Plant Conservation in the Future:New Challenges,New Opportunities

Throughout the world,plant diversity is being reduced rapidly by the extinction of species and of local differentiated populations.In presenting possible solutions to this very serious problem I will first briefly describe the factors that have led to the development of China’s wealth of biodiversity;then examine the causes of extinction,with an emphasis on the situation in China;and conclude with recommendations on how to most effectively conserve plants in this huge and botanically diverse country.     

Plant Conservation in the Future: New Challenges, New Opportunities

Throughout the world, plant diversity is being reduced rapidly by the extinction of species and of local differentiated populations. In presenting possible solutions to this very serious problem Ⅰ will first briefly describe the factors that have led to the development of China's wealth of biodivenity; then examine the causes of extinction,with an emphasis on the situation in China; and conclude with recommendations on how to most effectively conserve plants in this huge and botanically diverse country.     

贺兰山偶蹄类动物资源及保护现状研究

作者于１９９５－１９９６年对贺兰山的偶蹄类动物的保护现状进行了研究。涉及四个种类,盘羊已经绝迹,马麝处于濒危状态,岩羊和马鹿还有一定的数量。贺兰山马鹿,Ｃｅｒｖｕｓ ｅｌａｐｈｕｓ的一个亚种,是我国唯一境存的阿拉善马鹿亚种的有效群。对这些偶蹄类种群的最大威胁来自于非法狩猎,人为干扰和家畜数量。     

野骆驼的研究和保护:现状与展望

野骆驼Camelus ferus是亚洲中部对极端干旱环境具有高度适应性的珍稀濒危动物。自19世纪中期以来,野骆驼分布范围不断缩小,种群数量日渐减少。由于野骆驼生性机警,且在远离人迹、自然条件极端恶劣的荒漠、半荒漠地区分布等特点,野骆驼种群生态学、行为生态学基础研究较为缺乏,对其分类地位和进化关系仍有争论。除塔克拉玛干沙漠分布区外,其他分布区均已建立以野骆驼为主的保护区。2011~2013年间对库姆塔格沙漠地区进行了6次野外样线调查,分别观察到83、80、39、14、78、29峰野骆驼。其中阿尔金山北麓地区野骆驼分布最为集中,采矿活动集中的5~10月观察到的野骆驼数量明显少于其他季节(t=7.154,P0.05)。野骆驼分布区面临着道路建设、矿产开发以及畜牧业的发展等威胁,生境丧失和破碎化严重。人为干扰下野骆驼异质种群动态及其对破碎化生境的响应是急需研究的科学问题。     

Political Change and Factors Limiting Numbers of Wild and Domestic Ungulates in Kazakhstan

We examine factors regulating numbers of domestic livestock and saiga antelopes during the major periods of Kazakhstan's history. In the pre-Soviet period livestock migrations were relatively unrestricted and covered huge distances. Little winter feed or veterinary care was provided for domestic livestock and numbers were regulated largely by winter snow or ice cover. Drought affected fecundity but did not cause large-scale mortality. During the Soviet period the provision of winter feed shielded domestic livestock from winter mortality while hunting controls allowed saiga numbers to recover from overhunting. Livestock and saiga numbers during this period were high and there is evidence that productivity was affected. However, there were no crashes in livestock numbers linked to high densities, probably because rainfall variability is relatively low and catastrophic droughts are rare. Today livestock numbers in Kazakhstan have crashed because of the withdrawal of state support and the use of animals as currency. The collapse of the state also meant the end of hunting controls and increased poverty, which has lead to widespread saiga poaching and dramatic population declines.     

Studying Large Mammals With Imperfect Detection: Status and Habitat Preferences of Wild Cattle and Large Carnivores in Eastern Cambodia

Studying large mammal species in tropical forests is a conservation challenge with species’ behavior and ecology often increasing the probability of non‐detection during surveys. Consequently, knowledge of the distribution, status, and natural history of many large mammal species in Southeast Asia is limited. I developed occupancy models from camera‐trapping data, thereby accounting for imperfect detection at sampling sites, to clarify the status and habitat requirements of four globally threatened or near threatened large mammals (banteng Bos javanicus, gaur Bos gaurus, dhole Cuon alpinus, and leopard Panthera pardus) in Mondulkiri Protected Forest, eastern Cambodia. Camera traps were operational for >3500 trap nights with 202 photographic encounters of the four study species. Model averaged occupancy estimates were between 5 percent (leopard) and 140 percent (gaur) higher than naive estimates (i.e., proportion of camera‐trap sites species recorded from) thus highlighting the importance of accounting for detectability during conservation surveys. I recommend the use of an occupancy framework when using camera‐trap data to study the status, ecology, and habitat preferences of poorly known and elusive species. The results highlight the importance of mixed deciduous and semi‐evergreen forest for wild cattle in eastern Cambodia and I emphasize that these habitats must be considered in conservation planning across the Lower Mekong Dry Forest Ecoregion.     

