Community-based conservation

Jul

3

2008
 
 

Extinction in pieces



Study reveals mixed feelings about tigers, medicine and conservation

bonesFarming tigers Panthera tigris to supply the demand for traditional Chinese medicines is not likely to safeguard their wild counterparts, according to a paper published in PLoS ONE this week. An international team of specialists, led by Save The Tiger Fund worker Brian Gratwicke, quizzed almost two thousand people in seven Chinese cities about their use of tiger-laced medicines, and the findings make grim reading. Nearly half of respondents admitted to using medicines claiming to use tiger parts, even though 93 percent agreed that a ban in the sale of tiger parts was necessary to save the world’s biggest cats from oblivion. Source: Gratwicke B, Mills J, Dutton A, Gabriel G, Long B, Seidensicker J, Wright B, You W & Zhang L (2008) Attitudes towards consumption and conservation of tigers in China. PLoS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002544
Image: © Jack Lamour

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Jun

26

2008
 
 

Six billion dollar answer



No-take marine reserves help species recover faster than expected

coral trout/grouper/cod fish!The world’s largest network of no-take marine reserves is a success. Relieved readers of Current Biology this week can see how the controversial closing down to all fishing on more than a third of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has allowed significant recovery of target species densities in just two years. A team of scientists led by Hugh Sweatman of the Australian Institute of Marine Science found that populations of coral trout (Plectropomus spp.) — the main target for reef line fisheries — within protected areas had bounced up by around two thirds compared with those where fishing was still allowed. Big, bold initiatives might not be popular with the people they affect most but, in this case at least, they work. Source: Russ GR, Cheal AJ, Dolman AM, Emslie MJ, Evans RD, Miller I, Sweatman H & Williamson DH (2008) Rapid increase in fish numbers follows creation of World’s largest marine reserve network. Curr. Biol. DOI: tba

Image: © Timothey Kosachev

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Jun

18

2008
 
 

There’s a catch, after all



Offsetting marine bycatch could do more harm than good, study finds

Trawling for solutionsCan fisheries bycatch impacts be offset by making efforts to protect afflicted species elsewhere? Not according to a study published today in PLoS ONE, which claims that the “compensatory mitigation for marine bycatch” approach is a non-starter. A baker’s dozen of international scientists, led by University of California Santa Cruz researcher Myra Finkelstein, found that diverting attention to other conservation measures – such as removing non-native predators from breeding grounds – could potentially spell disaster. The problem is that such an approach requires action for each individual bycatch species, thereby spreading conservation resources too thinly. The focus should remain on finding ways to reduce bycatch, Finkelstein’s team concludes. Source: Finkelstein M, Bakker V, Doak DF, Sullivan B, Lewison R, Satterthwaite WH, McIntyre PB, Wolf S, Priddel D, Arnold JM, Henry RW, Sievert P & Croxall J (2008) Evaluating the potential effectiveness of compensatory mitigation strategies for marine bycatch. PLoS ONE DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002480

Image: © Thomas Shortell

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Jun

12

2008
 
 

Jets and sharks



Large predatory sharks are about to leave the Mediterranean

Do we still need a bigger boat?The Mediterranean sea is pretty much a big pond, so many European holiday makers would probably breathe a quiet sigh of relief to read in Conservation Biology that the number of big, fierce sharks swimming among them has plummeted in recent years. An international team, led by Dalhousie University’s Francesco Ferretti, fearlessly waded through public and private archives, searching for evidence of population trends among the twenty largest species known to prowl the Med. In the five species for which there were sufficient data – a paucity all too telling of our scientific neglect of these top oceanic predators – precipitous declines were clear. Hammerhead sharks Sphyrna spp. were worst hit: none have been seen in coastal waters since 1963, and no records of the sharks anywhere in the Mediterranean exist after 1995. Nervous bathers should note that only the thresher shark Alopias vulpinus has been recorded in coastal waters in recent years. If looks like it is safe to be in the water after all. Just as long as you’re not a shark. Source: Ferretti F, Myers RA, Serena F & Lotze HK (2008) Loss of large predatory sharks from the Mediterranean Sea. Cons. Biol. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2008.00938.x

Image: © Bart Coenders

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Jun

4

2008
 
 

A fish called… what?



Overfished species sold mislabeled, hindering consumer choice

What's your fish?Mmmm, red snapper. But hang on, is that really what you’re eating? A group of Stanford University scientists, led by Cheryl Logan, have used DNA forensics to uncover fishy goings on in the seafood marketplace. Taking 77 “Pacific red snapper” whole fish or fillets from a range of sources in California and Washington, including grocers, fish markets and sushi restaurants, they found a total of eleven species, only one of which was true red snapper Lutjanus campechanus. Between 60% and 63% of the samples were from fish not on the FDA Seafood list. Writing in Biological Conservation, Logan’s team say that although around 80% of all fish landed are identified to species level, that picture changes somewhat by the time they reach our plates. This “institutionalized mislabeling” is preventing customers from making informed, conservation-minded choices about what fish to eat and what to avoid. Source: Logan CA, Alter SE, Haupt AJ, Tomalty K & Palumbi SR (2008) An impediment to consumer choice: overfished species are sold as Pacific red snapper. Biol. Conserv. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2008.04.007

Image: © Jill Chen

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May

14

2008
 
 

