Biodiversity: The ravages of guns, nets and bulldozers.

Maltidhari College, Naubatpur, Patna is a rural area constituent college of Patliputra University, Patna in the state of Bihar. The college has maintained high standards in relation to ecological perspective. Google Earth data of last 15 years prior to 2022 shows that changes in campus has not disturbed the biodiversity and number of trees. Efforts to improve plant diversity include establishment of different gardens with various purposes like Sundar Lal Bahuguna Fal Udyan for fruits, Rishi Bagh Bhatt Ayurvedic Udyan for medicinal plants, Malti Pusp Vatika for flowers, Botanical Garden for woods and Gandhi Naitik Sthal for aesthetic plants. Besides these many other plants have been planted along the sides of pathway and backyard of most of the buildings. These areas have large trees which maximises utilisation of land area of the campus for greenery purpose. Our scientific survey of flora found a total of 322 trees of 51 different species that includes trees of mainly Gymnosperms and Angiosperms. Tectona grandis followed by Wodyetia bifurcate are most frequent species of tree. To our surprise the campus also has few species of plants which are in various categories of risk of extinction such as critically endangered, Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable as per IUCN red list data. It also has species of trees whose global trend of population is decreasing as per IUCN Red List Data. In campus these plants have Shannon’s diversity index of 2.91 and Simpson’s diversity index of 0.88. This college presents an ideal example of development with ecological preservation. Number of trees have increased from 11 in 2012 to 322 in 2022. Collective tree plantation programme of 2016 caused the increase the number of trees from 27 in 2017 to 255 in 2018.

Tourism and recreation are large industries employing millions of people and contribute over US$2.01 trillion to the global economy. Unfortunately they also have diverse and sometimes severe environmental impacts affecting many species, including those that are rare and threatened. To assess the extent to which these industries threaten vascular plants, we reviewed data in the IUCN Red List for 462 Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable European species. Tourism and recreation were listed as threatening 42 % (194 species) of these species from across 50 families, mostly herbs (70 %). They were listed as threatening plants in 9 of the 10 bioregions in Europe and in 25 of the 40 countries assessed. Popular tourism destinations such as the Canary Islands (41 species) and mainland Spain (40 species) had the greatest diversity of species listed as threatened by tourism and recreation. The most common of these threats were trampling (61 species), plant collection (59), the maintenance/construction of tourist infrastructure (43) and habitat degradation due to the urbanisation of tourist sites (13). Additional species assessments and more research on the impacts of tourism and recreation may add to these values. It is clear that these industries pose an important threatening process on plants in Europe based on the IUCN Red List data and hence deserve greater recognition in terms of research, conservation and management.

Specialization is a widespread but highly ambiguous and context-dependent ecological concept. This quality makes comparisons across related studies difficult and makes associated terms such as "specialist" and "generalist" scientifically obscure. Here, we present a metric-based framework to quantify specialization in 141 Quercus species using functional traits, biogeography, and species interactions. Rankings of specialization based on five metrics were used to answer questions about how specialization is used colloquially (i.e., individual species assessment by experts) and influenced by phylogenetics (Ancestral Character State Reconstruction, Automatic Shift Detection), biogeography (patterns of clustering by region and with climate), and species threat level (IUCN Red List). Metric-based ranking can be representative of specialization in a consistent and practical manner, correlating with IUCN Red List data, and the mean scores of individual expert assessments. Specialization is shown to be highly correlated with precipitation seasonality and only moderately influenced by evolutionary history. Data-deficient species were more likely to be highly specialized, and higher specialization was positively correlated with greater IUCN threat level. Frameworks for characterizing specialization and generalization can be done using metric ranking and can turn concepts that are often unclear into a definitive system. Metric-based rankings of specialization can also be used to reveal interesting insights about a clade's evolutionary history and geographic distribution when paired with the related phylogenetic and geographic data. Metric-based rankings can be applied to other systems and be a valuable tool for identifying species at risk and in need of conservation.

