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Society for Conservation Biology 16th
Annual Meeting July 14-July 19 2002
co-hosted by DICE and the British Ecological Society
Abstracts for Poster Session Two
Boards 1 - 11
Reception 17.45 - 19.30, Wednesday 17th July
Viewing 09.00 - 17.30, Wednesday 17th July and Thursday 18th July
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Boards 12 - 22 | Boards
23 - 33 | Boards 34 - 42
(BLOCK CAPITALS indicate the presenting author)
Grant Rina C., HARRY C. BIGGS and Danie J Pienaar Northern Plains Programme, Kruger
National Park South Africa (RCG), Kruger National Park South Africa Biggs@parks-sa.co.za
(HCB, DJP).
BALANCING RARE ANTELOPE CONSERVATION AND ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL
PARK
Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) are at the southern edge of their range
in the Kruger National Park (KNP) and have always occurred there in low numbers,
and have thus been of concern to management. The population showed a dramatic decline
during the prolonged drought cycle of the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.The strategic
adaptive management approach is used as a basis to examine the possible reasons for
the perceived failure to conserve this species. The main reasons appeared to be related
to a transition in management vision from a more fixed-state species-centred approach
to a dynamic systems approach; absence of predetermined endpoints for the monitoring
programme, which made it difficult to mobilise timeous action; and the lack of ability
to predict long and short term consequences of management decisions, because of deficiencies
in information flow between management and research. These problems can be lessened
by monitoring for goals (with pre-arranged-on endpoints) formulated under a clear
desired state, and the development of knowledge links that can integrate research
and management information and present long and short term consequences. These linkages
need to be flexible, responsive and interactive to manage a complex ecosystem such
as the KNP.
GUICHÓN, MARÍA LAURA and Marcelo Hernán Cassini. Departamento
de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Argentina. <lalifer@mbox.servicenet.com.ar>
RESPONSE OF COYPUS TO HUMAN ACTIVITY IN THEIR NATIVE RANGE OF DISTRIBUTION
The coypu Myocastor coypus constitutes an important economic resource in its
native habitat where it can suffer local extinction. This species has been subjected
to control and eradication programs in its exotic range of distribution because it
is considered a harmful species. We report the effect of human activities on coypu
populations in Pampean agro-ecosystems, Argentina. The interviews conducted to local
inhabitants revealed that hunting activity is a cultural tradition in the countryside
with the coypu being a wanted prey because they eat its meat and sell the fur and
the young as pets. Live-trapping of coypus was conducted seasonally during one year
in five study sites that differed in the degree and type of human activity (recreation,
livestock raising, hunting). Sites with high hunting pressure showed low population
density and high proportion of immigrant/resident coypus. No limitation by availability
of food, space, refuge, and water could explain low densities. Reproduction was not
inhibited in hunted sites as denoted by a similar proportion of newborns and pregnant
females in sites with high and low hunting pressure. These results indicate that
hunting but not other human activities affect coypu populations in their native habitat,
where management actions should be promoted.
GARSON, PETER J., Arshad, M. and Ahmed, A. Department of Agricultural and Environmental
Science, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK, peter.garson@ncl.ac.uk
(PJG), WWF-Pakistan, P.O. Box 5180, Ferozepur Road, Lahore 54600, Pakistan (MA and
AA).
TROPHY HUNTING AND CONSERVATION: AN AUDIT OF THE BAR VALLEY IBEX PROJECT IN NORTHERN
PAKISTAN
Since the early 1990’s the Bar valley in Northern Areas, Pakistan has been the focus
of a project designed to conserve its Himalayan ibex Capra ibex sibirica
population whilst using high-price trophy hunting to generate funds for local development
aid. In 2000 we carried out an audit of the project, to determine whether the ibex,
the local people or both have benefited. We retrospectively analysed ibex survey
data to determine density and productivity indices for each year so far. We also
conducted a questionnaire survey in Bar valley households to obtain both historical
and contemporary views on the project’s function and effectiveness. As a control,
the questionnaire survey was repeated in the adjacent Naltar valley where there has
been no project activity. The Bar valley ibex population has remained relatively
stable over the past decade, whilst those in Naltar and other valleys nearby have
all but disappeared. Early in the project there was a tight linkage between the maintenance
of a local hunting ban and the provision of development aid funds accrued from trophy
fees and other sources. More recently, aid has been given without trophy fees being
accrued and the local ban on ibex hunting has become less effective.
