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Dec

21

2007
 
 

Pain in the neck



Giraffes have at least eleven genetically distinct populations, but how many species? as if a long nexk weren't enough trouble...Not all giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis are the same, according to a report published online today in BMC Biology. Despite large differences in pelage markings, ossicone (those antler-like thingys) number and mitochondrial variation, taxonomists have struggled to agree on how many species there are. Previous accounts have given one or two, broken up into several subspecies. However, UCLA biologist Robert Wayne and colleagues present genetic and phylogeographic evidence for the existence of at least six distinct African giraffe lineages, of which five contain genetically discrete populations. The conservation implications are profound: of the estimated 110000 wild giraffes left, only 100 belong to the West African clade, found in a single area of Niger. The current “Lower Risk” IUCN Red List classification needs looking at again: giraffe conservation just got trickier. Source: Brown DM, Brenneman RA, Koepfli K-P, Pollinger JP, Mila B, Georgiadis NJ, Louis EE Jr, Grether GF, Jacobs DK & Wayne RK (2007) Extensive population genetic structure in the giraffe. BMC Biology DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-5-57 Image © Graeme Purdy

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Mar

15

2007
 
 

Why a datum isn’t enough



Common as muckThe ivory-billed woodpecker might still be extinct after all A couple of years ago four seconds of blurry video footage brought the ivory-billed woodpecker Campephilus principalis back to life, making the bird headline news around the world. But according to a paper published this week in BMC Biology, the footage wasn’t of said ivory-billed woodpecker, whose IUCN Red List status has dallied for decades between critically endangered and extinct. Instead, claims Martin Collinson, the University of Aberdeen author of the study, the video shows a pileated woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus.  He provides compelling comparisons with footage of the more common bird to prove the point. Several other sightings of ivory-billed woodpeckers have been made in recent years; none are conclusive. As Collinson points out, however, the raft of conservation measures put in place to detect and hopefully protect the elusive creature will benefit other wildlife too. Amazing how we care for things once they’re (probably) gone, isn’t it? Source: Collinson JM (2007) Video analysis of the escape flight of Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus: does the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Campephilus principalis persist in continental North America? BMC Biology DOI: 10.1186/1741-7007-5-8 Image © Joe Lacefield

Filed Under Endangered species, Monitoring, Tools and technology | 1 Comment

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