Missing species listing reveals undiagnosed extinction among reptiles, tropical, and island vertebrates

This collection contains all scripts used to replicate the analysis of IUCN Red List data described in the manuscript by Lucas Fortini and Kaipo Dye, 2017.

One out of five plants are threatened as evident from the IUCN Red List data. Such high rates of loss in plant species triggered to protect and conserve biodiversity. It needs extremely high identification skills obtained via intensive training and experience, even for experienced botanists it is sometimes impossible to provide a definite identification based on a single image. Automatic identification of plant species in natural scene images is one of the important however challenging research problem with various applications in the field of agriculture and botany. Recently, state-of-the-art Deep Convolutional Neural Networks have been applied to classify different species of plants however, they still suffer due to the complexity of the plant images. In this paper, we present multi-path multi deep convolutional network for the identification of plant species which feeds different versions of plant images, thus resultant model has better image presentation than traditional CNN. Comprehensive experimental evaluation on benchmark plant datasets showed that without using any pre-trained models, our proposed shallow network demonstrate very competitive performance for plant species identification. The experimental results proved that the multi-path multi CNN are highly effective for learning discriminative features.

Seagrass beds are important for providing ecological functions and ecosystem services, including its role as habitat for marine animals. In spite of their significance, they remain in decline. The change of seagrass beds will affect the associated animals. Some animals that live on seagrass beds protected by IUCN Red Data List and CITES 1973. Yet the data have not been properly recorded. The aim of this study was to find out the existence of marine animals protected by the Red Data List and CITES 1973 IUCN, especially in seagrass ecosystems in Indonesia. The method used in this research is mix method with desk study approach and presentation of data analyzed through review. The results of the study show that changes in seagrass ecosystems will affect the presence of migratory marine animals and those who live and settle in this ecosystem. The provisions in the IUCN Red Data List and CITES 1973 supported by national legislation in Indonesia will have significant impact on the protection of marine animals in seagrass beds.

The IUCN's Red Data Book for endangered mammals lists 269 species and forms. Of these 135 are on red sheets indicating that they are in real danger of extinction and that only active measures can save them. The FPS Hon. Secretary has selected 25 of these and suggests what action must be taken for each one immediately. The species are arranged here in systematic order, not in any order of priority.

A wealth of studies have proposed that plantations can be enhanced into an area that is rich in biodiversity, perhaps to the extent of being an off-reserve strategy area for conservation purposes. This study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of rubber forest plantation in harbouring and acting as an off-reserve conservation area for birds. By conserving forest fragment areas as a way to improve the heterogeneity of a landscape within a rubber forest plantation, this paper aims to determine the conservation status of birds recorded from Bukit Kuantan rubber forest plantation which adopted forest fragment conservation. A point count observation method was implemented to record any sightings of birds within this plantation landscape. Subsequently, the identified bird species were checked with the Malaysian Wildlife Conservation Act (WCA) 2010 and IUCN Red List Data of endangered species. From the context of WCA 2010, it was found that majority of birds which accounted to 70%, were classified as totally protected, 11% were classified as protected, while remaining 19% were classified as non-protected. This work also highlights observation notes on four near-threatened bird species according to IUCN Red List Data recorded at Bukit Kuantan rubber forest plantation. Through the finding, it can be postulated that the rubber forest plantation might be suitable as an off-reserve conservation area although continuous studies is deemed necessary to determine the resiliency of the birds to continue their existence particularly in this rubber forest plantation.

