The conservation status of 23 Hawaiian endemic palms, Pritchardia spp., is reviewed. Field survey reports, recovery plans, herbaria holdings and observations have been utilized to assess each taxon's current range and status. Eleven species are categorized as Critically Endangered, nine Endangered, two Vulnerable and one as Data Deficient when subject to the IUCN Red List criteria. Conservation management options are discussed. A large proportion of this genus is on the verge of extinction and will continue to decline in the wild without active conservation management. Recommendations involving long-term management include maintaining and protecting the existing wild populations, establishment of effective ex situ populations, reintroduction into the wild, and the establishment of procedures to deal with invasive plants and animals.

Sanderson & Redford's (2003) correct insistence that poverty alleviation programmes ought more actively to include conservation would be well matched by an awareness of the impacts of some conservation policies, particularly the establishment of strictly protected areas, on local livelihoods. Lands protected as wilderness require the removal or exclusion of people and are locally costly. Wilderness protection requires, we argue, far more awareness of the nature and extent of these costs wherever conservation interests have to be served by people's absence.

In 1997 a pack of African wild dogs Lycaon pictus was reintroduced to Matusadona National Park in north-western Zimbabwe. Here we use this case study to consider anthropogenic factors likely to affect the success of wild dog reintroductions in southern Africa. Potential wild dog–human conflict was investigated using a questionnaire, administered to communal farmers near the Park, that recorded the incidence of livestock predation, snaring, traditional uses and attitudes of local people towards wild dogs. Predation on livestock was negligible, with wild dogs being responsible for <2% of goat losses to wild predators. Twenty-four different traditional uses for wild dogs and their body parts were described by 54% of survey respondents. Less than 25% of survey respondents were aware of the reintroduction, and only 20% felt positive about it. Recommendations for future wild dog reintroductions include before-and-after public relations and education programmes in neighbouring communities, monitoring to determine actual causes and rates of post-release wild dog mortality and vaccination against canid diseases.

In this study we surveyed all trees ≥10 cm diameter at breast height within 20 0.1 ha plots in a 3,500 ha forest fragment, surrounded by sugar cane fields, of the Brazilian Atlantic forest to compare tree species assemblages at the forest edge (0–100 m into forest) vs forest interior (>200 m). Plots were perpendicular to the margin. The mean number of tree species was significantly higher in the forest interior (35.4 ± SD 7.1 vs 18.4 ± SD 4.4). In addition, forest edge differed from interior in the proportion of shade-tolerant, emergent, large/very large-fruited species, and large-seeded tree species. Among the 134 tree species recorded, 24% were exclusive to the forest edge and 57% to the forest interior. Our results suggest that both the current system of protected areas and archipelagos of small fragments (1) tend to retain only a subset of the original flora, (2) will converge in terms of floristic and ecological composition (biotic simplification and homogenization), and (3) will lose rare and threatened tree species.

The relationship between poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation has been the subject of intense debate amongst academics and development practitioners for several decades, yet consensus on how to reconcile these two disparate goals is far from being reached. The debate is often characterized by polemics between different camps, particularly on which strategy works best. Without trivializing the quality of scholarship within this debate, we argue that it is delineated by two major factors. Firstly, residents of rich countries and residents of poor countries are often assumed to be in opposition on this matter. On the one hand, some analysts tend to blame the loss of biodiversity on alleged excessive use of natural resources by residents of poor countries, while on the other hand there are those who blame residents of rich countries for alleged unsustainable livelihood strategies. Secondly, the debate on the contested relationship between biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation is often characterized by a tussle between proponents of biodiversity conservation and human rights/anti-poverty activists.

This paper describes results of a Sino-American field survey seeking evidence of South China tigers Panthera tigris amoyensis in the wild. In 2001 and 2002 field surveys were conducted in eight reserves in five provinces identified by government authorities as habitat most likely to contain tigers. The surveys evaluated and documented evidence for the presence of tigers, tiger prey and habitat disturbance. Approximately 290 km of mountain trails were evaluated. Infrared remote cameras set up in two reserves captured 400 trap days of data. Thirty formal and numerous informal interviews were conducted with villagers to document wildlife knowledge, livestock management practices, and local land and resource use. We found no evidence of wild South China tigers, few prey species, and no livestock depredation by tigers reported in the last 10 years. Forest areas designated as tiger reserves, averaging about 100 km2 in size, are too small to support even a few tigers because commercial tree farms and other habitat conversion is common, and people and their livestock dominate these fragments. While our survey may not have been exhaustive, and there may be a single tiger or a few isolated tigers still remaining at sites we missed, our results strongly indicate that no remaining viable populations of South China tigers occur within its historical range. We conclude that continued field efforts are needed to ascertain whether any wild tigers may yet persist, concurrent with the need to consider options for the eventual recovery and restoration of wild tiger populations from existing captive populations.

