The face of conservation responding to a dynamically changing world

In its 40‐year history, the science of conservation has faced unprecedented challenges in terms of environmental damage and rapid global change, and environmental problems are only increasing as greater demands are placed on limited natural resources. Conservation science has been adapting to keep pace with these changes. Here, we highlight contemporary and emerging trends and innovations in conservation science that we believe represent the most effective responses to biodiversity threats. We focus on specific areas where conservation science has had to adjust its approach to address emerging threats to biodiversity, including habitat destruction and degradation, climate change, declining populations and invasive species. We also document changes in attitudes, norms and practices among conservation scientists. A key component to success is engaging and maintaining public support for conservation, which can be facilitated through the use of technology. These recent trends in conservation and management are innovative and will assist in optimizing conservation strategies, increasing our leverage with the general public and tackling our current environmental challenges.     

甘南亚高山草甸弃耕演替过程中的物种多样性与生产力变化模式及相互关系研究

物种多样性与生产力之间的关系一直是生态学领域的研究热点。本研究通过采用空间代替时间的方法,对甘南亚高山草甸退耕时间为5,9,14,19,30年以及顶极群落样地的物种多样性、地上生物量进行调查、分析,探讨亚高山草甸弃耕地演替过程中物种多样性、生产力的变化规律及其相关关系,结果表明,1)弃耕地演替过程中,随着演替时间的推移,植物物种多样性先升后降,呈单峰曲线;2)在演替的前期生产力迅速提高,在第19年时达到最高的183.77g/m²,之后,生产力基本保持稳定;3)在演替过程中物种多样性与生产力呈正相关关系,在顶极群落中物种多样性与生产力之间无明显的相关关系;4)演替过程中群落中物种-多度分布模式由生态位优先占领型逐渐转变为对数-正态分布。     

Using economic instruments to overcome obstacles to in situ conservation of biodiversity

The leading direct cause of the loss of biodiversity is habitat alteration and disruption. If we are to address this cause directly, we need to find ways of changing the behavior of rural people. Experience has shown that this is done most effectively through the use of economic instruments, ranging from taxes that discourage over‐exploitation, to direct payments for conservation activities carried out by rural land‐owners or those occupying the land. In many parts of the world, governments provide incentives such as tax breaks to private land‐owners. Other countries recognize specific use rights on particular parts of the land, enabling the land‐owners to earn appropriate benefits. Since many protected areas have resident human populations, it is especially important that they be encouraged to contribute to the objectives of the protected area, and economic incentives offer an important way of doing so; they might, for example, be given employment in the protected area or in associated tourism activities. Direct payments to farmers for conserving watersheds is becoming increasingly popular, in both developed and developing countries. Improved conservation will require both removing perverse subsidies and developing a wide range of approaches for rewarding land‐owners for biodiversity conservation activities.     

Profitable and Sustainable Cattle Grazing Strategies Support Reptiles in Tropical Savanna Rangeland

Rangelands are areas used primarily for grazing by domestic livestock; however, because they support native vegetation and fauna, their potential role in conservation should not be overlooked. Typically, “off-reserve” conservation in agricultural landscapes assumes a trade-off between maintaining the ecological processes that support biodiversity and successful food production and profitability. To evaluate this potential biodiversity trade-off in rangelands, we need to understand the effect of different livestock grazing strategies on biodiversity, in relation to their performance in terms of profitability and land condition. We monitored reptile community responses to four cattle-grazing strategies (heavy, moderate, and variable stocking rates and a rotational wet season spelling treatment) in a replicated, long-term grazing trial in north Queensland, Australia. Simultaneously, measures of profitability and land condition were collected for the different grazing strategies. Overall, reptile abundance was not negatively impacted by the more sustainably managed treatments (moderate, variable, and rotational) compared with heavy stocking, although the effect of grazing treatment alone was not significant. Profitability and land condition were also higher in these treatments compared with the heavy stocking rate treatment. As drought conditions worsened over the 3 yr, the negative impact of the heavy stocking treatment on both profitability and biodiversity became more pronounced. Heavy stocking negatively impacted reptiles and was also the least profitable grazing strategy over the long term, resulting in the worst land condition. This suggests that in this tropical savanna rangeland there was no trade-off between economic performance and reptile abundance and diversity. Grazing regimes with a moderate stocking rate or flexible management strategies were better able to buffer the effects of climate variability. The consequence was a more resilient reptile community and better economic outcomes in dry years.     

