DOCSLIB.ORG

Distributions of Large Mammal Assemblages in Thailand with A

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Distributions of Large Mammal Assemblages in Thailand with A University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Open Access Dissertations 5-2012 Distributions of Large Mammal Assemblages in Thailand with a Focus on Dhole (Cuon alpinus) Conservation Kate Elizabeth Jenks University of Massachusetts Amherst, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons Recommended Citation Jenks, Kate Elizabeth, "Distributions of Large Mammal Assemblages in Thailand with a Focus on Dhole (Cuon alpinus) Conservation" (2012). Open Access Dissertations. 582. https://doi.org/10.7275/608v-yy12 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/582 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DISTRIBUTIONS OF LARGE MAMMAL ASSEMBLAGES IN THAILAND WITH A FOCUS ON DHOLE ( CUON ALPINUS ) CONSERVATION A Dissertation Presented by KATE E. JENKS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2012 Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation © Copyright by Kate E. Jenks 2012 All Rights Reserved DISTRIBUTIONS OF LARGE MAMMAL ASSEMBLAGES IN THAILAND WITH A FOCUS ON DHOLE ( CUON ALPINUS ) CONSERVATION A Dissertation Presented By KATE E. JENKS Approved as to style and content by: ___________________________________________________ Todd K. Fuller, Chair ___________________________________________________ Stephen DeStefano, Member ___________________________________________________ Laurie Godfrey, Member ___________________________________________________ Peter Leimgruber, External Member Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute ___________________________________________________ Nucharin Songsasen, Consulting Member Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute ________________________________________ Elizabeth R. Dumont, Director Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology ________________________________________ Paul Fisette, Department Head Department of Environmental Conservation DEDICATION In memory of Dr. Jo Gayle Howard, D.V.M., Ph.D., Theriogenologist, Smithsonian Institution National Zoological Park—scientist, conservationist, mentor. Her frequent flier miles first got me to Thailand and her fundraising efforts gave me the opportunity to open a new chapter of research and of my life in the country. Seeing the thrill in her eyes and passion for clouded leopards brought enthusiasm back to my outlook many times. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with Jo Gayle and to be a member of a team doing exciting and valued work. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The road to defending is a long and arduous one, and I have many people to thank for seeing me through to the end. From the University of Massachusetts-Amherst : I am indebted to my advisor, Todd Fuller, for his support, advice, enthusiasm for my project, and reminding me to have fun over the years. I am grateful to my committee members Stephan DeStefano and Laurie Godfrey for their encouragement, extensive comments, and useful suggestions. I thank Bob Muth for taking the time to teach me the foundations of social science and help with the design of my interview surveys. I am also grateful to Penny Jacques, without whom those of us in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Graduate Program would be lost. From the Smithsonian Conservation and Research Institute : This project would not have taken place without Dr. Jo Gayle Howard who initiated the Carnivore Conservation Project in 2004 and trusted me to lead it. Peter Leimgruber and Nucharin Songsasen graciously committed time to act as my external committee members. Peter has been my mentor every step of the way, since I was an intern prior to graduate school, to beginning surveys in Khao Yai National Park, to the more challenging dhole work. I thank him for his guidance, advice on project design (among a long list of other topics), helpful comments on numerous grant proposals and manuscripts, and for pushing me to be the best scientist I can be. Nucharin took a chance with a project that most people said would fail. I thank her for her dedication to the field research and fundraising, working to ignite interest in dholes in Thailand, and for her helpful advice. Also, Judy Mabon, Assistant Director of Merchandise for