Evolutionary history of the Nesophontidae, the last unplaced Recent mammal family

The mammalian evolutionary tree has lost several major clades through recent human-caused extinctions. This process of historical biodiversity loss has particularly affected tropical island regions such as the Caribbean, an area of great evolutionary diversification but poor molecular preservation. The most enigmatic of the recently extinct endemic Caribbean mammals are the Nesophontidae, a family of morphologically plesiomorphic lipotyphlan insectivores with no consensus on their evolutionary affinities, and which constitute the only major recent mammal clade to lack any molecular information on their phylogenetic placement. Here, we use a palaeogenomic approach to place Nesophontidae within the phylogeny of recent Lipotyphla. We recovered the near-complete mitochondrial genome and sequences for 17 nuclear genes from a ∼750-year-old Hispaniolan Nesophontes specimen, and identify a divergence from their closest living relatives, the Solenodontidae, more than 40 million years ago. Nesophontidae is thus an older distinct lineage than many extant mammalian orders, highlighting not only the role of island systems as “museums” of diversity that preserve ancient lineages, but also the major human-caused loss of evolutionary history

Using local ecological knowledge to assess the status of the Critically Endangered Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus in Guizhou Province, China

The Critically Endangered Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus, the world's largest amphibian, is severely threatened by unsustainable exploitation of wild individuals. However, field data with which to assess the salamander's status, population trends, or exploitation across its geographical range are limited, and recent field surveys using standard ecological field techniques have typically failed to detect wild individuals. We conducted community-based fieldwork in three national nature reserves (Fanjingshan, Leigongshan and Mayanghe) in Guizhou Province, China, to assess whether local ecological knowledge constitutes a useful tool for salamander conservation. We collected a sample of dated salamander sighting records and associated data from these reserves for comparative assessment of the relative status of salamander populations across the region. Although Fanjingshan and Leigongshan are still priority sites for salamander conservation, few recent sightings were recorded in either reserve, and respondents considered that salamanders had declined locally at both reserves. The species may already be functionally extinct at Mayanghe. Although respondent data on threats to salamanders in Guizhou are more difficult to interpret, overharvesting was the most commonly suggested explanation for salamander declines, and it is likely that the growing salamander farming industry is the primary driver of salamander extraction from Guizhou's reserves. Questionnaire-based surveys can collect novel quantitative data that provide unique insights into the local status of salamander populations, and we advocate wide-scale incorporation of this research approach into future salamander field programmes

Development of the Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus farming industry in Shaanxi Province, China: conservation threats and opportunities

The Chinese giant salamander Andrias davidianus is endemic to China and is Critically Endangered, largely because of overexploitation for food. This species is an expensive delicacy in China, and a rapidly growing industry to farm the species has developed throughout much of the country, centred on the Qinling Mountain region of Shaanxi Province. During a 2010 workshop on Chinese giant salamander conservation, which involved a range of stakeholders from across China, it became clear that the conservation community knew little about the salamander farming industry and whether it posed actual or potential threats or opportunities for conservation of the Chinese giant salamander. We therefore conducted a series of investigations to understand the industry better. Our results indicate that although farming of Chinese giant salamanders has the potential to be a positive development for conservation by supplying market demand with farmed animals, it is currently more likely to threaten than support conservation of the species, with continued overexploitation and the potential added impacts of infectious disease and genetic pollution arising from farming practices such as movement of animals across the country and the release of untreated farm wastewater and farmed salamanders to the wild

Is there evidence of shifting baseline syndrome in environmental managers? An assessment using perceptions of bird population targets in UK nature reserves

Shifting baseline syndrome (SBS) describes changing perceptions of biological conditions due to a loss of historical knowledge. Perceptions of ‘normal’ environmental conditions are continually updated, leading to underestimation of the true magnitude of long-term ecological change and potential setting of unambitious management targets. There has been speculation as to the presence and impacts of SBS within conservation management since Daniel Pauly's seminal paper in 1995, which outlined the potential effects of SBS on target-setting in fisheries management. Previous case studies have suggested that SBS may not occur in management, despite empirical evidence of SBS in other systems. In this study, 44 professionals and volunteers involved in bird species management, monitoring and target-setting across England were interviewed. Interviews asked for personal perceptions of current, maximum and target abundance, long-term trends, and perceived conservation priority for six bird species. Using paired tests, this study found no significant effect of experience on perceptions of current, maximum or target abundance of all species, despite differences in national abundance and trends, and differences in participant experience. Further power analysis indicated that even if SBS was statistically detectible with a larger sample, the practical implications of the syndrome would be minimal due to small effect sizes. Finally, the effect of experience on individual perceptions of species conservation priority varied between species, with generational amnesia in the form of ‘lifting baselines’ suggested for only one of the six species. This study suggests that shifting baseline syndrome may not be as significant a threat in conservation management as first thought

Interview-based sighting histories can inform regional conservation prioritization for highly threatened cryptic species

