Insights Into the Chinese Pangolin's (Manis pentadactyla) Diet in a Peri-Urban Habitat: A Case Study From Hong Kong

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Status update on White-eared Night Heron Gorsachius magnificus in South China

White-eared Night Heron Gorsachius magnificus is probably the most threatened heron species in the world, and the highest priority for heron species conservation. From 1990 to 1998, there were sightings from only six localities in the wild. There are none in captivity. In 1998 a caged bird was found in a wildlife market in the city of Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. This finding prompted a 12-month survey in 1998-1999 of both markets and potential habitats in Guangxi. Several captured birds provided direct evidence of the existence of small populations in Guangxi and Guangdong Provinces. The respective habitats were surveyed in spring 2000, with emphasis on observations at dusk. The species was seen at two locations. Although some of the captured birds came from highly degraded habitat, the best sites seemed to be in areas near extensive primary forests, with streams, rice fields and marshes. The information obtained will be used to compile a detailed Action Plan designed to prevent the extinction of the species.published_or_final_versio

Assessing current genetic status of the Hainan gibbon using historical and demographic baselines: implications for conservation management of species of extreme rarity

Evidence-based conservation planning is crucial for informing management decisions for species of extreme rarity, but collection of robust data on genetic status or other parameters can be extremely challenging for such species. The Hainan gibbon, possibly the world's rarest mammal, consists of a single population of c.25 individuals restricted to one protected area on Hainan Island, China, and has persisted for over 30 years at exceptionally low population size. Analysis of genotypes at 11 microsatellite loci from faecal samples for 36% of the current global population and tissue samples from 62% of existing historical museum specimens demonstrates limited current genetic diversity (Na=2.27, Ar=2.24, He =0.43); diversity has declined since the 19th century and even further within the last 30 years, representing declines of c.30% from historical levels (Na=3.36, Ar=3.29, He =0.63). Significant differentiation is seen between current and historical samples (FST =0.156, P=0.0315), and the current population exhibits extremely small Ne (current Ne =2.16). There is evidence for both a recent population bottleneck and an earlier bottleneck, with population size already reasonably low by the late 19th century (historical Ne =1162.96). Individuals in the current population are related at the level of half- to full-siblings between social groups, and full-siblings or parent-offspring within a social group, suggesting that inbreeding is likely to increase in the future. The species' current reduced genetic diversity must be considered during conservation planning, particularly for expectations of likely population recovery, indicating that intensive, carefully planned management is essential

Coevolution of dispersal in a parasitoid-host system

Interspecific interactions and the evolution of dispersal are both of interest when considering the potential impact of habitat fragmentation on community ecology, but the interaction between these processes is not well studied. We address this by considering the coevolution of dispersal strategies in a host-parasitoid system. An individual-based host-parasitoid metapopulation model was constructed for a patchy environment, allowing for evolution in dispersal rates of both species. Highly rarefied environments with few suitable patches selected against dispersal in both species, as did relatively static environments. Provided that parasitoids persist, all parameter values studied led to stable equilibria in dispersal rates for both species. There was a tendency towards higher dispersal rates in parasitoids due to the asymmetric relationships of the two species to the patches: vacant patches are most valuable for hosts, but unsuitable for parasitoids, which require an established host population to reproduce. High host dispersal rate was favoured by high host population growth rate, and in the parasitoid by high growth rates in both species

Local Competition Between Foraging Relatives: Growth and Survival of Bruchid Beetle Larvae

Kin selection theory states that when resources are limited and all else is equal, individuals will direct competition away from kin. However, when competition between relatives is completely local, as is the case in granivorous insects whose larval stages spend their lives within a single seed, this can reduce or even negate the kin-selected benefits. Instead, an increase in competition may have the same detrimental effects on individuals that forage with kin as those that forage with non-kin. In a factorial experiment we assessed the effects of relatedness and competition over food on the survival and on fitness-related traits of the bruchid beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. Relatedness of competitors did not affect the survival of larvae. Larval survival substantially decreased with increasing larval density, and we found evidence that beetles maturing at a larger size were more adversely affected by competition, resulting in lower survival rates. Furthermore, females showed a reduction in their growth rate with increasing larval density, emerging smaller after the same development time. Males increased their growth rate, emerging earlier but at a similar size when food was more limited. Our results add to the growing number of studies that fail to show a relationship between relatedness and a reduction in competition between relatives in closed systems, and emphasize the importance of the scale at which competition between relatives occurs

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover.

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

An updated taxonomy of primates in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China

The present publication summarises and updates information on the taxonomy of primates in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and China based on a new multi-author synthesis. For each species is included taxonomic authorities, species’ type localities, subspecies, current distribution and conservation status. In total, the primate fauna in these countries comprises 41 species and 47 taxa. A breakdown of species is given by country, endemic species per country and the IUCN Red List conservation status category for each species.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

An updated taxonomy and conservation status review of Asian primates

The present paper summarises and updates information on the taxonomy and status of Asian non-human primates from a new multi-author synthesis. For each species we include taxonomic authority, species type locality, subspecies, current distribution and conservation status. Including taxa described since the synthesis was published, the Asian non-human primate fauna comprises 119 species and 183 taxa, in 22 Asian countries. We give a breakdown of species by country, by conservation status category, and the number of species per status category in each family and genus. Of the 113 Asian primate species that have been assessed, 17 (15%) are Critically Endangered, 45 (40%) are Endangered and 25 (22%) are Vulnerable. The most endangered genera are Rhinopithecus, Pygathrix, Nasalis, Simias, Hylobates, Nomascus, Symphalangus and Pongo.link_to_OA_fulltex