis gurneyi on the Brink of Extinction?

Hydrornis gurneyi (Hume, 1875)

in Shwe, Sukumal, Grindley & Savini, 2019. 

 DOI: 10.1017/S0030605318001242 

photo: Nay Myo Shwe (FFI) fauna-flora.org

Abstract

The remaining large patches of lowland forest in Tanintharyi, southern Myanmar, are the last global stronghold for the Endangered Gurney's pitta Hydrornis gurneyi. Except for a few individuals, the remaining population is now restricted to this forest, below 150 m altitude, mostly within the Nga Wun, Lenya, and Parchan Reserved Forests. However, as in much of South-east Asia, Tanintharyi has been subjected to extensive deforestation, particularly for oil palm cultivation. The aim of this research was to determine the extent of remaining habitat suitable for Gurney's pitta. During January–October 2016 we revisited 142 locations (of 147) where the species was detected during 2003–2012, and found it in only 41 of those locations (29%); in all other locations the forest had been cleared. We measured the decline of suitable habitat since 1999 by examining all available intact forest in areas with elevations < 150 m and slope < 10 °. In less than 2 decades suitable habitat has declined from 3,225 to 656 km2 (80%). Protection of remaining lowland forest is now critical. Although the expansion of oil palm cultivation has slowed since its peak in the early 2000s, two national parks proposed by the Myanmar government in 2002, which would potentially offer legal protection for most of the remaining Gurney's pitta habitat, remain on hold because of political uncertainties. We recommend an alternative conservation approach for this species, based on an Indigenous Community Conserved Area model, and further research to improve knowledge of the species and to determine how it could be saved from extinction.

Keywords: Deforestation, Gurney's pitta, habitat, Hydrornis gurneyi, Lenya National Park, Myanmar, South Tanintharyi, Sundaic lowland

Gurney's Pitta (male) in Lenya.

photo: Nay Myo Shwe (FFI) fauna-flora.org

Nay Myo Shwe, Niti Sukumal, Mark Grindley and Tommaso Savini. 2019. Is Gurney's Pitta Hydrornis gurneyi on the Brink of Extinction? Oryx. First View. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605318001242

Gurney’s pitta on the brink fauna-flora.org/news/new-study-raises-gurneys-pitta-extinction-threat

 cons-ecol-kmutt.weebly.com/uploads/8/5/4/5/85451700/tcp_report_59_gp_strategic_action_plan_and_annual_workplan_2018.pdf 

     

[Conservation / Mammalogy • 2019] Camera Trapping reveals A Diverse and Unique High-elevation Mammal Community Under Threat

in Huarcaya, Beirne, Serrano Rojas & Whitworth, 2019.

 DOI: 10.1017/S0030605318001096  

Oryxthejournal.org 

Abstract

The Cerros del Sira in Peru is known to hold a diverse composition of endemic birds, amphibians and plants as a result of its geographical isolation, yet its mammalian community remains poorly known. There is increasing awareness of the threats to high-elevation species but studying them is often hindered by rugged terrain. We present the first camera-trap study of the mammal community of the Cerros del Sira. We used 45 camera traps placed at regular elevational intervals over 800–1,920 m, detecting 34 medium-sized and large mammal species. Eight are listed as threatened on the IUCN Red List, three are categorized as Data Deficient and one is yet to be assessed. Although other authors have reported that the upper elevations of the Cerros del Sira are free from hunting, we found evidence of hunting activity occurring above 1,400 m, and inside the core protected area. In addition to this direct evidence of hunting, recent information has identified significant amounts of canopy loss in the northern reaches of the core zone. Despite widespread ecological degradation in the surrounding lowlands, the high-elevation areas of the Cerros del Sira still maintain a unique assemblage of lowland and highland tropical rainforest mammals. It has been assumed that the Cerros del Sira and other similar remote locations are safe from disturbance and protected by their isolation but we suggest this is an increasingly dangerous assumption to make, and secure protection strategies need to be developed.

