Collisions between animals and vehicles are a threat to conservation efforts and human safety, and have a massive cost for transport infrastructure managers and users.
Using the opportunities offered by the increasing number of sensors embedded into transport infrastructures and the development of their digital twins, a French research team has developed a method aiming at managing animal-vehicle collisions. The goal is to map the collision risk between trains and ungulates (roe deer and wild boar) by deploying a camera trap network.
Roe deer crossing a railway, photographed by a field sensor and automatically identified with artificial intelligence. Image credit: TerrOïko
The proposed method starts by simulating the most probable movements of animals within and around an infrastructure using an ecological modelling software. This allows the assessment of where they are most likely to cross.
After identifying these collision hotspots, ecological modelling is used again to assist with the design of photo sensor deployment in the field. Various deployment scenarios are modelled to find the one whose predicted results are most consistent with the initial simulation.
Example of a map showing the estimated relative abundance of a species along a railway section. The higher the abundance, the higher the collision risk. Image credit: TerrOïko
Once sensors are deployed, the data collected (in this case, photos) are processed through artificial intelligence (deep learning) to detect and identify species at the infrastructure’s vicinity.
Finally, the processed data are fed into an abundance model, which is another type of ecological model. It is used to estimate the probable density of animals in every part of a studied area using data collected at only a few points in that area. The result is a map showing the relative abundance of species and, therefore, the collision risk along an infrastructure.
This method was implemented on an actual section of railway in south-western France, but it can be applied to any type of transport infrastructure. It may be implemented not only on existing infrastructures but also during the conception phase of new ones (as part of the environmental impact assessment strategy).
Such a method paves the way for the integration of biodiversity-oriented monitoring systems into transport infrastructures and their digital twins. As sensors collect data continuously, it could be improved in the future to provide real-time driver information and produce dynamic adaptive maps that could be ultimately sent to autonomous vehicles.
Original source
Moulherat S, Pautrel L, Debat G, Etienne M-P, Gendron L, Hautière N, Tarel J-P, Testud G, Gimenez O (2024) Biodiversity monitoring with intelligent sensors: An integrated pipeline for mitigating animal-vehicle collisions. In: Papp C-R, Seiler A, Bhardwaj M, François D, Dostál I (Eds) Connecting people, connecting landscapes. Nature Conservation 57: 103-124.https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.57.108950
If you follow any of Pensoft’s social media accounts, you will know that we have been counting down our top 10 favourite species described as new-to-science in our journals this year.
The list is—of course—entirely arbitrary, but it is also a fun way to look back on a year in which several weird and wonderful animals, plants and fungi were discovered.
In this blog post, we will tell you more about each species, share some honourable mentions, and reveal our number 1 spot!
Honourable mentions
The league of legends crab
Gothus teemo and Teemo.
When it was time to name a tiny, ‘furry’ new species of gorilla crab from China, researchers drew unlikely inspiration from the video game League of Legends.
Gothus teemo was named after the character Teemo thanks to its distinctive appearance and has drawn a lot of attention from fans of the franchise.
The new species is thought to have resembled a modern sandtiger shark (pictured).
Calling anything on this list a ‘new species’ is not accurate—rather, they are just new to published science. Nothing exemplifies this more than Palaeohypotodus bizzocoi, a long-extinct shark species that lived 65 million years ago, shortly after the fall of the dinosaurs.
What makes this discovery remarkable is that it was partially accidental. Find out how a 100-year-old box of teeth in Alabama led to the discovery of this ancient shark below.
Sometimes, it is the way in which a new species is discovered that makes it so special.
Such is the case for Schiedea waiahuluensis, a carnation species from Hawaii that is likely the first plant to be identified and collected using drone technology. Learn all about it below!
With its all-black colouration, Tylototriton gaowangjienensis, a crocodile newt from China, has drawn comparisons to Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon.
However, this alluring amphibian hides flashes of orange beneath its tail and toes! Find more pictures and information below.
Besides its adorable appearance, Hoplitis onosmaevae is remarkable due to its distribution. It is currently only known from a small region of the French Alps, and areas >2,000 km away in the mountains of Turkey and Iraq.
Another interesting aspect of Hoplitis onosmaevae is its specialised ecological niche: it is thought to only collect pollen from Onosma species. This narrow ecological niche makes it vulnerable to factors like climate change and changes in agricultural practices.
John L. Clark with Amalophyllon miraculum. Credit @phinaea on Instagram.
The discovery of Amalophyllon miraculum—in an area assumed to be a barren agricultural landscape of plant extinctions—represents an inspiration for biodiversity conservation. This “miracle” plant, as its name suggests, was found surviving in one of the small, isolated forest fragments that remain in the Centinela region of western Ecuador.
