scholarly journals Persistent panmixia despite extreme habitat loss and population decline in the threatened tricolored blackbird ( Agelaius tricolor )

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Barr ◽  
Annabel C. Beichman ◽  
Pooneh Kalhori ◽  
Jasmine Rajbhandary ◽  
Rachael A. Bay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Extreme Habitat

Extreme habitat loss in a Mediterranean habitat:Maytenus senegalensissubsp.europaea

2015 ◽  
Vol 149 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Mendoza-Fernández ◽  
F. MartíNez-Hernández ◽  
F. J. Pérez-García ◽  
J. A. Garrido-Becerra ◽  
B. M. Benito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Extreme Habitat

scholarly journals The decline of the endemic Fijian crested iguana Brachylophus vitiensis in the Yasawa and Mamanuca archipelagos, western Fiji

Oryx ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter S. Harlow ◽  
Martin Fisher ◽  
Marika Tuiwawa ◽  
Pita N. Biciloa ◽  
Jorge M. Palmeirim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Iucn Red List ◽  
Red List ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Introduced Predators ◽  
Free Ranging

The endemic Fijian crested iguana Brachylophus vitiensis, categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, has been recorded from several islands in western Fiji. We conducted a survey for the crested iguana on 12 uninhabited and five inhabited islands in the Yasawa and Mamanuca archipelagos of western Fiji in September 2000. Night searches for sleeping iguanas along a total of 11.2 km of forest transects suggest that crested iguanas are either extremely rare or extinct on all of these islands. Although we collectively searched a total of 44 km of transect over 123 person hours, we located crested iguanas on only four islands: three small uninhabited islands (all <73 ha) and one large inhabited island (22 km). In July 2003 we resurveyed two islands identified as having the best potential for the long-term conservation of crested iguanas, and found that populations were continuing to decline. We suggest that the scarcity of crested iguanas on all islands surveyed is due to the combination of habitat loss and the introduction of exotic predators. All islands surveyed have free ranging goats, forest fires have occurred repeatedly over the last few decades, and feral cats are established on many islands. To reverse the population decline of this species immediate intervention is required on selected islands to halt continuing forest degradation and to clarify the effects of introduced predators.

scholarly journals Testing the hypothesis that routine sea ice coverage of 3-5 mkm2 results in a greater than 30% decline in population size of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J Crockford
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Ursus Maritimus ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Sea Ice Decline

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) was the first species to be classified as threatened with extinction based on predictions of future conditions rather than current status. These predictions were made using expert-opinion forecasts of population declines linked to modeled habitat loss – first by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List in 2006, and then by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 2008 under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), based on data collected to 2005 and 2006, respectively. Both assessments predicted significant population declines of polar bears would result by mid-century as a consequence of summer sea ice extent rapidly reaching 3-5 mkm2 on a regular basis: the IUCN predicted a >30% decline in total population, while the USFWS predicted the global population would decline by 67% (including total extirpation of ten subpopulations within two vulnerable ecoregions). Biologists involved in these conservation assessments had to make several critical assumptions about how polar bears might be affected by future habitat loss, since sea ice conditions predicted to occur by 2050 had not occurred prior to 2006. However, summer sea ice declines have been much faster than expected: low ice levels not expected until mid-century (about 3-5 mkm2) have occurred regularly since 2007. Realization of predicted sea ice levels allows the ‘rapid sea ice decline = population decline’ assumption for polar bears to be treated as a testable hypothesis. Data collected between 2007 and 2015 reveal that polar bear numbers have not declined as predicted and no subpopulation has been extirpated. Several subpopulations expected to be at high risk of decline remained stable and five showed increases in population size. Another at-risk subpopulation was not counted but showed marked improvement in reproductive parameters and body condition with less summer ice. As a consequence, the hypothesis that repeated summer sea ice levels of below 5 mkm2 will cause significant population declines in polar bears is rejected, a result that indicates the ESA and IUCN judgments to list polar bears as threatened based on future risks of habitat loss were scientifically unfounded and that similar predictions for Arctic seals and walrus may be likewise flawed. The lack of a demonstrable ‘rapid sea ice decline = population decline’ relationship for polar bears also potentially invalidates updated survival model outputs that predict catastrophic population declines should the Arctic become ice-free in summer.

scholarly journals Testing the hypothesis that routine sea ice coverage of 3-5 mkm2 results in a greater than 30% decline in population size of polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan J Crockford
Keyword(s):  
Sea Ice ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Polar Bear ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Ursus Maritimus ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Bears ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Sea Ice Decline

