Economics and 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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Jul

1

2008
 
 

Cow pharming



Drugged cows produce more milk, cutting greenhouse gas emissions

cowCows might cultivate an image of gentle, vegetarian all-round pleasantness, but don’t be duped: their methane-laden flatus is the source of ten percent of the global annual emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. Judith Capper and colleagues report a technological solution in this week’s PNAS. The Cornell University researcher has studied the effects of supplementing cow feed with recombinant bovine somatotropin, the main effect of which is to boost milk production. The knock-on effect of this is a reduction of energy input and waste output for a given quantity of milk. The laced cows have a relatively low environmental impact, presenting conservation-minded sorts with a tricky dilemma: should we ditch high impact organic dairy farming for the pharmacologically modified alternative? Source: Capper JL, Castañeda-Gutiérrez, Cady RA & Bauman DE (2008) The environmental impact of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) in dairy production. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0802446105

Image: © VeSilvio

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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

29

2008
 
 

The need for weeds



Turkish flora threatened by intensive agriculture, almost unnoticed

weeds“Weeds” provide valuable food for many species, yet their conservation status has been largely overlooked. A study by Cengiz Türe and Harun Böcük at Anadolu University, Turkey, now illustrates the extent of the oversight. Writing in Weed Research, they report on a worryingly high number of species – some 112 all told – listed on the wrong end of the IUCN’s Red List scale of endangerment. The intensification of arable farming in Europe has coincided with a dramatic decline in native plant species, hampering subsequent efforts to restore lost biodiversity. Turkey is particularly rich in endemic plant taxa, but modern agricultural practices are designed to eliminate non-crop species. Türe and Böcük make the bizarre, yet perfectly logical, suggestion that farmers should nurture weeds. Quite how farmers will react is another story… Source: Türe C & Böcük H (2008) Investigation of threatened arable weeds and their conservation status in Turkey. Weed Research DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3180.2008.00630.x

Image: © Lane Erickson

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May

3

2008
 
 

Nor any drop to breathe



Oxygen disappears from the world’s tropical oceans, consequences ahead

open waterParts of the world’s oceans contain little oxygen, and those areas are getting bigger, according to findings published this week in Science. Lothar Stramma, a marine scientist at Universität Kiel, Germany, and colleagues constructed a 50-year time line of dissolved oxygen concentrations at depths of up to 2000 metres. The found that parts of the eastern tropical Atlantic and equatorial Pacific oceans have been becoming increasingly oxygen poor, a phenomenon most likely linked to climate change – atmospheric carbon dioxide levels in particular. Of course, that’s a problem for organisms that inhabit those regions, and it will probably impact on our fisheries. Source: Stramma L, Johnson GC, Sprintall J & Mohrholz V (2008) Expanding oxygen-minimum zones in the tropical oceans. Science USA DOI: 10.1126/science.1153847

Image © Alessia Giangrande

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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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Apr

21

2008
 
 

Heavy metal rock(cress)



Pollution-gobbling weed gives up its genetic secret to success

heavy metal fanMost plants don’t like heavy metals such as zinc or cadmium, but Arabidopsis halleri will happily put down roots in the most contaminated soils. Reporting in Nature this week, a team of scientists led by Max Planck Institute biologist Ute Krämer – now at the University of Heidelberg – has unraveled the genetic basis underlying the little weed’s hardiness. Extra copies of the HMA4 (HEAVY METAL ATPASE 4) gene – are responsible: splicing it into the much more famous A. thaliana confers the same pollution-tolerating ability. Toxins are stored in the plant’s leaf cells, raising the possibility of developing plants that, when harvested, could drain contaminated soil of its poisonous elements. Even weeds have their strengths. Source: Hanikenne M, Talke IN, Haydon MJ, Lanz C, Nolte A, Motte P, Kroymann J, Weigel D & Krämer U (2008) Evolution of metal hyperaccumulation required cis-regulatory changes and triplication of HMA4. Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature06877

Image © Vasiliy Koval

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