The return of the Iberian wild goat Capra pyrenaica to Portugal: From reintroduction to recolonization

The Iberian wild goat (Capra pyrenaica) is an endemic species of the Iberian Peninsula. Of the four generally accepted subspecies (Capra pyrenaica victoriae, C.p. hispanica, C.p. pyrenaica, C.p. lusitanica) only two subsist (C.p. victoriae, C p. hispanica). The subspecies once found in Portugal, C. p. lusitanica, became extinct in the 19th century. However, the reintroduction of the C. p. victoriae in north-west Spain, led to the natural recolonization of this subspecies into Portugal. Knowledge of the Iberian wild goat in Portugal is still limited, making it difficult to evaluate the major conservation/management needs. To fill this gap, here we describe the historical distribution of the Iberian wild goat in Portugal and summarize the available information on the reintroduction and recolonization process of this species. Additionally, we used line itinerary survey (2011–2012), coupled with Distance Sampling, to estimate current densities, range and population structure of the Iberian wild goat distribution in Portugal. The Iberian wild goat density is 2.78/100 ha (95% CI: 1,72–4,50; CV: 18,36%) and the abundance is of 576 (CI 95%: 356–930; CV: 18,36%). The distribution data shows that the population is divided in three nuclei: 1- Serra do Gerês (13,840 ha); 2–Serra Amarela (1235 ha); 3–Castro Laboreiro (343 ha), in a total area of 15,418 ha. Iberian wild goat population in Portugal has greatly increased in the last years, both in number and distribution range. The demographic data shows a potential for increase in the next years but our current ecological background knowledge still remains limited. Iberian wild goat management will benefit from a long-term project including public awareness, scientific research and management solutions.     

The 24-h time budget of a takh harem stallion (Equus ferus przewalskii) pre- and post-reintroduction

Focal animal sampling was used to determine the 24-h time budget of a takh harem stallion (Equus ferus przewalskii) during the 2 weeks prior to, and the two weeks following, reintroduction into the Hustain Nuruu Steppe Reserve, Mongolia. Both before and after release, the stallion spent approximately 47% of his time grazing, 6% standing, and 5% in recumbent rest. The biggest changes to the time budget after release were a 4-fold increase in the amount of time spent moving, and a 50% decrease in the amount of time spent resting in a standing position. During the middle of the day when the temperatures were hottest, the stallion exhibited less grazing and more standing resting behaviour than in the morning or evening hours. Recumbent rest invariably occurred in the hours before dawn.     

Habitat distribution modelling and reinforcement of Elaeocarpus serratus L. - A threatened tree species of Assam,India for improvement of its conservation status

Elaeocarpus serratus L., commonly known as ‘rudraksh’ referred in the Ayurveda as a wonderful plant for strengthening body constitutions, has been recognized as a threatened plant of Assam, India. Traditionally, rudraksh beads, its bark and leaves are used to cure various ailments like stress, anxiety, depression, nerve pain, epilepsy, migraine, lack of concentration, asthma, hypertension, arthritis and liver diseases. The population stock of the species has been depleting very fast in its natural habitat due to rapid habitat fragmentation and changing climate altering the structural and functional integrity of the plant. Hence, conservation of E. serratus L. with proper scientific investigation to prevent from extinction in its wild habitat is urgently needed. The present study was emphasized with the specific objectives to study the distribution and population status, predication of suitable sites through ENM, standardization of macropropagation methods and reinforcement/reintroduction into the suitable wild habitat to improve conservation status. In the present investigation E. serratus L. was reported in few locations of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh with population sizes of mean density, frequency of occurrence and abundance in relation to other associated species as 0.333, 13.922 and 2.215 respectively. For improving the conservation status, potential area and habitat for reinforcement was predicted using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) distribution modelling algorithm. Subsequently, macropropagation protocol was standardized through seed germination and air-layering; saplings were raised and 1050 saplings were reintroduced to the wild habitats selected on the basis of ecological niche modelling. Survival rate was found significantly high as 68%, suggesting that our approach is effective for changing population status and to conserve the plant.     

