Increasing zoo’s conservation potential through understanding barriers to holding globally threatened amphibians

The global amphibian crisis and current un-mitigatable threats make ex situ programmes a crucial complementary action for the conservation of many amphibians. Zoos and aquariums are some of the most important and influential groups of institutions to undertake this yet the proportion of globally threatened amphibians in zoos is just 23.9% compared to over 40% in the wild. To identify key barriers to holding globally threatened amphibian species in ex situ collections, as well as potential strategies to mitigate such barriers, we surveyed amphibian curators across 107 institutions worldwide. A lack of resources (including budget, staffing and space) was perceived as the most significant barrier (87% of respondents) and the barrier most frequently identified (119 responses), followed by disease/biosecurity concerns (31 responses), and a lack of staff expertise/knowledge (30 responses). Difficulty displaying amphibians due to cryptic behaviour or colouration (65% or respondents) and difficulty attracting visitor interest (60% of respondents) were seen as insignificant barriers. Nine key priority action areas were identified, with increasing interest from zoo leadership and budget allocation identified as the most important (49% of suggested solutions). Increasing visitor interest in amphibians to encourage increased investment and engaging with range country facilities were highlighted as two ways to address barriers. Careful collection planning considering both the need and suitability of a species for captive breeding is also key, whilst critically assessing the role each species will play in a collection will enable a better assessment of the collection’s conservation value rather than using global threat status alone.     

A comparative analysis of global, national, and state red lists for threatened amphibians in Brazil

The knowledge about the conservation status of species is an important data for conservation biology. Therefore, threatened species lists are a powerful tool for conservation planning and prioritization. Our objective is to compare the global, the national and state red lists of amphibians in Brazil. Threatened species were categorized according to their listing in one or several of these lists. We analyzed for true inconsistencies across lists in order to evaluate practical consequences of such incongruences on amphibian conservation in Brazil. We recorded a total of 61 threatened amphibian species in Brazil (across all red lists). Only one species, Phrynomedusa fimbriata, was listed as Extinct (both in IUCN, Brazil and S?o Paulo lists). A total of eleven endemic species are listed as threatened by the global red list, but do not appear in Brazil’s national red list, which represent an inconsistence among these lists. Besides that, the threat category of Thoropa lutzi and Thoropa petropolitana, two endemic species, differ among both lists, which also represents a problem between both lists. These mismatches may be due to several reasons such as different interpretation of the criteria; different methodologies used; different data availability on species; differences in the dates of assessments processes; the assessors’ attitudes to uncertainty; outdated red lists. Harmonization among red lists permits a better picture of threatened amphibian diversity across scales and to develop global, national and state plans to complement conservation actions in order to maximize the chance of success of these initiatives.     

Visitor Perceptions of Nature Conservation at Helsinki Zoo

These days zoos often claim that their main objective is the promotion of nature conservation and that they strive to educate their visitors about animals and nature conservation. But how do zoo visitors themselves perceive this emphasis on conservation education? In order to determine how Helsinki Zoo visitors perceive nature conservation during their visit, we undertook a qualitative analysis of 75 structured situational interviews and five autoethnographical visits. Our results show that there was only a limited understanding of nature conservation among the zoo visitors. Their perception follows the typical framing of nature conservation in zoos: conservation projects that embrace captive breeding, in-situ conservation collaboration, and the reintroduction of those species. Moreover, in the Helsinki Zoo case these perceptions may have been influenced by the fact that the zoo did not give concrete advice on how the visitors themselves can contribute to conservation, except in terms of donating money. Framing nature conservation in such ways distances it from visitors’ everyday lives.     

