Genetic information plays a pivotal role in species recognition and delimitation, but rare or extinct animals can be difficult to obtain genetic samples from. While natural history wet collections ...have proven invaluable in the description of novel species, the use of these historical samples in genetic studies has been greatly impeded by DNA degradation, especially because of formalin-fixation prior to preservation. Here, we use recently developed museum genomics approaches to determine the status of an isolated population of the elapid snake genus Hemachatus from Zimbabwe. We used multiple digestion phases followed by single strand sequencing library construction and hybridisation capture to obtain 12S and 16S rDNA sequences from a poorly preserved tissue sample of this population. Phylogenetic and morphological analyses in an integrated taxonomic framework demonstrate that the Zimbabwean rinkhals population represents an old and highly distinct lineage, which we describe as a new species, Hemachatus nyangensis sp. nov. Our phylogenetic dating analysis is compatible with venom spitting having evolved in response to the threat posed by early hominins, although more data are required for a robust test of this hypothesis. This description demonstrates the power of museum genomics in revealing rare or even extinct species: Hemachatus from Zimbabwe are only known from a small area of the Eastern Highlands known for high endemism. No living specimens have been seen since the 1980s, most likely due to dramatic land-use changes in the Eastern Highlands, suggesting that the species could be extinct. In view of its recognition as a highly distinct lineage, urgent action is required to determine whether any populations survive, and to safeguard remaining habitat.
Little is known about mating behaviors in arboreal snakes. We report three observations of mating in wild big-eyed pit vipers (Trimeresurus macrops) in northeast Thailand from 2013 to 2015. Mating ...occurred at the end of the rainy season, between 20 September and 28 October. One copulation occurred on the ground and two were arboreal (<1.5 m high). Females pulled males up trees during arboreal mating. Observations lasted from 2.2 to 12.9 h, but two of the three observations were initiated after copulation had started and were thus incomplete. Females were larger than males in all copulations. On one occasion a second male attempted to disrupt a mating pair using aggressive body movements and tail wrestling. All mating occurred in human disturbed forests, and two of them were observed in close proximity to human habitations.
Despite being known to exhibit arboreal behaviours, Kaloula pulchra, the banded bullfrog, is generally considered terrestrial in its habits and is well known for burrowing into substrate. Here we ...report seven observations, between October 2015 and March 2017, which document arboreal behaviors in banded bullfrogs in the Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve, Thailand. Our observations comprise the first record of banded bullfrogs predating invertebrates in an arboreal setting. Our observations of K. pulchra climbing large rain jars and subsequently becoming trapped inside also suggest a cause of death for this species. Additional surveys are needed to determine whether this phenomenon prevails throughout rural Thailand.
Genetic information plays a pivotal role in species recognition and delimitation, but rare or extinct animals can be difficult to obtain genetic samples from. While natural history wet collections ...have proven invaluable in the description of novel species, the use of these historical samples in genetic studies has been greatly impeded by DNA degradation, especially because of formalin-fixation prior to preservation. Here, we use recently developed museum genomics approaches to determine the status of an isolated population of the elapid snake genus Hemachatus from Zimbabwe. We used multiple digestion phases followed by single strand sequencing library construction and hybridisation capture to obtain 12S and 16S rDNA sequences from a poorly preserved tissue sample of this population. Phylogenetic and morphological analyses in an integrated taxonomic framework demonstrate that the Zimbabwean rinkhals population represents an old and highly distinct lineage, which we describe as a new species, Hemachatus nyangensis sp. nov. Our phylogenetic dating analysis is compatible with venom spitting having evolved in response to the threat posed by early hominins, although more data are required for a robust test of this hypothesis. This description demonstrates the power of museum genomics in revealing rare or even extinct species: Hemachatus from Zimbabwe are only known from a small area of the Eastern Highlands known for high endemism. No living specimens have been seen since the 1980s, most likely due to dramatic land-use changes in the Eastern Highlands, suggesting that the species could be extinct. In view of its recognition as a highly distinct lineage, urgent action is required to determine whether any populations survive, and to safeguard remaining habitat.