Grazing Systems Do Not Affect Bird Habitat on a Sandhills Landscape

Grassland birds are declining faster than any other guild of birds in North America, in part because of degradation of their breeding habitat. Rangeland managers recommend increasing heterogeneity to improve biodiversity; however, on privately owned rangelands, beef production likely decreases heterogeneity on the landscape. One suggestion has been to use multiple grazing systems across a landscape to increase heterogeneity and provide benefits for avian biodiversity, but there is little research to support this recommendation. Thus, our goal was to examine heterogeneity and songbird abundance in relation to grazing systems used by private producers in a large, intact rangeland region. We measured vegetation structure and conducted avian surveys in the Nebraska Sandhills on 11 management units with five different grazing systems, including season-long continuous, deferred rotation, management intensive, dormant season only, and a fixed rotation. On each management unit we assessed the relationship between vegetation structure or songbird abundance and potential management effects, such as grazing system, stocking rate, and management intensity. Season of use and stocking rate were the most common sources of variation in vegetation structure and songbird abundance. Grazing system did not explain variation in vegetation structure or bird abundance, except for heterogeneity in live grass cover, litter cover, shrub cover, and abundance of field sparrows. Vegetation structure varied across the landscape we sampled, but the range of heterogeneity was narrow. Thus, managers should not assume that using a variety of grazing systems across a landscape will inevitably result in heterogeneity of vegetation structure. Rather, managers should focus on creating contrasting vegetation structure in large areas to increase large-scale heterogeneity. This may be achieved through the application of more extreme management practices (e.g., long-term heavy grazing and long-term rest or patch-burn grazing) so that a wider variety of vegetation composition and structure is available to support biodiversity.     

Global perspectives of veterinary education: reflections from the 27th World Veterinary Congress

All who work in veterinary education must recognize the breadth of their responsibilities. We are at a time in veterinary history where the profession must look how to meet a global standard for veterinary education and the global recognition of our basic qualification. There is a societal expectation that a professional approach is being taken to managing food security and food safety, as well as the environment and biodiversity. Within our profession, we need to recognize our obligation to fulfill this role. Society and regulators will seek those who have the capacity to provide for society's needs. It is no longer a case of relying on the reputation of our profession alone. There is a significant disparity in universal recognition of the veterinary qualification between the major blocs of the developed world and the developing world. Graduates from developing countries are not widely recognized, and they and their countries may therefore be at a significant disadvantage. There will be significant costs involved in raising the standards of veterinary education. A lead must be taken by a global body such as the World Veterinary Association to develop a long-term strategy toward global recognition of the veterinary qualification.     

A spotlight on snow leopard conservation in China

China holds the greatest proportion of the snow leopard's (Panthera uncia) global range and is central to their conservation. The country is also undergoing unprecedented economic growth, which increases both the threats to the snow leopard and the opportunities for its conservation. In this paper we aim to review published literature (from 1950 to 2014) in English and Mandarin on snow leopard ecology and conservation in China in order to identify thematic and geographic research gaps and propose research priorities. We first retrieved all published items that considered snow leopards in China (n = 106). We extracted from these papers 274 reports of snow leopard presence in China. We then reviewed a subset of papers (n = 33) of this literature, which specifically focused on snow leopard ecology and conservation within China. We introduced a thematic framework that allows a structured and comprehensive assessment of findings. This framework recognizes 4 critical and interrelated topics underpinning snow leopard ecology and conservation: habitat (distribution and protected area coverage); prey (distribution and abundance, predator–prey relationships); human interactions (hunting and trade, livestock interactions and conflicts); and the underlying policy context. Significant gains in knowledge as well as research gaps and priorities are discussed with reference to our framework. The modest quantity and limited scope of published research on the snow leopard in China calls for a continued and intensified effort to inform and support national conservation policies.     

Spatial density estimate of the snow leopard,Panthera uncia,in the Central Tibetan Plateau,China

Knowledge of large carnivore population abundance is essential for wildlife management and conservation, but these data are often difficult to obtain in inherently low-density species. In particular, the snow leopard, Panthera uncia, an enigmatic cat occupying remote mountains in Central Asia, has received insufficient assessments of its population abundance because of logistical and methodological challenges. Here, we aimed to develop a robust density estimation of snow leopards based on 81 days of camera trapping within a contiguous and previously unsurveyed 1950 km² area of habitat on the Tibetan Plateau (Mayue Township, Shenzha County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China). By applying spatially explicit capture–recapture models, we produced an estimate of 1.40 (95%CI: 1.06–1.84) individuals per 100 km². Results also suggested sex-specific variation in the range of movement around activity centers, with male (N = 10, σ = 4.02) movement considerably greater than female (N = 8, σ = 1.84) movement. The findings can serve as a reliable baseline reference for assessing the population trends of this endangered felid species with future estimates. This study will provide context to contribute toward a better understanding of ecological factors shaping the distribution and abundance of snow leopards and the related conservation measures needed to sustain their long-term survival on the Tibetan Plateau.     

