Surveys along the length of the River Ganges, alongside interviews with local fishermen, have revealed that waste fishing gear is posing a serious threat to many species. A system that would provide fishermen to recycle their nets could be effective at preventing entanglement.
The Australian icon, the koala, is facing extinction due to bushfires and habitat loss. However, impacts of these stressors over the long-term has not been known. A recent study has shown that this species is facing a significant impact of human population growth and that conservation action must be taken.
Populations numbers of the North Chinese leopard are on the rise. Clearing of habitat and poaching has reduced numbers in the past, but forest on the Loess Plateau has been restored which has caused prey to return, and likewise the big cats.
European wildcats have recolonised part of their former territory in the Jura mountains of Switzerland. However, models of interactions between them and domestic cats show that hybridisation will result in the true wildcat species being lost in just a few hundred years.
Scientists are warning that coral reefs in the Aleutian Islands’ kelp forests are on the verge of collapse. This is due to climate change exacerbating the impact of sea urchins, and the loss of the urchins’ natural predator, the sea otter.
In some good news, leopard populations in the Serengeti are healthy, and show similar numbers to other protected areas. However these do vary by season, believed to be due to the abundance of prey animals.
The Komodo Dragon, already under threat from habitat loss, has found to be also threatened by climate change – both rising temperatures and rising sea-levels. Researchers predict local extinctions and urge rapid intervention.
Despite the perception that predators are most at risk of extinction, a new study has revealed that it is actually herbivores that are more likely to go extinct. Currently over a quarter of the world’s herbivores are threatened.
A debate around the effectiveness of protected areas has been increasing in recent years. However, new research shows that, when well-funded and well-placed, they are a vital conservation tool and can protect and even enhance wildlife populations.
A recently developed global roads database has been used to calculate the impact of existing and planned road networks on habitat crucial for tiger survival. Scientists conclude that both tigers and their prey will be seriously affected.