Animal Conservation最新文献

Climate warming is driving changes in species distribution, but habitat characteristics can interact with warming temperatures to affect populations in unexpected ways. We investigated wintering waterbird responses to climate warming depending on habitat characteristics, with a focus on the northern boundary of their non-breeding distributions where winter climatic conditions are more extreme. At these Nordic latitudes, climate warming is expected to drive positive changes in species occurrence and abundance, with likely differences in species-specific responses. We analyzed the occurrence and abundance of 18 species of waterbirds monitored over 2,982 surveys at 245 inland wetlands over a 25-year period in Sweden. We used hierarchical modeling of species communities (HMSC) which enabled us to relate species-specific changes to both functional traits and phylogenetic relatedness. We investigated occurrence and abundance changes in response to average temperature, temperature anomalies, site area, site protection status (Natura 2000), and land use in agricultural and urban surfaces. Unsurprisingly, both average temperatures and temperature anomalies were the most important variables influencing positively waterbird occurrence and abundance. For 60% of the species, the effect of temperature anomalies was even stronger in large or protected wetlands. Geese and mallard occurred more often at sites surrounded by agricultural and urban surfaces, respectively, but their occurrence in these habitats was not affected by interactive effects with climate warming. Species abundance was greater inside protected areas only for 11% of the species, but occurrence probability was higher inside protected areas for 44% of the species. Overall, we observed that species thermal affinity was a strong predictor for positive species response to temperature anomalies, and that species sharing similar phylogenetic history had similar relationships with environmental variables. Protection of large wetlands and restoration of the surrounding habitats are two targets for climate change adaptation strategies to facilitate future responses of waterbirds to climate warming.

Half of all species are predicted to face extinction by the end of the century. Despite this, awareness of certain species' extinctions remains surprisingly muted, highlighting the need to improve and quantify public awareness. We explore the connection between biodiversity loss and public awareness by quantifying the changes in online interest on Twitter (now known as X) and Wikipedia both before and after the extinctions of eight species and following their reclassification in the IUCN Red List. Our findings reveal that extinction announcements generally spike online interest for most species, albeit briefly on Twitter (i.e. tweets and retweets about species), while Wikipedia (i.e. article pageviews of species) exhibits a more prolonged interest. IUCN reports were generally not associated with increased interest. Coordinated media coverage, especially when aligned with broader environmental narratives and key events, enhanced the impact of extinction announcements. On Twitter, spatially we observed a shift from local to global interest of users following extinction. We also found a small subset of influential users on Twitter, including content creators and media organisations, who disproportionately shaped conservation discussions. Environmentally oriented individuals and organisations also play a significant role, collectively comprising a third of the top retweeted users. Overall, these results highlight the need for conservation bodies, such as the IUCN, to engage more directly both with media organisations and content creators in order to drive public interest for conservation efforts, especially for less charismatic species. The tragedy of species extinction necessitates such efforts to ensure sustained and meaningful public awareness. Our findings also show that while social media outlets can generate global interest quickly, which may drive public discussions regarding ongoing extinctions and potential future de-extinctions, this is likely to be short-lived, underscoring the importance of alternative platforms such as Wikipedia, which can foster longer-term engagement.

Conservation translocation is a valuable management tool for conserving and restoring biodiversity. Conservation managers and researchers strive for translocation success and spend considerable time and energy planning for a positive outcome. However, many translocations fail. Defining what makes a translocation ‘successful’ can be challenging. Criteria for success must be relevant to the objectives of the translocation, should be measurable and have realistic timeframes for achievement. How we evaluate these criteria is highly dependent on our ability to monitor a species effectively, which may be complicated by its behaviour, the release methods used, or the release environment, including sympatric species. Well-planned, but ultimately ineffective, monitoring strategies may render some criteria difficult or impossible to evaluate. Finally, poorly defined success criteria may result in apparently successful translocations failing to achieve their stated goals, or translocations that meet their success criteria but ultimately fail. Here, we discuss the challenges faced when defining and evaluating the success of a fauna reconstruction program on Dirk Hartog Island in Western Australia. Our achievement of success criteria within prescribed timeframes has been mixed, highlighting ways to better define and measure success. We discuss how we have adapted to new knowledge as the translocations progressed and propose frameworks for defining performance measures and guiding decision-making in response to failures in achieving success criteria.