During October–December 2002 a team from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, the Nigerian Conservation Foundation and the Nigerian National Parks visited the montane forests of Taraba State, eastern Nigeria. Their aim was to identify changes in the forests that had occurred since they were last described in detail during the 1970s. Then the forests were rich in Afromontane endemics, were home to at least 24 threatened plant species, and harboured abundant wildlife. In 2002 all but one of the forest fragments visited were intact, although some of the smaller fragments had further reduced in size. The most obvious differences between 2002 and the 1970s were the dramatic reduction in wildlife, and the depletion of montane grassland and associated species. For these forests and their associated fauna to survive, more local, national and global support is urgently required for management to prevent species loss.

Leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea nesting has declined on Pacific beaches and as a result the species is considered Critically Endangered. Atlantic populations are, however, also important for the species' survival and therefore we undertook a study to quantify the size and nesting trend of the Caribbean Costa Rica and Panama leatherback turtle rookery. Tag returns show that post-nesting females from the rookery disperse throughout the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic. Aerial and track survey results were used to estimate 5,759–12,893 nests per year between San Juan river and Chiriquí beach, making this the fourth largest rookery worldwide. Monitoring results from three beaches (Tortuguero, Pacuare and Gandoca) were used to examine any temporal trend in nesting using nonparametric regression. Nesting appeared to decline slightly from 1995 to 2003 but the trend could be an artefact of interannual variation in nest numbers. Explanations for the difference in nesting trends over the past 15 years for Pacific (rapid decline) and Caribbean (slight decline or stable) rookeries include: (1) hatching success on Caribbean beaches has been higher due to dispersed nesting, (2) fisheries bycatch has been greater in the Pacific, and (3) less overlap between fishing areas and leatherback turtle habitats in the Atlantic. Quantification of human-caused mortality of all life stages and knowledge of the marine habitats used by Atlantic leatherback turtles are required to facilitate the development and implementation of effective strategies to reduce threats and avoid a repeat of the decline that has occurred in the Pacific population.

Between July 2000 and June 2001 we undertook a survey of François' langur Trachypithecus francoisi and its habitat in the Fusui Nature Reserve in south-west Guangxi, China, where 86 individual langurs were recorded in 1995. In our first survey period we located 45 individuals in 10 groups, but c. 12 months later, despite expending more effort, we were only able to locate three of the 10 groups, totalling 23 individuals. In all, in three separate surveys, we recorded densities that were 26–52% of the 1995 figures. Within the Reserve almost all of the valley bottoms and most flat areas in the hills have been cultivated and there is steady encroachment into the hills and forests. The majority of local families depend on the forest for firewood. It appears that habitat loss and illegal hunting are responsible for the decline of François' langur. We recommend that alternative income generating activities and energy sources should be explored to reduce human pressure on these langurs and their habitat. More funding should also be made available to the Reserve to enable staff to adequately tackle issues of hunting and habitat destruction.

The Mauritius olive white-eye Zosterops chloronothos is the least known of the eight threatened terrestrial bird species remaining on the island of Mauritius. The olive white-eye has declined drastically in numbers and distribution since 1975. Surveys carried out between 1998 and 2001 estimated that 93–148 pairs remained within an area of less than 25 km2. Most areas that held olive white-eye territories in 1975 supported considerably fewer territories in 2001. This decline is thought to have primarily been the result of deforestation and degradation of native habitat and intense nest predation by introduced mammals. Declines have been more severe in areas dominated by native vegetation than they have been in areas that contained substantial amounts of exotic Cryptomeria and Pinus. The continued decline of the Mauritius olive white-eye is of critical concern and immediate species-specific conservation management is required for its survival.

The relationship between poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation continues to vex conservationists and social analysts alike. The three responses to our earlier Guest Editorial (Sanderson & Redford, 2003) help refine the arguments and shape the angles from which to approach the debate, but neither the editorial nor the responses satisfy entirely. What missing pieces must be found and fitted to the puzzle?

Fragmentation of forests adversely affects forest-dependent biota, and conservation biologists strive to develop a good understanding of how species respond to changes associated with habitat attrition in order to establish the best conservation strategies. The spatial structure of populations persisting in fragmented landscapes governs their response to habitat fragmentation, and hence dictates the remedial actions that will be most effective for species and habitat conservation. The Taita Hills forests of Kenya are an example of a highly fragmented Afrotropical forest ecosystem embedded in a human-dominated landscape. The spatial structure of the white-starred robin Pogonocichla stellata populations living in indigenous forests across this landscape was examined. Due to its forest dependence and widespread occurrence, the robin was used as a model species to help formulate general conservation guidelines for forest-dependent species and their habitats within this landscape. Results from demographic, genetic and behavioural work point to a mixed spatial structure with elements of patchy population dynamics on a fine scale, and a core-satellite or source-pseudo-sink system on a broader scale. In particular, the findings underscore (1) the importance of dispersal, (2) the importance of small patches, (3) the importance of the largest patch, and (4) the processes underlying problems associated with forest disturbance. We examine the conservation implications of this information, and report on activities already initiated or planned, in line with these findings, for the Taita Hills.

