New Issue: January 2021 - Oryx-The International Journal of Conservation

New Issue: January 2021

By Emma Muench, 11th January 2021

Our January 2021 issue focuses on species assessments across a wide range of taxa, including
mammals, amphibians and reptiles. It is accompanied by Jon Paul Rodriguez’s Editorial on Reverse
the Red as well as a Briefly spotlight on updates to the IUCN assessment of species of maple trees,
koalas, orchids and more!

Find out more about our first fully open access issue, including our Editor’s picks, below:

Species assessments

      Review of the status and conservation of tenrecs (Mammalia: Afrotheria: Tenrecidae) –
      Stephenson et al. (see blog post)
      What is driving declines of montane endemic amphibians? New insights from Mount
      Bamboutos, Cameroon – Tchassem F. et al (see blog post)
      Estimating leopard density across the highly modified human-dominated landscape of the
      Western Cape, South Africa – Devens et al. (see blog post)
      First country-wide survey of the Endangered Asian elephant: towards better conservation and
      management in Sri Lanka – Fernando et al.
      Counting Sunda clouded leopards with confidence: incorporating individual heterogeneity in
      density estimates – Mohamed et al.
      Population assessment of the Endangered Nilgiri tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius in the Anamalai
      Tiger Reserve, using the double-observer survey method – Suryawanshi et al. (see blog post)
      On the future of the giant South American river turtle Podocnemis expansa – Forero-Medina
      et al. (see blog post)
      Estimating population parameters for the Critically Endangered Bermuda skink using robust
      design capture–mark–recapture modelling – Turner et al.

Behind the cover

The mammal family Tenrecidae is endemic to Madagascar. Conservation priorities for the 31
species of tenrec assessed or reassessed for the IUCN Red List finds that six species are threatened
and one is Data Deficient. The primary threat to tenrecs is habitat loss, mostly as a result of slash-
and-burn agriculture, but some species are also threatened by hunting and incidental capture in
fishing traps. In the longer term, climate change is expected to alter tenrec habitats and ranges.
The lack of data for most tenrecs, together with frequent changes in taxonomy and the poorly
understood impact of bushmeat hunting on spiny species (such as the lowland streaked tenrec
Hemicentetes semispinosus, pictured), hinders conservation planning. For further details, click
here. (Photograph © Reptiles4all/Shutterstock)

Editorial Reverse the Red: achieving global biodiversity targets at national level by J.P. Rodríguez

‘A new strategy—Reverse the Red—aims to mobilize local action in response to global priorities. It
is a global movement to ignite strategic cooperation and action to ensure the survival of wild
species and ecosystems. Led by the Species Survival Commission, the World Association of Zoos
and Aquariums, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Smithsonian Institution Earth Optimism, On the Edge
Conservation, and San Diego Zoo Global, and working in close collaboration with 18 additional
partners, Reverse the Red will be launched at the next IUCN World Conservation Congress. Reverse
the Red builds on existing capacity to develop national hubs in support of national strategies to
meet commitments to biodiversity conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity,
CITES, and the Convention on Migratory Species.’

A Dobson’s shrew tenrec (left) and a lesser hedgehog tenrec (right). As their common names suggest, these
species look like mammals filling similar niches in other parts of the world. Photos: PJ Stephenson. Read the full
blog post here.

Editor’s picks

       Rangers can’t be with every elephant: assessing rangers’ perceptions of a community,
       problem-solving policing model for protected areas – Moreto & Charlton (see blog post)
       Potential ecological and socio-economic effects of a novel megaherbivore introduction: the
       hippopotamus in Colombia – Subalusky et al.
       The impact of the Endangered Mauritian flying fox Pteropus niger on commercial fruit farms
       and the efficacy of mitigation – Oleksy et al.
       Black rhinoceros avoidance of tourist infrastructure and activity: planning and managing for
       coexistence – Muntifering et al.

Conservation News

       Ship sturgeon rediscovered in the Rioni River in Georgia – Beridze et al.
       Status of Cassine koordersii, a tree endemic to East Java and last collected in 1898 –
       Robiansyah et al.
       Threats to an undescribed songbird species in Indonesia – O’Connell et al.
       Saving the Tapanuli orangutan requires zero losses – Wich & Meijaard
       Tourism development projects and nature loss on Xuedou Mountain, China – Li et al.

Emma Muench
Emma started her role as Editorial Assistant at Oryx in 2018, having previously
completed a BSc in Geography at the University of Sussex and an MSc in Conservation
Science at Imperial College London. She has a keen interest in marine conservation and
has experience working on sea turtle, coral reef, and tropical fish monitoring projects.
Her previous research includes an ethological study on the impact of human enrichment
on the welfare of captive giant Pacific octopus, and an investigation into the barriers to
increased conservation involvement in European zoos.