India could soon help bring back an extinct, spectacular species of lions

LONDON: India could soon help bring back an extinct lion species. DNA tests by an international team of scientists has confirmed the lions in India have close genetic links with the now extinct Barbary lions.

This means that "reseeding" Indian lions could bring back the extinct species and reintroduce lions into North Africa.

Barbary lions of North Africa extending from Egypt to Morocco were also called the Atlas lions and had the most spectacular physical features of all lion species. (Getty Images photo)

Less than 400 Asiatic lions survive at present on the Kathiawar Peninsula of India and the species is listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Barbary lions of North Africa — including mountainous regions — extending from Egypt to Morocco were also called the Atlas lions and had the most spectacular physical features of all lion species. The lion's extensive mane made it look majestic. It was a lot larger with differently-coloured eyes to other lions.

Dr Ross Barnett of Copenhagen University, who had started the research during his days at Durham University in UK, sequenced the DNA from the skulls of two Barbary lions once held in Britain's Tower of London. It has helped reveal the origin of modern lions.

The skulls of these lions dated as living in the 14th and 15th centuries were discovered preserved in the Tower of London's moat.

Dr Barnett said he was surprised by the incredibly close relationship between the extinct Barbary lion from North Africa and the Asian lion from India. This he says could now get conservationists start talking about resurrecting the subspecies and reintroducing lions into North Africa"

Despite the large geographical distances between them, the Indian lions seem to be closely related to Iranian lions and the Barbary lions of North Africa.

The study says: "In the tiger, another charismatic felid species, studies of ancient mitochondrial DNA have suggested a close relationship between the extinct central Asian Caspian tiger and the extant Amur tiger. This has allowed conservationists to discuss the translocation of Amur tiger stock to occupy the former range of the Caspian tiger with support from the World Tiger Summit. Similarly, if no examples of purebred Barbary lions can be found within the zoo population, there might be scope for restoration of the North African lion population using the closely related Indian lion."

A genetic analysis of living lions and museum specimens confirms modern lions' most recent common ancestor lived around 124,000 years ago.

Dr Barnett said, "Understanding the demographic history of a population is critical to conservation. This is particularly true for the lion which as a consequence of millennia of human persecution, has large gaps in its natural distribution and several recently extinct populations. We sequenced mitochondrial DNA from museum-preserved individuals including the extinct Barbary lion and Iranian lion as well as lions from West and Central Africa. We have identified deep, well-supported splits within the mitochondrial phylogeny of African lions."

The lion had one of the largest geographical distributions of any terrestrial mammal during the Late Pleistocene, ranging from southern Africa through northern Eurasia to Central America. Widespread hunting and anthropogenic changes to lion habitat are continuing to reduce lion populations across their entire range.

The research says: "From the DNA analysis, we identified four new mitochondrial haplotypes: one from North Africa, one from a suspected Barbary lion present in medieval London, one from Iran, and one from Senegal. Four of the six Barbary lions exhibited sequence identical to that of the extant Indian lion."

"International bodies currently recognize only two lion conservation units: African and Asian lions. The data clearly show that Asian lions are nested within the diversity present in Central, West and North Africa. Of particular concern are the central African and western African populations, which may be close to extinction, with estimates of 800 lions in West Africa and 900 lions in Central Africa. The close phylogenetic relationships among Barbary, Iranian, and Indian lion populations are noteworthy given their considerable geographical separation. The restoration of the extinct North African Barbary lion has attracted the attention of conservationists both inside and outside North Africa," it added.

Original News

Evil hackers are eyeing the endangered animals

Hackers are selling the location of animals monitored by GPS for hunters, who profit from the sale of animals on the black market

Bengal Tiger: species was attacked by hackers in India last year

São Paulo - Endangered animals monitored by collars with GPS are becoming the target of cyber attacks. Hackers are selling the location of animals for hunters who profit from the illegal animal trade market.