Keywords: Camera traps, El Sira, habitat loss, hunting, oncilla, Leopardus tigrinus, Peru, spectacled bear, Tremarctos ornatus

Tremarctos ornatus, Myrmecophaga tridactyla & Puma concolor

 Tapirus terrestris & Panthera onca

Ruthmery Pillco Huarcaya, Christopher Beirne, Shirley Jennifer Serrano Rojas and and Andrew Whitworth. 2019. Camera Trapping reveals A Diverse and Unique High-elevation Mammal Community Under Threat.  Oryx. First View. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605318001096

A unique high-elevation mammal community under threat

Oryxthejournal.org/blog/a-unique-high-elevation-mammal-community-under-threat/

[Mammalogy • 2018] The Roosevelt–Rondon Expedition Marmoset Mico marcai: Unveiling the Conservation Status of A Data Deficient Species

Mico marcai (Alperin, 1993) 

in Silva, Bizri, Gonçalves, et al,. 2018.  

  DOI:  10.1017/S0030605318000303

photo: Marcelo Santana. 

blog.journals.cambridge.org twitter.com/BoubliJean

The Roosevelt–Rondon Expedition marmoset Mico marcai was first collected in 1914 and all information on this primate previously came from three skins brought back by this expedition. As a result, M. marcai is categorized as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. As the presumed range of M. marcai lies on the path of the advancing arc of deforestation in Brazil, the collection of relevant data to assess the conservation status of this Amazonian species is of some urgency. Here we present the first field data on the distribution and population size of, and threats to, M. marcai, to reassess the species’ conservation status. During 2012–2015 we surveyed the species in the Marmelos–Aripuanã interfluve, and estimated its density using distance sampling. We also used spatial predictive modelling to estimate forest loss within the species range under two deforestation scenarios. We found the marmoset in 13 localities and estimated its extent of occurrence to be 31,073 km2. We estimated the species’ density to be 8.31 individuals/km2 and extrapolated this to estimate a total population of 258,218 individuals (CI 150,705–441,860). Under a business-as-usual deforestation scenario, c. 10,000 km2 of forest, comprising 33% of the species’ range, would be lost in three marmoset generations (c. 18 years), and we, therefore, recommend that M. marcai be categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List based on criterion A3c. Other Amazonian marmosets require similar reassessment as their ranges also fall in the path of the arc of deforestation.

Keywords: Brazil, conservation status, Data Deficient, forest loss, marmoset, Mico marcai, Roosevelt–Rondon Expedition, southern Amazonia

photos: Marcelo Santana.
 conservationleadershipprogramme.org

Felipe Ennes Silva, Hani Rocha El Bizri, Jonas da Rosa Gonçalves, Lísley P. Lemos, Rodrigo Costa-Araújo, Ivan J. Lima, Aline Tavares Santos, Marcelo Ismar Santana, Caetano L. B. Franco and Jean P. Boubli. 2018.   The Roosevelt–Rondon Expedition Marmoset Mico marcai: Unveiling the Conservation Status of A Data Deficient Species. Oryx—The International Journal of Conservation. DOI:  10.1017/S0030605318000303

 twitter.com/BoubliJean/status/1068021941896970240

 facebook.com/OryxTheJournal/photos/10156313884479102

Lack of information as a threat for Amazonian marmosets « Life Sciences « Cambridge Core Blog blog.journals.cambridge.org/2018/11/23/lack-of-information-as-a-threat-for-amazonian-marmosets

Guilherme Siniciato Terra Garbino. 2014. The Taxonomic Status of Mico marcai (Alperin 1993) and Mico manicorensis (van Roosmalen et al. 2000) (Cebidae, Callitrichinae) from Southwestern Brazilian Amazonia. International Journal of Primatology. 35 (2): 529–546. DOI: 10.1007/s10764-014-9766-4

