WildCRU News 2013-05-25T21:24:11+01:00 Copyright (c) 2009, wildcru tag:wildcru.co.uk,2013-05-25T21:24:11+01:00 Scottish wildcat research uncovers rare migrant bird 2013-05-10 13:53:19

A White’s Thrush (Zoothera dauma aurea), a migrant bird species rarely seen in Scotland, has been caught on camera in Sutherland during a research project into the distribution of the Scottish wildcat across Northern Scotland.

The thrush breeds mainly in Siberia and Asia and is a very secretive bird, preferring dense cover. This is almost certainly the first recorded record of the species taken by a camera trap in Scotland.

The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, part of Oxford University’s Zoology Department, is carrying out research on the Scottish wildcat using remote camera traps across northern Scotland. The camera traps are triggered by changes in heat and motion and take photographs of animals passing in front of them.

The research is part of a three year study examining the current distribution of the Scottish wildcat across northern Scotland.Kerry Kilshaw, the project manager, said: “I’m delighted that our camera trap survey has captured this rare species, it is proving to be of great interest to many birders. Fortunately my field assistant Ruiradh Campbell has a keen eye and spotted it on one of the camera trap photos.”

Professor David Macdonald, the WildCRU’s Director, added: “Camera traps are probably the greatest breakthrough for field research since the invention of binoculars! They give us the capacity to have eyes in the backs of our heads, and lots of them, and it’s a wonderful bonus to secure this evidence of the rare White’s Thrush while we are making breakthroughs on monitoring the endangered Scottish wildcat.”

The thrush was caught on camera at the Woodland Trust Scotland’s Ledmore and Migdale Woods, near Bonar Bridge.

Site manager Eleanor Garty said: “These woods and the surrounding habitats support a wide range of wildlife.  They are a great place to see scarce summer visitors such as Wood Warbler, Redstart and Tree Pipit, so it is pleasing to know that we are hosting a rare migrant like White’s  Thrush too.” 

 OuTrop orang-utan encounters slow loris on camera 2013-04-08 12:01:40

WildCRU's Dr Susan Cheyne is Director of Gibbon and Felid Research with the Orangutan Tropical Peatland Project (OuTrop). On October 10th 2012, researchers at OuTrop observed and photographed the first interaction between Bornean orang-utans P. pygmaeus and Philippine slow lorises N. menagensis. A young female orang-utan encountered an adult slow loris during the day. The orang-utan was clearly interested in this unusual creature and attempted to grab the loris. This resulted in a stand-off as each primate tried to pass the other. At no point did the juvenile successfully grab the loris, though it was potentially scratched or bitten in one of its multiple attempts to make contact. The loris appeared physically unharmed at the end of the encounter, and the juvenile showed no visible signs of illness, injury, or envenomation throughout the day.

Orang-utan diet has received much attention in the past and the diet of both the Sumatran (Pongo abelli) and Bornean species (Pongo pygmaeus spp) are well-described but there is limited evidence of orang-utan predation. The most comprehensive information comes from Sumatra where 12 incidences of predation on slow lorises have been observed (e.g. Behavioural, Ecological, and Evolutionary Aspects of Meat-Eating by Sumatran Orangutans (Pongo abelii) by Hardus M., Lameira A. et al, International Journal of Primatology (2012), 33(2):287-304). No information on predation by orang-utans is published from field studies in Borneo. The toxic bite of slow loris can cause anaphylactic shock in humans and therefore maybe potentially harmful to orang-utans.

“Slow loris eating” has been considered a cultural innovation amongst populations of P. abelli, particularly because of the notable absence of this phenomenon amongst P. pygmaeus, which is usually sympatric with slow lorises.

Long-term behavioural studies on primates lend themselves to a detailed understanding of the behavioural ecology, socio-ecology and habitat requirements as well as intimate insights into mating and social behaviour. Through this effort we gain deeper understanding of these primates as well as discovering new insights.

You can help OuTrop gain more funding for their long-term field study by voting for the team to win a funding competition organised by the European Outdoor Conservation Association http://www.outrop.com/competition.html

 National Geographic visits WildCRUer in Ruaha 2013-04-05 11:30:31

National Geographic reporter Andrew Evans caught up with WildCRUer Amy Dickman in Ruaha, and discussed her work to help communities conserve lions, cheetahs, and leopards. See the video here:

www.digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/04/big-cats-of-ruaha/

Also, when faced with a lion, never run! Click to listen to an audio interview with Any Dickman stressing this as "Rule Number One", and tells the story of some Tanzanian villagers who tried to chase a lion from its kill, who soon learned how persistent a lion can be, and now one of them “walks with a limp." 

www.bit.ly/14vJJnH

 Special Issue of Folia Primatologica on Primate-Predator Interactions 2013-02-08 08:44:02

We are delighted to announce that the special issue of Folia Primatologica on Primate-Predator Interactions is now available online from the Folia Primatologica website:

http://www.karger.com/Journal/Home/223842

This quadruple special issue, guest edited by WildCRU’s Dr Dawn Burnham and Dr Susan Cheyne, features 14 original research papers and results from a joint meeting of the Primate Society of Great Britain (www.psgb.org) and WildCRU, held at the Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney House in 2009.

You can access the Editors’ Choice article for the special issue

A Problem Shared Is a Problem Reduced: Seeking Efficiency in the Conservation of Felids and Primates

Macdonald D.W. · Burnham D. · Hinks A.E. · Wrangham R.

without charge  at http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/342399 New lion population estimation paper from WildCRU 2012-12-20 11:45:51

A new paper, co-authored by WildCRU’s Amy Dickman and Hans Bauer, has highlighted the dramatic decline in lion populations over recent decades. This paper provides the most comprehensive estimate of lion numbers, and the estimated figure – between 32,000 – 35,000 remaining lions – reflects a 65% decline in the last 50 years. Only 10 ‘strongholds’ for lions remain – these include the Hwange and Ruaha ecosystems, where WildCRU has two of its major lion conservation projects. The full paper can be found here:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-012-0381-4

 WildCRU prominent in BBC photography competition 2012-11-27 14:41:46 Three different WildCRU projects have been placed in this year’s  BBC Wildlife Camera-trap Photo of the Year Competition. Following a run of high placings in previous years of the competition, Andrew Hearn and Jo Ross have done it again, this time with an image of a moonrat, Echinosorex gymnura, scurrying amongst the leaf litter in a Bornean rainforest – this was photographed as part of our Bornean Clouded Leopard Programme, and was commended in the Animal Portraits section. 

An image of a giant pangolin Smutsia gigantean, photographed in Gabon by Laila Bahaa-el-din  as part of our Golden cat initiative in partnership with Panthera and was also commended in the Animal portraits section. 

A unique photograph of a Kodkod Leopardus guigna hanging from a birdbox in Chile, is part of our collaboration with Cristian Bonacic’s Fauna Australis, and commended in the Animal behaviour section. 

