Dramatic decline of the Vulnerable Reeves’s pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii, endemic to central China.

ORYX 49 Nr. 3 (Juli 2015): 529-534

Abstract

The current status and distribution of the Vulnerable Reeves’s pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii, endemic to central China, is poorly known. To obtain updated information on its status we selected 89 candidate sites in six provinces and one municipality in central China and conducted interviews and field surveys from April 2011 to April 2012. Interviews demonstrated the pheasant has disappeared from 46% of the surveyed sites. Our results also revealed a population decline at 46 sites, including protected areas, although population densities in protected areas were higher than those in non-protected areas. Eightythree, 26 and 20% of the surveyed sites had evidence of poaching, habitat loss and use of poison, respectively, which were the three major threats to this species. To ensure the long-term survival of Reeves’s pheasant in China, protection and management need to be enforced in both protected and non-protected areas. We recommend that this species should be upgraded to a national first-level protected species in China and recategorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

zhou-biblio

Status of Tibet red deer.

ORYX 30 (4): 269-274. ISSN 0030-6053

Abstract:

Reports of the Tibet red deer, a subspecies of Cervus elaphus, have been so few in recent years that there were fears that the animal was extinct. A survey in a mountainous region of south-east Tibet in October 1995 found evidence that a few deer survive in one small area and possibly two others in high-altitude valleys of the tributaries of the Subansiri River. The most exciting finding of the survey, however, was an estimated 200-strong population of this deer in high rolling hills near the village of Zhenqi, north of the Yarlung Tsangpo River. This is the only known viable population of the deer and, although some hunting occurs, including by professional poachers from outside Tibet, the fact that it survives is an indication of the tolerance of the local people. The Tibet forest Bureau has agreed to fund guards and to establish a reserve for the deer in co-operation with local people. 

schaller-biblio

Leopard - Panthera pardus.

Cat News Special Issue 5, Autumn 2010: Cats in China: 30-33. IUCN Cat Specialist Group, ISSN 1027-2992.

Abstract:

In Asia, the leopard was originally widely distributed south of about 45°N. Across southwest and central Asia, leopard populations are small, separated and isolated; distribution and present status is however poorly known in most central Asiatic countries. Leopards are believed to be still relatively abundant in the forests of the Indian sub-continent, through Southeast Asia and into China, although they are becoming increasingly rare outside protected areas. In China, they are still present throughout the east, centre and south. In the 1950s, national campaigns to eradicate pest animals – including tigers and leopards – had a considerable impact on the populations, mainly in the south. Based on purchased skins, 2,000–3,000 leopards were killed each year during the mid 1950s. The Critically Endangered Amur leopard has been reduced to a very small population in Russia, China, and possibly North Korea. The 2007 census revealed 25–34 animals remaining in the wild. Although P. p. orientalis is extremely rare compared to the other subspecies, we know much more about leopards in northeastern China than about those in the rest of the country, because the Amur leopard has received much attention and has also profited from field research and conservation activities focussing on Siberian tigers.

jutzeler-biblio

Potential distribution and effectiveness of the protected area network for the crocodile lizard, Shinisaurus crocodilurus (Reptilia: Squamata: Sauria).

SALAMANDRA 50 (2): 71-76.

Abstract:

The crocodile lizard, Shinisaurus crocodilurus Ahl, 1930, is a monotypic taxon, restricted in occurrence to southern  China  and  northern  Vietnam.  Wild  populations  are  presently  suffering  tremendous  declines,  mainly  due  to  illegal poaching,  habitat  destruction,  and  fragmentation,  which  already  led  to  the  extinction  of  populations  in  Guangxi  and Hunan provinces in China. In order to accelerate the discovery of so far unknown populations of S. crocodilurus and to identify suitable priority areas for conservation strategies, we determined the species’ potential distribution using correlative species distribution models (SDMs) based on locality records and a set of satellite-based  environmental predictors.

In addition, we evaluated the coverage of the species’ potential distribution with designated protected areas according to IUCN standards. The resulting SDM revealed potentially suitable habitats to be scattered and disconnected while being very small in size. Moreover, present coverage with nature reserves is extremely poor, underlining the urgent need for improved habitat protection measures and potential population restoration of S. crocodilurus.
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A comparative study of crocodile lizards (Shinisaurus crocodilurus Ahl, 1930) from Vietnam and China.