Deconstructing compassionate conservation Hayward, Matt W.; Callen, Alex; Allen, Benjamin L. ...
Conservation biology,
August 2019, 2019-08-00, 20190801, Letnik:
33, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Compassionate conservation focuses on 4 tenets: first, do no harm; individuals matter; inclusivity of individual animals; and peaceful coexistence between humans and animals. Recently, compassionate ...conservation has been promoted as an alternative to conventional conservation philosophy. We believe examples presented by compassionate conservationists are deliberately or arbitrarily chosen to focus on mammals; inherently not compassionate; and offer ineffective conservation solutions. Compassionate conservation arbitrarily focuses on charismatic species, notably large predators and megaherbivores. The philosophy is not compassionate when it leaves invasive predators in the environment to cause harm to vastly more individuals of native species or uses the fear of harm by apex predators to terrorize mesopredators. Hindering the control of exotic species (megafauna, predators) in situ will not improve the conservation condition of the majority of biodiversity. The positions taken by so‐called compassionate conservationists on particular species and on conservation actions could be extended to hinder other forms of conservation, including translocations, conservation fencing, and fertility control. Animal welfare is incredibly important to conservation, but ironically compassionate conservation does not offer the best welfare outcomes to animals and is often ineffective in achieving conservation goals. Consequently, compassionate conservation may threaten public and governmental support for conservation because of the limited understanding of conservation problems by the general public.
Deconstrucción de la Conservación Compasiva
Resumen
La conservación compasiva se enfoca en cuatro principios: no causar daño; los individuos importan; la integración de los animales individualmente; y la coexistencia pacífica entre los humanos u los animales. Recientemente, la conservación compasiva ha sido promovida como una alternativa a la filosofía convencional de la conservación. Creemos que los ejemplos presentados por los conservacionistas compasivos han sido elegidos arbitraria o deliberadamente por estar enfocados en los mamíferos; por ser inherentes y no compasivos; y por ofrecer soluciones de conservación poco efectivas. La conservación compasiva se enfoca arbitrariamente en las especies carismáticas, principalmente los grandes depredadores y los megaherbívoros. La filosofía no es compasiva cuando deja que los depredadores invasores dentro del ambiente causen daño a un vasto número de individuos nativos o usa el miedo al daño por superdepredadores para aterrorizar a los mesodepredadores. El entorpecimiento del control de especies exóticas (megafauna, depredadores) in situ no mejorará las condiciones de conservación de la mayoría de la biodiversidad, incluso si los conservacionistas compasivos no dañan a los individuos exóticos. Las posiciones que toman los llamados conservacionistas compasivos sobre especies particulares y sobre las acciones de conservación podrían extenderse para entorpecer otros tipos de conservación, incluyendo las reubicaciones, el encercado para la conservación y el control de la fertilidad. El bienestar animal es increíblemente importante para la conservación e irónicamente, la conservación compasiva no ofrece los mejores resultados de bienestar para los animales y comúnmente es poco efectiva en el logro de los objetivos de conservación. Como consecuencia, la conservación compasiva puede poner en peligro el apoyo público y del gobierno que tiene la conservación debido al entendimiento poco limitado que tiene el público general sobre los problemas de conservación.
摘要
同理心保护注重四项原则: 不制造伤害、心系每一条生命、不排斥每一种动物, 以及人与动物和平共处。目前, 同理心保护已经被推崇为传统保护哲学的替代选择。然而, 我们认为同理心保护主义者有意或武断地挑选了哺乳动物作为范例, 这在本质上并不具备同理心, 且他们提供的保护方案也不实际。同理心保护常常不加判断地只关注明星物种, 尤其是大型食肉动物和食草动物;若是保留环境中的入侵食肉动物, 从而对原生种造成巨大伤害, 抑或是利用顶级捕食者来威慑中等食肉动物, 这样的保护理念实际上都没有同理心。即便同理心保护主义者没有直接伤害外来物种的个体, 阻止对外来物种 (大型动物、食肉动物) 的就地种群控制, 也不能改善组成生物多样性的大部分物种的保护情况。所谓的同理心保护主义者对特定物种或是特定保护行动所采取的立场, 甚至会阻碍其它形式的保护, 如迁地保护、围栏保护和繁殖控制等。动物福利对保护极为重要, 然而讽刺的是, 同理心保护不仅没有给动物提供最优的福利条件, 还通常不利于实现保护目标。因此, 鉴于公众对保护问题的认知有限, 同理心保护可能会威胁到公众和政府对保护的支持。翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚
Article impact statement: Compassionate conservation has an arbitrary focus on mammals, lacks compassion, and offers ineffective conservation solutions.
