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Abstract
The role of the Hengduan Mountains in biodiversity distribution is well-documented, but the impact of its subsidiary ranges on species distribution and evolution remains unclear. This study examined the Stoliczka’s Asian Trident Bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus) to assess how Pleistocene climatic changes and the uplift of these ranges influenced its distribution and evolution. Using species distribution models, morphometric data, and molecular genetic analysis, we identified shifts in the bat’s distribution under different climatic scenarios and evaluated its morphological and genetic differentiation. We found a significant correlation between the bat’s distribution and warmest quarter precipitation, with habitat suitability fluctuating in response to climatic changes. The subsidiary ranges facilitated morphological and genetic differentiation among bat populations and acted as barriers to dispersal. These findings underscore the critical role of the Hengduan Mountains’ subsidiary ranges in shaping bat distribution and evolution, providing new insights into the effects of geological changes on small mammals in the region.
Abstract
The zoantharian genus Umimayanthus consists largely of species that live in obligate symbioses with sponges. Although zoantharians have often been overlooked in field collecting campaigns and in research, sponges are usually well-collected, and many natural history museums harbor numerous sponge specimens. Thus, these sponge collections may also include previously overlooked zoantharian species. Such is the case in this research, in which we examined sponge specimens in museum collections from Western Australia and eastern Indonesia. Based on our morphological and molecular analyses, we herein describe six species of Umimayanthus new to science, and redescribe another species described over a century ago. These species can be distinguished by their sponge associations, gross polyp and colony morphology, and depth ranges. Based on these findings, it appears that the Central Indo-Pacific region of Western Australia and Indonesia can be considered a hotspot for sponge-associated zoantharian diversity. We provide a key for the identification of all formally described species in the genus, but caution that there are likely more Umimayanthus species awaiting discovery.
Abstract
People’s attitude toward wildlife is known to affect the success of conservation programs. Public education can increase support for conservation measures by providing the knowledge necessary to make informed decisions, improve pro-environmental behaviour and potentially enlist participation. To that end, we developed a participatory conservation education program in Nepal with a target audience of secondary school students. Our lessons emphasized ecological balance by highlighting the roles of individual species, including the rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). This species presents a challenge for educating the public about maintaining balance in nature, because although an important seed disperser and species of religious significance, macaques are frequently involved in human-wildlife conflict and considered a pest species. We evaluated the impact of our program by surveying students from six socioeconomically similar schools, four that participated in our program and two that had not. Our questionnaire was comprised of knowledge questions about local wildlife and conservation issues, an open-ended listing exercise to determine species preferences, and statements that elicited students’ opinions regarding empathy toward animals. Knowledge about and attitude toward wildlife, including M. mulatta, were greater in students that participated in the program. More importantly, these students were more likely to understand the role individual species play in a balanced ecosystem, how human behaviour can negatively impact wildlife, and how they could participate in conservation efforts. Gender was not a factor in any response. We discuss the merits of using a participatory learning platform in a standalone education program that has long-term purpose, funding, and buy-in.
Abstract
Environmental Education (EE) is key for biodiversity conservation. We aimed to evaluate the effect of an EE activity on students by evaluating their drawings. The EE activity was part of the Blonde Capuchin Project actions, which focuses on the research and conservation of the endangered blonde capuchin monkey, Sapajus flavius. The activity was comprised of four steps and lasted four hours in each school. We analysed 348 drawings made by children from eight schools in rural areas close to forest fragments inhabited by Blonde Capuchins in two municipalities in Northeast Brazil, Igarassu-PE and Mataraca-PB. The children made the drawings during the intervention in each school, specifically in steps 1 and 4 of the activity. We scored the drawings using a rubric to account for the presence of components (biotic and abiotic) and interactions (e.g., human-environment and non-human animal interactions). As an outcome of the EE activity, we found a possible increase in knowledge and awareness through the evaluation of the drawings. Thus, when resources are limited, we encourage the performance of short-term EE activities and the analysis of drawings as a tool to measure their immediate effect.
