New Research on Biodiversity and Nature
A round-up of recent work published in scientific journals
Giant anteaters as bad omens. Pet cats versus wildlife. China’s overlooked threatened plants. Fireworks disturbing birds. Space for tigers. Sperm whale curios.
Why some Brazilians fear the giant anteater: Pity the giant anteater. In Brazil’s Pantanal region, some people consider this creature a bad omen. While some people avoid it, others harm it. To understand this, researchers interviewed local people. They found that superstitions are often rooted in unease with the animal’s appearance or misconceptions about how it lives its life. They suggest ways to improve relations between people and the giant anteater. Read the full paper in People and Nature.
We love them but they are a menace: Pet cats have big impacts on biodiversity, according to this global assessment. It found records of cats eating more than 2,000 other species — mostly birds, reptiles and mammals — 347 of which are of conservation concern. Islands have far more at-risk species than continents. Read the full paper in Nature Communications.
Scientists overlook China’s threatened plants: Scientists have raised concerns about a lack of research on threatened flowering plants found only in China. Their survey found that 41 percent of these plants have not been mentioned in any scientific publications, either in Chinese or English. And, out of more than 44,000 scientific publications that mentioned threatened plant species, just two percent were about conservation. Read the full paper in Biological Conservation.
Fireworks are tiresome for birds: Researchers in the Netherlands have shown that millions of birds are forced to waste energy during firework displays on New Year’s Eve. They used weather radars and bird counts to show that a thousand times as many birds than is normal are in flight near firework displays. Even 10 km away from a firework display, there were still ten times as many birds flying. They called for firework-free zones, particularly near areas occupied by large-bodied birds that are especially bothered by fireworks. Read the press release or the full paper in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
Making space for tigers: This paper covers changes in the extent of tiger habitat over the past two decades. It concludes that potential habitat for the tiger has stabilized at around 16 percent of its original size. By 2020, there were 63 tiger conservation landscapes across ten of the 30 countries that once had tigers. These landscapes with confirmed tiger populations were 11 percent smaller than they were two decades ago, with most losses in Southeast Asia and southern China. The researchers also identify more than 200 landscapes in which lost tiger populations could be restored. They provide a system to help countries protect and enhance tiger habitat. Read the full paper in Frontiers in Conservation Science.
Illegal trade in sperm whale parts: Subsistence fishermen from Lembata Island, Indonesia kill up to 40 sperm whales each year by jumping from boats and driving bamboo harpoons into the animals. Yet they have no legal basis for this. Surveys by researchers showed that sperm whale teeth and bones can be bought online, or in tourist shops in nearby Bali. This is also illegal. Read the full paper in Oryx.
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