Global climate change is confounding species conservation strategies

Most organisms face similar problems with respect to their conservation in the face of global climate change. Here, we examine probable effects of climate change on the hyperdiverse plant family Orchidaceae. In the 20th century, the major concerns for orchid conservation revolved around unsustainable harvest for the orchid trade and, more importantly, land conversion from natural ecosystems to those unable to support wild orchid populations. Land conversion included logging, fire regimes and forest conversions to agricultural systems. Although those forms of degradation continue, an additional suite of threats has emerged, fueled by global climate change. Global climate change involves more than responses of orchid populations to increases in ambient temperature. Increasing temperature induces secondary effects that can be more significant than simple changes in temperature. Among these new threats are extended and prolonged fire seasons, rising sea levels, increases in cyclonic storms, seasonal climate shifts, changes in orthographic wind dew point and increased drought. The long-term outlook for orchid biodiversity in the wild is dismal, as it is for many animal groups, and we need to start rethinking strategies for conservation in a rapidly changing world.     

Climate change and invasive species: double jeopardy

Two of the key drivers of biodiversity loss today are climate change and invasive species. Climate change is already having a measurable impact on species distributions, reproduction and behavior, and all evidence suggests that things will get worse even if we act tomorrow to mitigate any future increases in greenhouse gas emissions: temperature will increase, precipitation will change, sea level will rise and ocean chemistry will change. At the same time, biological invasions remain an important threat to biodiversity, causing species loss, changes in distribution and habitat degradation. Acting together, the impacts of each of these drivers of change are compounded and interactions between these two threats present even greater challenges to field conservationists as well as policymakers. Similarly, the social and economic impacts of climate change and invasive species, already substantial, will be magnified. Awareness of the links between the two should underpin all biodiversity management planning and policy.     

Wildlife veterinarian, conservation and public health

In recent years wildlife diseases (infectious and non-infectious) have played a relevant role in both wildlife conservation and public health. Global environmental changes have determined a bimodal evolution of wildlife. On one side a huge loss of biodiversity has been observed leading to the increasing of threatened or endangered species. In contrast few opportunistic taxa increased their aboundances and ranges. The above scenarios claim the intervention of wildlife veterinarians. In conservation the understanding of the ecological role of the host parasite relationship and the perturbations on the host population dynamics have to be assessed and eventually modified. In public health the increased overlapping among wildlife, livestock, pets and human beings represents a risk for diseases spread (no matter in which directions). Serious limits are, still now, observed in the acceptance of this 'new world' by veterinary academics. As a consequence curricula often fail in providing adequate skill at both undergraduate and graduate levels. An addressed approach towards wildlife diseases should be promoted as an essential component of environmental management.     

Applying Public Trust Thinking to Wildlife Governance in the United States: Challenges and Potential Solutions

Public trust thinking (PTT) promises to inspire ecologically and socially responsible wildlife governance in the United States, but its application is not straightforward. We describe eight broad challenges to comprehensive application of PTT including: increasing authority and capacity; overcoming resistance to change; achieving fair consideration of all public interests; facilitating broad public participation; and fulfilling commitments to future generations. We discuss potential solutions including: distributing responsibilities for public wildlife conservation among governmental and nongovernmental entities; adopting an expansive definition of “wildlife;” promoting an inclusive interpretation of PTT among public wildlife professionals; rejuvenating relationships between the public and wildlife agencies; and increasing public participation and accountability in decision-making processes. Efforts to address challenges in specific socioecological contexts should be led by people working in those contexts. Achieving comprehensive application of PTT will require collaboration and cooperation among governmental and nongovernmental partners, supported by diverse and engaged members of the public.     

黑龙江大沾河湿地国家级自然保护区鸟类多样性及其保护

为了掌握黑龙江大沾河湿地国家级自然保护区的鸟类多样性和认识保护区目前存在的问题,我们通过查阅资料、鸟类环志和鸟类救护的方法对保护区的鸟类多样性进行了研究。结果表明黑龙江大沾河湿地国家级自然保护区分布有鸟类202种,国家Ⅰ级重点保护鸟类有东方白鹳、白头鹤、丹顶鹤、金雕4种,国家Ⅱ级重点保护鸟类有白枕鹤、苍鹰、鸳鸯等33种,鸟类多样性极其丰富。在鸟类保护工作方面,目前虽然保护区已经开展了大量的保护工作,但仍然存在经济发展与鸟类保护相矛盾、人为干扰严重、自然资源利用过度和环境污染加剧等问题。针对存在的问题,本文通过研究提出了保护区在今后鸟类多样性保护和管理方面的科学意见。     

