Reintroduced Chinese Alligators Now Multiplying In The Wild In China.

ScienceDaily, 18 July 2009.

Volltext: www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090714124949.htm

Zusammenfassung:

The Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that critically endangered alligators in China have a new chance for survival. The WCS's Bronx Zoo, in partnership with two other North American parks and the Department of Wildlife Conservation and Management of the State Forestry Administration of China, has successfully reintroduced alligators into the wild that are now multiplying on their own.

wcs-biblio

Reintroduction, distribution, population dynamics and conservation of a species formerly extinct in the wild: A review of thirty-five years of successful Milu (Elaphurus davidianus) reintroduction in China.

Global Ecology and Conservation 31: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01860

Abstract:

Reintroduction plays a vital role in conservation for many endangered species, however, little long-term information is available on the population dynamics and conservation status. Here we provide a detailed account of the Chinese Milu (Elaphurus davidianus) conservation and reintroduction efforts over the past 35 years, and give updated information on current Milu distribution, population dynamics and conservation status based on long-term monitoring (1985–2020) and a detailed follow-up investigation (2013–2020) in 235 wildlife institutions throughout China. Milu conservation in China comprised three phases: i) establishing ex situ populations and increasing the number of Milu through captive breeding (1985–1992); ii) preparing captive Milu for life in the wild and establishing in situ conservation populations (1993–1997); and iii) reintroduction of Milu into the wild throughout their historic range (1998–ongoing). Currently, there are ca. 9062 Milu (including 2825 wild individuals) distributed across 83 sites with 7380 individuals living at Beijing Milu Park, Jiangsu Dafeng Milu Nature Reserve and Hubei Shishou Milu Nature Reserve. The average birth rates in three sites were all over 0.200, and the average adult mortality rates were below 0.085, resulting in a rapid population growth. We discuss a variety of factors that contributed to ex situ conservation success in the reintroduction of a species formerly extinct in the wild, and highlight past and present challenges of Milu conservation in China. Our results will provide helpful information on conservation and reintroduction for other endangered species around the world.

cheng-biblio

Giant Panda National Park, a step towards streamlining protected areas and cohesive conservation management in China.

Global Ecology and Conservation 22, June 2020, e00947

Abstract:

The Chinese government recently finalized a plan to establish a Giant Panda National Park in 2020, one of the first national parks in the country. The plan will extend protection status to a significant amount of areas that were previously unprotected; it will also bring many of the existing giant panda protected areas under one authority in order to improve effectiveness and reduce inconsistencies in management. We provide an overview of the history and status of giant panda conservation and the rationale for creating the park. We also give first-hand information on details of the park design, including its general objectives, geographic range, zone divisions, management and funding structure, as well as analysis of the challenges and opportunities ahead. As a new conservation model for China, the Giant Panda National Park has the ambitious goal of standardizing conservation across a large region. It is a major step toward significantly expanding the amount of area protected and establishing a cohesive conservation network for a sustainable giant panda population in the wild.

huang-biblio

Elusive cats in our backyards: persistence of the North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) in a human-dominated landscape in central China.

Integrative Zoology 00: 1–17.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343802258_Elusive_cats_in_our_backyards_persistence_of_the_North_Chinese_leopard_Panthera_pardus_japonensis_in_a_human-dominated_landscape_in_central_China

Abstract:

The North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), the least‐known big cat, disappeared in most historical range for decades, following the development of modern civilization. Unfortunately, we have scarce knowledge about the status of this big cat so far, apart from anecdotal reports. In this study, we investigated density, distribution and habitat use of leopard, the apex predator, in a complex forest landscape in the Loess Plateau. We used a camera‐trapping network to obtain population estimates for leopards over two years through spatially explicit capture‐recapture models (SECR). Our results, based on maximum likelihood and Bayesian / MCMC methods, reveal that the largest wild population of the leopard was found widely distributed in remnant forests in central Loess plateau. The population is increasing in our study area, and the density of leopards (1.70 (SE = 0.48)‐2.40 (SE = 0.67) / 100 km²) is higher than other areas of China. According to the analysis of two seasonal occupancy models, prey species drive partially the leopard habitat use, predicting that the big cat thrives from the recovery of prey community*. However, human disturbances, especially oil wells, seems to have negative impacts on the habitat use of leopards. Specifically, it is necessary to joint efforts by the government and researchers to improve human disturbances management and prey species population density, as well as strengthen the investment in research on the North China Leopard, which could all further strengthen protection ability and ensure the long‐term survival of this species.

yang-biblio

*The leopard prey species include the Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus), the wild boar (Sus scrofa), as well as some small mammals such as the Asian badger (Meles leucurus) and the Tolai hare (Lepus tolai).

International Trade Status and Crisis for Snake Species in China.