Camera-traps are a major part of WildCRU armoury, and it is a delight to find the art in this science.

Snow Leopard Action Planning in China 2012-11-06 17:15:57

In collaboration with Beijing Forestry University’s Wildlife Institute (WI), Wildlife Without Borders UK (WSF) and China’s State Forestry Administration (SFA), WildCRU will be joining the first National Meeting for Snow Leopard Conservation and Monitoring in China on 9-11th November 2012. Representatives from across China, including all snow leopard range provinces within the country, will come together to plan and prioritize snow leopard conservation actions in China. The meeting will involve knowledge mapping exercises, training workshops for monitoring snow leopards and their prey, and the launch of the national snow leopard conservation action plan for China. The three-day meeting builds on the continuing work on snow leopard biology and conservation by WildCRU and the Wildlife Institute, supported by SFA, the Starr Foundation and the Robertson Foundation. This initiative links with the well received UK Darwin Initiative funded project “Building capacity for wild felid conservation in China”, also in collaboration with the WI, which is training management and ground staff to assess and monitor wild cat populations and developed a network for the conservation of all of China’s wild cat species. China is of critical importance for global snow leopard conservation, being custodian to half of the world’s population and including numerous important sites linking the species range. The meeting is the first step towards a national assessment of snow leopard populations and will create a robust working network to enable effective monitoring of their status and threats across this unique country.

 Gene flow in rare Ethiopian wolves 2012-10-31 11:58:47

Some 450 Ethiopian wolves, Africa's rarest carnivore species, cling to survival in half a dozen isolated montane pockets in the Ethiopian Highlands. Now a detailed study of Ethiopian wolf samples from current and extinct populations has found there is little gene flow between these remaining populations. Small isolated populations are increasingly at risk of extinction from habitat loss and disease. In a study published in the journal Animal Conservation, WildCRU's Claudio Sillero and colleagues in London and Berlin quantified the genetic diversity, population structure and patterns of gene flow among wild-living Ethiopian wolves and one extinct population. This genetic survey provides much needed information for the future effective management of Ethiopian wolf populations.

The article "Genetic structure and patterns of gene flow among populations of the endangered Ethiopian wolf" appears in Animal Conservation

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00591.x/abstract

 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Prize for the Next Generation in Wild Cat Conservation <br />2012 Prize Winner 2012-10-31 11:52:12

Born in Iran, Mohammad Farhadinia was selected as the recipient of the 2012 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Prize for the Next Generation in Wild Cat Conservation. Engaged in wild cat conservation since the age of 16 when he began compiling a dataset of observations on the Asiatic cheetah, Mohammad studied the Asiatic cheetah and the Persian leopard while completing his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees at the University of Tehran. Mohammad has recently joined WildCRU as a doctoral student focussing his research on a comprehensive ecological investigation of the Persian leopard.

In 2001, Mohammad established the Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of cheetahs and other wild carnivores. Since its founding, the Society has become an important player in Iran’s wildlife conservation efforts, with projects focused on the Asiatic cheetah, the Persian leopard, and the brown bear. In 2008, Mohammad joined the Conservation of the Asiatic Cheetah Project (CACP) – a comprehensive conservation program established by Iran’s Department of the Environment (DOE), and carried out with Panthera, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the United Nations Development Programme. As a CACP consultant, Mohammad supervises research efforts, capacity building initiatives, student programs, and educational plans. He also leads Iran’s Persian leopard conservation efforts in the Caucasus, and has represented Iran in international meetings and symposia.

Learn more about the Iranian Cheetah Project.

 Ethiopian Lions 2012-10-24 14:42:32

A team of international researchers, which included WildCRU’s Markus Gusset and Carlos A. Driscoll, has provided the first comprehensive genetic evidence that the Addis Ababa lion in Ethiopia is genetically unique and is urging immediate conservation action to preserve this vulnerable lion population.

While it has long been noted that some lions in Ethiopia have a large, dark mane, extending from the head, neck and chest to the belly, as well as being smaller and more compact than other lions, it was not known until now if these lions represent a genetically distinct population. The team of researchers has shown that captive lions at the Addis Ababa Zoo in Ethiopia are, in fact, genetically distinct from all lion populations for which comparative data exist, both in Africa and Asia. The researchers compared DNA samples from 15 Addis Ababa Zoo lions (eight males and seven females) to lion breeds in the wild. In their study, the team of researchers recommends establishing a captive breeding programme as a first step towards conserving this unique lion population.

The article 'A genetically distinct lion (Panthera leo) population from Ethiopia' appears in the European Journal of Wildlife Research. The article can be viewed at http://www.springerlink.com/content/046h10rr1kx0276j/.

 A Conference on the Biology and Conservation of Wild Mustelids 18th – 21st March 2013 2012-10-22 12:07:38

The website for the forthcoming Conference on the Biology and Conservation of Wild Mustelids, Skunks, Procyonids, and Red Pandas is now live at www.wildcru.org/conference!

The conference, co-organised between the the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU – Department of Zoology, University of Oxford) and the IUCN/SSC Otters and Small Carnivores Specialist Groups will be held in Oxford over three days and an evening from March 18th to 21st, 2013. Accommodation for delegates will be available in Lady Margaret Hall.

Please come and join some of the world's leading authorities on the super family Musteloidea in the beautiful surroundings of historical Oxford.

www.wildcru.org/conference

 WildCRUer wins Marie Curie Prize 2012-10-18 14:31:29

The Bolivian National Academy of Science annually awards the Marie Curie Prize to national female scientists for their contribution to promoting and stimulating the progress of science in the country. This year the Academy acknowledged the work of WildCRU's Erika Cuéllar Soto, recognizing her scientific contribution to the field of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development. Erika was born in Santa Cruz and studied biology in Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno in Bolivia, followed by a master degree in Conservation Biology, Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, University of Kent at Canterbury, U.K . This year she attained her DPhil from Zoology, Oxford based on the study of the ecology and conservation of the Chacoan guanaco Lama guanicoe, focusing on the woody encroachment phenomena on tropical savannah.

Erika is striving to guarantee the sustainability of the natural environment by working with the local communities in her native Bolivia, for which she has funded two local NGOs, and she coordinates the Bolivian Committee of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. This prize adds to the international recognition that Erika is receiving for her work in the Bolivian Chaco, including the Whitley Award 2007 and the Rolex Award received in 2012.