Identifying Conservation Priority Zones for Effective Management of Tropical Forests in Eastern Ghats of India

There are thousands of protected forest areas existing on earth, yet the deforestation rate continues unabated both inside and outside the protected areas especially in the tropical forests. It identifies the less effectiveness of the current conservation strategies, which is normally oriented around the forest area cover rather than the quality of the protected areas. This calls for realistic and effective management strategies for forests. Based on the drawbacks the present study aims at identifying conservation priority sites within the protected areas (Reserved Forests) of Shervarayan hills, Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. The remnant forest patches having less effective management/protection is identified and analysed for its qualitative contribution to the ecosystem. Quadrats of 20 × 20 m were laid in different vegetation based on the percentage of forest cover and assess the species diversity pertaining the richness, Endemism and Red list categories. Thematic layers (maps) such as vegetation type, floristic species richness, floristic endemism, and red list flora are created and categorized according to their weightage classes and overlaid in GIS domain to demarcate the Conservation Priority Zones (CPZ). The CPZ are classified according to the priority status i.e., high, moderate and low based on the contributing species richness, levels of endemism and concentration of Red listed plants.     

Seasonal Patterns of Hormones,Macroparasites, and Microparasites in Wild African Ungulates: The Interplay among Stress,Reproduction, and Disease

Sex hormones, reproductive status, and pathogen load all affect stress. Together with stress, these factors can modulate the immune system and affect disease incidence. Thus, it is important to concurrently measure these factors, along with their seasonal fluctuations, to better understand their complex interactions. Using steroid hormone metabolites from fecal samples, we examined seasonal correlations among zebra and springbok stress, reproduction, gastrointestinal (GI) parasite infections, and anthrax infection signatures in zebra and springbok in Etosha National Park (ENP), Namibia, and found strong seasonal effects. Infection intensities of all three GI macroparasites examined (strongyle helminths, Strongyloides helminths, and Eimeria coccidia) were highest in the wet season, concurrent with the timing of anthrax outbreaks. Parasites also declined with increased acquired immune responses. We found hormonal evidence that both mares and ewes are overwhelmingly seasonal breeders in ENP, and that reproductive hormones are correlated with immunosuppression and higher susceptibility to GI parasite infections. Stress hormones largely peak in the dry season, particularly in zebra, when parasite infection intensities are lowest, and are most strongly correlated with host mid-gestation rather than with parasite infection intensity. Given the evidence that GI parasites can cause host pathology, immunomodulation, and immunosuppression, their persistence in ENP hosts without inducing chronic stress responses supports the hypothesis that hosts are tolerant of their parasites. Such tolerance would help to explain the ubiquity of these organisms in ENP herbivores, even in the face of their potential immunomodulatory trade-offs with anti-anthrax immunity.     

中国野生稻收集、鉴定和保存现状

本通过介绍我国野生稻种质资源的考察、收集、繁种、编目、鉴定、评价和保存、保护状况,论述了我国野生稻丰富的遗传多样性和种质资源研究成就,针对目前存在的突出问题,提出了我国野生稻种质资源研究目标和主要任务。     

Potential Challenges of Climate Change to Orchid Conservation in a Wild Orchid Hotspot in Southwestern China