Monitoring threatened species is essential for understanding their conservation needs and developing effective recovery strategies. However, designing and implementing monitoring programs can be challenging in resource-constrained environments, where conservation practitioners must balance the need for detailed information with limited resources. We present a case study focusing on the design of a range-wide monitoring program for the Endangered rufous scrub-bird (Atrichornis rufescens) in the mountain forests of eastern Australia. We first developed a ‘wish list’ of monitoring questions and then trialed the methods needed for answering them using sequence of pilot studies. We implemented a phased approach comprising (i) a study of whether individuals could be identified by their songs, (ii) identification of a ‘core range’ using species distribution models to refine the search area, and (iii) a trial of the efficacy of a preferred feasible monitoring approach. We offer a practical pathway for designing question-driven monitoring programs for threatened species. Our study highlights the importance of clarifying explicit monitoring goals and tailoring methods to suit species' ecological and life history characteristics. By following this systematic approach, conservation efforts can obtain valuable information for effective management, even with limited resources and prevailing uncertainty about species ecology.

Amphibian survival is imperiled by increasing anthropogenic disturbance and insufficient conservation efforts. Spatial prioritization is an essential tool that allows for optimization of scarce conservation resources and the identification of protected area networks that will maintain their effectiveness in the future. This study focuses on amphibians in the Sierra Madre del Sur, a Mexican biogeographic province with high amphibian species richness and endemism. We aim to (i) assess the performance of the current protected area network and (ii) identify potential expansion areas of the current network, considering their persistence in time. Using occurrence data of 107 species, we estimated distributions with species distribution models and buffers. Species were weighted according to their national and international conservation status, and future land-use change scenarios were incorporated to identify priority areas using Zonation software. Results revealed poor performance of the current protected areas network for amphibian conservation, failing to cover any of the top 2% of amphibian priority areas. Many protected areas fall outside the top 30% priority, indicating inadequate location of protected areas for amphibian conservation. However, minimal network expansions could significantly enhance protection for high-risk species, particularly for the Plethodontidae family. Our study highlights the potential of systematic conservation planning in improving efficient amphibian conservation, even with minimal expansions of key areas. Finally, our findings provide important insights into amphibian conservation in a region with high levels of endemism that has often been neglected in terms of biodiversity conservation efforts.

In the temperate zone, many bat species depend on underground sites during the autumn mating period and as hibernacula in winter. Anthropogenic or natural alteration or destruction of a hibernaculum may severely threaten the bats that rely on the site, especially if they are not aware of suitable alternatives. Currently, the rate at which bats visit other hibernacula, or disperse between them, is poorly understood. Here, we studied hibernation site fidelity in two European bat species, Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii) and Natterer's bat (Myotis nattereri), that share hibernacula but differ in their hibernation phenology and mating systems. The activity of over 2500 RFID-tagged individuals was monitored using an automated recording system at the entrances of three hibernacula over eight full years. Hibernation site fidelity was high in both species, with only 1.6% of Daubenton's bats and 4.1% of Natterer's bats moving between the monitored sites during their lifetimes. Juvenile bats moved more frequently than adults and contrary to our expectations, in Natterer's bats, more females moved between hibernacula than males. Movements almost always occurred during the autumn mating season, and more frequently between neighboring hibernacula than between distant sites. Finally, we also found that individuals rarely explored more than one of the three entrances to a site, despite their close proximity. Taken together, our results suggest that some juvenile bats may explore multiple sites, but that they rarely disperse to other hibernacula as adults. As a result, most individuals are either not aware of alternative sites or do not regularly update this information. We therefore argue that the creation of new underground objects as a mitigation measure may not function as an immediate compensation for the disturbance or the loss of an existing hibernaculum. Instead, the proactive identification and protection of existing hibernacula should be prioritized.

Wind farms are a clean and efficient source of renewable energy. However, they cause negative impacts on raptors. Here, we present a review of the existing scientific literature on the effects of wind farms on raptors' ecology with a particular interest in the potential solutions. After collecting 216 studies, we found a consensus in the literature that raptors exhibit avoidance behaviors, and that the abundance of raptors decreases after wind farm installation, although it might recover over time. The position of wind farms on mountaintop ridges poses a particular danger to large soaring raptors, as they rely on orographic uplift to gain altitude. Adult mortality significantly affects population dynamics, particularly in endangered species, but young inexperienced individuals show a higher collision risk. The combination of different methods including field monitoring, GPS telemetry and systematic search for carcasses is an adequate approach to further investigate the problem and solutions. Shutdowns on demand, the installation of deterrents, turbine micro-sitting and the repowering of wind farms have been suggested as potential solutions, although results are contradictory and case-specific. Furthermore, it is essential to report the potential occurrence of conflicts of interest in scientific papers, as they can influence the interpretation of the results. Finally, from a future perspective, it is crucial to assess the effectiveness of solutions to mitigate the negative effects of wind farms to promote raptor conservation. This becomes increasingly relevant in the context of renewable energy development and increasing energy demand worldwide.