Friends of the National Zoo, secured over 500 free Smithsonian logo pencils to hand out as gifts after interview surveys. Villagers were happier than you can imagine receiving a gift that had traveled on an airplane all the way from the U.S. v In Khao Yai National Park (KYNP) I was thrust into a new and foreign world and Kanda Damrongchainarong made that transition easier as my co-manager, translator, and friend. Her enthusiasm and willingness to backpack for days in the rain dripping with leaches, sleep in a hammock, learn new skills, and generally assist me in all aspects of project management allowed us to show the park rangers that women are strong and truly can do fieldwork. This project would not have succeeded without her commitment and hard work. Khao Yai National Park Superintendent P. Wohandee and Chief of the Research Division, P. Chanthep, provided vision and foresight about the importance of monitoring for biodiversity conservation. Park rangers and team leaders B. Boonpeng, W. Kongsiri, M. Penparthom, S. Narongsak, P. Saenkod, P. Sontienwat, and N. Sugnsuwan, with additional rangers from the park’s substations spent many days and nights under difficult field conditions to collect camera trap data. Their dedication was essential. For setting up the initial project, training rangers, and additional assistance with field work, many thanks to P. and N. Cutter. Tim Redford, S. Galaster, and B. Senior of WildAid Thailand (now FREELAND) provided substantial material and intellectual support. Their staff (especially Jib) helped set me up with a base in KYNP during the project and their office offered a friendly retreat from the chaos of Bangkok. Interview surveys at KYNP were conducted by P. Sankod, N. Sriraeng, P. Ponchat, S. Watthu, K. Rugngthong, and M. Netprecha. I thank them for their tireless work in scorching conditions to track down people to interview. The project and research at KYNP were supported by the Thailand Department of National Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation and funded by donations from North American zoos participating in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) Felid Taxon Advisory Group, and the AZA Clouded Leopard Species Survival Plan, along with Friends of the National Zoo. I also thank J. Aynes (Oakhill Center of Rare and vi Endangered Species) and B. Antle (T.I.G.E.R.S. and Rare Species Fund) for their substantial support for a ranger training course and field surveys. My research and school work was also supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship. At Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary (KARN) I had the good fortune to work with my incredible field assistant Samphong Panda (Lung Daeng). His extensive knowledge on animal movements and behavior was essential for the design of the camera-trapping study. His dedication and patience trying to locate an extremely elusive species under harsh field conditions with failing equipment and a decrepit truck was amazing. It is an understatement to say that the project would not have happened without Lung Daeng. The staff and research assistants at KARN welcomed me into their community and Baa Jii (Yaai) made sure I had hot meals after a long day in the field and someone to talk to. Dr. Sawai Wanghongsa facilitated my research, provided accommodations and staff assistance at his research station, and offered helpful advice. Interviews around KARN were conducted by N. Chadinawin, Dtii, Juam, May,V. Nijpirom, Nok, B. Phosiri, N. Sisuruk (Nat), R. Songchan (Bow), Top, and Yut. I especially thank Bow and Nat for organizing the team and working out the logistics. Surveys in other provinces were supervised by N. Sisuruk and conducted by A. Kaewkhao, R. Yotapon, N. Pachonpairee, and Y. Patipa. And I am grateful to the province governments of Buriram, Chachoengsao, Sisaket, and Surin provinces for allowing me to ask their citizens to participate in this research. vii Financially, the project at KARN was supported by a number of sources including the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Conservation Endowment Fund, Smithsonian Endowment Fund, the Minnesota Zoo, and a Fulbright U.S. Student Scholarship. B. Kekule graciously provided extra camera traps and advice on elephant-proofing them. The project benefited from the hard work of Nattaphol Sisuruk, who helped with every aspect of the project from buying batteries to meeting with government officials. He was a superb asset to the project and I am grateful for the time he spent assisting me with translations, office visits, procuring research permits, building collaborations with professors, conducting library research, and overseeing interview surveys. The following list of people kindly and patiently shared their knowledge with me, offered opinions, suggestions, or advice: M. Akresh, M. Bush, W. Chutipong, J. Chuven, P. Cutter, J.W. Duckworth, C. Fiorello, G. Gale, L. Grassman, B. Kanchanasaka, C. Kennedy, B.H. Letcher, A.J.