Threatened Species

Invasions of Typha (cattail) and/or Phragmites (common reed) in wetland ecosystems result in changes in species richness, diversity and composition of vascular plants. These invasions are particularly harmful in lakes where threatened species and/or communities are found. The spread of two species of Typha (T. angustifolia and T. latifolia) and of Phragmites australis in the Stagnone Lake, on Capraia Island

Bryonora 47 (2011) 1 MECHOROSTY ZAZNAMENANÉ V PRŮBĚHU 17. JARNÍHO BRYOLOGICKO-LICHENOLOGICKÉHO SETKÁNÍ V CHŘIBECH Bryophytes recorded during the 17 th Spring Meeting of the Bryological and Lichenological Section of the ČBS in Chřiby (SE Moravia) Ivan N o v o t n ý 1 , Svatava K u b e š o v á 1 , Anna D o s k o č i l o v á 2 , Zbyněk H r a d í l e k 3 , Štěpán K o v a l 4 , Ivana M a r k o v á 5 , Zdeněk M u s i l 6 , Vítězslav P l á š e k 7 , Daniela U h e r e k o v á Š m e l k o v á 8 , Eliška V i c h e r o v á 9 & Magda Z m r h a l o v á 10 Abstract: The Chřiby highlands are situated in the south-eastern part of the Czech Republic.

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Reviewing available information from published literature, museum database, personal communications and from the authors own field data, the conservation status of Cuban bats has been assessed using six qualitative parameters: abundance, distribution, roosting habits, aggregation level, forest dependence, and degree of endemism. The resulting Red List is analogous to that of the IUCN, species having been included in four categories of risk. Four out of the 26 extant bats of Cuba should be considered endangered, four vulnerable to extinction, twelve potentially threatened, and six in a stable situation. Most of the species of bats endemic to Cuba are under some form of threat. The major threats to the survival of Cuban bats are the destruction of forests and the modification of caves, the latter being critical habitats for the mostly cave-dwelling Cuban bat fauna. We argue that its conservation should be the result of a cooperative effort promoting research and habitat management.

1. Recent approaches to the planning of marine protected area (MPA) networks for biodiversity conservation often stress the need for a representative coverage of habitat types while aiming to minimize impacts on resource users. As typified by planning for the Australian South-east Marine Region, this strategy can be manipulated by political processes, with consequent biased siting of MPAs. Networks thus created frequently possess relatively low value for biodiversity conservation, despite significant costs in establishment and maintenance.

A large number of South Africa's elephants can be found on small wildlife reserves. The large nutritional demands and destructive foraging behavior of elephants can threaten rare species of vegetation. If conservation management is to protect threatened species of vegetation, knowing how long elephants will stay in one area of a reserve as well as which area they will move to next could be useful. The goal of this study was to train a recurrent neural network to predict an elephant herd's next position in the Pongola Game Reserve. Accurate predictions would provide a useful tool in assessing future impact of elephant populations on different areas of the reserve. Particle swarm optimization (PSO), PSO initialized backpropagation (PSO-BP) and PSO initialized backpropagation through time (PSO-BPTT) algorithms are used to adapt the recurrent neural networks weights. The effectiveness of PSO, PSO-BP and PSO-BPTT for training a recurrent neural network for elephant migration prediction is compared and PSO-BPTT produces the most accurate predictions at the expense of more computational cost.

More than 90% of harlequin frog species (Atelopus spp.), endemic to the Americas, are currently threatened with extinction. We report the discovery of the only currently known breeding population of the Critically Endangered A. varius in Costa Rica. This population was located in 2008 on a private property in Las Tablas Protected Zone near San Vito, Coto Brus at 1300 m elevation. Previously, the only known remaining/remnant population of this species and genus was a single location near Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, where two individuals were documented in 2004. Subsequent searches at this location have yielded no additional sightings. Delineating the spatial limits of this population, quantifying demographics and resource use, and implementing conservation actions are necessary to ensure persistence of this population. Conducting additional surveys in this region to ascertain occurrence of additional populations is warranted.