An action of the type was registered on July 24 last year in Panna, bengal tiger reserve located in India. At the time, hackers attempted to gain access to the location of one of the tigers - provided by email only three researchers. However, the attack was unsuccessful, reports the website of the magazine Popular Science .

According to data from the Global Fund for Wildlife, a Bengal tiger gets to be sold for $ 50,000 in the pet trade, which sum would move next year to $ 10 billion market, after the recent push enabled for online sales.

Monitored worth much 

Among other problems, the monitoring of endangered animals by GPS implies heavy investment in electronic devices. Currently, implement technology that indicates the exact position of an animal does not leave for less than $ 5,000.

The high cost of operation makes researchers choose to monitor only the most endangered species - that, in general, reached this condition to be more valuable in the poaching market.
So, know where an animal of this kind can be worth a lot of money - which encourages further attacks from hackers.

Among the solutions to the problem pointed out by experts, are investing in a tracking system with enhanced security (as is already happening in Namibia) or even by reserves surveillance drones - that should be implemented soon in Kenya.

Until then, endangered wildlife will continue targeted by hackers and hunters.

Original Portuguese  Source
News on Popular Science

Sri Lanka on world map of biodiversity hotspots

Sri Lanka is the home for a rich biodiversity, which is a part of its natural wealth. The country has a high endemism - 30% of its vertebrate animals and 28% of its flowering plants are found only in Sri Lanka. This diversity and the multiple threats faced included the country’s southwestern region among the ‘biodiversity hotspots’ designated about two and half decades ago.

Biodiversity hotspot concept emerged as an effort to identify conservation priorities and it was to define the areas that are the most immediately important for conserving biodiversity. The hotspots are locations that hold especially high numbers of endemic species, in a limited area of occupation which was under imminent threat.This concept was somewhat widely discussed in the conservation arena of the country and was used for decision making and policy issues related to biodiversity. 

A recent global study has pinpointed a list of most important protected areas specially for the conservation of bird, amphibian and mammal diversity. This is a result of the work of an international team, whose study was published in the world renowned journal Science few weeks ago. The most important issue is the fact that two Sri Lankan sites are among these ‘irreplaceable protected areas’.

New study

There is no doubt about the significance of protected areas for the conservation of biodiversity and conservation action which are centered on these at present. However, some of these protected areas may be highly important in terms when we consider the threatened biodiversity they harbor. This new study is an effort to identify such protected areas.  

‘Irreplaceable protected areas’ – the protected areas the researchers mention are defined as the protected areas most critical to prevent extinctions of the world’s mammals, birds and amphibians.Through their analysis, the researchers identified 137 protected areas situated in 34 countries, as “exceptionally irreplaceable”. These sites are the home for about 627 birds, amphibians, and mammals, and 319 of them are listed as globally threatened. More than half of the distribution of these animals is confined to these protected areas.This shows that the importance of these protected areas in terms of conserving these taxa of animals, but they have also calculated the overall irreplaceability based on the all species available in these protected areas.

These are being calculated comparing each protected area’s contribution for the survival of the species. Extensive data available for 173,461 terrestrial protected areas in the world and assessments of 21,419 species on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species have been used for this analysis.

Protected areas

According to the list of the identified protected areas, Sri Lanka has two sites, namely the Central Highlands World Heritage Site and Kanneliya Forest Reserve. These areas are well known protected areas in Sri Lanka in terms of their biodiversity as well as endemism. 
Central highlands complex is a world Heritage Site designated in 2010 and consists of three main protected areas – the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, the Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles Conservation Forest.These forests include the largest and least disturbed remaining areas of the submontane and montane rain forests of Sri Lanka and these protected areas cover an area of 537 square kilometers. More than half of the country’s endemic vertebrates, half of the country’s endemic flowering plants are found in these forests and grassland ecosystems.However, these protected areas are threatened with anthropogenic causes. For instance, the Knuckles area is highly threatened with cardamom cultivation and the Peak Wilderness is threatened with encroachments.

