The common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius can significantly influence the dynamics of ecosystems and engender serious conflicts with people but, in Kenya, one of the species strongholds, it has been little studied or monitored. We surveyed the hippopotamus population in the Masai Mara National Reserve and the adjoining pastoral ranches in 2006 using foot counts along 155.3 km of the main rivers. We counted 4,170 hippopotamuses in 171 schools. Comparisons with earlier surveys suggest that this population increased by 169.6% between 1971 and 1980 within the reserve and, although it did not increase within the reserve during 1980–2006, it increased by 359.4% outside the reserve during this period against a background of deteriorating habitat conditions. The overall density in 2006 was 26.9 hippopotamuses km-1 of river, equivalent to a biomass of 26,677 kg km-1 of river. The ratio of calves to 100 adults was 9:100 inside the reserve, 10:100 outside the reserve and 6:100 along tributaries of the Mara River, implying that the population is either increasing or that its spatial distribution is being compressed because of range contraction. The apparent increase in the hippopotamus population contrasts with marked contemporaneous declines in the populations of most other large mammalian herbivore species in the Reserve. We discuss possible reasons underlying the increase in the hippopotamus population.

The extremely rare Aquilegia paui (Ranunculaceae) was described in 1920 but was not found again until 1999, when it was discovered in the Parc Natural dels Ports in Tarragona Province, Spain. This species had been confused with the widespread A. vulgaris and consequently its taxonomic and conservation status had been misinterpreted. Based on the limited range of A. paui and the level of disturbance of its habitat we recommend that it is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. We summarize the conservation actions available for such extremely narrow endemic plant species and make appropriate recommendations for the conservation of A. paui.

One of the most difficult situations for conservation is where state capacity to regulate is weak, major corporate organizations are absent, and the population does not have a strong culture of wildlife conservation. All these apply to the hugely popular urban Indonesian pastime of keeping wild songbirds, thought to be responsible for rolling local extinctions of several native species. In such situations the introduction of a voluntary, market-based approach could interact with regulation to create new and more effective approaches to reducing the negative conservation impacts of the associated trade. Here we assess the potential of such an approach through an in-depth analysis of the socio-economic and cultural aspects of bird keeping. We project that overall the pastime contributes USD 78.8 million to the economies of the six cities surveyed, supporting a range of associated small-scale rural and urban livelihoods relating to the production of cages and collection of live bird food. Finally, we describe five general bird-breeding models with the capacity to scale up the production of captive-bred birds that may substitute for wild-caught conspecifics. Based on this information we argue that a market-based policy instrument that is capable of shifting bird-keeping trends from wild-caught birds to captive-bred alternatives would align easily with macro-policy agendas in Indonesia relating to pro-poor growth and the creation of more and better jobs. Such a policy instrument could provide exciting opportunities for conservationists to engage the interest and support of non-conservation sectors in Indonesia in efforts to conserve diminishing populations of wild birds.

Categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, the common hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius is under considerable pressure from habitat degradation and hunting. Although human–hippopotamus conflict is known to increase retaliatory killing and culling of hippopotamuses, the issue has been little examined. Using interviews I investigated various spatial, ecological and agricultural factors that influence the vulnerability of farms to crop raiding by hippopotamuses in three villages to the south-east of Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. There was a positive correlation between these crop-raiding events and a farm’s proximity to the river and to hippopotamus access points (places where hippopotamuses leave and enter the river). Results from this study provide insights for management and conservation of hippopotamuses, including a need to identify key habitat areas to mitigate future conflict.

We used distribution data of 121 cactus species endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert to test the effectiveness of the region’s protected area network. The analysis of species distribution using a 30′ latitude × 30′ longitude grid facilitated the identification and categorization of areas of endemism. We found a low degree of coincidence between protected areas and the areas of cactus endemism, and only 63.6% of the 121 species occur in protected areas. A complementarity analysis showed that 10 of the protected areas contain the 77 species that occur in protected areas. The four top priority areas protect 65 (84.4%) of these 77 species The 44 unprotected species are mainly micro-endemic and taxonomically distinctive taxa widely scattered in the region. The complementarity analysis applied to these species showed that all of them can be contained in a minimum of 24 grid squares, representing 32.9% of the total area occupied. Their strong spatial dispersion, along with their narrow endemism, is a major conservation challenge. We conclude that the current protected area network is insufficient to protect the rich assemblage of cacti endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert. Conservation efforts in this region should be enhanced by increasing the effectiveness of the already existing protected areas and by the creation of additional protected areas, specifically micro-reserves, to provide refuge for the unprotected species.

Market demand for the orange-headed thrush Zoothera citrina, a prestigious songbird competition species in Indonesia, is supplied by chicks harvested from Bali Island. Using ethnographic and interview surveys conducted during the 2008–2009 breeding season we established the structure and scale of this trade and investigated means to improve its sustainability in two districts of Bali. We found that well-organized agent networks supplied an estimated 116,000 chicks worth EUR 3.175 million from Bali during the 6-month harvest season. Chicks are harvested when 4–16 days old and exported from Bali when 16–18 days old. Of 50 nests followed 60% were harvested and just 6% fledged young. Farmers deploy techniques to improve thrush food supply but lack practices to ensure continued recruitment to the thrush population. The practice of thrush harvesting started in the mid 1990s and is not yet regulated by the traditional institutions (Subak) that govern collective farming practices. Three networks determine the sustainability of the practice: (1) the fraternity of Indonesian songbird keepers, (2) agricultural agent networks, and (3) traditional village institutions. We identify the potential for coordinated forms of self-regulation and thrush population management by Subak and key groups involved in songbird contests. Furthermore, we argue that this would more likely enhance sustainability than interventions by government conservation agencies.

Conservation of a threatened species is reliant upon good quality monitoring information to provide population estimates and trends to inform management practices. Surveying to establish such data can be costly and difficult, particularly for cryptic species in forest habitats. We therefore used remotely triggered cameras to survey for the presence of the pygmy hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis in Sapo National Park in Liberia. In 1,247 trap days we obtained seven camera-trap photographs, the first photographic records of the species in Liberia. Habitat destruction, principally from illegal gold mining, is the greatest threat to the persistence of the pygmy hippopotamus within the Park. A range-wide survey of the pygmy hippopotamus is required to establish a robust baseline from which future conservation efforts can be developed. Understanding how this species is able to cope with the effects of habitat fragmentation across its range, and controlling commercial hunting, will dictate how it is able to survive the ongoing pressures of land conversion in West Africa.

Threat analyses of the Boraginales were conducted and used to assess the effectiveness of Madagascar’s current and proposed protected area systems in conserving the threatened species of a group of plants widespread in Madagascar. Specimen locality data for 52 species of four families of Boraginales were analysed to provisionally assign species to IUCN Red List categories. Six species were excluded from these global analyses as they are non-native and introduced. IUCN’s criterion B, analysis of geographical range, was found to be the most reliable means of estimating threat, and predicted future decline was found to overestimate threat. Twenty-six of the 46 native species of Boraginales were found to be threatened. Sixty-five percent of these have portions of their ranges in the 2002 protected areas system. When the protected areas system was expanded in 2006 the percentage of species with some protected populations increased to 78%. More than 93% would be protected if a series of proposed priority areas for plant conservation were protected. The implications of these analyses for the conservation of plant species in Madagascar are discussed.

The population of the Norfolk Island boobook owl Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata, a nocturnal bird restricted to the Australian territory of Norfolk Island, was reduced to a single female in 1986. Deliberate introduction of two males of its nearest relative, the New Zealand boobook N. n. novaeseelandiae, as a conservation intervention has allowed the taxon to persist on Norfolk Island, albeit in hybrid form. Although declared Extinct in 2000, a re-examination of this unique situation has concluded there is a strong argument that the taxon should be categorized as Critically Endangered because, on average, approximately half the nuclear genome of the original taxon and all the mitochondrial DNA is conserved in all living owls on the island. This thus represents a special case in which the taxon can be considered to be extant, in hybrid form, even though no pure-bred individuals survive. More generally, we suggest that, in exceptional cases, hybridization may not be a threat to highly threatened species and that guidelines are needed to determine when to consider hybrid populations as extant forms of the original taxon, and when to declare extinction through hybridization.