This spiky amphibian was discovered on Cerro Candelaria, a mountain in the Tungurahua province. The discovery of this new species in the upper Rio Pastaza watershed suggests this area might be a centre of rapid evolution for these fascinating frogs.
Entomologists and citizen scientists teamed up to discover this new species of flea beetle in the lush rainforests of Borneo. The discovery was made during a Taxon Expeditions trip, where non-scientist people got the chance to work alongside scientists to identify and describe new species.
What makes this discovery particularly exciting is the beetle’s size—it’s actually one of the largest among its relatives! Flea beetles that live in the leaf litter of tropical forests are typically much smaller, and as a result, we know very little about their ecology and diversity.
Discovered in the Red Sea, the ‘grumpy dwarf goby’ (Sueviota aethon) was published as a new species in ZooKeys. You can probably guess how it earned its name! This tiny fish, measuring less than 2 centimetres long, sports a permanent frown thanks to its large canines and fierce expression. Despite its small size, the grumpy dwarfgoby is thought to be a fearsome predator in its coral reef habitat.
Thismia malayanais a mycoheterotrophic plant, meaning it doesn’t photosynthesise. Instead, it acts as a parasite, stealing carbon resources from the fungi on its roots!
By stealing nutrients from fungi, it can thrive in the low-light conditions of dense forest understories where its highly specialised flowers are pollinated by fungus gnats and other small insects.
While the Tiputini velvet worm—Oroperipatus tiputini—may look friendly, it is an accomplished hunter that shoots a sticky substance from a pair of glands to trap its prey. This “living fossil” is a rare and unique invertebrate that evolved over 500 million years ago. The new species was discovered in the Ecuadorian Amazon at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, which is part of the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve.
They say that life imitates art, and this new gecko species proves that to be true! Researchers in India have discovered a gecko with such a unique and beautiful colouration that they named it after painter Vincent van Gogh. The “Starry Night” gecko, or Cnemaspis vangoghi, was discovered in the Southern Western Ghats and stands out due to the male’s yellow head and forebody with light blue spots on the back, a striking combination reminiscent of the famous painting.
Ovophis jenkinsi is dark brownish-grey, with trapezoidal patches on its back. It is endemic to China’s Yingjiang County and is not difficult to find in the wild.
Yunnan, China is a biodiversity hotspot, with many new reptile species discovered in the region in recent years. It is also where a research team from China found a new species of medium-sized venomous snake, known as a mountain pit viper.
Ovophis jenkinsi. Photo by Xianchun Qiu
“We checked specimens of the [snake] genus Ovophis collected by Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Forestry University in Yingjiang, Yunnan in 2008, and found that these specimens were different from all known similar species. We collected some new specimens from Yingjiang in 2023 and finally determined that this population represents a new species!” the researchers explained.
The new species was named Ovophis jenkinsi in honour of herpetologist Robert “Hank” William Garfield Jenkins AM (September 1947−September 2023), who had “a passion for snakes, especially pit vipers, and helped China, along with many Asian countries, complete snake census, conservation, and management projects,” the team writes in their study, which was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
A specimen of Ovophis jenkinsi from Yingjiang, Yunnan, China. Photo by Xianchun Qiu
Ovophis jenkinsi is generally dark brownish-grey, but some individuals can be deep orange-brown, and has trapezoidal patches on its back. “It is usually slow-moving but shows great aggression when disturbed,” the researchers explain after observing the snake’s behaviour. “When threatened, these snakes inflate their bodies to make themselves appear larger and strike quickly.”
There are no records to date of humans being bitten by this species.
The only known habitat of Ovophis jenkinsi, the tropical montane rainforest in Yingjiang, Yunnan, China. Photo by Xiaojun Gu
Like many other species, this snake is endemic to China’s Yingjiang County, which means it is currently found only there. “It is not difficult to find this species in the wild, they are active mainly in the autumn and prefer cool, humid, and even rainy nights, probably to avoid competition with other snakes,” the researchers say, suggesting it might feed on small mammals.
“We will be collecting more information about O. jenkinsi in the future, including their appearance, distribution, and habits, to improve our understanding of this species,” the researchers say in conclusion.
Research article:
Qiu X-C, Wang J-Z, Xia Z-Y, Jiang Z-W, Zeng Y, Wang N, Li P-P, Shi J-S (2024) A new mountain pitviper of the genus Ovophis Burger in Hoge & Romano-Hoge, 1981 (Serpentes, Viperidae) from Yunnan, China. ZooKeys 1203: 173-187. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1203.119218
Nothing like the common red, black, or brown ants, a stunning blue ant has been discovered from Yingku village in Arunachal Pradesh, northeastern India. This new species belongs to the rare genus Paraparatrechina and has been named Paraparatrechinaneela. The word “neela” signifies the color blue in most Indian languages – a fitting tribute to the ant’s unique coloration.