Conservation Biology 18 (5): 1386-1394

Abstract:

In recent years, the purchase of snakes for leather, food, and traditional medicine has increased in China, which has greatly reduced certain snake populations. Trade records show that since the 1990s, with respect to some species of snakes, China is changing from a net export country to a net import country. We analyzed data on international trade in snake species, concentrating, in particular, on trade dynamics and species composition. The overall number of snakes exported appears to have decreased in the last 10 years. However, the number of snakes imported during this period has increased steadily. Many species of snakes that are traded in significant numbers are endangered or threatened species. To conserve snakes in China, we recommended that the Chinese government and the international conservation community take the following actions: enhance legislation and list several species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) appendices; register all snake farms in China; carry out population and market surveys; monitor the dynamics of trade; encourage biological research; encourage change in food habits; and enhance cooperation between Hong Kong and mainland China.

zhou-biblio

The troubled Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri: cause for a little optimism?

BirdingASIA 24 (2015): 78–83

Volltext (PDF)

Inhalt:

This  article  updates progress made since 2013 with conservationplanning and  action, and looks forward to thecritical issues that need to be addressed in the next1–2 years.The most important development has been thepreparation of a Single Species Action Plan (SSAP)for Baer’s Pochard and the establishment of a TaskForce under the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) to oversee its implementation.

hearn-biblio

Stepping-stones and dispersal flow: establishment of a meta-population of Milu (Elaphurus davidianus) through natural re-wilding.

Sci Rep. 2016; 6: 27297.
Published online 2016 Jun 7. doi: 10.1038/srep27297. PMCID: PMC4895148. PMID: 27272326

Zusammenfassung:

The Milu (Père David’s deer, Elaphurus davidianus) became extinct in China in the early 20th century but was reintroduced to the country. The reintroduced Milu escaped from a nature reserve and dispersed to the south of the Yangtze River. We monitored these accidentally escaped Milu from 1995 to 2012. The escaped Milu searched for vacant habitat patches as “stepping stones” and established refuge populations. We recorded 122 dispersal events of the escaped Milu. Most dispersal events occurred in 1998, 2003, 2006 and 2010. Milu normally disperse in March, July and November. Average dispersal distance was 14.08 ± 9.03 km, with 91.41% shorter than 25 km. After 5 generations, by the end of 2012, 300 wild Milu were scattered in refuge populations in the eastern and southern edges of the Dongting Lake. We suggest that population density is the ultimate cause for Milu dispersal, whereas floods and human disturbance are proximate causes. The case of the Milu shows that accidentally escaped animals can establish viable populations; however, the dispersed animals were subject to chance in finding “stepping stones”. The re-wilded Milu persist as a meta-population with sub-populations linked by dispersals through marginal habitats in an anthropogenic landscape.

yang-biblio

Medicinal use of Gekko gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae) has an impact on agamid lizards

SALAMANDRA 50(3): 185–186 30. Oktober 2014. ISSN 0036–3375.

Volltext (PDF)

A Guide to the Mammals of China.

544 Seiten, 61 Farbtafeln, 556 Verbreitungskarten.
Princeton university Press. ISBN: 9780691099842.

Einleitung:

China is a magnificent country and one of the most diverse on Earth. Its size ranks fourth among the world’s nations (9,596,960 km2), and it is home to over 1.3 billion people. The topography of China ranges from the highest elevation on Earth (Mt. Everest or Chomolung ma; 8,850 m) to one of the lowest (Turpan Pendi; 154 m below sea level). Chinese environments include some of Earth’s most extensive and driest deserts (the Taklimakan and Gobi) and its highest plateau (the Tibetan Plateau or “Roof of the World”). Habitats range from tropical to boreal forest, and from extensive grasslands to desert. This wide variety of habitats has contributed greatly to the richness of China’s mammal fauna. Additionally, the geographic location of China, at the suture zone between the Palaearctic and Indo-Malayan biogeographic regions (Hoffmann 2001), further contributes to the country’s mammal diversity. Overall, more than 10 percent of the world’s species of mammal live in China (556/5,416; total count from Wilson and Reeder 2005). Twenty percent (109/556) of China’s mammals are endemic, and one of these is among the most recognizable of the world’s mammals, the Giant Panda. In their analysis of megadiversity countries, Mittermeier et al. (1997) consider China to have the third highest diversity of mammals among all countries (following Brazil and Indonesia).

smith-biblio

Elaphodus cephalophus (Artiodactyla: Cervidae).

Mammalian Species Volume 45, (904) :80-91. 2013
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1644/904.1

Abstract:

Elaphodus cephalophus Milne-Edwards, 1872 (tufted deer) is usually considered polytypic with 3 or 4 recognized subspecies, depending on the source. It is a small dark chocolate-brown deer typified by a tuft of hair on its crown, sharp upper canines that protrude downward from under the upper lip, and rudimentary antlers on males; it is similar to muntjacs, to which it is closely related. E. cephalophus occurs in humid, montane forests at elevations of 300–4,750 m in southwestern through southeastern China and perhaps northwestern Myanmar (historical records). Vulnerable to poaching in remote areas and relatively uncommon in zoos, it is considered vulnerable as a Class II species in China and listed as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

leslie-biblio