Kanneliya forest reserve is located in Galle District in the southwestern region of the country. Kanneliya Forest is a part of the Kanneliya-Dediyagala-Nakiyadeniya International Biosphere Reserve under the Man and Biosphere Program of UNESCO in 2004.With a 62 square kilometer area, it is mentioned as the most extensive surviving block of low land rainforest next to Sinharaja forest. However the highest percentage of endemic woody species of any wet zone forest in the country (i.e. 60%) is recorded from Kanneliya. It is rich in faunal species too.

Clear message

The key message issued by this study is clear. These identified protected areas must be considered as crucial in conservation of biodiversity as they harbour a considerable high number of endemics and threatened animals – birds, amphibians and mammals as well as other species.Hence conserving those should be a high priority in those countries.

Dr. Ana Rodrigues, one of the authors of the above research paper pointed outin an email conversation that their main aim is to raise the profile of these exceptional sites, to improve their conservation prospects. This analysis provides practical advice for improving the effectiveness of protected areas in conserving global biodiversity. There are numerous challenges in the conservation of these protected areas, despite decades of conservation efforts worldwide.As we know, conservation itself is a struggle in the socio-economic context in the world, particularly in developing countries.
This research or its relevancy to Sri Lanka was not much highlighted in Sri Lankan media. This issue should be taken in to consideration of conservation authorities, when designing conservation strategies and action as the importance of these protected areas has been defined scientifically.

Pics by Bushana Kalhara

Origanal Story

Tarantulas Loved to Extinction?

6 December 2013 6:15 pm
Spiders may not be the most cuddly of species, but some are so prized by collectors that their existence could be in peril. The pet trade is one of the reasons that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) this week took a step toward putting 11 species of tarantula on its list of endangered species. This slideshow highlights some of these colorful species and their natural history.

The spiders live in India and Sri Lanka, so the main impact of listing them would be to generally prohibit their importation or sale within the United States. Most of the species live in trees and are threatened by deforestation. Some will enter homes, where people kill them. All of them are threatened by collection for the pet trade. The reddish parachute spider (Poecilotheria rufilata), in particular, is difficult to breed in captivity, and requires wild individuals.

Brent Hendrixson, a spider biologist at Millsaps College in Jackson, says that habitat destruction is most likely the largest threat to the tarantulas. “It might be a stretch to say that overcollecting is driving the numbers down,” he says. “We don’t have any concrete data on exports from India or Sri Lanka in terms of wild-caught animals.” Most of the individuals in the United States have been propagated through captive breeding programs, he adds. The peacock tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica), in particular, is well suited because it is easy to breed and grows rapidly. They’re also stunningly beautiful.

In 2010, a group called WildEarth Guardians in Santa Fe petitioned FWS to list species of the genus Poecilotheria and on Tuesday, the agency agreed that there’s enough science to warrant further review. That is supposed to take a year, but often stretches out longer. FWS willaccept public comments until 3 February.

Søren Rafn

The peacock tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica) is known only from a small forest reserve in Andhra Pradesh, India. Like others in the genus, they make funnel webs inside deep crevices of old growth trees.

BayLee's 8 Legged Art

The beautiful parachute spider (Poecilotheria formosa) lives in the Eastern Ghats in southern India and is poorly known. Males have never been discovered.

BayLee's 8 Legged Art

The reddish parachute spider (Poecilotheria rufilata) ambushes prey and has been seen capturing young bats. They are smuggled from India into Europe and America for the pet trade.

Morkelsker

Found in the Kitulgala Forest Reserve of southern Sri Lanka, the fringed ornamental (Poecilotheria ornata) inflicts a painful bite. Like other tarantulas, its venom is not fatal to humans.

Brent Moore

The striated parachute spider (Poecilotheria striata) is popular among pet traders and collectors. It’s found across 2000 km2 of the Western Ghats in India, where its habitat continues to decline.

B. Smith

The wonderful parachute spider (Poecilotheria miranda) gets its name because males will sail down from trees to the ground. The population, in the Chhota Nagpur region of northeast India, is thought to be decreasing.