This article focuses on the relationship between priority-setting in conservation and in taxonomy. A simple and generally applicable scheme is presented based on prior quantitative extinction threat evaluation. In the main part of the study we describe the assessment of the herbarium voucher collection date time series of 21 endemic fig tree species of Ficus sect. Oreosycea (Moraceae). The fig tree assessment is then compared with the available IUCN Red List data and with the collection information on two other groups of endemic tree radiations in New Caledonia: ebonies of Diospyros sect. Maba (Ebenaceae) and the Iguanura palm lineage (Arecaceae). We find a remarkably low level of extinction threat evident in Ficus but a pronounced need to differentiate between true species rarity and putative rarity of potential taxonomic artifacts. To this end it is proposed how such numerical evaluations can be used to set future priorities for the assessment or validation of the taxonomic and conservation status of taxa. The limitations and implications of the evaluation are discussed and relevant criteria for a meaningful analysis of collection records are listed. Finally, putting our results on woody plants into perspective, we briefly review the general conservation situation and outlook of New Caledonia, acknowledging both its high conservation priority and potential.

Ulmus wallichiana is a traditional medicinal plant listed as a vulnerable in the IUCN red list data. Genomic and transcriptomic resources for this species are lacking, hindering its genetic exploration. Further, no polymorphic marker resource is available for this species, thus limiting the elucidation of its underlying genetic diversity, which is a pre-requisite for its conservation. This study was therefore aimed to generate a functionally annotated transcriptomic resource and screen it for SSR regions. We used paired-end Illumina based RNAseq technology and trinity based de novo assembly approach to generate full length transcripts, which were screened for SSR regions and functionally annotated. Around 6.6 million raw reads were de novo assembled transcripts, which were clustered into 146,083 unigenes. 19,909 transcripts were provided with 3986 unique KEGG ids, 70,519 transcripts with 6621 unique Pfam domains, and 45,125 transcripts with 7302 unique INTERPRO domains. 1456 transcripts were identified as transcriptions factors (TFs). Further, 8868 unique GO terms were obtained for the unigenes. The transcripts mapped to 23,056 known pre-determined orthology clusters in the eggNOG database. A total of 16,570 SSRs were identified from the unigenes. Out of the 90 SSRs selected for characterization on 20 genotypes, 28 were polymorphic. Mean effective alleles (Ne) of 2.53, mean observed heterozygosity (Ho) of 0.77, and average polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.57 were found. This study may facilitate the genetic exploration of this species. The polymorphic SSRs would prove useful to explore its genetic diversity patterns, required for its conservation.

Mount Ungaran is an area that has a relatively high biodiversity potential, including butterflies. The diversity of ecosystems in the Ungaran Mountains such as natural forests, plantations, fields, and settlements are the factors for diverse of biodiversity. Butterflies are one of the most important assemblages of insects that act as biodiversity indicators as well as the ecosytems. The objective of the research was to analyze the species richness of the butterfly (order Lepidoptera) in Mount Ungaran and their conservation status. The research was conducted on five (4) station, there are Medini, Gadjah Mungkur, Semirang and Banyuwindu. Time of the research start from January to June 2018. The method of the research using point count method and analysis by description qualitative. The Result showed that total 62 species (5 Family) of Lepidoptera was recorded, followed by Nymphalidae (39 species), Papilionidae (11 species), Pieridae (9 species), Lycaenidae (3 species), and Hesperidae (2 species). There was one species was protected by Indonesian ruler and CITES appendix II (Troides helena), two species were endemic of Java (Prioneris autothisbe and Mycalesis sudra), and two species was LC (Least Concern) by IUCN red list data (Lampides boeticus and Vanesa cardui).