Agroforestry, often promoted as a sustainable agriculture practice, is rapidly expanding, often at the cost of primary tropical forests. While agroforestry negatively impacts amphibian diversity, its effects on population demography, microhabitat, use and body condition are relatively understudied. This information is crucial for determining and promoting amphibian-friendly land-use practices. We compared habitats, population densities, microhabitat use and body condition of two endemic species of shrub frogs (Pseudophilautus amboli and Raorchestes bombayensis) across (1) elevations (low- and high-elevation forests) and (2) land-use categories (cashew, rubber and low-elevation forests) in the northern part of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. Using distance sampling, we demonstrated that the abundances of the two shrub frog species differed across elevation categories, with P. amboli more common in low-elevation forests and R. bombayensis more prevalent in high-elevation forests. Both species of frogs exhibited extremely skewed, male-biased sex ratios, with three females for 100 males. P. amboli had lower densities and poor recruitment and exhibited altered microhabitat use in cashew plantations compared to low-elevation forests. Although adult male P. amboli densities in rubber were similar to those in low-elevation forests, they exhibited altered microhabitat use and smaller body sizes than in forests, indicating poor body condition. We demonstrate the differential impacts of agroforestry types on shrub frogs. We also demonstrate that distance sampling can be a useful tool for population monitoring of shrub frogs, which comprise almost 25% of the anuran diversity in the Western Ghats. There is a need to identify the drivers of extremely skewed sex ratios, which make these species vulnerable to population crashes. Given the recent downlisting of the two focal species to Least Concern, we advocate for their uplisting to at least Near Threatened status considering their patchy distribution, negative impacts of rapidly expanding agroforestry plantations and extremely skewed sex ratios.

Bycatch is one of the leading threats facing aquatic organisms, worldwide. Pesticide bycatch can occur when nontarget species are incidentally killed during chemical application targeting noxious species. The common mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a river-dwelling salamander that is susceptible to bycatch from 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) applications. However, the long-term consequences of TFM bycatch on mudpuppy populations are not well understood. We used population viability analysis to reveal potential impacts of TFM application on a mudpuppy population in Ohio's Grand River under plausible bycatch scenarios. We found that the population was more sensitive to increased juvenile mortality and rapid declines occurred when both adults and juveniles were impacted at high bycatch rates (≥5% of the population) or more frequent TFM intervals (≥5 years). Our results suggest that continued use of TFM could pose a risk to mudpuppy population persistence if bycatch occurs at moderate to high levels and affects both juveniles and adults. Future TFM use and management decisions should be directed with these potential nontarget impacts in mind.

Anthropogenic factors are an important driving force impacting bat populations across the globe. These include habitat loss and alteration, infectious diseases, climate change, and human persecution. Multiple factors typically impact populations simultaneously, which can have severe consequence for biodiversity. Mongolia has a large number of cave systems with over 500 documented in the country, of which only ~300 have been explored (Avirmed, 2020). The lack of exploration in these sites reveals a significant information gap in our understanding of Mongolian bat species and their use of the extensive cave systems throughout the country. Most temperate bat species hibernate in caves (Romero, 2009; Furey & Racey, 2016). Of the 20 species of bats currently recorded in Mongolia, seven are found in caves during hibernation. With harsh and dry climate of Mongolia most of the caves host a low abundance of bats, with just a few sites serving as critical winter sites for these populations.

The Shar khanan cave, located in Undurshil soum of Dundgobi province, in southern Mongolia, is one of the hibernacula sites for David's Myotis (Myotis davidii) in the country (Fig. 1). The cave is surrounded by semi-desert (North Desert) with vegetation communities primarily comprised of psammophytic bunchgrass (Stipa gobica, S. glareosa) Caragana, (Ceratoides papposa) and Stipa-Cleistogenes communities growing on brown loose-sandy soils and sands (Gunin & Saandar, 2019). The cave is 25 m deep and 173 m long (Avirmed, 2020). The site is completely dry with no water (Vaks et al., 2013). The average air temperature in the cave is 4°C.

Myotis davidii is listed as Least Concern by IUCN (Jiang & Feng, 2019) that primarily occurs in arid habitats (desert and desert-steppe), and is known to use rock crevices, tree hollows, livestock pens, buildings and caves for roosting and hibernation (Batsaikhan et al., 2022). It has also been associated with forest habitat in China, where it exclusively uses cave sites for roosting (Jiang & Feng, 2019). This species has been previously confirmed hibernating in several caves in Mongolia's southern and eastern areas (Avirmed, 2020; Hoyt et al., 2020).

In April 2024, we conducted cave surveys to study bat hibernation ecology in southern Mongolia. During the study, we visited Shar khanan cave and found the entrance was completely covered by dried grass and sand. We excavated the material to examine the cave entrance. Upon removal of the debris, we found that a mass mortality event of M. davidii had occurred inside the cave. We collected 1,208 dead bats from inside the cave and estimated that ~2000 bats had died in total. It appeared that the mortality event had been caused by the obstruction of the entran