Laurence Livermore

The brown parachute spider (Poecilotheria subfusca) comes from south-central Sri Lanka. Scientists surveying their habitat from 2003 to 2005 found only 20 individuals.

Zoological Survey of India

The Rameshwaram parachute spider (Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica) was discovered in 2004 in a sacred grove on Rameshwaram Island in southern India. They ambush insects.

Original Story

Expert lists butterflies- 3-year survey on Sikkim species

Expert lists butterflies- 3-year survey on Sikkim species:
TT, Gangtok, May 31: A Pune-based lepideptorist has taken up a project to update the database on butterflies found in Sikkim.

Krushnamegh Kunte, who did his masters degree in wildlife sciences from the Wildlife Institute of India, said according to the records, 650 species of butterflies have been found in Sikkim since the 1850’s.
But most of the data were collected at a time when the territory of the state extended up to Darjeeling in the south and Chumbi Valley in the north. Today the area of Sikkim is smaller and hence the figures need to be updated.

“According to historical records built up from the 1850’s, when the first work to survey the species began, there are around 650 butterflies in this region. There is no systematic data today about how many of them are still found in Sikkim because areas where the butterflies were found previously are not part of the state anymore. One major reason for my research is that I want to come up with an updated figure of how many species are found here,” said Kunte.

The researcher, who is a postdoctoral fellow with the FAS Centre for Systems Biology in Harvard University and the president of the Indian Foundation for Butterflies, finished a month-long survey recently.
The project was part of the three-year study that he intends to complete by 2013.

“We want to do a habitat mapping and population census which will be very handy for the state forest department for conservation and management plans,” said Kunte.

The researcher shared the findings of the survey with members of the Sikkim Ornithological Society and the Travel Agents’ Association of Sikkim in Gangtok yesterday.

Kunte showed the participants several pictures taken by the members of his team who went to Rolep and Rongli in the East district, Pabung Khola in the South district, Dentam in the West and Dzongu in the North district.

Around 200 species were found during the survey. The team spotted several highly endangered species listed in the Schedule I and II of the Wildlife Protection Act during the trip and some of them were the Scarce Jester, Eastern Courtier, Bhutan sergeant, Krishna Peacock and Scarce White Commodore.

“Eco-tourism and the concept of homestays can be promoted for conservation of butterflies and other wildlife species. Once the local community starts benefiting from tourists who come to see these species, naturally they will protect the wildlife species found in their surroundings,” he said.

Usha Lachungpa, senior research officer (wildlife) of the forest department, said the survey would be of great help as the government needs updated information.

“It will help us in habitat mapping and forest management,” she said.

Full Story 

Rare skink saved from extinction in Mauritius

By Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC Nature

 

Flat Island was thought to be the last refuge for these Critically Endangered lizards

Scientists from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust have brought 22 Critically Endangered orange-tailed skinks to the UK.
The animals are thought to be extinct on their native Flat Island in Mauritius, because invasive shrews that prey on them are now established there.
This rescue should enable the trust to start a captive breeding programme.
"We ultimately hope to reintroduce the species to the island," said Durrell's head of field programmes, Andrew Terry.
The orange-tailed skink was only discovered on Flat Island, which is the largest of the Mauritian islands, in 1995.
"Before humans turned up in Maritius, the natural world there had a very strong reptile component; reptiles were really driving the ecosystems," Dr Terry told BBC Nature.

 

The team has brought 22 tiny skinks to Durrell headquarters in Jersey

But human activity has modified this habitat. Many non-native predators, including rats and cats, are now abundant elsewhere in Mauritius. Flat Island was thought to be the last refuge for the tiny orange-tailed skink.
Recent development work on the island, however, which was intended to bring in tourism, brought with it one particularly voracious predator: the Indian musk shrew. This rodent "stowed away" on boats that brought materials and people.
"The secretive skinks were able to hide away from rats and cats, but the shrew is much smaller and was brought in at very high densities and hunts day and night," Dr Cole said.
"Within a year of the discovery of the shrew, we were unable to find any skinks on Flat Island. Unfortunately, they've now gone."
Since the skink was so threatened, Dr Cole and his team had already moved more than 400 of the animals into protected nature reserves on another nearby island. So they were able to capture 22 for transport to Durrell's headquarters in Jersey.