Aims: Present study aims to highlight an accidental death of a male Dwarf Sperm Whale scientifically known as Kogia sima which found to be as Least Concern (LC) as per IUCN Red List data. Kogia sima represents important higher trophics of marine ecosystem which faced the several threats and conservation need in Gulf of Mannar, India. 
 Study Design: The study undertaken during extensive coral reef monitoring survey was carried out in Gulf of Mannar under the CRAM Project of National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR). The present report emphasize the Morphometric observation of the dead Kogia sima and try to find out possible cause of death by examining in situ investigation.
 Place and Duration of Study: The field study was taken in Vedalai Sea shore (N09°15.626’, E79°04.977’) under the Mandapam Union of Ramnathapuram District of Tamil Nadu. The male whale specimen was found on 5th May, 2019 lying dead on the sandy seashore.
 Methodology: Animal was photographed and morphological attributes were measured to identify the specimen. Several injuries have been highlighted in the paper which helps in investigating the cause of death.
 Results: The Dwarf Sperm Whale was infant and has mild damage on the mouth parts including scuff off skin from the body and severe blood clotting at major part of the right side near to pectoral fin. Death of this infant is not clear but it is assumed that the male infant has lost from his parents and came to the inshore area of Mandapam where it gets stuck with running boat or boulder rocks as this immature whale limits its diving capabilities. The necessary morphological characters and measures have been listed in Table 1.
 Conclusion: This unfortunate death clearly indicated that acute information on ecological behavior of Dwarf Sperm Whale is still under data collection stage in India and that previous conservation efforts in country must be reviewed in terms of role of local authorities, live stranded cetaceans and hunting or incidental killing which in future can build a road map for effective action plans to save this marine mammal.

We review the conservation status and threats to the endemic vascular flora of the Cape Verde islands, mostly based on the past two decades of collecting, literature review and herbarium specimens. The application of IUCN Red List criteria and categories using RAMAS software reveals that 78% of the endemic plants are threatened (29.3% Critically Endangered, 41.3% Endangered, 7.6% Vulnerable). Most of these endemics have a limited geographical range, and half of them have Areas of Occupancy and Extents of Occurrence of < 20 and 200 km2, respectively. Our data show that, over the last two decades, the Cape Verde vascular plants have become more threatened and their conservation status has declined, mostly as a consequence of the increase in exotic species, habitat degradation and human disturbance. This paper presents the first comprehensive IUCN Red List data review for the plants endemic to Cape Verde, thus providing an important step towards the recognition and conservation of its threatened endemic flora at the national and global level. It also fills a knowledge gap, as it represents the first thorough assessment of the conservation status of the entire endemic flora of a Macaronesian archipelago. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, ●●, ●●–●●.

In this study, Floristic composition, diversity, population structure and regeneration status of woody plant species of Yegof Forest in South Wollo Zone, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia were analyzed. Data were collected from 72 quadrants, each of which was 20 m × 20 m area. Sorensen‟s similarity coefficient was used to detect similarities and differences among different forests of Ethiopia. Shannon -Wiener diversity index was applied to quantify species diversity and richness. A total of 123 vascular plant species, representing 109 genera and 63 families were recorded. One hundred and twelve of the species collected from sample plots were used for floristic and structural analysis. The rest 11 were collected out of the sample plots but from the same forest and were used to describe the complete floristic list. Out of the total plant species which have been included in the preliminary list assessed for IUCN Red data List, 9 were found to be endemic to Ethiopia. The family Fabaceae had the highest number of species (8) followed by Asteraceae (7 species), Poaceae (6 species), Lamiaceae and Solanaceae (5 species each). The five most abundant woody plant species in the forest were Dodonaea angustifolia, Myrsine africana, Olea europaea subsp cuspidata, Juniperus procera and Erica arborea. In the forest, the overall Shannon-Wiener diversity was 3.73 and evenness of woody species was 0.79, indicating that the diversity and evenness of woody species in the forest is relatively high. Woody species density for mature individuals was 1685 stems ha-1, density of saplings was 1800 stems ha-1 and the density of seedlings was 2089 stems ha-1. Density decreased with increasing tree height and DBH classes. The basal area of the forest was 25.4 m2/ha. We prioritized tree species for conservation using criteria such as species population structure, important value index and regeneration status. The population structure in the forest revealed that there is a need for conservation priority of woody plant with poor regeneration status. Based on the result of the study, research on the soil seed bank, population dynamics and ethno botany are recommended. Keywords: Floristic composition, Endemic species, IUCN Red list Phytogeographical Comparison, Population Structure, Yegof Forest