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。     

Concern about threatened species and ecosystem disservices underpin public willingness to pay for ecological restoration

Public preferences for ecological restoration can be revealed through environmental valuation studies that aim to measure willingness to pay. However, respondents' environmental views will often influence the conclusions drawn from such studies. We conducted a national survey of perceptions of the benefits and perverse outcomes arising from ecological restoration using a dichotomous choice payment card. Using interval regression to estimate willingness to pay, we find that there are respondents who will perceive mostly biodiversity benefits from restoration, with a particular interest in threatened species recovery. We find that this eco‐centric view of the benefits of restoration also increases the dollar amount that respondents are willing to pay to support restoration activities. A proportion of respondents also perceive restoration as having negative impacts, with concerns orientated towards increased fire, decreased farmland productivity, and groundwater availability. Perceptions of the potential effects of restoration on land productivity had a significant negative influence on the amount of money respondents were willing to pay. These findings are useful for targeting outreach in order to garner public support for ecological restoration.     

Expressing citizen preferences on endangered wildlife for building socially appealing species recovery policies: A stated preference experiment in Quebec,Canada

Over the past fifty years, the world's wildlife populations have drastically declined. This stems from multiple causes, including the loss of natural habitat, which plays a vital role. Effective strategies to help endangered wildlife species recovery requires broad public support to be politically viable. In this study, we conducted a randomized survey to elicit and describe the Quebec population’s preferences and concerns regarding endangered wildlife and estimate its willingness-to-pay (WTP) for their recovery. We used stated preference approaches, namely a discrete choice experiment (DCE) and best-worst scaling (BWS), to estimate WTP and rank respondent preferences towards categories of wildlife species and recovery program attributes. In the selection of animals listed, results also reveal strong public preferences for large mammals, more specifically the beluga whale and woodland caribou. Simulation exercises from our DCE results show that a quarter of respondents would be willing to pay $160 per year for a megafauna recovery program compared to $12 for birds, or insects, or fish and molluscs recovery programs. Despite respondents’ strong preferences for the protection of megafauna, BWS and DCE simulation results indicate that a broader multispecies approach would be favoured by a larger segment of the population than a single specie approach. The survey results also revealed that the public likes to spend time in nature and is both concerned about endangered wildlife and aware of the interdependence between humans and nature. Therefore, our findings suggest that policymakers have a social acceptance to use both flagship species and multispecies approaches to implement endangered species recovery strategies. Moreover, our findings and the related literature on the value of ecosystem services indicate that communication on wildlife conservation could be buttressed by emphasizing conservation’s contributions to ecosystem services.     

中国公众的国际野生动物保护意愿调查: 以非洲象为例

我国高度重视野生动物保护事业, 认真履行野生动物保护国际义务, 积极鼓励公众参与, 以扩大野生动物保护事业的公众基础。已有文献多关注了公众的国内野生动物保护意愿, 鲜有文献关注公众对国际野生动物的保护意愿, 难以为促进公众参与国际野生动物保护事业提供决策参考。本研究以全球旗舰物种非洲象(Loxodonta africana)为例, 结合非洲象保护的相关研究与实践, 构建拓展的计划行为理论框架, 通过线下和线上调研获取数据, 运用结构方程模型, 从态度、规范、知觉行为控制、过去经验及个体特征五个方面, 分析了我国公众的非洲象保护意愿及影响因素。结果表明: (1) 68.5%的公众具有非洲象保护愿意; (2)公众规范(系数为0.422)、过去经验(系数为0.253)、知觉行为控制(系数为0.160)、保护态度(系数为0.156)对保护意愿存在显著的正向影响; 男性公众(系数为-0.054)的保护意愿低于女性公众; 居住在西部地区的公众(系数为0.066)保护意愿更高; (3)模型整体通过了拟合检验, 表明研究结果具有稳健性。本研究的政策建议如下: (1)明确政策导向作用, 提升公众的道德义务感和社会责任感; (2)加强宣传教育, 丰富公众知识经验, 培育公众积极的保护态度; (3)拓宽保护参与渠道, 提高公众知觉行为控制; (4)制定合理方案, 提升保护宣教等实践活动成效。     

