The wild yak Bos mutus is one of the most charismatic members of the Tibet/Qinghai Plateau fauna, and 19th century explorers to the plateau described vast herds. Overhunting, in particular, has greatly reduced wild yak populations and forced them into remote areas. The species is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and as a Class 1 protected animal in China. Introgression with domestic yaks is another threat, and the wild yak population of the Arjinshan Nature Reserve is particularly important because Uigher herders in and around Arjinshan do not have the tradition of raising yaks. We provide information on the status of the wild yak in Arjinshan based on observations in 1993 and on vehicle surveys during 1998–2009 and point samples from 2009. The steppes of north-east Arjinshan are the most important area, and we saw c. 1,700 yaks there in winter 2008. We saw more yaks in the north-east on similar routes driven in winter 2008 compared to winter 2005, suggesting that the wild yak population in Arjinshan is stable or increasing.

The Chelonia face an extinction crisis, particularly in Asia: unsustainable harvests, and habitat fragmentation and loss accompanying rapid urbanization and land development all pose threats to turtles. These threats are particularly acute for those species with a high commercial value such as the yellow-margined box turtle Cuora flavomarginata. Because of burgeoning demand in the food and pet markets, combined with extensive habitat loss, C. flavomarginata is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. To investigate the status and distribution of this species in Taiwan we conducted an extensive trapping survey in 2001–2008, locating a total of 527 different individuals at 23 sites. Our results show that C. flavomarginata is restricted to low-elevation forested hills. Populations in lowland areas may have been extirpated by land development. There are four clusters of localities in low-elevation primary and secondary forests, and some relatively large populations survive. However, capture success at most sites was low. In those sites where we trapped > 20 individuals, sex ratios were significantly skewed towards females and adults predominated. The most essential measure for the conservation of C. flavomarginata in Taiwan is to secure and preserve some relatively undisturbed habitats at low elevations.

Parasites place their hosts under strong selection for adaptive traits that increase parasite resistance. The initial impact of invasive parasites has rarely been observed and can be particularly strong on naïve hosts with limited prior exposure to parasites. Philornis downsi is an introduced fly to the Galapagos Islands whose parasitic larvae cause high mortality in nestlings of Darwin's finches. We used a within-nest camera system and nest monitoring data to examine this new host–parasite interaction in the wild. Many P. downsi flies entered finch nests with incubated eggs or nestlings but only when parent finches were not present. Parasitic P. downsi larvae were observed to emerge from the nest base at night to feed both internally and externally on nestlings. Adult and nestling Darwin’s finches exhibit grooming and avoidance behaviours in the presence of P. downsi parasites. Specifically, in nests with high parasite intensity, nestlings increased self-preening behaviour, ate larvae and stood on top of one another. Female finches probed into their nestling’s nares (first instar larvae reside in the nares) and probed into the nest base (second and third larvae reside in the nest base during the day). These findings shed light on the emergence of anti-parasite behaviour as well as host–parasite relationships after recent parasitism in a naïve host.

While little is known about hawksbill turtles Eretmochelys imbricata in the eastern Pacific Ocean, available information suggests that the population has declined substantially in recent decades and could be near extirpation in the region. To evaluate the current status of the population more effectively and to determine the feasibility of recovery efforts, a workshop of regional marine turtle specialists was held in June 2008 in Los Cóbanos, El Salvador. An international working group, Iniciativa Carey del Pacífico Oriental (ICAPO; Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative in English), was established to consolidate information, promote conservation projects and raise awareness about the species. We present information derived from the workshop and compiled by the ICAPO working group since that time. Considering only records from 1 January 2007 to 31 May 2009 it appears that El Salvador hosts the majority of known hawksbill turtle nesting activity in the eastern Pacific, with 79.6% (n = 430) of all nesting observation records, and Mexico hosts the majority of records of hawksbill turtles at sea, with 60.3% (n = 44) of all in-water observation records. Although current abundance is very low, the pervasiveness of the species in the region suggests potential for conservation and recovery. Despite a historical paucity of research focusing on this population, the relatively large and steadily increasing number of records as a result of concerted efforts demonstrates the viability of the ICAPO network as an instrument to promote conservation of this species in the eastern Pacific.

The yellow-headed parrot Amazona oratrix is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List but little is known about its distribution, particularly along the Pacific coast of Mexico. We used ecological niche models, with presence records from museum collections and historical sightings, overlain on vegetation maps, to predict the historical range of the yellow-headed parrot along the Pacific coast of Mexico. We compared this with the current range of the species, estimated with ecological niche models using presence–absence data from surveys during 2003–2008. We estimate that the range of the yellow-headed parrot along Mexico’s Pacific coast has contracted by 79%. The current range may now cover only 18,957 km2, in three main areas. At one of these, a small isolated area on the coast of Jalisco, the species may be vulnerable to extirpation or genetic endogamy. There is a lack of conserved tropical semi-deciduous forest, which provides optimal habitat for reproduction of this parrot, within the current range of the species. Only the south, along the coast of Oaxaca, has extensive areas of this habitat. There are only three, small, protected areas within the species’ current range. Conservation strategies need to be implemented to restore connectivity between the three main areas of the current range of the yellow-headed parrot on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

We surveyed the Tapajós–Arapiuns Extractive Reserve in Brazilian Amazonia to investigate hunting of jaguars Panthera onca and pumas Puma concolor. We interviewed 115 people in 45 villages in 2007–2008, and recorded numbers of jaguars and pumas killed and the circumstances associated with each killing. At least 32 jaguars and 22 pumas were killed in the Reserve, most within the last 10 years. However, these are underestimates because people probably did not mention all kills during interviews. The first-order jackknife suggests that the actual mortality for the two species is almost double that reported. Using data from 2006–2007 as a reference we estimated a minimum mortality of 12 jaguars and seven pumas per year in the Reserve. Most animals were killed during chance encounters, a large number of these elicited by domestic dogs. Hunting motivated by livestock predation or perceived risks to human life were rare. Hunters kill large carnivores on sight and thus one alternative to reduce hunting is to take measures that will decrease encounter rates, such as forbidding hunting with dogs. Education and extension programmes are needed to ensure the long-term coexistence of humans and large carnivores in this Reserve.