Briefly 295 ASIA & OCEANIA
More landslides in High Mountain Asia region More frequent and intense rainfall events as a result of climate change could cause more landslides in the High Mountain Asia re- gion of China, Tibet and Nepal, according to the first quantitative study of the link be- tween precipitation and landslides in the re- gion. High Mountain Asia stores more fresh water in its snowand glaciers than any place on Earth outside the poles, and more than a billion people rely on it for drinking and ir- rigation. The researchers used satellite esti- mates and modelled precipitation data to project how changing rainfall patterns in the region might affect landslide frequency. Increasing temperatures will cause more in- tense rainfall in some areas, and this could lead to more landslides in the border region of China and Nepal. Especially in areas cur- rently covered by glaciers and glacial lakes, this could cause cascading disasters such as landslide dams and floods that affect areas downstream. Source:
Phys.org (2020)
phys.org/news/ 2020-02-climate-trigger-landslides-high-
mountain.html
Can orangutans persist in oil palm plantations? A new study argues that instead of under- taking rescue operations, in which orang- utans found on plantation and agricultural land are physically relocated to ever dwin- dling fragments of pristine Bornean forest, conservationists should try to bolster the animals’ survival where they are. But not everyone working in orangutan conserva- tion agrees, and there are hurdles to over- come, particularly minimizing negative in- teractions with humans. There is little data on the relocated orangutans’ long-term sur- vival, but some reports from release sites suggest that survival rates for reintroduced orangutans may be ,20%. Reasons could include the relocated animals engaging in fights with resident orangutans or experi- encing difficulties adapting to a change in surroundings. Supporting orangutans in plantations, e.g. by ensuring they have ac- cess to nearby forest and food resources, could help. There is, however, still much work to do in understanding how orang- utans fare outside their ideal habitat. Sources: Biodiversitas (2020)
smujo.id/bio div/article/view/4852 & Scientific American (2020)
scientificamerican.com/article/orang utans-are-hanging-on-in-the-same- palm-oil-plantations-that-displace-them
Threatened cheetahs can return to Indian forests India’stop court has said cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus can be reintroduced in the country, 70 years after they were extirpated. Respon- ding to a plea by the government, the Su- preme Court stated African cheetahs could be introduced to thewildinacarefullychosen location. The cheetah is categorized as Vul- nerable on the IUCN Red List of Threat- ened Species and there are only 7,100 individuals left in the wild, almost all of them in Africa. The Asiatic cheetah, which once roamed in parts of India, is now only extant in Iran, where there are thought to be c. 50 individuals left. India’s Supreme Court said the specieswould have to be intro- duced on an experimental basis to find out if it could adapt to Indian conditions. Studies show that at least 200 cheetahs were killed in India, mostly by sheep and goat herders, during the colonial period. It is the only large mammal to become locally extinct after the country gained independence in 1947. Source: BBC (2020)
bbc.co.uk/news/ world-asia-india-51279206
New insights in genetic diversity of Philippine fruit bats There may be more fruit bat species in the Philippines than previously thought, accord- ing to a genetic study,meaning that each in- dividual species could be more threatened than initially assumed. Researchers collected tissue samples from 111 bats at 17 sites, in- cluding 19 of the 26 known species of fruit bats in the Philippines. Two key findings were highlighted: at least four bat species in the country are genetically different from their counterparts elsewhere in South-east Asia, and one fruit bat found only in the Philippines (the Philippine pygmy fruit bat Haplonycteris fischeri)exhibits
significant
genetic variation across different island groups within the country. Generally, a greater degree of variation between samples suggests a higher likelihood that the speci- mens come from distinct species. A 2–3% difference is the usual benchmark to identify separate species; for bats, the threshold is considered to be 2%. The researchers found a 6–7% difference in genetic distance be- tween samples, suggesting genetically dis- tinct populations. There may be a need to reassess the conservation status of Philip- pine bat taxa as a result of these findings. Currently 11 species of the country’sfruit bats are considered threatened. Source: Mongabay (2020)
news.mongabay. com/2020/02/philippine-fruit-bats- may-be-entirely-new-species-of-their- own-dna-suggests
As unprecedented bushfires have devastated Australia.. . Australia has been ravaged by devastating bushfires, the likes of which the nation has never seen. Fuelled by record-breaking temperatures andmonths of severe drought, these fires had burned .26.4 million acres as of January 2020. Dozens of peo- ple, including several volunteer firefighters, have died. Thousands of homes, build- ings and livelihoods have been destroyed. Estimates suggest that .1.25 billion ani- mals may have been killed directly or indi- rectly, including thousands of koalas and other iconic animals such as kangaroos, wallabies, gliders, potoroos, cockatoos and honeyeaters. Many forests will take decades to recover and the crisis is potentially pushing some animals closer to the brink of extinction. More frequent and intense heatwaves and prolonged dry periods as a result of climate change are creating the conditions for more frequent and expansive fires.
Source: WWF (2020)
worldwildlife.org/ stories/australia-s-devastating-bushfires
.. . 113 species need urgent conservation attention The Kangaroo Island dunnart, the northern corroboree frog and the Blue Mountains water skink are among the 113 species that need urgent attention after the bushfire crisis, according to an analysis by the Australian government. Nineteen species of mammals, 13 birds, 20 reptiles, 17 frogs, five invertebrates, 22 crayfish and 17 fish species have been identified as most in need of assistance in coming months. The list was compiled by an expert panel who analysed which species required short-term assistance and long-term recovery work. It is based on the species’ status before the fire crisis, the proportion of their area of distribution affected by the fires, and their likely response to fire. Source: The Guardian (2020) theguardian. com/australia-news/2020/feb/11/expert- panel-says-113-species-need-urgent- attention-after-australias-bushfires
All internet addresses were up to date at the time of writing. The Briefly section in this issue was written and compiled by Emma Muench, Julia Hochbach and Martin Fisher, with additional contributions from David Brugiere and Annkathrin Sharp. Contributions from authoritative published sources (including websites) are always wel- come. Please send contributions by e-mail to
oryx@fauna-flora.org.
Oryx, 2020, 54(3), 290–295 © 2020 Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605320000137
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