Innate predator recognition in giant pandas

Innate predator recognition confers a survival advantage to prey animals. We investigate whether giant pandas exhibit innate predator recognition. We analyzed behavioral responses of 56 naive adult captive giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), to urine from predators and non-predators and water control. Giant pandas performed more chemosensory investigation and displayed flehmen behaviors more frequently in response to predator urine compared to both non-predator urine and water control. Subjects also displayed certain defensive behaviors, as indicated by vigilance, and in certain cases, fleeing behaviors. Our results suggest that there is an innate component to predator recognition in captive giant pandas, although such recognition was only slight to moderate. These results have implications that may be applicable to the conservation and reintroduction of this endangered species.     

Non-invasive giant panda paternity exclusion

Giant panda hair samples obtained by noninvasive methods served as a source of DNA for amplification of seven giant panda microsatellite loci utilizing the polymerase chain reaction. Thirteen giant pandas held in Chinese zoos were tested for identification of paternity. Some males listed as sires have been excluded as the biological father of captive-born giant pandas. Because of the death of some potential sires, paternity is still not assigned for some giant pandas, although there is a high likelihood that paternity assignment could be made if postmortem samples are available for genetic analysis. The DNA microsatellite variation assayed by the test we have developed provides a rapid, highly informative, and noninvasive method for paternity identification in giant pandas. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

野生大熊猫现状、面临的挑战及展望

截至2003年底,我国野生大熊猫种群数量达1596只,分布在陕西、四川和甘肃3省的45个县境内,总栖息地面积达2304991hm^2。与第2次大熊猫调查相比,野生大熊猫生存状况已得到改善,分布范围扩大、栖息地面积增加、种群数量进一步增长。本文在第3次大熊猫调查的基础上,就野生大熊猫种群及栖息地现状进行了分析,指出未来保护大熊猫所面临的3个方面的挑战,即来自物种自身生物学特性的挑战、栖息地破碎化及隔离小种群未来命运的挑战以及大熊猫保护与社区经济发展需求相冲突的挑战。作者还就我国大熊猫保护前景进行了展望,即自然保护区数量将进一步增加,栖息地状况将进一步改善;种群数量在总体保持稳定的基础上将逐步增长,但局部小种群灭绝风险将加剧;圈养种群将形成能自我维持的种群,圈养个体通过培训将逐步放归到隔离野生小种群中以改变其命运。     

Socio-economics and wildlife conservation of a peri-urban national park in central Kenya

The support, perceptions, values and aspiration of the local people, especially those who neighbour protected areas is increasingly recognised as critical for long-term biodiversity conservation in many countries. As such, conservation agencies are keen to understand the linkages and interactions between wildlife conservation and socio-economics of local communities. We assessed the socio-economic, demographic factors and livelihood status of the households of communities bordering Oldoinyo Sapuk National Park in central Kenya, and evaluated their willingness to support wildlife conservation. We randomly interviewed households that neighbour the Park on a wide range of socio-economic, livelihood and demographic factors. The majority of respondents were small-scale farmers practicing crop farming and livestock keeping. Most respondents considered the Park to have great potential for the future economic development of the area, especially through ecotourism as a potential avenue to support local livelihoods.     