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Inclusion of Asiatic Mammal Species on Cms Appendices
    Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Secretariat provided by the United Nations Environment Programme 14 th MEETING OF THE CMS SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL Bonn, Germany, 14-17 March 2007 CMS/ScC14/Doc.13 Agenda item 6(a) DRAFT PROPOSALS FOR THE INCLUSION OF ASIATIC MAMMAL SPECIES ON CMS APPENDICES (Prepared by the Secretariat) 1. The four draft proposals for the amendment of CMS Appendices attached to this note have been prepared by the Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique and have been submitted by Dr. Pierre Devillers, Scientific Councillor for the European Community and vice-chairman of the Scientific Council. 2. Preparation of these draft proposals is undertaken within the Central Eurasian Aridland Concerted Action and associated Cooperative Action approved by the 8 th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CMS (Recommendation 8.23), covering threatened migratory large mammals of the temperate and cold deserts, semi-deserts, steppes and associated mountains of Central Asia, the Northern Indian sub-continent, Western Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. 3. In particular, Rec. 8.23 “encourages Range States and other interested Parties to prepare, in cooperation with the Scientific Council and the Secretariat, the necessary proposals to include in Appendix I or Appendix II threatened species that would benefit from the Action”. For reasons of economy, documents are printed in a limited number, and will not be distributed at the meeting. Delegates are kindly requested to bring their copy to the meeting and not to request additional copies. DRAFT PROPOSAL FOR INCLUSION OF SPECIES ON THE APPENDICES OF THE CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY SPECIES OF WILD ANIMALS Proposal to add in Appendix I Pantholops hodgsonii Document largely based on the species information provided in IUCN Redlist of Threatened Species database (2006) February 2007 2 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Conservation of the Wildcat (Felis Silvestris) in Scotland: Review of the Conservation Status and Assessment of Conservation Activities
    Conservation of the wildcat (Felis silvestris) in Scotland: Review of the conservation status and assessment of conservation activities Urs Breitenmoser, Tabea Lanz and Christine Breitenmoser-Würsten February 2019 Wildcat in Scotland – Review of Conservation Status and Activities 2 Cover photo: Wildcat (Felis silvestris) male meets domestic cat female, © L. Geslin. In spring 2018, the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Action Plan Steering Group commissioned the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group to review the conservation status of the wildcat in Scotland and the implementation of conservation activities so far. The review was done based on the scientific literature and available reports. The designation of the geographical entities in this report, and the representation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The SWCAP Steering Group contact point is Martin Gaywood ([email protected]). Wildcat in Scotland – Review of Conservation Status and Activities 3 List of Content Abbreviations and Acronyms 4 Summary 5 1. Introduction 7 2. History and present status of the wildcat in Scotland – an overview 2.1. History of the wildcat in Great Britain 8 2.2. Present status of the wildcat in Scotland 10 2.3. Threats 13 2.4. Legal status and listing 16 2.5. Characteristics of the Scottish Wildcat 17 2.6. Phylogenetic and taxonomic characteristics 20 3. Recent conservation initiatives and projects 3.1. Conservation planning and initial projects 24 3.2. Scottish Wildcat Action 28 3.3.