Full Story

BBC Nature News

Butterflies, beetles, and dragonflies declining in Europe

Habitat loss is having a serious impact on Europe's butterflies, beetles and dragonflies, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said today.

Nine percent of butterflies, 11 percent of saproxylic beetles (beetles that depend on decaying wood) and 14 percent of dragonflies are threatened with extinction within Europe, the Switzerland-based conservation organization said in a news release.

Photo of beautiful demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo meridionalis) by Jean-Pierre Boudot

"Some species are so threatened that they are at risk of global extinction and are now included in the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species," IUCN said.

"When talking about threatened species, people tend to think of larger, more charismatic creatures such as pandas or tigers, but we mustn't forget that the small species on our planet are just as important, and are also in need of conservation action," said Jane Smart, Director, IUCN Biodiversity Conservation Group. "Butterflies, for instance, play a hugely pivotal role as pollinators in the ecosystems in which they live."

Nickerl's fritillary (Melitaea aurelia)

Photo by Chris van Swaay, De Vlinderstichting/Dutch Butterfly Conservation

According to the new studies commissioned by the European Commission and carried out by IUCN, Butterfly Conservation Europe and the European Invertebrates Survey, nearly a third (31 percent) of Europe's 435 butterfly species have declining populations and nine percent are already threatened with extinction.

"For example, the Madeiran large white butterfly (Pieris wollastoni) is Critically Endangered (possibly extinct), having not been seen on Madeira for at least 20 years, and the Macedonian grayling butterfly (Pseudochazara cingovskii) in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is also Critically Endangered because quarrying activities are reducing its habitat," IUCN said.

Coenonympha orientalis

Photo by Neil Thompson

A third of Europe's butterflies (142 species) are found nowhere else in the world, and 22 of these endemic species (15 percent) are globally threatened.

"Most butterflies at risk are confined to southern Europe; their main threat is habitat loss, most often caused by changes in agricultural practices, either through intensification or abandonment, or to climate change, forest fires and the expansion of tourism,"' said Annabelle Cuttelod, IUCN Coordinator of the European Red List.

For the first time, saproxylic beetles have been assessed for the IUCN Red List.

Cucujus cinnaberinus

Photo by Nicolas Gouix and Hervé Brustel

"These beetles are unique because they are highly dependent on decaying wood, particularly in forests, and play an essential role in recycling nutrients," IUCN said.

"A third of the 431 species assessed are unique to Europe. Almost 11 percent (46 species) are at risk of being lost from the region, and seven percent (29 species) are threatened with extinction at the global level. A further 13 percent (56 species) are listed as Near Threatened within Europe."

The main long-term threats to saproxylic beetles are habitat loss due to logging and the decline in the number of mature trees.

The violet click beetle (Limoniscus violaceous) is an Endangered species that typically lives in large tree cavities containing wood mould. It is under threat from changing woodland management practices, IUCN said.

Dragonflies occur almost everywhere in Europe, with the highest numbers in southern France, the foothills of the Alps and parts of the Balkan Peninsula, accfording to the IUCN study.

Black percher (Diplacodes lefebvrii)

Photo by Jean-Pierre Boudot

"Fourteen percent of the 130 dragonfly species assessed are at risk; five of these are threatened with global extinction. A further 11 percent are considered Near Threatened within Europe.

"Like butterflies, most of the threatened species are confined to southern parts of Europe. Increasingly hot and dry summers combined with intensified water extraction for drinking and irrigation are causing the dragonflies' wetland habitats to dry up."

Three of the most threatened dragonflies of Europe are endemic to the brooks and small rivers of Greece and nearby countries, including Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey. If no action is taken species like the Greek red damsel may become extinct during the first half of this century, IUCN said.