Southwestern China including Guangxi Province is one of nine world hotspots for orchid. Warming in the region in the past century was around 0.5°C, slightly lower than the global average of 0.7°C, while rainfall has remained the same. It is projected that the warming trend will continue for the next two centuries, while precipitation will increase slightly, and soil moisture level will decrease. We identify a number of threats due to climate changes to orchid community in the Yachang Orchid Nature Reserve in Guangxi (hereafter refer to as Yachang Reserve), a good representative of the region. Firstly, decreased soil moisture is likely to have a negative effect on growth and survival of orchids, especially terrestrial and saprophytic ones. Sixty eight (50%) orchid species in the Yachang Reserve are in this category. Secondly, the greater majority of the orchids in Yachang Reserve (72%) have populations on or close to the limestone mountain tops. These populations are likely to shrink or even become extinct as the warming continues because they have no higher places to which they are able to migrate. Natural poleward migration is unlikely for these populations because of the complex terrain, small size of the reserve and human-dominated surroundings. Species with narrow distributions (14%) and/or small population sizes (46%) will be the most vulnerable. In addition, populations represent the southern limit of the species (24%) are also prone to local extinction. Thirdly, extreme rainfall events are projected to occur more frequently, which can exacerbate erosion. This may impact orchid populations that grow on steep cliffs. Fifty seven species (42%) of the orchids in Yachang have cliff populations. Fourthly, the majority of orchid species have specialized insect pollination systems. It is unknown whether the change or lack of change in plant phenology will be in synchrony with the potential phenological shifts of their pollinators. Fifty four (40%) orchid species in Yachang Reserve flower in the spring and are potentially subject to this threat. Finally, mycorrhizal fungi are vital for seed germination for all orchids and important for post-seedling growth for some species. Yet there is a lack of knowledge of the nature of mycorrhiza on all orchids in the region, and little is known on the responses of these vital symbiotic relationships to temperature and soil moisture. Overall, 15% of the orchid species and a quarter of the genera bear high risk of population reduction or local extinction under the current projection of climate change. While studies on predicting and documenting the consequences of climate change on biodiversity are increasing, few identified the actual mechanisms through which climate change will affect individual species. Our study provides a unique perspective by identifying specific threats to a plant community.     

Successes and Failures in Avian Egg and Nestling Recognition With Comments on the Utility of Optimality Reasoning

SYNOPSIS. Interactions between parasitic birds and their hostsprovide some of the best examples of recognition that has obviousand strong adaptive value. But these interactions also involvenumerous failures of recognition that result in enormous lossesin fitness. The failures are more significant than the successesbecause they are exceptions to basic evolutionary theory whichpredicts that organisms behave optimally. The egg recognitionbehavior of North American passerines separates species intotwo discrete groups. In "rejecter" species nearly all individualsare intolerant of nonmimetic parasitic eggs. In "accepters"nearly all individuals tolerate such eggs. Rejecters possessa true recognition of their own eggs, apparently learning thisin an imprinting-like process. No adaptive explanation accountsfor the lack of rejection in accepter species. Many of thesespecies are victimized heavily by parasitic cowbirds and haveeggs divergent from those of the cowbird. They readily acceptclutches containing only cowbird eggs. But accepters do showegg recognition in some contexts. They abandon clutches whosetotal volume of eggs falls below a critical value; they ejectand visually discriminate among eggs that are broken, thus showingthat they are capable of the critical behaviors needed to rejectparasitic eggs. Since most accepters occur in taxa that alsocontain rejecters, I propose that stochastic processes are largelyresponsible for their nonoptimal behavior. Even though manybirds reject parasitic eggs, all or nearly all accept nonmimeticparasitic nestlings, a situation for which there is no reasonableoptimality explanation. Although these recognition studies demonstratethe value of optimality reasoning because they are based onclearly defined predictions arising from the expectation ofadaptiveness, they also demonstrate some general problems inherentin optimization models. It is argued here that while optimalityreasoning is the best and most all-inclusive paradigm in biology,its value will be enhanced if its limitations are recognized.When warranted, conclusions of nonoptimality should be stressedand optimality itself should be tested and not employed onlyas an assumption used to formulate hypotheses.     

Improved Methods of Carnivore Faecal Sample Preservation,DNA Extraction and Quantification for Accurate Genotyping of Wild Tigers

Background

Non-invasively collected samples allow a variety of genetic studies on endangered and elusive species. However due to low amplification success and high genotyping error rates fewer samples can be identified up to the individual level. Number of PCRs needed to obtain reliable genotypes also noticeably increase.

Methods

We developed a quantitative PCR assay to measure and grade amplifiable nuclear DNA in feline faecal extracts. We determined DNA degradation in experimentally aged faecal samples and tested a suite of pre-PCR protocols to considerably improve DNA retrieval.

Results

Average DNA concentrations of Grade I, II and III extracts were 982pg/µl, 9.5pg/µl and 0.4pg/µl respectively. Nearly 10% of extracts had no amplifiable DNA. Microsatellite PCR success and allelic dropout rates were 92% and 1.5% in Grade I, 79% and 5% in Grade II, and 54% and 16% in Grade III respectively. Our results on experimentally aged faecal samples showed that ageing has a significant effect on quantity and quality of amplifiable DNA (p<0.001). Maximum DNA degradation occurs within 3 days of exposure to direct sunlight. DNA concentrations of Day 1 samples stored by ethanol and silica methods for a month varied significantly from fresh Day 1 extracts (p<0.1 and p<0.001). This difference was not significant when samples were preserved by two-step method (p>0.05). DNA concentrations of fresh tiger and leopard faecal extracts without addition of carrier RNA were 816.5pg/µl (±115.5) and 690.1pg/µl (±207.1), while concentrations with addition of carrier RNA were 49414.5pg/µl (±9370.6) and 20982.7pg/µl (±6835.8) respectively.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that carnivore faecal samples should be collected as freshly as possible, are better preserved by two-step method and should be extracted with addition of carrier RNA. We recommend quantification of template DNA as this facilitates several downstream protocols.     