Raffl. Bull. Zool. 56(1): 181 – 187.

Abstract:

Preliminary morphological comparisons between Chinese and Vietnamese Shinisaurus representatives showed no significant differences that would justify a separate taxonomic status of the single known Vietnamese population. Also first mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons showed very low differentiation therefore, being likely to represent the same taxon. In addition, we provide further information about the habitat, and preliminary data concerning the reproduction and feeding ecology of Vietnamese S. crocodilurus. We further stress biogeographical and conservational aspects of the endangered species in Vietnam.

PDF Download available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237286590_A_comparative_study_of_crocodile_lizards_Shinisaurus_crocodilurus_AHL_1930_from_Vietnam_and_China [accessed Jul 13, 2017].

ziegler-biblio

Allgemeines

Von Peking bis zu den Bergen am unteren Jang-tse-kiang erstreckt sich das Chinesische Tiefland, ein abgesunkenes Becken, das einst vom Meer bedeckt, danach aber durch angeschwemmte Sedimente des Gelben Flusses Hwang-Ho, der im Lauf der Jahrtausende immer wieder seinen Lauf wechselte, wieder aufgefüllt worden ist.

Vegetation und Charakterpflanzen

Die natürliche Vegetation ist ein sommergrüner, von mehreren Eichenarten (Quercus spp.) dominierter Laubwald, in dem auch Esche (Fraxinus chinensis), Mandschurische Walnuss (Juglans manshurica), Espen (Populus tremula), Ulmen (Ulmus spp.), Chinesische Linde (Tilia paucicostata), Davids-Ahorn (Acer davidii), Chinesische Jujube (Ziziphus zizyphus) und zahlreiche weitere Laubbäume und –sträucher vorkommen. Allerdings wurde dieser üppige Wald großflächig zerstört sodass heute nur noch kleine Restbestände vorhanden sind.

Typische Zootiere und sonstige Tierwelt

Der Miluhirsch wurde schon vor Jahrhunderten in freier Wildbahn so gut wie ausgerottet. Der letzte autochthone Bestand im kaiserlichen Wildpark von Nan Hai-tsu südlich von Peking wurde zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts ausgerottet. Das Chinesische Reh überlebt in den wenigen noch bewaldeten Bergen und das Wasserreh kommt noch am Unterlauf des Jangtsekiang vor. Der Chinesische Flussdelfin (Lipotes vexillifer), der nur im Jangtse und einigen Nebenflüssen lebt, wurde 2002 letztmals gesichtet. Das Chinesische Tiefland ist die Heimat des Ringfasans.

Nationalparks und andere Schutzgebiete

Yancheng-Naturschutzgebiet

Milu-Herde (Elaphurus davidianus) im Dafeng Nature Reserve. Foto State Forestry Administration / www.news.cnJiangsu, China

Höhe: 0-4 m.ü.M; Fläche: 453'300 ha, Kernzone 13'800 ha. Es handelt sich um einen über 500 km langen, 2-15 km breiten Streifen entlang der Küste. Wichtiges Vogeschutzgebiet (IBA CN 367).

Vegetation: Salzmarschen, lockerer Laubwald, außerhalb der Kernzone von rund 90'000 Menschen besiedeltes Kulturland.

Tierwelt: Das Reservat wurde hauptsächlich zum Schutz des Mandschurenkranichs eingerichtet, dessen wichtigstes Überwinterungsgebiet es darstellt. Ferner überwintern hier Schneekraniche und weitere Kranicharten. Weitere seltene Vogelarten sind Schwanengans, Zwergblässgans, Schwarzschnabelstorch, Schwarzstirnlöffler (Platalea minor), Schwarzkopf-Moorente (Aythya baeri), Schuppensäger (Mergus squamatus) etc.. Im dazu gehörenden, 78'000 ha großen, eingezäunten Dafeng National Nature Reserve befindet sich die weltweit größte Population des Miluhirschs. Auch das Wasserreh kommt vor.

Literatur und Internetquellen

• BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL (2013) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Yancheng
• PFEFFER, P. (1969)

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