 A close encounter with an African golden cat in Gabon 2012-10-11 11:51:25 Kaplan Scholar, Laila Bahaa-el-din writes: 'The African golden cat, renowned for being secretive and rarely glimpsed, has been my study animal for over two years. It is a forest cat, with a range restricted to equatorial Africa. I use remotely-triggered camera traps to collect data on golden cats, and was almost resigned to only ever seeing images of them captured in this way. But my time came one fine morning as I walked along an old logging road with my field assistants, Arthur and Willy. A cat-like shape was on the road ahead. I came to a sudden halt, lifted my camera and zoomed in to confirm that it was indeed what I had been searching for. A red-coated golden cat sat on the road ahead. She looked towards us and quietly slipped away. It was brief, but it was enough - I had seen a golden cat with my own eyes.' Capybara: Biology, Use and Conservation of an Exceptional Neotropical Species 2012-09-19 15:42:53

David Macdonald first started working on the social organisation of capybaras in the late 1970s, leading to two WildCRU doctoral studies during the 1980s. Emilio Herrera worked with David in Venezuela on their behaviour and ecology and Jose Roberto Moreira in Brazil on demography and reproduction. Therefore we are particularly delighted to announce the publication of 'Capybara: Biology, Use and Conservatino of an Exceptional Neotropical Species' for which three of the four editing authors form the original WildCRU team - Macdonald himself and the long-fledged Herrera and Moreira.

The capybara stands out among large neotropical herbivores as the last remnant of a long line of gigantic rodents that evolved in South America over millions of years. With its large size, gregarious temper and semi-aquatic habits, the capybara has attracted the attention of explorers and writers since the sixteenth century. The widely-distributed rodent has been the subject of serious ecological study over the last 40 years in South America, and is one of the best known native mammals of the region. However, modern original investigations of the capybara have often been left as unpublished theses, or hidden in institutional projects and databases, inaccessible to outside study. This book provides a global overview of up-to-date knowledge on the capybara's biology, ecology, and management, and represents a coordinated effort from a multidisciplinary and preeminantly South American team. The capybara represents a tremendous resource for South America with the greatest potential for sustainable production and management, and the book seeks to raise awareness of the value and ecological importance of this species, and of the diverse neotropical fauna as a whole.

WildCRU receives award from the Japanese Mammal Society 2012-09-07 12:00:39

WildCRU's Chris Newman and Christina Buesching, along with Director David Macdonald have won the Mammal Study Journal Award, 2012, from the Japanese Mammal Society for their collaborative work with Prof. You-Bing Zhou at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and Prof. Yayoi Kaneko of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.

Their paper, entitled 'Contrasting sociality in two widespread, generalist, mustelid genera, Meles and Martes', examines why Eurasian badger and marten species differ in their social organisation – despite both subfamilies comprising generalist omnivores. Resource dispersion proves crucial - while a super-abundance of food favours social group formation in badgers, all martens are solitary.

The greater body-size and capacity to carry winter fat reserves in badgers, coupled with their ability to go into winter torpor and their utilisation of insulating subterranean dens, predisposes them to be able to tolerate conditions of restricted food security.

By contrast, martens are agile, pursuit predators and therefore would be compromised by carrying heavy, cumbersome fat reserves and so are not suited to winter torpor – consequently they cannot endure extended food restriction. As a result, badgers can 'buffer' periods of reduced food availability and groups can form where secondary individuals can 'make-do' for extended periods of time until conditions of plenty for all return. Martens starve quickly with food deprivation and therefore each marten must hold its own territory, independent of others. The paper also discusses how the smaller Japanese badger represents a transition between the two socio-types; the 'missing-link' where these badgers form simpler and more transient social aggregations.

For full details see:

Newman, C., Zhou, Y-B., Buesching, C.D., Kaneko, Y. & Macdonald, D.W. (2011). Contrasting sociality in two widespread, generalist, mustelid genera, Meles and Martes. Mammal Study 36:169-188. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.3106/041.036.0401 Planning Human-Bear Conflict Management in Turkey 2012-08-30 10:32:30

WildCRU together with Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and UNDP Turkey organized a workshop during 27-28 June 2012 to plan human-bear conflict management in Turkey's largest national park.

Emre Can of WildCRU and Yıldıray Lise of UNDP Turkey led the workshop which was organized with the support of World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) in Küre Mountains National Park , Kastamonu. UNDP Turkey has been implementing a pilot project in the national park to enhance forest protected areas system in Turkey and it was recently presented at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development as a successful case study in Brazil June 2012.

The workshop lasted two days and attracted 50 participants representing key interest groups from Kastamonu and the surrounding provinces where the protected area stretches. The workshop included introductory talks such as the one on WildCRU's global review of human-bear conflict and participants then worked together to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (which is also called SWOT analysis) related with conflict management. The workshop participants finally identified the short, medium and long-term actions to reduce human-bear conflicts in Küre Mountains National Park and the surrounding provinces.

Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and UNDP Turkey will incorporate the results of the workshop in the management plan of the national park, which is currently under preparation with a participatory approach for the first time in Turkey.

 Surveys by diploma alumni in Bhutan record tigers at 4,200 m 2012-08-28 11:24:58

Karma Jigme and Lhendup Tharchen, both alumni of WildCRU's Recanati-Kaplan Centre Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice, have recently co-authored a short communication on tiger survey findings in their home country of Bhutan ('Camera-trap records of tigers at high altitudes in Bhutan', CATNews 56 Spring 2012 – pp. 14-15). Tiger surveys since 2000 throughout the mountainous terrain of Bhutan have confirmed the wide distribution of the endangered predator, including records as high as 4,200 m in Jigme Dorji National Park. An abstract of the article can be read here.

Both Karma and Lhendup are currently working to conserve tigers and other wildlife for the Species Conservation & Monitoring Section, Wildlife Conservation Division, Dept. Of Forests & Park Services of Bhutan.

 WildCRU at Oxford's Olympic Torch event 2012-07-11 14:48:08 WildCRU's Joelene Hughes and Joanna Bagniewska joined the University Olympic torch celebrations at Iffley Road, enjoying a photo opportunity with Chancellor Lord Patten.

Joelene has represented England at Touch Rugby for the last 4 years (including being made Vice Captain for last year's World Cup in Edinburgh) and is hoping to make the squad again for this September's European Championship in Italy.

Joanna has been a member of the Oxford University Dancesport Team since 2006, representing the University at national competitions, and during Varsity Matches. She is a national finalist, and has been awarded two Half-Blue awards and Team Colours.

 

 First clouded leopard caught on camera in East Kalimantan 2012-07-10 11:13:52 David Macdonald recently visited WildCRU's latest clouded leopard survey site in East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo and returned with the first images caught on camera traps.

Led by Dr Susan Cheyne, assisted by Ewan Macdonald (WildCRU/ECI DPhil student) and with local project manager, Wiwit Juwita Sastramidjaja, three local field teams have worked tirelessly to deploy the first camera traps in Sungai Wain Protection Forest. Conditions are tough, and it's a days trek from the nearest village through dense vegetation before even reaching the Forest site where the network of cameras are carefully set out.

Their efforts form part of a larger WildCRU clouded leopard initiative in South East Asia and will contribute to a better understanding of clouded leopard distribution and dispersal, and ultimately to range wide strategic action planning.