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) was the first species to be classified as threatened with extinction based on predictions of future conditions rather than current status. These predictions were made using expert-opinion forecasts of population declines linked to modeled habitat loss – first by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List in 2006, and then by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 2008 under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), based on data collected to 2005 and 2006, respectively. Both assessments predicted significant population declines of polar bears would result by mid-century as a consequence of summer sea ice extent rapidly reaching 3-5 mkm2 on a regular basis: the IUCN predicted a >30% decline in total population, while the USFWS predicted the global population would decline by 67% (including total extirpation of ten subpopulations within two vulnerable ecoregions). Biologists involved in these conservation assessments had to make several critical assumptions about how polar bears might be affected by future habitat loss, since sea ice conditions predicted to occur by 2050 had not occurred prior to 2006. However, summer sea ice declines have been much faster than expected: low ice levels not expected until mid-century (about 3-5 mkm2) have occurred regularly since 2007. Realization of predicted sea ice levels allows the ‘rapid sea ice decline = population decline’ assumption for polar bears to be treated as a testable hypothesis. Data collected between 2007 and 2015 reveal that polar bear numbers have not declined as predicted and no subpopulation has been extirpated. Several subpopulations expected to be at high risk of decline remained stable and five showed increases in population size. Another at-risk subpopulation was not counted but showed marked improvement in reproductive parameters and body condition with less summer ice. As a consequence, the hypothesis that repeated summer sea ice levels of below 5 mkm2 will cause significant population declines in polar bears is rejected, a result that indicates the ESA and IUCN judgments to list polar bears as threatened based on future risks of habitat loss were scientifically unfounded and that similar predictions for Arctic seals and walrus may be likewise flawed. The lack of a demonstrable ‘rapid sea ice decline = population decline’ relationship for polar bears also potentially invalidates updated survival model outputs that predict catastrophic population declines should the Arctic become ice-free in summer.

scholarly journals The Genetic Status of the Critically Endangered Hainan Gibbon (Nomascus hainanus): A Species Moving Toward Extinction

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanqing Guo ◽  
Jiang Chang ◽  
Ling Han ◽  
Tao Liu ◽  
Gang Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
Natural Range ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Hainan Gibbon

The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), once widespread across Hainan, China, is now found only in the Bawangling National Nature Reserve. With a remaining population size of 33 individuals, it is the world’s rarest primate. Habitat loss and fragmentation are the primary drivers of Hainan gibbon population decline. In this study, we integrated data based on field investigations and genotype analyses of 10 microsatellite loci (from fecal samples) to assess genetic diversity in this Critically Endangered primate species. We found that the genetic diversity of the Hainan gibbon is extremely low, with 7 of 8 microsatellite loci exhibiting decreased diversity. Additional molecular analyses are consistent with field observations indicating that individuals in groups A, B, and C are closely related, the female–male sex ratios of the offspring deviates significantly from 1:1, and the world’s remaining Hainan gibbon population is expected to experience continued high levels of inbreeding in the future. Given extensive habitat loss (99.9% of its natural range has been deforested) and fragmentation, this rarest ape species faces impending extinction unless corrective measures are implemented immediately.

scholarly journals Monarch butterfly population decline in North America: identifying the threatening processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 170760 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne E. Thogmartin ◽  
Ruscena Wiederholt ◽  
Karen Oberhauser ◽  
Ryan G. Drum ◽  
Jay E. Diffendorfer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Danaus Plexippus ◽  
Monarch Butterfly ◽  
Stochastic Variation ◽  
Related Factors

The monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) population in North America has sharply declined over the last two decades. Despite rising concern over the monarch butterfly's status, no comprehensive study of the factors driving this decline has been conducted. Using partial least-squares regressions and time-series analysis, we investigated climatic and habitat-related factors influencing monarch population size from 1993 to 2014. Potential threats included climatic factors, habitat loss (milkweed and overwinter forest), disease and agricultural insecticide use (neonicotinoids). While climatic factors, principally breeding season temperature, were important determinants of annual variation in abundance, our results indicated strong negative relationships between population size and habitat loss variables, principally glyphosate use, but also weaker negative effects from the loss of overwinter forest and breeding season use of neonicotinoids. Further declines in population size because of glyphosate application are not expected. Thus, if remaining threats to habitat are mitigated we expect climate-induced stochastic variation of the eastern migratory population of monarch butterfly around a relatively stationary population size.

Advection exacerbates population decline from habitat loss: maintaining threatened taxa while restoring natural river flow regimes

Oecologia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 193 (3) ◽  
pp. 773-785
Author(s):  
Vadim A. Karatayev ◽  
Lyubov E. Burlakova ◽  
Alexander Y. Karatayev ◽  
Luojun Yang ◽  
Thomas Miller
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Loss ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Flow Regimes ◽  
Threatened Taxa
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