A study of the genetic variation of the aquatic fern Marsilea quadrifolia L. preserved in botanical collections in Poland and originated from natural populations in Europe

Aim of the present study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of selected European populations of Marsilea quadrifolia L. and to assess the applicability of those genetic resources of Marsilea quadrifolia L. that have been preserved in Polish botanical gardens, for the reintroduction of this species into its historical range in Poland. Three Polish populations that originated from botanical collections (Zabrze, ?arów and Pu?awy) and four natural populations (two from Slovakia (Slovakia I and Slovakia II), one from France and one from Germany) were analyzed using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers. A very low level of genetic variation was found both within and between the populations in the study, which likely resulted from a genetic bottleneck probably caused by human activities. Plants with the same AFLP fingerprint were found across several populations; however, singleton samples with a unique AFLP band pattern were also present within all of the populations. The presence of singletons led to relatively high values of Simpson's diversity index, which may suggest a considerable effect of mutations and some possibility of sexual reproduction as sources of the observed variation. The partitioning of molecular variance was calculated using hierarchical AMOVA, which showed that a negligible value of only 0.81% of the variation was explained by the category of population, i.e. plants originating from the botanical collections or from the natural habitats. This result indicates that M. quadrifolia populations from botanical collections resemble natural populations in terms of the level of their genetic variation and that the populations that were obtained from the Polish collections could be used for the successful reintroduction of this species into its historical range in Poland, and a similar situation may be given also in other areas of occurrence of this plant that is under threat throughout its area of occurrence in Europe.     

Inbreeding dynamics in reintroduced, age-structured populations of highly fecund species

Reintroduction programs aim at reinstalling a self-sustained population into the wild via a period of supplementation with captive-bred individuals. This procedure can rapidly generate inbreeding among offspring because of the mating scheme and this inbreeding might be further enhanced by the reintroduction scenario. First, we used simulations to assess the consequences of breeding designs on mean inbreeding index F among offspring when the genetic diversity of breeders, the number and sex ratios of breeders, and the proportion of successful crosses vary. A high number of breeders, a balanced sex ratio, a high proportion of effective crosses and a genetically diverse source population generally contribute to lower F values. However, moderately high (≥20) numbers of breeders combined with all but the most biased sex ratios produced mean F values near minimal values. The variability in F was negligible in all parameter combinations except for a very small number of breeders (5) and very biased sex ratios (≤ 1M : 19F). We also simulated the long-term inbreeding dynamics in the introduced population under various demographic scenarios. Our main finding was that the annual number of introduced offspring is a decisive factor in establishing long-term F values in the supplemented population. Low supplementation levels (10²) quickly generated an almost completely inbred population whereas high levels (≥10⁴) produced stable F values close to that of the introduced offspring. Simulations were run based on the life history and specific demographics of the bloater (Coregonus hoyi), whose reintroduction in Lake Ontario is being considered.     

Relationships between heterozygosity and fitness in the Iberian threatened larkspur Delphinium bolosii (Ranunculaceae)

The relationship between individual heretozygosity and fitness was explored in the perennial larkspur Delphinium bolosii (Ranunculaceae), an endangered species endemic to Catalonia (North-Eastern Spain), as a part of several studies prior to designing a programme for the reintroduction of this species in a locality where it has been extinct for approximately one century. Allozyme electrophoresis was used to quantify the levels of heterozygosity at nearly to one hundred surveyed individuals in two extant populations. At the same time, eight parameters of vegetative and reproductive fitness were measured. A principal component analysis reduced the original fitness variables to three uncorrelated principal components, two associated with the maternal plant and the other one with the offspring. However, none of the components were significantly correlated with heterozygosity. The low number of variable allozyme markers and the likely influence of ecological factors could be responsible for the lack of correlation between individual heterozygosity and fitness.     