The IUCN protected area management category system provides an internationally-recognized, unifying framework for the description and classification of the world’s diverse protected areas. It includes six main categories, of which category V has attracted debate because of its emphasis on the role of harmonious people–nature interactions in maintaining biodiversity within cultural landscapes. Madagascar’s new generation of protected areas comprises sites mainly proposed as category V, with the joint management objectives of biodiversity conservation and the promotion of natural resource use for rural development. Here, I use a categorization decision tool to investigate the categorization of 10 new protected areas proposed as category V, and find that these sites fail to meet the criteria for any management category. I argue that category V is inappropriate for these new protected areas because their associated people–nature interactions are largely negative for biodiversity. I further argue that management of these new protected areas differs fundamentally from management of category V protected areas in Europe, and recommend the modification of the management category system to account for such distinctions.

Asia’s rangelands and mountains are strongholds for several endemic ungulate species. Little is known about the ecology of these species because of the region’s remoteness and the lack of robust scientific studies. Hunting, habitat modification, increased livestock grazing, disease and development are the major threats to the species. There is an urgent need for better monitoring to identify the size, distribution and dynamics of the populations of these species, and the threats to them, for effective conservation. The feasibility of standard scientific monitoring is greatly influenced by the remoteness of the region, the pre-existing scientific ideology, lack of expertise in the latest monitoring methods and awareness of biases and errors, and low capacity and logistical and financial constraints. We review the existing methods used for monitoring ungulates, identify the practical and institutional challenges to effective monitoring in Central Asia and categorize the methods based on various criteria so that researchers can plan better monitoring studies suited to particular species. We illustrate these issues using examples from several contrasting ungulate species. We recommend that scientific surveys should be complemented by increases in participatory monitoring, involving local people. The future of ungulate monitoring in Central Asia lies in a better recognition of the existing errors and biases in monitoring programmes and methods, allocation of more monitoring effort in terms of manpower, finances and logistics, understanding of robust scientific methods and sampling theory, and changing the scientific culture, as well as a commitment to ensuring that we monitor the things that matter.

Terrestrial wildlife migrations, once common, are now rare because of ecosystem fragmentation and uncontrolled hunting. Botswana historically contained migratory populations of many species but habitat fragmentation, especially by fences, has decreased the number and size of many of these populations. During a study investigating herbivore movement patterns in north-west Botswana we recorded a long-distance zebra Equus burchelli antiquorum migration between the Okavango Delta and Makgadikgadi grasslands, a round-trip distance of 588 km; 55% of 11 animals collared in the south-eastern peripheral delta made this journey. This was unexpected as, between 1968 and 2004, the migration could not have followed its present course because of the bisection of the route by a veterinary cordon fence. As little evidence exists to suggest that large-scale movements by medium-sized herbivores can be restored, it is of significant interest that this migration was established to the present highly directed route within 4 years of the fence being removed. The success of wildlife corridors, currently being advocated as the best way to re-establish ecosystem connectivity, relies on animals utilizing novel areas by moving between the connected areas. Our findings suggest that medium-sized herbivores may be able to re-establish migrations relatively quickly once physical barriers have been removed and that the success of future system linkages could be increased by utilizing past migratory routes.

Understanding the role that protected areas play in the livelihood security of local communities is essential to ensure that local people are not left shouldering the costs of what is a public good, and to help maintain robust local and national constituencies for biodiversity conservation. To provide baseline data for a longitudinal study on the effects of newly established national parks on human livelihoods in Gabon we conducted a cross-sectional study that compared livelihood indicators between communities that do, and do not, use natural resources within protected areas. We interviewed 2,035 households in 117 villages at four sites, recording income, consumption, education, health indicators and social capital, and village characteristics such as distance to markets, distance to park boundaries, and land cover within a 5-km radius. Our results indicated that closed rainforest coverage was greater around park than control villages and that this difference was associated with a greater reliance of park households on forest resources. However, we found no systematic differences in most livelihood measures between park and control households. Instead, the relationship between household livelihood measures and proximity to parks varied in idiosyncratic ways between sites, suggesting that determinants of human welfare are highly localized and cannot be generalized to larger spatial scales.