Entomologists Dr. Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan and Sahanashree R, from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in Bengaluru, along with Aswaj Punnath from the University of Florida, collaborated to describe the remarkable new species. Their scientific description of the ant is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
Paraparatrechinaneela. Photo by Sahanashree R
“While exploring a tree hole about 10 feet up in a steep cattle track in the remote Yinku village one evening, something sparkled in the twilight. With the dim light available, two insects were sucked into an aspirator. To our surprise, we later found they were ants” said the researchers.
The ant was found during an expedition to Siang valley in Arunachal Pradesh to resurvey its biodiversity after the century-old ‘Abhor expedition’. The original Abor expedition from the period of colonial rule in India was a punitive military expedition against the indigenous people there in 1911-1912. A scientific team also accompanied the military expedition, to document the natural history and geography of the Siang Valley. Тhis expedition encountered several challenges, including hostile terrain, difficult weather conditions, and resistance from local tribes. Despite the challenges, it managed to explore and map large parts of the Siang Valley region, cataloguing every plant, frog, lizard, fish, bird & mammal and insects they found, with the discoveries published in several volumes from 1912 to 1922 in the Records of the Indian Museum.
A view of Suabg Valley. Photo by Ranjith AP
Now, a century later, a team of researchers from ATREE and a documentation team from Felis Creations Bangalore have embarked on a series of expeditions under the banner “Siang Expedition”, to resurvey and document the biodiversity of the region. This expedition was funded by the National Geographic Society through the wildlife-conservation expedition grant.
“Nestled within a Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley presents a world of unparalleled diversity, much of it yet to be explored. However, this very richness, both cultural and ecological, faces unprecedented threats. Large-scale infrastructure projects like dams, highways, and military installations, along with climate change, are rapidly altering the valley. The impact extends beyond the valley itself, as these mountains play a critical role not only in sustaining their own diverse ecosystems but also in ensuring the well-being of millions of people living downstream”, said Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, corresponding author of the paper.
Paraparatrechina neela is a small ant with a total length of less than 2mm. Its body is predominantly metallic blue, except for the antennae, mandibles, and legs. The head is subtriangular with large eyes, and has a triangular mouthpart (mandible) featuring five teeth. This species has a distinct metallic blue colour that is different from any other species in its genus.
Paraparatrechinaneela. Photo by Sahanashree R
Blue is relatively rare in the animal kingdom. Various groups of vertebrates, including fish, frogs, and birds, as well as invertebrates such as spiders and flies and wasps, showcase blue coloration. In insects, it is often produced by the arrangement of biological photonic nanostructures, which create structural colours rather than being caused by pigments. While blue coloration is commonly observed in some insects like butterflies, beetles, bees, and wasps, it is relatively rare in ants. Out of the 16,724 known species and subspecies of ants worldwide, only a few exhibit blue coloration or iridescence.
The discovery of Paraparatrechina neela contributes to the richness of ant diversity and represents the unique biodiversity of the Eastern Himalayas, and its blue coloration raises intriguing questions. Does it help in communication, camouflage, or other ecological interactions? Delving into the evolution of this conspicuous coloration and its connections to elevation and the biology of Paraparatrechina neela presents an exciting avenue for research.
Research article: Sahanashree R, Punnath A, Rajan Priyadarsanan D (2024) A remarkable new species of Paraparatrechina Donisthorpe (1947) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Formicinae) from the Eastern Himalayas, India. ZooKeys 1203: 159-172. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1203.114168
A burrowing owl is overwintering on a Tennessee River peninsula near New Johnsonville, Tennessee, marking the first sighting of the species in the state.
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Birds migrating from north to south are a given but migrating from the southwest to the southeast is a little rarer. A burrowing owl is overwintering on a Tennessee River peninsula near New Johnsonville, Tennessee, marking the first sighting of the species in the state, and a Mississippi State wildlife ecologist is researching the fascinating oddity.
As the burrowing owl made its first home on a former Tennessee Valley Authority fossil fuel plant in 2020, Scott Rush, a scientist in the MSU Forest and Wildlife Research Center, was called in by TVA to study the bird of prey found hundreds of miles outside of its range.
“Burrowing owls are found west of Central Texas and Oklahoma, all the way up into Canada. There is also a non-migratory population in Florida, so you’ll occasionally see them in Alabama but never in Tennessee,” Rush said, explaining a continuing struggle for the birds is a loss of habitat.
Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia, observed overwintering in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, USA. Photograph taken on 19 November 2022 by T. Ross.
“They live inside burrows created by prairie dogs and other animals,” he said. “They’re declining across the range in part because we’re losing some of those historic systems like undisturbed prairie dog colonies as more grasslands are being developed.”
Rush, an associate professor in MSU’s Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, and his research team have studied the bird and its diet to learn more about where the novel creature came from and why he makes his winter home in the Volunteer State.
Burrowing owl on the former TVA fossil fuel plant near New Johnsonville, Tennessee. Photo via MSU
The team collected plumage from the owl’s feathers and determined it was a male belonging to the subspecies A.c. hypugaea. They studied pellets to determine its diet, identifying six different species including insect, mammalian and plant remnants. They also conducted an isotopic analysis of its feathers to determine the bird’s home range. Details from the sightings were recently published in Check List, a journal of biodiversity data.
“We could see from various kinds of elemental components that the bird is probably from Texas, relatively near Dallas, according to our analysis,” said Rush, who noted the bird has been banded and this year, scientists hope to outfit it with a GPS tracker. “If we can put a GPS tracker on the owl, we can confirm its home range.”
The owl, which again has overwintered this season in the same location, was first spotted by a TVA employee, and Liz Hamrick, a terrestrial zoologist with TVA reached out to Rush.
“A security guard at the site who happened to be an amateur birder came across it. Once I was alerted of its presence, I connected with our natural resources team who had already been working with Dr. Rush studying ospreys and vultures,” Hamrick said. “My role is to review TVA’s actions and ensure potential impacts to common wildlife and rare animals are avoided or minimized, and that includes protecting this owl. We need to make sure we follow all the state and federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act and the Executive Order for Migratory Birds.”
Hamrick said that as species assemblages change geographies, her team must be vigilant in identifying new species moving to the area like the burrowing owl and doing their best to protect them on TVA sites.
“It’s been exciting to learn about a whole new species and try to solve a mystery of why on earth this bird is repeatedly selecting to come to this industrial site out of its normal range,” she said.
Research article:
Rush SA, Naveda-Rodríguez A, Hamrick EB (2023) New overwintering location of Burrowing Owl, Athene cunicularia hypugaea (Molina, 1782) (Strigidae) in Tennessee, USA, with diet assessed through pellets. Check List 19(6): 863-868. https://doi.org/10.15560/19.6.863
This news piece was originally published by Mississippi State University. It is republished here with permission.
Last week, on Friday, 6 October 2023, a research article entitled “One new genus and four new species of Liocranidae Simon, 1897 (Arachnida, Araneae) from China and Vietnam” by Chang Chu, Shuqiang Li, Yanbin Yao, Zhiyuan Yao was published. This is the 100th paper published in ZooKeys co-authored by Shuqiang Li, a leading spider specialist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. Shuqiang’s first ZooKeys paper was published on December 18, 2012. Until last Friday, Shuqiang has published 51 new genera and 677 new species in 100 ZooKeys papers.
Shuqiang started his scientific career as a spider taxonomist, with his first paper on the Linyphiidae of China published in 1987, followed by a series of revisions of known Chinese and Asia spider species. To date, he has documented more than 2,000 new species.
A glimpse into new spider species published in ZooKeys by Shuqiang Li. A. Macrothele limenghuai (Macrothelidae); B. Phrynarachne dreepy (Thomisidae); C. Onomastus chenae (Salticidae); D. Asianopis liukuensis (Deinopidae); E. Ectatosticta xuanzang (Hypochilidae); F. Megaeupoa yanfengi (Salticidae); G. Chilobrachys jinchengi (Theraphosidae); H. Platythomisus xiandao (Thomisidae).
He is also a proficient professor in the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences and has mentored more than 30 PhD students from China, Vietnam, and Italy, and another three M.Sc. students from Kenya and Malaysia. Most of his former Chinese PhD students have since become full professors. Shuqiang has been the Secretary of the Asian Society of Arachnology since 2012 and President of the Arachnology Society of China since 2018.
Femorbiona shenzhen, one of the new species described by Shuqiang Li and his colleagues in ZooKeys.
Many people see spiders as ugly due to their multiple legs, hairy bodies, and sometimes venomous fangs, but this appearance serves a purpose in their survival and adaptation to their environment. “Spiders are lovely animals”, Shuqiang said to us. He focuses mostly on fine spider structures. For example, he used spider copulatory organs (male palp and female epigyne) to study species taxonomy. “Interspecies mating is not easy due to difference in copulatory organs,” he says. He and his team members are also focusing on the origin of spider organs.
