The tiger holds a revered position in Chinese culture, symbolizing power and strength, yet its coexistence with human populations has often been marked by tension and conflict. Understanding the historical dynamics of human-tiger relations is essential for comprehending the current state of tiger populations and shaping future coexistence with the species. The article “An integrated historical study on human-tiger interactions in China” examines several aspects of human attitudes toward tigers across varying dynasties, revealing striking differences, with some periods marked by intense exploitation and others characterized by greater tolerance. While the article discusses a number of interesting historical and current issues that help the reader to better understand human–tiger relations, it does not mention significant issues such as the practice of tiger farming, which appears to be a major area of human–tiger interaction as the number of captive tigers is now double that of wild populations. It is also important to consider the fundamental role of legislation in shaping human-tiger interactions in China. This commentary aims to complement the article's vision by addressing these gaps and offering valuable guidance for policymakers and conservationists working toward long-term human-tiger coexistence in China.
Effective marine conservation requires science-based decisions and strong support from the public and local communities. Understanding the potential social influence of scientists and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in marine conservation is key, yet this aspect has been underexplored in conservation social science. In this study, we created a simple index of potential social influence (PSII) for scientists and NGOs, initiating an analytical framework to identify key variables correlated with the PSII and their underlying pathways. We illustrated this framework using China as a case study, where marine conservation advancement is urgently needed. Our results indicated that many of the variables we identified were correlated with the PSII, even though some are rarely mentioned in the related literature. Notably, both communication capability and annual funding positively impacted the potential social influence of scientists and NGOs, albeit through different pathways. This study provides valuable insights to enhance marine conservation efforts in China and addresses a critical research gap in assessing social influence on nature conservation.
Global warming is changing habitats and affecting biodiversity, and is expected to exacerbate aridification in many regions. Animals and plants in seasonally dry tropical forests often exhibit adaptations to cope with seasonal resource limitation. However, whether these adaptations will facilitate drought tolerance or increase drought vulnerability is unclear. Here, we combine long-term individual-based data on phenology, morphometrics, and demographics to investigate how drought impacts the food resources, health, reproduction, and behavior of a population of Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi), a critically endangered lemur inhabiting dry deciduous forests in Madagascar. Between December 2010 and May 2023, the population experienced 3 years of severe drought (2016, 2017, 2022). During green periods in severe drought, the availability of high-quality sifaka foods (young leaves, fruit) was significantly reduced and fruit tree mortality increased. This reduced availability of fruit persisted in the year after a drought, despite typical rainfall. Yet surprisingly, we found no negative effects on body condition or commonly-used metrics for reproductive success during drought years or years following a drought. Instead, sifaka exhibited significantly higher levels of subcutaneous body fat during severe droughts. We observed little change in sifaka behavior between drought and non-drought periods. However, they were more likely to lick dew during severe drought, and spent significantly less time feeding on young and mature leaves. They also significantly increased their time feeding on flowers and fruits, despite the reduced abundance of fruit in the habitat. Together, our results suggest that increased consumption of water-rich fruit and flowers during severe droughts could facilitate physiological mechanisms that help sifaka cope with water scarcity, including fructose-mediated fat storage, metabolic water production, and water conservation. These results provide new insights into how critically endangered animals may respond to climate change, suggesting that behavioral and physiological adaptations to seasonal resource limitation may buffer some mammals from the effects of severe drought or other extreme weather events.
Tigers (Panthera tigris), as apex predators, play a crucial role in maintaining ecological functions within their ecosystems. Human–wildlife conflicts, particularly human–tiger conflicts (HTCs), have been a prevalent and severe issue in tiger-range countries from ancient times to the present day, with various regional characteristics. This article discusses human–tiger interactions in China, including different types of HTCs throughout history and the various measures implemented to promote human–tiger coexistence. Employing a historiographic approach, this study is based on case studies. It relies on historical documentation as its primary source, using methods such as literature analysis, digital humanities techniques, and field investigations. The results reveal various forms of direct negative human–tiger interactions, ranging from mild to intense HTCs, as well as other interactions such as tiger trade, medicinal use of tiger parts, and tiger habitat loss and fragmentation due to deforestation and urbanization, all of which have led to reductions in tiger populations. Meanwhile, the study also identifies different conceptions and measures for human–tiger coexistence amidst conflicts, including animal protection and tiger worship in China’s history, and modern conservation efforts such as the inclusion of tigers on protection lists, bans on tiger medicine and trade, and the establishment of nature reserves and national parks to protect tiger habitats.