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Bovidae from the Malay Archipelago and the Punjab
    FOSSIL BOVIDAE FROM THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO AND THE PUNJAB by Dr. D. A. HOOIJER (Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden) with pls. I-IX CONTENTS Introduction 1 Order Artiodactyla Owen 8 Family Bovidae Gray 8 Subfamily Bovinae Gill 8 Duboisia santeng (Dubois) 8 Epileptobos groeneveldtii (Dubois) 19 Hemibos triquetricornis Rütimeyer 60 Hemibos acuticornis (Falconer et Cautley) 61 Bubalus palaeokerabau Dubois 62 Bubalus bubalis (L.) subsp 77 Bibos palaesondaicus Dubois 78 Bibos javanicus (d'Alton) subsp 98 Subfamily Caprinae Gill 99 Capricornis sumatraensis (Bechstein) subsp 99 Literature cited 106 Explanation of the plates 11o INTRODUCTION The Bovidae make up a very large portion of the Dubois collection of fossil vertebrates from Java, second only to the Proboscidea in bulk. Before Dubois began his explorations in Java in 1890 we knew very little about the fossil bovids of that island. Martin (1887, p. 61, pl. VII fig. 2) described a horn core as Bison sivalensis Falconer (?); Bison sivalensis Martin has al• ready been placed in the synonymy of Bibos palaesondaicus Dubois by Von Koenigswald (1933, p. 93), which is evidently correct. Pilgrim (in Bron- gersma, 1936, p. 246) considered the horn core in question to belong to a Bibos species closely related to the banteng. Two further horn cores from Java described by Martin (1887, p. 63, pl. VI fig. 4; 1888, p. 114, pl. XII fig. 4) are not sufficiently well preserved to allow of a specific determination, although they probably belong to Bibos palaesondaicus Dubois as well. In a preliminary faunal list Dubois (1891) mentions four bovid species as occurring in the Pleistocene of Java, viz., two living species (the banteng and the water buffalo) and two extinct forms, Anoa spec.
    [Show full text]
  • Grassland Resources and Development of Grassland Agriculture in Temperate China
    124 Rangelands 10(3), June 1988 Grassland Resources and Development of Grassland Agriculture in Temperate China Zhu Tinachen Natural temperate grasslands occupy 2.4 million km2 or one-quarter ofthe area of China. They form a broad beltfrom the plains of the northeast to the Tibetan Plateau of the southwest (Fig. 1). The nature and distribution of thegrassland is determined in large part by the influence of the monsoon. In the north- east where the monsoon is well developed, the grassland owes its existenceto dry conditions in the spring. Westward and southwestward wherethe monsooninfluence is weaker, the grasslandsoccupy higherelevations (to as high as 5,000 m) in response to the semiarid and arid regional climate. Similarly, temperate grasslands occur at high elevations in mountains of the desert region in northwestern China, far beyond the continuous grassland belt. Some 4,000 species offlowering plants comprise thevegetation ofthese temper- ate grasslands.About 200 are important forage species. The livestock population in China is about 130 million Fig. I Steppe zone of China cattle units. Most of the livestock are dependent on these 1.Meadow steppe, 2.Typical steppe. 3.Desert steppe. 4. Shrub steppe. 5. Alpine steppe. natural temperategrasslands. GrasslandTypes responding to climate and distributed in the form of a belt. Meadows are not zonal; they are controlled by local envi- Based on the concept of zonal vegetation, the natural ronments.About 80 ofthe area of is occu- of China can be divided into two percent grassland temperategrasslands major pied by zone steppetypes and about 20 percent by meadow types: steppe and meadow.