移地与圈养大熊猫野外放归的探讨

移地是指将生物有机体从一个区域自由释放到另一区域的移动,通常包括引入、重引入以及复壮等3 种类型。野生动物的移地有较悠久的历史。在许多国家,通过移地以维持濒危野生动物种群在野外的长期续存已成为保护生物学上的一种重要手段。影响圈养动物野外放归成功的因素主要来自物种生物学特性、自然环境、社会生物学以及放归方式等几方面,同时,放归亦给基础生态学研究带来了新的机遇与挑战。大熊猫是我国特有的珍稀兽类,分布在秦岭、岷山、邛崃山、大相岭、小相岭以及凉山等几大隔离的山系。由于部分山系栖息地的高度破碎以及隔离小种群普遍面临的来自种群及环境等随机因素的影响,单纯依靠就地保护的措施可能并不足以保证这些隔离小种群在野外长期续存。在圈养大熊猫种群数量不断增加的情况下,将圈养个体放归野外以复壮孤立小种群应是一种有效的保护手段,同时,随着大熊猫栖息地质量的逐步改善,圈养大熊猫野外放归的时机亦逐步成熟。文中尚就圈养大熊猫放归野外之前亟待解决的问题进行了讨论。     

上海地区重引入獐野放后的活动规律

野生动物的规律性活动受外界环境和内在生理机制的共同作用,对野生动物的活动规律进行研究是实施科学保护的基础。本文采用无线电遥测技术对重引入上海松江浦南林地和上海滨江森林公园的6只獐(Hydropotes inermis)的活动规律、强度和节律进行了研究,并分析了人为活动对獐活动规律的影响。松江浦南林地3只野放獐的活动强度平均为144.88 m/h,昼间活动强度略低于夜间,从夏季到次年春季活动强度依次降低,春季显著低于其他季节。獐在松江浦南林地每日清晨(5:00~8:00时)和黄昏后(18:00~21:00时)出现活动高峰,午后(13:00~15:00时)存在小活动高峰,只有秋季存在凌晨活动小高峰,夏季和秋季的晨昏型活动节律明显。上海滨江森林公园的3只野放獐活动强度平均为69.90 m/h,昼间活动强度略高于夜间,冬季活动强度显著高于春季。獐在上海滨江森林公园并未表现出明显的晨昏型活动节律,活动高峰出现在接近正午时段(9:00~11:00时),尤其是冬季的雄性。人工投食、游客干扰等人为活动已经对野放獐的活动规律产生了影响。     

中国圈养梅花鹿的遗传多样性和遗传结构

东北梅花鹿(Cervus nippon hortulorum)的野生种群已濒临灭绝,但其圈养种群遍布全国各地,是我国圈养梅花鹿的主要品种(亚种)。为了探讨圈养梅花鹿种群作为东北梅花鹿野外放归项目资源种群的可行性,测定了来自9个圈养种群45只梅花鹿个体的线粒体DNA控制区的部分序列,以此分析我国圈养梅花鹿种群的遗传多样性和遗传结构。结果表明,我国圈养梅花鹿种群的遗传多样性并不贫乏,种群之间并没有发生显著的遗传分化。因此,东北地区的圈养梅花鹿种群可以作为野外放归项目的资源种群,而野外放归项目的建群者应来源于东北地区的多个圈养种群。     

山西五台山地区褐马鸡的再引入

Brown eared-pheasant Crossoptilon mantchuricum is endemic to China, and mainly occurs in Luliang Mountains of Shanxi, Xiaowntai of Hebei and Huanglong of Shaanxi. Reintroduction of Brown eared pheasant was carried out from April to December in 2000. According to the criterions of release site selection in Guidelines for Reintroductions of IUCN, and habitat selection of Brown eared pheasant, Kuantan forestry in Wutaishan Mountains of Shanxi Province was selected as the release site. Of the 8 released individuals, 5 wild individuals were captured in winter in Luyashan Nature Reserve of Shanxi Province, and 3 were offsprings of captive-reared individuals. Transmitters were attached when the 8 individuals were released. Overall, 6 individuals survived for at least 1 month, and the longest time for survival was 155 days, except that one was confirmed as having been killed by a raptor on the second day and one was lost on the eighth day after release. All moved away from the release site after release and established stable home ranges in different sites after 10 days, respectively. In early May, the individuals again dispersed to establish new home ranges. The wandering distance and days of the captive individuals were longer and the home range size were larger than that of the wild birds,which resulted from the weak adaptability to new habitat for the captive individuals, such as recognizing and fetching food. For wild individuals, the second wandering distance was longer than the first. We believe the difference was related to looking for partners. After wandering, individuals established stable home ranges in different sites [Acta Zoologica Sinica 50 (1): 126-132, 2004].