Testing the effectiveness of conservation management within biosphere reserves: the case of the Mexican deer mouse (Peromyscus mexicanus) as a bioindicator

Biosphere reserves are protected areas whose purpose is to combine conservation and sustainable development. However, their effectiveness has not been tested sufficiently, especially from an ecological and genetic approach. In this sense, the Peromyscus genus represents an excellent bioindicator to address these questions, due to its short life and high evolutionary rate and fecundity. For conservation managers, genetic structure can increase the rate of loss of genetic diversity because alleles exclusive of a subpopulation are more likely to disappear as a consequence of genetic drift in comparison with a panmictic population. Here we analyzed the abundance, movement distances, morphology/morphometry and genetic structure of 3 populations of Mexican deer mouse (Peromyscus mexicanus) located in different protected zones of La Tigra National Park (Honduras). Our results are consistent among the 3 approaches and showed the highest values of abundance, morphometry and genetic diversity in the population located at the core zone, whereas non‐statistically significant differences were found between buffer and transition zone populations, suggesting suitable effectiveness of conservation management in the core zone but a lack of ecological buffering function of the other zones. In addition, the low movement distances and high genetic structure among the studied populations provide evidence of poor conservation management in the buffer and transition zone. Thus, we discuss the utility of the novel methodology used in this work, combining morphometry, abundance and genetics, in testing the effectiveness of conservation strategies in biosphere reserves, and the value of the Peromyscus genus as a bioindicator.     

浅谈野生虎生态学研究

虎在生态系统中处在食物链的顶端，是自然保护中的旗舰物种，具有重要的生态价值和科学价值。目前，虎的分布范围及数量已经明显减少，成为最受威胁的大型猫科动物之一。针对虎的这种濒危状况，虎的研究得到了极大关注，尤其是野生虎的生态学研究。本文综述了野生虎生态学的研究，从野生虎生态学的研究历史出发，作者认为野生虎的保护应该做到以下几点：减少人为干扰；保护好现有虎栖息地，对现有虎种群实行异质种群管理；建立新的保护区，扩大虎的栖息地；设法扩大虎猎物种群的数量。     

中国犬资源现状与开发利用

犬品种资源是养犬业持续发展的基础和保证。本文叙述了犬资源的重要性,分析了我国犬资源的现状,分布状况,特点和存在的问题。提出了保护、开发和利用犬资源的措施,为开展生物多样性保护研究奠定了基础。     

食物安全评价及其发展的路径选择

中国传统的粮食安全理念将以谷物为主的粮食等同于食物,致使农业走上了单一结构的“粮-猪农业”歧途,这也是中国粮食观与国际粮食观的不同之处。从食物生产结构以及食物安全评价就可以反映出传统农业的弊端,一方面食物生产过分偏重于谷物和猪肉,另一方面食物安全评价仅仅局限于粮食的供给能力。分析国内外食物安全评价体系,国外注重于微观层次的、营养膳食结构的评价,而我国注重于宏观层次的、数量安全的评价。草地农业发展潜力巨大,能满足我国对于动物性食物的不断加大的消费需求,是持久高效保障食物安全的最佳路径选择。     

The potential negative impacts of the classical swine fever virus on wild boar population in Gifu prefecture,Japan

There is a possibility that classical swine fever (CSF) virus outbreak has negative impacts on wild boar. To adequately manage native wild boar populations, wildlife managers need to gather the field data on wild boar and implement population management practices. We aimed to report the relative abundance index of wild boar before and after this outbreak. Our results showed that relative abundance index declined from 2017 (8.88 wild boars/100 trap days) to 2019 (2.03 wild boars/100 trap days), because of the negative impact of this virus and continuous culling programs. Although the eradication risk from the synergistic effect is low, wildlife managers need to consider the relationship between the trade-off between the risk of CSF and the conservation ecology risk of native species eradication.     

Distribution and ecology of lesser pouched rat,Beamys hindei,in Tanzanian coastal forests

The lesser pouched rat, Beamys hindei, is a small rodent that is patchily distributed in the Eastern Arc Mountains and coastal forests in East Africa. The ecology of this species and its current distribution in coastal forests is not well known. Therefore, we conducted a study in selected coastal forests to assess the current distribution of the species and to investigate the population ecology in terms of abundance fluctuations and demographic patterns. Assessments of the species distribution were conducted in 5 forests through trapping with Sherman live traps. Data on ecology were obtained from monthly capture–mark–recapture studies conducted for 5 consecutive nights per month in two 1 ha grids set in Zaraninge Forest over a 2‐year period. The results indicate the presence of B. hindei in 3 forests where it was not previously recorded. The population abundance estimates ranged from 1 to 40 animals per month, with high numbers recorded during rainy seasons. Reproduction patterns and sex ratios did not differ between months. Survival estimates were not influenced by season, and recruitment was low, with growth rate estimates of 1 animal per month. These estimates suggest a stable population of B. hindei in Zaraninge Forest. Further studies are recommended to establish the home range, diet and burrowing behavior of the species in coastal forests in East Africa.     