Landscape Conservation Cooperatives: Building a Network to Help Fulfill Public Trust Obligations

The Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) network (Network), comprised of 22 conservation partnerships spanning North America and U.S. Islands, is uniquely positioned to assist government members in fulfilling their public trust obligations to sustain natural and cultural resources for current and future generations by (a) ensuring inclusivity of broad stakeholder participation in conservation decision-making, and (b) building capacity for public trust to work in conservation, thus increasing the chance for successful and lasting conservation outcomes. In this article, we discuss the vision for the Network; challenges individual LCCs and the Network face in achieving the vision of sustaining natural and cultural resources for the benefit of current and future generations, a public trust obligation of most of the members; and ways in which member LCCs are making progress in this regard. We offer recommendations for the Network to consider to improve its ability to meet public trust obligations.     

Situating and teaching 21st century zoology: revealing pattern in the form and function of animals

The current challenges (increasing levels of integration in the biological sciences) facing the teaching of zoology and the structure of the zoology curriculum are explored herein. General context is provided and a more focused scrutiny of the situation in North America is presented. The changing emphases in more broadly‐based biological sciences programs in North America are outlined, and their influence on the role of zoology as part of fundamental biological training is considered. The longer term impact of such changes in emphasis on the teaching of zoology is discussed, and the central role that zoology can play in dealing with both science content and science education is advanced. Based upon a focal workshop on the future of the zoology curriculum in Canada, a perspective on the challenges facing curriculum evolution is provided. Extensive curriculum redesign is called for to ensure that zoology provides a broad‐scale integrative approach to the understanding of biodiversity in evolutionary, ecological and functional contexts. Barriers to, and drivers of change are identified and the need for collaborative approaches to curricular evolution is emphasized.     

One hundred years of population ecology: Successes,failures and the road ahead

Population ecology is the most mature of the three subdisciplines of ecology partly because it has a solid mathematical foundation and partly because it can address the primary questions of distribution and abundance with experimental protocols. Yet there is much left to do to integrate our population knowledge into community and ecosystem ecology to help address the global issues of food security and the conservation of biodiversity. Many different approaches are now being developed to bring about this integration and much more research will be necessary to decide which if any will be most useful in achieving our goals of explaining the changes we see in the distribution and abundance of animals and plants. Food web ecology would appear to be the best approach at present because it uses the detailed information of the population ecology of particular species in combination with data on consumer–resource interactions to apply to the applied problems of biodiversity conservation, food security, pest management and disease prevention. If we can use our understanding of population ecology to address the practical problems of our time in a creative way, we will benefit both the human population and the Earth's biodiversity. Much remains to be done.     

Principles of Public Trust Thinking

Public trust thinking (PTT) offers a philosophical orientation toward natural resources and a means of addressing persistent and emerging challenges in environmental conservation. It has inspired laws and policies around the world and is receiving increasing attention among scholars and natural resource practitioners. Nevertheless, attempts to develop and implement PTT are hampered by lack of clarity: no clear single statement of principles that unite PTT’s diverse expressions exists. We address this need by synthesizing PTT literature across academic disciplines. We identify four areas that are in need of development and offer five principles that characterize PTT: (1) Human well-being is dependent on benefits provided by ecosystems; (2) Certain resources are not suitable for exclusive private ownership; (3) All beneficiaries are equal; (4) Future generations should be considered in current resource management decisions; and (5) Trustees are bound by fiduciary obligations and are publicly accountable.     

基于文献计量的国际草地农业生态学研究发展态势分析

草地农业生态学研究体现出生物学、农学和地理学交叉的特点。近年来,全球许多国家及相关研究机构对草地农业生态学的研究力度不断加大。本研究以SCIE论文数据库作为数据源,利用Thomson Data Anlyzer(TDA)和UCINET软件对1996-2015年草地农业生态学研究论文进行数据挖掘和定量分析,探究了近20年来国际草地农业生态学研究的变化趋势、研究力量分布、重点领域、研究热点及国际合作。结果表明,近20年来,国际草地农业生态学研究论文以平均8%的速度增长;草地农业生态学研究所涉及的学科较多,主要有农业、环境科学与生态学、植物科学、生物多样性与保护、地质学等;除了对草地、农业关注外,草地农业生态学研究也对物种及生态环境保护较为重视;美国、英国等发达国家的草地农业生态学研究论文的综合影响力较高,美国在国际间合作中表现最为突出,与各主要国家间均具有很强的合作关系;中国科学院在草地农业生态学研究方面非常活跃,其论文量遥遥领先于法国农业科学研究院、加拿大萨斯喀彻温大学等其他机构,但研究水平、影响力以及国际合作能力仍有待提升。     