Swertia L. is a morphologically diverse but taxonomically distinct genus of the family Gentianaceae with ca150 species. In Nepal, Swertia L. comprises of 29 species with one endemic species (Swertia acaulis H. Sm.) which are widely distributed in the mountainous terrains of Eastern, Central and Western regions at altitude ranging from 600 to 5500m. (Joshi, 2007). The plants are economically

The numbers of mature specimens of all extant cycad taxa in the wild, in public gardens and in private collections were estimated from a census carried out during 1991 and 1992. The data for the wild plants and those in public gardens appear to be comprehensive and reasonably accurate for most cycad genera except Cycas and Zamia. A low frequency of responses from private collectors has resulted in a sign$cant underestimate of the number of specimens in private ownership. Abundance in the wild is extremely variable but, with some important exceptions, positively correlated with numbers in cultivation, where large numbers of plants are held by a relatively small number of owners. Revisions of the previously listed conservation status for each taxon are suggested on the basis of wild number estimates in view of the lack of detailed population studies. Well-maintained and correctly accessioned cycad collections are important ex situ genetic resources of educational, research and conservation value; several botanic gardens are presently involved in cycad conservation projects. A major revision of the earlier threatened species assignments is proposed, in which taxa are placed into extinct, critical, endangered, vulnerable and safe/low-risk categories on the basis of the wild number estimates obtained in the census. These assignments are based on species numbers in view of the lack of data at the population level.

Tigers are a threatened species that might soon disappear in the wild. Not only are tigers threatened by deteriorating and declining habitat, but poachers continue to kill tigers for traditional medicine, decoration pieces and so on. Although international trade in tiger products has been banned since 1987 and domestic trade within China since 1993, tigers continue to be poached and Chinese entrepreneurs have established tiger farms in anticipation of their demise.

1.  Much of ecological research focuses on the responses of species and species communities to variation in the amount and quality of resources that are required for survival and reproduction. In such research, it is critical to measure the availability of resources in a manner that is relevant in relation to the ecological requirements of the species.2.  We have developed a measure for resource availability that integrates the contributions of the number, volume and diversity of resource units to quantify the amount of habitat that is available for a species community. We apply this measure to data on the occurrence of 116 species of wood-decaying polyporous fungi in 47 study plots of boreal forest within an area of 150 × 150 km.3.  We show that species richness and pooled abundance of common species is explained well by the number of downed logs, whereas the occurrence of 41 red-listed species is best explained by the total volume of logs and by the abundance of large logs in particular. The occurrence of common species is explained by the local availability of dead wood, whereas the occurrence of red-listed species is additionally affected by the spatial connectivity of the focal forest stand to the surrounding larger expanses of old-growth forest.4.  Our results elicit the contrasting ecologies of common and red-listed species in relation to how the number of logs, their size distribution and diversity, and forest connectivity affect species occurrences. The results suggest that the most cost-effective means of preventing further declines of threatened species is to increase the amount of large downed logs through restoration and biodiversity-oriented management in the vicinity of existing areas of natural-like forests.5.  Synthesis. Our results illustrate that the most relevant way of measuring resource availability can differ greatly even within a taxonomically coherent community seemingly sharing the same resources. Our approach for modelling resource availability applies to the resources that occur as discrete objects with variation in the size and quality of individual resource units.