Visitors or Visits? An Examination of Zoo Visitor Numbers Using the Case Study of Australia

Usually cited in reference to the potential reach of zoo education, one of the popular figures for global zoo visitation is that 600 million people visit zoos annually. However, this number needs clarification on two fronts. First, there are many zoo visitors who are not included in the calculation because they visited a zoo that was not included in the count. Second, it does not take into consideration the people visit either the same or different zoos more than once annually. Using data collected from several sources, including zoo visitors themselves, this article focuses on one country—Australia—that contributes 15.6 million to the visitation total, and contends that the correct number of unique annual zoo visitors to Australian zoos is likely to be between 8 and 10 million. However, rather than suggesting an overemphasis on the potential of zoos for educating visitors, having regular repeat visitors represents a distinct advantage for zoos, allowing for progressive education opportunities. Zoo Biol. 32:37‐44, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Differentiating Migration and Dispersal Processes for Pond-Breeding Amphibians

Abstract Understanding the movement of animals is critical to many aspects of conservation such as spread of emerging disease, proliferation of invasive species, changes in land-use patterns, and responses to global climate change. Movement processes are especially important for amphibian management and conservation as species declines and extinctions worldwide become ever more apparent. To better integrate behavioral and ecological data on amphibian movements with our use of spatially explicit demographic models and guide effective conservation solutions, I present 1) a synopsis of the literature regarding behavior, ecology, and evolution of movement in pond-breeding amphibians possessing biphasic life cycles to distinguish between migration and dispersal processes, 2) a working hypothesis of juvenile-based dispersal, and 3) a discussion of conservation issues that follow from distinguishing the spatial and temporal movements of amphibians at different scales. I define amphibian migration as intrapopulational, round-trip movements toward and away from aquatic breeding sites. Population-level management, in general, can be focused on spatial scales of <1.0 km with attention focused on adult population and juveniles that remain near the natal wetland. I define amphibian dispersal as interpopulational, unidirectional movements from natal sites to other breeding sites. Metapopulation- or landscape-level management can be focused on movements among populations at spatial scales >1.0–10.0 km and on importance of terrestrial connectivity. The ultimate goal of conservation for amphibians should be long-term regional persistence by addressing management issues at both local and metapopulation scales.     

The gap in technology for visitor experience in a zoo: A case study in Indonesia

Technology has routinely been used in zoos to enhance the visitor experience, for public education and for conservation awareness. However, studies into technology-aided exhibits in zoos have thus far been limited to zoos in western society. This article reports on an Indonesian zoo deploying new technology in its exhibits and how visitors interacted with these exhibits. A case study guided both an investigation of the visitors' technology usage of zoo exhibits and zoo implementation of technological processes. Interviews with visitors, zoo staff, and managers were conducted and analyzed and these were supplemented with on-site observations. The results indicated that the majority of zoo visitors did not use the technological applications provided by the zoo. In addition, there was found to be a significant lack of staff engagement in the consultation, design, implementation, and maintenance of the technology. Correlations were found between visitors' level of technology usage, their reading of signage, their day-to-day technology usage, and their conservation knowledge. The findings suggest that an understanding of visitor' behavior, active staff engagement in the development and implementation of new technology, in addition to emotion-inducing interpretation, and purposefully guided interactions, could increase the use of technology at a zoo and thus enhance positive visitor engagement, ultimately resulting in heightened educational as well as conservational outcomes.     

Clade‐specific consequences of climate change to amphibians in Atlantic Forest protected areas

The rapid global decline of amphibian population is alarming because many occur for apparently unknown or enigmatic reasons, even inside protected areas (PAs). Some studies have predicted the effects of climate change on amphibians’ distribution and extinction, but the relationship and consequences of climate change to the phylogenetic structure of amphibian assemblages remain obscure. By applying robust techniques for ecological niche modeling and a cutting‐edge approach on community phylogenetics, here, we evaluate how climate change affects the geographical pattern of amphibian species richness and phylogenetic diversity in the Atlantic Forest Biodiversity Hotspot, Brazil, as well as how the phylogenetic composition of amphibian assemblages respond to climate change. We found that most species contracted their ranges and that such responses are clade specific. Basal amphibian clades (e.g. Gymnophiona and Pipidae) were positively affected by climate change, whereas late‐divergent clades (e.g. Cycloramphidae, Centrolenidae, Eleutherodactylidae, Microhylidae) were severely impacted. Identifying major changes in the phylogenetic pool represents a first step towards a better understanding of how assembly processes related to climate change will affect ecological communities. A deep analysis of the impacts of climate change not only on species, but also on the evolutionary relationships among species might foster the discussion on clade‐level conservation priorities for this imperiled fauna.     