“The Range Problem” After a Century of Rangeland Science: New Research Themes for Altered Landscapes

The rangeland science profession in the United States has its roots in the widespread overgrazing and concurrent severe droughts of the late 19th century. These drivers contributed to rangeland resource degradation especially in the American Southwest—what E. O. Wooton (1908) called the “Range Problem.” Although logical for the time, the scientific activities and resulting policies that arose out of this catastrophe were based on reductionist experimentation and productionist emphases on food and fiber. After a century of science and policy, there are two additional perspectives that shape our vision for the emphases of the future. First, rangeland landscapes are extremely heterogeneous; general principles derived from scientific experimentation cannot be easily or generally applied without adjusting to the distinct societal and ecological characteristics of a location. Second, rangeland management occurs at spatial scales considerably larger than those that have typically been addressed in range science. Scaling up science results is not a simple, additive process. The leading features of the emerging science are 1) research at landscape scales and 2) over longer time spans that 3) approaches conservation and management practices as treatments requiring scientific evaluation, 4) incorporates local knowledge, 5) is explicitly applied in nature, and 6) is transparent in its practice. We strongly argue for a science that supports resource management by testing hypotheses relevant to actual conservation practices and iteratively applying its findings in partnership with managers in an ongoing, adaptive fashion.     

Southern European grazing lands: Production, environmental and landscape management aspects

Grazing lands and their management in livestock systems are a matter of special importance in the search for sustainability. Socio-economic and ecological objectives should be considered jointly in considering livestock production. In addition to the general issues of biodiversity and habitat preservation, the challenges for their management vary according to the regional conditions. In Southern European environments, where the past changes in livestock farming have led to a general decrease in their use, the questions under study are how to find ways to meet the threats to landscape amenity, biodiversity, the sustainability of local animal feeding resources and the rural population. Grazing lands and their management is also an important target of EU agri-environmental policy. The multifunctional use of this land, which is currently sought, reinforces the need for animal scientists to consider the use and management of grazing lands in reference not only to the techno-economical efficiency of animal feeding systems but also in reference to the long-term (e.g. biodiversity change) and at larger spatial scales (for example the landscape and watershed). An overview of the current challenges attached to grazing lands and their management in livestock farming systems in South European environments, an understanding of the ways to jointly meet production objectives and the realisation of sociological and ecological functions is presented.     

Revolutionary Land Use Change in the 21st Century: Is (Rangeland) Science Relevant?

Rapidly increasing demand for food, fiber, and fuel together with new technologies and the mobility of global capital are driving revolutionary changes in land use throughout the world. Efforts to increase land productivity include conversion of millions of hectares of rangelands to crop production, including many marginal lands with low resistance and resilience to degradation. Sustaining the productivity of these lands requires careful land use planning and innovative management systems. Historically, this responsibility has been left to agronomists and others with expertise in crop production. In this article, we argue that the revolutionary land use changes necessary to support national and global food security potentially make rangeland science more relevant now than ever. Maintaining and increasing relevance will require a revolutionary change in range science from a discipline that focuses on a particular land use or land cover to one that addresses the challenge of managing all lands that, at one time, were considered to be marginal for crop production. We propose four strategies to increase the relevance of rangeland science to global land management: 1) expand our awareness and understanding of local to global economic, social, and technological trends in order to anticipate and identify drivers and patterns of conversion; 2) emphasize empirical studies and modeling that anticipate the biophysical (ecosystem services) and societal consequences of large-scale changes in land cover and use; 3) significantly increase communication and collaboration with the disciplines and sectors of society currently responsible for managing the new land uses; and 4) develop and adopt a dynamic and flexible resilience-based land classification system and data-supported conceptual models (e.g., state-and-transition models) that represent all lands, regardless of use and the consequences of land conversion to various uses instead of changes in state or condition that are focused on a single land use.     