广西野生稻原生境保护点建设的进展、问题和对策

广西是我国野生稻资源最丰富的省份之一,虽然广西野生稻资源异位保存工作成绩卓著,但自然居群逐年减少,分布面积急剧下降,导致广西野生稻濒危状况严重。为了遏止广西野生稻濒危加剧的趋势,广西自2002年开始进行野生稻原生境保护点建设工作。本文详细介绍了广西野生稻原生境保护点建设的技术、方法和成效,并根据国际国内原生境保护的发展动态,提出了从合理制定保护点建设规划、建立监测预警体系、加强资源鉴定与利用等几个方面促进广西野生稻原生境保护工作的策略。     

广西野生稻保护进展与思考

论述了野生稻保护的意义;原生境保护、异生境保存所取得的主要进展;提出存在的问题,以及今后发展的思路。     

Carrying Capacity and Potential Production of Ungulates for Human Use in a Mexican Tropical Dry Forest

Data are provided on the carrying capacity and potential production for sustainable human use of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) and collared peccary ( Pecari tajacu ) in a protected tropical dry forest at Chamela on the Pacific coast of Mexico. In this paper, the carrying capacity was defined as the equilibrium density plus the number of animals removed by predators. The equilibrium point was estimated from the density dependent relationship between the finite population growth rate and the current density according to a logistic model. Annual density was estimated using the line transect method. Carrying capacity estimates were 16.5 to 17.2 deer/km² and 9.3–9.5 peccaries/km², representing a combined biomass of 841–874 kg/km². A potential production for human use of 2.1 deer/km² and 4.4 peccaries/km² was estimated employing the model of Robinson and Redford (1991) . The data suggest that, in the protected tropical dry forest of Chamela, the density and biomass of wild ungulates can maintain a similar or greater density and biomass than other Neotropical forests. To obtain an accurate estimation of the maximum sustainable yield ( MSY ), it is necessary to consider predation. From a management point of view, it is important to consider that carrying capacity varies as a function of the rainfall pattern.     

海南野生稻资源调查收集与保护

为了加强海南野生稻资源的保护和研究利用,2002—2013年对海南省18市(县)野生稻资源进行野外调查、资源收集和原、异位保护。初步查明,目前在全省15个市(县)发现154个野生稻自然居群,其中普通野生稻136个、疣粒野生稻11个、药用野生稻7个。收集到野生稻居群87个,其中普通野生稻80个、疣粒野生稻4个、药用野生稻3个,总共2900余份野生稻种茎,经繁殖和编目后妥善保存于海南省农业科学院试验基地的热带野生稻异位保存圃中,并参照农业行业标准-农业野生植物原生境保护点建设技术规范,分别在文昌、琼海、儋州、万宁、陵水和保亭等县(市)建立了6个野生稻原生境保护点,其中普通野生稻4个,疣粒野生稻1个,药用野生稻1个。根据调查结果,对海南野生稻濒危状况及其根源进行了分析,提出了海南野生稻保护相关建议。     

Conservation, Small Mammals, and the Future of Sacred Groves in West Africa

This article considers the conservation of relict natural habitat in West Africa, especially habitat preserved in traditional sacred groves. Government-sanctioned conservation is contrasted with local grassroots efforts of conservation. Evidence for the ecological value of sacred groves is based on results of a field study of small mammal communities conducted on the Accra Plains of Ghana and on published sources on the conservation and use of sacred groves from various countries. The study employed standard mark-and-recapture techniques for the sampling for terrestrial small mammals, and mist netting for the sampling of bat communities. Pragmatic approaches combining conservation and sustainable use are considered, as are traditional values that have preserved the sacred groves in the past for up to several hundred years in some cases. In part because these groves shelter unique small mammal and plant communities, traditional values and protection mechanisms should be integrated into the newly emerging cultural and religious contexts. The issues encountered during this study reveal that effective conservation involving local peoples requires a concerted interdisciplinary effort. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.