The use of willingness-to-pay approaches in mammal conservation

With limited monetary resources available for nature conservation, policy‐makers need to be able to prioritize conservation objectives. This has traditionally been done using qualitative ecological criteria. However, since declines in species and habitats are largely the result of socio‐economic and political forces, human preferences and values should also be taken into account. An environmental economics technique, contingent valuation, provides one way of doing this by quantifying public willingness‐to‐pay towards specific conservation objectives. In this paper, the use of this approach for quantifying public preferences towards the UK Biodiversity Action Plans for four different British mammal species is considered. The species included are the Red Squirrel Sciurus vulgaris, the Brown Hare Lepus europaeus, the Otter Lutra lutra and the Water Vole Arvicola terrestris. Willingness‐to‐pay for conservation was increased by the inclusion of the Otter among the species, membership of an environmental organization and awareness of the general and species‐specific threats facing British mammals. It was reduced by the presence of the Brown Hare among the species being considered. These findings for British mammals are compared with other willingness‐to‐pay studies for mammal conservation worldwide. Willingness‐to‐pay tends to be greater for marine mammals than terrestrial ones, and recreational users of species (tourists or hunters) are generally more willing than residents to pay towards species conservation. The choice of technique for eliciting willingness‐to‐pay from respondents is also shown to be highly significant. Willingness‐to‐pay values for British mammals derived from contingent valuation are sensitive to the species included rather than merely symbolic. This indicates that, with care, such measures can be used as a reliable means of quantifying public preferences for conservation, and therefore contributing to the decision‐making process. However, irrespective of the internal consistency of contingent valuation, the validity of the approach, especially for use in nature conservation, is disputed. Willingness‐to‐pay is likely to reflect many interrelated factors such as ethical and moral values, knowledge and tradition, and monetary values may not be an adequate representation of these broader considerations. Willingness‐to‐pay approaches should therefore be used in addition to, rather than in place of, expert judgements and more deliberative approaches towards policy decision‐making for conservation.     

Synergistic effects of anthropogenic disturbances on giant pandas

Livestock grazing and the collection of bamboo shoots are the main threats to giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat in the Liangshan Mountains in China. It is important to clarify the effect of these disturbances to the giant panda to formulate targeted management policies. Based on species distribution models and daily activity models, we investigated the effects of livestock grazing and bamboo shoot collection on giant pandas from May 2021 to July 2022. Our results indicated the giant panda's suitable habitat in the reserve covered 51.83 km² (15.02% of the reserve area). Grazing and bamboo shoot collection led to losses of 19.08 km² and 7.68 km² of suitable habitat, respectively. Together, the 2 activities resulted in a loss of 28.35 km² of suitable habitat, which was more than half of the area of panda habitat. The areas of suitable habitat for giant pandas significantly overlapped with the areas affected by both disturbances. Giant pandas did not show significant differences in daily activity rhythms under a single disturbance, but the daily activity rhythms of giant pandas differed when we compared the area combining the 2 disturbances with the undisturbed area. Our study reveals that the anthropogenic disturbances in the reserve have varying effects on the suitable habitat range and daily activity rhythm of giant pandas and evidence of a synergistic effect. Therefore, when formulating relevant conservation policies, it is important to fully evaluate the extent and characteristics of anthropogenic disturbances in shaping the population distribution and habitat preferences of the giant panda and other wildlife to enhance the efficacy of conservation management practices.     

Willingness to Pay for Dog Rabies Vaccine and Registration in Ilocos Norte,Philippines (2012)

BackgroundThe Philippines is one of the developing countries highly affected by rabies. Dog vaccination campaigns implemented through collaborative effort between the government and NGOs have played an important role in successfully reducing the burden of disease within the country. Nevertheless, rabies vaccination of the domestic animal population requires continuous commitment not only from governments and NGOs, but also from local communities that are directly affected by such efforts. To create such long-term sustained programs, the introduction of affordable dog vaccination and registration fees is essential and has been shown to be an important strategy in Bohol, Philippines. The aim of this study, therefore, was to estimate the average amount of money that individuals were willing to pay for dog vaccination and registration in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. This study also investigated some of the determinants of individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP).MethodsA cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to 300 households in 17 municipalities (out of a total of 21) selected through a multi-stage cluster survey technique. At the time of the survey, Ilocos Norte had a population of approximately 568,017 and was predominantly rural. The Contingent Valuation Method was used to elicit WTP for dog rabies vaccination and registration. A ‘bidding game’ elicitation strategy that aims to find the maximum amount of money individuals were willing to pay was also employed. Data were collected using paper-based questionnaires. Linear regression was used to examine factors influencing participants’ WTP for dog rabies vaccination and registration.