MAR, KHYNE U
Biology Department, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT and
Institute of Zoology, Regents’ Park, London, NW1 4RY (khyne.mar@ioz.ac.uk)
FACTORS AFFECTING MORTALITY OF CALVES BORN FROM THE WORKING ELEPHANTS OF MYANMAR
The largest population of captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the
world is found in the Union of Myanmar. This paper presents details of the mortality
of calves (n=651) born from the working elephants during 1942 and 1999. The study
population contains 6233 captive-born and captured adults and 3075 calves. This paper
extends the investigation of the relationship of calf mortality and (i) sex of calf
(ii) origin of mother (iii) parity (iv) age of mother at the time of parturition
and (vi) cause of death. Survivorship curves revealed that female calves and calves
born from captive-born mothers have significantly higher survival rates than the
male cohorts and those born from wild caught mothers, respectively, while calves
born from primiparous cows and second calves have significantly higher mortality
rate than later born calves. There is no correlation of calf mortality rate and
age of mother. Insufficient milk production is the single greatest cause of mortality
in calves born from working mothers. These findings demonstrate that current efforts
to improve the management of captive Asian elephant populations should focus on reduced
work load and supplemental feeding to pregnant and nursing cows and systematic taming
to captured elephants.
MILESI, FERNANDO A., Luis Marone, Javier Lopez de Casenave and Victor R. Cueto. Ecodes,
Dept. Biology, FCEyN, Univ. of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina (FM, JL, VC)
<lalifer@mbox.servicenet.com.ar>; Ecodes, IADIZA
Institute, Mendoza, Argentina (LM)
WHY USING GUILDS AS MANAGEMENT TOOLS?: A CASE WITH BIRDS, FIRE AND GRAZING IN THE
MONTE DESERT, ARGENTINA
Different supra-specific groupings (guilds, functional groups) are used as management
tools to obtain economical indicators of the state of resources or "health"
of local communities. We classified the species of birds at the central Monte Desert
(Biosfere Reserve of Ñacuñán, Argentina) into foraging and nesting
guilds, using local data of diet, foraging behaviour and nesting substrate, emphasising
microhabitat use. We estimated the density of each bird species and the structure
of the vegetation (cover of vegetation strata) in patches of protected open forest
and patches under the two most common perturbations in this system: fire and grazing.
We show that densities of most guilds are not correlated with the modifications in
the structure of the vegetation caused by the perturbations or with the richness
of the bird community, except for truisms (e.g., no trees: no birds nesting on trees),
and have no consistent intra-guild response. We also grouped species by their similar
response and found that these aggregates include species with no evident similarities
in their use of resources. Finally, we present the empirical, epistemological, logical
and ontological problems (e.g., costs, precision, extrapolative power, oversimplification,
circularity, fallacies, reification) of using this kind of approaches in management.
CORNELIUS, CINTIA. Department of Biology, University of Missouri St. Louis, 8001
Natural Bridge Rd., St. Louis, 63121 MO, USA (cc697@studentmail.umsl.edu)
BIRD ASSEMBLAGES IN FRAGMENTED SOUTH-TEMPERATE RAINFORESTS: LOCAL VS. REGIONAL COMPONENTS
OF HABITAT DESTRUCTION
South-temperate rainforests are a threatened ecosystem due to habitat degradation.