 West and Central African Lions 2012-07-06 17:13:12 WildCRU is excited to announce the appointment of Dr Hans Bauer as our Regional Lion Conservation Coordinator for West and Central Africa. This new initiative involves collaboration between WildCRU, Born Free Foundation, Leo Foundation and Panthera. Amongst Hans Bauer's varied work on lion conservation will be the development of National Action Plans for threatened populations of lions. Caught in a trap 2012-07-01 09:32:08 New research, led by Dr Sandra Baker and Dr Stephen Ellwood of the WildCRU, has demonstrated that there is wide variation in the performance of 'break-back traps' used to kill mice and rats, and of mole traps. These traps are exempt from the welfare approval legislation that covers all other spring traps in the UK.

The study measured the mechanical performance of traps, and no animals were involved, but some traps were found to 'snap' with an impact momentum eight times weaker than others designed for the same species, and grip with a clamping force over five times weaker than the strongest.

'While we have no welfare data to relate to our mechanical measurements, our results indicate considerable scope for improving the humaneness of these traps. Their long-standing exemption from the approval process has probably hindered improvements in welfare standards in these traps', said Dr Baker.

The work was conducted in collaboration with Dr Vito Tagarielli, now at the Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College.

The study is published in PLoS ONE.

See the full press release. WildCRU's Erika Cuellar has been awarded the Rolex Global Award for Enterprise, 2012 2012-06-13 23:19:19 Erika Cuellar is one of the five pioneering men and women who have been announced as the 2012 winners of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise.

Chosen from more than 3,500 applicants from 154 countries by an independent Jury of international experts, the Rolex Laureates are honoured for their groundbreaking projects in Australia, Bolivia, Kenya, Russia and the United States.

Erika's richly deserved prize is awarded for her training project of indigenous people in Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina to conserve the biodiversity of one of South America's last truly wild environments, the Gran Chaco.

More than 400 distinguished figures from around the world will gather to honour the new Laureates at a ceremony in New Delhi, India, on 27 November. The 2012 Laureates join the 115 individuals from 42 countries whose spirit of enterprise and concern for the environment and mankind have earned support and recognition from Rolex Awards in the last 36 years in areas including science and health, applied technology, exploration and discovery, the environment, and preservation of cultural heritage."This year, the Jury was struck at how each of these remarkable individuals is empowering people in their communities to take control and preserve the natural world and the lives of those around them,"those around them," said Rebecca Irvin, head of Rolex philanthropy. "In most cases, they are harnessing new technology to promote public advocacy and change for the better. We at Rolex welcome these five Laureates into the global network of visionaries that has grown since the Awards were founded in 1976."

For more information on the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, visit rolexawards.com British Society of Animal Science and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Award 2012 2012-05-22 10:52:52 Every year, the BSAS and the RSPCA present an award for 'Innovative Developments in Animal Welfare' to an individual or group who has contributed to improving the well-being of animals through research and/or other related relevant work.

They have awarded their 2012 award to WildCRU in recognition of prolonged and outstanding contribution, under the leadership of Professor David Macdonald CBE, to the engagement of wildlife conservation with animal welfare, especially through the scientific study of non-lethal control and measures of stress in wild animals.

Professor Macdonald collected the award on 24th April at this year's Conference on Animal Science, which is a joint venture between BSAS, AVTRW (The Association for Veterinary Teaching and Research Work) & BBSRC (with WSPA) at Nottingham University. Prof Macdonald said 'WildCRU has always regarded animal welfare as an important arrow in the conservationist's quiver and is thrilled that this link between the well-being of individuals and the populations they comprise has been recognised in this prestigious award.'

WildCRU has conducted research on a range of non-lethal control measures with badgers, foxes, moles and corvids (e.g. see Wild Animal Welfare). We have also developed and applied techniques for measuring stress in wild animals, such as water voles and badgers, and have studied various aspects of animal health and welfare in small mammal reintroductions (e.g. see http://www.wildcru.org/research/). Currently we are researching the welfare impact of vertebrate management methods and the impacts of wildlife trade on animal welfare.
Winner of the Acorn Ecology Prize for Best Student Presentation announced 2012-03-30 17:16:16 WildCRU's DPhil student, Joanna Bagniewska, was awarded the Acorn Ecology Best Student Presentation Prize at the recent Mammal Society Conference. There were a number of great talks at the event but Joanna's presentation on the diving patterns of semi-aquatic, shallow-diving, small-bodied mammals was unanimously chosen as the winner.  The head of the voting committee, Sue Searle from Acorn Ecology, said that Joanna's presentation was not only informative and engaging, but also had the extra "spark" that the jury was looking for.

Joanna was presenting WildCRU's research on American mink using miniaturised Time-Depth Recorders (TDRs), tiny devices which measure temperature and pressure over time.  Using TDRs allows a precise determination of the diving behaviour of mink, as well as the examination of their activity patterns.  The methods explored by Joanna and her colleagues can also be used in measuring the activity of other semi-aquatic mammals. A Conference on the Biology and Conservation of Wild Mustelids 18th – 21st March 2013 2012-03-29 20:26:06 Colleagues from around the world are invited to join the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU – Department of Zoology, University of Oxford) for a 3-day conference to discuss mustelid biology, conservation and management.

The Mustelidae is the largest family in the order Carnivora and yet remains the least well understood.  The diversity and extensive biogeography of this family provides a forum for developing a wealth of ecological paradigms, with implications for academics, conservationists and veterinarians.

The conference, co-organised with the IUCN/SSC Otters and Small Carnivores Specialist Groups, will include plenary presentations by many of the world's leading authorities on mustelid biology and conservation, as well as stimulating oral and poster presentations from graduate students and researchers working in this field.

Attending this meeting will also serve as an occasion to deepen friendships and further international understanding on mustelid issues.  Social events are planned that will allow you the opportunity to network with international colleagues in the inspiring settings of this historic university city.

A conference website will be set up in due course – please watch this space! Water Vole Conservation Handbook 3rd Edition now available 2011-12-21 11:50:54 The latest edition of the Water Vole Conservation Handbook is now available, providing updated information about water vole conservation. Previous editions of this book have already proved indispensable for people and organisations working on water vole conservation. This updated version will continue to offer an unrivalled source of vital information.

The new third edition is available for sale at a cost of £35.00 including P&P.

To purchase the third edition please contact Lynne Larkman by email (lynne.larkman@zoo.ox.ac.uk), phone (01865 611118) or write via the WildCRU address, including a cheque made payable to University of Oxford and a covering note. Queen’s Anniversary Prize for WildCRU 2011-11-25 14:50:32 Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) has been awarded the Queen's Anniversary Prize.