Key Results

On average, Ilocos Norte residents were willing to pay 69.65 Philippine Pesos (PHP) (equivalent to 1.67 USD in 2012) for dog vaccination and 29.13PHP (0.70 USD) for dog registration. Eighty-six per cent of respondents were willing to pay the stated amount to vaccinate each of their dogs, annually. This study also found that WTP was influenced by demographic and knowledge factors. Among these, we found that age, income, participants’ willingness to commit to pay each year, municipality of residency, knowledge of the signs of rabies in dogs, and number of dogs owed significantly predicted WTP.     

野化培训大熊猫的生境利用和空间格局

了解动物栖息地和空间利用模式是开展野生动物放归自然的重要前提。为明确野化培训大熊猫Ailuropoda melanoleuca)在野外环境中生境利用特征和空间格局,本文以2只野化培训大熊猫为研究对象,基于其野外GPS项圈数据,通过数字高程模型(DEM)、动物移动模块等工具分析其在野外环境中栖息地利用状况。结果表明:随着在野外环境时间的增加,2只大熊猫由低海拔西南坡的阔叶林逐渐向高海拔南坡针阔混交林区域移动,且坡度利用也存在明显的差异,但均偏向在17°～20°的平缓区域活动。在野外环境的最初一个月,2只大熊猫平均日移动距离较大,之后逐渐减小并趋于稳定。2只野化培训大熊猫在野外环境初期,活动区域大小随时间的变化而呈现出无规律的变化趋势,活动区域主要集中在3～4个栖息地斑块,且斑块间面积和距离各异。因此,认为野化培训大熊猫在野外栖息地环境初期属于不稳定的随机选择模式。     

Dogs and Disease Threats to Giant Pandas in China

The potential threat of domestic dogs to wildlife habitat in China is not widely recognized, despite their large population, lack of regulations regarding their control, and threat they pose to native species. In a case study in 2017, we surveyed villages surrounding Liziping Nature Reserve, the primary site for the release of captive-born giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) into the wild. We conducted surveys of dog owners to assess the population size, demographics, free-roaming status, and vaccination and sterilization history of their dogs. We collected blood and fecal samples to assess the prevalence of viral and parasite disease threats. At least 370 owned dogs lived near the core giant panda habitat; 64% were free-roaming, 21% had positive antibody titers for ≥1 of the 4 viruses we tested (canine distemper, parvovirus, rotavirus, rabies), and 67% were positive for gastrointestinal parasites. The high proportion of free-roaming dogs, uninhibited access to the reserve, and high prevalence of infectious diseases indicate that dogs pose a serious threat to wildlife within Liziping. The extent of this threat throughout the giant panda nature reserve network is unknown and should be assessed. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Wildlife Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.     

The public's knowledge of and support for conservation of Australia's tree-kangaroos and other animals

After providing background on Dendrolagus species in Australia, two consecutive surveys ofBrisbane's residents are used to assess public knowledge of tree-kangaroos and the stated degree of supportfor their conservation in Australia. The responses of participants in Survey I are based on their pre-surveyknowledge of wildlife. The same set of participants completed Survey II after being provided with additionalinformation on all thewildlife speciesmentioned in Survey I.Changes in the attitudes of respondents and theirdegree of support for the protection and conservation of Australia's tree-kangaroos are measured, includingchanges in their contingent valuations and stated willingness to provide financial support for such conservation.Reasons for wanting to protect tree-kangaroos are specified and analysed. Furthermore, changesthat occur in the relative importance of these reasons with increased knowledge are also examined. Supportfor the conservation of tree-kangaroos is found to rise with the additional knowledge supplied about allspecies and is compared with variations in support for protection of other mammals. Support for the conservationof Australia's less well known tropical mammals is found to increase relative to better knownmammals (icons) present in temperate areas, such as koalas and red kangaroos. Possible implications of theresults for government conservation policies in Australia are examined.     