Felipe Ennes Silva, Rodrigo Costa Araújo and Hermano Gomes Lopes Nunes. 2014. Population Trends and Conservation Status of Mico marcai in Aripuanã River Basin, Amazon, Brazil.   FINAL REPORT. conservationleadershipprogramme.org/media/2014/12/Micos-Marcai_Brazil_Final-Report.pdf

[Botany • 2018] Rediscovery of the Presumed-Extinct Dracaena umbraculifera || A Botanical Mystery Solved by Phylogenetic Analysis of Botanical Garden Collections

Dracaena umbraculifera  Jacq.

in Edwards, Bassüner, Birkinshaw, et al. 2018.

  DOI: 10.1017/S0030605317001570  

photograph by A. Lehavana  ||  stlpublicradio.org

Abstract
Extinction is the complete loss of a species, but the accuracy of that status depends on the overall information about the species. Dracaena umbraculifera was described in 1797 from a cultivated plant attributed to Mauritius, but repeated surveys failed to relocate it and it was categorized as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. However, several individuals labelled as D. umbraculifera grow in botanical gardens, suggesting that the species’ IUCN status may be inaccurate. The goal of this study was to understand (1) where D. umbraculifera originated, (2) which species are its close relatives, (3) whether it is extinct, and (4) the identity of the botanical garden accessions and whether they have conservation value. We sequenced a cpDNA region of Dracaena from Mauritius, botanical garden accessions labelled as D. umbraculifera, and individuals confirmed to be D. umbraculifera based on morphology, one of which is a living plant in a private garden. We included GenBank accessions of Dracaena from Madagascar and other locations and reconstructed the phylogeny using Bayesian and parsimony approaches. Phylogenies indicated that D. umbraculifera is more closely related to Dracaena reflexa from Madagascar than to Mauritian Dracaena. As anecdotal information indicated that the living D. umbraculifera originated from Madagascar, we conducted field expeditions there and located five wild populations; the species’ IUCN status should therefore be Critically Endangered because < 50 wild individuals remain. Although the identity of many botanical garden samples remains unresolved, this study highlights the importance of living collections for facilitating new discoveries and the importance of documenting and conserving the flora of Madagascar.

Keywords: Botanical garden, Dracaena reflexa, Dracaena umbraculifera, extinction, living collections, Madagascar, Mauritius, phylogeny reconstruction

The original illustration of Dracaena umbraculifera from Jacquin (1797) 

Dracaena umbraculifera in Ile Sainte-Marie in full flower

photograph by A. Lehavana 

Christine E. Edwards, Burgund Bassüner, Chris Birkinshaw, Christian Camara,  Adolphe Lehavana, Porter P. Lowry, James S. Miller, Andrew Wyatt and Peter Wyse Jackson. 2018. A Botanical Mystery solved by Phylogenetic Analysis of Botanical Garden Collections: the Rediscovery of the Presumed-Extinct Dracaena umbraculifera. Oryx. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605317001570 
ResearchGate.net/publication/322314426_rediscovery_of_Dracaena_umbraculifera

MoBot scientists use DNA testing to bring an African plant out of extinction news.stlpublicradio.org/post/mobot-scientists-use-dna-testing-bring-african-plant-out-extinction

Presumed-extinct 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘦𝘯𝘢 𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢 rediscovered! Botanical mystery solved by phylogenetic analysis of botanical garden collections  bit.ly/2ANB5WN 

 twitter.com/ORYXtheJournal/status/951099316936028160

[Mammalogy • 2016] The Critically Endangered Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri found in the Salween River Basin, China

Family of Rhinopithecus strykeri in Luoma, China, near the border with Myanmar. 