Professor David Macdonald CBE, founding director of WildCRU, said: 'This marvellous prize is not only thrilling reward for the tireless work of our team, which has involved dedicated conservation scientists from over 30 countries, but also recognition of the national and international importance of wildlife conservation: species from otters in Oxfordshire to lions in Zimbabwe, from wildcats in the Highlands to jaguars in the Amazon, not only merit conservation for their intrinsic value, but are also part of the natural systems on which humanity depends.' He added: 'a special delight is that the prize emphasises the WildCRU's training of aspiring young conservationists from every corner of the globe - our recent trainees have come from Bhutan, Brazil, Myanmar, Sumatra, China, India and Tanzania, often from backgrounds that would not normally have access to world-class training - our Diploma programme revolutionises access to Oxford for talented young conservationists from developing countries. Our successes at the Recanati-Kaplan Centre have only been possible through the wonderful support of Dr and Mrs Tom Kaplan, and our collaborators including, importantly, Panthera.'

Related links

The Royal Anniversary Trust
University of Oxford: News
Panthera
 25th Anniversary Appeal of WildCRU Wytham Woods Badger Project 2011-11-17 13:11:42 Now in its 25th year, WildCRU's Badger Project embodies the kind of long-term research and data collection we need to address today's wildlife conservation dilemmas. We are appealing for your help to maintain this critical study.

The badger study was begun in Wytham Woods outside Oxford in 1973, with pioneering work by Professor Hans Kruuk, then David Macdonald's supervisor.  Subsequently, David has kept the study going until it now represents one of the most extensive databases in the world on any medium-sized mammal.  Since 1987 we have maintained an unbroken history of Wytham's badgers - with records for over 1,320 individuals. Every year the information significantly gains in value (badgers being long-lived, it can take over a decade to follow the fate of a single generation).

This continuity makes the study irreplaceable - and it is only now reaching a peak of productivity as long-term patterns begin to emerge from successive generations of badgers.  Because it takes so many years to follow the story of a generation of badgers, it is vital to keep this study going to see how their population and behaviour unfold as, for instance, the climate changes.

The task is immense - each year we record the births, deaths and behaviour of over 100 badgers.  Since 1991 Chris Newman (right, middle), and Christina Bueshing (right, bottom) have overseen the project - maintaining the fieldwork, managing the database and supervising graduate students as we take forward these analyses.  The field work is heavy, and the desk work increasingly complex, and their knowledge of the woods and the animals is unequalled.  We plan to continue the project for at least a further five years, and it is therefore essential we find the funds to maintain the running costs.

To achieve this, we have therefore launched this 25th Anniversary Appeal to raise funds over five years to cover the project's annual costs.  If you would like to support the appeal, please go to the Online Giving page, or for more information, please contact Diana Roberts.

Related projects

The Badger Project
Badger Genetic Research
Badger Vocal Communication

Associated members

Dr Chris Newman
Dr Christina Buesching

 BRINCC Expedition 2011 2011-11-01 15:29:38 The BRINCC (Barito River Initiative for Nature Conservation and Communities) Expedition has returned from the Bornean Highlands of Indonesia following 3 months conducting biodiversity surveys at 3 sites and social participatory surveys in 2 villages.  Our work was carried out in extremely remote areas, under testing conditions, and we are delighted with the success of both parts of the expedition, especially the capacity building.  BRINCC involved 14 Indonesian researchers, students and government representatives working with 7 foreign researchers/students.

However, the hard work of the BRINCC Expedition is only now beginning as we start the process of writing expedition reports, analysing the data, and preparing presentations to inform people of the Murung Raya's extraordinary biodiversity.  We will be visiting dozens of government offices and organizations to discuss our findings, and creating more links with others working in the region, as well as people further afield.

Over the next few months reports of our detailed results will be available via the BRINCC website.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who donated money to BRINCC through the WildCRU appeal.  Without this support we certainly would not have been able to achieve all that we have - thank you.

 10th Anniversary Edition of the State of Britain's Mammals Report 2011-09-27 14:28:20 The 2011 State of Britain's Mammals annual update marks the 10th Anniversary of the original report, published by the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES). This edition examines the effectiveness of targeting for Britain's mammals over the last ten years, as well as surrounding issues such as invasive species and disease. Reviewing work carried out by numerous organisations over the last decade, we show that four of the mammals listed in the mid 1990s – otters, water voles, pipistrelles and greater horseshoe bats – have achieved, or in some cases, even more remarkably, exceeded their targets. On the other hand, new species have been added to the list and many are still declining, including some of the most endangered species: red squirrels, Scottish wildcats, mountain hares, harvest mice, hazel dormice, and in rural areas, hedgehogs.

WildCRU's Director, David Macdonald, who co-authored the report with Dr Dawn Burnham, remains optimistic: "If one could roll back and look at what in 2001 we might have expected the picture to be, I think it's amazingly positive," he says. "I think it's now widespread for people to consider the importance of science and evidence for informing decisions and making the best science-led policy."

The report can be accessed from the PTES website. Egyptian golden jackal is actually a grey wolf 2011-02-01 12:33:50 A team involving WildCRU scientists has discovered, using genetic evidence, that the Egyptian jackal (Canis aureus lupaster) is in fact a new species of African wolf.

Professor David Macdonald, who led the Oxford team, said: 'A wolf in Africa is not only important conservation news but raises fascinating biological questions about how the new African wolf evolved.'

You can learn more at the BBC and Mongabay.

The BBC,
Mongabay and
the PLoS article. Saharan Ghosts 2011-01-19 20:35:29 WildCRU team photographs elusive Saharan cheetah in the Termit massif of Niger. After many months studying the little known carnivores of the Sahara, including the fennec, pale fox and sand cat, our efforts paid off and one of our camera traps caught a glimpse of a cheetah, the first ever in this part of the vast Sahara desert.

Read more at the beeb http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9306000/9306399.stm
 
Newsnight ~ Darwin Initiative becomes a Panel of Experts 2010-10-18 11:53:25 On the 14th of October Professor Macdonald appeared on Newsnight as chair of the Dawin Initiative to describe the effect of the Darwin Initiative becoming a "Panel of Experts" within DEFRA. David explains that this will make little difference to the functioning of the Darwin Advisory Panel and that of more interest will be the effect of the spending review on its operational budget.

The episode of Newsnight will be available to UK based viewers until 11:19pm Thu, 21 Oct 2010 via the BBC iplayer.

David appears at 34 minutes via this link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vcvxf/Newsnight_14_10_2010/

 
 Wild Cat Conservation in China 2010-10-18 07:47:11 The inaugural meeting for our project developing capacity for wild cat conservation in China was held in Beijing during August 2010. WildCRU and our colleagues at the Wildlife Institute in Beijing Forestry University, were delighted to receive support from key scientists and government officials and ministers from China and UK at the opening meeting for this UK Darwin Initiative funded project . More information is available from the project web pages.
 Compassionate Conservation Conference 2010-08-30 13:57:01 On Wednesday the 1st of September 2010 The Compassionate Conservation conference will begin. This landmark international meeting, organized by the WildCRU in partnership with international wild animal charity the Born Free Foundation, bring together 150 leaders in wildlife conservation and animal welfare science from around the world to discuss practical and ethical issues relating to wildlife conservation and its inter-relationship with animal welfare.