The diversity of amphibians before and after low-level forest exploitation in An'Ala forest in central-eastern Madagascar was compared over the course of 4 years. Neither abundance nor diversity of amphibians generally were significantly affected by low-level selective logging, although the abundance of individual species differed. Mantelline anurans were the most sensitive, in contrast to the tree frogs of the subfamily Boophinae (Mantellidae) and Cophylinae (Microhylidae). The abundance of Mantellinae anurans decreased by 15.8% after logging, whereas Boophinae and Microhylidae anurans increased by 12.1% and 3.7%, respectively. In general, species strongly tied to rainforest habitat showed a non-significant 10.1% decrease in abundance after logging. It appears therefore that amphibians are relatively resilient to a low-level of forest exploitation and their diversity is apparently not affected, at least in the short-term. This and other studies have, however, shown that logging commonly results in a shift in species composition, with species typical of pristine rainforests being replaced by species adapted to secondary habitats.

We studied the distribution and habitat-use of two endemic ground birds, the Bornean ground-cuckoo Carpococcyx radiatus and the Bornean peacock-pheasant Polyplectron schleiermacheri in the Sungai Wain Protection Forest, East Kalimantan. Both species are highly elusive and neither has been subject to any in-depth study. Consequently, few data are available on their population numbers, habitat preferences and conservation status. We mapped the species' presence in five topographical habitat types, assessed their spatial distribution, and provide an estimate of population sizes in the reserve. Over a period of 44 months (1997–2003) we had 32 encounters with Bornean ground-cuckoo, and 19 encounters with Bornean peacock-pheasant. Number of encounters increased over time, but no seasonal or monthly difference was apparent in encounter rate. Both species were only observed inside the central core of the reserve. Bornean ground-cuckoo showed a clear preference for alluvial and swamp forest over high-flat, slope and ridge forest. Bornean peacock-pheasant showed no clear preference for any of these five habitat types. Considering the rapid destruction of forest occurring in Kalimantan due to illegal logging, fires, lack of law enforcement and proper management of protected areas, the conservation of these two species is discussed in relation to conservation management of the Sungai Wain Protection Forest. Teams are patrolling year-round in the reserve to halt hunting. Illegal logging has been eradicated by these patrols, in combination with tree-spiking. Fire breaks are maintained each dry season to avoid further fire damage, and extensive education and awareness work is carried out in the district.

Records of the Vulnerable Chinese mountain cat Felis bieti are known from the eastern border of the Tibetan Plateau, mostly from Qinghai province, but also from other areas further north, east and north-west. Disagreement regarding the reliability of some records has led to uncertainty about the species' distribution. In order to obtain information about its current distribution and status we conducted surveys in various Chinese provinces and evaluated former records and specimens. Forty-five specimens and living individuals were examined, and 189 records were gathered from local sources. Our data confirm that this cat is endemic to China, and occurs in montane forest edge, alpine shrubland and meadow habitats. At present it is confined to the provinces of eastern Qinghai and northern Sichuan. Its wild populations are facing a number of threats and environmental pressures such as poaching, use of chemical rodenticides, and environmental changes. We recommend moving this species to Category I of Chinese law, enforcement of its protection in reserves, and the establishment of new reserves, specifically for this species, in areas in which it is currently unprotected.

Across their range jaguars Panthera onca are important conservation icons for several reasons: their important role in ecosystems as top carnivores, their cultural and economic value, and their potential conflicts with livestock. However, jaguars have historically been difficult to monitor. This paper outlines the first application of a systematic camera trapping methodology for abundance estimation of jaguars. The methodology was initially developed to estimate tiger abundance in India. We used a grid of camera traps deployed for 2 months, identified individual animals from their pelage patterns, and estimated population abundance using capture-recapture statistical models. We applied this methodology in a total of five study sites in the Mayan rainforest of Belize, the Chaco dry forest of Bolivia, and the Amazonian rainforest of Bolivia. Densities were 2.4–8.8 adult individuals per 100 km2, based on 7–11 observed animals, 16–37 combined ‘captures’ and ‘recaptures’, 486–2,280 trap nights, and sample areas of 107–458 km2. The sampling technique will be used to continue long-term monitoring of jaguar populations at the same sites, to compare with further sites, and to develop population models. This method is currently the only systematic population survey technique for jaguars, and has the potential to be applied to other species with individually recognizable markings.