"Nature's future is our future, and if it fails, we will fail too," said EU Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik. "The ecosystem services nature provides, like the provision of food and water and climate regulation, are the vital backbone of our future prosperity. So when a Red List like this raises the alarm, the implications for our own future are clear. This is a worrying decline."

Story

NatGeo News Watch

Endangered crab falls prey to poachers for medicine testing

Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay, TNN 16 December 2009, 06:31am IST

KOLKATA: Bacteria causing typhoid or meningitis may at times creep into the medicines we use, especially when they are manufactured in unhygienic conditions. The only way to detect them in medicines is to run a check with a particular type of protein Carcinoscorpius Amoebocyte Lysate (CAL) found in the blood cells of horse-shoe crabs, found in the Sunderbans. This blue-blood king crab is on the verge of extinction.

Poachers across the world are targeting this rare species that has its origin much older than the dinosaurs. There is enough evidence that the crab is being smuggled by poachers, who sell them at a high price to drug manufacturers.

A recent study carried out by the marine science department of Calcutta University on these priceless king crabs reveals a sharp decline in the crab population in the Sunderbans, compared to their numbers six years ago. It is because of humans that this species has now been relegated to only certain pockets in the mangrove island, and earned the "highly endangered species" tag.

Smuggling of horse-shoe crabs to foreign shores is rampant, says Abhijit Mitra of the marine science department, as they are in huge demand among leading pharmaceutical companies who do not have easy access to this "wonder animal."

What is so special about this horse-shoe carb? According to Mitra, the Sunderbans variety is a sub-species of the unique Carinoscorpius rotundicauda species, which is found only in Bhitarkanika in Orissa the land of the threatened Olive Ridley turtle. "The extinction of the sub-species will seriously hit drug manufacturing all over the world and would affect the biodiversity of the Sunderbans. The blood of the horseshoe crab provides a valuable medical product critical to maintaining the safety of many drugs and devices used in medical care. It is used to track endotoxins, bacterial substances that often causes high fever that can be fatal," said Mitra.

Continuous poaching by a section of unscrupulous traders of the horseshoe crab may soon deprive domestic drug companies of this bio-active substance. State drug control officials also confirmed the diminishing supply of CAL, used for testing drugs. "There is no harm extracting the blood if one keeps the king crab alive. That is the usual process. The crab is released in the pond after extracting the bio-active substance from its leg. But poachers often kill the creature," a drug control official said.

Bangladesh and Myanmar are the two common smuggling routes, said forest officials. "It is difficult to ascertain which fisherman is catching what," said an official.

Wildlife expert and former forest officer Pranabesh Sanyal said, "The dwindling has been so rapid that the horseshoe crab is now confined to Chemaguri and Jambudwip. In fact, the Jambudwip operation against human settlement was to save horseshoe crab. It is high time that NGOs were involved to stop poaching."

Story

Climate change causes extinction of 13 species of animal in Bangladesh

Climate change and man-made adverse environment have so far caused extinction of 13 species of animal and endangered 800 other species in Bangladesh.

Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB), a national institution committed to conserving the biological diversity of Bangladesh, said the extinct animals are: peacock, crocodile, wolf, wild buffalo, nilgai and rhinoceros, national news agency BSS reported on Wednesday.

Chief Executive Officer of the WTB Anwarul Islam said half of the country's 1,600 species are endangered.

Emphasizing the need for protection of biological diversity, he said political and social commitment are needed in this connection, otherwise 150 more species will be extinct gradually.

The endangered species include 50 species of fish, 41 species of mammal, eight species of amphibian and 58 species of reptile.

At present, the South Asian country has 708 species of fish, 22 species of amphibian, 126 species of reptile, 528 species of bird, 113 species of mammal and 3,006 species of algae.

Source: Xinhua

Story

Studies 'overstate species risks'

By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News

Different models predicted differing outlooks for Alpine species

Some large-scale computer simulations may be overestimating the impact of climate change on biodiversity in some regions, researchers have suggested.