The ‘Compassionate Conservation’ movement is gaining momentum through its promotion of ‘ethical’ conservation practices based on self-proclaimed principles of ‘first-do-no-harm’ and ‘individuals ...matter’. We argue that the tenets of ‘Compassionate Conservation’ are ideological - that is, they are not scientifically proven to improve conservation outcomes, yet are critical of the current methods that do. In this paper we envision a future with ‘Compassionate Conservation’ and predict how this might affect global biodiversity conservation. Taken literally, ‘Compassionate Conservation’ will deny current conservation practices such as captive breeding, introduced species control, biocontrol, conservation fencing, translocation, contraception, disease control and genetic introgression. Five mainstream conservation practices are used to illustrate the far-reaching and dire consequences for global biodiversity if governed by ‘Compassionate Conservation’. We acknowledge the important role of animal welfare science in conservation practices but argue that ‘Compassionate Conservation’ aligns more closely with animal liberation principles protecting individuals over populations. Ultimately we fear that a world of ‘Compassionate Conservation’ could stymie the global conservation efforts required to meet international biodiversity targets derived from evidenced based practice, such as the Aichi targets developed by the Convention on Biological Diversity and adopted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the United Nations.
•‘Compassionate Conservation’ causes more harm to biodiversity than it aims to stop•Focusing on individuals will lead to extinction of many species and populations.•‘Compassionate Conservationists’ apply only selective aspects of human morality•Conservation via captive breeding, translocation and contraception will be hindered
Genetic information plays a pivotal role in species recognition and delimitation, but rare or extinct animals can be difficult to obtain genetic samples from. While natural history wet collections ...have proven invaluable in the description of novel species, the use of these historical samples in genetic studies has been greatly impeded by DNA degradation, especially because of formalin-fixation prior to preservation. Here, we use recently developed museum genomics approaches to determine the status of an isolated population of the elapid snake genus Hemachatus from Zimbabwe. We used multiple digestion phases followed by single strand sequencing library construction and hybridisation capture to obtain 12S and 16S rDNA sequences from a poorly preserved tissue sample of this population. Phylogenetic and morphological analyses in an integrated taxonomic framework demonstrate that the Zimbabwean rinkhals population represents an old and highly distinct lineage, which we describe as a new species, Hemachatus nyangensis sp. nov. Our phylogenetic dating analysis is compatible with venom spitting having evolved in response to the threat posed by early hominins, although more data are required for a robust test of this hypothesis. This description demonstrates the power of museum genomics in revealing rare or even extinct species: Hemachatus from Zimbabwe are only known from a small area of the Eastern Highlands known for high endemism. No living specimens have been seen since the 1980s, most likely due to dramatic land-use changes in the Eastern Highlands, suggesting that the species could be extinct. In view of its recognition as a highly distinct lineage, urgent action is required to determine whether any populations survive, and to safeguard remaining habitat.
In a world built on a hyper-connected business ecosystem, a breach in any area of that system can have a significant impact on a company's bottom line and – what's worse – damage its reputation. This ...can be seen in the recent headlines on major cyber-attacks spreading across countries and heavily impacting organisations we all rely on.
The desire for access to company data is leading to a surge in increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks. And the quantity of threat data being generated means the normal methods of observing and reporting can no longer keep pace.
To fend off cyber-criminals, organisations need to be able to spot certain behaviours and characteristics that attackers exhibit when planning an attack. As the industry continues to refine predictive cyber-security tools, our ability to track malware and hone in on cyber-criminals' movements will become even more effective at stopping cyber-attacks, argues Tom Major of Level 3 Communications.
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