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  Coral reefs and mangroves: implications from the tsunami one year on »

  The countries affected by the 2004 Asian tsunami contain the most diverse and extensive coral reefs and mangroves of the Indian Ocean, and some of the richest in the world. Not only are these ecosystems among the most threatened in the world, they also provide numerous essential ecosystem services.

  It is thus not surprising that reefs and mangroves received widespread attention after the tsunami, with three principal questions posed: Are the tsunami's impacts on reefs and mangroves a further threat to their future survival? Did reefs and mangroves play a role in shoreline protection and reduce structural damage and human mortality? How could reconstruction efforts include actions to maintain these ecosystems and reduce further threats to them?

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Some important birds and forests in Nepal »

  A table is provided of 122 bird species with restricted breeding distributions and for which Nepal may hold significant populations. Habitat threats and population changes are detailed for 33 species for which Nepal may be especially important. The vital importance of Nepal's forests to Nepal's avifauna is emphasised.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Marine Biodiversity Hotspots and Conservation Priorities for Tropical Reefs »

  Coral reefs are the most biologically diverse of shallow water marine ecosystems but are being degraded worldwide by human activities and climate warming. Analyses of the geographic ranges of 3235 species of reef fish, corals, snails, and lobsters revealed that between 7.2 and 53.6 of each taxon have highly restricted ranges, rendering them vulnerable to extinction. Restricted-range species are clustered into centers of endemism, like those described for terrestrial taxa. The 10 richest centers of endemism cover 15.8 of the world's coral reefs (0.012 of the oceans) but include between 44.8 and 54.2 of the restricted-range species. Many occur in regions where reefs are being severely affected by people, potentially leading to numerous extinctions. Threatened centers of endemism are major biodiversity hotspots, and conservation efforts targeted toward them could help avert the loss of tropical reef biodiversity.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Threat from deforestation to montane and lowland birds and mammals in insular South-east Asia »

  A reduction in forest area should result in a reduction of its number of species and, moreover, do so in a characteristic way according to the familiar species-area relationship. Brooks, Pimm & Collar (1997) applied this formula to the losses in forest area in the Philippines and Indonesia. Independently derived totals of the number of endemic bird species that are threatened with extinction broadly agree with these predicted losses. In some cases, however, predicted losses overestimate or underestimate the actual numbers of threatened species.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  A comparison between Tundra and wet grassland breeding waders with special reference to the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) »

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  Status of the Baikal Teal in the Lower Indigirka Basin, Siberia »

  Small local hunting communities in Siberia are very distant from any governmental control. Hunted waterbird species, including globally and regionally threatened species, rely for their well-being on the self regulation of remote hunting communities. Interviewed hunters showed a profound knowledge of Baikal Teal, its population status, and the causes of their past decline. Whether the knowledge is shared by other communities in the region and beyond in Northern Siberia needs verification.
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  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  How protected are coral reefs? - response to Mora et al »

  The threat posed to coral reefs by biological invasion is unlikely to diminish and should therefore be considered in analyses of the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Assessing the status of poorly known species: Lessons from partridges and pheasants of Southeast Asia »

  There is an urgent need to evaluate the status of groups of species for conservation purposes. A species' status is indicated by both its distribution and abundance, and the rate at which these components are changing. This information is scarce for many tropical forest species. We produced four measures of status based on locality and habitat data for 25 partridges and pheasants of Southeast Asia.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Declining Ruff Philomachus pugnax populations: a response to global warming? »

  Ruff breeding populations have declined widely and in all habitats across temperate Eurasia. Of an estimated population of 2.2-2.8 million birds, 98% are now confined to habitats in the Arctic tundra. 

  The emerging picture is that the population has shifted northwards and eastwards and has retreated from the wet grassland habitats formerly occupied along the southern edges of its range. It is suggested that the causes are probably of a global nature and may be linked with climate change. It is unclear whether the total population has declined or only shifted north and east. More co-ordinated and systematic monitoring of breeding and wintering populations will be necessary before a full understanding of these changes can be reached.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  New estimates of global and regional coral reef areas »

  Global and regional coral reef area statistics are of considerable value in fields ranging from global environmental change to fisheries to conservation. Although widely quoted, Smith's 1978 figure of 600 000rkm2 is only an approximate calculation. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre has prepared a new estimate of reef coverage by mapping emergent reef crest and very shallow reef systems. These data were rasterised, using 1rkm grid squares, as a means of reducing errors arising from variation in scale. Global and regional reef coverages were calculated from the resultant grid. The total global area is estimated at 255 000rkm2, considerably lower than many previous estimates. Variation in reef area estimates is, in part, a function of variation in reef definition.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers