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IUCN SSC Species e-bulletin October 2015
October 2015
News from the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Global Species Programme
HEADLINE NEWS
Illegal trade contributes to placing cacti among world’s most threatened species – IUCN Red List Thirty-one percent of cactus species are threatened with extinction, according to the first comprehensive, global assessment of the species group by IUCN and partners, published recently in the journal Nature Plants. This places cacti among the most threatened taxonomic groups assessed on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ more threatened than mammals and birds. Cacti are under increasing pressure from human activity, with more than half of the world‟s 1,480 cactus species used by people. The illegal trade of live plants and seeds for the horticultural industry and private collections, as well as their unsustainable harvesting are the main threats to cacti, affecting 47% of threatened species. Read more
Save Our Species announces the first 9 projects under special initiative SOS Lemurs With the announcement of the first nine new lemur conservation projects by SOS - Save Our Species, the future is looking that little bit brighter for these charismatic primates and the communities who depend on their survival. Specifically, these projects will be supporting direct conservation work in nine different priority locations while helping protect 24 threatened lemur species. This includes AyeAyes, Sifakas and Indris as well as many lesser known ones. In total this first phase of funding under will help protect 9 Critically Endangered, 9 Endangered and 6 Vulnerable species as classified by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Read more
IUCN SSC position statement on the culling of the Mauritius Fruit Bat The Species Survival Commission (SSC) has been informed that the Government of Mauritius has decided to implement a cull of the Mauritius Fruit Bat Pteropus niger due to the alleged damage it causes to commercial fruit crops. The IUCN SSC Bat Specialist Group (BSG) has closely followed the situation with Mauritian Fruit Bats for several years. In 2010 the ex-Co-Chair of the BSG, Professor Paul Racey, and the former Coordinator of the IUCN SSC Bat Red List Authority Coordinator, Mr Tony Hutson, visited Mauritius to discuss management issues relating to this species. They were able to have discussions with stakeholders, see the problem first hand, and provide advice. The Mauritius Fruit Bat is globally threatened, being listed as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Read the full statement here
Red List bird update - vultures, shorebirds and other iconic species The plight of Africa's Vultures is big news for the latest assessment of birds for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, carried out by Red List partner BirdLife International. Worldwide, 40 more bird species are now classified as having a higher risk of extinction in the 2015 Red List. Besides the vultures, these include many wading shorebirds, and other iconic species like Helmeted Hornbill, Swift Parrot, Atlantic Puffin, and European Turtle-dove. Conversely, 23 species of birds have been downgraded to lower threat categories. In some cases, this reflects a better understanding of how they are faring, but some species have undergone remarkable recoveries as a result of conservation action, including Seychelles Warbler and Chatham Petrel. Read more
SPECIALIST GROUP NEWS
Afrotheria Issue no. 11 October 2015 of Afrotherian Conservation includes articles on evidence of an undescribed form of treehyrax in the forests of western Nigeria and notes on hyrax in South Sinaiâ€&#x;s high mountains along with a report from a conservation planning workshop on tenrecs (Tenrecidae) in Madagascar.
We are saddened to learn of the loss of Bill Stanley who suffered a fatal heart attack while on a mammal collecting expedition in Ethiopia in early October. He was 58. An active member of the Afrotheria Specialist Group, Bill contributed recently to Red List updates. He also mentored and inspired an untold number of students, and worked closely with many colleagues world-wide, but especially from Africa, Europe, and the United States.
Seahorse, Pipefish & Stickleback Celebrating two years of seahorse citizen science and conservation - iSeahorse turns two this month! Since its launch in October 2013, this pioneering citizen science and conservation program has inspired new scientific discoveries, increased public awareness, and generated important new protections for seahorses. Read more
Small Mammals The two Co-chairs attended the SSC Leaders' meeting in Abu Dhabi and used this as a great opportunity to meet up with colleagues in the Global Mammal Assessment team to discuss progress and make work plans for the next few months. At the meeting it was noted that only 25% of specialist groups have Twitter accounts and the SMSG is one of these few: you can follow us at @IUCN_SMSG. The SMSG gave presentations to staff at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey and provided Red List training for members of the Mammal Department with the aim of promoting the group and to encourage participation in the huge Red List effort for our 2800+ species.
Free Bsal testing kits available for pet salamanders and newts If you have a pet salamander/newt then you have probably heard about the new fungal disease Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) that is killing salamanders in Europe. With North America being so important for salamanders we need to protect both wild and captive salamanders and newts as quickly as possible. The easiest way to ensure that your salamander is healthy and does not pose a risk to wild populations is to
get it tested. For a limited time we will test for FREE swabs that we receive from pet salamanders/newts in the Contiguous US. Learn more
Conservation Breeding CBSG e-update for October available in English, French and Spanish. Read reports on the 2015 CBSG Annual Meeting, One Plan Approach Workshop for Brazilian Zoos, Health Contributions to Galápagos Conservation, Plains Wanderer Conservation Planning, Kuwait National BioBank Workshop, Species Conservation Toolkit Initiative Update, and the SSC Leaders‟ Meeting.
Conservation Breeding - new WAZA strategies Many CBSG members contributed to two new strategies on Animal Welfare and Conservation published recently by WAZA. The two strategies will serve as guiding documents for WAZA members and the global conservation and animal welfare communities at large. Congratulations to WAZA and all contributors! Both strategies are available for download:
Committing to Conservation: The World Zoo and Aquarium Conservation Strategy
Caring for Wildlife: The World Zoo and Aquarium Animal Welfare Strategy
RED LIST NEWS
IUCN Red List enters a new era! The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species joins the growing list of open access online scientific publications with its own International Standard Serial Number (ISSN 23078235). All current global assessments published on The IUCN Red List can now be downloaded as stand-alone PDF documents, each with its own unique DOI reference, making them permanently retrievable and easier to cite. The PDF document includes all of the information that appears in the species account on the web site, including:
The distribution map
Classification scheme codes for habitats, use & trade, threats & stresses, and conservation actions
Completed data fields from the assessment in the Species Information Service (SIS), such as population size, decline rates, EOO and AOO measurements, subpopulation data, etc.
Historic assessments listed in the current species accounts will also, where appropriate, be turned into PDFs with DOIs, making The IUCN Red List even more open and transparent. To download the PDF version of an assessment, click on the „Download assessment‟ hyperlink at the top of a species account on The IUCN Red List web site.
New features and tools on the IUCN Red List website
Regional assessments are more visible on the web site. The Other Search Options panel includes a checkbox to include these assessments in your search. Hyperlinks to existing regional assessments also appear by default on species account pages for global Red List assessments.
Web site searches can be saved for later use, and saved searches include a search results permalink to share with others.
Use the Spatial Data Download page (in the Resources section) to request spatial data exports for groups of taxa. Download individual map data from the map browser (follow the map link in the species account page).
The Spatial Data Resources page contains a wealth of GIS mapping tools and guidance documents. Free Esri GIS licences are also available to SSC members
Contact RedList@iucn.org for more information.
CONSERVATION IN ACTION - SOS NEWS
Tuning into Sawfish Conservation West African Style Most people love a good story, reasons Armelle Jung, the AfricaSaw Project Coordinator with Des Requins et Des Hommes (DRDH), working in Western Africa to save sawfishes from entanglement in fishing lines. “So we decided to weave one about Sawfish conservation into the daily life of a Senegalese fisher family”, she explains. In addition to direct engagement and information materials the project team wanted to scale up awareness raising. A radio play was the ideal solution because it could incorporate several messages into one familiar story – and the results have been very encouraging. Read more
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Minecraft launch highlights the threat of wildlife extinction The virtual world of Minecraft is helping to show young people the sad reality that some of our wild animals could disappear forever. In "We are the Rangers” players take on the role of rangers, to save those precious animals that may soon disappear. Set in the African savannah it‟s a fun way to deal with real and serious issues and learn about conservation. Visit WeAreTheRangers.com for more information on how to get the map, and get involved! If you don't play Minecraft, then please spread the word to anyone you know that does!
