Felid species have intrinsic ecological traits that make them particularly susceptible to the threats of habitat loss and fragmentation. We collate current knowledge of the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on felids, describing trends, investigating the allocation of research effort and identifying knowledge gaps. We searched the scientific literature and categorized articles according to conceptual and methodological approaches. We reviewed 162 articles and observed that scientific knowledge is unevenly distributed among topics and species. Habitat suitability and patch–landscape configuration are the most studied topics. The allocation of research effort is unrelated to variables that describe conservation priorities, such as threat status and habitat availability within a species’ range, but it is related to body size, suggesting that charismatic attributes influence the choice of target species. Countries with less research effort are also those with less economic development, and thus North America and Europe are the centres of knowledge generation of reviewed studies. The responses of sixteen felid species to habitat loss and fragmentation remain unknown. Of these the Andean mountain cat Leopardus jacobita, the Bornean bay cat Pardofelis badia, the flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps and the fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus most urgently require research because they are threatened with extinction. We recommend the use of theoretical approaches, through modelling exercises, as a first step to address the lack of information about the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on felids, especially for those species for which there are large knowledge gaps.

The co-extinction of parasitic taxa and their host species is considered a common phenomenon in the current global extinction crisis. However, information about the conservation status of parasitic taxa is scarce. We present a global list of co-extinct and critically co-endangered parasitic lice (Phthiraptera), based on published data on their host-specificity and their hosts’ conservation status according to the IUCN Red List. We list six co-extinct and 40 (possibly 41) critically co-endangered species. Additionally, we recognize 2–4 species that went extinct as a result of conservation efforts to save their hosts. Conservationists should consider preserving host-specific lice as part of their efforts to save species.

Amburana cearensis is a commercially valuable timber species, categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. It is distributed throughout the seasonal dry tropical forests of Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. In Argentina it is restricted to the provinces of Salta, where legislation sets a minimum cutting diameter of 60 cm, and Jujuy, where logging of this species has been banned since 1972. The effect of these laws on the species’ conservation status has not been assessed. We estimated species density, using distance sampling methodology, and measured the diameter at breast height of each individual encountered at 13 sites in north-west Argentina. Across both provinces we found a density of 1.12 individuals ha−1 (95% CI 0.48–2.63) and there was no significant difference between the density in Salta (5.15 ha−1;; 95% CI 3.14–8.45) and that in Jujuy (3.67 ha−1;; 95% CI 2.59–5.17), although 84% of the individuals encountered in Salta were found at one site. Diameter at breast height was significantly lower in Salta than in Jujuy (23 ± 12 vs 41 ± 18 cm; P < 0.05). These differences in the demography of the species between the provinces may be attributable to the application of different legislation. Our results indicate that it would be prudent to halt logging of this species in Salta until further information is gathered and a sustainable management plan developed.

The Mediterranean islands support a rich diversity of flora, with a high percentage of endemic species. We used the IUCN categories and criteria to assess the conservation status of 16 endemic plant taxa (species and subspecies) of the Tuscan Archipelago, based on data collected during field surveys over 4 years. Our data were sufficient to use criteria B, C and D in our assessment. We used criterion B in the assessment of all 16 taxa, criterion C for four taxa, criterion D for 11 taxa and criteria B, C and D for three taxa, Centaurea gymnocarpa, Limonium doriae and Silene capraria. According to our results L. doriae, Romulea insularis and S. capraria are categorized as Critically Endangered and therefore require immediate conservation measures; eight taxa are categorized as Endangered, two as Vulnerable and three as Near Threatened. Compared to earlier assessments, eight species are recategorized with a higher degree of threat, two species are recategorized with a lower degree of threat, five are unchanged, and one species is assessed for the first time. Based on the IUCN categorization our results show that all the endemic species of the Tuscan Archipelago are directly and/or indirectly threatened by human activities, such as tourism and agriculture, and invasive species of plants and animals. The Tuscan Archipelago National Park is responsible for the conservation of all endemic species in the area.

The Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis is the only strepsirrhine primate in north-east India. It is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The limited information on its status and ecology is the main hindrance to developing a conservation strategy for this species in India. Therefore during February 2009–May 2010 we surveyed the species in 16 protected areas in Assam and one protected area in Arunachal Pradesh. We used recce transects to estimate encounter rates for the species. A team of 3–4 conducted night-time surveys (18.00–03.00) on foot, covering 370 km over 99 full and 28 partial nights. We recorded lorises a total of 22 times in nine protected areas in Assam and three times in the protected area in Arunachal Pradesh. The mean distance of lorises from transects at the time of encounter was 15.04 m, at a mean height of 12.36 m above ground. The encounter rate was 0.06–0.2 lorises per km, which is relatively low compared to encounter rates for slow lorises elsewhere in their range but higher than recorded by other studies in north-east India. We found that despite hunting and habitat loss Bengal slow lorises still exist in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, albeit patchily within a forest block. The protected area network in these states is important for their conservation.

We conducted a survey of the distribution and population status of the eastern hoolock gibbon Hoolock leuconedys in non-protected fragmented forest areas of the Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh, India, during September 2010–June 2011. We estimated the minimum population density at seven study sites by direct observation and by counting the number of vocalizations heard from groups that were out of view. We used 1-ha belt transects (500 × 20 m) to estimate tree diversity in the study area. For two groups of gibbons we recorded their feeding patterns in forest fragments, using focal individual sampling, during May 2011. A total of 54 groups and three solitary individuals were recorded: 39 groups and three individuals through visual encounter and 15 groups through vocalization recognition. The mean group size recorded was 2.89 ± SE 0.11 (range 2–4). We counted a total of 289 trees, of 26 species and 17 families, in 18 belt transect surveys covering all non-protected fragments of the Lower Dibang Valley district. The gibbons' diet consisted of seasonal fruits and figs (29%), leaves (65%), seeds (2%) and flowers (0.5%). The major threats recorded at the study sites were habitat destruction and hunting. To protect the Vulnerable eastern hoolock gibbon, conservation measures will need to involve local communities.