中国两栖类生活史和生态学特征数据集

截至2021年底, 中国共记载591种两栖类(不包括外来入侵种), 是世界上两栖类物种数最多的国家之一。物种特征影响和决定了物种在环境中的生存能力, 在进化生物学、生态学和保护生物学研究中具有重要作用。目前, 中国两栖类在线数据库(https://www.amphibiachina.org)已经整理了我国两栖类的形态特征、生物学信息和地理分布等部分物种特征, 但仍缺乏一个完整的、可自由检索的数据集。通过系统查阅文献和数据检索, 本文收集整理了中国全部591种本土两栖类的22个特征数据, 包括物种发现时间(最早发现和描述新物种文章的发表时间)、模式产地、中国受威胁等级、全球受威胁等级、致危因子、是否中国特有种、是否岛屿特有种、雄性体长、雌性体长、窝卵数、卵径、产卵地点、幼体主要生境、成体微生境、活动模式、生殖周期、繁殖时间、是否有亲本照顾、受精方式、海拔范围、分布地区、分布省份数。除了物种发现时间、是否岛屿特有种、分布地区、分布省份数外, 其余特征数据都有不同程度的缺失, 数据完整度为27.92%-100%, 平均完整度为71.72%, 标准差为24%。本数据集是目前我国两栖类最新和最全的物种特征数据库, 希望可以为我国两栖类生态学、保护生物学、生物地理学等研究提供数据支持。     

The distribution of amphibian species richness in protected areas of Chiapas,Mexico

Due to the current environmental crisis, many animal species face extinction problems. Amphibian populations have been affected by this crisis. Our goal is to study amphibian species diversity in Chiapas, which has 7.6% of the endemic amphibians in Mexico and 53 protected areas. Only 58% of the protected areas have management plans or information on their resident amphibians. We aim to determine the extent of protection provided by the network of natural areas for the conservation of amphibian species in the state and to discuss the effectiveness of this protection. Therefore, we compiled a georeferenced database of 112 amphibian species in Chiapas to create each distribution model. In addition, we carried out representativeness, beta diversity, and species richness analyses. As a result, we obtained a high degree of representativeness for the records and species distribution models. However, we found a decrease in the richness of amphibians involving 20% of total species, 13% of endemics, 18% threatened according to NOM-059, and 31% threatened according to IUCN between 1800 and 2020 and 1980–2020. We also identified two biodiversity hotspots in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas and the Northern Highlands physiographic regions. Finally, based on potential distributions, we found more endemic and threatened species outside protected natural areas than inside them. Our results give a broader picture of how amphibian richness is distributed in Chiapas. This information can help to prioritize conservation efforts toward those areas rich in threatened or endemic species, such as the Northern Mountains Hotspot we identified in northern Chiapas.     

Amphibians as models for studying environmental change

The use of amphibians as models in ecological research has a rich history. From an early foundation in studies of amphibian natural history sprang generations of scientists who used amphibians as models to address fundamental questions in population and community ecology. More recently, in the wake of an environment that human disturbances rapidly altered, ecologists have adopted amphibians as models for studying applied ecological issues such as habitat loss, pollution, disease, and global climate change. Some of the characteristics of amphibians that make them useful models for studying these environmental problems are highlighted, including their trophic importance, environmental sensitivity, research tractability, and impending extinction. The article provides specific examples from the recent literature to illustrate how studies on amphibians have been instrumental in guiding scientific thought on a broad scale. Included are examples of how amphibian research has transformed scientific disciplines, generated new theories about global health, called into question widely accepted scientific paradigms, and raised awareness in the general public that our daily actions may have widespread repercussions. In addition, studies on amphibian declines have provided insight into the complexity in which multiple independent factors may interact with one another to produce catastrophic and sometimes unpredictable effects. Because of the complexity of these problems, amphibian ecologists have been among the strongest advocates for interdisciplinary research. Future studies of amphibians will be important not only for their conservation but also for the conservation of other species, critical habitats, and entire ecosystems.     