In this study, I compared forest fragments that differ in isolation, size, and disturbance
(e.g. cattle) to evaluate the relative effect of these attributes on the composition
and abundance of bird assemblages in rainforests of Chile. Relict forests located
in the north-central semiarid-scrub region (30º - 33ºS) provide a natural
experiment to assess the consequences of isolation, in contrast to less isolated
fragments located in the southern temperate-forest region (40º - 52ºS).
I conducted bird surveys following the point-count methodology in May through July
of 2000, in 8 relict fragments, 12 fragments in the southern region, and in a continuous
forest. There was a positive and significant relation between area and number of
species and abundance, but only a small part of the variation was explained by area.
Regardless of isolation, disturbed fragments had lower species richness and abundance
than expected. Area had a significantly stronger effect on disturbed than on undisturbed
fragments. These results emphasize the effects of habitat degradation over isolation
suggesting that local components of habitat destruction (e.g. habitat quality) can
be more important for bird population persistence in this system than landscape level
components (e.g. isolation).
FISHPOOL, LINCOLN & Mike Evans, BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton
Road, Cambridge, CB3 0NA, UK. (lincoln.fishpool@birdlife.org.uk)
CONSERVING BIRDS IN THE AFRICAN REGION; THE IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS APPROACH
Some 340 bird species of global conservation concern occur in the African region
and many others are declining as a result of, in particular, agricultural encroachment
and habitat clearance. BirdLife International’s Important Bird Area (IBA) programme
seeks to identify, document and protect networks of sites critical for the long-term
viability of bird populations across their geographical ranges. Resulting from an
8-year study by BirdLife’s African Partnership, 1,230 IBAs, selected using standardised
criteria, have been identified in the 58 countries and territories of Africa and
associated islands, a network which covers two million hectares or 7% of the land
surface. Numbers of sites per country range from 1 to 101 and the proportion which
are protected by national law varies between 0 and 100% (average 55%). The migrant
Lesser Kestrel is used to illustrate how networks of sites seek to protect particular
species across Africa and beyond, in the Middle East and Europe. Innovative approaches
to site protection, through the agency of local Site Support Groups, are described.
WILCOX, JENNIFER. School of Biology and Environmental Science, Murdoch University,
South St, Murdoch, Perth, Western Australia, 6150, (jen@westernwildlife.com.au).
THE CONSERVATION ROLE OF SUBURBAN GARDENS FOR BIRDS IN AN ISOLATED BUSHLAND REMNANT
(KINGS PARK, PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA).
Suburban gardens can play a role in conservation by providing resources to birds
living in isolated vegetation remnants. Kings Park contains 350ha of natural bushland,
and is isolated from other native vegetation in Perth by the Swan River and suburban
development. This project investigated bird dispersal between Kings Park and suburban
gardens, and their foraging ecology. Suburban gardens may act as a filter, allowing
some species to pass through but restrict others to native vegetation. Of the species
observed in Kings Park, three of 11 insectivores, three of five nectarivores, four
of five granivores and all three omnivores also occurred in adjacent gardens. Foraging
data indicate that gardens may provide additional sources of nectar, seed and lerps
in winter for birds from Kings Park. A lack of arthropod prey may limit some insectivore
dispersal through gardens. Larger, more mobile generalist species may persist in
native vegetation and utilise resources in gardens or disperse through gardens to
other areas of native vegetation. Small sedentary insectivores restricted to natural
bushland may be prone to extinction due to the stochastic and genetic effects of
isolation.
TUSHABE, HERBERT, Derek Pomeroy and Charlie Williams. Zoological Institute, University
of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100, Copenhagen O, Denmark. and Makerere
University Institute of Environment & Natural Resources, P. O. Box 7298, Kampala
<htushabe@hotmail.com> (HT), Makerere University
Institute of Environment & Natural Resources, P. O. Box 7298, Kampala, Uganda
(DP) and c/o The Royal Society for Protection of Birds, The Lodge,Sandy, Bedfordshire
SG19 2DL UK (CW)
ASSESSING REPRESENTATION OF TAXA FOR CONSERVATION STRATEGIES IN UGANDA’S IMPORTANT
BIRD AREAS (IBAS)
The search for minimising costs in identification of suitable areas for conservation
based on adequate species inventories continues, with scientists suggesting inventories
of a few indicator taxa that could be used as surrogates for un-inventoried ones.