Worldwide, there are over 25,000 golf courses. In the United States, there are approximately 15,ooO, with developers building about 350 new courses each year. Japan, Taiwan, China, and other countries are experiencing a similar golf boom. Some developers regard golf course development as one of the fastest growing types of land development in the world. Typically considered by ecologists to be an environmental problem, scientists are now reexamining golf courses to assess their potential to be wildlife habitat. Can naturalistic courses (those with substantial amounts of native wildlife habitat) actually benefit wildlife populations, especially birds, and still be attractive to golfers? My ecological research with a well-known naturalized links-style golf course in Kansas suggests that a naturalistic golf course can support significant numbers of birds, including many threatened species. When compared to a nearby natural area, the golf course equaled the natural area in total bird species richness but not in the relative abundance of specific kinds of birds. Naturalistic golf courses, while not natural areas, can complement biological reserves, military reservations, greenbelts, parks, farms, backyards and other units of the regional habitat mosaic. The large amount of habitat on naturalistic courses also reduces water runoff, irrigation, and chemical inputs. Furthermore, raising the profile of naturally landscaped golf courses can engage thousands of additional people in wildlife habitat preservation issues. Naturalistic courses are growing in popularity and the golfing community is responsive to aesthetic and environmental concerns. With the involvement of ecologists, this burgeoning interest in natural habitats on golf courses may significantly increase the amount of wildlife habitat, especially if designers build these kinds of courses in urban areas and on degraded landscapes such as landfills, quarries, and eroded lands. 0 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.

Overbank flooding of rivers is a key process in the maintenance of vegetation types and the species that rely on the floodplain forests and woodlands of northern Victoria. Yet the flooding requirements of species and vegetation types are poorly known. Here we present initial estimates of the water requirements for flooddependent Ecological Vegetation Classes (EVCs) and rare and threatened flora and fauna species associated with the floodplain of the Murray River and its tributaries. Some 110 EVCs were found to be at least partly flood-dependent on the Murray River floodplains. The total current extent of these EVCs in the study area is 224 247 ha, of which 162 266 ha are on public land. One hundred and twenty-four rare or threatened plant taxa and 62 threatened vertebrate fauna taxa (excluding fish) were classified as at least partly flood-dependent. These initial estimates provide important information for land and water managers and researchers alike. (The Victorian Naturalist 128 (2), 2011, 48-85)

Correct  management  of  protected  areas  is  one  of  the  key  factors  in  biodiversity
conservation. Routine surveys in Mincio Natural Park resulted in the finding of a population of Zeuneriana marmorata  (Fieber, 1853), listed as EN (Endangered) by IUCN in the Red List of European Orthoptera. Other known populations were known only for NE Adriatic coast in Italy and inland in  Slovenia.  We  assume  that  the  current  presence  of  this  species  is  what  remains  of  a  larger metapopulation living in the wet habitats of the plains around the North Adriatic Sea.  Causes of range  fragmentation  are  supposed,  current  threats  outlined  and  possible  conservation  actions proposed.

SummaryThe Red River Delta in northern Vietnam is an important stopover and wintering site for migratory waterbirds. During the spring of 1994, six globally threatened and five near-threatened species were observed in the coastal areas of the Delta. According to current applications of threat categories, one of the species has Critical status (Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor), three are Endangered (Nordmann's Greenshank Tringa guttifer, Saunders's Gull Larus saundersi and Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes), two are Vulnerable (Spoonbill Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmaeus and Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis) and five are Near-threatened (Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus, Grey-headed Lapwing Vanellus cinereus, Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala and Japanese Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone atrocaudata). A nature reserve, also listed as a Ramsar area, already exists in the middle of the Delta. The Cua Day Estu...

This paper compares the medicinal uses of animals in fishing communities located in the North and Northeastern regions of Brazil. Data were obtained through field surveys conducted in the Northern state of Pará and in the NE states of Paraíba, Piauí and Maranhão. We interviewed 137 people (67 men and 70 women), who provided information on animal species used as remedies, body parts used to prepare the remedies, and illnesses to which the remedies were prescribed. Comparisons were made using cluster analysis. Interviewees quoted 138 animal taxa, 11 of which are listed in the Brazilian list of threatened species. Animals were used to treat 100 illnesses. Results suggest that similarities in the repertoire of medicinal resources chosen by the surveyed communities reflects both a geographic/cultural continuum and the local accessability/availability of the resources.

