DOLPHINS, GIBBONS, AND GIANT SALAMANDERS: Is it possible to save - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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DOLPHINS, GIBBONS, AND GIANT SALAMANDERS: Is it possible to save - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Dec 14, 2022 31 likes •474 views

DOLPHINS, GIBBONS, AND GIANT SALAMANDERS: Is it possible to save Chinas threatened biodiversity? Samuel T. Turvey, Zoological Society of London SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISHING: THE SORRY STORY OF THE YANGTZE RIVER DOLPHIN Samuel T.

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DOLPHINS, GIBBONS, AND GIANT SALAMANDERS:

Is it possible to save China’s threatened biodiversity?

Samuel T. Turvey, Zoological Society of London

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SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISHING:

THE SORRY STORY OF THE YANGTZE RIVER DOLPHIN

Samuel T. Turvey, Zoological Society of London

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CHINA

  • 26−28 individuals
  • 1 population
  • 1 reserve:

Bawangling National Nature Reserve

Hainan gibbon

(Nomascus hainanus)

World’s rarest ape, primate, and probably mammal species

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Chinese giant salamander

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Chinese giant salamander

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In the past... “猪不吃”

Chinese giant salamander

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Chinese giant salamander

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Yangtze River dolphin

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Yangtze River dolphin

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Yangtze River dolphin

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Yangtze River dolphin

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Yangtze River dolphin

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Yangtze River dolphin

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Yangtze River dolphin

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Yangtze River dolphin

  • Several international workshops held in China to develop the

baiji recovery programme (1986, 1993, 2001, 2004)

  • All workshops strongly recommended semi-natural reserve
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Yangtze River dolphin

  • Several international workshops held in China to develop the

baiji recovery programme (1986, 1993, 2001, 2004)

  • All workshops strongly recommended semi-natural reserve
  • Chinese researchers attempted six baiji capture attempts

between 1993 and 1995 – one baiji was translocated, but died

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Yangtze River dolphin

  • Several international workshops held in China to develop the

baiji recovery programme (1986, 1993, 2001, 2004)

  • All workshops strongly recommended semi-natural reserve
  • Chinese researchers attempted six baiji capture attempts

between 1993 and 1995 – one baiji was translocated, but died

  • Widely popularised in the international literature (e.g., ‘Last

Chance to See’ by Douglas Adams)

  • But: NO Western funding or practical support was ever

provided to actively implement the repeated recommendations for the recovery programme

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  • How can we gather robust information to inform conservation?

Hainan gibbon

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  • How can we gather robust information to inform conservation?

Across time and space

Hainan gibbon

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  • How can we gather robust information to inform conservation?

Across time and space Across evolution (comparative approach)

Hainan gibbon

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  • How can we gather robust information to inform conservation?

Across time and space Across evolution (comparative approach) Intensive fieldwork

Hainan gibbon

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  • Surviving population still breeding – new social group formation
  • Inbreeding – related at level of half-sibling or cousin
  • Inbreeding risks are stochastic, not deterministic
  • Recovery from extremely low population size is possible

Hainan gibbon

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  • Different goals: preserve population, or population growth?
  • Reactive management, or proactive/preventative planning?
  • no rapid pre-decided response plan in case of emergency
  • Complacency vs urgency – interest in outside expertise?
  • Limited available funding, and limited wider awareness

Hainan gibbon

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Chinese giant salamander

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Chinese giant salamander

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Chinese giant salamander

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Chinese giant salamander

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Chinese giant salamander

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Chinese giant salamander

  • Chinese giant salamander ex situ management:
  • Conservation breeding?
  • Farming?
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 Conflict over interventionist versus non-interventionist conservation?  Understanding of factors impacting very small populations?  Paradoxically limited sense of urgency?  Training in wider conservation theory?  Different cultural contexts and values?  ...“doomed to extinction”? ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ What causes conflicts in developing collaborative conservation in China?

Understanding the problems

? ✓

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  • It is still possible to ensure a future for China’s biodiversity
  • We have data to make informed management decisions
  • It may not be biologically too late to recover species
  • Improve collaborations – international AND within China

Develop a common language for conservation

Conclusions

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