Large-scale forest encroachment in Assam, India, has led to increasing levels of human–elephant conflict. Conflict mitigation is a priority for the survival of Asian elephants Elephas maximus throughout Asia. We analysed a 3-year dataset of elephant occurrence and related instances of human–elephant conflict, from two sites in Assam, and explored the relationships between the various effects of elephants on human communities and factors influencing the spatial and temporal occurrence of these effects (proximity to water, refuge areas and villages, and human and crop density). The landscapes at both study sites have been transformed by forest loss, with large areas converted to agriculture. Remaining forest patches, which are mostly small, disconnected and degraded, as well as tea plantations, provide refuge areas for elephants as they move through the region. We found that crop depredation and property damage caused by elephants showed well-defined seasonal trends. They also showed a clear diurnal pattern, mostly occurring between 18.00 and 22.00. Small communities within 700 m of a refuge were most affected. In the management of human–elephant conflict in Assam we need to consider the refuge patches used by elephants as they move through the region, the peripheries of which are likely to be conflict hotspots. Small villages on the edges of refuges should be a priority for conflict mitigation assistance, with strategies taking into account seasonal and diurnal variation in elephant behaviour, as well as the socio-economic and cultural composition of communities.

Information on the abundance of tigers Panthera tigris is essential for effective conservation of the species. The main aim of this study was to determine the status of tigers in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, including the Churia hills, using a camera-trap based mark–recapture abundance estimate. Camera traps (n = 310) were placed in an area of 1,261 km2 from 20 January to 22 March 2010. The study area was divided into three blocks and each block was trapped for 19–21 days, with a total effort of 3,582 man-days, 170 elephant-days and 4,793 camera-trap nights. The effectively camera-trapped area was 2,596 km2. Camera stations were located 1.5–2 km apart. Sixty-two tigers (age ⩾ 1.5 years), comprising 15 males, 41 females and six of unidentified sex, were identified from 344 photographs. The heterogeneity model Mh (jackknife) was the best fit for the capture history data. A capture probability ( $\hat P$ ) of 0.05 was obtained, generating a population estimate ( $\hat N$ ) of 125 ± SE 21.8 tigers. The density of tigers in the area, including Churia and Barandabhar (buffer zone forest linked with mid hill forest), was estimated to be 4.5 ± SE 0.35 tigers per 100 km2, using a Bayesian spatially explicit capture–recapture model in SPACECAP. Our study showed the use of Churia by tigers and we therefore conclude that the Chitwan tiger population serves as a source to maintain tiger occupancy of the larger landscape that comprises Chitwan National Park, Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Barandabhar buffer zone, Someswor forest in Nepal and Valmiki Tiger Reserve in India.

We conducted surveys for the Endangered Sierra Madre yellow-legged frog Rana muscosa throughout southern California to evaluate the current distribution and status of the species. Surveys were conducted during 2000–2009 at 150 unique streams and lakes within the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, San Jacinto, and Palomar mountains of southern California. Only nine small, geographically isolated populations were detected across the four mountain ranges, and all tested positive for the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Our data show that when R. muscosa is known to be present it is easily detectable (89%) in a single visit during the frog's active season. We estimate that only 166 adult frogs remained in the wild in 2009. Our research indicates that R. muscosa populations in southern California are threatened by natural and stochastic events and may become extirpated in the near future unless there is some intervention to save them.

Understanding the importance of bushmeat consumption for household nutrition, both in rural and urban settings, is critical to developing politically acceptable ways to reduce unsustainable exploitation. This study provides insights into bushmeat consumption patterns relative to the consumption of other meat (from the wild, such as fish and caterpillars, or from domestic sources, such as beef, chicken, pork, goat and mutton) among children from Province Orientale, Democratic Republic of Congo. Our results show that urban and rural households consume more meat from the wild than from domestic sources. Of the various types of wild meat, bushmeat and fish are the most frequently consumed by children from Kisangani and fish is the most frequently consumed in villages. Poorer urban households eat meat less frequently but consume bushmeat more frequently than wealthier households. In urban areas poorer households consume common bushmeat species more frequently and wealthier households eat meat from larger, threatened species more frequently. Urban children eat more bushmeat from larger species (duiker Cephalophus spp. and red river hog Potamochoerus porcus) than rural children (rodents, small monkeys), probably because rural households tend to consume the less marketable species or the smaller animals. We show that despite the tendency towards more urbanized population profiles and increased livelihood opportunities away from forest and farms, wildlife harvest remains a critical component of nutritional security and diversity in both rural and urban areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The woylie Bettongia penicillata is categorized as Critically Endangered, having declined by c. 90% between 1999 and 2006. The decline continues and the cause is not fully understood. Within a decline diagnosis framework we characterized the nature of the decline and identified potential causes, with a focus on the species’ largest populations, located in south-west Western Australia. We described the spatio-temporal pattern of the decline, and several attributes that are common across sites. We categorized the potential causes of the decline as resources, predators, disease and direct human interference. Based on the available evidence the leading hypothesis is that disease may be making woylies more vulnerable to predation but this remains to be tested. No substantial recoveries have been sustained to date, and one of the three remaining indigenous populations now appears to be extinct. Therefore, verifying the factors causing the decline and those limiting recovery is becoming increasingly urgent. Active adaptive management can be used to test putative agents, such as introduced predators. Insurance populations and ecological monitoring should also be included in an integrated conservation and management strategy for the species.