The size and growth of the human population are often cited as key factors in threats to Earth's biodiversity, yet the extent of their contribution to the endangerment and extinction of other species has remained unclear. Moreover, it could be valuable to know what additional threats may arise from continued human population growth. Here we quantify a model of the relationship between human population density and the number of threatened mammal and bird species by nation. Our multiple regression analysis revealed that two predictor variables, human population density and species richness (of birds and mammals), account for 88% of the variability in log-transformed densities of threatened species across 114 continental nations. Using the regression model with projected population sizes of each nation, we found that the number of threatened species in the average nation is expected to increase 7% by 2020, and 14% by 2050, as forecast by human population growth alone. Our findings strongly support the notion that abating human population growth is a necessary, if not sufficient, step in the epic attempt to conserve biodiversity on the global scale. #

Four species of otters have been recorded from Malaysia and Singapore in the past: Lutra lutra (Common or Eurasian Otter), Lutra sumatrana (Hairy-nosed Otter), Lutrogale perspicillata (Smooth Otter) and Amblonyx cinereus (Oriental Small-clawed Otter). All four are listed in the Threatened Species Categories of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals: L. lutra is designated ‘Vulnerable’ and the status of the other three Asian species are ‘Insufficiently Known’ due to lack of information. From a review of the available literature and collation of museum records from Malaysia and Singapore, the past status of the four species are examined. Presently, only L. perspicillata and A. cinereus are common in Peninsular Malaysia where they are widely distributed, but both are rare in Singapore. L. sumatrana is rare but apparently still found in East Malaysia. It is possible that L. lutra did not range in Malaysia this century. Information about the habitat types, group size, range, diet and behaviour for all the species is poorly known. The available information allows a discussion of the Smooth and Small-clawed Otters only. This dearth of knowledge has hampered maintenance and breeding efforts of zoos and conservation activity.

Great Apes, among the world's most severely threatened species and our closest biological relatives, are being featured in new zoo exhibits of unprecedented size, complexity, cost and number throughout the country. Historically, Great Ape exhibits are categorized into four chronological and thematic phases: PHASE I -Trophies and curiosities. PHASE II -The Science Lab. PHASE III -Great Apes in a small Eden. PHASE IV -Great Ape societies in Eden.

Feral cats have been directly responsible for the extinction of numerous species on islands worldwide, including endemic species of mammals, birds and reptiles. The diet of feral cats in the main habitats of the Canary Islands, as generally occurred on oceanic islands, is mainly composed of introduced mammals, and native species of birds, reptiles and insects. The impact of feral cat upon the endangered species was assessed by evaluating their relative abundance in the cats’ diet and by considering their current conservation status. A total of 68 different preys were identified at species level in all studies carried out in the Canary Islands (5 mammals, 16 birds, 15 reptiles and 32 invertebrates). From all the species preyed by feral cats in the Canary Islands, only four of them are considered threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: one endemic bird Saxicola dacotiae and three endemic giant lizards, Gallotia simonyi, Gallotia intermedia, and Gallotia gomerana. Although some efforts on management control have been carried out, it is necessary to enforce these conservation activities on those areas of Tenerife, La Gomera and El Hierro where giant lizards are still present. Furthermore some local areas where endangered bird species are highly predated should be protected. Nevertheless, it is important to take into account the presence of other introduced species such as rats, mice or rabbits in order to avoid problems derived from the hyperpredation process and mesopredator release effect.