Delegates from more than 20 countries, representing academia, field conservation and animal welfare organisations, will debate animal welfare issues in conservation, examine potential synergies, look for practical outcomes and promote a dialogue between these two disciplines that are often perceived as mutually exclusive. Topics in the programme include animal welfare in field conservation, the international trade in wildlife, and animal welfare and conservation in captivity.

Dr Claudio Sillero, WildCRU's Bill Travers Fellow for Wildlife Conservation and organiser of the Symposium said "Historically, conservation biologists have focused primarily on animal populations while animal welfare scientists have focused on the perspective of individuals. There is a need for a more rigorous link between welfare science and conservation. Compassionate Conservation posits that individuals matter, and that the well-being of individual animals needs to be factored in when making conservation decisions."

"Animal welfare is not only a potent component of the conservationist's toolkit, it is also an important consideration in the choices that conservationists face" remarked Will Travers, CEO of the Born Free Foundation. "This Symposium challenges everyone to analyse their methods and continually to strive to improve them, all in the quest to make better choices for wildlife and its conservation. The shared commitment of individual people to individual animals lies at the heart of Compassionate Conservation." The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids 2010-07-07 12:37:53 The Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids edited by David Macdonald and Andrew Loveridge was published recently.

The editors utilize their 50 years of combined experience in professional engagement with the behaviour and ecology of wild felids to draw together a unique network of the world's most respected and knowledgeable experts. For the first time, this inter-disciplinary research programme is brought together within a single volume. Beginning with a complete account of all 36 felid species, there follow 8 comprehensive review chapters that span all the topics most relevant to felid conservation science, including evolution and systematics, felid form and function, genetic applications, behavioural ecology, management of species that come into conflict with people and control of international trade in felid species, conservation tools/techniques, ex situ management, and felid diseases. 19 detailed case studies then delve deeply into syntheses of the very best species investigations worldwide, written by all the leading figures in the field. These chapters portray the unique attributes of the wild felids, describe their fascinating (and conflicting) relationship with humans, and create an unparalleled platform for future research and conservation measures. A final chapter analyses the requirements of, and inter-disciplinary approaches to, practical conservation with cutting-edge examples of conservation science and action that go far beyond the cat family.

  • Paperback: 736 pages
  • Publisher: OUP Oxford (3 Jun 2010)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0199234450
  • ISBN-13: 978-0199234455

 Professor Macdonald to be awarded a CBE 2010-06-14 17:06:35 It is with immense pride that we announce that our founder and director: Professor David Macdonald is to be made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to natural sciences. He credited the group as a whole with the achievement commenting to the Witney Gazette:

 "I think it's a wonderful honour and feel that the honour is in two parts.  One part is to draw attention to the importance of the subject of wildlife conservation, and the other is to give recognition to the wonderful team of people that I have built up and with whom I work."

 "The wonderful team", think perhaps that he earned it quite justly on his own two feet.

David's honour was listed in the 2010 Queens birthday honours. The full list of honours from the 2010 Queens birthday can be found here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_188464

A press release describing the work which earned David his CBE can be downloaded here.

N.B. it took your web editor some time to find the appropriate order of precedence for abbreviates and initials of Rank, Honour and Degree. A very handy list can be found here: http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/foa-hons-and-decs.htm

 Dr Susan Cheyne talks about conservation science in the Indonesian Rainforest. 2010-04-15 11:50:49 Susan, was interviewed on Jo Thoenes Radio Oxford show on the 14th of April 2010. Susan was discussing her conservation work in Borneo:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0077xh0/Jo_Thoenes_14_04_2010/
(1:18 on the iPlayer clock, probably only accessible in the U.K.)

On the 15th of April Susan gave a talk on her work in Borneo at Science Oxford with Oxford student Klara Wanelik.
The talk is now online here.
 Darwin Initiative grant to develop felid conservation in China 2010-04-10 03:54:26 WildCRU in collaboration with Beijing Forestry University have been awarded a grant from the UK Government's Darwin Initiative to develop capacity within China for the conservation of their wild cats. China may hold 13 of the world's 37 species of wild felid, the majority of which are of conservation concern. China represents a significant part of the global range of many felid species, and one species (Chinese mountain cat) and several subspecies are endemic making it one of the most important countries for felid conservation.

Led my Dr Philip Riordan (WildCRU) and Dr Shi Kun (BFU), the project will build a network to bring together national and international groups working on cats both in China and in neighbouring states. With the Chinese State Forestry Administration and the support of provincial governments, we will identify training and other capacity needs within the country and develop regional programmes to develop skills within protected areas. 12th Wolf Day in Dinsho 2010-03-23 12:32:22 On the 7th of March the skies above Dinsho, Ethiopia remained dry for the 12th annual Wolf Day.

This annual festival of sports and culture is organised by the Ethiopian Wolf Programme to celebrate the Ethiopian Wolf and the afroplane.

Despite the blue skies the brave footballers took to a rather sodden pitch which your reporter can only feel would be fine practice for the Finnish Swamp Football Competitions (link). If a sponsor were found to take them out there your reporter is certain the Ethiopian team would be victorious :). The ECWP v Dinsho derby resulted in a 1-0 victory for Dinsho.

For further details of the day you can read the EWCP  blog.
 Science article questioning CITES petition for ivory sale 2010-03-12 09:57:58 In an article published today (12/03/10) in "Science", a group of conservationists question petitions from Tanzania and Zambia to the 15th meeting of CITES that would allow them to sell off their ivory stock piles. WildCRU members Jonathan Kingdon, David Macdonald and Katarzyna Nowak were amongst the co-authors of the article which suggests that such one off sales provide an incentive to poach.

The letter raises amongst other issues: the paucity of monitoring facilities to indicate whether or not such a sale would encourage further poaching; and the evidence to show that policing of ivory poaching and trafficking in both the source and consumer countries (China and Japan) may not have been sufficient. In order for the petition to be upheld it would be necessary for existing policing to be shown to be sufficient and for assurances to be provided that the trade would not further harm elephant populations.

The full text of the article can be found here.
 WilcdCRU student competes in the<br /> Winter Olympics 2010-02-12 13:46:13 Tucker Murphy's day job concerns puma research for his doctorate. But on Friday the 12th he's proudly flying the Bermudan flag into the Vancouver Olympics. He is competing in the 15km cross country skiing event on Monday the 15th of February.
Needless to say we are all very proud. Claudio interviewed on Mongabay 2009-11-09 15:58:51 Claudio gave an interview in November 2009 with Mongabay on his life and work with the Ethiopian Wolf Project. You can read the full interview here. Deer-awareness campaign for road users 2009-09-25 14:22:37 A new campaign was launched on the 22nd of September by a partnership, including Oxford University scientists, to highlight the danger posed by wild deer crossing Britain's roads and help avoid potentially fatal road accidents involving deer.