Nine years ago, University of Wyoming entomologist Scott Shaw and colleague Eduardo Shimbori gained a moment of fame by naming several newly discovered South American insect species for celebrities — including a wasp for singer and musician Shakira (Aleiodes shakirae).
Today, the Shakira wasp is one of only 18 animal species featured in a museum exhibition in Denmark. “From Rock Fossils to Pop Insects” at the Naturama Museum in Svendborg, Denmark, highlights species named after famous rock musicians and pop stars, including an ancient mammal for Mick Jagger (Jaggermeryx) and a deep-sea crab named for Metallica (Macrostylis metallicola).
This is the panel in an exhibition at the Naturama Museum in Svendborg, Denmark, that highlights the naming of the Shakira wasp (Aleiodes shakirae) by UW Professor Scott Shaw and colleague Eduardo Shimbori.
The exhibition was planned and created by Thomas Berg, a senior scientist and curator at the museum.
“Discover the fascinating old fossils, listen to the music and find out why scientists use rock music when naming fossils,” says a Naturama website promoting the exhibition, which is open to the public for viewing through November.
The Shakira wasp is a parasite of caterpillars, feeding and developing inside them — and causing them to bend and twist their abdomens in a distinctive way, which reminded Shaw and Shimbori of belly dancing, for which the Colombia-born singer also is famous. The Shakira wasp and other insect species were described in a 2014 volume of the international research journal ZooKeys, which is dedicated to advancing studies of the taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography and evolution of animals.
“It’s gratifying to see our discovery included in this exhibition in such a creative and artistic way,” Shaw says. “I hope this public attention will help to draw new students to studies of tropical insects and the urgent field of tropical forest conservation.”
Aleiodesshakirae.
Berg says he chose the Shakira wasp for the exhibition because Shakira is a world-class singer and musician — and because of the researchers’ story behind the naming of the insect.
“Shaw and Shimbori’s personal story was captivating, with clear references to the parasitic wasp’s effect on its victim,” Berg says. “I’ll also admit that I’m a huge fan of Shakira, and it was such a gift to have the world’s best argument to include Aleiodes shakirae in the exhibition.”
National Science Foundation-funded fieldwork conducted in the cloud forests of eastern Ecuador by Shaw and colleagues led to the discovery of 24 new species of Aleiodes wasps that mummify caterpillars. Some of these were named for other celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Ellen DeGeneres. One of these, Aleiodes colberti — named after Colbert — was featured on the Jan. 22, 2022, segment of Colbert’s “Late Show” on CBS.
A UW faculty member since 1989, Shaw is the curator of UW’s Insect Museum in the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources. He received that college’s Vanvig Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. He has published more than 200 scientific publications about insects as well as a book, “Planet of the Bugs: Evolution and the Rise of Insects,” which tells of dominant insect species and how they shaped life on Earth.
News piece originally by the University of Wyoming. Republished with permission.
Choloepus hoffmanni capitalis is a poorly known subspecies of two-toed sloth that inhabits coastal southern Colombia and Ecuador(Hayssen 2011). In Ecuador, according to local reports from rehabilitation centers and events recorded by the press, this species is apparently not widely trafficked for pet trade, but it is known to be illegally hunted and consumed, the impact of which is difficult to trace and evaluate. Nevertheless, the conservation status of the two-toed sloths C.h. capitalis Ecuadorian coast keeps leaning towards more threatened categorizations, and nowadays is established as vulnerable (Tirira, 2021).
The sloths Bravo and Linda during rehabilitation.
Its habitat is a hotspot for conservation in all its extent, as it is threatened. In addition, due to multiple origins of impact, it has been recorded as the second most abundant mammal (from the list of animals subjected to wildlife traffic and bushmeat consumption according to Environment Ministry reports) received in the busy rehabilitation center of Guayaquil, Ecuador (Villalba-Briones et al., 2021).
Xenarthrans have been relatively poorly studied, specially sloths (Superina and Loughry 2015), and due to the species’ inconspicuous strategy, it is also difficult to detect and perform population evaluations (Martínez et al. 2020). Taking in account the slow reproduction rate of Choloepus gen., having one offspring every 3 years (Hayssen 2011), it is critical to consider the importance of reintroductions (Paterson et al. 2021, Villalba-Briones et al. 2022), but, to all effects, nothing can substitute the implementation of efficient regulation to cease hunting and bushmeat consumption.
In-situ studies, understanding its ecology, behavior, abundance etc., could provide the necessary tools to estimate its populations, and evaluate its conservation status. Alternatively, non-invasive opportunistic studies in ex-situ programs during rehabilitation procedures could provide improvements in the aspects as diets and health, increasing the survival rate and fitness to release of rehabilitated sloths.