Abstract
Education4Conservation evolved from an environmental education program in Balikpapan Bay, Indonesian Borneo, after its critical evaluation. The initial goal of the program was to support the development of future conservation leaders who would join the ongoing efforts to conserve proboscis monkeys (Nasalis larvatus) and their coastal forest habitat in Balikpapan Bay. We realized that to achieve this goal, we would need to work with students from the age of 4 years and continue to educate them for many years. We also realized that we needed to focus more on mentoring teachers and incorporating their feedback into the curriculum. The new program, which is in line with the new Indonesian national curriculum (Kurikulum Merdeka), has proved attractive to teachers and has spread from Kalimantan to other Indonesian islands and countries outside Asia. The curriculum continues to improve through regular monthly revisions that incorporate feedback from teachers, while teachers’ pedagogical skills have improved through guidance provided by responses to each of their reports. We have been following and supervising participants since the Education4Conservation program began in 2022. Although a preliminary evaluation seems to indicate substantial improvements over the earlier program (in terms of high participation, positive teacher response, improved reporting skills, and increased clarity and applicability of the curriculum), it remains to be seen whether the program ultimately achieves its primary goal to help raise some of the students into conservation leaders.
Abstract
Panama is a habitat for nine primate species, and most of them are threatened. This has shown a fundamental concern in primate conservation by Panamanian-based conservation projects. Among them is the project Conservación del Mono Cariblanco en Agroecosistemas (COMOCA) which initiated a primate conservation education program in Southwestern Panama in 2022. The first stage of this program consisted of evaluating the perceptions that 102 children aged 8-12 years old have about primate habitat. I analyzed drawings made by these children exploring three different themes: (1) description of primate species, (2) primate habitat, and (3) food related to primates. The results indicate that children are more familiar with the white-faced capuchins and squirrel monkeys. Despite 89.2% of the children drawing trees, most of them painted tree crops. Thus, the top three most mentioned foods eaten by monkeys were mango, plantain/banana, and apple. These findings highlight the importance of addressing the relationship between primates and native trees in the content of the conservation education program. Additionally, the study illustrates how children’s depiction of their reality has implications for the management of human-primate interfaces.
Abstract
Introduced species can negatively impact endemic flora and fauna. Studies have primarily utilized camera trap observations and occupancy modelling to better clarify the presence/absence and temporal overlap of endemic and exotic predators. Longitudinal data from field research sites are important as they can provide a finer understanding of predator dynamics and their effects on endemic species. One such site is the Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve, in southern Madagascar. Protected since the 1970s, the local human population around Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve has greatly expanded, leading to habitat disturbance in the surrounding forests and increased contact between local wildlife, people and their livestock and dogs. Here we use a combination of scat sampling, field observations of successful and attempted predations, locations of scat samples with identifiable lemur remains, and camera trap data to better assess the predator ecology at Bezà Mahafaly Special Reserve. Our results indicate that forest cats (Felis catus), are effective predators of both adult and infant lemurs and appear to be a constant mammalian predator, utilizing mammal prey more than dogs. Dogs are both predators and scavengers of lemurs. Civets focus on small prey, such as insects and rodents as well as plant material. The fosa, Cryptoprocta ferox, are also present but may not hunt in the area continuously. The killing of an adult ring-tailed lemur by two men from outside the area indicate culturally imposed taboos against lemur killing may no longer be effective given that new arrivals may not share the same local cultural restrictions. Scat sampling of exotic predators is one way to expand our understanding of exotic and endemic predator impact on lemur populations, and long-term studies with multiple assessments of predation can provide a clearer understanding of how non-endemic and endemic predators affect endangered species survival.
Abstract
The genus Delminichthys consists of allopatric species restricted to ephemeral watercourses in the karst fields of the left-bank (D. ghetaldii) and the right-bank (D. adspersus and D. jadovensis) Neretva River basin as well as in the Una River drainage (D. krbavensis). The first aim addressed questions of interspecies variation and phylogenetic relationships among Delminichthys based on time-calibrated analysis of cyt b mtDNA (cytochrome b) and COI mtDNA (cytochrome c subunit I) mitochondrial DNA genes. Species-specific haplogroups supported two mtDNA genes as suitable barcoding markers, while we additionally proposed character-based and genetic distance threshold-based delimitation of species. We confirmed that the Pliocene and Pleistocene refugium for freshwater species was the Neretva basin, promoting the diversification of the genus Delminichthys. Our second aim was to test the population structure of D. ghetaldii (Southern Dalmatian minnow) by performing an integrative study using molecular mtDNA data, linear and geometric morphometric data. We consider that the spatial aspects of the population genealogical structure of D. ghetaldii mirror the Pleistocene paleodrainages. The differentiated COI mtDNA clusters corresponding to the populations from Fatničko Polje+Dabarsko Polje and Ljubomirsko Polje+Konavosko Polje represent geographically discrete genetic entities, which should be addressed through conservation management.