DeerAware is an initiative led by the Highways Agency and The Deer Initiative that aims to raise public awareness of the up to 74,000 deer-vehicle collisions that occur every year in the UK. Many people are killed or injured in such collisions and many deer are either killed instantly or die later from injuries sustained in a collision.

The campaign begins today with a special launch event in Richmond Park.

'It's not just that the number of deer is increasing. We really need drivers to slow down and watch out, particularly when deer are more active - in autumn and spring, and at dawn and dusk,' said Professor David Macdonald of Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), chair of the deer-vehicle awareness working group. 'This autumn there is likely to be another rise in deer-vehicle collisions.'

Getting drivers to slow down and watch out when they see deer signs is the key to reducing the number and severity of road accidents involving deer. DeerAware aims to change driver behaviour and give more information to help local initiatives reduce collisions in collision 'hotspots' across the country.

Professor Macdonald said: 'Today's event brings together the media and other partners who we hope will use the DeerAware material to tackle the worst hotspots. As is so often the case in wildlife conservation, the campaign will be beneficial not only for deer but for people too – the quest for such win-win outcomes is at the heart of modern conservation.'

More information and advice is available on the Highways Agency website.

[text from Oxford University site]

 Official Diploma Opening and Tubney House Dedication 2009-09-11 14:20:32

The 7th August 2009 saw the official launch of a new diploma and new facilities at Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), strengthening its mission to achieve practical solutions to the global wildlife conservation and environmental challenges of the 21st Century.

Both the Diploma and the new facilities have been funded by Thomas Kaplan and his wife Daphne Recanati Kaplan, founders of the charitable foundation Panthera. In recognition of their support WildCRU's base has been renamed The Recanati-Kaplan Centre.

The new Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice is intended to give students the practical skills and theoretical understanding to contribute to conservation efforts in developing countries. The Diploma is delivered by WildCRU with support from Oxford's Department for Continuing Education.

Members of the five-strong pilot group of Diploma students, known as the 'WildCRU Panthers', have already begun putting what they learnt into practice by, for instance, establishing a research station to monitor the Andean cat in Bolivia, working with WWF in China to save the Amur tiger, mitigating the effects of man-eating lions in Tanzania, and looking to do further research on the Persian leopard.

After running a successful four-month pilot course last year, the first eight formal Diploma students – the 2009 WildCRU Panthers – started in April this year and will look to apply what they learn to conservation challenges within their own countries.

The WildCRU Panthers come from countries as far away as Bolivia, Zimbabwe and Bhutan, so the barns and stables at WildCRU's Tubney House HQ have been converted into the Panthera Buildings, providing residential accommodation for students to stay in Oxford for the duration of the course from April to October each year. In keeping with WildCRU's conservation objectives, the work was undertaken with the University Estates Directorate; the local construction company, Beard; and architects from the Frankham Consultancy (Oxford) Limited, delivering an environmentally-friendly building with a minimal energy footprint.

Summer Newsletter available here 2009-09-11 14:02:06

For more news WildCRU's summer newsletter can be downloaded here.


 Tigers have more weighing on their mind than lions 2009-09-04 10:37:28 A wide-ranging study of big cat skulls, led by Oxford University scientists, has shown that tigers have bigger brains, relative to their body size, than lions, leopards or jaguars.

The team investigated the relationship between the skull size – the longest length between the front and back parts of the skull – of a large sample of tigers, lions, leopards and jaguars and the volume inside the cats' respective craniums. The researchers report their findings in this month's Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

'What we had not expected is that the tiger has clearly much bigger relative brain size than do the other three species, which all have similar relative brain sizes,' said Dr Nobby Yamaguchi of Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), an author of the report with WildCRU Director Professor David Macdonald.

'When we compare the two biggest species, on average the lion has a bigger skull than the tiger based on the greatest length of the skull. However, the tiger has bigger cranial volume than the lion. It is truly amazing that tiny female Balinese tiger skulls have cranial volumes as large as those of huge male southern African lion skulls.'

It has sometimes been assumed that social species, such as lions, should have larger brains than solitary species, such as tigers, because of the need to handle a more complex social life within groups or prides. However, despite a few studies suggesting a relationship between big brains and sociality in mammals, evidence for the link is far from clear.

Dr Nobby Yamaguchi said: 'Our results strongly suggest that there is no detectable positive relationship between relative brain size and sociality amongst these four big cat species, which shared a common ancestor around 3.7 million years ago.'

The team also looked at the popular idea that tigers are 'bigger' than lions (which could mean that the tiger's relatively bigger brain size simply reflects its bigger body). However, careful re-evaluation of original field data and relatively well-documented hunting records does not support this idea.

So the team concluded that the tigers have a relatively bigger brain (around 16 per cent larger) than lions, given their very similar average body sizes. 

Professor Macdonald said: 'Two general lessons emerge from our findings: first, how much remains to be discovered about even these most familiar of big cats, and second how important museum collections can be as a source of unexpected insights.'

The next step for the researchers is to try to answer whether such a difference can be explained by intrageneric variation or merely by chance. If not by chance, then it raises the question why the tiger evolved a relatively bigger brain (or why other species evolved smaller brains) after the tiger's ancestor split from the common ancestor to the other three species.

The answers to both these questions may lie in analysing comparative brain anatomy amongst these species (for instance, which parts of the tiger's brain are bigger than the lion's) and similar data from extinct relatives of these big cats as well as smaller living relatives such as the snow leopard and clouded leopard.

(link to the paper here)

 WildCRU in The Times 2009-07-13 16:16:12

WildCRU's work in the U.K. was recently highlighted in The Sunday Times. It refers to work detailed in the 2009 State of Britain's Mammals. The full piece can be found here.

 

 Tigers took the silk route 2009-06-01 10:17:55 DNA from an extinct sub-species of tiger has revealed that the ancestors of modern tigers migrated through the heart of China – along what would later become known as 'the Silk Road' – a team of scientists from Oxford University and the NCI Laboratory of Genomic Diversity in the USA report.
In a study published in PLoS One the team show that the Caspian tiger from Central Asia, which became extinct in 1970, was almost identical to the living Siberian, or Amur, tigers found in the Russian Far East today.

The discovery not only sheds new light on how the animals reached Central Asia and Russia but also opens up the intriguing possibility that conservationists might repopulate tiger-less Central Asia with Siberian tigers from Russia or China.

'What these striking results indicate is that extinct Caspian tigers and modern Siberian tigers are molecular nearest neighbours,' said Carlos Driscoll, a doctoral student studying at Oxford University's Wildlife Research Conservation Unit (the WildCRU) who led the study. 'In a sense it means that Caspian tigers never became extinct, it's just that there never was any such thing as a 'Siberian' tiger.' The relationship is so close that the mitochondrial DNA of the two sub-species differs by just a single nucleotide.

Because Caspian tigers were not well studied before they became extinct almost 40 years ago the team had to retrieve DNA from specimens held in the region's museums.