Bravo, the two-toed sloth moving through the trees on the day of release with a biodegradable backpack that supported the Bluetooth detection device (Day 1). Photo by R. Villalba-Briones
We suggest considering follow-up activities to check the animals’ safety during their adaptation to the natural environment. We also propose the inclusion of a follow-up term to redeem the post-release supportive monitoring, develop its scope, and to rely on the presence and readiness of the caregivers or researchers to help the animal during the first weeks after release.
In order to track Bravo after his release, a handmade biodegradable backpack with Bluetooth signal transmission capacity was fitted to his body. The lightweight Tile Bluetooth device did not pose any harm to the sloth, and after some heavy rains cardboard-made attachment just disintegrated, releasing the device.
Motionless defensive behavior of Bravo, the two-toed sloth, under threat from an owl (Night 6). Photo by R. Villalba-Briones
In our work, the presence in the area of a territorial carnivore individual led to the end of the follow-up activity. Consequently, in the case of probable undesired situations, we propose the use of devices to track the animals and monitor their presence daily. Alternatively, accounting for the relationship between movement patterns of the individual and detection probability, we propose 7 pm as the best time for observations of this mainly nocturnal species.
Due to the difficulty monitoring nocturnal animals, economic constraints in conservation, accessibility, and safety of the animals, biodegradable Bluetooth-based backpacks are recommended to ease the location of the animal and support its survival in the wild. The range of detectability of the device used indicates its suitability for tracking low-mobility animals.
Map showing the movements and tree use of the rehabilitated two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) in a dry tropical forest in the coastal region of Ecuador.
This first record of the follow-up of a rehabilitated Choloepushoffmanni and the detectability analysis offer valuable information for the future release and follow-up of individuals belonging to the genus Choloepus, and sloths in general.
The knowledge about released animals’ survival could help in clearing rehabilitation uncertainties, and, always, can give the animals the second chance they deserve. Monitoring animal survival after release is essential for recording whether the rehabilitation process has been accomplished, but it is rarely done in practice, given the amount of funds required. It can, however, be substantially cheaper and affordable if the right techniques are used. These activities are more feasible when strategic planning and support exist.
Nowadays, the scarcity of funds to fulfill the needs of conservation projects on sloths (Superina and Loughry 2015, Choperena-Palencia and Mancera-Rodríguez 2018) seems to be an important obstacle. However, with a sensitized population, management effort, and support, it could be possible to understand and preserve the Choloepus hoffmanni capitalis.
References:
Choperena-Palencia MC, Mancera-Rodríguez NJ (2018) EVALUACIÓN DE PROCESOS DE SEGUIMIENTO Y MONITOREO POST-LIBERACIÓN DE FAUNA SILVESTRE REHABILITADA EN COLOMBIA. Luna Azul: 181–209. https://doi.org/10.17151/luaz.2018.46.11
Hayssen V (2011) Choloepus hoffmanni (Pilosa: Megalonychidae). Mammalian Species 43: 37–55. https://doi.org/10.1644/873.1
Martínez M, Velásquez A, Pacheco-Amador S, Cabrera N, Acosta I, Tursios-Casco M (2020) El perezoso de dos dedos (Choloepus hoffmanni) en Honduras: distribución, historia natural y conservación. Notas sobre Mamíferos Sudamericanos 01: 001–009. https://doi.org/10.31687/saremNMS.20.0.25
Paterson JE, Carstairs S, Davy CM (2021) Population-level effects of wildlife rehabilitation and release vary with life-history strategy. Journal for Nature Conservation 61: 125983. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2021.125983
Superina M, Loughry WJ (2015) Why do Xenarthrans matter?: Table 1. Journal of Mammalogy 96: 617–621. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyv099
Villalba-Briones R, Molineros E, Monros, J. S. (2021). Estudio retrospectivo de rescates y retenciones de especies de fauna silvestre sujetas a tráfico de fauna en guayaquil, Ecuador. Comité científico.
Villalba-Briones R, Jiménez ER, Monros JS (2022) Release and follow-up of a rehabilitated two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) in a tropical dry forest in Ecuador. Neotropical Biology and Conservation 17(4): 253-267. https://doi.org/10.3897/neotropical.17.e91332
Tirira, D. G. (ed.). 2021. Lista Roja de los mamíferos del Ecuador, en: Libro Rojo de los mamíferos del Ecuador (3a edición). Asociación Ecuatoriana de Mastozoología, Fundación Mamíferos y Conservación, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador y Ministerio del Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica del Ecuador. Publicación Especial sobre los mamíferos del Ecuador 13, Quito.