    [Show full text]
  • Felis Silvestris, Wild Cat
    The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ ISSN 2307-8235 (online) IUCN 2008: T60354712A50652361 Felis silvestris, Wild Cat Assessment by: Yamaguchi, N., Kitchener, A., Driscoll, C. & Nussberger, B. View on www.iucnredlist.org Citation: Yamaguchi, N., Kitchener, A., Driscoll, C. & Nussberger, B. 2015. Felis silvestris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T60354712A50652361. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T60354712A50652361.en Copyright: © 2015 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale, reposting or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission from the copyright holder. For further details see Terms of Use. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is produced and managed by the IUCN Global Species Programme, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) and The IUCN Red List Partnership. The IUCN Red List Partners are: BirdLife International; Botanic Gardens Conservation International; Conservation International; Microsoft; NatureServe; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; Sapienza University of Rome; Texas A&M University; Wildscreen; and Zoological Society of London. If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown in this document, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information
    [Show full text]
  • African Wildcat 1 African Wildcat
    African Wildcat 1 African Wildcat African Wildcat[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Felidae Genus: Felis Species: F. silvestris Subspecies: F. s. lybica Trinomial name Felis silvestris lybica Forster, 1770 The African wildcat (Felis silvestris lybica), also known as the desert cat, and Vaalboskat (Vaal-forest-cat) in Afrikaans, is a subspecies of the wildcat (F. silvestris). They appear to have diverged from the other subspecies about 131,000 years ago.[2] Some individual F. s. lybica were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East, and are among the ancestors of the domestic cat. Remains of domesticated cats have been included in human burials as far back as 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.[3] [4] Physical characteristics The African wildcat is sandy brown to yellow-grey in color, with black stripes on the tail. The fur is shorter than that of the European subspecies. It is also considerably smaller: the head-body length is 45 to 75 cm (17.7 to 29.5 inches), the tail 20 to 38 cm (7.87 to 15 inches), and the weight ranges from 3 to 6.5 kg (6.61 to 14.3 lbs). Distribution and habitat The African wildcat is found in Africa and in the Middle East, in a wide range of habitats: steppes, savannas and bushland. The sand cat (Felis margarita) is the species found in even more arid areas. Skull African Wildcat 2 Behaviour The African wildcat eats primarily mice, rats and other small mammals. When the opportunity arises, it also eats birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rhinolophus Affinis Bat ACE2 and Multiple Animal Orthologs Are Functional 2 Receptors for Bat Coronavirus Ratg13 and SARS-Cov-2 3
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.16.385849; this version posted November 17, 2020. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC 4.0 International license. 1 The Rhinolophus affinis bat ACE2 and multiple animal orthologs are functional 2 receptors for bat coronavirus RaTG13 and SARS-CoV-2 3 4 Pei Li1#, Ruixuan Guo1#, Yan Liu1#, Yintgtao Zhang2#, Jiaxin Hu1, Xiuyuan Ou1, Dan 5 Mi1, Ting Chen1, Zhixia Mu1, Yelin Han1, Zhewei Cui1, Leiliang Zhang3, Xinquan 6 Wang4, Zhiqiang Wu1*, Jianwei Wang1*, Qi Jin1*,, Zhaohui Qian1* 7 NHC Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen 8 Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College1, 9 Beijing, 100176, China; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University2, 10 Beijing, China; .Institute of Basic Medicine3, Shandong First Medical University & 11 Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan 250062, Shandong, China; The 12 Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Protein Science, Beijing Advanced 13 Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Beijing Frontier Research Center for 14 Biological Structure, Collaborative Innovation Center for Biotherapy, School of Life 15 Sciences, Tsinghua University4, Beijing, China; 16 17 Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, bat coronavirus RaTG13, spike protein, Rhinolophus affinis 18 bat ACE2, host susceptibility, coronavirus entry 19 20 #These authors contributed equally to this work. 21 *To whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected], 22 [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 23 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.16.385849; this version posted November 17, 2020.