Recording inventories of species conserved in protected areas is a key step to evaluate the effectiveness of Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) targets, such as the expansion of protected areas. The application of DNA barcoding facilitates the rapid production of enables to obtain rapid inventories with reduced reliance on taxon experts. These inventories aim not only to confirm existing records but also to minimize gaps in our knowledge of the distribution and taxonomy of species targeted for conservation through the implementation of protected areas. This pilot study introduces a simplified DNA barcoding pipeline as a reliable tool for recording fern and lycophyte species occurring in protected areas. The pipeline emphasizes limited and/or short training requirements, reducing the input required from taxon experts and maximizing shared benefits between conservationists and taxonomists. Despite using a single DNA barcoding region, 78% of the accessions were unambiguously identified to the species level. This applied approach not only confirmed previous records but also identified several previously overlooked species, either as newly recorded species conserved in the protected area or as species new to science. The pilot project effectively documented known species diversity and identified gaps in our taxonomic knowledge by discovering previously unknown and locally rare taxa. This rapid assessment enhances productive exchanges between conservation practitioners and taxon experts, with substantial benefits for both parties.
Choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) narratives offer immersive experiences that can effectively convey complex conservation concepts, fostering empathy and critical thinking, particularly in addressing issues like human–elephant conflict. Despite their potential, there is limited research on the use of CYOA activities in conservation education. In this study, we created an interactive story centered on elephant conservation, drawing fromexisting research to distill scientific concepts into engaging narratives and utilizing various modes of delivery (YouTube and live performances) to reach diverse audiences. We conducted postactivity surveys to assess variations in audience perception, learning, and conservation engagement intentions in relation to sociodemographic factors, activity type, and messages encountered. We then modeled the relationships between ordinal responses and explanatory variables using cumulative ordinal mixed models (N = 398). For the YouTube version, we also considered sociodemographic factors (YouTube n = 53, non-YouTube n=47). Our findings indicate a preference for live performances over online YouTube activity, with participants gaining knowledge about elephant conservation from both formats. For the YouTube activity, participants strongly agreed that the activity allowed engagement with the character and topic. They also expressed a higher likelihood of participating in several conservation actions, relative to a control group. While CYOA storytelling shows promise for conservation education, challenges remain in simplifying scientific language, assessing its impact on comprehension of complex issues, standardizing outcomes, and effectively communicating knowledge. Further research is recommended to adapt this approach, making it applicable to various audiences and domains beyond conservation.
Tropical forests are major carbon sinks on the Earth’s land surface. However, our understanding of how the demographic rate and carbon sink capacities of tropical forests respond to climate change remains limited. In this study, we investigated the impacts of environmental drivers on forest growth, mortality, recruitment, and stem net primary productivity (NPPstem) over 16 years at five tropical forest plots in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. These plots are along a successional gradient spanning three tropical secondary forests (tropical secondary forest-1 [TSF-1], tropical secondary forest-2 [TSF-2], and tropical secondary forest-3 [TSF-3]) and two primary forests (tropical rainforest [TRF] and tropical karst forest [TKF]). Our results showed that early successional secondary forests (TSF-2 and TSF-3) had higher diameter growth rates and relative mortality rates. An extreme drought event during 2009–2010 reduced the growth rate, relative recruitment rate, and NPPstem for most plots while increasing mortality in early successional forest plots. We observed significant negative effects of maximum temperature (Tmax) on NPPstem and diameter growth rate across all plots. Additionally, we found that precipitation had significant positive effects on diameter growth rate across all plots. Furthermore, tree mortality increased with rising Tmax, whereas precipitation significantly enhanced tree recruitment. Our findings highlight the vulnerability of tree growth, mortality, recruitment, and productivity in tropical forests to extreme drought events in Southwest China. Continued climate warming and more frequent droughts will induce higher mortality rates and impede growth, thus reducing the carbon sink capacity of tropical forests, especially in early successional stage tropical secondary forests.
Plant species with small habitat ranges and specific edaphic requirements are highly vulnerable to extinction and thus require enhanced attention in biodiversity conservation. This study was designed to explore the challenges of protecting such plant species by evaluating the in situ and ex situ conservation capacities available for Thailand’s species of the mega-diverse plant genus Begonia L. A comprehensive assessment of occurrence records across the country was conducted to evaluate the spatial distribution of Begonia diversity in Thailand, identify biodiversity hotspots, assess the extinction threats faced by the 60 Begonia species known in the country, and identify existing conservation capacities and potential gaps. The results show that 78% of Begonia species in Thailand are vulnerable to extinction, with the Northern floristic region identified as both a Begonia species hotspot and a region with major conservation gaps. While in situ conservation efforts have been successful in covering over 88% of the species, they have failed to provide the protection required to achieve zero extinction. Ex situ conservation capacities are poorly developed, with only 13% of species present in botanical gardens, and no seed banking or other related activities have been initiated. This evaluation presents a sharply contrasting message: on one hand, Thailand has assembled substantial capacities to protect these plants through established national parks and other protected areas, but on the other hand, essential capacities are still lacking to render the zero extinction target achievable. We advocate for the implementation of a multi-component conservation strategy to enable Thailand to move towards zero species extinction, even for plant species with narrow habitat ranges and high edaphic specialisation.