1. The use of robust ecological data to make evidence-based management decisions is frequently prevented by limited data quantity or quality, and local ecological knowledge (LEK) is increasingly seen as an important source of information for conservation. However, there has been little assessment of LEK's usefulness for informing prioritization and management of landscapes for threatened species, or assessing comparative species status across landscapes. 2. A large-scale interview survey in the Annamite Mountains (Vietnam and Lao PDR) compiled the first systematic LEK data set for saola Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, one of the world's rarest mammals, and eight other ungulates. Saola conservation is hindered by uncertainty over continued presence across much of its proposed distribution. We analysed comparative LEK-based last-sighting data across three landscapes to determine whether regional sighting histories support previous suggestions of landscape importance for saola conservation (Hue-Quang Nam: top-priority Vietnamese landscape; Pu Mat: lower priority Vietnamese landscape; Viengthong: high-priority Lao landscape) and whether they constitute an effective spatial prioritization tool for cryptic species management. 3. Wild pig and red muntjac may be the only Annamite ungulates with stable populations; the regional status of all other species appears to be worse. Saola have declined more severely and/or are significantly rarer than most other ungulates and have been seen by relatively few respondents. Saola were also frequently considered locally rarest or declining, and never as species that had not declined. 4. In contrast to other species, there are no regional differences in saola sighting histories, with continued persistence in all landscapes challenging suggestions that regional status differs greatly. Remnant populations persist in Vietnam despite heavy hunting, but even remote landscapes in Lao may be under intense pressure. 5. Synthesis and applications. Our local ecological knowledge data suggest that intact saola populations probably no longer exist, but individuals persist in all three landscapes, making management activities to reduce hunting pressure on ungulates in each landscape a conservation priority. Analysis of last-sighting histories can constitute an important conservation tool when robust data are otherwise unavailable, and collection of last-sighting records should be incorporated more widely into field studies and management of other highly threatened, cryptic species

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

Exploitation histories of pangolins and endemic pheasants on Hainan Island, China: baselines and shifting social norms

Overexploitation is a critical threat to the survival of many species. The global demand for wildlife products has attracted considerable research attention, but regional species exploitation histories are more rarely investigated. We interviewed 169 villagers living around seven terrestrial nature reserves on Hainan Island, China, with the aim of reconstructing historical patterns of hunting and consumption of local wildlife, including the globally threatened Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) and Hainan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron katsumatae), from the mid-20th century onwards. We aimed to better understand the relationship between these past activities and current consumption patterns. Our findings suggest that eating pangolin meat was not a traditional behaviour in Hainan, with past consumption prohibited by local myths about pangolins. In contrast, local consumption of peacock-pheasant meat was a traditional activity. However, later attitudes around hunting pangolins and peacock-pheasants in Hainan were influenced by pro-hunting policies and a state-run wildlife trade from the 1960s to the 1980s. These new social norms still shape the daily lifestyles and perceptions of local people towards wildlife consumption in Hainan today. Due to these specific historical patterns of wildlife consumption, local-adapted interventions such as promoting substitute meat choices and alternative livelihoods might be effective at tackling local habits of consuming wild meat. Our study highlights the importance of understanding the local historical contexts of wildlife use for designing appropriate conservation strategies

Knowledge and attitudes about the use of pangolin scale products in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) within China

1. All eight pangolin species are threatened with extinction, largely through demand for their products including scales, meat and body parts. The demand for pangolin scales has gained attention from many conservation groups due to the large volumes involved in illegal trade. Market demand in China is one of the major drivers for international illegal trade according to confiscation reports, and many conservation interventions have been attempted to reduce this demand. 2. The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) community plays a key role in regulating legal trade and combating illegal trade in pangolin scales. However, this community has been largely overlooked by previous conservation interventions directed at the pangolin scale trade. There has also been little research into the involvement of the TCM community in pangolin scale trade in China. 3. To fill these knowledge gaps, we interviewed TCM doctors from 41 hospitals, shop owners/assistants from 90 TCM shops, two TCM wholesalers, and 2,168 members of the general public in Henan and Hainan provinces, China. Respondents' knowledge of and attitudes towards the pangolin scale trade were investigated using semi-structured and structured questionnaires, with a total of 2,301 respondents. 4. Our results show that TCM practitioners generally have poor awareness of the illegal nature of their behaviours and pangolin scale products involved. Awareness is particularly poor among participants at the end of the trade chain (i.e. end sellers). The public also generally lacked understanding of pangolin products in markets. 5. Results also show that 20 (71%) of 28 doctors believed that the use of pangolin scales in at least some, if not all, treatments could be substituted by other ingredients. 6. These findings suggest that raising awareness of the legality of pangolin scale products and petitioning TCM communities to use alternative substitutes for these products could constitute feasible and effective pangolin conservation interventions. 7. This study provides the first insights into the knowledge of and attitudes towards the pangolin scale trade from the perspective of TCM practitioners, and suggests that collaborating with the TCM community is necessary to combat this illegal trade