EAZA Conservation Forum 2016, 11-13 May 2016 – Fuengirola Spain – Building Bridges The SSC and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) are working hard to foster stronger collaboration on species conservation especially on linking insitu and ex-situ expertise. The EAZA Conservation Forum offers an occasion where the field conservation community and the zoo and aquaria community can connect and exchange experiences. If you are a member of IUCN and want to understand these opportunities for partnering with the EAZA community, the upcoming Conservation Forum will be a great place to hear about priority initiatives, meet key players and forge or expand these relationships. Visit the website for more information and feel free to submit abstracts and ideas to further develop the programme!
LIFE project funds new assessments for IUCN's European Red List A new project, partly funded by the European Commission‟s LIFE financial instrument will allow for the assessment of approximately 4,000 additional species and their subsequent addition to the European Red List. Invertebrate species and plants will be the beneficiaries of these assessments, which will bring the total number of species assessed on the continent from 9,375 species to more than 15,000 by 2018, when the newly-financed assessments are set to be completed. Read more
Certification and Biodiversity - How Voluntary Certification Standards impact biodiversity and human livelihoods: call for abstracts SSC is partnering with CEESP in soliciting expressions of interest and abstracts from those interested in the biodiversity and social impacts of voluntary certification standards (VCS) and call for abstracts of up to 250 words for short articles (2500 – 5000 words) on this topic. The articles may be conceptual or empirical in nature but
case studies with practical examples that demonstrate a positive (or negative) impact on biodiversity and associated human livelihoods are particularly sought. The overall aim is to describe and evaluate key elements of VCS that protect and enhance biodiversity and human livelihoods. Full details
Please update your personal profile in the Union Portal Your Union Portal profile links back to the main IUCN database where the information is stored in a secure and protected system. Many details such as the organisation members work for are out of date and many details are just missing. Please login to the portal to check and complete your profile - go to IUCN Union Portal Use the recover password function if you need to.
IPBES Three notifications recently released by IPBES:
Call for comments on the draft scoping document for the global assessment: (Deadline 3 Nov).
Call for comments on the revised draft scoping document for the methodological assessment on the diverse conceptualization of values:(Deadline 31 Oct).
Call for nominations of candidates for the Bureau of the Plenary of IPBES: (Deadline 30 Nov).
Contact Mrs Laurence Perianin, IPBES Programme Officer if you have any questions about IUCN‟s engagement in IPBES.
CIC Markhor Award 2016 - Nominations The CIC Markhor Award honors a conservation project of multinational relevance
that links the conservation of biodiversity and human livelihoods through application of sustainable use principles. The Markhor Award is granted every two years at the occasion of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The CIC needs your help in finding excellent candidates for the prize. Nominations should be presented latest by the end of November 2015 and the nominator of the award winning candidate will be granted with 500 EUR reward! Details here
Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge People’s Choice Award The Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge has launched a People‟s Choice Award competition. The public is invited to vote for the solutions they think are the most innovative and impactful in the fight against wildlife crime. The People‟s Choice Awardee(s) and their solution(s) will be featured on the Challenge website as a way to increase their visibility. Voting will run until November 16 on the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge Facebook group and voting page (email address required to vote). Though the People‟s Choice Award competition is entirely separate from the Prize Winner selection process, both Prize Winners and the People‟s Choice Awardee(s) will be announced at the same time in late 2015.
PUBLICATIONS
Green Plants in the Red: A Baseline Global Assessment for the IUCN Sampled Red List Index for Plants This is the first evidence based estimate of global extinction risk in plants. By assessing a randomly selected sample of species we get a view of how threatened plants are, and the results suggest as many as one in five plants are at risk. This responds to both the second target of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation and „Aichi‟ target 12 from the Convention on Biological Diversity. The work is based on a huge collaborative effort between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Natural History Museum, London and IUCN, as well as many partners and collaborators around the world. It sets the baseline from which we can monitor change in status of plants over time. Read or download the paper here