Prey populations significantly influence the distribution of top predators. The sika deer (Cervus nippon), a key prey species for the Amur tiger in Northeast China, plays a critical role in the recovery and dispersal of Amur tiger populations. Reintroduction is a pivotal strategy for restoring prey populations, but it presents challenges, especially in terms of adaptation to the natural environment during the natural training process before animals are released. In this study, we sampled six adult and six sub-adult sika deer and employed high-throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene to investigate changes in gut microbial diversity, composition, and function during natural training. The results showed that adult sika deer had higher gut microbiota diversity compared to sub-adults. However, as natural training progressed, the gut microbial diversity in sub-adults approached that of adults. Additionally, beneficial, fiber-digesting bacteria associated with adaptation to the natural environment tended to increase during nature training in both adult and sub-adult sika deer, while pathogenic bacteria tended to decrease. We also compared the metabolic function of the gut microbiota in adult and sub-adult sika deer, which showed that the carbohydrate metabolic function of both adults and sub-adults decreased significantly with natural training, declining more rapidly in sub-adults. Conversely, the lipid metabolic function in sub-adults increased significantly with natural training. Overall, a period of nature training is necessary before reintroducing animals to their natural habitats, and sub-adult sika deer, in particular, exhibit greater adaptability to environmental changes as reflected by their gut microbiota dynamics. These findings offer valuable insights for the reintroduction of sika deer and other ungulates.We recommend incorporating natural training in reintroduction programs and prioritizing sub-adult animals for reintroduction.
Accurately assessing the status of threatened species requires reliable population estimates. Despite this necessity, only a small proportion of the global distribution range of the vulnerable snow leopard (Panthera uncia) has been systematically sampled. The Indian section of the Greater Himalayas, which includes Kishtwar High Altitude National Park (KHANP), harbours potential snow leopard habitat. Nevertheless, there has been limited ecological and conservation research focusing on species that are specific to KHANP, as well as limited research on the broader biodiversity of the Greater Himalayas. We used Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture (SECR) models to provide—to our knowledge—the first robust snow leopard population density and abundance estimates from KHANP. We also provide a Relative Abundance Index (RAI) for non-volant mammals (excluding small rodents). Our study sampled three catchments within the Dachhan region of KHANP—Kibber, Nanth and Kiyar—using 44 cameras over a 45-day period between May and June 2023. We identified four unique snow leopard individuals across 15 detections in nine camera locations. SECR analysis estimated a density of 0.50 snow leopards per 100 km2 (95% confidence interval: 0.13–1.86), corresponding to an abundance of four individual (4–9) adults. Camera trapping revealed a total of 16 mammal species, including the endangered Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus). Marmots (Marmota caudata) had the highest RAI of 21.3 (±0.2). Although the estimated density and abundance of snow leopards in our study area had relatively wide 95% confidence intervals, our combined results of snow leopard densities and RAIs of prey species such as ibex and marmots indicate that KHANP is a potentially important area for snow leopards. Given the geopolitical history of Jammu and Kashmir in India, the region where KHANP is located, wildlife research remains a low priority. We hope our study encourages authorities to support further research. This study is an initial step towards evaluating the potential of KHANP as a conservation landscape under the Government of India's Project Snow Leopard.
The Western woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus) was rediscovered after seven decades of presumed extinction and remains one of the least studied mammalian species. This study was conducted in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, India, and aimed to assess local communities’ awareness of the species and their potential role in its conservation. From August 2023 to January 2024, we conducted surveys in four villages, interviewing 65 individuals from Pahadi and Nepali communities. Results revealed limited familiarity with the squirrel, highlighting the need for targeted conservation education. Despite extensive camera trap surveys, conclusive evidence of the species’ presence was not found, prompting concerns about its population status in the study area. Our findings show the importance of further research and community engagement for effective conservation. This study emphasises the need to align conservation efforts with community involvement for sustainable outcomes.