Bali Starling evades extinction (c) The Guardian

The Guardian (c)

http://environment.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,,1858129,00.html

Pictures at:
http://environment.guardian.co.uk/gallery/0,,1857676,00.html

Extinction of 31 bird species has been prevented through efforts of conservators, research shows

Helen O'Brien (c)
Friday August 25, 2006
The Guardian

Conservation efforts have prevented the extinction of 31 bird species globally over the past 30 years, according to the most detailed analysis of conservation success ever conducted.

The species brought back from the brink include the Bali starling, Chatham Island taiko and northern bald ibis, as well as the California condor, which numbered just nine birds in 1994. The researchers conclude that it is possible to save species with concerted action and sufficient political will.

"The main thing is that we are making a significant impact," said Ana Rodrigues, a conservation scientist at Cambridge University. "Usually we only see the bad picture, which makes us feel that what we are doing is useless."

The researchers looked at 170 bird species classified as critically endangered in 1994, and 73 others that would have been classified as critically endangered had more information been available at the time. Of these, they believe 16 would very probably have gone extinct without conservation efforts.

They also named 10 species which had been saved from extinction before 1994, and five species which are now believed to exist only in captivity. "We attempted to judge from the intensity and impact of the measures used, and from the trend in population, what would have happened had the threats not been mitigated," said lead researcher Stuart Butchart, at Cambridge-based BirdLife International, a global partnership of national conservation organisations, including the RSPB. "In none of the cases were [the populations] naturally bouncing back."

The turnaround in the fortunes of the birds studied has been dramatic: 14 of the 16 species saved since 1994 are still recovering but conservationists have managed only to slow the decline of the other two. In the case of the California condor, the birds faced poisoning from eating carcasses killed with lead shot, and death from flying into power lines. A captive breeding and release effort has boosted the population to 128. Bali starlings are a status symbol in Indonesia, which makes them a target for poachers in their last remaining home, Bali Barat national park. In 2002 there were an estimated six birds in the wild, but captive-bred birds are now being released to bolster the native population - a perilous 24 individuals.

Roger Wilkinson, director of conservation and science at Chester Zoo, which has four Bali starlings, said: "There is no problem maintaining large populations in zoos, but enforcement is insufficient to prevent further poaching in the wild." All the birds released in Bali were fitted with microchips and some have been found on sale in captive bird markets. "The numbers saved are a tiny drop in the ocean of species threatened with extinction," said Dr Butchart. The 16 identified in this study represented only about 1% of the 1,212 species threatened with extinction.

primary productivity depends on diversity

Plant genotypic diversity predicts community structure and governs an ecosystem process.

Science 18th August (2006) pp.966-968.

G.M. Crutsinger et al studied the effects on community structure of population genotypic diversity.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/313/5789/966
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/313/5789/966/DC1

Solidago altissima (goldenrod) was grown in plots and the number of genotypes per plot was manipulated. They estimated aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and censused arthropods.

Journal of Applied Ecology: Blackwell Synergy

Journal of Applied EcologyVolume 43 Page 599 - August 2006
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01182.x
Volume 43 Issue 4

The Guardian reports on aproject to identify the most pressing problems:

The key questions at the heart of the UK's environmental future · Academics hope list will influence policy decisions· Old and new controversies covered in debate David Adam, environment correspondentMonday August 21, 2006The Guardian (c)

Scientists have drawn up a list of the 100 biggest questions to face the UK environment, including controversies such as whether farmers should be allowed to kill badgers to protect their cattle from disease and how many seabirds are slaughtered by wind farms.


Dr [Bill] Sutherland said the list was an attempt to get politicians to base decisions more on the available scientific evidence, similar to the way medics treat patients based on pooled results rather than individual experience. His team published the questions in a report this month in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

Key issues

How long does the seabed take to recover from dredging, wind farm construction and oil and gas extraction?

How does the ecological impact of UK farming compare internationally?

What are the ecological impacts of airports?

What are the ecological impacts of faecal matter, pesticides and undigested food flows from aquaculture?

How can we better understand diseases within wildlife reservoirs to protect humans and livestock?

What impact does plastic litter have on the marine environment?

How can we measure natural capital (renewable and non renewable resources) and integrate such a measure into GDP?

What are the effects of light pollution on wildlife?

Which habitats and species might we lose completely in the UK because of climate change?

What hedgerow structure and management produce the greatest wildlife benefits?

How can flood control be assisted by habitat management and what are the impacts on biodiversity?

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Journal of Applied EcologyVolume 43 Page 599 - August 2006doi:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01182.x
Volume 43 Issue 4


THE TANSLEY LECTURE
Predicting the ecological consequences of environmental change: a review of the methods*
WILLIAM J. SUTHERLAND
Summary
1.
There is a clear need to increase our ability to predict the consequences of environmental change. The seven main approaches that are currently used are: extrapolation, experiments, phenomenological models, game-theory population models, expert opinion, outcome-driven modelling and scenarios. Each approach has different strengths and weaknesses. In practice, several approaches are often combined.
2.
Adaptive management aimed at testing hypotheses is excellent in principle and widely advocated. In reality, however, it is almost never carried out because the changes in management usually have to be severe in order to bring about detectable changes in a reasonable time, and the political risks of such management are usually considered too high.
3.
Game-theory population models are used to determine population-level phenomena based upon the decisions individuals make in response to resource depletion, interference, territoriality or rank. This allows predictions to be made regarding responses to novel conditions. The main drawback is that for some models considerable information is required.
4.
Much of conservation practice is not based upon evidence. Evidence-based conservation is the practice of accumulating, reviewing and disseminating evidence with the aim of formulating appropriate management strategies. Evidence-based medicine revolutionized medical practice and similar opportunities exist to improve conservation practice.
5.
Synthesis and applications. The conventional approach of making assumptions and deriving models to make predictions about the consequences of environmental change is often unsatisfactory for complex problems, with considerable uncertainty. Tackling such problems is likely to require greater exploration of techniques such as expert opinion, output-driven modelling and scenarios.

Journal of Applied Ecology (2006) 43, 599–616doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01182.x