Gut microbiota in reintroduction of giant panda

Reintroduction is a key approach in the conservation of endangered species. In recent decades, many reintroduction projects have been conducted for conservation purposes, but the rate of success has been low. Given the important role of gut microbiota in health and diseases, we questioned whether gut microbiota would play a crucial role in giant panda's wild‐training process. The wild procedure is when captive‐born babies live with their mothers in a wilderness enclosure and learn wilderness survival skills from their mothers. During the wild‐training process, the baby pandas undergo wilderness survival tests and regular physical examinations. Based on their performance through these tests, the top subjects (age 2–3 years old) are released into the wild while the others are translocated to captivity. After release, we tracked one released panda (Zhangxiang) and collected its fecal samples for 5 months (January 16, 2013 to March 29 2014). Here, we analyzed the Illumina HiSeq sequencing data (V4 region of 16S rRNA gene) from captive pandas (n = 24), wild‐training baby pandas (n = 8) of which 6 were released and 2 were unreleased, wild‐training mother pandas (n = 8), one released panda (Zhangxiang), and wild giant pandas (n = 18). Our results showed that the gut microbiota of wild‐training pandas is significantly different from that of wild pandas but similar to that of captive ones. The gut microbiota of the released panda Zhangxiang gradually changed to become similar to those of wild pandas after release. In addition, we identified several bacteria that were enriched in the released baby pandas before release, compared with the unreleased baby pandas. These bacteria include several known gut‐health related beneficial taxa such as Roseburia, Coprococcus, Sutterella, Dorea, and Ruminococcus. Therefore, our results suggest that certain members of the gut microbiota may be important in panda reintroduction.     

野生大熊猫种群数量调查方法研究进展

大熊猫(Ailuropodamelanoleuca)是中国特有珍稀野生动物,被誉为野生动物保护领域的"旗舰物种"。大熊猫种群数量的变化可以实时反应大熊猫种群动态,提供大熊猫分布区域、栖息地质量等最直接的信息,是制定大熊猫保护方案的基础,也是有效实施大熊猫保护措施的前提。综述了几种传统野生大熊猫种群数量调查方法(包括直接计数法、数学模型法、距离-咬节分析法及分子生物学方法),以及近年来最新应用于野生动物种群数量调查的红外相机技术、足迹鉴定法,讨论了传统方法中可能存在的问题、分析新方法的应用前景,并针对今后的野生大熊猫种群数量调查提出了一些建议与展望。     

Wildlife value orientations as predicting factors in support of reintroducing bison and of wolves migrating to Germany

In the light of the worldwide biodiversity convention, the return of the wolf and the planned reintroduction of the European bison to Germany are seen as success stories in efforts to protect biological diversity. Prerequisite to the successful long-term reintroduction of wild animals is the support and approval of the return of animal populations by the general public. To better understand opinions towards wildlife and wildlife management, which often underlie controversies, the influence of wildlife related value orientations has been the focus of empirical research in recent years. In the current study, we examined wildlife value orientations in a sample of German students (n = 364) majoring in three different university subjects: agriculture; landscape ecology/nature conservation; and, social sciences. Analysis showed internal consistencies among the items comprising the wildlife value orientation scale. As theoretically expected, results of multiple regression analysis revealed wildlife value orientations have great impact on a decision to support the return of wolves and bison to Germany. In conclusion, the instrument, developed in the US, turned out to be reliable and had predictive value for the use in Germany. Also, we found differences in wildlife value orientation in relation to the factors of gender and academic background. A value orientation that focuses on mutualism was usually subjected to gender and academic major interaction effects. Males and females within and between student groups placed different weight on wildlife value orientations, possibly generating a potential for conflicts relating to wildlife management decisions, such as the reintroduction of bison or the support of wolves’ return.     