They said models that analyse vast areas often failed to take into account local variations, such as topography and microclimates.

Local-scale simulations, which did include these factors, often delivered a more optimistic outlook, they added.

The findings have been published in the journal, Science.

One of the studies cited in the paper looked at the fate of plant species in the Swiss Alps.

"A coarse European-scale model (with 16km by 16km grid cells) predicted a loss of all suitable habitats during the 21st Century," the researchers wrote.

"Whereas a model run using local-scale data (25m by 25m grid cells) predicted (the) persistence of suitable habitats for up to 100% of plant species."

Micro v macro

Co-author Shonil Bhagwat, a senior research fellow at the University of Oxford, UK, said when vegetation was looked at on a smaller scale, scientists saw a different picture.

"For example, smaller plots give data on microclimatic variations, whereas large-scale models predict (uniform) changes throughout the landscape."

Advances in computing power meant that more large-scale datasets were being made available to scientists, Dr Bhagwat explained.

"There is more interest in predicting widespread, large-scale effects," he told BBC News, "that is why coarser-scale models are normally used.

"However, the changes in communities of vegetation occur at a much smaller scale."

In the paper, Dr Bhagwat and co-author Professor Kathy Willis, wrote: "These studies highlight the complexities that we are faced with trying to model and predict the possible consequences of future climate change on biodiversity."

The researchers called for more micro-scale studies to be carried out that complement the overall picture presented by larger models.

However, they added that the overall picture for biodiversity loss was still bleak, especially once the rate of habitat loss and fragmentation was taken into account.

"Predicting the fate of biodiversity in response to climate change combined with habitat fragmentation is a serious undertaking fraught with caveats and complexities," they observed.

For example, Dr Bhagwat explained, the current system of having fixed nature reserves may need to be reconsidered.

"We have 12% of the Earth's land surface covered in protected areas, but climate change is likely to push species out of their home ranges and out of reserves," he added.

"So we need to look beyond reserves and create the conditions that allow the migration of species."

Story

Species' extinction threat grows

The Kihansi spray toad is now considered to be extinct in the wild

More than a third of species assessed in a major international biodiversity study are threatened with extinction, scientists have warned.

Out of the 47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 17,291 were deemed to be at serious risk.

These included 21% of all known mammals, 30% of amphibians, 70% of plants and 35% of invertebrates.

Conservationists warned that not enough was being done to tackle the main threats, such as habitat loss.

"The scientific evidence of a serious extinction crisis is mounting," warned Jane Smart, director of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Biodiversity Conservation Group.

At what point will society truly respond to this growing crisis? Professor Jonathan Baillie, Zoological Society of London In pictures: Threatened species

"The latest analysis... shows that the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss will not be met," she added.

"It's time for governments to start getting serious about saving species and make sure it's high on their agendas for next year, as we are rapidly running out of time."

The Red List, regarded as the most authoritative assessment of the state of the planet's species, draws on the work of thousands of scientists around the globe.

The latest update lists amphibians as the most seriously affected group of organisms on the planet, with 1,895 of the 6,285 known species listed as threatened.

Of these, it lists 39 species as either "extinct" or "extinct in the wild". A further 484 are deemed "critically endangered", 754 "endangered" and 657 "vulnerable".

The Kihansi Spray Toad (Nectophyrnoides asperginis) is one species that has seen its status change from critically endangered to extinct in the wild.

It was only found in the Kihamsi Falls area of Tanzania, but its population had crashed in recent years from a high of an estimated 17,000 individuals.

Conservationists suggest that the rapid decline was primarily the result of of a dam being constructed upstream from the toads' habitat, which resulted in a 90% reduction in the flow of water.

"In our lifetime, we have gone from having to worry about a relatively small number of highly threatened species to the collapse of entire ecosystems," observed Professor Jonathan Baillie, director of conservation programmes at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

"At what point will society truly respond to this growing crisis?"