The Role of Zoos in Modern Society—A Comparison of Zoos' Reported Priorities and What Visitors Believe They Should Be

Modern zoos are required to fulfill a growing number of responsibilities including scientific research, wildlife conservation, public recreation, and education. With so many roles and responsibilities and limited funds, zoos have to prioritize their activities in relation to their own specified goals, objectives, and mission statements. Given their desire to nurture community relations and educational opportunities, it is important to determine the extent to which zoos are prioritizing their activities, according to visitors' expectations. This paper presents empirical research of a two staged mixed-methods investigation into zoo priorities from both zoos' and visitors' perspectives. The first stage involved an online questionnaire to which more than 190 zoos across 52 countries reported their priorities and activities. We then undertook in-depth case studies in nine institutions, enabling direct observation of each site within its context, including face-to-face visitor interviews. Our research contrasts the priority given to zoo activities from each perspective and indicates that educating visitors, including school children, is the highest priority activity from the zoos' perspective and that of their visitors. The findings also show that visitors place high value on learning about actions they can take to help conservation efforts. Some inconsistencies between zoos' and visitors' priorities were also evident, such as the different emphasis placed on viewing endemic species, and zoos being a place for people to relax and socialize. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

A general assessment of the conservation status and decline trends of Mexican amphibians

We present a review on the conservation status and population trends of the 372 amphibian species currently recognized for Mexico. We based our analyses on the information gathered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature-the Global Amphibian Assessment (IUCN-GAA) as well as on available literature about imminent or potential threats to these organisms in Mexico. This country has the fifth largest amphibian fauna in the world and almost 58% of the species that inhabit this country are considered as threatened. We highlight the proportion of species per order, family, and genus that are currently under severe risk in Mexico. In addition, we prepared a detailed list of the main factors that are threatening amphibians in this country. Evidence is provided that the six main mechanisms that are globally leading amphibians to extinction (alien species, over-exploitation, land use change, global changes, pollution, and infectious diseases) are indeed currently operating in Mexico. We discuss the relative importance of each of these causes. We also highlight the paucity of quantitative studies that support the current conservation status of Mexican amphibian species.     

The Educational Claims of Zoos: Where Do We Go from Here?

Zoos exude a certain self‐confidence regarding their roles as education providers. Indeed, the education outputs of zoos are, at face value, pretty impressive, with most investing in learning opportunities for leisure visitors, education groups and in some cases, as part of their in situ programs. However, these outputs are not necessarily reliable indicators of the educational achievements of zoos. Quantity does not necessarily equate to quality, just as outputs do not necessarily lead to outcomes. Zoo‐accreditation organizations such as the AZA and EAZA offer us clear insight into the strategic vision underpinning the education goals for zoo visitors; a heightened appreciation of the value of biodiversity and a connectedness with the natural world. Unsurprisingly, most zoos have educational goals that ally neatly with the vision of their respective accreditation body. Consequently, we are left with fairly narrow, top‐down educational goals. This does not necessarily sit well with what we know about the unpredictability of “free choice” learning in environments such as zoos and aquariums, or what is known about public science communication. Research that seeks to explore the impacts of zoo visits often focuses on evaluating performance based on educational goals and the findings are used as a means of providing evidence of institutional achievement. However, any visitor outcome that falls outside of this narrow range could well be missed by the research. In this article, we propose that research that takes unpredictable and unexpected outcomes into account is necessary and overdue. Zoo Biol. 32:13‐18, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reactions of zoo visitors to free-ranging monkeys