SUMMARY The phytogeographical notable flora of the Province Sondrio: a preliminary inventory for conservation activities. The Province of Sondrio covers approx. 3.212 Km 2 and hosts a very diverse and rich flora that, according to the current estimates, amounts to about 1.850 taxa of vascular plants. The reasons for this high level of plant diversity lie in the considerable altitudinal

We analyzed the vegetation of Lake Burullus at the deltaic Mediterranean coast of Egypt, the sand bar between its northern shore and Mediterranean Sea, the water courses that drain into the lake and the wetland around it. Our ultimate aim was to identify threatened species and communities and the environmental factors that affect their distribution in order to formulate a plan for their conservation. The total number of the recorded species was 197 (100 annuals and 97 perennials), including 12 floating and submerged hydrophytes. Three species are endemic to Egypt: two annuals (Sinapis arvensis subsp. allionii and Sonchus macrocarpus) and one perennial (Zygophyllum album var. album). Thirty-four species are rare allover Egypt (15 annuals and 19 perennials). The lake area included 10 types of habitat (sand formations, salt marshes, lake cuts, terraces, slopes, water edges and open water of the drains, islets, shores and lake). The vegetation was classified into 13 groups (i.e., plant communities). Six groups were dominated or co-dominated by the common reed (Phragmites australis); these groups occupied a wide environmental gradient from xeric to hydric habitats. Five other groups were dominated by halophytic species (Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, Suaeda vera, Sarcocornia fruticosa, Halocnemum strobilaceum and Salsola Kali). The remaining two groups were dominated by the emergent Typha domingensis and the submerged Potamogeton pectinatus. Moisture, salinity and sedimentation were the main factors that governed the plant succession in this wetland.

Knowledge of the dispersal mechanisms used by plants is important in phylogenetic, ecological, biogeographical, and conservation studies. Here we attempt to assign dispersal mechanisms to the entire flora-2595 plant species of the New Zealand Botanical Region. Anemochory is the most frequent dispersal mechanism, utilised by 79% of species. The next most frequent mechanisms are endozoochory (33%), hydrochory (28%), epizoochory (26%), and ballistic (8%). Polychory is common, particularly in monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous families and hydrochorous, epizoochorous, and ballistically dispersed species. Epizoochory is more common in New Zealand than in other regions, and species using this dispersal mechanism are over-represented among threatened species. Frugivory is less common than previously reported, and is under-represented among threatened species. Some mechanisms are poorly known, and entanglement and capsulivory are dispersal mechanisms apparently unique to New Zealand. Dispersal mechanisms reflective of New Zealand's distinctive assemblages of large flightless birds and reptiles are not apparent. A pattern of reduction in dispersal-related structures is evident in some genera. The mechanisms utilised by some species are ambiguous. Thus there remains a need for further investigation of the dispersal mechanisms utilised by plants in New Zealand.

Urban environments are not considered areas with conservation importance. However greenspaces in cities have been previously identified as areas with significant avian biodiversity. We investigated the distribution and diversity of birds in what are increasingly considered as Metropolitan Manila's last greenspaces; the University of the Philippines campus, military cemeteries and two government operated parks. Using species-area analysis, abundance and diversity indices, TWINSPAN ordination and logistic regression to determine important landscape features for species presence, we describe the distribution of bird communities and diversity in Metropolitan Manila. Two major bird community groupings were observed. These are the urban exploiters and the urban adaptable with the former occurring in high abundances and the latter in low abundances in greenspaces. The number of built and natural spatial entities determines abundances. Species area analysis suggests that the greenspaces are distinct habitats that preserve faunal uniqueness whereas urbanization tends to decrease diversity. These observations suggest that greenspaces harbor significant avian biodiversity as well as the presence of endemic and threatened species. As the greenspaces possess remnant wetland and wooded habitat we recommend that they be preserved and maintained by ensuring that these habitats are incorporated in any urban development plan.