From 1998 to 2000 we used radio telemetry to study habitat use by greater rheas Rhea americana in rural areas. Captive-born greater rheas preferred pastures to grasslands and did not use crops. No differences in habitat use were found between wild and captive-born greater rheas. Wild individuals preferred pastures, showed less preference for grasslands, and did not use crops. Rheas used pastures and grasslands for nesting but they did not use crops. No differences in nesting success was detected between these habitats. Our results show that agroecosystems that include grasslands and pasture production would strongly contribute to the conservation of this species. However, poaching must be controlled to ensure long-term persistence of wild populations of greater rheas.

The Lower Risk/near threatened giant babax Babax waddelli is endemic to southern Tibet. The babaxes, living in groups of 3–8 individuals year-round, favoured edge habitats in forest regions where the group encounter rate during the breeding period was 0.35 groups h−1 and population density 0.04 birds ha−1, and in scrub regions they depended on the patches covered with higher bushes in which the group encounter rate and population density were 0.32 groups h−1 and 0.03 birds ha−1 respectively. The global population of the babaxes was estimated to be 120,000 birds. Reproductive and behavioural data were collected from scrub environments in a valley. Egg laying occurred between early May and early June, and clutch size ranged from 2 to 4 eggs, 2.9 on average. Incubation and fledging lasted 16–18 days respectively. Nesting success, measured as the proportion of clutches from which at least one young survives to fledging, was 75%. Some of the babax's nests were cooperatively attended by group members and the others only by both parents. The most preferable nesting areas were in dense bushes more than 1.8 m in height (mainly Rosa sericea, Berberis hemleyana, Cotoneaster divaricatus, Sibiraca angustata and Salix sclerophylla). Such strong dependence on high bushes leaves babaxes more susceptible to vegetation degradation. As a result, the increasing clearance of scrub habitats for firewood is a major current threat to the birds around the mid-Yalong Zangbo River, a region with the densest human population and most rapidly developing economy in Tibet. Their naturally low population density and strongly social grouping behaviour present extra risk factors that have to be taken into account. The importance of vegetation protection for long-term survival of this endemic species is highlighted.

This paper addresses the conservation status of the spectacled bear Tremarctos ornatus in the northern Andes (Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador) by analysing the degree of range fragmentation and estimating habitat availability. From satellite images we constructed maps of remnant habitat blocks, consisting of Andean forest and páramo (high elevation shrublands and grassland) ecosystems. This information was overlain with a road map to determine potential isolation of populations, and a human accessibility model was used to estimate the core area of each block. This analysis revealed that the species' range is fragmented by landscape transformation and roads into 113 blocks >100 km2, representing 42% of the original extent of the bear's distribution. Forty percent of the blocks are <500 km2, and only nine are >5,000 km2. However, taking into account only core area, 56% of the blocks are <500 km2 and only six are >5,000 km2. In addition, many blocks have internal patches of colonization, further reducing habitat quality. This effect is more severe in smaller fragments, where internal disturbances constitute a high proportion of the block area. We used a high population density estimate of 0.25, a medium density of 0.11 and a low density of 0.04 bears per km2 to estimate population sizes. Twenty-nine populations are likely to have >500 individuals with the high estimate, but only nine with the medium and one with the low estimate (largest estimated population was 9,048 bears). These estimates are much lower if only the core area of blocks is used. Hunting has been identified as a major threat for many bear populations. Our analyses indicate that a regional conservation strategy for spectacled bear should focus on maintaining or increasing habitat availability in larger blocks, and reducing human-induced mortality across the region.

From 1998 to 2002 we monitored changes in the relative abundance of Asian houbara bustard Chlamydotis macqueenii across the greater part of its range in Kazakhstan. The areas most frequented by houbara bustard were the Kyzylkum region, with 35% of total sightings, and the Betpak-Dala/Muyunkum region with 25%. For all survey areas combined, mean relative abundance ranged from 0.004 to 0.017 individuals seen per km driven. Density estimates ranged from 0.025 to 0.086 houbara bustard per km2. Between 1999 and 2002 spring relative abundance and density decreased by 65 and 51% respectively. Likewise, autumn relative abundance decreased by 56% from 1998 to 2001 and density decreased by 35% between 1999 and 2001. Kyzylkum had the greatest declines in relative abundance during both spring (78%) and autumn (61%). It is highly probable that this observed decline in houbara bustard populations is linked to hunting and poaching pressure, both in Kazakhstan and on the wintering grounds of these Central Asian breeding populations.