'We had to travel through Russia and Central Asia taking tiny bone samples from Caspian tiger specimens in natural history collections,' said co-author Dr Nobby Yamaguchi of Oxford's WildCRU. 'We then compared the mitochondrial DNA from these samples with those taken from living animals, especially Siberian and Indian tigers.'

The route that Caspian tigers took to get to Central Asia has always been a puzzle because Central Asian tigers seemed isolated from other populations by the massive Tibetan plateau. The new research suggests that rather than skirting around the plateau, via India to the south or Siberia to the north, perhaps about 10,000 years ago ancient tigers went through it along China's narrow Gansu Corridor – which would thousands of years later form part of 'the Silk Road' trading route.

This fresh look at the tiger family tree suggests that the South China tiger, a sub-species now extinct in the wild, is unique – possibly the cat most closely resembling the ancestor of all modern tigers – making efforts to save it from extinction all the more important.

'We came very close to losing the chance to study the South China tiger, even from a molecular standpoint, simply because it is so rare,' commented Carlos Driscoll. 'Hopefully our findings will encourage the Chinese government to focus conservation efforts on this most endangered of living tigers.'

Professor David Macdonald, Director of the WildCRU at Oxford University and also one of the authors said: 'The fact that the Caspian tiger was driven extinct in 1970 is an indictment of the modern age and not some long-gone piece of history. Our research indicates that the Caspian tiger's genes still exist, in the form of the Siberian tiger, so they could be restored to Central Asia. This restoration would obviously be a huge undertaking but what a triumph it would be!'

NOTES

'Mitochondrial Phylogeography Illuminates the Origin of the Extinct Caspian Tiger and Its Relationship to the Amur Tiger' is published in PLoS One and will be available at: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004125

The main tiger sub-species studied were the Caspian tiger (Panthera tigris virgata), the Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica), the Indian – Bengal – tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) and the South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis). The Caspian tiger was found to differ by only one nucleotide of its mitochondrial DNA from the Siberian tiger: other tiger sub-species differ by at least two nucleotides.


 Our First Diploma Students Arrive 2009-05-04 17:27:03 In May 2009 the first students arrived to take part in WildCRU's Diploma in "International Wildlife Conservation and Practice". Based at Tubney this course aims to provide theoretical knowledge and practical skills applicable to biodiversity conservation in developing countries. This diploma was made possible by a generous donation from Panthera.

Alfredo Romero Muño, Antony Kasanga, Godfrey Mtare, Hemanta Kafley, Herizo Andrianandrasana, Karma Jigme, and Nakedi Maputla willd spend the next few months living at Tubney studying for this postgraduate qualification. Each of these students has come from an existing conservation project in their own countries and will return to those projects with the skills gained here.

To learn more about the course click on the courses link above.
 Snow Leopards in Taxkurgan China 2009-04-24 16:52:33 Khometti Taklashur, one of the local members of the expedition surveying for snow leopards in the Mariang Valley in the Taxkurgan Nature Reserve in China set the camera the captured this snow leopard.

The Xinjiang Snow Leopard Project (XSLP) is an initiative started by the Beijing Forestry University and the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at Oxford University. Working closely with the Xinjiang Government and local communities we are undertaking a responsive research programme, to assess the current status of snow leopards and their prey within the Taxkurgan area of West Xinjiang. We are using this basic information to determine current threats and devise mitigation strategies for policy makers to safeguard this unique ecosystem and its species.

Visit the project's site here .

 Hedgerow trees ’key to UK biodiversity’ 2009-04-08 23:16:28

Paying farmers to protect and establish more hedgerow trees could be crucial to halting the decline in biodiversity in the British landscape, Oxford University scientists have found.

listen to Thomas on Farming Today:

The team focused on larger moths – many of them spectacularly beautiful – as an important indicator of biodiversity, recording the number and diversity of 270 species of moths on 16 arable farms across Oxfordshire. 

What they found was that whilst wide field margins – for which farmers are already financially rewarded – are beneficial for moth populations, hedgerow trees had an even greater impact: in some landscapes boosting moth numbers by 60 per cent and their species diversity by 38 per cent. 

A report of the research appears in the April edition of the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.

Our results suggest that the shelter provided by hedgerow trees is probably the main reason for their beneficial effects on moth numbers and diversity 'Our results suggest that the shelter provided by hedgerow trees is probably the main reason for their beneficial effects on moth numbers and diversity,' said Dr Thomas Merckx of Oxford University's Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (the WildCRU) the lead author of the report.

 

'They create a sheltered microclimate for individual moths and may act as 'stepping stones' enabling moths and other insects to cross open agricultural spaces. This could make hedgerow trees even more important in the future for British and European biodiversity, since they may mitigate some negative effects of climate change by allowing species to move northwards in response to climate change, even through agricultural landscapes.'

Currently the restoration and management of wide field margins is financially rewarded in the EU but there are no such incentives for farmers to manage hedgerow trees. 

Dr Merckx said: 'What our research shows is that, if we are to preserve the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes in Britian and Europe, we have to think bigger than measures relating to individual fields and individual species, and examine what we can do to strengthen the diversity within landscapes and ecosystems as a whole.' 

Professor David Macdonald, founding Director of the WildCRU, who led the Oxford University team that collaborated with the charity Butterfly Conservation, said: 'We got the best results where we targeted farmers to join agri-environment schemes, probably because this resulted in the joining up of good habitat across the landscape.'

Professor Macdonald added, 'nowadays, the taxpayer pays farmers as custodians of biodiversity in the countryside. It's important that these agri-environment payments deliver the sort of countryside that the public wants, and our research is intended to provide the evidence policy-makers need.'

The research was funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and is part of the WildCRU's wider programme of studying how to conserve wildlife on farms in the Upper Thames Valley, research which spans water voles to otters, damsel flies to badgers and harvest mice to fish. 

Professor Macdonald said: 'With the moth results in hand, our next step is to test the effects on the bats that feed on them – the idea of the Upper Thames project is to explore links between farming and the whole food web on farmland.'

 David in Independent’s top 100 environmentalists 2008-10-06 11:18:25 In October 2008 The Independent newspaper's top 100 environmentalists in the UK. Their panel of expert judges put David at number 28. See the entry here.

Though we would probably disagree with the writer's suggestion that the quangos David sits on are boring.  The web editor also wonders if K.T. Tunstall has really done enough to find herself in 10th position. Surely Radiohead's decision not to tour anymore at all and to angle towards mostly online sales is a good thing? Plus they're a better band. Best not to get too involved in these things I suppose! Race to save the rarest wolf 2008-08-24 11:40:00 The Ethiopian Wolf Project's work to protect the wolves against rabies was featured on the BBC website. You can read the full story here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7715693.stm David elected fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 2008-03-26 16:52:13 David was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in March 2008.

To learn more about the Royal Society of Edinburgh click here.