Defining European preparedness and research needs regarding emerging infectious animal diseases: results from a Delphi expert consultation

Emerging and major infectious animal diseases can have significant international impact on social, economic and environmental level, and are being driven by various factors. Prevention and control measures should be prepared at both national and international level to mitigate these disease risks. Research to support such policy development is mostly carried out at national level and dedicated transnational research programmes are still in its infancy. This research reports on part of a process to develop a common strategic research agenda on emerging and major infectious diseases of livestock in Europe, covering a 5-15-year time span. A two round online Delphi study was conducted to explore the views of experts on issues relating to research needs on emerging infectious diseases of livestock in Europe. Drivers that may influence the incidence of emerging infectious animal diseases in both the short (next 5 years) and medium term (10-15 years) were identified. Drivers related to regulatory measures and biological science developments were thought to decrease the incidence, and socio-economic factors to increase the incidence of emerging infectious animal diseases. From the first round a list of threats to animal health was compiled and participants combined these threats with relevant drivers in the second round. Next to identifying threats to animal health, also possible mitigatory actions to reduce the negative impact of these threats were identified. Participants emphasised that interdisciplinary research is needed to understand drivers of emerging infectious animal diseases, as well as to develop prevention and control measures which are both socio-economic and technical. From this it can be concluded that interdisciplinary research combining both natural and social research themes is required. Some of the European member states research budget needs to be allocated so that effective prevention and mitigation strategies can be developed.     

Wildlife diseases in New Zealand: recent findings and future challenges

Our knowledge of diseases in New Zealand wildlife has expanded rapidly in the last two decades. Much of this is due to a greater awareness of disease as a cause of mortality in some of our highly threatened species or as a limiting factor to the successful captive rearing of intensely managed species such as hihi (Notiomystis cincta), kiwi (Apteryx spp.) and kakapo (Strigops habroptilus). An important factor contributing to the increase of our knowledge has been the development of new diagnostic techniques in the fields of molecular biology and immunohistochemistry, particularly for the diagnosis and epidemiology of viral and protozoan diseases. Although New Zealand remains free of serious exotic viruses there has been much work on understanding the taxonomy and epidemiology of local strains of avipox virus and circoviruses. Bacterial diseases such as salmonellosis, erysipelas and tuberculosis have also been closely investigated in wildlife and opportunist mycotic infections such as aspergillosis remain a major problem in many species. Nutritional diseases such as hyperplastic goitre due to iodine deficiency and metabolic bone disease due to Ca:P imbalance have made significant impacts on some captive reared birds, while lead poisoning is a problem in some localities. The increasing use of wildlife translocations to avoid the extinction of threatened species has highlighted the need for improved methods to assess the disease risks inherent in these operations and other intensive conservation management strategies such as creching young animals. We have also become more aware of the likelihood of inbreeding suppression as populations of many species decrease or pass through a genetic bottleneck. Climate change and habitat loss, however, remain the greatest threats to biodiversity and wildlife health worldwide. Temperature changes will affect our wildlife habitats, alter the distribution of disease vectors and wildlife predators, or directly harm threatened species in vulnerable localities.     

Experts' Perceptions on China's Capacity to Manage Emerging and Re‐emerging Zoonotic Diseases in an Era of Climate Change

Zoonotic diseases transmitted by arthropods and rodents are a major public health concern in China. However, interventions in recent decades have helped lower the incidence of several diseases despite the country's large, frequently mobile population and socio‐economic challenges. Increasing globalization, rapid urbanization and a warming climate now add to the complexity of disease control and prevention and could challenge China's capacity to respond to threats of emerging and re‐emerging zoonoses. To investigate this notion, face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 30 infectious disease experts in four cities in China. The case study diseases under discussion were malaria, dengue fever and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, all of which may be influenced by changing meteorological conditions. Data were analysed using standard qualitative techniques. The study participants viewed the current disease prevention and control system favourably and were optimistic about China's capacity to manage climate‐sensitive diseases in the future. Several recommendations emerged from the data including the need to improve health literacy in the population regarding the transmission of infectious diseases and raising awareness of the health impacts of climate change amongst policymakers and health professionals. Participants thought that research capacity could be strengthened and human resources issues for front‐line staff should be addressed. It was considered important that authorities are well prepared in advance for outbreaks such as dengue fever in populous subtropical areas, and a prompt and coordinated response is required when outbreaks occur. Furthermore, health professionals need to remain skilled in the identification of diseases for which incidence is declining, so that re‐emerging or emerging trends can be rapidly identified. Recommendations such as these may be useful in formulating adaptation plans and capacity building for the future control and prevention of climate‐sensitive zoonotic diseases in China and neighbouring countries.     