Lycaon pictus Panthera A B S T R A C T Successful conservation initiatives often lead to rapid increases in large carnivore densities to the extent that overpopulation occurs. Yet conservation managers have no way of knowing the carrying capacity of their reserves. Here we derived relationships between the preferred prey (species and weight range) of Africa's large predator guild and their population densities to predict their carrying capacity in ten South African conservation areas. Conservation managers intervened at several of these sites because of evidence of predator overpopulation and these provided independent tests of our predictions. Highly significant linear relationships were found between the biomass of the preferred prey species of lion, leopard, spotted hyaena and African wild dog, and the biomass of prey in the preferred weight range of cheetah. These relationships are more robust than previous work for lion, cheetah and leopard, and novel for spotted hyaena and African wild dog. These relationships predicted that several predators exceeded carrying capacity at four sites, two where managers expressed concerns about overpopulation due to a decline in wildlife abundance and two where carnivores were actively removed. The ability to predict the carrying capacity of large predators is fundamental to their conservation, particularly in small enclosed reserves. Every predator that preys on large, readily surveyed wildlife can have its carrying capacity predicted in this manner based on the abundance of its preferred prey. This will be beneficial for reintroduction attempts, threatened species management, overpopulation estimation, detecting poaching and in investigating intra-guild competition.

The effect of photoperiod and tank colour on the survival and growth of juvenile seahorse Hip-pocampus reidi was investigated in the first 15 days after release (DAR). In the first experiment , newly released seahorses were exposed to six photoperiods-6 h of light (L):18 h of darkness (D), 10L:14D, 12L:12D, 14L:10D, 18L:6D and 24L:0D. In the second experiment, juveniles were kept in tanks of different background colours-blue, white, black, clear and red. No significant differences were observed in the growth and survival among seahorse subjected to 10-24 h of light (P > 0.05). At the end of 15 DAR, fish exposed to 6L:18D showed lower growth in height and weight compared to other treatments (13.8 mm vs. 20.0-22.2 mm and 13.4 mg vs. 37.2-43.2 mg respectively) and lower survival (80% vs. 88-95% respectively). Tank colour did not affect growth and survival of juveniles up to 15 DAR.

The ISO 9001 (2000) define "Quality" as the ability of a set of inherent properties and characteristics of a product, system or process to fulfill requirements of customers and other interested parties. The "Plan de Calidad de Obra (PCO)" is an instrument that follows to get the necessary quality in Civil Works contracts. Graphical documentation generated during construction project elaboration or even during Civil Engineering works execution with planes, makes obligatory a meticulous treatment of this information that results transcendental in the consecution of the definitive products (projects or works) quality objective. In this work it's shown the principal graphical documentation procedures defined in the PCO attending to the edition, modification, distribution, storage, and other relevant aspects related to graphical information.

The world's gastropod fauna from continental waters comprises *4,000 valid described species and a minimum of 33-38 independent lineages of Recent Neritimorpha, Caenogastropoda and Heterobranchia (including the Pulmonata). The caenogastropod component dominates in terms of species richness and diversity of morphology, physiology, life and reproductive modes and has produced several highly speciose endemic radiations. Ancient oligotrophic lakes (e.g., Baikal, Ohrid, Tanganyika) are key hotspots of gastropod diversity; also noteworthy are a number of lower river basins (e.g., Congo, Mekong, Mobile Bay). But unlike many other invertebrates, small streams, springs and groundwater systems have produced the most speciose associations of freshwater gastropods. Despite their ecological importance in many aquatic ecosystems, understanding of even their systematics is discouragingly incomplete. The world's freshwater gastropod fauna faces unprecedented threats from habitat loss and degradation and introduced fishes and other pests. Unsustainable use of ground water, landscape modification and stock damage are destroying many streams and springs in rural/ pastoral areas, and pose the most significant threats to the large diversity of narrow range endemics in springs and ground water. Despite comprising only *5% of the world's gastropod fauna, freshwater gastropods account for *20% of recorded mollusc extinctions. However, the status of the great majority of taxa is unknown, a situation that is exacerbated by a lack of experts and critical baseline data relating to distribution, abundance, basic life history, physiology, morphology and diet. Thus, the already considerable magnitude of extinction and high levels of threat indicated by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is certainly a significant underestimate.

Deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics is a major source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The tropics also harbour more than half the world's threatened species, raising the possibility that reducing GHG emissions by curtailing tropical deforestation could provide substantial co-benefits for biodiversity conservation.