The cost of conserving livestock diversity? Incentive measures and conservation options for maintaining indigenous Pelón pigs in Yucatan,Mexico

In the Mexican state of Yucatan the Pelón pig breed has been identified as being endangered. The gradual disappearance of this indigenous breed that is able to survive well in an extreme environment and under low-input conditions undermines food and livestock security for Yucatan’s rural poor. This study uses contingent valuation to identify those backyard pig producers who require least compensation to conserve the Pelón breed. Understanding the conditions under which livestock keepers most committed to the use of the indigenous breed would be willing to participate in different conservation scenarios allows for a comparative analysis of alternate conservation schemes, in terms of cost and breed population growth. The findings suggest that establishing a community-based conservation scheme could be sufficient to ensure that the Pelón pig reaches a ‘not at risk’ extinction status. Alternatively, establishing open-nucleus breeding schemes would result in a higher effective population size, but at relatively greater cost. We conclude that for the specific case of the Pelón pig in Yucatan, Mexico, if effectively designed, the cost of conservation and sustainable use strategies may be little more than the cost of facilitating access to the animal genetic resource for those most reliant upon it.     

马来熊的研究现状及保护对策探析

马来熊是国家Ⅰ级保护动物,其生物学信息缺乏,也缺乏科学的保护和管理对策。本文通过回顾关于马来熊的研究文献,对其研究现状进行总结归纳,并针对种群分布现状提出科学保护和管理对策。关于马来熊的研究主要见于野生种群现状、野外生态及圈养种群的饲养管理等,其中野外生态主要集中于生境选择利用、家域特征、行为节律、食性等,需要进一步深入研究其个体生态学或种群生态学规律。针对马来熊的保护和研究现状,应采取加强立法、推行宣教、提高公众保护意识;加强基础科学研究;建立保护区、缓冲区及森林廊道等以恢复其栖息地等措施来有效保护其野生种群。     

Future of the animal health industry at a time of food crisis

It is popular in some quarters to say that there is no food crisis; that there is food aplenty; and that the problem is one of distribution or other over-arching technical difficulty. To the starving, however, there is a food crisis; and it neither speaks well nor bodes well for humanity if we dismiss their plight so glibly. The United Nations has called for a large and rapid increase in food production. Veterinary parasitologists and industry leaders can contribute to the production of healthier livestock and the expansion of aquaculture, but enhanced production and better delivery of plant foods may provide faster relief. Although livestock farming is not the most energy-efficient way of producing food, meat will remain a significant component of the global diet for the foreseeable future. New measures for parasite control will be needed, and we must improve our methods of inventing them. They need not act directly against the parasite. In the distant future lie other threats to the inhabitants of planet Earth, and here we must acknowledge the cogency of the no-food-crisis argument. In the long term, the production of animal foods and animal feeds will be revamped in ways that depend on how (or whether) we solve the energy crisis, the environmental crisis, the increasingly dire regional population crises, and the current world financial crisis. Throughout the 20th century, the animal health industry had to adapt to industrialization and expansive agribusiness. It will have to adapt to even greater changes in the 21st century and beyond.     

分子标记技术在野生动物保护研究中的应用

中国野生动物资源丰富,然而野生动物的保护目前仍较多使用一些宏观保护策略和描述性研究手段,对其保护和评价的分子研究却相对落后。分子标记作为第四代遗传标记,自建立以来,以其多方面的优势在野生动物保护研究领域得到了越来越广泛的应用。本文介绍了限制性片段长度多态性、随机扩增多态性、扩增片段长度多态性和微卫星等分子标记的基本原理及其优缺点,综述了分子标记技术在野生动物种群遗传结构、亲缘关系和系统分类、遗传图谱构建和基因定位、物种鉴定和个体识别等方面的应用和研究概况,同时对应用前景进行了展望：分子标记技术在今后的野生动物保护研究中发挥的作用将会更加明显。     

Distribution pattern of endangered bird species in China

In this study, we determined six “hotspots” for avian biodiversity conservation in China. We analyzed the distribution patterns of 183 threatened bird species in China in conjunction with geographical data to produce a distribution map that shows the concentrations of threatened species. The six biodiversity hotspots are: the western Tianshan Mountains; the Qilian and Hengduan mountains; southern Anhui, southern Jiangsu, and the Zhejiang Hills; the Songliao Plain and the northern region of the North China Plain; the island of Taiwan; and the island of Hainan. Based on our analysis of a species–habitat matrix, species were determined to be distributed mainly in broadleaved forest, grassland and meadows, urban and agricultural areas, wetlands, and bush. Most species were commonly found to have a range of three to five different habitat types. Apart from the six biodiversity hotspots, six ecological clusters were determined. Protection strategies indicating different levels of habitat priority among the biodiversity hotspots were also recommended.