Photo: Yinping Tian  mongabay.com  

DOI: 10.1017/S0030605316000934  

Abstract

The Myanmar snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri was discovered in 2010 on the western slopes of the Gaoligong Mountains in the Irrawaddy River basin in Myanmar and subsequently in the same river basin in China, in 2011. Based on 2 years of surveying the remote and little disturbed forest of the Gaoligong Mountains National Nature Reserve in China, with outline transect sampling and infrared camera monitoring, a breeding group comprising > 70 individuals was found on the eastern slopes of the Gaoligong Mountains in the Salween River Basin. Given the Critically Endangered status of this primate (a total of < 950 individuals are estimated to remain in the wild), efforts to protect the relatively undisturbed habitat of this newly discovered population and to prevent hunting are essential for the long-term survival of this species.

Keywords:  China; Myanmar snub-nosed monkey; new population; Rhinopithecus strykeri; Salween River

Rhinopithecus strykeri in the newly discovered population in Luoma, China, near the border with Myanmar.  

Photo: Dong Shaohua DOI: 10.1017/S0030605316000934  

  

  Mother and infant of Rhinopithecus strykeri in the newly discovered population in Luoma, China, near the border with Myanmar.

Photo: Dong Shaohua  DOI: 10.1017/S0030605316000934  

  

Yin Yang, Ying-Ping Tian, Chen-Xiang He, Zhipang Huang, Shao-Hua Dong, Bin Wang, Guang-Song Li, Zuo-Fu Xiang, Yong-Cheng Long and Wen Xiao. 2016. The Critically Endangered Myanmar Snub-nosed Monkey Rhinopithecus strykeri found in the Salween River Basin, China.

Oryx. DOI: 10.1017/S0030605316000934 

New population of rare Myanmar snub-nosed monkey discovered in China https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/new-population-of-rare-myanmar-snub-nosed-monkey-discovered-in-china @mongabay 

 

[Conservation / Primate • 2013] Priority Primate Areas in Tanzania | Monkey Nation: Study Shows Mainland Africa's Most Important Nation for Primates

The third most vulnerable is the 'endangered' Sanje mangabey, threatened by direct hunting and habitat destruction, especially in unmanaged forests

Photo: Tim Davenport/WCS 

Abstract

Priority Primate Areas are identified in Tanzania, mainland Africa's most important country for conservation of primates, on the basis of occupancy by globally rare, Red-Listed and range-restricted primate species and subspecies. We provide a comprehensive list and regional assessment of Tanzania's primate taxa, using IUCN Red List criteria, as well as the first national inventory of primates for 62 sites. The Priority Primate Areas, encompassing 102,513 km2, include nine national parks, one conservation area, seven game reserves, six nature reserves, 34 forest reserves and five areas with no official protection status. Primate species were evaluated and ranked on the basis of irreplaceability and vulnerability, using a combination of established and original criteria, resulting in a primate Taxon Conservation Score. Sites were ranked on the basis of summed primate scores. The majority (71%) of Priority Primate Areas are also Important Bird Areas (IBAs), or part of an IBA. Critical subsets of sites were derived through complementarity analyses. Adequate protection of just nine sites, including six national parks (Kilimanjaro, Kitulo, Mahale, Saadani, Udzungwa and Jozani-Chwaka Bay), one nature reserve (Kilombero) and two forest reserves (Minziro and Mgambo), totalling 8,679 km2, would protect all 27 of Tanzania's primate species. The addition of three forest reserves (Rondo, Kilulu Hill and Ngezi) and two game reserves (Grumeti and Biharamulo), results in a list of 14 Priority Primate Areas covering 10,561 km2 (1.1% of Tanzania's total land area), whose conservation would ensure the protection of all 43 of Tanzania's species and subspecies of primates.

Keywords: Conservation status; primates; priority sites; protected areas; Tanzania

Monkey Nation: Study Shows Mainland Africa's Most Important Nation for Primates

New plan would create “Priority Primate Areas” to protect all 27 of Tanzania’s primate species and key habitats

The study combines Tanzania's first-ever inventory of all primate species and their habitats with IUCN Red List criteria and other factors such as threats and rarity, ranking all 27 species from most vulnerable to least vulnerable. The authors then identify a network of "Priority Primate Areas" for conservation.