Case studies of well-documented snake reintroductions are limited, despite their potential value for conservation and ecosystem recovery. The Endangered woma Aspidites ramsayi is a large boid snake that has declined considerably and is now threatened throughout much of central Australia. We describe a trial release of captive-bred womas into the feral predator-free Arid Recovery Reserve in northern South Australia. All of the reintroduced womas were killed within 4 months, with predation by the mulga snake Pseudechis australis confirmed or implied in all cases. Lessons learned for the conditioning of captive-bred snakes for wild release and the role of the mulga snake in structuring Australian arid-zone snake assemblages are discussed.

Spatial prioritizations and gap analyses are increasingly undertaken to allocate conservation resources. Most spatial prioritizations are conducted without specifying the conservation instruments to be implemented and gap analyses typically assess formally protected areas but increasingly include private land conservation instruments. We examine conservancies to see if these voluntary instruments contribute towards achieving goals of South African conservation planning initiatives. We conducted a nationwide survey and interviews with conservancy members in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Conservancies have potential for assisting South Africa to achieve conservation planning goals at national and local scales but their inclusion in spatial prioritizations and gap analyses predicates improved protection for nature, operational refinement and increased support. We sound a warning to conservation planning initiatives that incorporate voluntary instruments on private land, and present recommendations for strengthening such instruments to make them more effective. Our findings may assist conservation planners elsewhere to design more effective conservation planning initiatives focused on private land.

The mountain gazelle Gazella gazella in Saudi Arabia is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. On the mainland the species’ survival depends on a few remnant populations in the western Mountains and coastal plains and on two reintroduced populations. The largest natural population of G. gazella in Saudi Arabia is the Farasan gazelle subspecies G. g. farasani, which inhabits the Farasan Islands in the Red Sea. We review and collate the available literature on this subspecies, mainly unpublished reports presenting wildlife census data, and supplement this with the most recent, 2009, count. The number of free-ranging gazelles has remained approximately constant since the first counts in 1988, with an overall density of 0.64 km-2 and an estimated population of 1,039 on Farasan Kebir in 2009. The populations on two other islands, As Saqid and Zifaf, have not fared as well, possibly because of uncontrolled hunting pressure, competition with domestic stock or poor habitat conditions overall. The population on Qummah Island is extinct. Threats to this subspecies include uncontrolled hunting and uncoordinated development. Continued protection of this apparently stable population of mountain gazelle in Saudi Arabia is imperative to ensure the survival of the species.

Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata populations across Australia are declining and the range of the species is contracting. Despite a century of research much uncertainty remains about which factors are driving this decline. Consequently, it is also unclear which conservation actions will reduce the species’ extinction risk. In particular, we lack a quantitative understanding of malleefowl population dynamics. Here we use estimates derived from the literature to provide the first parametrization of a population viability analysis (PVA) for malleefowl. This model creates a quantitative framework for synthesizing existing information and comparing potential management strategies, and will help guide research activities by identifying critical aspects of the malleefowl’s life history. We model population dynamics as stochastic events that depend on individual characteristics, weather conditions and local management actions. Our PVA indicates that an isolated population of 32 adult birds would almost certainly decline to extinction over a 20-year period. Translocating and releasing captive-bred juveniles slows this rate of decline and intensively baiting for foxes can reverse it. Adult mortality rates have the greatest influence on population viability, and land managers should therefore prioritize conservation actions that target adult survivorship over actions that benefit earlier life stages. Quantitative research on the malleefowl should focus on the demographics of the adult life stage, their dispersal and the impacts of fire and grazing. Our analysis highlights the role of PVA models in assessing the cost-effectiveness of alternative management actions, and framing future research priorities for threatened species.

Scavenging raptors have been postulated to be declining at a rate far higher than predatory raptors. To test this hypothesis we reviewed the historical and present status of the seven raptor species—three scavengers (two kites and a vulture), one partial scavenger (a buzzard) and three species (osprey and two falcons) that take live prey—that breed on the Cape Verde islands. Scavenging raptors have experienced steeper declines and more local extinctions than non-scavengers in Cape Verde, with the partial scavenger midway between the two groups. Causes of scavenger decline include incidental poisoning, direct persecution and declines in the availability of carcasses and other detritus. These findings, which highlight the conservation importance of the island of Santo Antão, indicate the priority that needs to be accorded to scavengers, particularly in Europe where many insular populations are reaching unsustainable levels.