April 2010 conservation highlights

15^th June 2010

Conservation News

The CEPF Ecosystem Profile which sets out a $6.5M investment strategy for the Caribbean hotspot (Durrell was a key collaborator in its production) is now published and can be found at http://www.cepf.net/Documents/Final_Caribbean_EP.pdf. It provides a very useful overview of conservation priorities and issues in the Caribbean.

In the field

Madagascar

• Hery from the Madagascar programme was awarded a BES travel grant to speak at the British Ecological Society conference in early September and to spend 3 weeks at the University of Bath to continue his training in research skills and remote sensing, and to work on analysis and a paper.
• Surveys on one of the most isolated areas of Baly Bay for ploughshares covering an area of 127km found only one individual. But they did find several campsites, with one containing tortoise remains. This indicates that people are moving widespread through even the remote areas.
• Given the general level of threat to the ploughshare tortoises in the wild, we have had to postpone the next planned release.
• The spatial planning proposal has been completed for the new protected area around the Nosivolo river. Extending for 450km, the protected area will cover 130 km of the main river and the rest will cover tributaries.
• Resulting from a student project on the gentle lemurs in Alaotra, we are developing a new monitoring method which will be trialled shortly in the field. However whilst surveying the marsh areas our team discovered a 2km long canal that had been cut illegally through the reeds.
• Simon James, from the Bird Dept, went out to replace Elaine Ley, to support the management of the Madagascar pochards.

 Mauritius

• Following the release of both Telfair’s skinks and Guenther’s geckos onto Ile aux Aigrettes, monitoring is showing that they are fairing well, with most individuals caught maintaining their body weight and looking healthy.
• A three day trip was conducted to one of small islands where we hope to release the lesser night geckos being bred in Jersey. Intensive searching and trapping found a female shrew on the island. This is quite a setback because shrews will eradicate small reptiles. No more were found, but to make sure a sustained intensive monitoring effort is needed. This will require over 100 traps per hectare, which are currently being sourced in the UK. The return of the geckos to Ile Marianne has been delayed until 2011.
• Additionally ‘Petits Rats’ and Brown rats were supposedly seen by one of the staff that now manages Flat Island for “ecotourism”. Petits Rats means shrews. If this is the case the introduced geckos and skinks are in trouble. This is the only island with a skink community of species on it, and the presence of rats and shrews will eradicate within 1-2 years. A trip is being organised for the first week in May to trap and confirm whether shrews are present.

St Lucia

• The hatching season for the alien green iguanas began in late April. The team are now catching ~ 25 hatchlings per week (at a single site). Also 3 subadults (assumed 1 yr old) were found this month at the same site. In addition to catching these animals, we are looking at fencing this site and some other possible nest areas (to trap hatchlings). We will also begin using population modelling tools to predict the potential growth of the population to examine the most effective responses to differing rates of population growth.

Montserrat

• A 2 day workshop (extended by a few days thanks to a certain unpronounceable Icelandic volcano) took place between ZSL, Durrell, Chester Zoo and Parken Zoo to discuss progress on the Mountain chicken Recovery Programme. It has been a year since the 50 frogs were brought into captivity and chytrid was confirmed on the island. In that time, 100 offspring have been born and preparations are underway for the next breeding season, a full field trial has been completed to test potential approaches to treating chytrid in the field.
• The meeting decided to expand the breeding programme, started preparations to launch the Darwin project in July and laid out plans for the mission to the South Soufriere Hills in Montserrat to take place in May.

Dominican Republic

• The solenodon team in the Dominican Republic undertook a survey of Isla Catalina off the south east coast of the country has shown the  presence of Hispaniolan solenodon on the island for the first time, which extends the known geographic range of the animal.
• New research projects started include a BBSRC CASE PhD with the University of Reading, Durrell and ZSL on the ecology of the solenodon and hutia in October 2010 for 4 years and an Imperial College MSc project on awareness and perception of endemic and invasive mammals within local communities in the Sierra de Bahoruco, Dominican Republic.
• Make sure you keep an eye on the BBC Science and Environment website Monday 31st May to Wednesday 2nd June, for a series of articles and features on the Hispaniolan solenodon based around a trip that Rebecca Morelle, undertook with our team. There will be articles on the website for all 3 days and then on the Wednesday there will be a piece on BBC1 Breakfast News and on a number of radio programmes too.

Assam

• Severe storms in Assam have causes some setbacks. With fences around breeding centre getting damaged and the field surveys of Manas and release of animals to Sonai Rupei getting delayed. 
• Frontline staff reported sighting three young and an adult pygmy hog in the Kalamati grasslands, which is over 3 km from the last release site and about 2 km from the nearest Gelgeli grassland, it was encouraging that the hogs had dispersed to the above location where no hog signs ere found till last year.
• Forty trainee Range Officers from different parts of India visited the Potasali centre as part of their training programme.

Galapagos

• Preparations continue the translocation of mangrove finches from Playa Tortuga Negra and Caletta Black to the new target location Bahia Urbina. The breeding season has finished and several juveniles have been seen being fed by adults. Transfer boxes have been prepared and the release site is being surveyed to identify the level of rats in the area. Rat control will have to be put in place one the birds are transferred.

Training

DESMAN

• All 12 participants completed and passed (based on internal marking) the DESMAN!  We were able to fund three post-course projects, buying camping equipment to help the fieldwork for the Cuban Finch; marking equipment to help manage the captive population of the Fijian crested iguana (being established as we speak!); and (through funding acquired from other zoos) pay for the radio-transmitter to help track pied tamarins in Brazil!

Facilitation Skills for Conservation Managers

• In addition to the 12 DESMAN students we had Sian from Mammals and five external participants from the BP Conservation Leadership Programme.  Two of these were programme leaders (from FFI and WCS) and three were graduates of the leadership programme (from Brazil, Egypt, and Indonesia). 

GIS Skills for Conservation Managers

• Five additional participants on top of 12 DESMAN students, three of which from States of Jersey Planning and Environment Department.  We will run this course again next year when we plan to make more spaces available to Durrell staff.

Wildlife park

• Four Sulawesi black crested macaques (including a genetically important breeding male) were imported from various European institutions. On completing quarantine these animals will be introduced to our existing group to reinvigorate the EEP breeding programme for this Critically Endangered species.
• Two more Livingstone’s fruit bats were born, bringing total births this year to four, although unfortunately one did not survive.  Three adult males were exported to Zurich Zoo where they will join others from Bristol Zoo in the vast Masoala exhibit.
•  Twin ring-tailed lemurs were born to the other female in the Kirindy exhibit, adding to the extended family group where another infant was born last month.  These animals are particularly active during the day and forming part of an entertaining public exhibit.
• A Montserrat oriole was exported to Zurich Zoo as part of a co-ordinated effort to increase captive numbers of this critically endangered species
• More Rio Cauca caecilians were born, expanding our experience and knowledge of captively managing this unrepresented order of amphibians.
• Four lesser night geckos hatched in our dedicated breeding facilities within the reptile house, adding to the captive population earmarked for future translocation.
• The younger pair of recently imported choughs began nesting and  layed a clutch of eggs, hopefully marking the beginning of this high profile breeding programme for the island of Jersey.

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