Preparing the veterinary profession for corporate and trade issues in the Americas: proceedings of a conference on synergism and globalization, Santiago, Chile, May 6-8, 2001

The complex and rapid-paced development of international trade, coupled with increasing societal demands for the production not only of abundant and inexpensive food, but also of food that is safe and has been raised in a humane and environmentally friendly manner, demands immediate attention from the veterinary community. The new culture of global trade agreements, spurred by the development of the WTO, dictates massive changes and increasing integration of public and private sectors. This is a huge growth area for our profession and will require individuals with a skill set we do not yet provide in our educational framework. In North America, veterinary education is parochial and focused on specialization. This strong orientation toward companion animals fails to provide adequate training for those interested in acquiring the necessary skills for the emerging area of globalization and trade. In South America, curricula are less harmonized with one another and there is tremendous variation in degree programs, rendering it difficult to ascertain whether veterinarians are prepared to assume decision-making responsibilities regarding international transport of food. If we do not begin to prepare our graduates adequately for this emerging market demand, the positions will be filled by other professions. These other professions lack broad-based scientific knowledge about animal physiology and disease causation. Decisions made without adequate background could have devastating consequences for society, including incursions of unwelcome diseases, food safety problems, and public health issues. To prepare our new veterinary graduates for the future and this emerging market, it is important to nurture a global mindset within our academic communities and to promote communications, languages, and an interdependent team mentality. Areas of technical expertise that need a place, perhaps a parallel track, in the curriculum include production medicine, public health, food safety, and international veterinary medicine. The major trade corridors of the future regarding animal-based protein flow between North and South America. It is absolutely essential that we find areas of consensus and deficiencies so that we can harmonize our trade agreements and ensure adequate flow of safe food products from one continent to the other.     

Saving wild tigers: A case study in biodiversity loss and challenges to be met for recovery beyond 2010

Wild tigers are being annihilated. Tiger range countries and their partners met at the 1st Asian Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation in January 2010 to mandate the creation of the Global Tiger Recovery Program to double the number of tigers by 2022. Only 3200–3600 wild adult tigers remain, approximately half of the population estimated a decade ago. Tigers now live in only 13 countries, all of which are experiencing severe environmental challenges and degradation from the effects of human population growth, brisk economic expansion, rapid urbanization, massive infrastructure development and climate change. The overarching challenge of tiger conservation, and the conservation of biodiversity generally, is that there is insufficient demand for the survival of wild tigers living in natural landscapes. This allows the criminal activities of poaching wild tigers and their prey and trafficking in tiger derivatives to flourish and tiger landscapes to be diminished. The Global Tiger Recovery Program will support scaling up of practices already proven effective in one or more tiger range countries that need wider policy support, usually resources, and new transnational actions that enhance the effectiveness of individual country actions. The program is built on robust National Tiger Recovery Priorities that are grouped into themes: (i) strengthening policies that protect tigers; (ii) protecting tiger conservation landscapes; (iii) scientific management and monitoring; (iv) engaging communities; (v) cooperative management of international tiger landscapes; (vi) eliminating transnational illegal wildlife trade; (vii) persuading people to stop consuming tiger; (viii) enhancing professional capacity of policy-makers and practitioners; and (ix) developing sustainable, long-term financing mechanisms for tiger and biodiversity conservation.     

Sheep farming systems and nature management of rangeland in French Mediterranean mountain areas

For the past ten years, sheep farmers from the French Mediterranean area have been able to use agri-environmental farming schemes to prevent the development of forest on rangelands and to preserve biodiversity in these open areas. These new environmental concerns are the background for an investigation into the management of long-term interactions between farm practices and systems on grazed land. This includes an analysis of how farmers change their management practices.Considering these practices in their socio-technical dimension, we carried out a survey among sheep farmers within the Luberon Natural Regional Park to analyse the process of transformation in practice, as sheep farm sizes are also roughly increasing. We will show how changes in practice are linked with the ability of farmers to integrate these into new farming systems. But it is also related to the social status of these practices in relation to local professional groups, who define the social framework concerning farming activities and who attribute value to different practices.Integrating these links between the technical and social dimensions of practices is a challenge for producing indicators able to evaluate the abilities of farming systems to change in order to participate in the medium term environmental management.