With more than 7000 individuals populating the Carpathian Mountains and neighboring areas, Romania has the highest density of brown bears in Europe. As they often inhabit human-dominated landscapes, conflicts with people are not uncommon.
“The media play an influential role in how the public perceives brown bears, thus, it can promote human-wildlife coexistence or exacerbate future conflicts”, they say.
Brown bear waiting on the roadside for food scraps (National Road 2D, Vrancea, Romania). Photo by Dr Silviu Chiriac (EPA Vrancea)
The study found that news stories related to brown bears became common in Romanian media only after 2016, following the instatement of a provisional one-year ban on culling, and increased abruptly in 2021 following the whistleblowing of an alleged trophy hunting event.
The majority of reports were about human-bear interaction, hunting, and poaching, offering little context and information on how to avoid conflicts. Articles on the ecology and biology of brown bears were rare, which indicates less consideration of the ecological significance and the impact of human activities on their conservation status.
Focusing on alarming messages without offering evidence or advice can increase fear and undermine efforts to protect the species and the welfare of society.
The attitude towards brown bears, perceived from the studied articles was predominantly negative (53%; 380 articles). In these articles, the authors used phrases such as: “At any moment the people can find themselves in front of a hungry bear;” “Beyond the horror they live with every day, they have lost their patience and trust in the authorities;” and “People are afraid of the worst.”
Even when reporting sightings of bears near populated areas and encounters with no casualties, Romanian media promoted a negative image of bears to their readership. “Focusing on alarming messages without offering evidence or advice can increase fear and undermine efforts to protect the species and the welfare of society,” the researchers said.
Importantly, the team found that media did not consult wildlife and conservation biologists when reporting on human-bear interactions or bear hunting and poaching events. “This can be because the experts are reluctant to be part of the debate, or because the media may not be interested in bringing more scientific context to their reports,” they reason.
Rescuing a bear trapped in wire-snare in an orchard (Vrancea, Romania). Photo by Dr Silviu Chiriac (EPA Vrancea)
“In conclusion, increasing the frequency of reporting interaction events with alarming messages can only lower the level of tolerance for wildlife and negatively influence political decisions regarding the management of the brown bear population.”
The researchers call for publishing detailed and evidence-informed news as a means to educate people to avoid conflict and facilitate the implementation of effective wildlife conservation and management strategies.
“Evidence-informed news can help authorities better understand conflicts and create bottom-up pathways toward an optimistic future for brown bears and Romanian society”, they conclude.
Research article:
Neagu AC, Manolache S, Rozylowicz L (2022) The drums of war are beating louder: Media coverage of brown bears in Romania. Nature Conservation 50: 65-84. https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.50.86019
In the world of biodiversity science, 2022 started with some great discoveries and a lot of hope. Here at Pensoft, we get to see a new species (or more!) make an appearance into the scientific world almost every day. The diversity is impressive, but what is even more amazing is how much more remains undiscovered.
With the first half of the year already behind us, here are the stellar new species that took the world by storm as soon as we published them.
The magical fairy wrasse
This rainbow-coloured fish is called Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa, or Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse, and it was found in the Maldives’ reefs. It can live 160 to 500 feet beneath the ocean’s surface in unexplored coral ecosystems dubbed “the twilight zone”.
“Nobody knows these waters better than the Maldivian people,” says senior author and Academy Curator of Ichthyology Luiz Rocha. “Our research is stronger when it’s done in collaboration with local researchers and divers.”
Media attention for our new species isn't slowing down, so I'll keep promoting it! Did you know that in addition to looking incredible in life, the new C. finifenmaa is also fluorescent!? Here's an unreleased photo taken by T. Gerlach and J. Theobald. https://t.co/EVwOtCvRc3pic.twitter.com/aqCNFvbzja
Apart from its striking appearance, Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa also gained popularity as the first new-to-science species to be described by a Maldivian scientist.
“It has always been foreign scientists who have described species found in the Maldives, even those that are endemic, without much involvement from local scientists, says study co-author and Maldives Marine Research Institute biologist Ahmed Najeeb. “This time it is different.”
It is also one of the first species to have its name derived from the local Dhivehi language, ‘finifenmaa’ meaning ‘rose’, a nod to both its pink hues and the island nation’s national flower.
This beautiful fish is already being exploited through the aquarium hobbyist trade, a fact described as “unsettling” by the people who discovered it.
How often is it that a millipede makes top news headlines? Well, Nannaria swiftaesure did.
Scientists Derek Hennen, Jackson Means, and Paul Marek, at Virginia Tech, U.S., described the new species in April, naming it after singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. “Her music helped me get through the highs and lows of graduate school, so naming a new millipede species after her is my way of saying thanks,” Derek Hennen says, admitting he has been her fan for years.