The argument is that areas which are species rich for one or a few taxa, are generally
rich for others; and that rare species are concentrated in species rich areas. Using
methods based on taxon congruence and species complementarity of areas, a minimum
set of reserves can then be identified that could maximise species conservation at
minimal costs. In Uganda, thirty IBAs were identified based solely on bird inventories.
This study examines the use of surrogate taxa, by using data on various taxa collected
by a team whose overall objective is to assess the effectiveness of all IBAs in conserving
other taxa. Data for woody plants, butterflies and birds from two contrasting IBAs
(a wetland and forest) and a non-IBA site are used. Taking species richness estimators
and a species rarity scoring system, we find that birds provide a better surrogate
of overall biodiversity, and that site area is a key factor in congruence studies.
NAIDOO, ROBIN. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, T6G 2E9. <rnaidoo@ualberta.ca>
EFFECTS OF LANDUSE ON BIRD COMMUNITIES IN A TROPICAL FOREST — AGROFORESTRY LANDSCAPE
Landuse in the tropics is a key driver of biodiversity change. To estimate the effects
of landuse practices on biodiversity, I sampled bird communities and vegetation structure
of three habitats (primary forest, secondary forest, agroforestry) in and around
a forest reserve in southern Uganda. I surveyed each habitat twice (May, August
2001) using point count stations. In total 94 species were recorded from 192 point
counts. Species richness was highest in secondary forest, intermediate in primary
forest, and lowest in agroforestry habitats. Vegetation structure was less complex
in secondary forest and highly simplified in agroforestry habitats, relative to primary
forest. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed a strong correlation between
vegetation structure and bird community composition, with the first two CCA axes
explaining 68.2% of the variance in bird communities. A scatterplot of these two
axes showed that bird communities in primary forest were highly distinct from those
in agroforestry, and were composed of species with high forest dependence. Bird
communities of secondary forest were intermediate between primary forest and agroforestry,
although closer to primary forest. Agroforestry habitats have recently been touted
as harbouring greater-than-expected levels of forest biodiversity in several tropical
areas. This is not the case in southern Uganda.
LUCK, GARY, and Gretchen Daily. Centre for Conservation Biology, Department of Biological
Sciences, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA, 94305-5020, USA, (garyluck@stanford.edu).
BIRDS IN A TROPICAL COUNTRYSIDE: SPECIES RICHNESS AND COMPOSITION DIFFER WITH LANDSCAPE
CONTEXT.
In tropical regions worldwide, large tracts of rainforest have been replaced by agriculture.
The ability of tropical agricultural systems to support native organisms is poorly
known. We examined the capacity of agroecosystems in Costa Rica to provide resources
for avian frugivores. Bird assemblages visiting fruiting Miconia trees were
recorded in sites near (< 2 km) and far (5—8 km) to a large (227 ha) rainforest
remnant, split between high and low agricultural intensity, and within the rainforest
remnant. Across all landscape contexts, 73 species were observed taking fruit from
Miconia. Only seven species recorded in the rainforest were not observed in
the agricultural landscape. Species richness was highest in near, low intensity sites
(mean ± 1 SE 21.5 ± 1.79) and lowest in far, high intensity sites (14.1
± 0.89). Large, socially dominant frugivores were common visitors to trees
in far, high intensity sites, whereas the visitation rate of smaller, subordinate
frugivores often declined with distance from the large rainforest remnant. Agroecosystems
in our study area have a substantial capacity to provide resources for avian frugivores,
but this capacity appears to be greatly enhanced by the retention of rainforest patches
and remnant fruiting trees.
The SCB2002 pages are maintained by Christine Eagle
email: C.M.Eagle@ukc.ac.uk
Conference email: scb2002@ukc.ac.uk
Last updated: 08.07.02