This study assessed the potential of two types of primate exhibit both for enhancing zoo visitors' interest, knowledge, and enjoyment and for promoting conservation education. Visitors' reactions to a free-ranging group of cotton-top tamarins were compared with their responses to caged tamarins in three ways: 1) timing how long visitors spent at each exhibit, 2) recording the comments made by visitors about the exhibits, and 3) asking visitors to respond to questionnaires about the two exhibits. The results showed that the free-ranging group of tamarins provoked wider comment from members of the public than caged groups and that visitors were willing to spend much more time looking for and watching monkeys in trees than monkeys in cages. Visitors felt that improvements in the animals' welfare were obtained from allowing them to live free in the trees, thought that they could learn more from such groups than from caged animals, and enjoyed seeing the free-ranging tamarins more than the monkeys in cages. These results suggest that developing more naturalistic zoo exhibits can have considerable benefits not only for the animals involved, but also for public education in conservation issues. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Visitor Perceptions of Captive,Endangered Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus) Used as Photo Props in Jemaa El Fna Square,Marrakech, Morocco

ABSTRACT

Visitors to Jemaa El Fna Square can pay to have their photograph taken with Barbary macaques. Our aim was to characterize visitors’ perceptions of such photo props, enabling demand-reducing interventions to be targeted appropriately and destination managers to maintain or enhance the visitor experience. Visitors to Jemaa El Fna (n = 513) were surveyed using a 25-item questionnaire including closed and open questions. Most visitors (88%) neither intended to use macaque photo props nor did; 7% either intended to or did use photo props; while 5% both used photo props and had intended to do so. Moroccans were more likely than foreigners to use macaque photo props or intend to do so. Among international visitors, those who had their photo taken or intended to were younger, with a lower level of education and lower income than those who neither had their photo taken nor intended to. Visitors who did not use photo props pitied the animals’ treatment, disapproved of captivity or exploitation, had concerns over hygiene or safety, and disliked trader harassment. Visitors who did use photo props valued novelty and contact with the animal, although half of them also described negative experiences including trader harassment and animal mistreatment. While 16% felt the presence of macaques makes Marrakech lively and interesting, 40% recognized risks to health and safety, and 57% thought Marrakech would be a better place without macaque photo props. Although 66% agreed the practice should be illegal, 80% were unaware that it is illegal. Only 25% correctly identified the Barbary macaque as endangered. Macaque photo props undermine current conservation objectives and legislation, contribute to Disneyfication of macaques, and may threaten the image of the destination; however, their appeal to a minority of visitors indicates a desire to interact with animals, which visitor education might divert toward more responsible tourism.     

Naturalistic Exhibits May be More Effective Than Traditional Exhibits at Improving Zoo-Visitor Attitudes toward African Apes

Zoos play a unique role in wildlife conservation, particularly in the area of conservation education. Because of their popularity and flagship status for broader conservation issues, great apes may prove to be one of the most important educational conduits in zoos. In 2002, we surveyed knowledge of and attitudes toward African apes in visitors to the Lester E. Fisher Great Ape House (GAH) at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL, USA. In the current study, we replicated the survey to document attitudes to and knowledge of the newly renovated and naturalistic Regenstein Center for African Apes (RCAA) and compared results. We found RCAA was no more effective than GAH in increasing visitor knowledge about apes, although visitors answered more questions correctly upon exit than on entrance in both buildings. We did find, however, that RCAA was more effective than GAH at improving visitor attitudes toward chimpanzees. Specifically, upon exiting, RCAA visitors showed increased naturalistic attitudes and reduced utilitarian attitudes toward chimpanzees. Exhibiting apes in naturalistic settings may therefore be an effective way to increase visitor concern for apes in nature and in zoos. Zoos and aquariums investing in new, naturalistic ape exhibits with the aim to educate about, provide emotional connections to, improve attitudes toward, and ultimately increase conservation of apes, need to then critically evaluate whether the actual effect of the designed environment on visitors—above and beyond intended benefits for the animals—is commensurate with the investment. The broader impacts of even small shifts in visitor attitude in the right direction could be significant. These findings may vary across species and settings, however, and should be assessed accordingly.     