    [Show full text]
  • First Record of Hose's Civet Diplogale Hosei from Indonesia
    First record of Hose’s Civet Diplogale hosei from Indonesia, and records of other carnivores in the Schwaner Mountains, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia Hiromitsu SAMEJIMA1 and Gono SEMIADI2 Abstract One of the least-recorded carnivores in Borneo, Hose’s Civet Diplogale hosei , was filmed twice in a logging concession, the Katingan–Seruyan Block of Sari Bumi Kusuma Corporation, in the Schwaner Mountains, upper Seruyan River catchment, Central Kalimantan. This, the first record of this species in Indonesia, is about 500 km southwest of its previously known distribution (northern Borneo: Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei). Filmed at 325The m a.s.l., IUCN these Red List records of Threatened are below Species the previously known altitudinal range (450–1,800Prionailurus m). This preliminary planiceps survey forPardofelis medium badia and large and Otter mammals, Civet Cynogalerunning 100bennettii camera-traps in 10 plots for one (Bandedyear, identified Civet Hemigalus in this concession derbyanus 17 carnivores, Arctictis including, binturong on Neofelis diardi, three Endangered Pardofe species- lis(Flat-headed marmorata Cat and Sun Bear Helarctos malayanus, Bay Cat . ) and six Vulnerable species , Binturong , Sunda Clouded Leopard , Marbled Cat Keywords Cynogale bennettii, as well, Pardofelis as Hose’s badia Civet), Prionailurus planiceps Catatan: PertamaBorneo, camera-trapping, mengenai Musang Gunung Diplogale hosei di Indonesia, serta, sustainable karnivora forest management lainnya di daerah Pegunungan Schwaner, Kalimantan Tengah Abstrak Diplogale hosei Salah satu jenis karnivora yang jarang dijumpai di Borneo, Musang Gunung, , telah terekam dua kali di daerah- konsesi hutan Blok Katingan–Seruyan- PT. Sari Bumi Kusuma, Pegunungan Schwaner, di sekitar hulu Sungai Seruya, Kalimantan Tengah. Ini merupakan catatan pertama spesies tersebut terdapat di Indonesia, sekitar 500 km dari batas sebaran yang diketa hui saat ini (Sarawak, Sabah, Brunei).
    [Show full text]
  • • Thailand 18 – 30 November 2013 Phil Telfer +
    x Thailand 18th ʹ 30th November 2013 Phil Telfer + Mark Bibby. A quick summary of a twelve day search for mammals in North and Central Thailand guided by Rattapon Kaichid ( known as Tu ) who together with his wife Jan runs Nature Focus Thailand, they can be very highly recommended. Many thanks to Jon Hall for their email contact which is [email protected] Tu is a really nice guy to ƚƌĂǀĞůǁŝƚŚ͕ŚĞ͛ƐĂŶĞdžĐĞůůĞŶƚĂůů-round wildlife guide and his connections help smooth the way in many of the national parks. Based on our target species, Tu and Jan put together the following itinerary: x Three days ʹ Huai Kha Khaeng wildlife sanctuary x Three days - Khao Yai national park x Four days ʹ Kaeng Krachan national park x One day ʹ Salt pans for Spoon-billed sandpiper x One day ʹ Ban Tha Kham bay for Irawaddy dolphin and Finless porpoise This was quite easy going, giving us a fair bit of time in each of the main centres. I think we did very well scoring 43 species with good views of most of these although we had no luck with any of the mega mammals such as Clouded leopard, Marbled cat, Golden cat or Sun bear which are all possibles and seen from time to time. A couple of weeks before our visit a group had seen a Golden cat catching a dove in front of one of the bird blinds. A Sun bear had been seen crossing the road one morning near the top of the mountain at Kaeng Krachan and a group that arrived there at the same time as us went on to see a Binturong an hour or so later.
    [Show full text]
  • The Aridity Index Governs the Variation of Vegetation Characteristics in Alpine Grassland, Northern Tibet Plateau
    The aridity index governs the variation of vegetation characteristics in alpine grassland, Northern Tibet Plateau Biying Liu1,2, Jian Sun2,3, Miao Liu2, Tao Zeng1 and Juntao Zhu2 1 College of Earth Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China 2 Synthesis Research Centre of Chinese Ecosystem Research Network, Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modelling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 3 State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China ABSTRACT The vegetation dynamic (e.g., community productivity) is an important index used to evaluate the ecosystem function of grassland ecosystem. However, the critical factors that affect vegetation biomass are disputed continuously, and most of the debates focus on mean annual precipitation (MAP) or temperature (MAT). This article integrated these two factors, used the aridity index (AI) to describe the dynamics of MAP and MAT, and tested the hypothesis that vegetation traits are influenced primarily by the AI. We sampled 275 plots at 55 sites (five plots at each site, including alpine steppe and meadow) across an alpine grassland of the northern Tibet Plateau, used correlation analysis and redundancy analysis (RDA) to explore which key factors determine the biomass dynamic, and explained the mechanism by which they affect the vegetation biomass in different vegetation types via structural equation modelling (SEM). The results supported our hypothesis, in all of the environmental factors collected, the AI made the greatest contribution to biomass variations in RDA , and the correlation between the AI and biomass was the largest (R D 0:85, p < 0:05).