N. swiftae joins 16 other new species of twisted-claw millipedes described from the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. To find them, researchers traveled to 17 US states, checking under leaf litter, rocks, and logs. They then sequenced the DNA of the species they found and described them scientifically. They looked at over 1800 specimens collected on their field study or taken from university and museum collections!
These little-known invertebrates are somewhat tricky to catch, because they tend to remain buried in the soil, sometimes staying completely beneath the surface.
Most twisted-claw millipedes live on the forest floor, where they feed on decaying leaves and other plant matter. They also have a valuable role as decomposers: breaking down leaf litter, they release their nutrients into the ecosystem.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been namesakes with a frog for half a year now. In 2018, Rainforest Trust celebrated its 30th anniversary by hosting an auction offering naming rights for some new-to-science species, including Pristimantis gretathunbergae, a black-eyed rainfrog from in eastern Panama.
The undisclosed auction winner wanted to name the frog in honor of Thunberg and her work in highlighting the urgency in preventing climate change. She has impressed global leaders and her work is drawing others to action for the climate.
The international team that discovered the new rainfrog was led by Abel Batista, Ph.D. (Panama) and Konrad Mebert, Ph.D. (Switzerland). They found the frog on Mount Chucanti, a sky island surrounded by lowland tropical rainforest in eastern Panama. Reaching its habitat in the cloud forest required access via horseback through muddy trails, hiking up steep slopes, by-passing two helicopters that crashed decades ago, and camping above 1000 m elevation.
Unfortunately, the frog’s remaining habitat is severely fragmented and highly threatened by rapid deforestation for plantations and cattle pasture. Rising temperatures are another threat as they could destroy its small mountain habitat. The Mount Chucanti region already has lost more than 30% of its forest cover over the past 10 years, and the scientists insist that conservation of the remaining habitat is critical to ensure the survival of the frog.
Instantly gaining popularity as Chocolate Frog, Synapturanus danta is a curious little frog that was recently discovered in the Peruvian Amazon. Local people had long known about this tiny, burrowing frog with a long snout; one local name for it is rana danta, “tapir frog”, for its resemblance to the large-nosed Amazonian mammal.
“These frogs are really hard to find, and that leads to them being understudied,” says Michelle Thompson, a researcher in the Keller Science Action Center at Chicago’s Field Museum and one of the authors of the study describing the frog. “It’s an example of the Amazon’s hidden diversity, and it’s important to document it to understand how important the ecosystem functions.”
While the frogs are hard to see, they’re not hard to hear. “We just kept hearing this beep-beep-beep coming from underground, and we suspected it could be a new species of burrowing frog,” says Thompson. “But how do we get to it?”
Local guides who were familiar with the frogs led the researchers to peatland areas– wetlands carpeted with nutrient-rich turf made of decaying plant matter. “After 15 to 20 minutes of digging and looking for them, I heard Michelle screaming, and to me that could only mean that she and David had found the first adult,” says Germán Chávez, a researcher at Peru’s Instituto Peruano de Herpetología and the study’s first author.
The researchers used the physical specimens of the frogs, along with the recordings of their calls and an analysis of the frogs’ DNA, to confirm that they were a new species. They named them Synapturanus danta – Synapturanus is the name of the genus they belong to, and danta is the local word for “tapir.”
This magnificent non-venomous snake, previously unknown to science, was discovered in Paraguay. It belongs to the genus Phalotris, a group of snakes from central South America noted for their striking coloration with red, black, and yellow patterns.
Jean-Paul Brouard, one of the involved researchers, came across an individual of the new species by chance while digging a hole at Rancho Laguna Blanca in 2014. Together with his colleagues Paul Smith and Pier Cacciali, he described the discovery, naming the new snake Phalotris shawnella.
The species name recognizes two children – Shawn Ariel Smith Fernández and Ella Bethany Atkinson – who were born in the same year as the Fundación Para La Tierra (2008). They inspired the founders of the NGO to work for the conservation of Paraguayan wildlife, in the hope that their children can inherit a better world.
🐍 This lovely #snake is the latest addition to the #herpetofauna of Paraguay. The team that discovered it, however, worries that this beautiful and highly endemic #NewSpecies is not well protected.
This new Phalotris snake is particularly attractive and can be distinguished from other related species in its genus by its red head in combination with a yellow collar, a black lateral band and orange ventral scales with irregular black spots.
Only known from three individuals, this species is endemic to the Cerrado forests of the department of San Pedro in east Paraguay. Its extreme rarity led the authors to consider it as “Endangered”, according to the conservation categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which means it is in imminent danger of extinction in the absence of measures for its protection.