High dispersal in a frog species suggests that it is vulnerable to habitat fragmentation

Global losses of amphibian populations are a major conservation concern and their causes have generated substantial debate. Habitat fragmentation is considered one important cause of amphibian decline. However, if fragmentation is to be invoked as a mechanism of amphibian decline, it must first be established that dispersal is prevalent among contiguous amphibian populations using formal movement estimators. In contrast, if dispersal is naturally low in amphibians, fragmentation can be disregarded as a cause of amphibian declines and conservation efforts can be focused elsewhere. We examined dispersal rates in Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) using capture-recapture analysis of over 10,000 frogs in combination with genetic analysis of microsatellite loci in replicate basins. We found that frogs had exceptionally high juvenile dispersal rates (up to 62% annually) over long distances (>5km), large elevation gains (>750m) and steep inclines (36 degrees incline over 2km) that were corroborated by genetic data showing high gene flow. These findings show that dispersal is an important life-history feature of some amphibians and suggest that habitat fragmentation is a serious threat to amphibian persistence.     

Influence of zoo visitor presence on the behavior of captive Indian gaur (Bos gaurus gaurus) in a zoological park

Visitors to zoos can be a source of potential disturbance and stress to some captive, nonhuman animals in the wild. To determine the influence of visitor presence on captive bison (Bos gaurus gaurus), the study analyzed the behavior of 4 individuals at the Arignar Anna Zoological Park, India. The study often observed the behavior of the animals on visitor-present days and on days when visitors were absent. In the presence of zoo visitors, the bison showed a higher level of intragroup aggression and moving behavior. In contrast, the bison rested more when no visitors were present. The results revealed that the presence of zoo visitors significantly influenced the behavior of captive bison and thereby may have affected their welfare.     

Examining the Impact of Naturalistic and Unnaturalistic Environmental Enrichment on Visitor Perception of Naturalness,Animal Welfare,and Conservation

Recent research shows that using different types of enrichment has little to no impact on how zoo visitors perceive the animals or the enclosure in general. The primary objective of the current research was to examine if viewing naturalistic-looking environmental enrichment (NEE) and unnaturalistic-looking environmental enrichment (UEE) has an effect on visitor perceptions of exhibit naturalness, animal welfare, and conservation, while controlling for two factors that can influence visitor perspective: animal visibility and behavior. Study 1 examined the color of enrichment: the NEE was colored to resemble a rock and the UEE was fluorescent pink. Four conditions were recorded: Naturalistic/No Animal, Naturalistic/Animal, Unnaturalistic/No Animal, and Unnaturalistic/Animal. One video was shown to 306 randomly selected visitors who then took a survey including questions on animal welfare, exhibit naturalness, and supporting conservation organizations. Naturalistic/No Animal was perceived by visitors to be the most natural environment and the best of the exhibits for an animal to live in. Study 2 examined different types of NEE and UEE. Eight photos (four with an animal and four without) showing one out of four enrichment items (naturalistic rock, wood wool bedding, traffic cone, cardboard box) were shown to 618 randomly selected visitors who then took a survey similar to study 1. Visitors rated the photos with the NEE consistently higher for questions regarding the naturalness of the exhibit, good animal welfare, and the livability of the environment. Visitors were also asked to rank the four enrichment items from best to worst, and the NEEs were ranked significantly higher than the UEEs. While there are still many unanswered questions regarding visitor perceptions of environmental enrichment in zoos, we hope that focusing on one variant such as color and examining different types of NEE and UEE can help guide future studies on this subject.     

Impending conservation crisis for Southeast Asian amphibians

With an understudied amphibian fauna, the highest deforestation rate on the planet and high harvesting pressures, Southeast Asian amphibians are facing a conservation crisis. Owing to the overriding threat of habitat loss, the most critical conservation action required is the identification and strict protection of habitat assessed as having high amphibian species diversity and/or representing distinctive regional amphibian faunas. Long-term population monitoring, enhanced survey efforts, collection of basic biological and ecological information, continued taxonomic research and evaluation of the impact of commercial trade for food, medicine and pets are also needed. Strong involvement of regional stakeholders, students and professionals is essential to accomplish these actions.