Our fault? Sure is



Comprehensive analysis links global ecological changes to human activity

melting glaciers are down to usThirty five years’ worth of data covering hundreds of independent studies put beyond reasonable doubt the impact of human activity on the planet, according to a paper published today in Nature. NASA scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig and colleagues collated a diverse array of findings, allowing them to pin down the causes of physical (glacier shrinkage, warmer oceans and so on) and biological (early leaf burst, breeding seasons and algal blooms) changes that have been documented in recent decades. More than 95 percent of some 829 physical, and 90 percent of the nearly 29,000 biological changes they examined were in a direction consistent with a warming climate. If there’s any comfort to be drawn from the findings, it’s that climate warming is overwhelmingly the most important factor influencing changes in the natural world: habitat destruction, overfishing and pollution are mere trifles by comparison, so at least we know which problem to tackle first! Source: Rosenzweig C, Karoly D, Vicarelli M, Neofotis P, Wu Q, Casassa G, Menzel A, Root TL, Estrella N, Seguin B, Tryjanowski P, Liu C, Rawlins S& Imeson A (2008) Attributing physical and biological impacts to anthropogenic climate change. Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature06937

Image © Sburel

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Apr

30

2008
 
 

Watching the detectives



Protected areas don’t always protect as well as they should, study reveals

rainforest dawnConservation projects often hinge on areas of land being given protection, but little is known about how well many protected areas actually do their job. Studying four of the world’s major moist tropical forests, a group of Duke University researchers led by Stuart Pimm found that inaccessibility can be a tree’s best friend. Protected areas within the Amazon and Congo forests, for example, nestle within largely well-forested surrounding areas, which keeps them relatively safe. The Atlantic Coast and West African protected areas, by contrast, are more fragmented: unfortunate, given their status as biodiversity hotspots. The study, published this week in PNAS, nonetheless throws welcome light on the way that large scale conservation initiatives work, or don’t. Source: Joppa LN, Loarie SR & Pimm SL (2008) On the protection of “protected areas”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0802471105

Image © Joe Gough

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Mar

19

2008
 
 

What’s bugging business?



Reduced tariffs can benefit trade and wildlife, economic models forecast

Do they pick up Sky News?The Asian longhorned beetle Anoplophora glabripennis and other invasive species could soon feel the brunt of hard nosed economics, if the authors of a paper published in Ecological Economics have got their sums right. Iowa State University professor of economics John Beghin and colleagues looked at the effect of trade tariff escalations – which protect exports of raw materials but suppress manufactured or processed goods – on the likelihood of invasive species arrival. Because unprocessed goods, such as timber, are far more likely to provide berth for a stowaway alien, biasing trade flows in their favor is likely to have unwelcome consequences. That beautifully finished coffee table, on the other hand, is completely pest free. Beghin’s mathematical models show that reducing the tariff escalation faced by countries exporting both raw and processed products leads to that rarest of things, a win-win situation. Developing countries get to export higher value products, helping their economies, and developed countries enjoy a reduced risk of invasion. Source: Tu AT, Beghin J & Gozlan E (2008) Tariff escalation and invasive species damages. Ecological Economics DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.01.013

Image © andsem | istockphoto

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Mar

3

2008
 
 

Dropping hints



Ski tourism stresses capercaillies, Black Forest study shows

Snow laughing matter for capercailliesWant to know if your capercaillies are stressed? Check the steroids in their droppings, say a group of ecologists led by Dominik Thiel at the Swiss Ornithological Institute, Switzerland. Their report, published recently in the Journal of Applied Ecology, shows that ski resorts, and in particular the number of people they attract, are unsettling the birds. Corticosterone metabolites – the breakdown products of stress hormones – were found to be present in significantly greater levels in areas under moderate or high pressure from recreational skiers. With many capercaillie Tetrao urogallus populations in steeper decline than the ski slopes that cut through their habitat, managers need to ensure there are disturbance-free refuges if they’re to avoid the you-know-what from hitting the fan. Source: Thiel D, Jenni-Eiermann S, Braunisch V, Palme R & Jenni L (2008) Ski tourism affects habitat use and evokes a physiological stress response in capercaillie Tetrao urogallus: a new methodological approach. Journal of Applied Ecology DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01465.x

Image © Richard Bartz

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Mar

1

2008
 
 

Hitting the buffers



Empirical evidence finally matches what theorists have long suspected

Life on the rocksBig old marine reserves are best, according to Joachim Claudet and colleagues in their recent Ecology Letters paper. Using original data spanning 33 years of European marine conservation effort, the University of Perpignan researcher’s team found that the reasons why some reserves enhance fish density and biodiversity, but others don’t, largely rests on two simple factors: how large the protected areas is and how long it’s been protected for. Conversely, the study suggested that a large buffer zone, where limited fishing is allowed, reduces the effectiveness of the reserve it surrounds. Much of the artisanal fishing goes on in the buffer zone, and their presence is linked to a complex set of social, ecological and economic influences. One way to hang onto them would be to increase the size of the protected area: a win-win situation perhaps? Source: Claudet J, Osenberg CW, Benedetti-Cecchi L, Domenici P, García-Charton J-A, Pérez-Ruzafa A, Badalamenti F, Bayle-Sempere J, Brito A, Bulleri F, Culioli J-M, Dimech M, Falcón JM, Guala I, Milazzo M, Sánchez-Meca J, Somerfield PJ, Stobart B, Vandeperre F, Valle C & Planes S (2008) Marine reserves: size and age do matter. Ecology Letters DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01166.x

Image © Christina Deridder

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