Modeling activity patterns of wildlife using time‐series analysis

The study of wildlife activity patterns is an effective approach to understanding fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes. However, traditional statistical approaches used to conduct quantitative analysis have thus far had limited success in revealing underlying mechanisms driving activity patterns. Here, we combine wavelet analysis, a type of frequency‐based time‐series analysis, with high‐resolution activity data from accelerometers embedded in GPS collars to explore the effects of internal states (e.g., pregnancy) and external factors (e.g., seasonal dynamics of resources and weather) on activity patterns of the endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Giant pandas exhibited higher frequency cycles during the winter when resources (e.g., water and forage) were relatively poor, as well as during spring, which includes the giant panda's mating season. During the summer and autumn when resources were abundant, pandas exhibited a regular activity pattern with activity peaks every 24 hr. A pregnant individual showed distinct differences in her activity pattern from other giant pandas for several months following parturition. These results indicate that animals adjust activity cycles to adapt to seasonal variation of the resources and unique physiological periods. Wavelet coherency analysis also verified the synchronization of giant panda activity level with air temperature and solar radiation at the 24‐hr band. Our study also shows that wavelet analysis is an effective tool for analyzing high‐resolution activity pattern data and its relationship to internal and external states, an approach that has the potential to inform wildlife conservation and management across species.     

Important population viability analysis parameters for giant pandas (Aliuropoda melanoleuca)

Population viability analysis(PVA) is a tool to evaluate the risk of extinction for endangered species and aid conservation decision-making.The quality of PVA output is dependent on parameters related to population dynamics and life-history;however,it has been difficult to collect this information for the giant panda(Aliuropoda melanoleuca),a rare and endangered mammal native to China,confined to some 30 fragmented habitat patches.Since giant pandas are long-lived,mature late,have lower reproductive rates,and show little sexual dimorphism,obtaining data to perform adequate PVA has been difficult.Here,we develop a parameter sensitivity index by modeling the dynamics of six giant panda populations in the Minshan Mountains,in order to determine the parameters most influential to giant panda populations.Our data shows that the giant panda populations are most sensitive to changes in four female parameters:initial breeding age,reproductive rate,mortality rate between age 0 and 1,and mortality rate of adults.The parameter sensitivity index strongly correlated with initial population size,as smaller populations were more sensitive to changes in these four variables.This model suggests that demographic parameters of females have more influence on the results of PVA,indicating that females may play a more important role in giant panda population dynamics than males.Consequently,reintroduction of female individuals to a small giant panda population should be a high priority for conservation efforts.Our findings form a technical basis for the coming program of giant panda reintroduction,and inform which parameters are crucial to successfully and feasibly monitoring wild giant panda populations.     

Application of ecological-niche factor analysis in habitat assessment of giant pandas

Ecological-niche factor analysis (ENFA) is a multivariate approach to study geographic distribution of species on a large scale with only “presence” data. It has been widely applied in many fields including wildlife management, habitat assessment and habitat prediction. In this paper, this approach was applied in habitat suitability assessment for giant pandas in Pingwu County, Sichuan Province, China. With “presence” data of giant pandas and remote sensing data, habitat suitability of pandas in this county was evaluated based on ENFA model, and spatial distribution pattern of nature reserves and conservation gaps were then evaluated. The results show that giant pandas in this county prefer high-elevation zones (> 2128 m) dominated by coniferous forest, and mixed coniferous and deciduous broadleaf forest, and avoid deciduous broadleaf forest and shrubs. Pandas avoid staying at habitats with human disturbances. Farmland is a major factor threatening panda habitat. Panda habitat is mainly distributed in north and west of Pingwu with a total area of 234033 hm², 106345hm² for suitable habitat and 127688 hm² for marginally suitable habitat). 3 nature reserves were located in Pingwu, covering over 49.2% of total suitable habitat and 45.6% of total marginally suitable habitat. Although 47.2% of panda habitat was in reserves under protection, connectivity between reserves was weak and a conservation gap existed in the north part of Pingwu. Thus, a new nature reserve in Baima and Mupi should be established to link the isolated habitats.