Blurring the picture:Introductions, invasions, extinctions - Biogeography in a global world

Global biogeography and phylogeography have gained importance as research topics in zoology, as attested by the steady increase in the number of journals devoted to this topic and the number of papers published. Yet, in a globalising world, with species reintroductions, invasions of alien species, and large-scale extinctions, unravelling the true biogeographic relationships between areas and species may become increasingly difficult. We present an introduction to the symposium ‘Biogeography: explaining and predicting species distributions in space and time’ held in Amsterdam in 2007, and the resulting papers as published in this special issue, including papers on crustaceans, birds and mammals

Hairy Tales and Monkey Business: The conservation value of children’s picture books used in conservation education programmes and picture books sold commercially with a focus on primates

Many conservation education programs utilize picture books to raise awareness, change attitudes, and promote positive conservation behavior. In this study, I analyzed children’s books used in primate conservation education programs, as well as commercially available children’s books about primates, in order to assess their educational efficacy. By scoring books based on their scientific accuracy, anthropomorphism, and ecophobia, as well as classifying them into developmental age categories, I found that conservation education books are more accurate than commercially available books about primates but that they are more ecophobic and this may impede their conservation success. In order to overcome the limitations of both conservation education picture books and commercial picture books as tools for conservation, I recommend collaboration between storybook writers and conservation educators

In full swing: assessment of trade in orangutans and gibbons on Java and Bali, Indonesia

This report presents an assessment of the trade in seven species of gibbon and two species of orang-utan on the island of Java and Bali, the economic, industrial and political centres of the Republic of Indonesia

An assessment of trade in gibbons and orang-utans in Sumatra, Indonesia. A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report

This report presents an assessment of the trade in gibbons and orang-utans in Sumatra, Indonesia, including the islands off Sumatra’s west coast (most notably, the Mentawai Islands). Until recently Sumatra and its off-lying islands harboured one of the largest expanses of lowland evergreen rainforest in Southeast Asia. Most of the lowland forests are gone and the forest that remains is largely in the hills and mountains, running along the western part of the island, with the largest expanse of forests being in the Leuser Ecosystem, and adjacent Ulu Masen forest to the north. Commercial timber extraction, small-scale logging (legal and illegal), conversion of forest to palm oil or wood-pulp plantations, and forest fires – along with the concurrent increase in access to formerly remote areas – are increasingly threatening the integrity of the remaining forests, thus putting the survival of its inhabitants at stake

Changes in the Primate Trade in Indonesian Wildlife Markets over a 25-Year Period: Fewer Apes and Langurs, More Macaques and Slow Lorises

Indonesia has amongst the highest primate species richness, and many species are included on the country's protected species list, partially to prevent over-exploitation. Nevertheless traders continue to sell primates in open wildlife markets especially on the islands of Java and Bali. We surveyed 13 wildlife markets in 2012–2014 and combined our results with previous surveys from 1990–2009 into a 122-survey dataset with 2,424 records of 17 species. These data showed that the diversity of species in trade decreased over time, shifting from rare rainforest-dwelling primates traded alongside more widespread species that are not confined to forest to the latter type only. In the 1990s and early 2000s orangutans, gibbons and langurs were commonly traded alongside macaques and slow lorises but in the last decade macaques and slow lorises comprised the bulk of the trade. In 2012–2014 we monitored six wildlife markets in Jakarta, Bandung and Garut (all on Java), and Denpasar (Bali). During 51 surveys we recorded 1,272 primates of eight species. Traders offered long-tailed macaque (total 1,007 individuals) and three species of slow loris (228 individuals) in five of the six markets, whereas they traded ebony langurs (18 individuals), and pig-tailed macaques (14 individuals) mostly in Jakarta. Pramuka and Jatinegara markets, both in Jakarta, stood out as important hubs for the primate trade, with a clear shift in importance over time from the former to the latter. Slow lorises, orangutans, gibbons and some langurs are protected under Indonesian law, which prohibits all trade in them; of these protected species, only the slow lorises remained common in trade throughout the 25-year period. Trade in non-protected macaques and langurs is subject to strict regulations—which market traders did not follow—making all the market trade in primates that we observed illegal. Trade poses a substantial threat to Indonesian primates, and without enforcement, the sheer volume of trade may mean that species of Least Concern or Near Threatened may rapidly decline

Hanging in the balance: An assessment of trade in orang-utans and gibbons on Kalimantan, Indonesia

This report presents an assessment of the trade in gibbons and orang-utans in Kalimantan, which is part of Indonesia’s territory on the island of Borneo

Effect of introduced species and habitat alteration on the occurrence and distribution of euryhaline fishes in fresh- and brackish-water habitats on Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao (South Caribbean)

We conducted an ichthyological survey during the dry season of 2006 on the semi-arid islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao to provide information on species composition, richness and distribution in natural and non-natural aquatic habitats. The dry season species assemblages (N = 9 species) comprised less species than the wet seasons, and these data refine our knowledge of the indigenous fish fauna and its refuge localities during phases of drought and ensuing high salinity. A hierarchical cluster analysis reveals that the three islands have different species compositions with Curaçao being the most diverse, probably due to its having the most habitats and freshwaters present throughout the year. Species richness was unrelated to salinity and species diversity was highest in canalised streams. In the dry season fewer amphidromous species are present than in the wet season. We found no significant effect of human-induced changes on the presence or absence of fish species in the Netherlands Antilles. The presence of exotic species (including Xiphophorus helleri on Aruba, a first record for this island, and Oreochromis mossambicus and Poecilia reticulata occurring on all three islands) did not have a clear effect on the presence of indigenous species, nor did human alteration of the habitats have an influence on the occurrence of fish species