The paper appears in the July 17 issue of the journal Oryx. Authors are Tim Davenport of the Wildlife Conservation Society, Katarzyna Nowak of the Udzungwa Elephant Project, and Andrew Perkin of the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group.

A third of Tanzania's primate species are found nowhere else on earth. The study found that the most vulnerable was the kipunji, first discovered by WCS in 2003 on Mt Rungwe and described by WCS as an entirely new genus in 2006. Another extremely vulnerable species is the Zanzibar red colobus, a species whose population is currently being counted by WCS. More common species include the baboons, black and white colobus monkeys and vervets.

.................

Tim R.B. Davenport, Katarzyna Nowak and Andrew Perkin. 2013. Priority Primate Areas in Tanzania. Oryx.  DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0030605312001676

Monkey Nation: Study Shows Mainland Africa's Most Important Nation for Primates

New plan would create “Priority Primate Areas” to protect all 27 of Tanzania’s primate species and key habitats

http://www.newswise.com/articles/monkey-nation-study-shows-mainland-africa-s-most-important-nation-for-primates

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130717105800.htm

[Mammalogy • 2012] Jaguar Panthera onca predation of marine turtles: conflict between flagship species in Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Jaguar with its marine turtle prey. Photo by: Benjamin Barca.

Abstract

Predation can be an important driver of population dynamics but can also pose a dilemma to conservation managers if the species interacting are of conservation concern or have a high public profile. For 5 years we conducted regular transect surveys to monitor the spatial and temporal patterns of predation of adult marine turtles by jaguars Panthera onca in Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica. Predation occurs throughout the study site on Tortuguero Beach although at lower rates at the northern and southern ends, probably because of increased human presence in these areas. There was a marked increase in predation, from an average of < 2 turtles predated per survey in the first season to > 5 predated per survey in the last, with 676 jaguar-predated marine turtles recorded during the study period. With a minimum of 189 individuals predated in the last season, predation of adult turtles has now reached a magnitude never before recorded in a marine turtle rookery. Although the nesting population of marine turtles in Tortuguero is one of the largest in the world and suffers from both direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, the increase in predation by jaguars makes this ecological interaction relevant to the management of both the jaguar and marine turtle populations. The situation could lead to a potential conflict in conservation strategies that, given the flagship role of the species involved, will need to be addressed both in the context of species management and conservation marketing.

Keywords: Caribbean; Chelonia mydas; Dermochelys coriacea; diet; green turtle; jaguar; leatherback turtle; marine turtle; Panthera onca

On the top left, green turtle Chelonia mydas - top right leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, with typical signs of jaguar, Panthera onca, predation, and, below, camera-trap photographs of jaguars feeding on green turtles; All photographs are © and credited to GVI, Costa Rica

Jaguar with its marine turtle prey. Photo by: Benjamin Barca.

A camera trap catches jaguars feeding on a sea turtle at night when the fateful encounter occurs. Photo courtesy of: Diogo Veríssimo.

Green marine turtle corpse after being dragged in from the beach in Suriname. By the next day the jaguar had dragged it into the forest seen in the back. Photo by: Jeremy Hance.

Green marine turtle corpse after being preyed on by a jaguar in Suriname. Photo by: Jeremy Hance.

Jaguar Panthera onca predation of marine turtles: conflict between flagship species in Tortuguero, Costa Rica: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0030605311001487

Oryx article http://bit.ly/K6CBpn (freely available to download for a few days!) features in Independent http://ind.pn/JIPrYz

Jaguar v. sea turtle: when land and marine conservation icons collide: http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0516-hance-jaguars-sea-turtles.html

Jaguars preying on green sea turtles creates conservation headache in Costa Rica

http://www.earthtimes.org/conservation/endangered-jaguars-prey-marine-green-turtles/1973/