The updated data from the 2009 Red List is being made publicly available on the IUCN website on Tuesday. [IUCN Red List]

Story

Endangered species list released

KOCHI: The Ministry of Environment and Forests has issued a notification under the Biological Diversity Act (2002) and released a revised list of endangered species in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala.

The National Biodiversity Authority has issued alerts to protect 13 animal species and 26 plant species threatened with extinction in Kerala, the state with the most number of threatened species in the list.

Uttarakhand comes next, with 16 plant species and 15 animal species, while Himachal Pradesh has eight plant species and Uttar Pradesh has just one plant species threatened with extinction.

As per the conditions, no plant or animal species shall be collected live or dead by any person, except for scientific research, by herbariums and museums of scientific and academic institutions and for scientific investigation only. This can be done only with a State Biodiversity Board approval.

The notification, issued by MoEF joint secretary A K Goyal, has asked the State Biodiversity Board to conduct awareness programmes and provide educational material on notified species to Forest Department personnel, biodiversity management committees, ecotourism programmes, forest dwellers and tribals.

The 13 threatened species in Kerala include Fruit bats, the Malabar Large- Spotted Civet, Blue Whales, Sea Cows, Tigers, the Indian Vulture, Leatherback Sea Turtles, Hawkbill Sea Turtles, Hawkbill Sea Turtles, Murthi’s Frog, the Toad-skinned Frog, Green Saw Fishes and the Philautus Chalaziodes.

The 26 plant species named include Syzygium Palghatense, Syzygium Periyarensis (Wild Jamuns), Vanda Thwaitesii (Nyarapazham) and Janakia aryapathra (Aryalpathram).


Story

New Research Suggests Conservation Biologists are Setting Minimum Population Size Targets Too Low to Prevent Extinction

A new study by University of Adelaide and Macquarie University (Australia) scientists has shown that populations of endangered species are unlikely to persist in the face of global climate change and habitat loss unless they number around 5,000 mature individuals or more.

The findings have been published in a paper entitled 'Pragmatic population viability targets in a rapidly changing world' in the journal Biological Conservation.

A long-standing idea in species restoration programs is the '50/500' rule. This states that at least 50 adults are required to avoid the damaging effects of inbreeding, and 500 to avoid extinctions due to the inability to evolve to cope with environmental change.

For this study, researchers investigated existing data regarding the minimum population size requirements for species based on empirical and theoretical estimates made over the past few decades. This literature was found to indicate that thousands, rather than hundreds, of individuals are required for a population to have an acceptable probability of riding out environmental fluctuation and catastrophic events, and ensuring the continuation of evolutionary processes.

"Often, [conservation biologists] aim to maintain tens or hundreds of individuals, when thousands are actually needed," says lead author Dr. Lochran Traill, from the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute. “Our review found that populations smaller than about 5,000 had unacceptably high extinction rates. This suggests that many targets for conservation recovery are simply too small to do much good in the long run."
"Our research suggests that the 50/500 rule is at least an order of magnitude too small to effectively stave off extinction," says Dr. Traill. "This does not necessarily imply that populations smaller than 5,000 are doomed. But it does highlight the challenge that small populations face in adapting to a rapidly changing world."

Team member Professor Richard Frankham, from Macquarie University's Department of Biological Sciences, says: "Genetic diversity within populations allows them to evolve to cope with environmental change, and genetic loss equates to fragility in the face of such changes."

Conservation biologists worldwide are battling to prevent mass extinctions in the face of a growing human population and its associated impact on the planet.

“We shouldn't necessarily give up on critically endangered species numbering a few hundred of individuals in the wild," says Dr Traill. "Acceptance that more needs to be done if we are to stop 'managing for extinction' should force decision makers to be more explicit about what they are aiming for, and what they are willing to trade off, when allocating conservation funds."

Other researchers in the study are Associate Professor Corey Bradshaw and Professor Barry Brook, both from the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute. Information from the University of Adelaide and EurekAlert.

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