    [Show full text]
  • The Illegal Exploitation of the Javan Leopard (
    Nature Conservation 43: 25–39 (2021) A peer-reviewed open-access journal doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.43.59399 RESEARCH ARticlE https://natureconservation.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation The illegal exploitation of the Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas) and Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) in Indonesia Lalita Gomez1,2, Chris R. Shepherd1 1 Monitor Conservation Research Society, Big Lake, Canada 2 Oxford Wildlife Trade Research Group, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK Corresponding author: Chris R. Shepherd ([email protected]) Academic editor: M. Auliya | Received 6 October 2020 | Accepted 15 January 2021 | Published 22 March 2021 http://zoobank.org/17D9AAB6-8A94-4B5A-932F-6633FAD5D42B Citation: Gomez L, Shepherd CR (2021) The illegal exploitation of the Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas) and Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) in Indonesia. Nature Conservation 43: 25–39. https://doi.org/10.3897/ natureconservation.43.59399 Abstract Indonesia is home to the Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas) and the Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi), both of which are threatened by habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict issues and the illegal wildlife trade. Leopards and clouded leopards are threatened by the illegal wildlife trade across their range, how- ever, very little is known of the illegal trade in these two species in Indonesia, or of the efforts made to tackle this crime. Both the Javan Leopard and Sunda Clouded Leopard are protected species in Indonesia and both species are listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning commercial international trade is generally prohibited. To better understand the trade, and efforts to end this trade, we collected records of seizures and prosecutions relating to Javan Leopards and Sunda Clouded Leopards in Indonesia for the period 2011–2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Aksu-Zhabagly BIOSPHERE RESERVE National Commission Republic of Kazakhstan
    Aksu-Zhabagly BIOSPHERE RESERVE National Commission Republic of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan National Committee Kazakhstan National Committee for the UNESCO Programme “Man and Biosphere” MAB, Institute of Zoology, 93 al-Farabi Str. Almaty, 050060 KAZAKHSTAN Kazakhstan National Committee Aksu-Zhabagly Biosphere Reserve NominatioN PART I: SUMMARY 1. PROPOSED NAME OF THE BIOSPHERE RESERVE: Aksu-Zhabagly Biosphere Reserve 2. COUNTRY: Kazakhstan Aksu-Zhabagly 4 FULFILLMENT OF THE THREE FUNCTIONS OF BIOSPHERE RESERVES 3. «Conservation — contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation» 3. 1 Aksu-Zhabagly biosphere reserve is located in the Western end of Talasskiy Alatau and Southern part of Karatau in the West Tien Shan. The whole region of the West Tien Shan is an Eastern outpost of Mediterranean atmospheric circulation, therefore it has a winter-spring rainfall. The mountain range of the West Tien Shan is a barrier that catches the moisture in the Western transport of air masses; in addition, this region is situated within the zone of the Southern deserts, where the annual temperature sum is high and about 4000-5000o C. As a result, this area is the most favorable for vegetation and preservation of many ancient relict species and plant communities. Moreover, the reserve’s ecosystems have a very close relationship with the natural systems of the Near East and the Mediterranean than to the rest of the ecosystems of the Tien Shan. The territory of Aksu Zhabagly has a high degree of representativeness at regional level. For example, it has almost all landscape types and sub-types of the West Tien Shan, except for deserts and gypsophilous subshrub communities, which are well below the reserve in altitude.
    [Show full text]